Natalie's Belated Birthday Post

It's been another chaotic week, chaotic because of Patrick and the kids coming home and the kids getting ready for school to start on Monday. It was also chaotic because I lost 24 hours being on call last Sunday--plus the extra hours catching up on sleep after that call.

This was a picture that Patrick took of Natalie eating the Molten Chocolate Cake at the Chili's in St. Louis. They were still traveling across country at that time, so this was the best he could do for her under the circumstances. Chili's is one of Natalie's favorite restaurants, and she ordered her favorite dish--Salmon with Garlic and Herbs. It's one of the few times she will eat broccoli, which is the veggie that usually comes with the dish, so I'm good with that.

Then, last Friday, August 15th, we invited three of her swim friends over for a sleepover. We didn't tell them it was for her birthday or anything, but Natalie knew we were celebrating her birthday. Patrick grilled steak (again, Natalie's choice), which her friends all really enjoyed. These are high-powered swimmers, so even though they were on their yearly three week break from swimming, they still had the appetites to match. They were almost fighting over the first steaks to come off the grill. I enjoyed it because I usually only see them at practice or at swim meets. This was a much more relaxed, fun atmosphere.

After dinner, I took all the kids, including Alex and Eric, to Brindles for ice cream. I convinced Alex to come along so I would have someone to talk to, but he ended up listening to his music with his earphones in place for most of the trip. The girls were hilarious in the car, though, so I was enjoying hearing them talk about this and that. Natalie can talk, but not like these girls.

Her three friends ended up sleeping on the floor of her room. Although there is an extra twin bed in there, they wanted to be together. Aspen had a hard time sleeping, so the others ended up waking up too. They didn't get much sleep, but clearly they didn't mind.

The next morning was an early one, as Renzi's dad and Aspen's mom came to pick them up by 10:30am. I made them red velvet waffles and turkey bacon. Again, they basically fought over the first pieces to come out and I barely got to eat any of the turkey bacon. Luckily, Eric was there early helping me in the kitchen, or he might have lost out also. Ally's mom didn't come pick her up until noon, so Natalie got a little more time with her. This is the only time of year that these three can have a sleepover, because the rest of the year, they have practice every weeknight and some Saturday mornings plus swim meets almost every weekend. Natalie actually wanted to invite a couple of other non-swim friends, but she felt like their interests might not overlap, so she wants to invite them over at another time.

This is one half of a scrapbook layout that I made quite a few years ago about Natalie's birth. I can't believe that my baby girl is now 12 years old. Her body is definitely maturing, and I think I can finally see her personality maturing as well, especially with the back problems and how she is coping with that and other things. Swim practices start again next week, along with school. Wish us luck with that!