6 Month Dr. Visit
Happy Half-Birthday!

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Wow – I can’t believe Bella is already half of a year old! We went to the doc today – and she is still doing great. Here’s some general info for our records:

Height: 27 in. 93%
(I think they made a mistake on the measurement at the last appt, cause I know she has grown!)

Weight: 15 lbs. 12 oz. 45-50%

She is currently sleeping 11 to 11.5 hours/night, taking two naps a day plus a catnap sometimes that equal 2-4 hours.

Started solids about two weeks ago – has had rice cereal, oatmeal, bananas (the only thing she didn’t like very much – we’ll try ’em again in a few months), sweet potato, butternut squash (her fave) & pears – I’m making everything but the cereals homemade – it’s been fun, and good for Jeremy and I – because I make sure to make some for us as well for dinners (can’t we all use a little more fruits & vegies!) – I really like this book Sheri lent me, Super Baby Food – it gives great tips on nutrition – that I’m hoping to incorporate into my diet as well. I had the Doc look over it today, and he made a few modifications – but seemed to like her schedule for introducing foods.

Still breastfeeding – can’t decide when I’ll wean her…my goal was 6 mos…now I’m thinking maybe I’ll try to make it to our Mexico trip so that I don’t have to pack formula (or maybe not…we’ll see. 🙂 Doc says I can wean her to whole milk instead of formula if I make it to 10 mos.

She took her shots like a champ – cried during, but was pretty easy to calm afterwards.  I did not like the nurse (she was a temp, the regular lady was out) – so I don’t really blame Bella for being upset – the bedside manner was definitely lacking.

I’m so proud of our little girl!


Let it Snow, Let it Snow,
Let it Snow!

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SnowyMammoth

This weekend was Bella’s first trip (of many!) to Mammoth – and it was quite the snowy weekend! We stayed in an awesome house that was beautifully arranged by Jeremy and Allison. Nate, Terri, Kaelyn, Brad, Sheri, Greg, Allison & Jeremy all stayed at this huge house – and we even got to see our Simi Valley friends while at the mountain – Eric, Michelle, Treyton (we missed Taylor – she wasn’t feeling well), Jim, Heather (we also missed Cole & MacKenzie – although Terri found Kaelyn playing with MacKenzie in the daycare when she picked her up on Saturday!), Suzy & Dan . And boy did it SNOW! It was pow, pow everyday on the mountain with foggy, white conditions. I got to try out the new snowboard that Jeremy gave me for Christmas – and it was a perfect trip to do it! After spending the last year off of the mountain (due to being preggers..) I was a little nervous as I hopped off of the first lift, but it comes back just like riding a bicycle – and I was reminded why snowboarding is my favorite sport ever. There really are few things better than looking out on that beautiful mountain as the wind whips through your hair and you fly down the hill. With my ipod cranked, it is almost like dancing when I float down the mountain – my mood is always instantly lifted to such a euphoric state. This trip – I really noticed all the little ones learning to ski around me. I know it will be a few years – but I think it will be so much fun to teach Bella how to board. Hopefully, she will be more like Jeremy than me – and pick it up quickly without much fear. (My poor parents, they must have had a LOT of patience that trip to Park City where they taught me how to ski – I remember that I was a very timid skier.) Most of this trip, Bella stayed inside and hung out in the warmth of the house (we did spend quite a bit of time staring out the window at the snow and evergreens). She is grabbing for EVERYTHING right now – so I layed her on the blanket alot on Saturday, and let her log roll towards everything (including this pic, where she was coming for the camera). But, we of course had to take advantage of the photo opp with such a beautiful snowy setting. The top pic was my favorite from the weekend – you can see the snow falling all around Jer and Bella – it was taken right before we headed out of town, but you can get an idea of what our weather was like by looking at it.

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A Sunny January Weekend!

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It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO beautiful this weekend! We spent lots of time outside – went to the beach on Saturday and saw the most amazing sunset. Sunday, a few friends came by to watch the Chargers – we brought the TV outside. It was a kid-filled event, Kaelyn, Jack and Hart were in attendance. Bella practiced some of her sitting skills in the grass (she liked holding on to the green to keep her balance). She would last about a minute before toppling over – it was fun to watch her determination.

I also tried feeding her bananas this weekend. She did NOT like them. The face she made was priceless, and then she fake dry heaved a bunch. I wish I could have gotten it on camera – she was quite the drama queen. I gave her sweet potato this morning for breakfast, and she seemed much happier with the whole eating thing…

Last night was the first night since Christmas that she slept through the night!! YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lets keep our fingers crossed she does it again tonight!


Solid Foods, First Football Games – were moving fast already in ’09

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2009 has started with quite a few fun events.

Since Bella seemed like she was hungry all the time, and just not satisfied with only milk, last Saturday (the 3rd) we decided to see if she would like some rice cereal. We got all excited for the big event, and she pretty much just took it in stride like she does everything else. We brought the spoon to her mouth – she opened and swallowed it right up. She doesn’t seem to LOVE it, but she doesn’t dislike it either – it seems she just figured that was what she was supposed to do…I made some homemade baby food last night (sweet potato and butternut squash), and we’ll give her something different this Saturday to try. Right now, she eats about 2 oz of rice cereal every morning, and we’ll move that to the afternoon on Saturday and give her the new food during that time.

Bella also attended her first horns football game – and what a game it was!! We traveled out to Phoenix for the Fiesta Bowl – TX vs. Ohio State (we won 24-21 with a clincher ending!). Jeremy and I stayed walking distance to the stadium. We walked over and tailgated for an hour or so before the game, and then met up with a couple of Jeremy’s clients for the big event. Bella was so good all day – she just hung out in the sling, slept during part of the game, and watched all the crazy fans the rest of the time. She has become quite the expert traveler as this was her third round trip flight in 3 months! Thanks to Dee Dee and Pa Pa for the tickets – we had a GREAT time!


Christmas Trip Photos – Finally!

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Sorry it took so long to post these….Enjoy!


Reflecting on 2008.

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In light of the new year, I’ve been reflecting on everything that has been going on in our lives over the past year. Of course, Bella was our main event in 2008 – which made me start thinking about when I was pregnant….seems like such a distant memory now…lets face it – I was a terrible pregnant person. It made me think of how funny it is that all the morning (**all day!) sickness, swelling, mood-swings and general discomfort just disappear when you get that little bundle of joy in your arms. I remember being so excited but also scared for what would come when our little girl finally decided to make her grand entrance. What would she be like? What if I didn’t love her immediately? Would Jeremy and I be able to handle taking care of an infant? What if she’s colicky (I read waaaaaayyy to many books about colic..)? Will I like or hate breastfeeding? I wondered how bad childbirth was going to be… I’m sure if you asked my mom or sister during that time, they would have said I would probably never have another child, because I hated being pregnant. Unlike other people that find the whole process “beautiful and amazing”, I just felt sick and tired.

And then… on July 21st – our doc said those crazy words to Jeremy and I – “You are going to have a baby today.” (Little did we know I would be in labor for 16 hours.) I’ve never been a huge believer of love at first sight – I’ve always believed that you have to get to know someone, and then as you learn each others quirks, you fall for the good and the bad into a deep love. But, Bella changed that for me. I swear – the minute I saw her I knew I would love her and figure out what it takes to care for her. And even more, as I’ve gotten to know her over the past 6 months, I have definitely fallen into that deeper love that I’ve always believed in, that encompasses her good (smiles, laughter and silliness) and her bad (crying and sleeplessness). I wouldn’t change a thing about her, and I know Jeremy and I are so lucky to have such a beautiful and wonderful little girl.

2008 brought so much joy into our lives. So often, people ask Jeremy and I – “Are you going to have another?” We both have no idea how to answer that question – as we do not know ourselves. I’m sure if we did, that we would have another wonderful child that would bring joy into our lives as well – but if we don’t, I don’t feel we would be missing out on anything, because we have been given such a blessing in our lives with Bella. I guess we are just really enjoying this moment, and do not feel we need to stress about what lies ahead. To me, that is one of the greatest lessons I have learned in 2008 – how to enjoy the moment that I am in. I look forward to the future, but do not yearn for life to move faster. I reminisce on the past, but I’m not dwelling on it. I really mostly am just loving every minute of life in the now.

I don’t really know how to end this post. It is just a random set of thoughts and feelings that I wanted to make sure to jott down so that I never forget. 2009 – you have alot to live up to! 2008 was a pretty damn amazing year!!

Dear Bella –
Thanks for coming into our lives and bringing us so much joy. I can honestly say I never could have imagined how much life would change when you came into it – but I am SO happy to be living this experience in the now – and I look forward to raising you and watching you grow, and helping you learn to live a happy and healthy life. I hope you’ll remember, even though I may not always be perfect in my methods, I will always love you and try to do right by you.
Love always,
Mommy


Bella’s Christmas Shots

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We had a great time in Texas over Christmas. It was so special to get to see all of the great-grandparents, and grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, extended family, and friends. We traveled to Austin, Temple, Athens and Houston. So much has been going on there is just too much to write, but I’ll give it a little try… Bella was her mellow wonderful self as usual during most of the travels. She was pretty clueless about the whole Christmas event, but she’s enjoying the new toys, and we enjoyed getting her all dressed up for it. I think the photos really tell the story of our trip, so I will post them in a photo gallery after I finish downloading them. Towards the end of the trip, I’m pretty sure that she started teething, as she is drooling tons and seemed a little fussier than usual. We are now back home for the new year, and trying to settle back into our old routine ( I haven’t gotten a full night sleep in over eight days – but each night we are getting closer, so I am trying to have some patience. 🙂  ) Bella is gnawing away at her teething rings, and there is so much drool, that I’m considering put a bib on full time, so I am hoping that a couple of teeth will pop up and give her a little relief soon. Over the holidays, she started putting her knees underneath her body when she was on her tummy – I think it is the beginning of her trying to learn to scoot. She is also babbling with alot more sounds. Most nights lately, she wakes on her tummy trying to practice these new skills, and screaming in frustration.

I think that all of these changes is why she is fussier than usual, and so her sleep patterns have been interrupted, which only begets more crabbiness.

Luckily, she is fairly easy to pacify with a little cuddling and calm time, even when in a bad mood. We are going to Phoenix in a couple of days for the Fiesta Bowl (Bella’s first horns football game!), so I am not so concerned about fixing up the routine, as I am sure that it will just fall apart again during our travels. When we return, we are going to start her on solids!! I’m excited to see how she reacts. The photos from this post were her Christmas 2008 portraits. Enjoy – Happy New Year!