Letters to Bella--11 Months

Dear Bella,

WOW, it has been a while since Mommy has updated your blog (sorry you just keep me very busy). Ok, so here is a quick run through of all that you have been up to....you have a mouthful of teeth, and you love trying all the new foods. You are such a good eater, we haven't found much that you don't like. You make your daddy proud ;) You are learning new things everyday and your cousin Lorelai is a great teacher. Your goal since you started crawling was to keep up with her....well mission accomplished, there is not much that she can do now that you can't. You two are so cute together, and it is very fun to watch you interact and become such good buddies. We took our first visit to the St. Louis Zoo and you loved it! Your favorite animal was the Penguin and Puffin House, you were so close to the penguins and got so excited when they would splash around. It was a great day and full of fun memories for me and Daddy.

At 10 months (to the day exactly) you just decided it was time to start WALKING, it took me some time to get used to the idea, but you are so darn cute toddling around. You have been early on pretty much every milestone, so I am not sure why I wasn't prepared for you to be an early walker, but of course I wasn't. Walking has opened up a whole new world for you to explore. One of your favorite things to do is be outside. We have been swimming in your baby pool, and over Memorial Weekend you tried out the big pool and you loved it. There just isn't much that you don't like to do, you are such an easy, good baby. You have turned into a little "ham", you love to get your picture taken and when the camera comes out, it is on! The more attention you get the more you get going, and it is pretty funny to watch.

As I am nearing your first birthday, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on our past year together. This time last year Daddy and I were anticipating your arrival, but nothing could have prepared me for how much you have changed my life. This has been an amazing year and you bring more and more joy into my life each day that I spend with you. Everyday I am reminded how blessed I am. I am very proud to be your mommy and thank God everyday that he chose me for the job.

We have a busy summer and lots of fun things to look forward to. You are growing up so fast my little Bella Bear!

I love you my sweet angel!

Love,

Mommy

Letters To Bella--Month 7

Dear Bella,

Here we are again, another month under our belt...it seems like you do something new everyday, so I hope I don't forget anything. The biggest news of your 7th month was not so fun, we had our first trip to the emergency room. You were so sick, you had a viral "bug" that was going around...and then ended up with an ear infection. You had a fever over 102 so they told us to take you in. It was very scary for me and daddy, but luckily nothing serious. So hopefully now that we got that over with you will stay well for a while!
I also would like to report that your next word was Ma-Ma!!!!!!!!!! All my practice with you paid off! It is so neat to hear you say it too...even though I know you have no idea why you are saying it. Everything is "ma-ma", the dog, your toys, food...but it is still fun! But, don't you worry as soon as you got "ma-ma" out daddy was already working on "da-da" so now it is "ma-ma--da-da-da". It is hard to even believe that you are talking and saying words.
We are itching to get outside and play with you. You love to crawl over and sit in front of the storm door and look outside while we let Sam out. We haven't taken many adventures to new places because it has been so cold out! Daddy did take us to Fitz's for Valentines day, and you had your first tastes of a root beer float. You loved the ice cream. If we are eating then you think you need to eat too. You are such a little mooch but it is pretty funny! Cupid also must have given you the love bug because you are loving to gives kisses now, nice open mouth, wet kisses! They are the best :) You are our little snuggle bunny.
Your personality is just growing bigger and bigger everyday! I look forward to each day I get to wake up to your little smile :)

I love you my sweet angel.

Love,
Mommy

Letters to Bella--Month 6

Dear Bella,

Oh my, I am a bad Mommy, I totally messed up and forgot to write you a letter for month 5! Oops, it was such a crazy time of the year with Thanksgiving and Christmas and you know how much time I have to get on the computer these days :) So, a LOT has happened since we left off...first things first you have two, yes TWO teeth on the bottom and you are crawling! You seriously have sped through a ton of "firsts" in like a 3 week time span. You are so fast at learning things, I was not prepared for how quickly you would change. You pull up on all of your toys and love to be standing. Your favorite toy to play with right now is your activity music table. You love to dance to the froggy song that plays and it is hilarious to watch your "moves"! So far it seems you get your dancing skills from your dad...but I am sure in time you will improve..lol.

You can say "ba-ba" which is so darn cute but I am working on teaching you mama or mommy or anything close to that. No such luck so far. You have also started eating baby food which has been a great experience so far. You sure do love to eat--gee wonder who you get that from?! Your favorite fruit so far is banana's and your favorite vegetable is sweet potatoes. We haven't tried all the different flavors yet so that could change. You were NOT a fan of carrots but we are working on it. You have gotten better in the last week or two about eating them. Not only do you eat baby food you have started to eat little Gerber snacks, AND you can feed them to yourself. I would have to say your favorite is the cheese puff's. You occasionally miss your mouth and Sammie gets a bite (which she waits patiently for).

You had your first cold of the winter which ended up not being too bad. I hate it when you don't feel good, but me and daddy nursed you back to health pretty quick.

Christmas was very fun with you this year. You were actually a lot more interested in opening the presents than we thought you would be. You love to eat the paper and play with the bows, they were much more fun than the actual toys. You are sure spoiled and very loved by your whole family.

OH....and I can't forget the best news...I don't want to jinx it but it seems like you are finally outgrowing all of your spitting up! From time to time you have a little, but not even as close to what it used to be like. It figures, just about the time we finally get a good supply of burp rags and bibs...oh well, I am sure we will still be using them for something else now!

I am really loving this age that you are right now. You are so much fun, your little personality is just blossoming. You bring me so much joy and are a little Mamma's girl (which I don't mind at all). It doesn't matter how bad my day has been going, the moment I lay eyes on you and see your little smile all my worries just disappear. I can't wait to see what the next month brings...you always keep me guessing!

I love you my sweet angel!

Love,

Mommy