Things Bella likes to play with...

...that are not her toys!



1. Power tools. This morning I walked in our room after showering and Bella was trying to get to a screw driver that was left out from hanging pictures the day before. I tried to get her to come and play with her rubby ducky and fishies but she refused. She kept running (crawling really fast rather) back over to that screw driver. I eventually had to place it where she could not find it!


2. Cords. Yes, I know I have blogged about this before but sheesh this child is almost impossible to keep away from cords in our house! Absolutely insane. I am almost certain that she b-lines for them as soon as I put her down in any room. She usually knows where they are in any room too..smart little child.

3. All of mommy's hair products. Every morning when I am getting ready she raids my hair product drawer (probably because it is the lowest one..but it is better than having the makeup drawer down there..can you imagine?) But instead of just playing with my brushes and combs she goes for the things that spray. Yesterday she sprayed her body with hairspray! Then thought it was extremely funny :)

What things do your babies/kids play with aren't their toys? :)

11 months!

Bella,


You are 11 months old! My oh my how time has passed by so quickly in front of our eyes. In one short month we will be celebrating the day of your birth! I remember so vividly like it was yesterday.


You are about 22 lbs (estimated). You wear anywhere from size 12 months to 24 months clothes. Size 4 diapers. Size 3 shoes.


You took your first steps recently . And since then have taken several more. You can walk just holding one hand of someone and cruise around the furniture constantly. I am sure you will be taking off and walking on your own all the time very soon!

You are a great eater...you beg (like a puppy dog) for our food when we are eating. You still have baby food occasionally but mostly it is table food. You are completely off formula, whole milk is all you drink now. I have almost weaned you from your day time bottle into a sippy. You are still getting used to that. However, you still take your morning and night time bottles. I will try and wean the morning one very soon. It won't be easy because you are definitely a "bottle baby" :)

You have two teeth on bottom in the middle and your top left eyetooth is coming in.

Words you can say:

Dada
Mama
Papa
Baba (bottle)
dydy (bye bye)
baby

You wave bye bye (when you feel up to it). You much prefer to be barefoot and naked than to have clothes/shoes on! We have not had an issue with you taking off diapers yet. I hope that is something you never do! ha ha.

Kirsten and Elijah are your favorite toys. You think they are the best thing since sliced bread (which you love by the way).

You have a ton of hair and it seems to be changing to a reddish/brown color. You have the prettiest brown eyes ever!

Bella, you are so loved. We can not fathom life without you. Continue to grow into a such a beautiful toddler!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Exciting News :)

I wanted to get this down on my blog tonight!

Are you ready? Brace yourself...
















BELLA TOOK HER FIRST STEPS TONIGHT! :)

I am super excited. She took 2 then took 1 more after that. I was yelling and it scared her then she refused to take any more. My baby girl is getting so big. It all happened so fast that I didn't get video or pictures :( I will be sure to next time though.

The first time she was walking towards me and the second time she was walking towards daddy who was tempting her with the cell phone (which she loooooooves!)

Yay Bella! We are sooo proud of you!

Bella's Birthday Outfit

My very good friend Cadie owns a business called Babee Producks :) You should definitely check her stuff out. She custom makes everything and anything. Bella has 4 shirts from her now. She made this outfit for Bella's first birthday. I LOVE it. It is so bittersweet to be planning her birthday.

Here is the cake/cupcake we chose for her party too.

I had a personalized banner and centerpieces created for her party by Piggy Bank Parties on Etsy. (Have I mentioned before that I Loooooooove Etsy?) I will try and upload those images later.

I will try and get our vacation pictures uploaded tonight..no promises though.

The "Sneaker"

Bella has become a little "sneak". She has started to climb up on the couch...over the arm of the couch and onto our side table to get something she wants.


What did she want you say?
Oh just to chew on the top of her teething medicine bottle...that is all :) Guess her poor "teefies" were hurting her.

Yes, she is such a mess :)

Oh my heavens! How could you be mad at a face like that? Especially when she is missing one sock! ha :)

Oh what a difference a year can make

Me last year in June.

I was a little “rounder” then :) I am totally missing my preggo days! I crave being pregnant again and having another baby. Hubby and I are waiting though.

Happy Wednesday!

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

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 :)

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.

Learning

Bella has learned a few new "tricks" lately:

How to clap:





Where her tongue is:

How to climb the stairs:

(note the tongue again!...so cute!)

I love watching her learn and grow! She also stands for several seconds at a time but it is almost impossible to catch her doing that with the camera! :)

Bella 9 months old!

Bella,

You are 9 months old today! Time sure flies when you are having fun. I love you so much precious girl.

-Weigh 21 lbs (official doctor appt next week and we will see your percentiles then)
-Size 4 diapers (just changed you to 4s this week)
-Size 12-18 months clothes (some 9-12 month but not many)
-Size 3 shoes

You pull up on everything and think everything is yours to put in your mouth. ha! You eat all your baby food soooo good now (except peas). You now take three 8 ounce bottles a day. You have baby food three times a day and one 4 ounce bottle of juice. You love baby yogurt (any flavor) :)

You are a zippy fast crawler and you can walk when holding on to something. You don't do it often but you can do it. You love to act like you want someone to pick you up and then when they do you wiggle so much that they have to put you down for fear of dropping you! ha.

You are a great sleeper. You adore your older brother and sister. You think you are big like them. You would much rather play with an empty pepsi bottle, remote control, or piece of paper than your actual toys. You don't like getting in your bouncy chair anymore until you have been in there for a minute. I think it is because you do not like being contained to one spot.

You are such a wiggle worm. Getting you dressed, changing your diaper, or anything that requires you to hold still is a huge challenge these days.

We love you more than words can express Isabella Grace. You are the light of my life. We love you forever and always.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Bella's First Easter Bunny Photo

Sisters

Yep, this is my 3rd post today. I am trying to get caught up on some blogging ha! :)

Here are some pictures of my pretty girls! (Yes, they still have a brother but he refuses to be in pictures these days and I choose to pick my  battles..ha!) I took these a couple of Sundays ago before we headed to church. Kirsten LOVES dresses and putting bows in her hair..I always give her a couple of options of bows and let her pick which one. She is always so proud :) Can’t believe that sweet girl is going to be 5 in ONE week! *sigh****Time sure does fly!

B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L! :)

“I am going to eat this couch mommy!”

Big girl!

Scrunchy face.

Whoaaaa, I am falling over!

My new screensaver on my computer! LOVE this one…such sweet girls!!

Love Bella’s face in this one.

Bella more interested in the arm of the chair than in mommy taking pictures.

I think Kirsten was telling Bella “let go of my dress please” in this picture :)

Kirsten is an awesome big sister. She dotes on Bella and just loves being around her. She gets Bella which toy she “wants” which is usually the toy Kirsten “wants” to play with too! ha ha. Love these two girls (and their big brother of course!) so very much!

Bella, the Daddy’s Girl!

My baby girl is a complete Daddy’s Girl! and trust me..I LOVE it :) I have always been a daddy’s girl and I love that she is one too. Nothing like a Southern Daddy’s Girl! ha.

 

Lounging with Daddy on the couch.

      

Daddy cuddles :)

Yummy nose! She loves to put anything and everything she can reach into her mouth..not excluding her daddy’s (and mommy’s) noses :) ha!

My 2 loves :)

Bella’s First Valentine’s Day!

Of course we didn’t “do” anything special for Valentine’s Day for Bella because she is only 6 months old but I could not resist the urge to dress her up in a “Valentine’s Day outfit” :) ha! So here are the only pictures I got of her. She was being a little stubborn that morning. These were actually taken Sunday, the day before Valentine’s Day before going to church.

 

    

I just love these leggings from Briar Claire.

Her adorable shirt was made by my good friend at Babee Producks.

Her beautiful bow is from Violet's Velvet Box. She has some awesome creations for a great price!

On Valentine’s Day, my mother-in-law kept Bella for us while Noah and I went to eat at one of our favorite restaurants Osaka! Nothing eventful for us. We are pretty simple. We don’t buy gifts, mostly because it is pointless :) ha!

Hope you all had a Happy Valentine’s Day!