The Noriega Family: October 2010

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween

Natalia was so cute in her Lion costume. We did a costume swap with a friend which worked out perfectly because I had no idea what I was going to do for Natalia's costume. We went to a ward party on Saturday night. Natalia loved watching all the kids play the games. After the party there was a trunk or treat. I wasn't planning on letting Natalia do it, but she seemed interested in what all the other kids were doing, so her and I walked around to all the cars and got candy. She held her little paper bag and let people put candy in it. I am not sure she really understood what was going on, but she liked walking from car to car.

She was so excited to have a bag full of stuff. She would not let go of the bag and when we got home she plopped down on the floor and started taking everything out and examining it. Little did she know that it would all be gone by morning after her parents devoured it. (let's face it, she was not trick or treating for herself. At this age, it is just an excuse for parents to get some free candy)

Natalia did not mind. There was popcorn at the bottom of her bag and she decided that was about the best thing in the world.

After church, on actual Halloween day, we went down to Hector's parents. Natalia got to wear her costume again, which of course she loved. She was so cute helping me pass candy out to the treat or treaters. She would pick out a candy from the bowl and put it in the bags of all the kids who came to the door. Every time the door bell would ring, she would race to the front door and grab the candy bowl. At one pont, Grandpa came home through the garage at the same time the front door bell rang. She wanted to go see grandpa but she also wanted to see the kids at the door. She stood between the two doors and looked so perplexed. You could see her little mind racing..."who do I go and see". "So much to do...so little time".

Natalia + Halloween costume = one happy girl!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Around the House

Natalia had an obsession with this coloring book from her Grandpa. One day she would not let it go, so I let her take a nap with it. She had been sleeping longer than normal so I went and stood by her door. I heard this quiet giggling. When I opened the door, she looked up at me with this mischievous face. She had ripped the book to shreds. The book is no longer with us, but at least we can say she enjoyed it. Natalia has found something she enjoys much more than coloring books....mom's raspberries! Much to my dismay, Natalia loves the raspberries and leaves little for me.

Whenever the weather is good, we play outside. Natalia loves to be outside. She grabs her shoes in the mornings and sits on the bottom stair waiting for me to take her outside. She loves to pick the berries, and the flowers. She loves to play with the mulch and collect acorns. She loves to play in the flower pots in the back yard. She takes the dirt from the pots and fills the front compartment of her little bike with dirt. Often this results in her being covered with mud. She also likes to be helpful. She watched up rack the grass the other day. She loved playing in the pile of grass and she even tried to help rack up her mess.

Here she is filling her car with dirt.

She is also a big girl in the house. She loves her food. We make smoothies sometimes and she cannot get enough of it. She drinks from her own cup and is starting use a fork. She has actually gotten pretty good at it, but by the time she is done eating it still appears that a small tornado has passed through the dinning room.

Here she is eating like a civilized little lady...

But unfortunately that does not usually last for very long.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

What have we been up to?

We have been super busy the last month and a half, hence my delinquent blogging. Volleyball and school started for me, leaving me with little free time. I am home every other day with Natalia, but we spend our time playing, going to the park (Natalia would stay on the swing all day if I let her), grocery shopping, and taking naps. I do not get on the computer much during the days I am off. We have had some fun outing since I last blogged. We went to Six Flags with Hector's family a month ago. Natalia was too small for most of the rides, but she did enjoy watching all the people. It was a really warm day, so we let Natalia put on her suit in run in the spray fountain. She was a little shy, but had fun with Grandma running around the other kids and shooting water. Hector and Andy ditched us most of the day and ran from ride to ride. I was jealous that I did not get to go on all the rides, because I love roller coaster...love them.

One of my favorite things about kids is that they are entertained by the funniest things. While we were at Six Flags Natalia decided that plastic cutlery was about the coolest thing in the world. She had a death grip on these most of the afternoon. What a silly girl. Most everyday Natalia finds something new that is her favorite of the day. She hangs onto it or them and likes have it close to her all day. Some of her favorites have been carrying a handful of measuring cups, five books all of the same size, acorns she finds out side and my napkin holders. So silly.

We went apple picking with our friends last month as well. "Apple" was one of the first words that Natalia learned how to articulate, so needless to say she was pretty happy to have thousands of apples at her fingertips.

Dad fed her apples...then mom feed her apples.

And finally, we just let her feed herself apples. She was a little sticky by the end of the morning, but she enjoyed her apples.

Natalia also loved the flowers. The farm had a patch of flowers and Natalia looked and looked. Thankfully most of the flowers were to tall for her to pick. I cannot say the same about my flower beds home. Natalia has pretty much plucked every flower, leaving only the beautiful greenery.

Later that same evening we went to our friends, Clark and Traci's house, and enjoyed some apple dumplings and games. Natalia slept in their basement the whole time. I love that we can put her to sleep anywhere.

We have also spent some time with Hector's family. We watched conference last weekend and played settlers inbetween sessions. We have been working on our master bathroom and of course coaching lots of volleyball. My team is now 9-3. We had a tournament a couple weeks ago in which we took first place. I love coaching. My girls and my coaching staff are fantastic, so win or loss, it is always a blast. It does help that we are doing lots of winning though. Lets face, we can all be good sports when we lose, but it is a whole lot more fun to win.

Welcome Evalina

In August I hosted a baby shower for my friend Lillian. She is the cutest little pregnant woman. On Friday morning she delivered her baby girl. Hector and I went to see her yesterday in the Hospital. We did not get to see Evalina because she is in the NICU, but she is doing much better and she should be able to come home mid week. We cannot wait to meet her. We are so excited for our friends to be parents. They will do a great job. Go Rak and Lillian!