Wauchula.....

This sweet picture pretty much sums up our week!.....Relaxing with dear friends as we served the Lord alongside each other!

We headed down to Wauchula, Florida where Jer led worship for a Spring Renewal at First Baptist Church Wauchula. His former youth minister from when he was in high school currently serves as the Senior Pastor of the church. It was such a special week as we were able to introduce the Permenter family to our little Isabella! They have three precious children: Daniel (13), Caroline (8) and David (3). Daniel was actually the ring bearer in our wedding! He is also named after Jeremy......who's middle name is "Daniel." This sweet family has always held a special place in Jer's heart......and as soon as I met them 8 years ago, I immediately fell in love with them too!

As you can see, Isabella was the "princess" of the week! She always had someone who was holding her, rocking her, playing with her, feeding her, pushing her in the swing, pulling her in a wagon, reading to her........

She enjoyed feeding David her cheerios.....=)

It was a week full of quality time together!

Bella loved snuggling up and watching "Miss Patty Cake."

Bella and Caroline with their matching headbands........I love how my child always seems to have cheerios in her mouth! =)

We enjoyed a delicious dinner at a local Italian restaurant. Bella enjoyed playing in the little courtyard out back with Caroline and David!

We were blessed beyond words as we spent the week with this amazing family! These 3 children are truly the most well-mannered, fun-loving, spiritual children I know!....and I know a lot of children! =) I love watching Alan and Karen gracefully parent there children. They are raising such wonderful children who truly have a love for the Lord. I enjoyed asking Karen all about homeschooling (she is a former teacher and now home schools her children.) Jeremy had fun leading worship and serving alongside Alan and the guest speaker, Dr. Bryson. We will all look forward to the next time we are able to hang out!

I'm so thankful for how the Lord places special people in our lives who remain life-long friends! It's so neat how Jeremy was under Alan's leadership as a teenager and is now having the opportunity to serve alongside him. What a special blessing to have such unique friendships who challenge, encourage and bless you. We know these friendships are a gift from the Lord!

Prom!

Saturday night, Isabella and I made a few stops to see some pretty girls all dressed up for prom! First, we saw Miss Paige her sister Brooke. These girls are growing up so fast! Brooke was in my 8th grade Sunday school class and now she is finishing her freshman year of college! We took Paige to camp for the first time when she was going into 6th grade......and now she is a sophomore!

Miss Paige likes to hold Bella on Wednesday nights during church. =)

We love Miss Brooke!

Then, we went to see Miss Courtney.....I think Bella was fascinated by all the glitter and shiny dresses. =)

We quickly made our way to see Miss Liz and Miss Amy, 2 of our graduating seniors from church! Isabella was obviously unimpressed and tired of pictures........

We sure love these sweet girls!

Night away!

Last Thursday night, some friends sent Jer and I to the beach for a night and they watched Isabella! =) Our friends have four girls ages 15, 14, 8 & 5.....so as you can imagine Isabella had the time of her life! Here a few pics from Bella's spend the night party!

Anna Grace told her mom, "Mamma, let me show you the proper way to feed a baby."

And....."Mamma, this baby will not stop eating!"......we all know Bella loves to eat!

Stylin' in the sombrero...

Jer and I enjoyed a nice dinner together.....a relaxing morning run and several hours relaxing by the pool with the beach in the background! We thoroughly enjoyed a lazy day together but we were definitely ready to see our baby girl by the end of the day! =)

13 months!

I'm a few weeks behind on our 13 month update.....lots of traveling and having fun! =)

Bella's Statistics! (looks like her height slowed down this month.....hmmm....but not her head!)

Weight: 19 lbs. 10%

Head: 18.5 inches 85%

Height: 29 inches 35%

Isabella continues to entertain us as she grows and develops more and more each day! It's so much fun to watch her slowly transition from a baby to a toddler! She is always full of energy and loves life! She enjoys play dates with her friends as well as her weekly hang out time with the high school students at church. Those teenagers sure know how to spoil a little one year old!

(Good to know the boppy still gets great use!)

She is babbling up a storm! Sometimes, new words will pop out but most the time it's just babble with lots of inflection in her tone. She loves to hum and sing.....again no specific tune yet but lots of pretty music. (especially when she's soothing herself to sleep) Most mornings, I walk in to her room to find her happily playing with her bunnies and dolls in her crib while listening to her "Ocean Wonders" attached to the crib rail. As soon as she hears the door start to open, her little eyes peek between the crib rails and she starts giggling! Nothing sweeter than to start your day with that precious smile and full of joy personality! She continues to love chowing down on food. "Chowing" doesn't seem like a very feminine word.....but there's really know other way to describe her eating! =) She loves fruits, veggies, turkey, chicken, yogurt.......but her favorites are "cheese" and cheerios! I think she could probably eat 1lb. of cheese a day if I let her.....but we spread it out over a week or so! She loves when I take her with me for jogs.....especially if she has her little container of cheerios! =) She giggles when she swings at the park and loves to splash in the waves at the beach! She loves to work in the yard with "dadda" and doesn't even mind getting some dirt under her fingernails! She is doing so, so much better in the nursery! Praise the Lord....Praise Him! We have prayed every Sunday for let's see....nearly 13 months for Sundays to be an easier day for her. The Lord is answering those prayers! =) She still cries when I drop her off - but she is slowly able to dry up the tears and play! Her teachers last week said she actually was laughing and giggling! When we went up to "Pappa's" church......she didn't cry one tear! She is growing up! She spent the night away from us 2 nights this month. (one night with She-She and Grandaddy & one night with the Tucker family) She has some dance moves now too! It begins with her head......and the motion gradually moves down to her legs! Too cute! She is getting so smart these days! She knows how to respond to short commands such as, "give to mamma", "put in the basket", "get your bunny". We've started drawing with chalk on the driveway......with a little help from mamma! She loves to mainly take the chalk out from the box and put them back in! =) Her new favorite thing to do is play with her stuffed animals and baby dolls. The other day I walked in her room to find her rocking her baby in her little chair! It just melted my heart! She will take all the stuffed animals out one by one and give them a kiss......then she'll put them all back in! She does the same with the books on her bookshelf! She loves to have little "jobs!" (sounds all too familiar!)

Loves her chair...

Helpin' baby walk...

Kisses...

Here's a sample of her schedule....not much has changed but she has it down pat!

7:00 Wake/Breakfast (cereal w/milk, banana/fruit, water)

9:00 - 11:00 Story time/Nap

12:00 Lunch (yogurt, fruit, cheese, turkey, veggies, milk)

2:00 Story time/Nap

4:00 Snack

6:00 Family Dinner (veggies, meat, milk.....a little of what our meal is for the night!)

7:30 Bath

8:00 Prayers & Bed

"Those were the days.....

we didn't worry about what we looked like in our bikini!" =)

Yesterday, my friend and I took our baby's to the beach and it was truly such a relaxing and fun experience! We took a quick picture of the girls before heading home......they were too cute in their little hats and bikinis. I posted the picture to my facebook page yesterday and someone commented, "Those were the days when we didn't worry about how we looked in a bikini."

That quote got me thinking......just reflecting on all the many things I'm learning from Bella's simple life. I think about how she is full of smiles and joy every morning....blowing me kisses as I walk into her room at 7 am! She's not worried about her day or wondering if she'll get breakfast but she's just happy to start another day! She gets so excited when she sees Jer and I which makes me assume that she loves us just for being us! She could care less if we've showered, brushed our teeth or done our hair. As we progress through the day, I think about how Bella waves to everyone and blows kisses to anyone she encounters. Shouldn't that be our attitude toward others? Loving and friendly to everyone no matter who they are. I think about how she never worries about whether she will be clean, when her diaper will be changed, what food she's going to eat.....never worries about whether her outfit is just so. Shouldn't that be how we trust our Heavenly Father? Seems like she just goes about her day enjoying the beauty and people around her.....I want to be more like that! I want to take time to dance when a fun song comes on........squeal with laughter when something is funny and smile at the person in the aisle at the grocery store just because. So anyways.......that one comment on my facebook picture just got me reflecting on Isabella's little life......seems like we could all learn a lot from watching a one year old live life! =)

Cousin Sadie...and a road trip!

Due to all the terrible tornados in Huntsville, Linz and John were unable to have friends and family visit them in the hospital! On top of that, they had no power in their house.......so what does that mean!?? It means that we all gathered in Nashville to welcome Sadie home from the hospital! Bella and I were so thankful to have been able to stay for an entire week! We enjoyed every minute of the sweet family time!

I had the privilege of holding sweet Sadie bug while everyone unpacked the car and got settled in! Precious angel.....

As soon as Bella woke from her nap, she got to meet her long awaited and prayed for Sadie Caroline! She was full of sweet kisses for her.......

"Hey Sadie, you want my paci? It always makes me happy....here....you can borrow it!"

Isabella loved the new chair that Mimi bought for the girls!

She loved watching her "dadda" hit golf balls in the back yard!

Isn't this the most perfect little doll face ever.......I just love her cute little button nose...

Isabella was totally fascinated by tiny Sadie.........I think she thought she was a doll baby (that cried, pooped and wiggled)!

Pappa was helping Bella work out her arm muscles....hehe....looks like she can walk much better on her hands than her feet! =)

Pappa sure loves his baby girls....

Bella loved to point at Sadie.......if she could talk she'd probably been saying this all day long...."Mamma, look it's a baby! Can I pull her nose, fingers and toes?" =)

There was plenty of attention to go around......Uncle Matt gave Bella a special snack and I caught it on camera!

All dressed and ready for church! Bella loves her Mimi.....

(This is a gorgeous smocked dress that my dear friend Julie (Corman) made for her before she was even born!)

Linz and I are blessed beyond words to have our sweet girls! The Lord took us down a "baby journey" and taught us more than we could ever imagine! But, we are so thankful to have such healthy, beautiful little girls!

"Pappa" drove us down to Panama City to meet up with Jeremy! We enjoyed spending the weekend with my dad and the Lloyds! My dad competed in the 1/2 Ironman! =)

Bella loved walking on the golf course with Pappa!

Bella enjoyed sitting on the golf course with Pappa outside of our condo and watching the pretty "waterfall." =)

Bella seems to always find the perfect little chairs just for her! =)

Bella loved spending time with her Me-maw. And she even spent the night with her She-She and Grandaddy all by herself! =)

Jer and I enjoyed cheering for my dad at various points along the triathlon.....much easier without having to push a stroller through sand and crowds!!!

Isabella loved drinking her "coffee" out on the porch with Grandaddy.....perfect way to start a fun day! =)

We returned Saturday afternoon.......and as I was unpacking our suitcases I looked over to see that Isabella and taken each of her stuffed animals out one by one and was giving each one a sweet kiss. =)