My 31st Birthday

I didn't think turning 30 was a big deal but 31 sounds a lot older.  You would think I would at least look like I'm in my 20's but alas I still look like a high schooler and get asked all the time if I am Bella's nanny! 

I truly had a wonderful day.  Bella and David each gave me a card and had bought me a Coach wallet....love!  We then spent the day at a little theme park called Fairyland up in Oakland.  It is a little park with structures that represent the most popular fairy tales and is apparently where Walt Disney originally got his inspiration.  There was also a train ride, carousel, a few animals, and a puppet show that were all very entertaining.

"There was an old lady who lived in a shoe..."

 The three little pigs

"There was a crooked man, who had a crooked house..."

 The donkeys (from Pinocchio)

On the train

My Baby Is A One And A Half Year Old

We had our 18 months well child check and Bella finally hit a little growth spurt. She is 2' 7.5" which puts her in the 46th percentile instead of just the 40th.  Not bad considering I'm so short!  She is in the 75% for weight and head which has been pretty constant since birth.  Even though this is this first appointment she didn't have to have shots she was screaming bloody murder from the second we walked into the office (I think the eye doctor appointment a few months ago scared her for life).

In terms of development she FINALLY learned how to crawl up on the couch.  She has no interest in getting up on the chairs or any other furniture which is fine with me.  Although gross motor skills are not her forte she continues to be a babbling machine.  She sings her ABC's all day long and loves to count everything-she does 2 through 15 but misses out 3 and 14!  She loves to put on shoes and dresses and then demand we go look in the mirror, and then she admires herself and says "cute".  The other day I said, "Bella, do you think you're cute" she goes "yea".  I then asked her "how cute?" she goes "so much"!!!  Cracks me up!

The best I could get of the ABC's -the camera is too distracting!

Father's Day 2011

It's hard to believe this is the second year David has gotten to celebrate Father's Day.  Bella and I really had fun making his gift this year.  We have a family photo shoot scheduled for next week so I thought we would make him a picture frame to put one of the photos in for his new office.  Bella and I found a frame at Michael's that you can color on with special markers which was right up Bella's alley.  She is a very good little artist and as you can see is very meticulous about not mixing her colors.  This beautiful creation (except the writing, of course) is ALL her doing (oh, and getting the tops off the markers was also my job).

 For David's special day he wanted to go to Carmel and The Monterrey Bay Aquarium (we went for his birthday last year and since he loves all things fish he wanted to go one last time).  We started the day at the beach in Carmel.  It was unfortunately overcast and windy but Bella had a great time especially since the tide was out and so the sand was perfect for making sand castles.

And then it was off to the aquarium.  Bella had a great time naming all the different marine life (we have a marine life puzzle) and so she would say "shark" (which a lot of times she would call Shamu!!), "crab", "jelly fish", and "star fish".  There were also some sea otters which she had never seen before and after I told her what they were she goes "sea otter cute"!  Surprisingly the aquarium was not very crowded so we got to see the whole thing.  My favorite exhibit is still the amazing jellyfish!  They also had a great little play area for kids.

They had this neat little kid-sized dome where all of a sudden waves would come crashing down. Bella thought this was so neat.

 Gorgeous jelly fish

 Shamu!

 "Rock-horse" in Bella's words

What a wonderful day.  To my wonderful husband, who is an amazing father, and to my own dad....I love you both so very much!

Summer Weather Has Arrived

I have decided that a sunny 70 degrees defines perfect weather.  After a lot of rain and cold we have hit the 70's here in Northern California.  The problem is we have hit the upper 70's and in our tiny apartment, with vaulted ceilings, facing afternoon sun, and without air conditioning it is uncomfortable.  Unfortunately our apartment complex has decided to renovate the swimming pool so we can't go swimming and some afternoons the park is even too hot.  So we spend a lot of time at Target.  If I tell Bella we are going shopping and ask her where we should go, of course she says "Target"! 

You can never be too protected from the sun!

So speaking of HOT, we are set to move back to TX July 16....at least there will be air conditioning ;)

Exploratorium

So much for perfect California weather....it's been rainy and cold.  So we spent the day at the San Francisco Exploratorium.  It was probably one of the best science museums I have ever been to.  It was two massive stories of hundreds of hands-on exhibits (650 of them to be exact-I looked it up!).  We had done the tech museum about 2 months ago but each exhibit was so detailed that it was way over Bella's head.  The Exploratorium, however, was perfect.  There were wheels to turn, bubbles to blow, lights to turn on and off, blocks to build, etc.  What a fun, educational day.  And a perfect way to stay dry!

Playing with "magnetic" sand

Watching patterns of sand spinning on a wheel

 Learning how objects interfere with a spinning rope

 Playing in a vortex of fog

 Bubble head! 

 Making music

The Exploratorium is located next to a peaceful little pond and an amazing architectural building known as the Palace of Fine Arts.  As we were leaving there was a break in the rain and we were able to walk around.

Kids Say the Darndest (and cutest) Things!

Most of the words Bella says are crystal clear but there have been a few lately that she says persistently and we have no idea what they are.  Like we swear she is saying "corn-hole" but what on earth does that mean?!! And then there are words she says like "boobies" that means "blueberries", of course!!

I remember my mom telling me that when I was little I used to say "take her" when I wanted to be picked up.  I always say to Bella," do you want me to hold you?"  so now when she wants to be picked up she says "hold you".  Too cute.