Miss Bella Bee

Too good to be true...

2010-02-09T14:55:00.001-08:00

Bell, woke up on the wrong side of bed again today after her nap, but is having none of this going back to bed after a snuggle stuff like yesterday. It was a super short nap as well after a very busy morning so it looks like it is going to be a VERY longer afternoon... :( I'm still going cross my fingers that the next time this happens she will remember how great she felt yesterday after going back to bed for a while.

Back to sleep...

2010-02-08T14:47:00.000-08:00

Today, Bella woke up from an hour long nap, on the wrong side of bed. I went in to check on her and she was screaming and whining inconsolably. We snuggled and took off her pull-up but she was still super distraught. She climbed out of my arms, found her soother and crawled right back into bed. I asked her if she wanted to go back to sleep and she said "yes", so on again went the pull-up. An hour and a half later she came out of her room chipper as can be, and ready to get on with her afternoon. How amazing is that?? She knew she wasn't ready to get up, just needed to snuggle for a minute and put herself back to sleep because she wanted to be in a better mood. Now, I just have to cross my fingers that she will remember this the next time she wakes up on the wrong side of bed...here's hoping.

Picture with Santa

2009-12-16T13:46:00.000-08:00

We went to visit Santa with some friends this year. Most of them went ahead of her and were very brave while sitting on his lap. Bell was pretty nervous but warmed up a little bit after he Santa gave her a present. She looks like a deer caught in headlights, but at least she isn't screaming in terror this year.

The silly things we do as parents... We tell our kids not to talk to strangers, but at Christmas time we convince them to sit on a strange man's lap and smile for the camera :)

Gingerbread House..

2009-12-13T13:58:00.000-08:00

Bella and Eli had a fantastic time decorating a gingerbread house, and were happy playing for more than an hour. Asking for more "glue" for them to be able apply the candies with - periodically we would spin the house so that they would decorate more than one spot. They even managed to keep the area pretty neat and tidy...I was thankful for the easy cleanup :)

What was most surprising about whole morning, was that these little 2 1/2 year olds played with candy all morning and neither one ate a single piece.

It's a...

2009-11-11T19:07:00.000-08:00

On the drive to the ultrasound appointment, Gabe and I were talking how sad it would be to not see all of Bella's clothes again if this one turned out to be a boy. I have felt different this pregnancy so thought maybe it could be a boy, but I really have no idea. We would love to have one of each, but would be happy either way.

After a long wait at the office the tech and doctor confirmed that this little one is a girl!!

Bell can't wait to meet her new baby sister. Gabe and I were a little sad for maybe 30 seconds or so knowing that we wouldn't have a boy, but that passed quickly knowing we will have a wonderful little girl - plus getting to see all of those cute clothes again..

Baby girl looks healthy as can be, and is measuring in the 50th percentile. At 20 weeks Bella measured in the 50th percentile as well, but ended up in the 97th when she was actually born. That could have been because of all the Swedish fish and Gummie Bears I ate in my last weeks of pregnancy though :) We'll just have to wait and see if we have another chunky monkey on our hands...

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-31T14:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween - Love Miss Bella Bee!

Thanks for much for the fantastic costume Kris and Tony.

Play group Halloween Party

2009-10-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

Our Halloween / baking swap party was at Caroline's this year. The parents and kids had a fantastic time - of course : ) Poor Ben, had a fever so we are missing our ghost.

We asked the kids to line up, but apparently they thought it was for a police line up, with them all evenly spread apart. We asked them to get a little closer and this is as far as we could get them... Soon enough Grace and Bell will be fighting the boys off : )

Costumes -
Issac - a Dragon
Grace - a Green Duck
Peter - a Fireman
Sawyer - a bottle of Ketchup
Bella - Woody (from Toy Story)
Eli - an Elephant (not shown is the fantastic padded butt of his costume)

Why..

2009-10-06T17:44:00.000-07:00

Bell has started questioning everything..."why, why why." We thought this had started a couple of weeks ago, boy were we wrong. Then, she would question something and be done with it for the most part, and this would happen a couple of times a day. Now, it is a constant "why, why, why"... My strategy in dealing with it, without making myself crazy it to; on the first "why" I answer the question, and then on the second "why", turn it around and ask her "why." Her standard response is "I don't know" - I thought I had a couple of years before we started getting that response to everything :) Wish me luck not going off the deep end in the land of why's...

Purple Make-up

2009-09-30T14:11:00.000-07:00

Bella loves make-up, she is quite the girly girl! Almost everyday she asks for either the purple or pink make-up I keep in my purse. "Mama, purple make-up please". She has her own "make-up" (chapstick) that she is allowed to use anytime, but of course Mama's is way better.

Kiss Baby?

2009-07-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

Bell asked to "kiss baby" in my belly today, I told her that Mama didn't have a baby. How weird is that, I'm only a couple of weeks along - how does she know already? I'm not sure if she was just asking because of Aunt Karen's baby in her belly, or because of all of my pregnant friends. I don't think she could have overheard me telling anyone, seeing as we haven't told many people. I wonder if she is just an intuitive cookie???

We passed...

2009-07-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

So this morning I felt a little funny, so I thought why not take a pregnancy test and see. I was super confused by the results though. The control line showed up super dark, the negative line a little lighter but the line that would make up the plus was super faint. I showed the test to Gabe and we were both "uhh I dunno". We looked at the package instructions to see they were going to be of anymore help - but nope. I didn't have another test, so we would just have to wait a while. This afternoon I bought two more tests, from a different manufacturer. I took the second test and failed miserably, the control line didn't even appear! Seriously, who can't pee on a stick correctly? Apparently me : ) A couple of hours later I took the third test, and what do you know I passed! So it looks like Bell will be a big sister this Spring! Needless, to say we are pretty excited. The due date is March 30th, Bella's birthday - so hopefully it will be a little late so they don't have to share a birthday.

Wait for me!

2009-07-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

Bella's latest phrase is "wait for me", sometimes it is "wait for me, guys". She says it at the funniest times as well; jumping into the shower, leaving a room, or just her line of sight... It is so funny, we have no idea where she got this one.

What are you trying to say?

2009-07-08T22:27:00.000-07:00

Up until a couple of days ago Bell spoke so clearly that it seemed very seldom that I didn't understand what she was trying to say. Lately, it has been a lot more difficult, she has added a new twist to her English language skills. Adding IE to the end of almost everything she says; soothie (soother), campie (camping), juicie (juice), bathie (bath), tubbie (tub), cuppie (cup), milkie (milk), etc... Thankfully, we have figured out this new code so we are having an easier time understanding out little Linguist.

My make-up

2009-06-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

Aunt Karen was here this weekend, and was using a lip gloss that Bell was very excited about. Up until this point I have only let Bell play with chap stick. She calls chap stick her make-up and plays with every morning while I do my own make up. When Karen left she gave Bell the lip gloss - best gift ever as far as she is concerned. She takes it with her everywhere! She is so crazy about her make-up that, she won't leave the house without "my make-up, my make-up" and won't go to sleep without clutching it in her little fist. Now, chap stick is nothing in comparison to the amazing newness of lip gloss.

788 days later...

2009-05-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

788 days in and finally Bell stayed in her bed until 6am today! What a dream, who knows how long it will last but at least it happened...maybe this means it will happen again sometime : ) She still woke up a couple of times before Gabe came to bed. Asking for water and needing to be tucked in again, she goes back to sleep so easily then, that is barely counts. Plus, I'm asleep then, so it really doesn't count for me : ) We are feeling so grateful with our current sleep situation, normally she just crawls into bed with us anywhere between 2 -5am. Now, if it is only going to get later and later in the morning - Fantastic!!

"Like Daddy"

2009-05-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

Warning: Kind of a gross topic.

Gabe has a bad cold right now. At times he is a little phlegmy so needs to clear his throat and spit. Gross, but whatever he's sick and he doesn't do it around me, so no big deal. Apparently, he has done it around Bella though. She now makes a gross noise, like she is trying to clear her throat and then tries to spit. Thankfully, she hasn't perfected the art of spitting because I think that make this new trick a little too gross. Once she is done, she says "like daddy".

Oops, whould have been better...

2009-05-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

We don't say "opps" enough at our house. Apparently, we use other expletives, and they have passed through our little girls ears, and now her mouth.

Setting the scene:
Me standing in the kitchen making dinner.
Gabe walking into our bedroom.
Bella following Gabe to the bedroom.

This is what I hear: Bella having a big "huff" then "F**king Christ"!

Gabe and I look at each other "did that actually come out of our 2 years olds mouth"? Neither of us said anything, we figured it would be better to just ignore it, and pretend it didn't happen. I burst out laughing two minutes later though, I couldn't hold it in any longer.

Not our proudest moment at parents, but at least it wasn't in public. Now, if we can just make sure she doesn't say it again. I guess it would help if we watched our mouths a little better :)

Number 16

2009-05-04T14:41:00.000-07:00

Tooth number 16 poked through sometime today. Gabe said that it must have been the explanation for all the wake ups last night. Now, that she is sleeping in her own bed it is Gabe who deals with the evening wake ups most of the time, so I knew nothing about them. Which I have to say is a beautiful thing : ) Too bad she didn't tell us that her teeth were hurting her though, we would have given her some Tylenol for the pain.

Mama's like daddy

2009-05-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

We recently shaved our heads and donated it to Locks of Love. Gabe did his a couple of days before I had mine done. Which is why Bell now says "Mama's like daddy," and comes over and rubs my bald head.

It is funny to think that Bella has the longest hair at our house now. We'll see how long that lasts : )

It is very liberating. Although, I do sometimes forget that I'm bald and wonder why people are staring at me. Kids give me some odds looks at the play ground these days : )

Matress fun..

2009-04-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

Playing "fort" with Uncle Drew

Bell loves when we have house guests. Not only does she get the extra attention from whomever is here to visit her, but she loves to play on the air mattress that they sleep on.

Early in the morning she comes out and snuggles with in Uncle Drew and Aunt Karen. Later on in the day they play "fort" with the mattress. Which means they crawl under the covers and tickle each other, with Bella giggling and squealing while saying "more, more".

Sometimes it is tough to tell what makes her sadder to say goodbye to, the guest or the air mattress.

Backpack baby

2009-04-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

Grammie made this fantastic backpack carrier for Bell to use with her babies. I carry Bell using this same style of carrier, so loves pretending to be Mama. She sings her babies the backpack song - which of course is adorable. "I'm a backpack baby, yes I am" and repeat. Thanks for the great gift Grammie!

Happy Birthday

2009-03-30T21:11:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Baby Bell! We love you more than you can imagine.

Good to bad fast...

2009-03-27T20:58:00.000-07:00

One of Bell's favourite things to do these days is to draw on the sidewalk with her chalk. After they finished drawing, Nana and Papa took her to an open house across the street - which is one of their favourite things to do : ) While they were looking around the house, Bell let out a man sized burp. Apparently, my mom thought it was my dad with no manners - nope that was our Bell. A couple of seconds later she started throwing up all over the place - poor thing! My dad came rushing home with Bell covered in vomit, to get her cleaned up. While mom stayed behind to clean up the mess. Thankfully, it was on the hard wood and not carpet. We are hoping that she just ate too many banana chips, and that it isn't the flu.

I'm a big girl now!

2009-03-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of weeks Bell hasn't been interested in sitting on the potty. Previously, she wanted to sit on the potty every time we changed her diaper. Which was great, no pressure, we just wanted her to have fun, even though she still hadn't produced anything.

Today things seemed to be a little different. Bell and I were taking a shower together this morning; she was making a strange face and playing with her bits. I asked her if she wanted to use the potty, "Ya"! I called for Gabe to bring us the potty. She sat on it in the shower while playing with her wall paints, and Gabe and I signing song with her. "I peed Mama"! She may never pee again, because she won't always have the fun of the shower, songs, and art :) Who knows what will happen, no pressure...

They grow up so fast!

2009-03-03T07:18:00.000-08:00

Part of my conversation with Bella this morning:

Bella: Money please, Mama.

Me: Here you are Bella. (Hand Bella my purse containing money, and keys)

Bella: Thank you Mama. Cards please, Mama

Me: Here you are Bella. (Hand Bella some old gift cards)

Bella: Ok bye, bye Mama. (Waves, signs I love you, and walks to the door)

Me: Where are you going?

Bella: Coffee with girlfriends! (Looking at me like I should have known this all along)

At least she knows what she needs to take with her when she meets the ladies : )

Mama, I fell...

2009-02-26T08:33:00.000-08:00

"Mama, Mama, I fell, I fell" is what I woke up to at 4:15 am this morning when Bell came strolling into our bedroom. She was calm and happy as can be, and seemed rather pleased with herself. I jumped out of bed, very confused with how this happened with my hearing about it on the monitor! I went to her room to see if she had thrown her blanket, dudes, and pillow out of her crib. Which is normally what she does when we take too long to come and get her. Nope, everything was still in it's place. She appears to have just woken up, decided she wanted milk and found her own way to come and get it....SCARY! My response to this is - No, Bella you climbed, you climbed....not cool!

We have now taken the rails off one side of her crib and we'll see how that goes. I'm not looking forward to her hopping out of bed all the time...I guess this is what happens when we let them grow up : ) We have a queen size bed in storage waiting for her if this crib conversion doesn't go as planned.

Finally!

2009-02-23T14:16:00.000-08:00

Bell has been trying for weeks to put her jacket on while only wearing a diaper. She ends up with it on backwards as though it is a straight jacket, and is confused as to why it isn't on correctly. Today, she finally got it on correctly - now if she could only get that pesky zipper.

Papa needs a hair cut.

2009-02-16T13:16:00.000-08:00

Bella loves to play "Mama", which means she walks around the house with my purse, keys, gift cards, and has now decided to add real paper money to the list. I don't usually carry cash with me, so the first time I gave her some it was a $5 or $20. I quickly decided that I needed to start carrying $1's, it would suck to lose more than a dollar or two at at time.

The first time she really looked at the one dollar bill she decided that George Washington was Papa, Papa, Papa! I'm taking that as a sign that Papa might need a hair cut : ) It is too cute, when she has the bill in her hand - she says "call Papa, call Nana and Papa". This happens quite often around 7am which is much too early to call. Which then turns into repeated "Nana, Papa seeping" for the rest of the morning!

Silence...

2009-02-03T19:45:00.000-08:00

While, I was on the phone today with "Kole" (Aunt Nicole), Bell was in the background chatting away, dancing, singing songs, and asking if she could talk to Kole. As soon as I gave her the phone she was silent and had know idea what to do. It's quite entertaining that she will pretend to talk on the phone all day long, but now when I give her the phone she is mesmerized and can't seem to remember what to do. She gives the phone a SMOOCH, says "bye bye, see you" to the person, signs "I love you" - and then hands it to me saying "Mama talk!"

Yesterday, she did the same thing. She asked me to call Nana so that she could talk - had nothing to say once we got on the phone. SMOOCH, "bye bye, see you", I love you - but then wouldn't hand the phone back to me. She needed Gabe to talk to Nana even though he has his hands full putting up shelves.

Kuse me!

2009-01-19T19:09:00.000-08:00

This morning Bell sneezed, and I said "bless you", she then went on to say "kuse me (excuse me)." What a polite little girl we have : )

Tomorrow Tomorrow!!

2009-01-16T17:59:00.000-08:00

We took Bell to her first play tonight, our friends son was in his school's production of Annie. We weren't really sure how she would do, because it didn't start until 7:30 - which is usually when she is in bed. She was sitting on our laps - so she was comfy as can be : ) After each song when the lights would go down she said "more, more"! About half way through when her friend Conor came on stage, she started trying to dance along to the choreography! It was so cute to watch her have such a great time! When the play was over, the people beside us said they couldn't decide what was more entertaining the production or watching her. Looks like we will have to search out some more kid friendly productions.

Crocs

2008-12-31T12:31:00.000-08:00

Bell loves her Crocs these days. I think they might be her favourite thing to wear. It's a little upsetting to her that she can't wear them outside right now with the snow and rain, so they have turned into house shoes. She is very proud in this photo having put on her socks and crocs on all by herself...who cares that they are on the wrong feet : )

Number 14!!

2008-12-29T17:46:00.000-08:00

Bell's fourth, first year molar arrived today! Pretty crazy to see her little mouth fill up with little white chompers!

Jingle Bells

2008-12-24T18:39:00.000-08:00

Bella has been singing Jingle Bells all day today. She says "Jingle bells" and then you can't really understand what she is saying, but what she is singing follows the rhythm of the song - it is so cute! She has also read The Sweet Smells of Christmas about 20 times today. The funny thing is, when we ask if she can smell each sticker - she sniffs each one and says "No, No", but then goes in for another sniff. Thanks Kris for the great book, she will love it for years to come, I'm sure.

Three Words!!

2008-12-22T18:27:00.000-08:00

When I was putting Bell to sleep tonight she ran out of her room and said "Bella be back"! She needed to run down the hall and give Daddy one last hug and kiss goodnight. This is the first time she has put together a three word sentence. She is getting so vocal these days - it's great to watch.

New attack style!

2008-12-19T20:23:00.000-08:00

While we were at the mall play area today, Bell came up with a new way to attack kids. She would hug them around the neck squeezing so tight they would get scared. It is better than pulling hair, but still not the best way for her to interact with kids. She just wants to play with them, and love them....poor thing! Now, I'm going to try and teach her to hug around the body, instead of the neck - and ask before hugging....wish me luck : )

Diaper Changes...

2008-12-12T20:21:00.000-08:00

Bell loves to play mommy! She has now started changing her babies diaper. She uses lots of wipes, but can't quite manage the whole diaper thing yet : )

Best present so far!

2008-12-11T17:59:00.000-08:00

Bell's presents from her Grammie (Gabe's mom) arrived in this box earlier this week. She has been playing with it ever since. Climbing inside, pushing it around the house, loading it up with all her toys... I wonder if she will like any of her "real" Christmas presents as much : )

Shake Shake!!

2008-12-08T14:27:00.000-08:00

Bell was in heaven today - I let her have some of my Egg Nog milkshake. More shake, more shake! I took a great picture of her - now I just have to figure out how to get it off my phone.

Artistic...

2008-12-05T14:19:00.000-08:00

Gabe taking fun family photo's!

Number 13

2008-12-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

We have been waiting for Bella's bottom right molar to come through for the past couple of weeks. Today when I checked to see if it had come through, I found that we were still waiting, but the upper one arrived without my knowing it! Poor thing has been in so much pain - hopefully it will all end soon!

2 hrs and 15min and 13.1 Miles later...

2008-11-30T18:53:00.001-08:00

Bell and I after running the Seattle half marathon today. 2:15 was my time, I'm quite pleased with myself...my goal was 2:30. Three months ago I decided I was going to do this and started training although I'm not a runner. It has been a goal of mine to run a marathon for years - so this was my start. I had a great time, and felt really good the whole way. I plan on running the full marathon this summer, so after a short break I will begin training again.

I guess I'm now a runner : )

New Love...

2008-11-29T18:53:00.000-08:00

We set up the Christmas tree the other day. Such an awesome feeling to have it all decorated in our first home!! Bella loves kissing all of the decorations. She goes over to the tree says "saaf, saaf" (soft, soft), then grabs one of the decorations and goes in for big smooch.

New addiction...

2008-11-28T15:43:00.000-08:00

We let Bell watch Curious George a few weeks ago and now she is addicted. She would be happy if we let her watch "George, George, George" all day every day!! When we are out she talks about George, and makes the sign for monkey all the time... Who knows know long this addiction will last - at least the sound track is cute : )

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T18:42:00.001-08:00

My mom and dad made me this great Thanksgiving dinner; prime rib roast, lemon green beans, squash puree, roasted potatoes and onions! It looked delicious but all but the only thing I wanted to eat was onions - I'm a strange 19 month old : )

Love, Bell

Smile..

2008-11-26T17:18:00.001-08:00

This is what Bell looks like when we ask her to smile....funny little thing! One day she will learn : )

Not cool...

2008-11-25T09:20:00.000-08:00

For the past three nights at 6:30, Bell has started spitting in her hand and then saying "gross". Then looks for a napkin to wipe her hands with. How she picked this up we have no idea - but we can cross our fingers that at 6:30 tonight it won't happen : )

Always on her mind

2008-11-24T20:02:00.000-08:00

Last week I took Bell to the zoo to visit with the animals. Ever since she hasn't stopped talking about feeding the pac's (alpaca's), so today we decided to take her for another visit. Now she can't stop talking about pac's and the deer! She gets to the point of almost being asleep and then stands up and says, "pac, deer, foo" and then goes to sleep. It is pretty hilarious. She won't feed them herself, she just likes to take the food out of the bag, and then give it to me to give to the animals. We will be getting good use out of our membership.

Number 12

2008-11-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

Tooth number 11 arrived today. Maybe that is why she woke up in the middle of the night so many times talking about feeding the alpaca's : ) It was pretty funny knowing what she was dreaming about!!

Hand in hand...

2008-11-22T19:26:00.000-08:00

Bell can't seem to stop talking about holding Ben's hand. It comes up every hour or so - hopefully this doesn't mean she will be a stalker later in life : )

Kissing...

2008-11-21T18:38:00.001-08:00

How cute is this!!

Dr. Douglas

2008-11-20T17:47:00.000-08:00

Would it disturb you if your doctor walked into the exam room wearing her stethoscope around her waist? This is how Bell plays with it all the time. Regardless, of whether or not she is in a diaper, fully clothed or Halloween costume! She sure makes us laugh : )

Look at my belly!

2008-11-19T15:18:00.001-08:00

Bell showing off the stamp that she got at school!

How was your day?

2008-11-18T17:38:00.000-08:00

I was out with the ladies for my Mom's Night dinner last night - it was great...of course! While, I was out Gabe asked Bell how her day was - which is something he does everyday. She answered back saying she was at Claire's and that they have a cat. He knew that we were going over to her friend Claire's house that day but he had forgotten they have a cat. When I got home he asked if they had one - because she had said they did, and was talking about it all evening. How cool is that - she can tell us about her day!

Tree hugger...

2008-11-17T16:37:00.001-08:00

While we were at the park on Saturday (after my 10mile run - that's why I'm dressed that way) I asked Bell to hug a tree. I thought it would make for a funny picture. She wasn't super keen, but Gabe was able to get a couple of shots. Today while we were at the park, she kept on saying "hug, hug, hug"; it took me a while to realize she thought trees were called hug : ) I wonder how long it will take to teach her the correct word?

Play time

2008-11-16T09:47:00.001-08:00

This is what daddy daughter play time looks like! Gabe took this video one morning while I was sleeping in back in early September. I usually sleep in on Saturday and he gets Sunday - it is a perfect trade off!

Zoom Zoom

2008-11-15T18:44:00.000-08:00

Bella's favourite song today was Zoom Down the Freeway. On our drive home this afternoon it was the only song she wanted to sing. If we started to sing something else it was Noo Noo Noo - until we started zooming again. She sings along and does the hand gestures as well so it is pretty cute!!

Pho - yumm!

2008-11-14T17:48:00.000-08:00

Bell may have a new favourite food. This afternoon we had Pho for lunch, and Bell was in heaven! She would use her fingers to put the noodles into the Chinese style spoon, then try and eat the noodles out of the spoon. If she wasn't able to get the noodles out of the spoon with her mouth, she would then take them out with her fingers and plop them in her mouth. A little later on she figured out that if she sucked it would slurp into her mouth quite fast...loved it!! She was even a little disappointed when it was all gone.

New walk...

2008-11-13T15:53:00.000-08:00

Bella has been walking for months - she usually runs everywhere she goes. Today, while we were volunteering she was in the classroom and she started doing this strange new walk. She started walking across the room on her knees. She was upright, but walking/wobbling along on her knees, as though she had no feet. Not the fastest mode of transportation, but pretty cute to watch!

She has also started saying Tracey and Wendy names "Trace, and End"...

Track star in the making...

2008-11-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

A little back story...

I'm in training for the Seattle marathon at the end of the month. I'm only doing the half, but 13 miles is still further than I have run before. If all goes to plan, I will be running the Seattle Rock n' Roll marathon in June 2009 - the full 26 miles!

Why am I writing about this - and what does it have to do with Bella? She has taken to wearing my headband, running shoes, and running jacket around the house! Then wanting to drink my gatorade, while sorting through all of my gu's and powerbars! We have a little athlete in the making : )

Checking it twice...

2008-11-11T16:49:00.000-08:00

Bell, is currently sitting in the hallway reviewing all of today's receipts. She is following along each item line with her finger - making sure we weren't over charged : ) Our CFO in the making!!

Swibi Swibi!!

2008-11-10T18:42:00.000-08:00

Our girl loves to pretend! Today, I was walking down the hall and found her lying on the floor kicking her legs, saying "swibi, swibi" (swimming, swimming). Swimming in the bath tub is one of her favourite things to do, both on her front and back. Apparently, it is time for me to look into swimming classes, or taking her to the local pool!

Bed Hog!!

2008-11-09T18:25:00.001-08:00

This is one of the reasons why we transitioned Bell to her crib : ) She weighs 25 pounds, and is less than 3 feet tall, but she still managed to take up the majority of a king size bed. The other reason we moved her out is because she has started doing tae kwon do in her sleep. We got didn't like getting kicked and punched - a 4am heel in the eye sucks!!

Our Canadian girl

2008-11-08T18:25:00.000-08:00

I bought Bell and new touque (winter hat) the other day because it is getting chilly here on these rainy fall days. It doesn't help that she is still bald : ) So now she walks around the house saying "touque, touque" while wearing it and one mitten, trying her best to get the second mitten on....hilarious to watch!

Don't hurt my Mama...

2008-11-07T16:30:00.000-08:00

I took Bell to my chiropractor appointment today, she sure doesn't like then my Dr. cracks my back. She was fine while he was in the room just asking questions but as soon as he started to crack my back she started flipping out. So much so that another Dr. came into the room to see if everything was ok...she stopped crying then. As soon as the second Dr. left she started flipping out again. Good thing that the appointments only last a couple of minutes. It's too bad though because our chiropractor is so nice, and she would really like him... He is great about her crying, his daughter screams when he adjusts his wife as well, so thankfully he is used to toddlers...

Number 11

2008-11-06T18:44:00.000-08:00

Tooth number 11 arrived today...hopefully that explains the middle of the night screaming last night! All the better to eat her pizza crust with - she sure does love pizza crust!!!

How I love thee...

2008-11-05T18:52:00.000-08:00

At toddler class Bell always sits on Teacher Amy's lap when it is time to sing songs. I sit in the circle and take part in the songs, but I think I could walk out the door and she would be quite happy "zooming down the freeway" on teacher Amy's legs. It is a good thing that the other kids don't seem to interested in sitting on her lap, because I don't think Bell would like having to share : ) It's funny Bell doesn't really pay too much attention to her throughout the rest of class, but when it comes to songs and stamp time - Teacher Amy is the best!!!

I tried...

2008-11-04T17:31:00.000-08:00

I tried to take Bell to the dentist for the first time yesterday...it didn't go well. A few weeks ago we went with Gabe to get his flipper adjusted. She was fine sitting on the chair with me beside Gabe, and watching the dentist do his work. Today, I sat with her in the exam chair and she freaked out as soon as the dentist put his gloves on. Their was no way that she was going to let him near her mouth. The assistant tried to make her happy with a toy, but no go. She wasn't even happy when he was making adjustments to my night guard.

I made another appointment for 6 months from now - so we'll see how it goes then. The best I can do is brush her teeth and make the appointments : )

First Dance

2008-11-03T18:41:00.001-08:00

Eli and Bell dancing at the Halloween party - it was so cute! If only we had video...

Halloween Party

2008-11-02T09:01:00.000-08:00

Today was our second annual Halloween party and baking swap with my mom's group. It is always so nice to see all the kids playing together and all dressed up - even better. They looked so cute! We had a cowboy, dog, mouse, snow white, Elvis, panda bear - sadly, our michael phelps couldn't make it : ( Dad's come to this party as well, it is always nice to see them and our working mom's, who can't make our weekly play date! The baked goods of course were delicious - I now feel very ill from eating too many treats...

First of many....

2008-11-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

Bell has her first cold of the season...poor thing. Coughing, sneezing, tired, and sounds terrible - we are hoping that she doesn't feel as bad as she sounds. She is sucky, but it's well past her bedtime and she is still playing so she can't be that bad...right??? I tried to put her to bed a while ago but she just danced in her crib, so I decided that she could dance around the house instead... Thankfully, she likes Kleenex and usually lets us try and wipe her nose without too much hassle. Now she is pretending to blow her nose, and then hiding the crumpled Kleenex around the house : )

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T09:37:00.000-07:00

We were supposed to go a party at a friends tonight, but decided to stay home because Bell has a cold and it pretty sucky. We thought that people in costumes would just make the situation worse...poor thing.

This is a picture of Bell before we left to show her off at a couple neighbours houses. She wasn't a fan - so we just brought her back home. She was quite happy to play with all the shiny little candy packages; taking them all out of the bowl, and then putting them back into the same bowl. We didn't let her eat any, but we'll see how long that lasts : ) I'm a sucker when it comes to letting her eat the things I'm eating. Gabe is much stricter that me...who knew??

Number 10

2008-10-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

Bell, has been super cranky for the past few days - a third molar popped through today. Hopefully, she will be in a little less pain, and therefore not wake up as many times throughout the night. Today, was also the first day that she happily took the Tylenol tablets instead of liquid medicine. We tried them a few months ago and she hated them. In the next few months hopefully she will start to like the Motrin tablets as well.

Candy Yumm!!

2008-10-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

Bella, was super cranky today and I caved while eating some licorice. She was in heaven when I let her have a piece! She was rather disappointed when I didn't give her a second piece. I may have created a monster!

If you're happy...

2008-10-14T20:23:00.000-07:00

This morning, I was singing "If you're happy and you know it" which is a song we don't normally sing, but we did sing it at the library the other day. When I was singing it with her today she went along with all the actions - clapping, stomping, and hooray!! It was so cute - I love that she remembers things now, and participates with me in our singing!!

Number 9

2008-10-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

Tooth number nine emerged today!

Dip Dip Dip!!

2008-10-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

Oh, does Bell ever love dunking her veggies in hummus (or any dip for that matter) these days! She says "dip dip dip" while dunking her peppers and then licking off the dip, and then dipping again. One day we will teach her about the "no double dipping" rule. For right now we are just happy that she is starting to be more interested in eating. Plus, she has her own bowl to dip in - so no kooties for everyone : )

Our big girl...

2008-10-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

For the last week or so, Bella has been fighting me when it comes time to buckle her into her car seat. Either making herself super ridged or limp but difficult to strap in either way. Yesterday, the poor Bell threw up all over herself and the seat so it needed to be taken out and washed. We decided that when Gabe put it back in this morning he would install is facing forward. She is loving seeing the world from a new direction! We tried turning her around a couple of months ago but she hated it so we switched it back - looks like the move is permanent now though! I'm thankful for less screaming while driving down the freeway - even if it means that car naps will be a little shorter due to gravity.

Pascal is your breathing ok..

2008-10-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

We recently gave Bell a little medical set - blood pressure cuff, needle, band aide, stethoscope, ect... I wandered into the living room today to find Bella checking Pascal's lungs (with the stethoscope correctly in her ears), and trying to take his temperature. She either has a great imagination, or she spends too much time at the doctors office : )

Swibi

2008-09-24T19:11:00.000-07:00

Bella loves to go swibi (swimming) in the tub these days. It is one of her favourite things! She asks to go swibi all the time. She and Gabe used to bathe in the tub together - she wants to be in there by herself now! For now we hold her, but I'm sure that will change soon!!

Happy Birthday Nana!!

2008-09-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

Happy 60th Birthday Nana!! Can't wait to spend some time quality with you next week!

Love you!
Bell

Kung Fu, Kung Fu!

2008-09-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

While we were sick we let Bella watch more TV then usual, and it seems like she is still addicted! Bella has a new sign, for Kung Fu Panda - her current favourite movie! It is super cute, she lifts her arms and one leg in the karate kid stance. We thought it would be funny to teach her how to do this, not thinking that it would turn into sign language. Which is a bit of a problem because she knows that we understand what she wants when she is asking to watch her movie. Always fun to try and distract a stubborn toddler when she knows what she wants : )

Smartie Pants!

2008-09-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

It is 60th Nana's birthday in a couple of days so today I was trying to teach Bella how to say "Nana". She wouldn't say it - but pointed to the phone, because she knew that's how we talk to Nana. Of course, I promptly called her to let her know Bell's new trick!

Present for dad...

2008-09-14T20:36:00.000-07:00

While we were at the park today Bell found a white rock and wouldn't let go of it the entire time she was playing. Climbing up stairs is a little tough with stuff in your hands but she managed ; ) She gave it to Gabe as soon as she got home. He was so pleased with his first gift from his sweet girl!

Sushi and a splash!!

2008-09-07T15:21:00.000-07:00

We went for lunch at Blue C today and had loads of yummy sushi! Bella had a great time eating edamame, tuna rolls, and rice while watching everything go by on the conveyor belt. After lunch we let Bella play in the water feature outside the restaurant, and needless to say she got soaked! She had a great time splashing around - it was super cute watch. I didn't have a change of clothes with me (I know what was I thinking??), so we just wandered around the outdoor mall with her in shoes and a diaper. It was hot so people were jealous, and thought the naked baby was adorable - as per usual!

Jello stains...who knew?

2008-09-03T20:35:00.000-07:00

Gabe and I were so sick today, but Bella was rearing to go. We didn't have the energy to take her to the park, or even in the hallway to blow bubbles. I came up with idea to have her and I get in the shower with a tub of Jello though. She threw it all over the walls while I rubbed it all over her body. She thought this was fantastic! Once I hosed her off I realized that cherry Jello stains - she is covered in red dots, and her hair has a bit of a red hue! I still haven't decided if this was ingenious or neglectful parenting...

Toxic

2008-08-29T15:28:00.001-07:00

Bella is feeling a little better today, although she is still super tired. She took 5 naps yesterday, and 3 today!! She hasn't thrown up since the drive to Children's...wahoo! The pooping started yesterday, and boy is it ever gross! Her belly must hurt so much! It's like the infant exploding poops, she used to have...poor thing : ( To top it off, yesterday was Gabe's first day back at the office after vacation, so I had to change all the diapers. At least she doesn't have the energy to run away, or squirm while I'm changing her - because that would be MESSY!

I kept on saying "Bella your poop is toxic, toxic, toxic." She now says "adick" - or something along those lines!

Ouch!

2008-08-28T15:36:00.000-07:00

Even though Bella is sick, she is still well enough to teach herself new words - our little smarty pants! She tripped and fell over then said "ouch" all on her own! I have a feeling we will be hearing this word a lot because she falls at least 30 times a day. She gets running too fast and then trips, or looks at one of us while following the other one and walks into a wall. She has also decided that holding her hands over her eyes while walking is fun. Not so safety first this little Miss Bella.

When Gabe get home tonight, I asked her to say "ouch" for him. She did at the same time as pinching her hand - so apparently she inflicts pain on herself as well!

Fifteen times!!!

2008-08-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

Poor little Bella threw up 15 times in a 12 hour period today! She woke up at 12am in her crib and threw up and continued to do so throughout the night and morning. She had a temperature of 101.1, not super high but we took her to the doctor to have her tested for a UTI. When we got to the pediatrician it was decided that we should just go to Children's ER. It would be easier to get her the IV antibiotics she would need if it turned out that she had a bladder infection. It was also a concern that she was dehydrated because she hadn't peed in 6 hours. Poor little thing threw up in the car on the way to the pediatrician and to Children's...naturally making it tough for Gabe to drive. Thankfully, I was in the back seat with her holding a bowl for this possibility.

At Children's the nurses did the speediest catheter she has ever had - poor thing, but she peed like a champ! They also gave her some melt away Zofran, which is an anti-nausea, that is amazing. Twenty minutes later, I was allowed to try and nurse her for 1-2 minutes, and she managed to not throw it all up! Within the hour she was a new kid, walking around, talking, playing..etc. Prior to that she would just sit on our laps scream, and nap, she was wiped out, it was so sad to watch and not be able to help.

The preliminary tests came back saying it didn't look like she had a UTI - yeah!! I was able to nurse her and she kept it down so we didn't need to give her an IV - yeah!! We were allowed to take her home with a diagnosis of the stomach flu, and we could expect it to last 3-4 days and the pooping should start soon....not so yeah! It is also a strong possibility that Gabe and I will get it as well because it is highly contagious...cross you fingers we don't get it.

When we stopped at the store to get things for Bella, to keep her hydrated - popsicles, gartorade, and jello, we also bought stuff in case we get sick as well. Hopefully, now that we are prepared we won't need it : )

Number 8

2008-08-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

When Gabe was giving Bella her medicine tonight he spotted that her bottom left molar, finally broke through the skin. With his braces, surgery and general teeth issues he can truly sympathize with how much pain Bella is in.

Mmmm Mmmmm...

2008-08-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm Mmmmm is what Bella says now when she wants a kiss. She just comes over to you, pushes her lips forward in kiss position and says mmmmm until she gets the kiss she is asking for. It is so freaking cute! Best medicine ever - too bad I can't bottle all that love!

So tall..

2008-08-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

Bella learned today, that she is tall enough to reach the water dispenser on the fridge. How crazy is that!! Thank goodness it has a lock feature. Who knows how long it is until she is tall enough to figure that out : ) Now she brings her cups over and is confused as to why no water appears...

In training...

2008-08-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

We aren't sure what sport she is training for yet - but she sure has her weight lifting routine down! When, I come home from the grocery store she likes me to put the melons on the floor, so that she can carry them throughout the house. Thankfully, she hasn't dropped one on her toe yet...but now that I have said that I'm sure it will happen anytime now!

They finally fit!!

2008-08-12T20:41:00.000-07:00

Gabe's mom made these slippers for Bell - she loves running around the house in them. Apparently, she doesn't care that it is summer and 30 degree's outside : )

Number 7!

2008-08-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

Bella screamed and screamed when we tried to put her to bed tonight. After way too long we finally asked her if her teeth hurt, "nod nod yes yes", do you want some medicine, "nod nod yes yes". When we finally got her mouth open to get some Motrin in, we saw that yet another tooth had broken through. The eye tooth on the right and she has really swollen lower gums, so it looks like another molar is coming. Preparing ourselves for another cranky week...

Ohh no!!!

2008-08-08T18:10:00.000-07:00

Bella, has learned to open a door - not cool! This means that when I nurse her at nap time, and get up to put her in her crib, she runs to the door opens it and bee lines it down the hallway! I now have to make sure that I lock the deadbolt on the front door while we are at home. She likes to try and follow Gabe when he leaves for work in the morning. It is pretty sad, she gets really upset when he leaves...poor thing loves - her Daaah so much!!

Number 6!

2008-08-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

Thankfully, we have a reason for Bella's foul mood this week - she got her first molar! Poor thing, was in so much pain and was so cranky this week. If only she could tell that she needs a little Motrin to take the edge off! Too bad for me, it is frowned upon to drink during the day, to take the edge off : ) CPS and their silly rules!

I love you!

2008-08-06T20:37:00.000-07:00

Bella started signing "I love you" back to us tonight! How awesome is that - now if she only knew what it meant : )

Poop!

2008-08-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

Bella's new favourite word is poop! She has been saying it for a while now - and Gabe is oh so proud : ) The part that we are both proud of though, is that she now comes up to us, signs and says change when she poops. How cute is that! Even better, is that when she is the one asking for the diaper change she doesn't usually put up too much of a fuss when getting it done. When she doesn't want it done - it can be quite a battle. If only she could understand that it would go so much quicker and get back to playing that much faster if she would just let us do our job : )

Ouch!

2008-08-04T18:54:00.000-07:00

Bella skinned her knee for the first time today. She was running away from me at the park, (I wanted to change her diaper), and tripped and fell. She didn't cry, just got up came over for a kiss better and went right on running away from me! No blood just cement burn!!