One Year Old!

Wow- so it has been awhile since I posted anything again, but this month has been very very busy! Most notably, Bella is now a 1 year old. :) It's pretty crazy that an entire year has gone by already, but it has been an awesome year! Here is the monthly update for Bella, along with some pictures from May. I'll post on her birthday party later, as there are many many pictures to show for that!
We went to several of our nieces and nephew's events this month. Dylann had a tumbling recital, and we took a new picture all the cousins. It turned out fairly well- for the girls anyway. Poor Jager, surrounded by all these little ladies!
Bella has started talking more this month. In addition to all of her previous words, she now says nigh nigh, no no, rock, one, boon (for balloon) and wah (for water). We can also tell that she understands quite a bit of what we say - like if we tell her to go find her ball or baby, she goes and does it. She has now discovered the joy of Sesame Street- in particular, Elmo. Bella doesn't watch it for more than 30 seconds at a time, but she does like dancing to the music. She also sings la la la la for Elmo's World. :) Bella still adores playing outside. We bought some sidewalk chalk, so she now enjoys making little scribbles on the driveway and carrying the chalk around. Bella also likes playing on her playset. She still likes to swing and has recently started to love going down the slide. She used to be terrified of it, but now she tries to climb up it constantly so she can go down. Our arms get quite tired!
This past month Bella has also developed a VERY strong attachment to her blankie! I was happy about this because I like blankies. :) She now has to have it every time she leaves her crib, and every so often throughout the day she needs to snuggle with it and suck on those fingers. Bella also sometimes pretends to go nigh nigh on the blankie, which is a pretty fun game for her. In fact, Bella became quite obsessed with nigh nigh after she learned to say it. Her babies all have to go nigh nigh, her Little People all have to go nigh nigh... pretty cute though!Bella still loves looking at her books as well. She even "reads" them to herself by sticking her nose way down in the book and chattering. We bought her several new books this past month that are more interactive (flaps, music buttons, tails). She really likes those, especially this book called Tails. There are several tails in the book that wag back and forth when you pull a tab. Well, Bella just loved messing with those and yanked those tails out every single day. Many of those tails have now met their demise thanks to her!Bella likes to tell everybody how old she is! I started practicing with Bella several months prior to the big day to ensure she would be able to show how old she is- and she didn't fail me. She even says one now along with her finger! Somewhat against my better judgment, we filled up Bella's sandbox this year. It's pretty messy... especially when she has suntan lotion on. But she does really like playing in it, and she only ate some of the sand the first day. And then she really likes getting washed off in the faucet before we go inside!
As you can see, Bella is quite active when she is out and about. I'm afraid she may have inherited my gene for being a sweaty and red-faced little girl. She was probably only out for about 1/2 hour this particular day, but her face was sooooo red!
Still loving to play with those rocks- at least she now can say what they are!
Mommy helped put all the babies to nigh nigh here- she definitely doesn't do it quite so neatly. Bella loves playing with her babies. Other than making them go nigh nigh, she gives them kisses, pretends to feed them, does rock-a-bye with them, and pushes them around in her stroller. Bella has also learned some ornery and strange tricks this month. First, she has now discovered that she can throw toys down the stairs to our basement - and she gets mad if they don't go all the way down. She also learned that she can put her fingers in her ears and nose. So sometimes she walks around with both of her fingers in her ears- such a goofball!This was another fun discovery Bella made- she knew that the garbage bags stored in this cupboard were fun to play with, but she didn't know that she could climb right in the cupboard!Sadly, we had yet another accident this month. Bella was with me in our bedroom one morning (actually, the Friday before her birthday party) and I was going to make the bed. Bella likes to dig out boxes and bracelets that are in my jewelry armoire, so she was messing in that - something she has done a million times before. Well, apparently this time, she was reaching in a drawer that was too tall for her, and she managed to pull the whole thing over and on top of herself. Thankfully I was like a foot away from her so I pulled it off quickly. But as the picture shows, she had quite a banged up little head. Thankfully, she was okay other than the little bruises. And actually, this picture was really the worst that it ever was. I iced it a lot that day, and it already looked better the next day. She just had 4 little marks from where the drawers hit her face. It could have been much much worse- the armoire is heavy! I still am not quite sure how Bella managed to yank that thing over - her little body is apparently stronger than it looks. On Memorial Day, we went to my parents house and hung out outside while my dad worked on filling up the pool. Bella had fun playing with her cousins in the little baby pools! Dylann also introduced Bella to the world of Polly Pockets, which she enjoyed messing with. I'm so thankful Bella has girly cousins to play with- I would be pretty sad if Bella turned out to be a little tomboy! I want to play with Barbies again. :)
Bella's 12th and final monthly picture, which was actually one of the easiest ones to take! Sure, now she decides to sit nicely in the chair and smile!
We've celebrated many occasions recently in addition to Bella's birthday. Our anniversary is the day after her b-day, so we had to take a picture to commemorate the event. This year was a little better than last as we weren't stuck in the hospital this time!
Bella still likes messing with balls, although not as much as she used to. The obsession with saying ball went over to nigh nigh I think. However, this particular evening she liked watching Daddy play basketball and wanted to help him.
We also celebrated my birthday a few days after Bella's birthday and our anniversary. (Poor Derek- so many occasions!) We took a picture of Mommy and Bella- and figured out how to make Bella smile when we take pictures with her! (Tickle her tummy- she loves being tickled and is super ticklish!)
And here is what we have to do about 20 times in a row every time Bella sees the slide. But look at that face and her excitement- who can resist?
Whee, I'm so fast!

Bella's New Walking Skills

Here is a short video to show off Bella's walking. She still looks so tiny to be walking around!

Tulip Time!

Last weekend was Pella's Tulip Time- thus, Bella was dressed up in her very first Dutch costume. :) Unfortunately, the weather was not very nice- it was cold and windy! Thankfully, we took pictures of Bella by all the tulips the weekend before on an absolutely beautiful day. So I didn't care as much that the weather stunk because I already had the pictures I wanted. Bella was quite the little performer during our photo shoot! There were already a lot of tourists around the tulip beds taking pictures, and she was definitely showing off for them. So some random people now have picture of our cute little Dutch girl. :)
Bella didn't really want to have her picture taken at first, but once she saw people looking at and talking to her, she started acting like her silly little self!Gazing upon all the pretty tulips... wondering I'm sure how she can get her hands on them to destroy. My favorite picture. :) So very sweet. Showing off those walking skills for everyone!
Seeing her in a little dress with a lace hat was quite possibly the cutest and funniest thing ever. I had Bella's dress and my dress made by a lady in Sully, and she did a great job. This dress can be let out so that it will fit Bella for several years, which will be nice. Plus, our dresses have a similar floral pattern, so we coordinated with each other. I made sure Derek matched too!
And here is pictures from the parade on Friday- VERY cold and VERY windy. I had to put several layers of clothing under Bella's dress so she didn't freeze to death. We walked in the baby parade Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon. We probably should have walked Thursday because it was really nice, but I wasn't planning on it, so we didn't.
Our little family right after the parade on Friday- doesn't Derek look cute in his hat? :) Mommy and Bella back at home in the warmth!Thankfully, Saturday was a better day than Friday. The sun actually came out for awhile during the parade, and it wasn't quite so windy. Here is a picture of the whole family all dressed up in our lovely Dutch garb! Our neighbor Leslie and her little boy Trey- who is Bella's little playmate. Bella is apparently excited about something here!We tried to get a picture of the two little Dutch children together. Trey cooperated, but Bella kept shoving on him to stand up and walk around. This one is pretty sweet though. :) Grandpa Doug and Grandma Sheri with Miss Bella after the parade on Saturday!Aunt Anna snuggling with Bella on Saturday night. I think Bella missed Anna- she hasn't seen her since December, and she loved playing with her!We met up with some friends on Saturday night to watch the night parade because I thought Bella would like seeing the floats lit up, plus it was pretty decent out. However, that did not last too long. Bella wanted to go crawl onto other people's blankets and onto the street, and when we wouldn't let her, she started to get very mad. (Have I mentioned she has a temper?) So we just decided to go home. Maybe next year!

11 Months Old!

Wow, so this past month has been incredibly busy. It's amazing how quick time goes by when it's actually nice outside and we are able to get out and do things! Bella has had a very big month as well- the most notable difference being that she is now walking! It took her the whole month of April to decide that she could do it all the time, but then at the beginning of May she started to walk more than she crawled. She learned how to stand up on her own at the end of April. Bella is pretty steady on her feet now as well, which I think is why she took so long to walk all the time. She wanted to be good and ready. :)
Our monthly picture- only one more to go! It is definitely a difficult task getting Bella to sit still on a chair. However, it's fun to look back at all her various months, although she hasn't really changed a lot, other than growing bigger. I think even her eyes look the same as when she was a newborn!
New words: Bella picked up on some new vocab this month as well. She started saying ball at the beginning of April after she got some bouncy balls. She then quickly associated any round object with a ball and said ball incessantly anytime she saw it. :) I also taught Bella how to say uh-oh, which in hindsight was not such a great idea. Now when she drops (or throws) toys/food/any object from her highchair/crib/any possible place, she has a phrase to go along with it. Bella 's other favorite word is still mama. However, for some reason, she calls pictures of babies mama as well. Not sure where that association came from!
Bella also knows how to make some animal noises- hiss for a snake, quacking for a duck (her version of quack anyway), growling for a tiger, and bawk for a chicken. I'm still working on meow. :) Bella is starting to become even more interactive with us and understands a lot of what we say. She knows what objects are and goes to get them when we tell her to- like her baby, stuffed kitten, and ball. She also feeds us food when we tell her to, which is a good way to get her to eat! I have her take turns with feeding Mommy and then herself.
Speaking of eating... I'm continuing to work on Bella eating more table food. At the beginning of the past month, it was not going so hot. However, it is much better now, and I no longer think she will be eating baby food until she is 16. She has eaten lots of "big people" food and doesn't just spit it out instantly anymore. She really likes bread, turkey, pasta, chicken, and cheese. Bella doesn't do as well with anything she has had in baby food, although she is starting to do better with fruits. Veggies... not so much. Those get spit out quickly. :) She is also drinking much better from a sippy cup as I found one that she likes.
We have played outside A LOT. Any day that it's nice we go on walks (usually a few) and go roam around in the backyard. Miss Bella absolutely adores it. This picture shows one of her favorite activities- playing with the rocks in our landscaping. We try to distract her away from them, but little miss stubborn doesn't give up easily. So she is allowed to bang them together and make little piles in the grass. Bella is still quite the curious little girl. She digs in any possible cupboard to see what she can find. Here she has discovered grocery bags, which led to a lot of fun! She also likes to turn the light switches off and on. And off and on. Repetitively.
Bella also pushes any object that moves. Here she managed to move one of our dining room chairs into the kitchen. She can also maneuver objects in the right direction if they get stuck in something. I think she's pretty strong because she gives things a mighty yank to get them out of the way!
Bella discovered that she can play peek-a-boo on her own. She holds something up over her head and sits very still while we ask where's Bella? She thinks she's pretty funny.
Bella also started doing the sign for all done when she is eating. I have done some simple signs with her since she is about 6 months, so it was fun to see her start doing it on her own. However, she sometimes starts doing the sign the second she gets in her high chair....
Bella is showing off her new bling- yes, the ears are now pierced. Getting it done was not a very pleasant experience. The actual piercing was just like a shot, which of course entails much crying and unhappiness. But possibly even worse was just getting her to sit still. If Bella doesn't want to do something, then she's going to fight like crazy to get her way (oh so very stubborn). So it was a challenge getting her to sit still enough to get her ears done. But we made it, and they look quite adorable. And she hasn't messed with them at all!

Derek, Bella, and I walked the Klompen Classic before Tulip Time. There was around 2000 people participating, so it was a bit of a challenge navigating our stroller through all the swarms of people. But we made it- and Bella actually stayed in her stroller the entire time! We kept her happy munching on some snacks.
Bella and her mommy on my first Mother's Day... which unfortunately included an unpleasant experience. We were over at Derek's parents for lunch, and Bella was playing with a toy in the kitchen. She was pushing the toy, and somehow the handle snapped right off... thus she fell with the handle onto the floor. She was bleeding, so we thought she just cut her lip on her tooth. But apparently she fell quite hard because she chipped her front tooth. :( I was pretty sad to see my baby have her first accident, and to see blood. I'm taking her to the dentist this week to make sure the root wasn't damaged (teeth can apparently die if they're chipped badly enough). Hopefully that's not the case! And I'm hoping they can fix the tooth with some bondage... otherwise poor Bella will have a chipped tooth until she is like 5 years old.