This year, Jeremy and I decided to take our first real family vacation (just the three of us). Bella, as usual was an excellent traveler. First we (flew, drove, and took a ferry) went to San Juan Island. After a long day of travel (but lots of good scenery), we arrived at what we would call “home” for the next six days. Wow…it was beautiful. The SJI Visitors bureau’s slogan is something like “Just getting there is part of the fun…” but when we truly arrived, we were so excited to see that where we “were” was absolutely perfect. The home really exceeded our expectations. It was small (just two bedrooms/one bath), but a perfect little layout, with a deck overlooking a picturesque bay and a path down to our own little private beach and dock (where Bella passed alot of time just throwing rocks into the water). It was also secluded – which was something Jeremy and I REALLY enjoyed. The home was situated on a large lot, with an oyster farm next door and the other neighbors home was a good distance away. The owner had a huge steel drum embedded into the ground that they used as a fire pit and provided tons of wood, so it was like camping, but with a nice bed, warm shower and heated house to settle down in after the thrill of s’mores and a fire are over. Jeremy and I took advantage of the views with Bella during the day, watching the resident Sea Lion swim by each afternoon, and watching the flock of Canadian Geese that liked to come into our area of the bay during sunset. The fire pit was the perfect end to most evenings after putting Bella to sleep. We explored the local harbor, visited the winery, went to see the Alpaca Farm, and even saw 2 pods whales swim by at Lime Kiln State Park…but mostly we just relaxed and that was the perfect way to start a vacation.

Then we drove down to Seattle to check out a city that we had never been to. The highlight of this portion of our trip was exploring Pikes Place Market. Jeremy and I both love good, fresh food…and Pikes has tons of it. We got to see the fresh fish markets with the dungenous crabs, the original starbucks, try homemade cheese, taste wine, and in general taste some wonderful food. Bella appreciates fresh fruits and seeing the “fishies” and crabs as well, so there was plenty to keep her entertained. One day, she was so pooped out that she actually napped in her stroller for 3 hours. Jeremy decided to just stay in this cute little Italian restaurant and wait for her to stir…so we drank wine and gorged on delicious food for a super long lunch…We also visited the Seattle Center with the Space Needle. The view was exactly as you would expect (beautiful), and we our day was clear and sunny. They have a little carusel, and we let Bella take a ride (which she LOVED) and then we went to see the big fountains and her and Jeremy played in the park and ran off some of her energy. She had a blast. Our last day in town, we decided to try out Kayaking on Lake Union. Even with her short attention span I think Bella really enjoyed the experience. I really enjoyed it, and would love to give it a try here in the San Diego Bays (I can’t believe I never have!)

After a couple of days in Seattle, we hopped in the car and drove South to visit the Walkers in Portland. In the car on the way there, I told Bella we were going to visit a farm with chickens, and her mouth literally dropped open and she just stared at me in delight! Well, upon arrival, the scene did not disappoint her! We walk up and Pasquale is swimming in a little baby pool, and chickens are everywhere…and Bella is literally in Heaven 🙂 She and Pasquale played great together, and he was quick to show her the ropes with where to find the chicken house and the food to throw to them. It was nice for Bella to be distracted with all the fun, so we could catch up with Sam and Lane. We spent the next few days relaxing with the Walker Clan and just catching up and exploring a different side of Portland than we had seen in the past. Lane took us to the Missippi area (which I really loved, a super laid back bohemian vibe), and we went to the PSU farmers market, which was by far, the coolest farmers market I’ve ever been to. Portland is such a green city, with great organic and local specialties…Then we went out to a beautiful Hazelnut farm and spent and evening relaxing in the country while Sam and a friend roasted a whole pig (the kids LOVED to see that). We spent our last day enjoying another wonderful view of a river on a Walnut Grove on the Mullalla River making Nocino (a green walnut liquor), and eating wonderful food at one of Lane’s friend’s homes. It was a wonderful visit, but I think both Jeremy and I were actually ready to come home on our last day…twelve days is a long time to be away from your home and your dog (poor Hazel)! I think that is the sign of a really good vacation…when you have had so much fun, that you are actually ready for the boring routine of everyday life.

Unfortunately, what we returned to was not boring or everyday…but I’ll save that for another post.

Ok…so I’m very behind. I think the last time I posted was almost a month ago. So I am going to try to do one huge post today to catch up.

This seems like forever ago, but last month, while Jeremy had a conference in Sacramento, Bella and I went to Austin to visit my family. We had a very nice visit with Dee Dee & Pa Pa for a few days the week before my dad went into the hospital for his stem cell transplant. (He is still there, and will hopefully get out next week…please pray for his fast recovery if you are reading this…) Me and Mom took Bella to this hilarious “exotic” ranch where you get in a trailer on the back of a tractor and feed the animals. I say hilarious, because I’m sure the liability of it all would never be legal here in California – but somehow they are a bit more relaxed about those types of things in the countryside in Texas. We loved it! My mom bought a big bucket of feed (when I say bucket, I’m talking 5 gallon…) and when the animals see you coming, the RUN to you ready to get fed. We fed long haired African goats with curly horns, camels, tons of different types of deer/gazelle, these HUGE hairy bulls, buffalo, zebras, emus, and this HUGE 10 foot black Ostrich named Elvis (he was taller than the vehicle, and you would just hold the bucket as he QUICKLY pecked his pellets out one at a time). It really is amazing no one has lost an appendage at this place…It was a dreary, misting day – but we had an absolute blast. They also had a petting zoo where Bella was inside the cages with sheep, deer and goats. I highly recommend it if you are ever out near Spicewood (I think it is actually closer to Johnson City?) with a child. That afternoon we ate at Opie’s BBQ in Spicewood…this is one of the first trips that I came to Austin and didn’t go to Rudy’s…I didn’t feel like I needed to because the BBQ at Opies was SOOOO good.

After our visit with Dee Dee & Pa Pa, we headed down to see the cousins and Aunt Sissy and Uncle Charlton (whose birthdays were that week as well…). Bella is finally getting old enough to understand that the cousins really want to play with her – and her and Chandler really bonded during the trip. They mostly jumped on the trampoline (which was by far Bella’s favorite toy at their house), and played with Chandlers dollies. Bella really liked “Ring Around The Rosies” with the other kids on the trampoline, and she now sings it at home and runs around the house and then “falls down” at the end to make us giggle. Chrissie and Charlton had a fondue party at their house in honor of their Birthdays, which was a BLAST. Got to hang out with some old friends, and make some new with their friends, who true to Southern Stereotype, are friendly and warm as can be :). (This is something I will always miss about TX, and I’m so happy we will always have family there so that Bella can experience Southern hospitality as she grows up…)

Since we’ve been back we’ve been up to visit our friends, the Radcliffe’s TWICE! Bella and Kaelyn play so well together. It is so relaxing to be able to talk to other adults while the children are off entertaining themselves. The first time, we went up so we could go to Eric and Betty’s wedding. Amy and Jac babysat the kids while Nate, Terri, Jeremy and I could go to the wedding. We had SO much fun (thanks to Amy & Jac!) and then came back and enjoyed some wine on the patio with our babysitters…The next day was Mother’s Day, and after the men cooked up a delicious breakfast for the families, we decided to go out to Crystal Cove and check out the tide pools with the girls. Bella was obsessed with the crabs and both girls had a blast running around and exploring the tide pools together. Unfortunately, my camera broke in Texas…but FORTUNATELY Nate & Terri have a great one, and they took bunches of photos. We even got a family one – which is rare. 🙂

And this brings me finally up to date with this weekend…(actually, I’m publishing this way late, so it was really a few weekends ago…) we went up to stay with the Radcliffe’s a second time. Our friend, Lindsey, works for PBS and she hooked us up with tickets to Sesame Street Live in Long Beach. We get there (to late for the meet & greet, which I think was a blessing in disguise anyway) and Kaelyn, Bella and Cliff are running around the media room, chasing each other and just having the best time…Then, we went to the 90 min show with all the characters (Big Bird, Elmo, Abby, the works…) The first 10 minutes, Bella just sat on my lap with her mouth open in awe…then they said, “Get up and Dance” and she went nuts! Bella and Kaelyn were bouncing around like the day should never end. In fact, during intermission, Bella started getting upset, saying “MORE ELMO!”, we quickly calmed her down by letting her know that it was not, in fact, over…

Let’s just say our kid slept good that weekend…unfortunately, our little run with easy nights ended that week…

Bella is in a really fun stage right now. She sings and dances all the time, and she is starting to have her own opinions which crack me up….Wanted to write down a couple of things that happened this weekend so that I don’t forget this stage in her life:

I’m trying to make her eat pretty much what we eat for dinner these days (with the exception of anything I think she’d choke on…she’s still not a fantastic chewer). So, I made BBQ pork ribs for dinner last night and I was pulling them off the bone for her and putting them on her plate…and she would eat it SO much faster than I could even get it down…I was giggling about it to Jeremy, and she turns to him and very loudly announces “DADDY….I LUV MEAT!!” We both almost spit out our food we were laughing so hard. I guess you can take the family out of Texas, but you can’t take the Texas out of the family… 🙂

She loves to sing…and lately, pretty much every time she wakes up in the morning or after naps, she sings a couple of songs to herself and her stuffed animals and such and then when she is done with the performance she throws them all out of the crib and yells for Mommy. Often, though, the performance will continue when I go in there and put her on the changing table to be changed. Jeremy and I went to the Black Eyed Peas concert a few weeks ago – and I swear I find myself singing “I got a feeling” on a regular basis without even realizing it…(maybe this is where she gets it?) Jeremy brought her to the changing table on Saturday, and she serenaded him with – “I GOT A FEELING WOOO HOO THAT TONIGHTS GONNA BE A GOOD NIGHT…” quite the change from the usual “Are you sleeping?” or “Twinkle Twinkle” that we normally get. Of course, he started cracking up, and now I hear her humming it all over the house. I love it – kids are such little sponges 🙂

How cool is this? Check out my neighbor, Matthew, riding in on his motorcycle with the “Easter Bunny” waving to the kids in the sidecar…Only on Calle De Madera! 🙂

We are so lucky to live on such a wonderful cul de sac. Since many of us don’t have family nearby, Collette and I decided that we should do a potluck brunch and Easter Egg hunt for the kids of CdM. A simple email was all it took, and Voila! A beautiful Easter day was had by all. Our neighbors and many friends went all out, bringing the most amazing food, a spread that three tables could barely hold, and many restaurants would be jealous of! We really had a great party in the street, with probably about 20 kids and at least 20 adults including neighbors and friends in on all the fun.

Bella was pretty stoked in the morning when she got THREE easter baskets filled with fun surprises. She keeps telling Kristine that everything new was brought by the “easter bunny”. Then, she participated in the hunt with the other kiddos as well, although I think she was more interested in opening each egg and seeing what surprise it held, than actually hunting for the next. It was a great Easter day, all in all – even with a big earthquake in the afternoon rocking and rolling us awake during naptime.

As usual, I’m behind on my blogging records. I am going to apologize in advance to any friends/family reading this post. I am planning to put a bunch of stuff I don’t want to forget in here (some very boring mommy records stuff) and it is so much stuff I know I won’t organize it with any clear thought, so I will put photos first (so you can look at the good stuff and skip the rest)  🙂 and then I’ll put the text at the end.

Fun in Park City!

Bella’s First Snowman (with lots of help from Mi-Mi.)

Goofing off while Daddy takes her on a bike ride.

Poor Hazel! Bella really does think she should be a horse instead of a dog…we are lucky Hazel is so good with her…

With Daddy at the wild animal park.

What do you mean I’m too small to fit in Desi’s baby seat? I think it is quite comfy…and you can’t move me 🙂

–We were all so sick with bugs this Jan/Feb. Bella, in particular, had a problem with reoccuring ear infections. I finally switched her pediatrician, and am so much happier with the new Doctor, Dr. Wood. Bella is much less terrified of her – and she really tries to make her feel comfortable, which makes visits so much less stressful. (Plus – they are so much more available!) Such a new mommy mistake to make. Glad we figured that out…

–Bella is now singing more than just Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star…she likes Jingle Bells, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Are You Sleeping, Wheels on the Bus – and is almost always humming a tune when she plays with her dollies. She’s a ham…loves to perform for us. Especially after getting out of the bath. She puts on quite the performance. I have video that I will definitely use as embarrassment material when she gets older. 🙂

–She is playing so much more independently now. She lines all her dollies/animals up and feeds them, gives tea or medicine. So funny! She also loves to take the books off the shelf and look at each page. She’s very attached to Elmo dolls.

–She is talking sooo much. Putting together full sentences – so great that she can tell us what she wants. Funny stuff she says (besides pretty much repeating the end of everything we say…Jeremy and I are going to have to learn to watch our language…) – after sneezing, “Bless You Bella”…anytime “Alright”…”Come On Mommy” – She said thank you to me (without prompting) after giving her a blackberry at breakfast yesterday – melted my heart. She is also now saying I love you, too – we love that! She also tries to count (and gets to five pretty good, although I also hear alot of 1, 2, 3, 5, 7…)

–We started swim lessons this month. She L.O.V.E.S. it!!!!! I can’ t think of anything I’ve seen her do that she enjoys more than this. She wants you to dunk her under the water the whole time, or to jump off the wall to you. Her smile is plastered across her face the entire 30 mins.

–We took a fun trip with Aunt Ki Ki, Uncle Jason and Mi-Mi to Park City. Bella was sick the whole trip, but her and Mi-Mi really bonded anyway. Mi-Mi took care of her the entire trip while Jeremy and I snowboarded and played like adults without children. It was amazing for us – I can’t even put to words how grateful we were…

–I went on my first girls trip since B’s birth last weekend. She and Daddy really bonded while I was away. They had a great time playing with the neighbors, going on bike rides and to the park. They even went to a local soccer game. And it was amazing for me to getaway and be truly baby free for a few days.

–She is starting in on those terrible twos. We are finding ourselves using reverse psychology and distraction tactics on a daily basis at this point. She is still a really happy child, which I think will make this period easier, but she wants to do things her way always now (which sometimes is just not possible), and she is now starting to test our boundaries (ie – I know mommy doesn’t want me to throw the milk on the floor, and I heard her tell me not to do it again, but I think I’ll just do it one more time and see if she really gets upset…) Most days are not too challenging, but I do find myself saying “No, we are not allowed to do that because…” pretty much all day long some days. I think I am about to get a free lesson in what “patience” is really all about.

–We started video calling with Mi-Mi and Dee Dee and Pa Pa. It is awesome. I love it. Technology is so wonderful…

–The child LOVES raisins…by far the favorite snack right now…(to which, mommy says eeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwww) 🙂

–The child LOVES trains and helicopters right now. When we see the train at the park, she gets so excited. One day, she actually laughed until the tears came. Hilarious. We like to count the helicopters (there are normally alot, since the military bases are so close). The other day she saw an ambulance copter up close because it was flying low, and she said, “pretty helicopter”

–She has 16 teeth. She loves “teeth time” but is not the most cooperative tooth brusher…

I feel like 2010 is already rushing by me. I can’t believe it is already almost February. I’ve been really behind on the blog, so I want to do some catching up today. We went to Bella’s One and A Half Year Well Check Up today – and I can’t believe she is already our little toddler.

So…lets start with Christmas. We had a really nice visit in Texas. We were blessed to be able to see so much of our family – only missing Uncle Charlton and Cousin Chandler (who we hope to catch up with soon this summer). Bella was spoiled rotten by all of her relatives 🙂 and showered with tons of great presents. While she loves all of them – she is really into music right now – and the music player Dee Dee got her currently goes wherever we go (stroller, car, traveling…) it has become mommy’s favorite toy too..:) *I no longer have to have a childrens CD in my car running full blast! She also loves to serve all her new dollies tea. We will sit Abby, Baby, Bessy, her Giant Dog and Elmo on the couch and serve them all kinds of yummy tea cakes, play food and tea…She is really into taking care of all of her dolls right now. She likes to feed them, diaper them, dress them (with help of course), etc – she even has a dolly she takes in the bath. Another hit is her new chair – Bella really enjoys having a piece of furniture that is her size in the room! It even keeps her from climbing on the couch as much…I’m pretty sure that all her new toys will be plenty to keep her happy for the year – what a lucky girl she is!

She is talking up a storm…I can’t even count the number of words she says anymore – as it seems like we get a couple of new ones everyday (even though the pronunciation isn’t quite on…) She likes to mimic the last couple of words that I say – its really cute. My favorite word at the moment is  “Allright” – she uses this alot instead of saying yes. I absolutely love it – she sounds so grown up when she says it. My least favorite word at the moment is “NO”. She learned this one last week – and now any question you ask is immediately answered with a NO. I know it is a phase that will pass – and I’ll be excited to see this one end (unfortunately, I think I have a couple of years to wait).

She is definitely entering toddlerhood….she is RUNNING all over, asserting her preferences on everything from food to jammies to where she wants to go in the car (PARK! always…). She has learned to throw a tantrum, and even likes to pee in the potty every night…even though I know it will be a challenging stage, she is still an overall happy child. We feel very lucky that she has such an easy going disposition. I find that she has lots of energy – and the more running and park time we get, as well as regular sleep, the easier going that she acts.

She eats a variety of foods – which make it alot easier to travel and take her out and about now. Our meals can include anything from meatballs, chicken, pork ribs, berries, broccoli, apples, peas, corn to yogurt, cheese, pbj rolls and even chicken noodle soup.

As I said, 2010 is moving quickly for us…We had a bunch of visitors out for the BCS National Championship Game (which unfortunately did not result in our favor, but we still had a good time). And then we spent a night up in HB visiting Nate, Terri & Kaelyn. Kaelyn and Bella are now finally at an age where they can interact with one another (it is so cute!) – I look forward to seeing their friendship grow, like ours has with their parents. Bella (and Mommy) had our first sickness of the year (B got ear infections in both ears as a result, and I am still fighting it currently…) And we went on a wild ride up to Mammoth Mountain (in the snowstorm of the century – 10.5 hour drive with a toddler – good times!) We spent a nice weekend up there with The Radcliffes’, The Neals’ and The Jollys’. Cliff, Bella and Kaelyn made quite the snow gang. I think the highlight for Bella was riding up high in the Gondola – she loved looking out and seeing how high we were (I definitely have a dare devil on my hands…) Dan & Suzy came by for a visit, and we even got a chance to see our other Valley friends on the slopes. All in all a great trip…

And that brings us to the present…Today we went for B’s 1 1/2 yr doc appt.

Her stats for the day:
Weight: 23.5 lbs (25%)
Height: 33.5 in (90%)
Head: 47 cm

Wow…really…ONE and A HALF years have gone by since my sweet baby was born. It seems like that is impossible – so short, yet so long. Life has changed so much for Jeremy and I…It is amazing how having a kid makes your realize not everything is about you. I feel like my eyes have opened to an entirely new world, and I’m so blessed in my new outlook. Seeing Bella grow and change and learn and experience the world all for the first time is awe-inspiring to me. Even on the days when I am frustrated, stressed and just plain tired (because believe me, I have those…) I realize I am very blessed to have a loyal, hard working husband and a sweet baby girl. Often I wish I could slow it all down, so that I could do it better (that is the perfectionist in me coming out), but I realize that I just need to enjoy each moment as it comes.

That is my wish for you, me and all our friends in 2010. Enjoy life and each moment as it comes – and move forward with peace in your heart and resolve to live the next day to the fullest…

Okay….I know I’m skipping the holidays altogether…but I swear, when I have a chance to download the photos I will post a huge update detailing all the awesome toys B got for Christmas, plus all the fun we had visiting the fam… But for now, I have BIGGER news 🙂

For the past week or so, every time Bella sees me or Jeremy go in the bathroom, or when she feels the need to relieve, she squats and exclaims “pot-tee!!”. So I decided, what the heck – I’ll go and buy one of those silly little toy potties that they use for potty training that sings and such. Of course, the second I brought it home yesterday, Bella wanted to explore every bit of it. She sat on it for a while – we read a book…and she just about threw a tantrum when I said we had to go downstairs for dinner. She was just as excited to see it again before her bath yesterday and sat for a while trying to go to the bathroom beforehand – but no dice….

I really have no intention of pushing it – I figure we’ll just get her used to the idea. BUT – tonight…after her bath – she walked right over the the potty, exclaimed “POT-TEEEE!!” sat down and peed. Jeremy and I went nuts with excitement – she was beaming. I figure this was a blog-worthy moment that I better write down.

While I don’t expect that we will be done with diapers anytime soon – it sure is fun to think about what we milestones we get to look forward to this year!!

So…I had meant to update this info right after B’s 15 mo appt…but alot has happened since then. Some good (ie–an awesome family getaway to Santa Barbara and the central coast) and unfortunately quite a bit bad (whole family sick and Bella has her first two ear infections back to back…) – but we are all well now and gearing up for the holidays, so it is time for me to get back on track.

Stats for Bella as of 15 1/2 months…

Height: 33.5 in (above 97%)
Weight: 22 lb (25-50%)
Head: 47 in (90%)

And…Bella is OFFICIALLY weaned! (YEA for Mommy!! 🙂 ) As much as I’ll miss our snuggle time…it was time for her to move on – and although she still points and asks for it in the morning, we are going one week strong – I guess she is truly no longer a baby, and moving into toddlerdome.

As far as development, she is running and walking much steadier now (although she is still pretty clumsy…I have a feeling that might last through adulthood if she is anything like me…) She is also saying quite a few words: home, hi, bye-bye, mama, dada, apple, milk, open, up, down, ball… are some of the ones that I can think of off the top of my head. She is also really into buckles right now. She is still really into books as well. I’ve created her own little book case and she will pull every book out, and go through each page of each book. Creates quite the mess – but very cute and entertaining for her. She also loves to dance and humm twinkle, twinkle little star (she can do the whole song, and says “up above” for that one line – I find she sings it all day long. (We sing it to her before bed every night…guess it sticks in her head.)

Below are some pics that our friend Renee took of us at the beach. Will try to post some from our trip soon…Enjoy.