Lucy

Bella loves puppies. Our friends Brandon and Abby (college pastors at our church) have a little puppy named Lucy and Bella had fun walking her around in their backyard. Sometimes Lucy was dragging Bella around...but mostly it was Bella dragging Lucy! And no....we aren't getting a puppy.

Pouch Baby

Bella has decided that she loves to be all curled up in the fleece pouch...just like when she was a newborn. If you try to put her in a different way, she says "Feet IN! Feet IN!". She loves her Daddy so much...they do lots of fun things together so that I can have some time by myself!

Bianca

Our friends Rebecca and Bianca came to play at our house this week. Bianca (Bella calls her "Anca") is 20 months and she is bi-lingual (Portuguese). It was fun to hear her say the words in a different language. Bella really liked Bianca's sunglasses too. Their family will be moving to Brazil in December, where they will teach Capoeira (a lively Brazilian martial art that combines dance, acrobatics and music with fighting techniques). It's fun to hear about their exciting experiences!

Bella-antics, Part II

Bella is changing so much with each day. Her vocabulary is really expanding and she will also repeat/copy everything we say or do. Things you may hear around our house on any given day:

• "Good morning!" (she says this as a greeting any time of the day)
• "Set it!" (when she wants you to set something down for her to see)
• "Lotion!" (she's obsessive with lotion)
• "I see a bunny!" (she means squirrel)
• "Swimming pool/hot tub...I put on my baby suit"
• "Dr. Wade...dentist boy...clean my teeth!" (she remembers his name all by herself)
• "Dr. Cherney...fix my finger!"
• "Nana, sit down and rock!"
• "My vitamin? One a day!!" (she always wants more than one, so we always say one a day!)
• "Amma...Papa...Abby sleep here, Bentley sleep here!" (Grandma and Grandpa Janssen came to DM and brought the dogs and she's been talking about it ever since)
• "Draw Mindy and Xena!" (Aunt Mindy and her dog...sometimes she will remember to add Uncle Ryan too)
  
• "Slide? Swings? Park? In the bike!"
• "Oh sorry..." (if she accidentally bumps you)
• "Bless you!" (If you sneeze, cough, blow your nose, or do anything that sounds like those)
• "Sooo Sone!" (Must be heard to understand, she means "Cold Stone!" )
• "Errraboo" (When she sees a Caribou Coffee shop)
• "Mommy...in the bed!" (when she wakes up and wants me to lay with her in the bed)e
  
• "Bike!" (we've been riding the bike with the trailer everyday)
• "I see Wally's house!"
• "Oooooh sweetie baby!"
  
• "Tea party!"
  
• "Na na nursy-time" (self-explanatory)
  

The list could go on and on...I'm amazed daily at what she can remember. She's great with names. Her favorite CD right now is "Cows and Ice Cream" and her favorite song to sing is "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music. We love to dance around the living room and sing with guitars and we also like to blow bubbles outside. In fact, I think we will go do that right now!

Stacking

We got Bella these blocks for her birthday. She loves to stack them up and then as soon as she's done, she pushes it over and then laughs and laughs. I love my crazy Bella.

Orderly

Bella likes to line things up.

Drive

Bella has always loved to sit in the driver's seat of our car (this photo was taken on our way out to Boulder last August). Now that she can voice her opinions more clearly, she makes it known everytime we get in the car that she wants to "drive for a minute". It's the key to getting her in the carseat without a fight. So, here is how it goes down:

As we approach the car, Bella asks ... "drive for a minute?"
Hand Bella the keys and put her in the seat
She puts the correct key in the ignition and pretends to drive for about 10 seconds
Ask Bella if she can help me get her into the carseat
She turns around and crawls to the backseat and gets buckled in quickly and calmly

What happens if you don't let Bella "drive for a minute?" Well, I'll just let this be a happy blog.

Nana

Bella loves to hang out with her Nana. Here they are in the backyard...following Casie the Cat around. Casie is my parent's cat who came over to visit after her haircut. My mom is so great with Bella and is so accepting and encouraging in all of my parenting practices. She was made to be a Nana...it certainly suits her.

Pure Joy

We have a slide in our very own backyard thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Janssen. They were able to find this amazing slide for Bella's birthday and she loves it. And I love it too because I am able to go outside and read or work while she has something safe and fun to do. She has recently mastered going up the slide backwards...by taking her shoes and socks off so her feet are "sticky". The look on her face when she mastered that was so great. I love witnessing her achievements with her...it's a dose of pure joy.

Relaxation

One of my favorite things to do is sit outside on a blanket and read/write. It's even better if I have a stash of snacks. Bella and I decided to take an afternoon and sit outside to do just that. We took apples, graham crackers, and some water and headed outside. We had a lovely time. Bella was especially serious when she was "writing" in my journal. It's so great to get out of the house and spend some time with Bella ... listening to the "birdeees" and the watching the "baby bunneeees" (which are not actually bunnies, they are squirrels). Fun times. Warm weather = good.

Springtime

How do you tell a little girl not to pick the flowers? The are so beautiful, bright and yummy. Don't you think God put them on earth to be enjoyed...and held in our hands? I could tell her not to touch them. That they are only for looking at. But springtime just isn't springtime without the picking of a few daffodils. So everytime we go for a walk, Bella gathers some love in her hand. Thank you Jesus for flowers and 2 year olds. May I always remember to stop to pick one.