Natalie Recommends

My new favorite Mama item and my recommendation to all moms, especially ones with more than one child, THE MOBY WRAP!

I believe many new parents go out and buy themselves a baby carrier. With Elyse we had both a side sling and the Baby Bjorn. I didn't care for how they felt on and were a pain to get the child out of. Therefore, when Nate's brother and sister-in-law sent us all their baby stuff and they wrote a note saying the Moby Wrap was their greatest baby position I was hesitant. However, after learning how to wear it, I quickly fell in love with this wrap! It compacts into my baby bag, really is super easy to get baby in and out of, extremely supportive as well as comfortable, and can hold up to 35 pounds in a variety of carrying positions. Overall, a must have for any parent.

A BIG thank you to Shawn and Amelia for sending their #1 baby item to us, which has now become my #1 item. Love you guys!

Hide n' Seek

We spent much of our night playing hide n'seek. Even though Elyse cheats while counting (doesn't count all the way and peeks), she's got the right idea. Eventually she will want to hide and I will then get to decide how long I will count to before I go find her ;) (just kidding).

27th Birthday

This past Friday, I happily celebrated my 27th birthday. In fact, I stress 27th because I was reminded many times by people I was not turning 26, but 27. That's only because I swore for months I was really turning 26 and sadly lost a year. Well thanks to my loves, family and friends I had a wonderful birthday. I spent the morning hanging out with my girls and their children. Followed by hitting a few garage sales, going out to eat and shopping at DSW :)

Like I said, I had a wonderful day and thank everyone who helped me celebrate it.

Below are a few videos of us at the restaurant. It's of me getting my free ice cream dessert and Elyse CHOWING down on it. However, before you watch the video, I have to share this story; because if you know me, deals make me the happiest ever. So Nate said I could go anywhere I wanted to eat, so I chose Famous Dave's since I love it and plus I had a coupon for a free dessert. Right away, I asked the waitress what I had to get in order to get my free dessert, she looked at it and said, "I don't know of this code, let me punch it in and I'll let you know." To my surprise she came back to say I not only got a free dessert but got the Family Feast ($60 meal) for free. It feeds 4-5, we'd say 6-8. It was delicious and Nate, Elyse and I left with three big carry out boxes packed full and two big circular tubs. Not only did I get a free meal for my birthday, I had enough leftovers to keep me from cooking for the week. I was SUPER excited!!! I think 27 is going to throw me lots of fun surprises ;)

5 Years!

Today marks Nate and my five year anniversary! (Happy Anniversary, my love!)

I can't believe five years has already come and gone. I had the opportunity to marry my best friend and everyday grow to love him more and more. God has not made our path the last five years always easy, but I wouldn't trade them for anything. I am so blessed to have such a magnificent husband, and wonderful marriage. I just look forward to the many more blessed years I have with my man.

There are so many reasons I am thankful for Nate being my husband, but since it's our five year, I thought I would try to condense it down to the top five things I love most about my husband (in no particular order).
1. His love and servant hood for Christ
2. He's an amazing father with such a heart to instantly and joyfully parent adopted children
3. His honesty, patience and compassion with me
4. He's such an incredible protector and provider
5. His dedication to constantly fill or try to fill my cup daily
I know my list could keep going and going, but I guess you'll have to wait another five years to see five more :)

Girls Night Out

So last night was the first "Girls Night Out" I've attended since Elyse was born. All of us girls got dressed up and headed downtown Minneapolis to have yummy desserts at the Melting Pot (fondue restaurant). We only had one rule, no talking about our kids. We figured it was still important to talk about our husbands, which we did ;) The food, atmosphere and company was all perfect. I went to bed with sore cheeks from laughing so much. Overall, it was just what I needed.
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Thank you ladies for such an amazing evening, and a special thanks to our husbands, Nate, Nick, Tom, Seth, Ryan, Kris and Joel for being so supportive and taking over on Dada duties for the evening. You all are wonderful husbands and I can say on behalf of all us ladies, we love you!