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!

Relaxing the day away

Yes, it's true. Mom, Bella, and Hunter are all napping on the couch. It's so nice.... now that Bryan is done with classes and I am done with my masters we can truly enjoy each other's company this holiday season. No stress, no mess to worry about. Just each other, Bella, and our family. Bella ended up napping for two hours on me, and although Hunter made my leg go numb, I loved every second of it. We hope to do this a lot more over break. We are going to Virginia for the holiday, so we wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Ride 'em Cowgirl!

There she goes! She is not only crawling but chasing the dog away. Here she is trying to ride the puppy like he's a horse, and of course Hunter doesn't appreciate that. He runs away when she comes around. Gee, I wonder why! She is crawling all over the place now. She also loves to climb up on objects so she can stand. She does that more than crawling. It's funny though, she'll get up but then cry because she wants to get down but doesn't know how. She's even standing up in her crib - what a scare that was! Won't be long till she's walking!

Valvoda Christmas

Christmas came a little early for Bella and the Rowell family. Since Grandma, Grandpa, and Auntie Erin were down for Thanksgiving, we raked in the good times with Christmas as well. Bella LOVED Santa.... pulled on his beard too! He gave her lots of goodies including new puppets (which she loves to watch or eat), more diapers, new toys and clothes, and a couple keepsake items. Of course, she loves the dog and monkey stuffed animals that Auntie Erin got her! She was so exhausted from all that fun she simply had to take a nap afterwards. It was an unforgetable Christmas all around.