Bella 10 months old

Wow 10 months already? Seriously? I just can't imagine life without you my sweet darling Bella.

Bella,

You are the joy in my life. I long to get home everyday to see your sweet smiling face. When I come home I usually walk into the room and say "Baby!" and you turn to face me with the biggest smile on your face and then crawl over to me super fast while giggling. Melts.My.Heart!

You are saying "mama" "dada" "baba" "dydy (bye bye)" and sometimes "papa". Plus a lot of other stuff that we can't make out but I am sure you "think" you are saying something really important. You have started to mock people around you. It is soooo stinkin' funny! You will babble to us and then start giggling at yourself like you said something so very funny. Cutest thing ever!

You are starting to eat table food really well. You LOVE bread of any kind. Cheerios, puffs, lima beans, peas, green beans, bananas (occasionally) are some of the things you like. Of course you also LOVE french fries and tator tots. (Yes, I occasionally give my baby french fries and food that is bad for her) :) You are great at self-feeding.

You are such a chunk. You weigh about 23 lbs now. You are wearing only 12-18 month clothes. Size 4 diapers. Size 3/4 shoes.

You are still a total bottle baby but you are adjusting to your sippy cup really well.

No walking yet but you can stand unassisted for about 10 seconds or unti you realize you aren't holding on to anything. You do walk while holding on to things like mommy/daddys hands, the couch, the chair or your push walker. You are a super speedy crawler. Into everything. You think that everything anybody has is yours to put in your mouth :) I would not trade you for the world!

Bella please keep growing and being the wonderful daughter that you are. My life is incomplete without you. I love you so much baby girl.

-Mommy & Daddy

Quirks and Odd Things About Me

I have them. Quirks that is.

I would much rather drink water out of a paper cup than a water bottle.

I can not stand to have one eye open and the other not..it makes my eyes feel "off balance".

I do not drive in the center lane of any highway, freeway or road because it scares me.

I am scared of the dark. I will literally run for my life if I have to go to my car when it is dark outside. Sad, I know.

Letters that are folded more than two times in an envelope drive me crazy.

Envelopes that are taped shut make me cringe.

If I am waiting for something through email, I will literally check my email every 10 minutes until I get it. Pathetic right?

Out of place eyebrows bother me.

I do not drink regular white milk...has to have some sort of flavoring in it. For some reason, plain white milk smells spoiled to me (even though it isnt!)

Ok so now you know something(s) odd about me :)

Life Thoughts

I received these in an email from my mom and I thought I would share this little bit of humor with you fine people today:

I saw a woman wearing a sweat shirt with 'Guess' on it.
So I said 'Implants?'  She hit me.

Marriage changes passion.
Suddenly you're in bed with a relative.

Now that food has replaced sex in my life, I can't even get into my own pants.

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and over fifty for Miss America  ?

When I was young we used to go 'skinny dipping,' now I just 'chunky dunk.'

I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose fitting clothing.  If I HAD any loose fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place!

Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life we could simply press 'Ctrl Alt Delete' and start all over?  AMEN, AMEN!

Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference.

Wouldn't you know it....
Brain cells come and brain cells go, but FAT cells live forever.

Why is it that our children can't read a Bible in school, but they can in prison?
A completely brilliant question!!!!!!!

Bumper sticker of the year:
'If you can read this, thank a teacher -
and, since it's in English, thank a soldier'

Why do I have to swear on the Bible in court when the Ten Commandments cannot be displayed outside?
Another completely brilliant question!!!!

I hope you are all having a fantabulous Tuesday so far! :)

Bella & Logan

About two months after I found out I was pregnant, my friend and co-worker Jessica also found out she was pregnant! We got to be pregnant together for most of our pregnancy. It was really neat to compare notes on things. It was usually her asking me "did this happen to you?" or "is this normal?" since I was a few months ahead of her. She had a little boy Logan Alan born on 10/10/10 (awesome birthdate huh?) and then of course I had a little girl Isabella Grace born on 07/30/10. They finally got to meet a few weeks ago (I know we are horrible for not introducing them before now) So here are their pictures we took that day. Logan is almost as big as Bella and he is 2 1/2 months younger :) ha!

Logan seriously is the most laid back, content baby you will ever meet. Jessica can have him in her office for hours and no one even know! You would know in about 1.2 seconds if Bella was anywhere near our office because she is so loud and into EVERYTHING! :)

Best buds.

They were oh so cute together. We are going to have some play dates this Summer hopefully. Bella has to teach Logan how to crawl :)

A Perfect Day

We had such a lovely Saturday today (with no rapture!..ha!) We (the kids made me) woke up early. The big kids had blueberry waffles (frozen..don't assume I cook much because I am a terrible cook! ha!) and a banana with milk for breakfast. Bella had cheerios and some banana (plus a smidge of mommy's grits...yummmmm)

After breakfast we watched some tv and hung out for a little bit. Then we loaded up on our bikes (and stroller) and headed across the street to elementary school playground. We just moved into our new house two weeks ago so this was our first adventure (of many I am sure!) to the playground. It was a lot of fun :)

After the playground, we had a picnic on our picnic table in the yard. Then played some more, had dinner, played some more and had baths :) Now the girlies are in bed, Elijah is downstairs with Papaw, Noah is working on his ministry stuff and I am blogging.

Happy Saturday!

Preschool Graduation

*Her hat kept falling off...I tried motioning to her to push it back up but she just kept smiling like she had been practicing. It was so funny and cute*

On Wednesday, May 18th, Kirsten had her preschool graduation. I can't believe our big girl is going to be in kindergarten next year. She has grown so much since I met her. Kirsten has really become much more independent over the past few months and is such a great big sister to Bella. She keeps Bella entertained when she is at our house.

Kirsten,

Daddy and I are so proud of you. You have become such a great little girl with a sweet prissy personality. You could not be more prissy and girly if you tried :) You are going to do great in kindergarten. We can't wait to see you grow more.

Daddy & Cori

Help me Choose Bella's Birthday Cake :)

Please vote and help me choose which cake you like best for Bella's 1st Birthday. Obviously the theme is owls :) I know it is 2 1/2 months away but I just like to plan! ha. So in the comments let me know which one you like best:

Option 1:


Option 2:

Option 3:

Thanks so much for all your help.

I have a friend making Bella's 1st Birthday outfit and I will post pictures of it when I get it :) I am having so much fun planning this! I can't believe it is almost time to celebrate her birth! Such a magical time in my life.

Easter Part 2

Here are the much anticipated (oh you haven't been waiting patiently at your computer for them?) pictures of Easter. Shockingly (sarcasm) we didn't get a single family portrait on Easter.



Mommy (sans makeup) and Bella.

Kirsten and her Easter bunny.

Could she be any more beautiful? I think not!

Bella with her "My First Easter" bunny :)

Can we say precious-ness? :)

Baby B playing with the kittens. (they no longer reside at our home in case you were wondering)

My big babies :)

Mr. Handsome (who refuses to smile at the camera for pictures)

Well at least we got this semi-goofy smile!

Attempt No. 1 at getting all three in a picture.

SUCCESS!! Love this one :)

I love all my beautiful babies so much. My life is so blessed.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” – Phil 4:19

Easter Part 1

Yep, I am that far behind in my blogging that I am just blogging about Easter! ahhh! Here are pictures of the kiddos (oldest to youngest) opening their Easter baskets on Easter morning. I will do a post with their Easter best on after this one (hence the Part 1 in the title) :)

Enjoy :)

Sweet Elijah:


Water gun!

3D coloring book!

coloring book again..plus candy in the basket.

Silly Kirsten:

With her bunny, basket and treats.

With her coloring book :)

Opening her "little purse" (it is actually a lipstick holder in the shape of a purse that I thought was too cute) :)


Baby Bella:

Bella in her "My First Easter" bib!

Checkin' out the goods.

Elijah helping her open her gifts...she got Beauty and the Beast (my personal fave!)

We had a great Easter just spending time with the kiddos and loving on them. :)

JFC Designs

I have posted before about my husband's ministry Jesus For Change. He has now started a new company that is directly linked to Jesus For Change called JFC Designs. He designs websites, flyers, business cards, etc. If you need any graphic design just contact him. He even does website hosting!

Email him for all details :)

My Best Friend's Wedding

On April 30th, 2011, my best friend, Lesley married her dream man, Will. I love them both to pieces and could not possibly find anyone better for each of them! Will is the sweetest man and he is so good to my Lesley! Just love them both!

You may kiss the bride!


Lesley and I playing around before the wedding.

The beautiful bride!!!

The groom, Will, and me :)

Love her to death!

Playing around in the car on the 3 hour drive to the wedding :)

My ever-so-handsome husband and I! We had a blast! That was only the 2nd time I had been away from my sweet Bella overnight. We had fun having "adult time" :) ha!