Visit w/ Uncles Michael and Jeffrey

Natalie had a wonderful time playing in the first snow of the year....needless to say it hasn't been the last :) She did have some difficulty trudging through it since it almost went up to her waist; but we still had a ton of fun!

Uncle Michael and Jeffrey came to visit on a "rough" weekend. After a major NE ice storm which left Haverhill (and MANY others) residents, including the Buccini family, without power, the whole group came to Westford to camp at the LaCoste home..... for those of you who have been here...imagine 7 people, 8 including Natalie, sleeping in one house. It was comical, but it proved that it doesn't matter where you are, you can have lots of fun with your family. Natalie took a while to warm up to Uncle Michael but ended up giving him one of her signature bear hugs around the neck...and luckily I had my camera ready to capture the moment! The next day the power came back and we all traveled to the less cramped quarters of my parents' house.

I included this one to show off my little reader. Kevin and I have been working on phonics and helping Natalie sound out words....so she's a little advanced (kidding obviously, but doesn't she look like a natural)?

Natalie had a great time with her Grandma and Nanny when they went to the mall to have their picture taken with Santa Claus....that's right THEIR picture. All three of them had their picture taken with Santa again this year and when our home computer isn't on the fritz I'll scan that picture to show! We hope everyone had a great holiday!

Thanksgiving, Santa Parade, and Cooking with Nan

This year Thanksgiving was held at the LaCoste's house in Athol. A few years ago we started a new tradition where the Buccini's and the LaCoste's share the holiday. We switch locations each year, so that it's only every other year that the families are responsible for the meal. This year the meal was delicious... though Natalie didn't love the turkey, she did LOVE the ham. It was a great day.

Kevin, Natalie, "Nan", "Papaccini", and I went to the Santa Parade in Haverhill. We all bundled up to brave the cold temps... and if there hadn't been a chimney fire in the house across the street, which caused a significant delay, I think we would have actually been there to see Santa come by :( Oh well, Natalie loved what she did see, but it was too close to nap time to expect any more of her! The little bugger absolutely refused to wear her mittens too. Her hands were like little icicles when we got back to the car.

So lately Natalie and Nan have been cooking on their Thursdays together. Natalie LOVES this time! She often goes into the cabinets and gets bowls and says "bake a cake?" This particular time I think that they were making pancakes after a sleepover :)

First Blog

So with a little encouragement from Great Uncle Michael, and a desire to share (or brag) Natalie's stories, we decided to create a LaCoste family blog. We love checking up on Natalie's second/third cousin (I've never known how to count extended family) Millie, and figured our far away friends would love an update more frequently than Christmas cards provide. So with that in mind, we decided to give this a try.



Anyway, now for the goods... Natalie is rapidly approaching the 2 year mark. Appropriately named Natalie, which means born at Christmas, we will celebrate two years on December 26. Natalie has been talking up a storm lately, though her most favorite and common word is "no". Some say that it was her mother's favorite word at one time (I'm a little insulted when I hear this and convincingly tell those people that it is STILL my favorite word :). She definitely has some stubborness and a strong disposition. As her mom, I couldn't be more proud. Much to Kevin's pleasure, Natalie is definitely a "daddy's girl"... she loves asking him to "Jump on bed" promptly when he walks in the door each evening.



Recently Natalie began gymnastics classes, which she calls nas-ti-nics. She loves the activities; walking on the balance beam, hanging on the bars, swining on the rings, jumping on the trampoline, and climbing over the obstacle course that is made each week. She does not really enjoy the circle time where she is expected to sit on her mommy's lap and wait her turn to take ten jumps on the trampoline. Usually this is a whining filled, wrestling period, which Natalie usually wins. She'd rather run around... guess it's not a bad thing to have an active girl :)



Anyway, I'll include some recent pics for you all to enjoy, and hopefully we'll be able to keep this up in the future. Give some feedback and it will encourage me to keep going!