Wednesday, March 19, 2014

In Which Natalie Turns Seven

My daughter is SEVEN today.

SEVEN.

She was born feisty. She knew exactly what she wanted out of life.




A lot of what I did? Upset her.


She cried. A lot.


She'd have this look on her face 90% of the time I was around her:



I should have known she'd be a stubborn one. When I was pregnant, she wouldn't allow me to eat my beloved Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The second I'd eat one, my stomach would heave and I'd feel the urge to vomit.

It didn't get better after she was born. No, after she was born, I had to watch what I ate because she was breastfed. I could not have the following: chocolate, diet coke, or a lot of fast foods.

If I dared to eat them?


It would be a long day. And night.

"I don't understand," I once sobbed. "Tommy never did any of this!"

People would say, yes but, you do realize they are two different people?

Of course. Of course I knew that. But I assumed since they came from the same parents, that they would have the same temper.

Ha.


I learned to understand Natalie's moods.

She might have been noisy, but guys? She didn't mind when I'd dress her up. In fact, she seemed to love when I bought her new clothes. Her fingers would graze across the material and her eyes would light up.






Her love for Disney princesses started young. Snow White was her very first favorite.



And then she discovered Rapunzel:



Now she loves them all. She believes they all exist. Getting to meet them?


Was a dream come true for her. "They were all nice! And they all had soft hair!"


I hope she never loses her imagination. I hope no one ever tells her that it's silly to like Disney Princesses or believe they are real.


I know there will be a day when she no longer likes princesses or make believe.


But then again, maybe she'll always hold onto it.


Maybe she'll want to write stories, as I do.


I hope we will always have a fabulous relationship. I know I'll embarrass her sometimes.


I hope she always knows what she wants out of life.



Happy Birthday, Natalie!





35 comments:

  1. They grow up so fast. My baby will be 25 soon and my granddaughter is 5 and it seems like she was just born yesterday.

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  2. Happy Birthday to Natalie the Princess!!! I love all the pictures - what a cutie!! And, what a smart girl - she learned early how awesome shopping and new clothes can be!!!

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  3. Oh my goodness! Her baby pictures are possibly the funniest and cutest things I've ever seen! How fast time flies by!!
    -Marley
    http://www.afandlove.blogspot.com/

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  4. while it's amazing to watch them grow up, it's also heartbreaking! i wish there were a pause button.

    -kathy | Vodka and Soda

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  5. happy birthday to her! it's always such a victory in parenting when you find out what they love and you find that "thing!"

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  6. What a cutie! Happy birthday to her!

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  7. LOVE her Frozen dress!
    Happy Birthday Natalie!

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  8. Disney princesses rock...and as the mom of teens, I can say that it's still there. It's hidden underneath the "I'm so cool" public attitude, but it's still there. And I love that. Happy Birthday!

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  9. Happy birthday! :)
    She's 364 days older than my son. Well, 365 since he was born in a leap year. :)

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  10. absolutely beautiful!!!!!! Happy birthday sweet girl :)

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  11. So cute! And don't worry, I talk to college students all day long, who tell me their dream job is to be a Disney princess... So I don't think that love ever fully goes away :)

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  12. Happy Birthday, Natalie!! Love her dress!!

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  13. Aww, happy birthday sweet girl! I'm 26 and I still love Disney Princesses : )

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  14. What a sweet post. I love all the pictures and she is so pretty.
    Happy 7th Birthday Natalie!
    Our doctor told us that we wouldn't be able to reason with our daughter until she was 3. After that I would tell people he must have meant 30! Now she is almost 33 and we still can't reason with her......

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  15. Awww... Happy birthday to your little girl! :-)

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  16. those were the cutest pictures ever! Glad your high needs baby turned out to be just the little girl that you needed and wanted in your life :) Happy Birthday Natalie!

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  17. This!
    It's so..amazing. And so Scarlet and me. I really hope she'll never lose her sense of wonder and magic. I still haven't. And Rapunzel has very soft hair!
    When I was pregnant with Scarlet, it was kale. What the heck? Why not Reese's? I couldn't even look at kale. I could barely watch LOST because all of the island greenery reminded me...of kale.

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  18. Oh my goodness, 7 already?! Happy happy birthday to her!

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  19. Happy birthday Natalie!! I love the picture of her dressed as Snow White!

    I love the posts you write to your kids in honour of their birthdays. =)

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  20. Happy Birthday to your sweet girl! She sounds a lot like our Lily, knowing what she wants and going for it, minus being a fan of Princesses :-)

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  21. I was so lucky - all my babies wanted mcdonalds cheeseburgers, before and during breastfeeding, and they hated tuna and broccoli.
    not much has changed as they have aged.
    Love all the outfits - just keep dreaming and wishing on a star Natalie. Dreams actually do come true. :)

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  22. Happy Birthday Sweet Natalie! I love all your princess dresses and adorable outfits!

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  23. Happy birthday Miss. Natalie!!!! That pic after all the crying ones... BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

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  24. Happy birthday Natalie!!! Love the pictures from all of her past birthdays.

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  25. Oh my goodness. Natalie is too sweet. Happy birthday to the princess :)

    Also, I had noooo idea that you had to think about what you eat when you are breastfeeding. I'm not there (not even married yet)...but I didn't even know I had to think about this. Gah. I learn so much from blogging. Super good to know. But chocolate and reeses....oh no.

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  26. Man do I miss those faces. Stella did a similar face in which we called the Gumba face, because it made her look like one of those Gumba characters (actually, I dont even know if that's even what they're called...I might've made it up) on Mario brothers. Stella is half of Natalie's age and I already think she's growing too fast! Just yesterday she wanted to go for a walk outside in her princess dress and she'll ask daddy to be her Prince Charming. I don't want those days to end!
    Eva Marie Taylor

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  27. Happy birthday, Natalie. Congrats, Amber - I think you have done a fabulous job with Tommy and Natalie.

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  28. Happy birthday Natalie! She has been adorable from the beginning!

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  29. Aw, happy, happy birthday to natalie. hope you all had a great day! i love all of the cry face pics - they are hilarious. :)

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  30. Haha Those crying pics made me crack up! Happy birthday to your daughter. She's a cutie. That 'Frozen' outfit is awesome.

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  31. Such a cutie! Happy {belated} birthday!

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  32. She's so sweet! Happy birthday!

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  33. Awe, I love all the photos. She's adorable from start to finish, but I think my favorite is the one in the cupcake outfit. I love the piggy tails!

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