My Best Friend

Spending my days with Bella is like having a best friend with me 24 hours a day. Most of the time you adore them. Sometimes you think they are possessed by aliens. She is growing and learning so much right now. I can have a full conversation with her...I love it. Here are a few things she's been doing lately.

*Our bedtime ritual is for us to get into bed...and then I tell her the story of our day. "Once upon a time, the was a little girl named Bella Grace. She woke up one morning and had oatmeal with her mommy. Then they got ready to go to playgroup..." and so on. After that, we sing a lullaby. And then I say "Goodnight Bella...I love you so much!". We had been doing this ritual for a couple weeks, and one night, she looked back up at me and said,

"I love you too so much too"

Talk about a heart melter. I have had dreams about my child telling me that...it was so wonderful.

*We recently pulled into a Starbucks parking lot. Bella took one look and said..."I NEED CAFFEINE!".

*We were in the bathroom at Lowe's. Bella was pooping...she started out by pooping a bunch of little poopies. Then she pooped a big one. She looked down into the toilet and said ... "Awwwww! It's the mommy!". I was rolling on the floor laughing. I guess I hadn't ever thought about poop having a mommy. Along these same lines...Bella is still very concerned about everyone else's mommy. If she sees a squirrel by itself..."where's his mommy?!"

*She asked me for water and I filled up a cup and gave it to her. She looked at it and said, "No...I need the piggy water!". It took me a few moments to figure out that she wanted the little juice glass with a cute little pig on it.

*Bella is very independent. She wants to do many things by herself now...which makes it very hard to get anywhere on time these days. She must pick out her own clothes. She must walk down our 3 flights of stairs to the car. A phrase I hear a lot is "Me do it."

*She so wants to be just like mommy..she likes to say, "Like Mommy do's". She's getting really into slinging her baby, nursing her baby...taking care of her baby. She also wants to use the big vacuum to pretend vacuum. She wants to drive the car. She wants to walk at the farmer's market instead of ride in the sling. Which, amazingly, was fine. She did great just walking next to us!

*She knows her ABC's now. The only part she gets hung up on is "H". She loves singing. She sings Itsy Bitsy Spider, Five Little Monkeys, and other random things she hears me singing.

It's definitely hard to get used to this new stage...she's so opinionated (I wonder where that comes from!?) ...and yet so wonderful and beautiful at the same time. I try very hard to truly listen to her and respect her as a person. If it's not going to hurt her, I usually let her try it. Even if it means wearing the same shirt 3 days in a row. Even if it means slowing life down a bit. I have to stop and ask myself why I am "making" her do something. Usually it's a selfish reason on my part. So I am learning a lot about myself, and at the same time learning all about her. God is good.

No Words Necessary

Little Hippie

Can I just tell you how much I adore this little girl?

Sweet Bouncing Bean

"I'm Jumping!"

Peace

If you've ever had a toddler, you know that this is one of the most beautiful moments during the day. Don't get me wrong...I adore my sweet Bella, but sometimes a mama needs some peace and quiet.

Making a Tattoo

We LOVE watching Miami Ink. It's so fun to see all the tattoos that other people are getting and hear the stories. Once in awhile, Bella has been in the room and has seen them working. So, today, I wasn't surprised when I found this masterpiece on her foot.

"I'm making a tattooooo! I like tattoos!"

Yesterday, she made a GIANT tattoo on her leg in the backseat while I was driving...but daddy washed it off before photos could be taken. She's quite a creative girl.

The Naked Chef

Whenever I cook, Bella is right there with me in the kitchen...watching every move. So, it's no surprise that she LOVES cooking with her own little kitchen set. Grandma Janssen (a.k.a. Amma) got her this adorable little 2-burner "stove", and I found some fun wooden fruits and veggies (complete with her favorite...the avocado!). She has her own mini cast iron skillet too. Tonight she was making me dinner...and here are some of the things she said while she was cooking...

"I like cooking!"
"Mommy...you like this food?"
"I'm making thai food...you like it?"
"Almost done..."
"I'm stirring!"
"Eat at the table..."
"Thank you Jesus for this food...Amen!"

After we were done eating, she wanted to clean up with my "spray". She loves to spray things...and because I use only natural cleaners, I don't mind her spraying the house . After all, it's just water, vinegar, essential oils!

It was a fun evening with my little naked chef.

I Need Too Much!

Lately, instead of saying, "I need more", Bella says "I need too much!".

When she wants more lotion..."I need too much!"
When she wants more soap..."I need too much!"
When she wants another bite of something..."I need too much!"

She also has started to demand "proof" of something...no longer does she take my word for it. For example, when we are having a treat and I tell her it's all gone, she says...

"I see it all gone? Please?"

She knows I'm just hiding it from her! My smart little girl.

Nursie Nursie

Bella loves to nurse her baby. In the photo above...we were walking around Uncle Dan's garden. It was so peaceful and pretty. I was walking ahead of her...and when I looked back, she was "nursing". It's such a beautiful thing to watch your child nurture their "baby" in the same way that you have nurtured them. It usually goes something like this:

"Nursie baby? Yeah? Yeah?"

Bella then pulls up her shirt as far as it will go so she can see what she is doing. Then, she sways gently as she nurses her baby.

"It's ok baby...mommy's here...mommy's here. Shhh...."

Oh...it's the sweetest thing.