Our Move to Texas....and a 20 month old!

I am 2 months behind on blogging....yikes.  I keep telling David Bella is changing on what seems to be a weekly basis and I am doing a horrible job of documenting it all.  My excuse is our big move from California back to Texas. 

The week after our Alaskan cruise we were scheduled to move back.  Unlike our move to California, our move back home included packers and movers...huge thumbs up! Besides spending a lot of time getting our apartment in perfect move out condition, having movers allowed us time to enjoy our last few days in Cali.  My sweet girl friends threw me a little goodbye party and Bella and I spent endless hours enjoying the last of our park days. 

We arrived in Austin July 16th and walk out of the airport and the first thing Bella says is "hot"!  Man, is it HOT!  I miss wearing jeans and a light jacket every day!  We stayed with David's mom in Austin until our stuff arrived and then we moved into our townhouse in our new home town of Belton.  Our place is brand new and really nice but Belton is a much smaller town than I have ever lived in so I have been having a hard time adjusting.  The closest mall is 40 minutes away and there is just not a lot for me to do with Bella (the park is obviously way too hot).  I have been looking for a Gymboree or something but they don't even have that.  I have found a mother's bible study I will do on Tuesdays so at least I am meeting a few people. 

David starts work September 6th...it has been so nice having him home to help us get settled.  We have actually spent a lot of time down in Conroe at my parents house (it always feels like a vacation down there and Bella loves it).  Once he starts work I will be without a car until mid October (my car is on order-so excited!) so I might just go stir crazy!!

Anyway, onto the little cutie-patootie! She is now 20 months old and talking like a two year old.  I had a girls reunion with my old Houston bible study 2 weeks ago and in the two days I was away from her I felt like she learned how to talk in paragraphs!  When we first arrived in TX she was having a hard time transitioning (or maybe she just sensed my stress)-sleeping was off, she would scream in any confined space (high-chair, car seat, etc)-but has since been doing awesome.  Probably didn't help that she just got four canines!  Pardon me if the following is boring but my baby book stops at a year so really this blog is for my memory sake.  Here are a few of my favorite things she says:

-Onjen (orange.  She used to say ono)

-Boobies (blueberries-although she just started to say it correctly now)

-Golgies (goldfish-she says this one correctly now too)

-Keputch (ketchup)

-Knuckles (she wants you to give her knuckles and 'blow it up'!)

-Betty (how she refers to herself!  She can't say her "L's"!!)

-I getchoo (I'm gonna get you)

-blesh you Betty (she blesses herself every time she sneezes or coughs!)

-Mmmmm, tastes good.  Like it. More bite (she says it with ANYTHING David and I are eating!)

-Betty turn, K? (she likes to tell me it is her turn but then politely asks 'ok?'!)

-member zebra round n round.  Lady token.  Listen bell.  (we went to the Woodlands mall where they have a carousel so now Bella daily asks me if I remember that she rode the zebra that went round and round. And that we had to give the lady our token and listen for the bell for the ride to start.  Like I said, the kid is talking in paragraphs!)

-No nite nite. Later.  (any time she even thinks I might be getting ready to put her down for a nap she starts negotiating!)

-5 minutes (if I tell her we have to go soon she will put up her hand and give me the 5 minute warning!)

-1,2,3 crash (she loves to stand on the bed and then count to three and fall down). She can count to 15 and then skips to 20.

-she is a singing machine.  She can sing her ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle, Old McDonald, Wheels on the bus, This Little Light of Mine, Bingo, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Yankee Doodle.

-She can tell you her name is Betty Clark (we have got to work on those L's!) and that she is one and a half.  Although half the time she tells you she's 18!

-She is starting to use her pronouns appropriately-I, me, you, him, her.  And really understands boy and girl/lady and man. 

Such a happy girl

 We ran into a Hello Kitty at the mall.  Bella LOVES big characters so I am trying to convince David we need to go to Disney again!!

 Playing house

 She can unlock and play all the games on my phone and would do so all day if I let her...yikes!

 Trying on hats at Academy

 Her first Popsicle (mommy was on her girl's weekend!)

 The forever famous zebra!

 Loving time with Grandpa!

When she first learned Yankee Doodle

Able to sing all her ABC's and soooo proud of herself!

Alaska 2011

I thrive on vacation planning.  Once one vacation is over I am day dreaming about the next.  An Alaskan cruise has been a dream of ours for awhile and what better way to cruise than with our favorite fellow cruisers-my parents, and brother/his family.  David finished his ENT fellowship June 30th and July 3rd we set sail.  I have to say I was quite nervous about a 7 day cruise with an 18 month old but besides trying to get her to sit for the 1 1/2 hour long dinners she did awesome (who can blame her!).  This was David and my 5th cruise together (our second with Holland America cruise: the Oosterdam) and we splurged for a nice cabin with a balcony which was great to sit out on while Bella was napping.

We left out of Seattle and our first day was spent wandering the ship and eating, of course.  The fourth of July was our day at sea-we played Bingo, trivia, did a galley tour and got all dressed up for formal night. I will say I was highly disappointed in the lack of Fourth of July festivities, especially since we usually cruise over some sort of holiday and the ships always do something exciting. 

At the top of the ship for sail away (brother Ilhan, sister in law Clare, niece Emily with Bella, me and my mom)

Dinner the first night

The only "mention" of 4th of July!

Formal night

The next day was spent cruising the inside passage which is a narrow path up to the glaciers.  We started to spot some whales, puffins, bald eagles and of course the glaciers.  It was spectacular to see these massive ice structures and it was even more amazing when they would calve (a piece breaks off)-it literally sounds like thunder booming. 

Passing time by playing chess. Cruising to the glaciers.

Strolling along the deck

Dad with his girls at high tea

Gorgeous glaciers

The picture doesn't do justice to the size and beauty of these things!

Our first port day was in Juneau.  In the morning we took a tram up a mountain for some beautiful views and some hiking.  The weather our whole trip was supposed to be rainy but this was the only morning it rained!! In the afternoon we went on a whale watching tour.  We saw some seals, a bunch of humpbacks and even a few orcas.  At the end of our tour we came upon a group of orcas trying to kill a seal...it was so sad but there was a moment in which one of the orca's jumped up and onto it's back to try and drown the seal and it was truly a National Geographic moment (we left after awhile so I am not sure of the fate of the seal but am hoping he survived!).

In port in Juneau

Mount Roberts tram

At the top of the tram was a talking goat which Bella kept saying "Hi, goat" to!

Hiking along the top of the mountian.  The view was gorgeous!

Whale watching tour

Awaiting whales at the front of our private boat

Bella was not a happy girl this trip but Doritos made it somewhat better!

Shamu!

This was the whale attempting to drown the seal.  Imagine being on one of those two boats!

Our next port day was Sitka.  We walked through the town up to the Raptor Center.  This is a place where they rehabilitate birds of prey.  We then hiked through the national park where you can see all the totem poles.

Sailing into Sitka.  There were a bunch of little islands leading up to the mainland.

At the Raptor Center

Bald Eagle demonstration

Totem poles at the Sitka National Park

A view of our ship (and David being a ham!)

Grandpa and Bella taking a break in the grass.

Back on the ship for our second formal night

The next day we were in Ketchikan.  David had a deep sea fishing trip (where he caught a bunch of Salmon), I went zip lining with my brother and his family, and my parents watched Bella.  We all met up in the afternoon to walk a cute little area with shops along a creek, appropriately called Creek Street.

Gearing up for zip lining...a little nervous!!

 There I go!

 We also got to cross a few suspension bridges

 David's fishing trip

 Bella and Grandma exploring the shops

 Creek Street

Our last day we were in Victoria, British Columbia.  We booked an excursion to go to Butchart Gardens.  It was amazing.  The whole park had a very British feel which I just loved and there were flowers I had never seen before and millions of them.  The flowers are changed out 4 times a year!  That evening was a firework show which Bella loved...she kept saying "light go boom!".

 Look, a big hummingbird!

 The gardens were SPECTACULAR!  Like a Thomas Kinkade painting

 The gang!

 A pointless attempt at getting Bella to go to bed in the Ergo...look at that grin!

What a perfect way to end our evening!

And thus ends another great vacation; one we had dreamed of for such a long time!  The next day we arrived back in Seattle and headed back to California to prepare for our next adventure...moving back to Texas!