First Day At School......

Bella and I have been visiting the Day Care that she will be going to the past few weeks so that she could get to know everyone and become familiar with the surroundings before she had to make the big step and stay without me. And of course, from doing the visiting, she picked up a cold. Nothing serious, just a runny nose and kinda fussy. Since there was no fever... and with the approval of her Pediatrician, Bella went to her first day of school today. She didn't cry at all and went straight to her teacher with no hesitation. I was so glad of that. I stayed for just a bit. Since we had made the visit to the Pediatrician, we didn't get there till about 1030. Bella settled in for lunch...and I left in tears. And I told myself that I wouldn't do that. I realized just how much this little girl meant to me when I had to leave the building without her. I called back in an hour and they said that she was doing just fine, playing.

I went to pick Bella up around 4 and she clapped her hands when she saw me. But, seemed happy too! She had even taken an afternoon nap. She waved at everyone on the way out and said her famous multi syllable, 'bye'. I am so glad that today was such a positive experience for her. Its hard to believe that I have been out of work since Feb 15th.....and it is going to be way tough to log back in to my computer on June 9th to resume my work duties.

Little Girl..Big Dreams

The cute little bottom and the T-shirt say it all.

Check out the bib that my friend Donna found. I am just crazy about Flip-Flops and I am hoping that Bella will carry on the tradition. We are definitely getting an early start.

Forever Home--3 months today

Its been three months since we became our 'forever family'. And so much has changed in the past three months. As you can see, Bella is starting to be more mobile. She is in the early stages of crawling....and can scoot on her but anywhere she wants to go. As you can see, under the Jumparoo was the place to be tonight. She usually plays in the Jumparoo before bed. I guess tonight, she wanted to see how it worked. lol

Next Tuesday is a big day for us...Bella will start attending Day Care :( We have been visiting each day, a few hours for the past few weeks. She loves her teachers, Miss Lori, Miss Nikki, and Miss Courtney. She will attend a couple of weeks before I return back to work on June 9th. And next Thursday, we will be taking our first trip to Myrtle Beach.

Because of the beach trip, we will be doing Bella's "Princess" Birthday party on June 8th. But her big day for turning '1' is June 2nd. Lots of planning in progress for the big day. Wish you could all be here to share her special day.

Pierced Ears and Chick Fil A

Bella will be 1 year old on June 2nd. I have been wanting to get her ears pierced...and yesterday we did it. She was such a trooper..she is not one to sit still...so you can imagine how it went. But, it was over quickly and she only cried for just a few minutes. And the girls at the shop where we had them done were great! I chose her birthstone for her first pair. Bella has so much hair, the earrings are sometimes hard to see. So, after the mall trip, we were off to Chick Fil A and her first 'childs' meal. The juice in the meal had a straw with it....thought it might be time to try a straw since she is doing so good with the sippy cup. Viola, first try, she handled the straw like a pro.

Catching up.....

I have a brother that lives on Oahu...the blog is his way of keeping up with what is going on with Bella...family and such... I spoke with him on Saturday...and he says that I am falling down on the job. :( I will have to do better. :) Bella is starting to be more mobile, still not quite crawling, but very curious of everything. She has learned to say "hey" and "bye". And she is kinda like Kelly Pickler, they sound like they have multiple syllables. Guess its a southern thing...but, I guess I pretty much say them the same way too. Bella loves to be outside and had her first experience with sitting in NC grass.

Time is flying by....I have been out of work and home with Bella since Feb 17th. I will have to return to work on June 9th. We have been doing daily visits at the daycare that Bella will be staying in. She loves to be with the other children and smiles at everyone when we go in.

And the new house is coming along. We hope to be able to have our 4th of July cookout at our new house. Brickwork is all done, outside light are hung, trimwork is done, and the painters will start this week.

Peep-Eye and Cheese Puffs

Isabella has starting playing 'peep eye' on her end...instead of us doing it all the time. Sometimes she covers her eyes, sometimes she puts her hands on her head, and sometimes she covers one eye with both hands...too funny. And she is now beginning to do a 'high five'. But, she is probably thinking she has us trained really good! lol....cause we are always doing the tricks we want her to do... And talk about loving Cheetos...check out the 'puff pose'.

Isabella is 11 Months Old Today!!!

Last year at this time, we were working feverishly on putting our Dossier together so that we could be added to the waiting list for a referral. And today, not only did we get a baby girl referred....but, we have her and she is 11 months old today. I am already starting to plan her 1st Birthday Party. It will be on May 31st..which is the Saturday prior to her Birthday on June 2nd.

Isabella now tolerates being placed on her tummy and has started scooting backwards. I hear that lots of children do this prior to crawling in the forward direction. And is rolling over like she has been doing it forever. She hasn't gotten to the point of going from a lying down position to sitting. She isn't pulling up yet, but will stand if you help her up..as long as she is holding onto something.

Isabella goes to bed around 8pm and wakes up everyday by 545am. I can now place her in her crib while she is awake and she will sooth herself to sleep. And if she wakes up during the night, she goes back to sleep too. This is totally opposite from those first few weeks after bringing Bella home. She had to have a bottle to go to sleep...and was feeding 2-3 times every night. Whew....I am surely hoping we are past that for good. Keith and I have worked really hard to keep her daily activities as consistent as possible.