Horsin' Around

Natalie's back in the saddle again---for summer physical therapy! She started hippotherapy last summer, and she loved it so much, we knew she HAD to try it again this summer. Her beautiful horse, Lucy, takes her around the arena with the help of physical therapist, Nancy. We haven't seen Nancy since Natalie started school, so it's nice to spend time with her again. She is a big believer in the therapeutic benefits of horseriding for kiddos like Natalie.

Here she is, leaving the barn on her horse, Lucy:

She has great posture when sitting on the horse!

They do fun little games each time around the track. She doesn't stop smiling the whole time! I love my girl!

Here are some pictures from her first time back at horse therapy. Note the adorable shirt made by Auntie Carolyn---with horses all over it! So cute...

Calvin loves to watch his big sister ride the horsey...

...but it can be very tiring!!! :)

Speaking of tiring...the morning spent at school is exhausting for Natalie. She comes home a little after noon and is ready to nap with Daddy. I love getting pictures of the two of them sleeping together. It's so sweet!

We are getting ready for our week-long vacation in Minnesota. It looks as though the weather will be much better than last year...YAY! A week spent outside by the lake is just what the doctor ordered for Natalie. Expect many more pictures in the weeks to come. Thanks for stopping by!!

Natalie's First School Year Comes to an End

Natalie has finished her first year of preschool---where does the time go? Here is a look at her classroom and her absolutely adorable little friends. What a fun classroom---we can't wait to get back there in August. Until then, Natalie is attending summer school three days a week until the end of July. The school days are just a bit longer, but the school time isn't as structured as it is during the regular school year. She doesn't get as much therapy---they are just focused on maintaining her skills from the regular school year.



Natalie did lots of fun things during the school day, and I know she enjoys every minute that she is there. It's good on so many levels...good that she is learning new skills, making new friends, going to new places and having new experiences. Here she is playing with one of her "sound puzzles."

This is Natalie's aide, Tracy. We LOVE her! She is so kind and caring and takes such good care of our little girl. It takes special people to do the work they do in the classroom with these little kiddos---and Tracy is one of the best. Isn't she beautiful?? :) We will see her again in August, as she will be Natalie's aide again next year.

Natalie is becoming much more accepting of normal foods, although she still doesn't exclusively spoon feed. She has learned lots of new great skills in school this year, and now she is doing a good job of eating pudding, graham crackers and some other foods. I would love to get her away from the bottle in the next year. That would be wonderful! :)
We have a date set for Mayo Clinic--it's August 16th. Natalie will see a neurologist there, but I'm not sure who else she is scheduled to see at this point. We are anticipating a letter in the mail tomorrow to explain what is planned for her. We are really excited to meet a new neurologist who can get a fresh take on what's going on in Natalie's head. I'll have much more on that later.


Tomorrow is also a big day for Natalie---she gets to ride her favorite horse, Lucy, again! It's the hippotherapy program that she took part in last year. I'm excited to see what she thinks of it this year. We haven't seen her physical therapist, Nancy, since Natalie started school. We're looking forward to seeing her again as well. I will hopefully have pictures for you tomorrow!


This is a photo from last year:

Welcome to Natalie's New Website!

I feel like I'm leaving behind a best friend by jumping from CaringBridge to Blogger. As wonderful as Caringbridge was for us during those first few months of Natalie's life, a lot has changed technology-wise since 2006.

Unfortunately, Caringbridge is not a great place to share pictures and to customize a page, so this is where I will now post any updates for Miss Natalie B. I will be able to share more pictures with you because it's so much easier to upload photos here. You can become a follower of Natalie's Web site, just as you could on Caringbridge. I really hope you will continue to follow Natalie! There are many things happening for her in the near future. If you have any questions---let me know!

Of course, I will try to get as many updates on here as possible, but remember that things are busy around this household, so I'm not always great at doing things in a timely fashion! :)

Rest assured, ALL of the entries left at Natalie's OLD Web site will be printed and kept in her baby book (or at least with it!). We love hearing from all of you, so continue to comment on her progress.

This is a new beginning for Natalie and her amazing story and journey through life. We hope you will follow along with us on this crazy ride!!