Bella is TWO! In Pictures

Wow my baby is no longer a baby. She has changed so much in the last year.

Here’s some pictures of the last year.

 

One year old!

12 months

13 Months

14 Months

15 months

 

15 months/xmas picture

16 months

  

17 months

18 months!!

 

19 months

 

21 months

22 months

23 months

729 days old

Bella is TWO !!

My baby is growing up.  Seems like yesterday I was pregnant with her and waiting her arrive. Now she is hear and she lets everyone know it.

Height and Weight: 29.8lbs fully dressed and 3 feet 1/4 inches with shoes on

Talking: Bella just in the last two weeks started putting two words together, Beach ball, Big Frog, Base Ball, I drink, My Milk  are a few. She doesn’t like to say “Please” and a word though. She has so many words that she can say. Just last weekend we were with her cousins and they seemed to understand her pretty well.  She can also count to 10, normally a number or two. She still doesn’t say her ABC’s by her self, but seems to start to recognizes them in print.

Foods:  Bella is pretty picky these days. IF she doesn’t get what she wants how she wants it, that’s it, she is done. When she does eat, she is a good little eater. She love yogurt, especially go-gurt that she can do all by herself. She likes to have cereal if someone else is, and lucky charms is her favorite.  She loves to dip everything in any type of dip. Apples, grapes, strawberries, peaches and blueberries are her favorite fruit but she also loves watermelon and bananas. Her veggie favorite are hit or miss, other than CORN. She does tend to enjoy Broccoli(thanks Tracey), potatoes, carrots, and peas. Most of these need to be fresh and not cooked for her to eat them.  Meat is hit or miss. Sometimes she likes it other times she won’t even touch it. It doesn’t matter what time of meat it is. She loves her Milk and now Juice. :( which means she doesn’t ever seem to want water, so i think we are going to end juice unless it’s OJ and only that is in the morning.  I should also mention she is really good with both a fork and a spoon, both adult sized and kid sized. She often request which one she wants. She also ask for a bib depending on what she is eating

Sleep: Bella sleep is ever changing. Some times she sleeps through the night and takes one three hour nap, Sometimes she’s up early (4 or 5 am) and takes two two hour naps in the day. It’s ever changing and i’m not 100% sure of the reason. but overall she does seem to get enough sleep.

Potty Training: so we started and hit two set backs, one a chafing/sore issue on her leg and then traveling. She was doing real well until we left for our mini vacation across the state. Praying next week we can get back in gear. She still stays pretty dry  and knows when she is wetting. It’s our next goal to get down pat.

Activities: Bella loves to climb. I think she is part monkey. She also likes to pull herself up and hang on things. She also love to scoot along on her cars. She knows to push her feet on the pedals, but not one at a time. She loves the sandbox and the slide. She won’t slide down on her own if I'm around, but if I'm not looking she will do it or if we are at the park.  She is learning how to swing on the regular swings and does pretty well if you don’t go to high.  At home she still loves being outside with the cows, dog and cats. She knows most of the cats by name even. Being summer time, Bella loves water. We took Swimming lesson twice this year and the most recent ones tells me Bella is about done with Mommy teaching her how to swim.

Inside the house, Bella loves to play with her babies. She has three baby dolls of different sizes that she need to know where they are at. She also loves her animals( example) She will pull out books and sit in the chair or couch and read them. She loves to look through her books and defiantly has favorites. She also loves to read while sitting on the potty.  We haven’t done much coloring in recent months due to the fact that Bella is a mini tattoo artist and often colors more on herself then the paper. She is good at circles and lines. Bella also loves her TV time. Her favorite shows are The Wiggles, Go Diego Go Dinosaur Train and TinkerBell. She also sometimes enjoys Max and Ruby, Sesame Street, Gullah Gullah Island and Wonder Pets

Bella has also be learning to help me cook and helping to clean up.Cleaning  and putting away is much more interesting if it’s not her toys, but she will help with her toys if someone will sit with her and get it done.

She is a very energetic, fun loving, mostly happy, knows what she wants little girl. She’s shy around new people, espically men, but given the time she warms up to people. When she doesn’t like something she closes her eyes and pretends she’s not there. She even walks around like she is blind.  Everyday is a new adventure with Bella. I’ve enjoyed the last two year with her and I can’t wait to see what year three will hold.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISABELLA MARIE!!!

A few pictures from our weekend

 

A Rosy Photo shoot

Before we left for our busy weekend…I did a little photo shoot with Bella. the Roses are from flowers that Josh got me.

I only did some small edits, nothing big like normal.

 

 

Monday

On Monday, Court and I went to Great America. Bella got to stay with Sara, who was baby sitter, but also Andy, Elly and Drew. I guess it started off rough for her but by the time i got home she was in a good mood.

Court and I had a great time. Traffic wasn’t too bad on the way down, until we got to the park. We parked and then headed in. We first went on The Dark Knight, indoor coaster. Then headed over to V2 for Court. I waited in line with her and then just went to the exit when she got on the ride. It was nice to wait with her. WE got done and went to Batman, Which I thought was a ride i had done before…wrong! I had been thinking of the Demon. OOPS, oh well I did it and it wasn’t too awful. By the time we got done with just those three rides it was about 1:15, so we decided to just do a small lunch in the park. We ate at Moose lodge. It was a bit pricey, but it was A/C and right there. I got a kid’s meal that I paid 8.00 for. It came with a cute pail and cup that i kept for Bella. Then i got chicken nuggets, applesauce, string cheese, fruit snacks and pudding. I also ate a few of Court’s fries, since that’s all i really wanted. LOL  Naturally thought I ate too much.  But we hit up the Carousel, Top level, next. IT was a peaceful ride. Then went in search of Raging rapids, which is a water ride. We got kind of soaked on that one, but it was fun. Then went to find Raging Bull, never saw the entrance for the Demon. :(  Raging Bull was a 2 hour wait and it was already 3;30, so we decided to head out. On the way out, though, we did the sky ride that goes up and shows you a few of the whole park. we got on it and right after us a major line formed.

Once we left the park we stop at the Mall to get some dessert before heading home. Traffic on the way home was not bad at all. Court had me back to my sister’s by 6pm. It was a great day and something that Court and I need to do more of. I love hanging out with her and getting a mini mommy break.

I decided to hit up the pool when I got back to Tracey’s. Bella came in too, along with Sara and Drew.  After Pool time and bath time we had pudding cups for dessert and then watched Drew and Elly’s plays along with Sara’s cheering. It was a nice quiet night!

 

after Bella was in bed i packed up most everything to head home the next day!

Sunday

Sunday was a very relaxing day. We got up and just hung out in the living room until breakfast was made. I think around 10 we decided to run to target and didn’t leave the house until almost 10:45. Bella was left behind with Elly,Sara and Andy.  Tracey and I went first to get Drew and then he came with us to Target. It was so nice to shop with out Bella. I think once or twice i thought i lost her, but then remember she didn’t come.

after we got home, we did lunch and then Bella took a nice long nap. I went through some stuff with my sister and then chilled on the computer a bit. Just as I was getting ready to go it to the pool Bella got up. Tracey kept her for me, so i could use the pool without a baby. Elly came out and joined me and i got to catch up with her.  Then Bella came out and got to enjoy the pool. Only problem is i had to hold her almost the whole time and she really wanted me to just let go. Drew, Andy and Tracey all hung out in the pool with us too.

We had supper, Bella had a bath and then an early bed time for her.

It was a very relaxing day!!!!

Saturday

Saturday we started kind of late in the morning. We got up and mom had breakfast waiting for us. We ate and were kind of poky. But once we got moving we were on the go the rest of the day.
First stop was Shopko, then we ran to Pick N Save. (totally forgot we went to walmart friday night and got Tinkerbell Cupcakes)  then to subway for subs for lunch. Well mom and Bella spilt a pizza. I got to try the hashbrowns. They are yummy.
We ate back at my mom's. I also worked on packing everything up to pack up the car. We finally left Mom's at 12:30ish and headed to the park. Only to find out that the park was uber busy, so we moved the party to Hannah's. I'm so very grateful!
I think the kids all had a great time. Everyone seem to play really well together. We had a 4 year old, 3 year old, 2 year old, 2 20 month olds, 16 month old and a 8 month old. We had snacks, and then cupcakes. All the kids did really well with them.  Bella love them since they had Tinkerbell rings on them.
Around 3 we all cleaned up and started  to head out. Bella and I headed to my mom's quick to get our cold foods, before heading to waukesha. Bella stayed away until we left my mom's. then she was out. We went to my friends Stacy's apartment to hang out with her and her new husband Jake.
Jake went to get food once we got there, and that gave Bella a bit of time to warm up to the new location. We checked out Stacy's shelf of dolls and stuff animals and Bella was in heaven. I'm pretty sure she would have lived in that room if we would have let her. After we ate though we let her have a few dolls and then told her the rest were sleeping. I had a great visit with Stacy and getting to know Jake better. 
Bella ended our visit when she wanted her nuk and blanket and laid down on the floor. SO with that we said our goodbyes and headed to my sister's.
Oh it was so nice to finally get there. We were staying there til Tuesday, so it gave us a chance to relax. Bella was excited to be there too. Elly was the only kid home at the time so her and Bella got to hang out. Not too much else happened before it was time for Miss Bella to head to bed. 
Pictures are all up on facebook in the album extended weekend.

Friday of our Trip

Friday morning, Bella and I left home at 9:30am. We were headed for our first stop, Madison. Naturally I was half way there and relized I had forgot some things, so we decided to meet up with Aunt Diane at Target. Bella did pretty good in the store until the end, and then I knew it was really time to go. So we checked out and headed to the mall.
At the mall, we got lunch. Bella got her fav of chicken nuggets, apples and milk. I got a yummy smashed potato from Steak Escape. It was nice to sit down and enjoy the meal. The mall was not very busy yet, so it wasn't to crazy.
After we ate, we took Bella over to the play area and let her run around. She had a blast. She wasn't happy to leave either, but we had to continue on our trip.
We said our goodbyes and then Bella and I headed to Watertown. Bella finally fell asleep for a nap. Once we got to my mom's I manged to get bella to lay down for another 30 mins or so. She was in a pretty good mood once she woke up. She got the TinkerBell movie from my mom, so that made everything good. She also enjoyed checking out her toys there.
I left at 3:15 to go get my hair trimed. It was nice to get the 4 inchs off, and then i thought maybe i should have went shorter, until it came time to put my hair in a pony tail, and i was grateful I could still do that.
I got us Schuettes for supper, it was so yummy. Once we were done with Supper we headed over to Nikki's to walk over to the park. Tori met up with us there. So I got to check out her new wheels and see her and Dylan. It was a nice little catch up.
After Tori left, Nikki, Ronin, Bella and I hung out for a bit longer for Bella declared she was done. Once she was done, we headed home.
Bella went down pretty good for Bedtime and slept until 8:20 Saturday morning

Fish Fry at Grandpa’s

On Sunday we went to a fish fry at Grandpa’s. The weather was nice, so we got to enjoy the outdoors.  Would have been perfect if not for the Trains. After the fireworks the night before, Bella was not up for the Trains.

IT was a small gathering with just fish, homemade fries, grapes, strawberries and pie. Bella ate mostly fruit. LOL I had pretty much all fries. Josh enjoyed it all.

  Check out the fish on Daddy’s plate

  Stealing Grapes

She loved being able to get up on the picnic table by herself

Sharing pie

Week in Review July 19-23

This week we were pretty busy.

Monday: We stayed home the day, because Josh took our car back to the shop to get the headlight replaced. the bulb melted again, so yep needed a whole new light. It was another warm day, so Bella and I went for a visit around the farm in the morning. It was nice to walk around before the heat hit.

Tuesday: We went to playgroup, after not being there for 3 weeks. Bella did really well. Then we went to the grocery store to order Bella’s birthday cakes. BTW do not take a soon to be 2 year with you and mention cake unless you plan to leave with the cake. She was not happy the rest of the time in the store. We did get cupcakes to try to make her a bit happier. We came home and she slept for a good long time. while she slept I made sweet pickles. Josh got home and it was time to head out for Swimming Lessons. Lessons were really good. Bella is doing really well with the life jacket. I think she is done with just swimming with me though. I hope by next year she is tall enough for novice.

Wednesday: We headed up to Walker’s big sale, to get new shoes for Daddy and for Bella. She came home with three pair, and two outfits, got some birthday shopping done for two boys with birthday’s coming up and got new sandals and pants for me. It was a good deals and Bella did really well.  Then we had to go to the grocery store again, because Bella filled up one sticker chart with 10 stickers for going on the potty. So she got to get one of the Mylar balloons.  I was slightly bummed in her choices so it says Happy birthday, which i guess isn’t too bad since her birthday is only a little more than a week away! then it was to the library for some books, before heading home. we  got home, Bella napped while I relaxed with a good book.  we had a picnic lunch and then just hung out until Josh got home.  Went to swimming lessons and came home for a quiet night.

Thursday: I spent the day trying to get the house in order for me to be gone for almost 5 days. It was storming so there was not internet or tv, unless it was DVR’d. I got all the laundry caught up and the kitchen..the two things that will not look the same when I get home. I got a bunch of blog post lined up to post while we are gone, and changed the blog.  Not really my favorite design, but something was happening with the site that i used for the layout and I didn’t want it to go funky while i was out of town.

Friday… we are off.. First a stop in Madison, then on to Watertown where we will be til Saturday afternoon. then Waukesha before heading to Pewaukee to stay with my sister. Then Monday, off to great America with court..oh this should be fun, then Tuesday back home again.

Rockin Rewey Fireworks

On Saturday the 17th, I finally got to see some Fireworks! We had missed Lancaster’s fireworks due to Greg’s Ordination, I will be missing Watertown’s Riverfest Fireworks due to family camping, so yeah I needed to see these fireworks!

We got there around 7:30ish and found seats. Not in the ball diamond where they let them off, but on the other side of the road and down a bit of the ways.  Tony and his brother Jeff also joined us.  We had brought supper to eat while we waited along with toys for Bella. She did great until they started.

She wanted nothing to do with them and wouldn’t wear her ear protection, so yeah we stayed about two mins, started walking back to the car. Watched a few more from the gas station and then walked back to the car. Bella went in her car seat and was happy. Josh and i stood outside the car and watch them. Oh well maybe next year. :)

Checking out her toys

   

We had matching shirts and i forgot to get a group picture.  :(

 

she would wear them before hte fireworks started, but not after.

 

Once we got to the car, miserable! I was tired from carrying her, she was all dead weight, she was hot, tired and miserable.

Some of the few Fireworks shots i got

 

In the car on the way home, she had three glo bracelets and that made her  a happy camper!

 

NIght On the Square

Last week, on the 15th, Josh Bella and I went up to town to enjoy Night on the Square. They had a band from Germany, yummy food and games for kids. It was a great time. Bella enjoyed the band, pizza, bounce house and bubbles. Josh and I enjoyed a night out and saw some friends too!

The Band

 

Bounce house and bubbles with a friend

 

she got her first Tattoo, that she didn't’ do herself. :)

 

Josh and me!