And, . . . we're back!

Yes, it has been a while since we last posted. Let's just say that things get kind of hectic around here . . . The big news in Natalie's world is imaginary play. Her favorite game is "monsters," which generally involves Natalie and I hiding from Dave. Dave finds us and roars. We play at least once a day. Two months after Christmas we are still playing "Santa."  She sits on my lap (or baby does) and tells me what she wants for Christmas. And every time we go to the grocery store Natalie wants to get carrots "for the reindeer."
 
In January, we took a great weekend trip to Monterey. We met some friends at a winery near Santa Cruz on the way down. Then, once in Monterey, we went to the aquarium, an amazing playground, and several beaches. Dave took lots of photos with his fancy new camera, I went for a beach run, and we swam in the hotel pool. Fun was had by all! Here is a sampling:
  In the last photo, Natalie was looking through the binoculars at sea life, off the coast at Pacific Grove. We did see seals, sea lions, and sea otters. Natalie also said she saw a penguin!

Natalie has also taken up photography herself. Here is one of her better shots: And, here she is showing off her smile for the camera:

In other news, we have started potty training. We'll let you know when we have that all figured out!