Yes, Natalia is officially conscious of what birthdays are. Thanks to everyone who came to the birthday party-we actually took some of the gifts and hid them away to do a "slow release" over the next few months. The party was pretty intense-the hall where the party took place was quite enthralling-although it was a bit exhausting for some of the adults :)

Natalia's baptism

Sorry for the long time break, for anyone who might have been following updates eagerly.........

Natalia's baptism party took place a few days after her birthday. (Her cousin Kylie was also baptized that day.) We celebrated her baptism and her birthday together- what a coup! As you might imagine, Natalia got ants in her pants about halfway through the church ceremony and wanted to sit on the altar steps rather than with us. At several points, she would stand up, as if she was going to walk onto the altar, then sit back down after seeing us look stricken.

Since the weather has gotten warmer, Natalia has taken a tremendous interest in the park. She particularly enjoys climbing, and occasionally the slide. With each passing week she has grown more confident on her feet, even becoming a bit of a daredevil.

Easter trip to Madison

So, this is from quite a while ago now, but better late than never! For Easter weekend, we traveled to Madison, Wisconsin together. We stayed in a hotel that had a window view of the pool-which, as you can imagine, led to hysteria on every sighting by Natalia. There was an Easter March on Saturday at Genna's downtown that ended in a semi-meltdown. Then, an Easter Sunday breakfast with Mami, Papi, and Nana.

We even managed to wrestle a bow into her hair!

A few of my favorite things to do.....

Climb the stairs, run into rooms where I can get into all kinds of interesting things, and pretend I am the Hulk.

Sledding

Natalia loves to be outside, even when it is cold. We used to be reluctant to take her out because she was so little, but we have discovered she really loves it and does not mind the cold very much.
These are pictures from her first time in her sled.

Baby in a box

Natalia was absolutely delighted when she was able to climb in the box. Once inside, she quickly realized why she hadn't seen anyone else climbing in there.