Happy FIRST Birthday, Natalie!

Guess who is one year old today!?!

Yay!! It's Natalie's birthday, and we had a great day. We started with a bit of a sleep-in, so she only got to open one present at breakfast... this darling little outfit for her birthday. She knew she was looking good, for sure.

 Then we went to a nature center and farm up in Connecticut, to enjoy the perfect warm, fall day we had today. To be honest, Spencer and his friends may have liked it more than Natalie, since they got to be out and about.

But she seemed happy enough, even though I kept her in the stroller most of the time.

Spence got to see some sheep and pigs, and "pet" a tortoise. Lucky boy.

We even watched a couple of otters in a gorgeous little pond. Otters really are cute, I think. But in the water they look kinda creepy, like snakes.

And we found a secret "tunnel" that the boys loved.

I think they loved it because it led them to this...

Again, poor Nat didn't get much out of the playground, but she did get some lunch, and didn't get stung by a bee (they were everywhere). Then, more lunch at a restaurant (why do we moms take children to restaurants, anyway? We always know how it will turn out... chocolate milk spilled on the floor, half the food gone to waste, no one staying in his/her seat, not enough napkins. Ah, but we persist, for the other-mom company and the delicious salads that always taste better than homemade.)

Back to Natalie... She took a birthday nap in the car on the way home, and another nap after we picked up Samantha from school. When I went to get her from her second nap, she had ditched her shirt -- her newest trick. This is the second time this week I've found her topless after her nap. Show off! Isn't she a little young to already be figuring out how to undress?!?

We redressed her, so she could show another new trick. She's a little late on this one, but finally, she's a clapper! yay!!

Then we had a special treat... Daddy came home for dinner and present time! Um, but I didn't get a picture of him. oops. But look at the table. Four plates -- one for Brian.

Birthday cake. I made each of the kids their own little cakes in ramekins. She wasn't so sure at first...

Then Brian helped her get a good start, feeding her some bites with a spoon.

Oh. Hands. They'll do the job much more quickly than Daddy and the spoon...

Finger-lickin' good!!

Presents... Some lights-and-buttons toys...

 And some soft puppets (so cute... they're like stuffed animals, and she laughs so hard at them!) I love how eager the kids are to help her "unwrap."

And a package from Grandpa and Grandma Bishop... a baby doll that she LOVES!

That wraps up the play-by-play of her birthday. It was a fun day. Hard to believe our baby girl is one!! She's a doll and we love her to pieces. Just a few more pics of her, just because...

And next time, I will do some serious back-blogging, to show the 300+ pictures I just uploaded from our last months of "stuff." Until then, just think of sweet, sweet Natalie, reveling in her birthday glory!