Summer is here

As a stay at home Mom it’s a challenge to find ways to entertain a toddler, especially now that it’s getting so hot. I decided to host a back yard baby pool party and we had SO MUCH fun! I seem to have quite the little explorer on my hands. While most of the kiddos are playing in the pool on or our climber, Bella is on the outskirts of the yard picking up leaves, pine needles and acorns, completely oblivious to the fact that there are 15 people in her back yard. 🙂

Bella had her first fla-vor-ice popsicle. She loves em!


More pictures on Picasa. Link on the right.

Easter 2011

We had a very nice Easter with family and friends. My SAHMommy friend, Amber, had a easter egg hunt play date. Bella and I had so much fun! This was her first egg hunt and it took a little while to get the idea of it. She likes to empty the basket. 🙂 *click here for video* We also had a nice dinner Easter Sunday over at my folks house. Bella looked so pretty in her Easter dress!
The Easter Bunny brought Bella a new bunny friend. Thanks Easter Bunny!

Time Out

We have started ‘implementing’ Time Out with Bella. They say one minute for every year of their age is the appropriate time length. By the third time she was placed on the time out mat she stayed there the entire 60 seconds. Every now and then she gets her hand slapped but I would prefer to use Time Out if it is effective. After each time out, I pick her up, tell her I love her, and explain why she was placed in time out.

So last night Bella and I were in the bathroom cleaning up after bath time. She likes to play with the toilet paper holder. (toilet paper roll has been placed up high because she likes to teepee the house) 🙂 Well last night she was hanging from the holder like a monkey and I could hear it start to pull away from the wall. I holler NO and give her hand a slap, and then escort her out of the bathroom. Well she escorted herself over to the time out mat and sat down. I didn’t know whether to pick her up and hug her or leave her there for a minute. So, I left her there. Hey, she volunteered, right? Anyway it was sooo cute but it is also nice to see she is beginning to recognize right and wrong and the consequences of each.

Home projects

April was a back breaking month. Our front yard needed some serious attention! Two weekends we(mostly my husband, the muscle man) spent tearing out the old yucky bushes and putting in some new pretty blooming plants. We surrounded the new lovelies with some nice stone bricks that match the color of the house. It looks soooo much better! Heck bare nothing looked better than what was in there. 🙂

We also wanted a swing for sweet Bella for the backyard so we built one. It’s not the greatest design but it’s only intended to last a couple of years till we get Bella a full sized play set. We have one swing on it now and will add a bucket swing next to this one. The first time she saw it she flapped her arms and squealed with delight. I love that we can walk right out our back door and play.

Random Cuteness

Here are some random pics of Bella I hope you will enjoy! (click on each photo to enlarge)

Bella's new wheels

Childhood Treasures

My folks have a few items they have saved for YEARS so that we (my sisters and I) could benefit from saving some money and for the sweetness of passing their childhood treasures on to us. Last month my husband and I went up into their attic and brought down a few items.
This is a thirty+ year old table that my sisters and I used when we were young. Because the stain is so worn and because my baby sister has carved her initials all over it 🙂 we decided to give it a face lift. (click on photos to enlarge)



This chair was my father’s when he was a young. It’s amazing that it looks this good after 60 years!

Bella really enjoys the chair!

So does her brother Bonito!

Thank you Mom and Dad for saving these treasures for Baby Bella to enjoy!
[please click on the Picasa link on the right to see NEW photos from Feb and March]

13 Months

February was a fun month with Bella. She constantly shows us she is learning and growing mentally and physically which is so amazing to watch. We continue to practice Baby Signs with her and she now signs Milk, Bath, Food, and Please. Well, turns out Please was just a one handed Bath but we’ll get there. 🙂 She also showed us her coordination is getting better by showing us she can kick a soccer ball. She can even dribble. [Soccer Video] Woohoo Bella! I’m so proud of you!
[click photos to enlarge]

my beautiful girl

Here is a video of Bella walking and chattering. She is saying DaDaDaDa through out the video and when I ask her to say MaMa the music on her toy plays a sad melody, as if it’s mocking me. 🙂 [chatter video] Please check Picasa for TONS more pics!

Happy Birthday Bella!!

Bella turned ONE on 1/30/11! I can’t believe what a year it’s been. I am living a dream, spending my days with the greatest girl in the world, my little gift from God, Bella Marie!
We celebrated with two birthday parties. On the 28th, we had a Handy Many party with Bella’s playdate friends. We’ve had the honor of meeting some great Moms and babes through an area mommy group. We invited them over and the babies played and the mommies chatted. I found a recipe for egg-free cupcakes and I found an idea for cute decorations and I am so pleased with the results.

On the 30th, we had a party with both Oscar and my families. We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers.

It was hilarious to watch Bella with her first cupcake. At first she just looked at it. Then she took a whole fist of icing and then just picked up the entire cupcake and took a bite. She was so funny!

I think she had a great weekend! Here is a great photo my Mom took to leave you with. My beautiful brown eyed girl.

11 Months Highlights

For months I have been practicing baby signs with Bella and at 11 months old Bella made the “milk” sign. We made a big deal about it and she got real excited. 🙂 CLICK HERE for a video of her signing .
For almost her entire 11th month Bella was very attached to her Papa. Sometimes he was the only one that could get her to sleep at night. It was very sweet to see them so lovey with each other. I love my husband!
Favorite songs: Twinkle, Twinkle and Itsy Bitsy Spider.
Her fine motor skills are coming along. She clapped for the first time and can direct a ball into a circle hole. CLICK HERE to see video.
A friend is letting us borrow the first DVD of Your Baby Can Read and Bella has started repeating what they are doing on the show. Clap, Arms Up, Wave. It’s awesome to see her understanding what she’s hearing.

10 Months Highlights

In December Bella gained strength and confidence in walking. She started the month walking 8-9 steps at a time and before the month was up she was walking all over the house.

We had her photo taken with Santa and to my surprise she was a pro, no tears. She just looked at him and his incredibly long beard with curious wonder.

On 12/5 Bella got her first tooth! Woohoo!

On 12/14 Bella made the connection with waving as a form of communication. I was in the kitchen and she was in the living room and we waved back and forth to each other for 2-3 minutes. It was so cute!!

Bella and I go to the park as much as possible and when I let her walk around she LOVES to pick up leaves. She walks around with one leaf in each hand, only dropping one to pick up another. My little outdoorsy girl. 🙂

It was so much fun to have Bella with us at Christmas. I love getting together with immediate and extended family at Christmas and Bella’s smile and laugh made it even better.

On 12/31 Bella had her first ride on a Carousel. I think she enjoyed it. She didn’t cry but she didn’t get too excited either. I think she just loves to soak it all in. 🙂