18 months old!

Hi everyone! I'm 18 months old and I wanted to show you what my little cute self has been up to! My mommy has been a little nostalgic today. It might be because she says she's "hormonal" (whatever that means) but it might also be because i'm growing up too quickly (she says). I'm now at a year and a half...going on...

I see my mommy cleaning the house. So, I decided to help one day. I found something that looked like a broom, went to the place in the kitchen she sweeps the yucky pile too, and started helping. (**This is Bella's mommy. She found a basting brush from our grill, found the yucky pile I had just swept and before I could get the vacuum cleaner to it, she spread it out again. She sure was proud of herself for "helping" though**).
Ok, back to me. I swept all over the house that day!

My mom insists on taking my picture every once in a while in front of these big animals. Being the good first born I am, I lined them all up in a row for the picture!
I also know how to clap your hands on demand...with the song "if you're happy and you know it"...

My mom asked me to hug the giraffe. But why not spread the love?

And, gather all the animals.And hug them so tight your mommy can't see anything but my hands in the picture.

I like to give hugs...

and kisses. Last night when we were all hanging out in the living room before my bath time, I caught mommy and daddy giving eachother a kiss. So, what did I do? I puckered up and made sure they gave me a kiss. They said I ruined the moment. I think I make it though! They were laughing so hard, I now make sure I interrupt their kisses to give them some of mine. That's what they really want, right?

I also really like to give kisses when i'm in trouble. Sometimes I'll grab my mommy's glasses and she'll say "no ma'am". Usually all I have to do is pucker up and keep puckering and she'll start laughing at me. Then i'll get kisses and no more "no ma'am"...until the next time I do it.

I really like to play in my parents room in the morning. They have a drawer that I empty out on a regular basis. My mommy says i'm too cute in these shorts too so I think it's ok.

I really like my daddy. Since i've been learning to eat with a spoon, my parents insist on letting me eat without my shirt...like i'm messy or somethin'. Anyways, my daddy is alllllways reading books. But I usually want to read with him so I don't let him read when i'm in the room. My mom also said to look at my full tummy! Mowwmmm, you can't do that do a gal!
We like to sing together...or sometimes he'll just yell so i'll yell too. I'm not sure why he does that but I keep doing it too!
I've learned where my nose is, my hair is, my mouth is, my eyes are. I don't get it right all the time but it's all in the same general vicinity. Here I am pointing to my nose - "hey, is that a booger? Don't worry daddy. I'll get it". My mom says I do this every time I point to my nose.

Lately, I'm learning to eat with a spoon!

Right before my parents took this picture I heard them say, "She's so neat. She's doing a great job at not making a mess". well, i'll show them...

uh hem, still being "neat". Then, daddy came over to tickle and play and...

I showed them what a mess was!

I also really like yogurt - sometimes to eat - sometimes to play with - sometimes to rub all in my hair.
My mommy loves this picture. But, she wanted to make sure I told everybody about my new trick. I've had a stuffy nose lately and i've learned to blow my nose! End.Of.Story. (**This is Bella's mommy again. What she didn't tell you is she likes to blow her nose - most of the time without a tissue or napkin or anything. She'll just blow! And, allll her stuffiness will come out. Thank you Bella. Your nauseous, prego mommy.**)
That's it for now. I'll keep being cute and running and sweeping and blowing my nose and kissing. It seems like my parents laugh at all of that - which has to translate into they love it...right?

A post for Aunt Christie and Uncle Joey - and updates!

Aunt Christie and Uncle Joey bought Bella this sweet outfit at Christmas - and the weather is good enough to get in it! So, we went and played outside. Aunt and Uncle Parson, we sure miss and love you guys!


Here she is playing with her new outside toy!

This was right before she uprooted the flower. "Gentle, gentle Bella". Oops, there it goes.

Some more Bella updates:
1. She is "talking" on the phone. She'll hold it up to her ear, "talk-babble", and then laugh. Repeat this process for a while and she has a conversation. I guess she hears Mike and I talk and laugh and talk and laugh on the phone. It's really like she's having a conversation with her spontaneous laughter.
2. She is mimicking everything! I'll wash her hair. She'll wash her hair. I'll wash her arms. She'll wash her arms. I'll wipe off the table. She'll wipe off the floor. I'll dance. She'll dance. Or she'll dance and then i'll dance. Either way - she is mimicking everything we do!
3. She is still singing. This morning in church she sang, semi quietly, through the entire sermon. And, she also played peek a boo with the people sitting behind while her daddy was preaching. I'm glad he can preach around some of his church members making funny faces during his sermon. ha!
4. She is really inquisitive. She's always been very patient and will study a new toy or a new object for a long time. I guess she saw Mike and I stack papers one day and we saw her doing it last night. You know...the stacking where you pick up a lot of paper and tap the ends of the papers to line them up...yep, that's what she did. Cute little genius!
5. She is giving kisses and hugs without asking! awww, this may be my favorite.
6. She's dancing but she added a circle-circle action. Sometimes it's a circle-step forward-circle action. She will also dance on demand when you ask her. Mike and I may or may not join in nearly every time.
7. The humidity here lately has done wonders on her hair and my hair (Abby, I saw your facebook status about the frizz - girl, Bella and I both hear ya). Her hair is so cute when it's crazy and curly though. Mine? Not so much.
8. She is pretending to blow her nose. Whenever we giver her a wipe or a kleenzex she'll pretend to blow her nose while she wipes it. Where did she learn that?

Baby #2 update:
I'm feeling semi ok. It feels very similar to how I felt with Bella. Off and on nausea - some days are better than others. It could be worse so i'm trying not to complain too much. I also started the tired-all-the-time phase. We are at 8 weeks so it should only be 4-5 more weeks of this. That's very doable! I've done it once. I think I can. I think I can. We have our first sonogram tomorrow - woohoo! I still remember that sweet moment of seeing Bella for the first time - and looking up at Mike's face - and both of us kindof laughing/sighing at the same time. Just precious. I'll probably get all choked up again.

And, dad the rest of the post is for you.
Our roses have come out in full force with the great rain we've had! Aren't they beautiful!

Here's the square foot garden: transplants.

Tomatoes are coming in!

The lettuces and peas and spinaches are sprouting!

Look how much these have grown!

Operation Square Foot Gardening!

Blog world, meet my favorite pot o'flowers. Beautiful pot o'flowers, meet my blog friends. This is a rare weekend. Bella is with the Houston grandparents. So, last night Mike and I went out to eat in Waco at Chuy's - yes, awesome - AND went to see a movie. We got home late for us parents at 10:30ish and even stayed up later after we went to Sonic for a shake. I don't think we stopped talking the whole time we were eating, the whole drive home, and while eating/drinking our shakes. It was such a great night! A special thanks to Susy and Tommy for this special time.

This is also a rare Saturday for me. Mike is in Waco ALL day long finishing up papers and studying. What is one word that comes to mind? Q.U.I.E.T. Don't get me wrong. I love hearing the laughs and cries and yes, sometimes whining of my sweet kiddo and I love chatting with my hubby. So, it's weird with how quiet it is here right now. What did I do? I hung out with the ittybittysmithy #2 who I think is quite comfy and growing great, evidenced by making the mommy feel sick. It comes to an end though - 6 more weeks, 6 more weeks. We woke up late - 7:45! woohoo! That's a record for me. We went on a slow, late run in the beautiful weather and then finished my book while sitting in the backyard. I just finished "Stones into Schools" which is one of my favorite, if not my favorite, book ever. I highly recommend it and should devote and entire blogpost to it. After finishing the book, we cleaned the house, did the laundry, made our weekly grocery run, fput up the laundry, cleaned/organized our closet, and then propped my feet up and watched the Masters. Glory! What else is left to do? Why blog of course! Bella comes back tomorrow and I know she is having a great time in Houston. I sure am ready to get my hands on that little thang and hug her to pieces. But, for now I will enjoy the quiet and clean house and TV watching and reading and every-once-in-a-while nausea (i'm trying to have a good attitude).

One of my goals for 2010 was to begin a vegetable/herb garden. A couple of weekends ago was accompanied by near perfect weather, especially in Central Texas where it gets way too HOT to be outside planting or outside doing anything. So, I went as happy as a lark (just ask the hubster) to Lowe's and Walmart and the nursery to buy seeds and transplants. And, I continued to be happy as a lark throughout the day (just ask the hubster)!

The start of the vegetable/herb garden has begun. I used the book "Square Foot Gardening" as my beginner tutorial and laid out my plan. Mike built the boxes, mixed the vermiculite/peat moss/compost for me, laid weed cloth, and filled the boxes with the garden mix. Awesome! Thanks babe. Then, he built the lattice work in 16 squares for both boxes. Again, thanks babe!

Then, it was off to plant. And of course, sweet Bella had to help. Are you seeing a theme in these last posts that she loves the outside? Woohoo! I'm starting her early. She helped carry the lettuce, cabbage, green pea, squash, radish, spinach, beet, yellow pepper, and red lettuce seeds. She also liked shaking them all like maracas or laying them all out like she was playing solitaire. Bella, you genius you. I planted them just like the book said. Remember, i'm a beginner and hoping for anything to grow! I was laughing while I was chatting with Mike and told him I was nervous about things "working". "What if things don't grow?" "What if nothing ever sprouts?" Hmm, maybe people have been doing this for centuries and it's been working?!? I went and checked on everything today and, glory be, things are sprouting and growing and changing. We also planted flowers and shrubs and lantana and potato vine and hostas and flowering annuals. "Here mom, i'll bring this to you." I think I bought every single potato vine Lowes had in stock. It is one of my favorite plants - that and hostas - love it!

I love this picture. We're both smiling at eachother and she's bringing a plant to me - sweet little helper.

And, here is the finished product. Most of the plants in the right box are from transplants and the plants in the left box are from seed. So far, we have tomatoes (large and Roma), spinach, green leaf lettuce, red lettuce, cabbage, spinach, yellow pepper, bell pepper, squash, beets, radishes, green peas, greek oregano, cilantro, thyme, basil, chives, and rosemary. The tomatoes are in the middle buckets.

And things are sprouting! woohoo! The harvest time for most of the veggies is in May or early June. So we'll have to wait a little longer to collect our loot. But, things are growing!

Here's a shot of the "transplant/herb" box.

Here's a shot for my dad - here's the rest of the yard. See how great the lantana and potato vine is growing? Our roses are also blooming...aww, spring. Thanks daddeo for helping me clear out the weeds, get the back yard ready for planting, and making all those trips to Lowes with me. Until next time, happy spring, happy vegetable gardening, and happy growing (Ittybittysmithy #2 - Happy Growing too!)