A Spot for the Scotts

Well, it is the end of January, so I guess it's time for a Christmas blog???? Better late than never. We had a great Christmas and New Year and Natalie had tons of fun. As some of you have heard, Natalie has become an unbelievably avid OSU fan lately. She yells "Go Pokes!, Go OSU!," etc, at the mention of OSU or if she merely sees the color orange sometimes! Before Christmas, she got really excited one day and said, "Mommy I'm so excited about Christmas!" I said, "That's great, Natalie, what are you most excited about?" She then said, "I'm excited 'cause Pistol Pete's gonna bring me presents!!!" This discussion went on and on throughout the Christmas season, and Darran and I tried to convince her that Santa Claus is who would bring presents, but she insisted that it was Pistol Pete, or sometimes, simply Mr. Pete. With the help of a former Pistol Pete (thanks cousin Michael) Natalie got an autographed picture from Pistol Pete with a note to her and she was super-excited. She finally came to believe that "sometimes when Santa needs help, Pistol Pete comes with him on Christmas Eve." She is so funny and comes up with the funniest things to say!

Aside from the funny Santa/Pistol Pete saga, Natalie also learned a lot about the true meaning of Christmas this year and was able to participate in her first church program. The 2 year olds sang Away in a Manger and Jingle Bells and she was so excited to be up on the "big stage." She was also very eager to share her Christmas spirit with others during December, frequently standing in the shopping cart at Wal-Mart and singing those 2 songs as we drove down each aisle (with proper hand motions as well!) She keeps us laughing and smiling and there truly isn't a dull moment around here!

Her vocabulary has exploded recently and we are amazed at all the funny things she has to say. She is really into singing and making up her own words and melody. She also likes to read books and has memorized so many of them and can "read" them back to us. She has recently become very interested in pretending things (like cooking with her new kitchen set, feeding her babies, etc.) and during this past week, she has been imitating animals. It started with "Look, Mommy, this is how you be a dinosaur!" followed by her running around with one arm up and the other out behind her "cause dinosaurs have long necks and tails." Now she can "be" most any animal and some of her depictions are hilarious! Another exciting milestone is that she is doing really well with potty training! We are having a great time being Natalie's parents and here are some recent pictures to share with you!

We had a great time at a Christmas playdate with friends