A Few Misc. May Photos

Natalie with cousins Porter and Grace at Meega and Poppop's house.

This little light of mine...!

Raaaaawr!

Mmmmuah!

Sigh. It's only a matter of time before she figues out how to dispense water from the cooler.

Soap mohawks are kewl.

So fresh and so clean clean.

Natalie's First Swim

Our neighborhood pool is officially open for the summer! Hooray! Allen and I took Natalie for her first dip in the pool on Sunday. First we waded in the baby pool for a bit. She got brave and let go of my hands and was in for a bit of a surprise when she fell forward into the water. The shock only lasted a few seconds before she was all smiles again.

Next we ventured into the big pool. She did great with everything except when I tried to float her on her back. I don't think she's a big fan of the water in her ears.

We started her first swim lesson today. We sang a song where we "washed" the babies' faces and hair (to get the babies used to the water on their faces and heads), let the babies kick on their tummies towards toy ducks, and even dunked them under briefly. She was a trooper! No tears for the entire 30 minutes, even after the dunk. She may be swimming circles around me before the summer is over.

Disclaimer: Yes, I realize that Natalie's hat and swimsuit could not be more mismatched. I will be adding several solid sun hats to her wardrobe, pronto!

Brave little girl, letting go of Mama's hands.

(Splash!!) Hey! What was that for?!

Not too sure about sitting down in the water.

No worries. We're all smiles again!

Swimming with Mama in the big pool.

Girls on the Run 5k

As I mentioned in this post, Lyndsey invited me to be her running buddy in the Girls on the Run 5k two weeks ago. It was a lot of fun to see soooo many young girls all pumped up for the run. After pinning on our numbers, getting our hair dolled up, slapping on some temporary tattoos, and warming up to Lady Gaga and the Blackeyed Peas, we were off! Lyndsey did a great job for her first 5k. She never doubted herself and was in great spirits the entire time. She warned me that she has a pretty good kick and that I may not be able to keep up at the end. Turns out she really does! Maybe she'll be a half-miler like her ol' Aunt Sally some day...

Matching Girls on the Run tatts? Check.

Green hairspray? Check.

Race numbers pinned on correctly? Doh! Hey, maybe 891 sounded like a better number to me than 168.

Natalie getting some Q-time with Uncle Jerel.

Granny and Peepah take a turn entertaining Natalie.

Lynsdey gives the family two thumbs up at the 2-mile mark.

Cute group shot of the Dawsons after the race.

Natzilla getting her exercise too!

An Aamoth Reunion

Hooray! I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures from our trip to visit my sister's family two weeks ago. Around Easter, Lyndsey asked me to be her running buddy in the Girls on the Run 5k. (If you're not familiar with Girls on the Run, it is a fantastic organization that teaches pre-teen girls across the country about self respect and self confidence through running and teamwork. I'll be adding pictures from the run in a separate post.) There was no way I could pass up the opportunity to spend some time with the Dawsons and support Lyndsey in something that is near to my heart, so we started making plans to drive up to Troutman, NC. Allen wasn't able to make it that weekend, but luckily my parents wanted to go and were kind enough to chauffer me and Natalie there and back. (Thanks Mom and Dad!)

It was great to spend some time with Karen, Jerel, Lyndsey, AJ, and Lars, who I don't get to see nearly as much as I'd like. I know they enjoy getting to see Natalie too. Unfortunately she's going through an incredibly clingy phase and spent much of the weekend stuck to me like Saran Wrap. I don't think everyone got their fill of cuddle-time with her, so I certainly hope that the next time we all get together she'll share the love (and give me a break!)

It's never too early for piano lessons! Natalie had fun banging on the piano with Aunt Karen.

Bedtime? Can't you see I'm hanging with Aunt K and Unce J?

Natalie's first Pebbles hair-do.

Start your engines! (We were in Nascar country, after all!)

This is the "you will have to surgically remove me from my Mama" look.

Hanging with Daddy

Natalie "helped" Allen while he watered the back yard. This was too cute not to post.

Is that a goatee?

Check out Natalie's sweet prune goatee. Pure awesomeness.

Fun with Baxter

Natalie thinks Baxter is downright hilarious. It's fun to see her interact with him more and more. If only Baxter would enjoy the "interaction" as much as Natalie obviously does...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV87KDssQkU&feature=channel


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okLBJdxVII0

Jumperoo

We've been putting Natalie in her doorway jumper for months now, but it was only recently that she really started to appreciate its full potential. Lord knows we needed something to keep her happily occupied since she officially hates the exersaucer now.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmMVn5aP9og&feature=channel

Dinnertime Antics

Natalie never fails to keep us entertained during dinner. Look how much she enjoys getting a reaction out of us! She's quite proud of herself.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ7VTgDtpR8&feature=channel

2010 Country Music Marathon

Well folks, road trip #2 is in the books for the Bray family, and overall I would consider it a success. The weekend before last we drove to Nashville so that Allen could run in the 2010 Country Music Marathon. I had the bright idea to leave home around Natalie's bed time so that she would sleep during the drive. Then the plan was to check into the hotel and try to transfer her up to the room, maybe even without waking her up. We thought we were so smart, calling ahead to have them set up a crib in our room. Boy am I laughing at my naivete now! Natalie woke up as we entered Nashville and was not happy. Then the unloading/valet parking of the car took forever and a day. By the time we got up to the room, Natalie thought it was party time. This did not make for a restful night to say the least.

Despite a couple of nights of rough sleep and some inclement weather on race day, Allen had a great race. His chip time was 3:23:51, a personal best by more than three minutes. Natalie and I stayed busy during the race, walking all over downtown Nashville to cheer Allen on at various places along the course. Just as Allen was finishing the race, a nasty storm hit the area and we hurried back to the hotel in the rain. Allen was one of only 700-something marathoners to complete the entire 26.2 miles. They ended up cutting the course short for a whole lot of people due to the storm. We were definitely having flashbacks to the 2007 Chicago Marathon fiasco.

We decided to try the night-driving again on the way home and luckily it worked out much more in our favor the second time around. Natalie and I will be heading to Charlotte next weekend with my folks and we'll have to drive during the day. Keep your fingers crossed everyone - we're gonna need some luck with that! Either luck or earplugs.

Killing time in the hotel room. She climbed into this drawer all by herself!

Relaxing with Daddy on the day before the race.

Honk!!

Spectating in the wee hours on race day. I wish I could have stayed in my jammies too.

Allen looking strong at mile 10.5. He even ran over to say hello! (Show-off.)

We found a dry spot under a bridge to watch Allen come in at mile 26. He didn't run over to say hello this time. Do ya blame him?