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!