Friday, October 15, 2010

16 Months Old- a few weeks late!

I am a little behind on my blog posting this month- oops! We have been very busy throughout September and October, and it took me awhile to actually sit down and upload pictures. So I'll try to remember what took place in Miss Bella's world during September. I usually jot things down that she has done throughout the month. However, I slacked on doing that as well. She is now 16 months old, practically 17 months now. It's crazy to think that she will already be a year and half this December!
Despite a few rainy weeks in September, we were still able to enjoy lots of outside time with Bella. She loves going down her "slide" and attempting to climb right back up it.
Haven't lost our cheesy smile yet. :) If that doesn't make you smile, I don't know what can! I don't think this picture shows it, but Bella got two more of her teeth in September. Another one has poked through this month, which only leaves 1 to go before the 2 year molars. The girl has got a mouth full of teeth!
Bella is still talking up a little storm. I definitely have quit keeping track of all the words she says because the list is getting too long. She repeats almost anything and remembers most of it too. However, if we are around people, not too many words come out of her mouth. It's funny that a little girl who is so crazy around her parents can be so shy around other people!
Not much has changed in terms of Bella's favorite play activities. She still loves her babies, Little People, her Polly Pocket dolls (lovingly referred to as doo-doos), and reading books. She is very good at doing imaginative play with the dolls and babies- it makes me excited for our future together playing with Barbies!
We took Bella to Westmarket Mark for the first time over Labor Day weekend. She enjoyed going down the slides, but the rest of the park is really geared towards bigger kids. However, I took Bella to the new playground equipment at Caldwell Park today, and that was awesome! They have a separate area for younger kids, and she had so much fun. That will definitely be a new place to go!
Bella likes to sit in her chair and look at her books. Often times a kitty or baby will need to be with her- or many kitties and babies!
Iowa football season also began, and Bella has been proud to show her Hawkeye pride. In fact, she's already been practicing her cheerleading skills!
Our whole family decked out in the black and gold- I believe this was the day of the ISU game. Sorry Bella, you're not allowed to cheer for the Cyclones!
One VERY exciting thing that happened for the first time in September is that Bella successfully stayed in church nursery. I joined a Mom's Bible study group this fall, which is held on Thursday mornings. I was soo worried about what Bella would do in nursery as she hadn't yet had a successful nursery experience. We had been trying different methods to get her used to it, like sitting in the room with her for a few services, then sitting for awhile and leaving. Bella was fine when we were there, but the times we left, she started crying like 10 minutes later. So needless to say, I was thinking that this wasn't going to work. However, the first week she did fine! They said she cried for a little bit, but calmed down. I know the thing that made the difference is that I let her bring her blanket with her. I usually don't let her bring that to places, but I knew that would be her comfort if she was upset when Mama wasn't around. And it has worked like a charm. So our nursery problem has been solved!
Bella has some very expressive faces. The one above of course is well known as her cheesy smile. However, she has started integrating some new ones into her repertoire...
This is the mean looking "grumpy face"- aka the face Bella makes when something is not going her way. I'm working with her on doing it on command, but she hasn't mastered that yet. We have seen a lot more of this face recently... Bella hasn't lost her stubborn streak! In fact, I think it has likely grown. This picture also shows a new favorite of Bella's- necklaces. She LOVES playing with my jewelry, and I gave her these old ones to play with. She also loves playing with my make-up already. She doesn't get to actually use it, but she thinks that she is doing the same thing as Mommy!
And there is a picture of the precious "nigh-nigh." Apparently Bella didn't mind laying on the hardwood, as long as she got to snuggle with her blanket!
Bella's second favorite comfort is her three little fingers- just on the right hand. I know those are going to be hard to take away someday, but it's awfully cute right now.
Bella's other major current attachment is to me. She has always been a Mommy's girl, but that has expanded tenfold in the last few weeks. I can't deny that it's nice being so wanted, but it can be difficult to get anything done when a 25 pound girl wants you to carry her constantly! Hopefully this little stage will pass and Bella will realize that other people can be around her too. :)
My mom's birthday was in September, so we went out to eat with the whole family and came back to our house for cake and ice cream. Bella had so much fun playing with her cousins and enjoyed having Dylann read to her!
Another important birthday was celebrated in September- Daddy's! Here is a picture of the birthday boy with our sweet little girl on the big day. We all went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse.
And here is a picture of us all- this was an accidental color coordination by the way. But it worked well for a picture. :) The next big happening in September was our weeklong trip to Boston, which took place 2 days after Derek's birthday. More on that in the next post!

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