"Projecs!"

I thought I would do a quick little blog entry on one of Bella's favorite parts of her day...."Projecs!"

(And here's a little preview of one of her Valentine outfits I made her as she is enjoying a book while biting her little lip)...love her!

I mentioned back in a December blog about how we have started having a little more structured learning time each day. I knew Bella loved books and and her "cards" so I thought she would enjoy doing a little "school" each day. ("Cards" are her little flash cards where she likes to name all the objects...)

So anyways, I figured she would enjoy a little more structured learning...And YES! She absolutely loves it! It may just be the "1st grade teacher" inside me or the "I'm going to be a stay-at-home mom....so I'm going to use our time wisely!" Or it may just be a combination of both...but we have really enjoyed doing "school" together! It usually works best with our schedule to do our school time right after lunch. I use www.abcjesuslovesme.com and I supplement the lessons also. I've really liked what it has to offer for the 2 year old curriculum. The best part about it is...it's FREE! I typically just print off the lessons each week, download the activities we want to do and print them off. It has a monthly theme and Bible verse and incorporates letters, numbers, shapes, songs, books and Bible stories into each theme. It's great!

So this month our theme has been "Jesus is my Shepherd." We have been talking about and doing projects to help us understand what that really means. =) I thought I would just post a few of the little activities we have enjoyed doing together. If any of you have loved using a specific curriculum or website with your toddler...leave a comment and share! We love finding new ideas and creative ways to learn! I think in the next few months, we are going to send Daddy up to our attic to pull down some of Mommy's teaching games/activities! =)

We learned how to "pat"...(dot of glue - not a lot & pat the cotton ball on)

Learning the shapes - star & rectangle and the colors yellow, orange and green! Made for fun finger-painting. =)

Our little shepherd & his lamb...

Our "lady" as Bella calls it...learning the colors red & black...

Fun handprint project as well as learning to "pat"...dot of glue not a lot! =)

Our little sheep puppet...(once again learning - dot of glue - not a lot and "pat")

I wasn't sure how this one would go over...but she loved it! We punched holes and then learned how to lace! She did great lacing the pipe cleaner through each hole. =)

And Bella's faovrite...her "black book" - she loves it!

Her favorite page..."twuck"...

Growing up way too fast!

I had to take just a few seconds out of my day to post this little picture...

Last night, Jeremy returned from his long weekend of skiing with our high school students. Bella could not have been more ecstatic to see her daddy...........and his iphone. =) After giving daddy lots of kisses, she was ready to play her Elmo games! This little squirty knows how to turn on his phone...unlock it...scroll to her favorite apps and play-play-play! =) Jeremy snapped this quick pic and brought it to me saying, "she sure grew up fast while I was gone!" There's just something about the pose/angle of this picture that makes her look too grown up! I'm so glad she's still bald and has chubby toddler feet and hands. She sure is growing fast...

I so wanted to grab the camera and capture a moment earlier today - but the camera was right near her and I knew it would end the sweet moment. Before her morning nap, I enjoyed listening around the corner as she sat her two favorite stuffed animals (with swimmy diapers on) right next to her in her rocking chair and read them her Elmo Book..."Ready for a Big Bed." So, so sweet...."ok.....babies...night...night....bed.......(as she turned the pages). Ahh...I just love her!

21 months!

It seems like these months just keep going by fast and faster! Our little Bella is quickly approaching her second birthday...and with that comes mixed emotions. I have to admit I get sad as more and more of her little "baby" characteristics quickly fade...but then it seems like we have more and more fun together each day as her little personality continues to show itself! She definitely looks a lot like her daddy especially in her eyes. =) But, she seems to have picked up quite a lot of my personality...such a perfect combination at this point!

She continues to be quite a talker...seems like everywhere we go people comment on how much she talks! Yesterday we were standing in line at Wal-mart and she starts talking to the lady behind us...just pointing and naming every object she could around us. The lady was so sweet to carry on with Bella...so engaged! She did say at one point, "Well, you seem to be quite an advanced little talker...but you're still working on that hair aren't ya!?" Yep! We are still working on growing hair...good thing the headbands and bows still fit around that growing head! Bella won't leave the house without patting her head and saying, "bow!...bow?" I guess if you're gonna be bald...you might as well embrace it and do the best with what ya got! =)

One of her cute little phrases that I love...

If I ask her to do something, she usually responds..."okay...okay...alright" in a sweet little voice.

She is in LOVE with babies...anything that has to do with babies. If she sees an ultrasound picture...or a little baby...or a doll or a picture of a baby...she says, "awww.....awww" - with her little face wrinkled up. And she loves to talk to her babies. I will hear her say, "okay baby"..."come on baby"..."it's ok baby"...SO precious - it just melts my heart. Her favorite store these days is "Target!" She loves the big red balls out front!....and the stickers she gets when we check out!

She loves, loves, LOVES her daddy. =) She races to the door when she hears the door knob start to turn as he comes home from work. She just loves sitting in his lap...cuddling...reading books...going for walks...anything to be with her daddy........

As you can see she continues to love "sgetti"...it's a favorite meal around here!

Thankfully, due to mommy's "all-day-long lasting morning sickness"...Bella still takes 2 (2 hour) naps! Even if she doesn't sleep for the full 2 hours, she will play a few minutes before dozing off...and then when she wakes up, she is perfectly content playing with her babies! She had a little cold last week, so we used her boppy pillow to prop her head up (makes breathing through the nose much eaiser)! She insists on having all her babies close to her and of course her "bobby"...can't ever go without "bobby"!

She is my precious little angel..and I love her so, so much! Life is just going to be more and more exciting when we add a baby "brother" to the mix! =)

Her schedule (not much has changed):

7ish Wake/Breakfast

9ish Nap

12 Lunch

2 Nap

6 Dinner

8 Bath/Bed

Her stats...according to mommy's measurements =)

Height 33.5 inches 75%

Weight 28.5 lbs. 85%

Head 19.5 inches 95%

Christmas...

We enjoyed a nice, long Christmas vacation in the beautiful, rolling hills of Tennessee! Isabella and Sadie just loved all of the quality time they were able to spend together! (Bella loves playing "mamma" to Sadie and Sadie loves all the extra attention for sure!)

One morning, we ventured out to Mimi's park...the girls absolutely loved the swings!

Sadie was busy watching Bella...

And Bella was FULL of giggles!

On the few days that Aunt Brit had to work, she came home to eat lunch with us...Bella was giving her a good-by kiss before Auntie headed back to work!

Cousins loving on each other...

We dressed the girls up and took some pictures before our big adventure to see Santa!

These girls l-o-v-e their Mimi!

My little Sadie-bug...

Plenty of kisses to share with everyone!

All ready to see Santa!

I love this precious girl...

Mimi with her little Bella...

Auntie Brit =)

Well, we were sure glad we snapped some pictures before heading off to see Santa. While, waiting patiently for 1.5 hours........Bella was so, so excited! She would point to Santa, "Santa!...Santa!...ho-ho-ho!" Then the long awaited moment came! Linz and I plopped the girls in big ole Santa's lap and this is how the girls reacted...

Loud cries...or should I say wales!!! They were not so excited to see Santa when they realized their mommies were going to drop them in his lap and walk away! So, memories were captured...we love these sweet angels!

On Christmas Eve, we all bundled up and enjoyed attending my parents Christmas Eve service...babies and all sat through the service! =)

We had the bright idea of attempting to get a picture before the service...but Bella would have nothing to do with smiling for a picture! Oh well...(we are quickly approaching "toddlerhood" I suppose!)

Now after the service, we were full of smiles!

I sewed these little matching outfits for the girls...it was a bit challenging sizing for Sadie since she doesn't live in town, but my estimates seemed to be just perfect! I got many adult requests for minky dot ruffle pants! Haha! =)

Here's our entire family...we have so much to be thankful for this Christmas season! It's always such a special Christmas when we are all together. =)

Bella helped her Pappa say his final good-nights to all the church members...she sure loves being his little helper!

The first gift of Christmas!...A special gift from Aunt Brit and Uncle Matt...

Matching Christmas pj's for Bella and Sadie!

Like I said, Bella just absolutely loves being the "big cousin"...

Hugs and Kisses before bedtime...

And a quick photo attempt before bed with Uncle Matt and Aunt Brit...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! The girls were much happier and ready for a picture on Christmas morning! =)

We put on our Christmas finest and enjoyed attending Pappa's Christmas service...

After a delicious Christmas lunch, the girls went down for their naps. They were eager and ready to open their gifts Christmas afternoon! =)

Bella is trying out her new little kitchen from the Gorins!

Bella got a little vacuum cleaner from Mimi and Pappa...too bad it doesn't really work cause I could sure use an extra hand with the chores!

We gave Bella her first baby stroller...and she LOVED it! =)

The grocery cart was also a big hit this Christmas! She likes to pretend she's shopping at "target."

Bath times are quite a fun experience with the girls! Bella particularly enjoys washing Sadie and pouring water on her head...thankfully, Sadie goes along with it for now!

Oh SO fun!!!

After spending several days in Nashville, we drove a few hours west to stay in a house on the Tennessee River with Jeremy's mom, his brother Jordan, Ellen and little Maddy!

We had our 2nd Christmas...

She-She gave Bella a special little doll..."Lucy"

Bella loved opening all of baby brother's gifts...yay! his first Nike running outfit! =)

We bundled the girls up and enjoyed the cool weather! Bella had a blast on her first 4-wheeling ride!

Enjoying our last morning together by the river...

We were blessed to have such a wonderful, memorable Christmas with our families! This year has definitely had it challenges as well as its joys. We are looking forward to what the Lord has in store for us in 2012!