Grace and toys go!

Natalie's new obsession is Cinderella 3. I'm normally pretty opposed to movie sequels, especially straight-to-video-Disney movie sequels. But when that sequel keeps my daughter entertained for a good 45 minutes or so and allows me to maintain my sanity, I can make an exception.

Natalie's got a terrific arsenal of quotes from the movie. One of her "quotes" is, "Grace and toys go!" Translation: "Grace and poise, girls." (Spoken by the Stepmother as she's trying to keep Anastasia and Drizella in line. If you knew that without having to read this explanation, call me. I'm sure there's a lot we can sympathize about.) Anyway, when she says this, it cracks Dave and me up, so she says it more. And more. There are also some great quotes like, "I DO! I dooooo. I do..." and "Whatever you do, stay away from the palace. Stay away from the prince!" It's a little disturbing when your toddler has a terrific menacing voice.

In keeping with the Cinderella theme at our house, Natalie decided she wants to be Cinderella for Halloween. My sister lent us a Cinderella outfit and it arrived in the mail on Saturday along with some new (sparkly!) shoes from Grandma. Putting on the dress elicited more quotes from Natalie: "Mommy, Daddy, all my dreams have come true!" and "They're the perfect shoes!" Needless to say, we're pretty excited for Halloween. Here's a sneak peek:

Back in Action

We're slowly but surely adjusting to life as a family of four. This past Sunday we went to church for the first time since David's birth. It turned out that the heat wasn't working in the chapel, and it was a cold, cold day, so our bishop cancelled all the meetings after the first hour (for those not familiar with LDS services, church is typically 3 hours long). It was kind of a nice way to ease back into the going-to-church routine. For everyone except Natalie. After sitting in Sacrament Meeting for an hour, she was more than ready to go to Nursery for the next 2 hours, and she flatly refused to leave the building. Dave carried her to the car, and she cried the whole way. Here's a post-church photo op, with David crying in his cute first day of church outfit, Natalie with her tears all dried (happy to be holding her beloved Sally, no doubt), and me already in my post-church comfy clothes.

Along with attending church again, we've resumed some other activities that for the past month or so were not happening much, if at all. Like hairbrushing! OK, hair-doing. Natalie's hair has been brushed every day (almost), and sometimes I would put in a quick hairband, but when the hairband invariably came out a few minutes later, there was no redo. But now we've jumped into pigtail territory, and there's no looking back! My mom put Natalie's hair in pigtails while she was here helping us, and my goal is to one day do pigtails for Natalie that are ALMOST as perfectly formed as the ones my mom would create.

Grandma's Pigtails

Mommy's Pigtails

We've ventured out several times for walks, hikes, and bus rides, and most trips have gone really smoothly. David tends to sleep in the Baby Bjorn, which works well for us. Here's a photo of him after our trip out to State Street on Friday evening. It was cold, so we bundled him in his reindeer sleeper, and the poor guy was so bundled that he reminded us of Ralphie's little brother Randy in A Christmas Story--you know, when the mom says to him, "You can put your arms down when you get to school!"

David, snoozing after a ride in the Bjorn

Here's Randy. See, David, it could have been worse!