White Christmas

I can't believe we had a "white" Christmas in Dallas, Texas! All this week it's been warm and then boom - it's like the weather KNEW it had to snow for us for Christmas. It was wonderful seeing the snow coming down on Christmas Eve. After going to church (and yes, Bella did well during the hour long church service - just started to cry when she couldn't hold the lit candle) we came home and opened one gift before dreaming of sugar plums. Then Christmas morning we enjoying quality time tearing open presents and decorating Hunter. All in all it's been a good Christmas season so far..... but the fun continues now that Aunt Erin is arriving tonight to visit! YAY!

December tidings

Well even though there is no snow down here in Texas, we're still enjoying ourselves! Bella and I set up the Christmas tree shortly after Thanksgiving ended because..... YAY! Grandma and Grandpa Valvoda came to visit! It was great to see them and they really enjoyed their time with Bella Boo (nickname from daycare). She loved all her presents, especially the new table and chairs from her grandparents. She is quite the little rascal now, getting into everything and demanding her way. Her favorite words are "Stop it" and "Where'd it go?" She even does the hands up motion when she asks the latter question - too cute! Now that she's starting to notice things more, Santa still is questionable for her. Her visit from Santa this year didn't lead to crying but that doesn't mean she didn't look at him with a question in her eye. All in all, it started off to be a great Christmas even though we can't be with more of our family. Wishing everyone a Happy Holidays from the Rowells!

Trick or Treat!

October was a very busy month for us. We're still trying to settle into the house and get adjusted to our busy schedules, but it's surely not easy on us. We did try to enjoy the "fall" weather in Texas, though I'd hardly call it fall. It's still in the 70's and the leaves are just now changing as November rolls along.

Bella did dress up as a witch for Halloween, although she wasn't too fond of everyone else's costumes. The witches particularly scared her. We took her to a Halloween Spooktacular at the local library and even then she didn't want to leave our arms. Then we went to a pumpkin patch and she enjoyed picking out her very own pumpkin.

Also in October we ventured down to Houston so Bella could meet her Great-Grandparents Villarreals and see her Aunt Kristen, Grandpa Bob and Grandma Bev. She also saw lots more family too in the short weekend we were there. She particulary liked swinging on the swing and being with Great-Grandpa Villarreal.

All in all, Bella has been getting much bigger and saying loads of new words. You can make out "thank you", "go", "more", "puppy", but her favorite is "NO!" Go figure! She enjoys playing outside and helping mom cook. Who knows what November will bring our way!

The Beauty of Childhood

Wouldn't you know it, this little lady has a personality all her own! It is a wonder to see Bella as she changes and becomes so animated. She dances when her music plays from the fridge boombox, she giggles ever so sweetly and it makes my heart flutter, and she has started to say the word "NO" every minute. To top it off, she's trying to imitate hitting things when she doesn't get her way. What a stinker she can be! But she has her loveable moments too, like when you ask for kisses and she will give you a mwah, or when you're holding her and she clings to you a little tighter to hug you back, or when she wants you to come with her somewhere so she grabs your finger and tugs you along. Every moment is truly a blessing to spend with her and all her cute ways. She just discovered the world of Jell-o this weekend and is having fun watching her food shake. Ahh, the joys of being a kid. It's great too because it makes me feel like a kid at heart, and who doesn't need that?

Summer Fun

Well it's officially summer in Texas and man does it feel like we're sitting on the equator! It is hot, hot, HOT down here but thank goodness it's without 100% humidity! Bella and mommy have been taking dips in the community pool. Actually, Bella has been splashing around and jumping in the water while mommy has been worried every second with her thrashing around so much, running on the concrete floor, and possibly slipping in the puddles around the pool. The scratch on her head is actually not from the pool but one of her big puzzles that flipped over and hit her smack on her head. It wont be long until she has all her toys back once we get into the house, which is expected at the beginning of August. Yeah! More fun upacking times to come!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy holiday America! We sure have been busy moving to Texas, settling in, and house hunting. Now that we are here, we did get an offer accepted on a foreclosed house and hope to be moving in around mid August. Bryan is working a lot of hours but is enjoying his job while Jena is still tring to find that teaching / library job waiting for her. Bella is enjoying her time with her mommy for now, although she really has taken an interest in the walks around the apartment building with puppy. All is well and her last checkup showed she is a whoppy 28 lbs already! Pretty soon mom wont be able to lift this chunky monkey! She gets into everything, and we're not talking about her toys. Her favorite things to play with lately are cotton balls, empty packs of gum, and of course electronics, namely the computer and cell phones.

Happy Birthday to me!

My oh my is our little one getting so big! Now that Bella is one year old, we realize time does fly. Each day when I hold her in my arms I realize just how different she looks to me. It's fascinating seeing her interests, watching her explore the world, and loving every minute of it. Lately she has a fascination with her mom that cannot be explained. Every minute that I'm home has to be spent in my arms. At daycare, Bella has moved into the "big girl" classroom. She babbles all the time and look forward to the day she'll be talking to us. We're in the process of starting her on one nap a day but that's going to take some getting used to. She still loves to eat, especially meat and pasta. And no, she did not dive into her birthday cake. She picked the frosting off as any little lady would do!

Happy Spring!

Poor Bella.... has to deal with all this cute and adorable torture from her parents! We just love putting "ears" on her. Bella's ears have been giving her a lot of problems, so she recently had tubes put in them. She is doing much better now. She is also eating lots more "people" food, but we're finding she's quite a picky eater. Boy does she love her cheese and pasta though - a true Baraona!

World, here I come!

Bella Jo is now exploring the world in her walking shoes. She has been using a walker to run around the house, but within the past week, she has foregone that crutch. Now, she's taking small cautious steps around the house to grab her toys, scurry after Hunter, or see who's at the door. It's very exciting watching her change and learn about the world. Although that's a positive, Bella has been quite sick lately. She continues to get ear infections and will ultimately need tubes in her ears. Last week she had pink eye, first in one then both eyes. Bryan and I were sick with a sore throat deal and we think she picked that up as well. She has been in the urgi-care so much the doctors there know her name. We hope this goes away so we can have our upbeat little girl back. Sorry no picture this time, our computer is packed away since our house is up for sale.

Walking on sunshine

It seems unreal that Bella is turning almost 10 months old. She just this week started balancing on her own - thus, we know walking is right around the corner. Using whatever means possible, such as her toy bin, she'll push herself and her walking container around the house. Her food explorations have been both fun and a mess - she loves yogurt and spaghetti, and she dislikes peas and turkey. Nilla wafers were interesting too, rather than just putting some of the cookie in her mouth, she shoves the whole thing in. We learned our lesson with that one. It's wonderful to see her progress. She waves bye and once in a while even tries to say "bye-bye." We're still working with her on "da-da" which also appears once in a while, but "ma-ma" (sigh) doesn't seem to be on her mind lately. Talking up a storm is a habit now and we can't wait to see what's in store for us in the coming months.

Almost there....

We are quickly approaching the day when our little one will be able to walk all over this world. Bella is standing and moving to and fro, but she cannot independently walk around yet. She loves using her Zoom-Zoom to walk around the house. Although she is still recovering from an ear infection, that has not kept her down. She is eating more and more table food and actually sleeping through the night.... only took nine months! Thank goodness those days have passed - now we're on to bigger adventures!

Bella having a blast!

Bella had her nine month check-up today. She is a record whopping 22 pounds and 14 oz. She is 28.7 inches long and almost at the walking stage. She crawls everywhere in the house and loves to be involved in exactly what you are doing. She is getting over an ear infection on top of everything else. There is definitely not a dull moment at the Rowell household. She loves to play with this barnyard set she got for Christmas, as you can see in the video. Bella also discovered the world of stuffed animals - she loves her Teddy (Bear) and George (her monkey from Aunt Erin). Her favorite foods are fruit and bread - the girl loves to eat! All is well aside from her being sick on and off again :)

First Christmas

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. Bella learned the joy of tissue and wrapping paper. She received lots of toys too, including a radio flyer with cushions and her first Barbie doll! We spent Christmas in VA this year and really enjoyed seeing the family. However, Bella was terribly sick and had to be taken to the ER Christmas Eve due to a fever of 102.5. She is better now, ending off the week with an ear infection. Hopefully things will settle down in the next coming weeks. We hope everyone had a lovely holiday and a Happy New Year!