7 1/2

Today Natalie turned 7 1/2 years old! I totally forgot it was her half birthday, because we don't celebrate half birthdays. If you're my father in law though the countdown to Natalie's next birthday is always on, as her brings her donuts and a card on the 4th of each month.

Today she got donuts, a card and $20. It makes me laugh at how spoiled she is by Matt's parents. It's not even about the material things they give to her, it's how much they love her and are always thinking of her and the time they put into spending with her. I think I am equally excited for them to be grandparents to another one of my children as I am about being a mom again!

Natalie was home sick yesterday and today. She tried to go to school this morning but her body took over and chose not to. I woke her up and got her dressed and asked if she wanted to come down for breakfast, she said yes but kept falling back to sleep and said her throat hurt. I just gave in to letting her sleep some more and went back into my bed. It wasn't long until she came into my room and said, "I want to snuggle with you and take a nap," and sure enough she was out light a light and slept until about 9:30.

Sick or not I try to make sure she isn't just sitting at home watching t.v. all day. We did some work sheets and played dolls today once she got some of her spunk back and she did a pretty good job entertaining herself afterwards. This evening when she was playing in her room she made me the sweetest card. It said, "Thank you Mommy," on the front with a heart on it and today's date. It said on the inside (with my spelling corrections) "Roses are red, violets are blue, it's just a little way of saying thank you...for being my mom! I will always love you you are the best. I love you so much you are great. To Mommy from Natalie love you so much Mom. I will always love you!" as she proceeded to tell me how much she loves me no matter what, even if we get mad at each other (insert heartbreak) and she will always hold my hand. I love this girl more than any words could ever come close to explaining.

As you can tell, she is a very sweet and lovey girl. She is also creative and loves making up her own board games, story books, songs and games in general. She loves American Ninja Warrior and constantly runs through the house and backyard making up obstacle courses. She's very athletic. She can be a bit hardheaded and easily distracted. I have to repeat myself to her at least 10 times before she will actually listen and do the task at hand. She still isn't terribly social and doesn't usually initiate play dates or branch out to new friends but that isn't a bad thing in my opinion. She is definitely a bit of a girly girl and starting to care a lot about fashion and her appearance. She can be a bit picky about clothes and shoes and such.

I don't have a recent picture of her on my computer that I haven't shared already, so here's a couple from when she was 6 months old!