Tea and a Tyrant

Natalie has been boycotting naps the past couple days and, as a result, has been a little tyrant. But yesterday, in the midst of all of the whining, I got a bit of fun in with her as we had tea.

I pulled out the tiara she wore for her first birthday and put it on her bear. But, she was insistent that SHE wear it. I was pretty surprised as she's constantly pulling barrettes and the like out of her hair.


We only have a few tea supplies, but hopefully we'll pick up some more this spring at yard sales, etc. She has enjoyed playing make believe more and more lately. It's fun watching her "pretend".

Here are all of the guests of the party. Did you know fish liked bananas? Yeah... it's a little known fact.
I'm not sure she fully gets it yet, though. Notice here she's sitting on some of the guests to get to the plate she wants. Or maybe that's just how she runs things!

And now we have a break for a story. She really loves this one.

Today we played a bit of hide and seek. She really enjoys finding me and the look on her face is priceless when I jump out and surprise her. I'm afraid I didn't get the BEST pictures of her reactions, but these still made me smile.

Natalie's latest thing is saying "no" and whining. A LOT. Of course, the whining has been amplified by the lack of naps but it's been grating nonetheless. Every dinner has been a battle as we try to get her to eat what we put in front of her. One day she'll totally be into chicken salad and the next day she throws it on the floor. She's definitely developing a sense of what she likes and what she doesn't like and perhaps that's just part of being a toddler and entering the "terrible twos" (even though we have 6 more months until she's officially there). I keep saying that this is payback for all of the grief Kevin and I gave OUR parents.