Steve's Birthday/Railroad Park day

Sunday was Steve's (Isabella's Godfather's) birthday, and we had a party at the Railroad Park. It was such a good time because all of our best friends were there, plus it was Isabella's 1st time there. The boys played football, and like always Jammie and I chatted while Bella and Gules played. We could not have asked for better weather to be outside. The girls ate watermelon for the 1st time and both absolutely LOVED it. Then, all the boys and girls went on a train ride and a carousel ride. There is nothing like seeing grown women and men on a kid train and carousel :0 so cute! Isabella really enjoyed both. Both girls of course got lots of love from all their "aunts and uncles" at the park. We had such a good time with our family, I say family because our friends are our family as well.

I am on spring break right now for the next 2 weeks, and could not be happier. I am taking care of a LOT of things I need to take care of. Yes, I know I am home at 1 pm everyday, but after waking up early and then heading to my job which entails children, by the time I pick up Bella and get home, I just want to be with her and do not much else. I am actually getting to sleep in as well. Bella usually wakes up at 530,eats and goes back to sleep until 630. BUT for the past few days, she has been sleeping until 830! I have not slept til 830 in ... well, I don't know when! So, this week I am picking up the slack and organizing ALL our closets, drawers, etc. My most fun project is getting all Bella's 1st year photos finally printed and get her scrapbook/photo book underway. I am not a crafty person, as many of you know, but I am so looking forward to getting this started. Don't worry I have enlisted a few of my crafty friends to help me out :)

Eric has taken next week off so that he can be home with Bella and I as well. I really really am looking forward to that. We have some fun things lined up for the week. My dad and Rhonda will be here towards the end of the week, so that should be fun too. Oh, and it's Guiliana's 1st birthday pary this Saturday and we are looking forward to celebrating that as well. So, as you can see... Bella and I are some busy girls this week~

A little update on her.. she is still using furniture to walk, but is much better at it. She is also standing for longer periods of time with no support. Tonight she was standing with her sippy cup in one hand and the tv remote in the other with no support at all. We can't believe she is getting ready to walk here soon :) she is also building her vocabulary and using many more sounds and FINALLY says Mama. She also says "what's up" , its the cutest thing in the world. I have also been playing some receptive language games with her (receptive language is the comprehension of information). I will say "mooooo" to her and she will reach for her Cow toy. I will say "Choo choo" and she reaches for the train about 90% of the time. She will sometimes try and imitate the sounds as well. Basically, I have one smart cookie. I know I know, I'm a crazy Speech Teacher!
Anyway, Im rambling on.. Here are some pics from our day at the park.

ON THE TRAIN


GOING THROUGH THE TUNNEL... THIS PICTURE MAKES ME LAUGH!


PLAYING W/ GUILIANA IN THE BEAUTIFUL WEATHER


ON THE CAROUSEL


THE BOYS PLAYIN FOOTBALL


MINE AND BELLA'S GIRL PALS




BELLA AND I ON TRAIN W/ JEN & STEVE

Daddy's home!

Eric was in Denver for a week on business. I can not believe how weird it was without him. Even though I am home with Bella most of the day, Eric is such an active parent in the house. So, needless to say, while he was gone, I sure did realize how much he actually did to help. I have a even deeper respect for hard-working single moms. Bella and I missed him like crazy. He was supposed to be home Thursday night, however he was snowed in. So, he got in Friday night, and when he opened the back door to the car to sit w/ Isabella, she went absolutely crazy! She kicked her legs, flapped her arms, and smiled the biggest smile EVER! He sat w/ her in the back, and she kept reaching for him , and trying to lift herself out of the carseat to him the whole way home. She was so upset that he could not hold her.

While Eric was in Denver, Isabella started to use the furniture to balance her as walks around! SHe also took an actual step all by herself. When he got home, he was shocked at all she had started doing in a matter of 5 days! It is so amazing how much she has started doing in the past month.

Today, we had a family/friend day. We went to breakfast together, spent a few hours at Eric's dad and Barbara's house and then went to our friends Annelle and Carlos' party. We enjoyed the day outside. We played volleyball, ate bbq, and put our feet in the jacuzzi. Bella had so much fun! It was a super family day, im just so thankful to have our family all back together! Here are some pics from the day...




Holding on


Now, NO HANDS!


THe HOOVER CLAN

Isabella's world

So I have not posted anything for a while, and Bella is now doing some new things. She pulls herself up anywhere and now uses the furniture to take some steps. SHe will stand up in the middle of the room w/ no help and stand up for up to 10 seconds. If she falls, she gets right back up. while using the furniture, she will let go and clap her hands. I know it's a matter of time before she is walking....ahhhhh!!! Another bitter sweet moment. She is a little daredevil, she will hold on to whatever she can find, then let go and do a little dance. It freaks me out because I keep picturing her falling on her face, but she has yet to do that. If she drops something on the floor while standing, she will bend over and pick it up without falling. The cutest thing is she will use the dogs to pull herself up and then let go, if she falls, she will fall on them. THey both just look at her like she is crazy :) Anyone who knows Bella well, knows that she DOES not like to sit still. As a matter of fact, as I type this, she has crawled from our living room to the back door where Dakota's cage is and is opening and closing the door. Gotta go get her!
She is also imitating lots of sounds, inflections in our voice, and approximations of words. Okay, yes I know I sound very much like a speech therapist, but I can't help it. I know what to look for in her speech and when she is truly saying words and when my "mommy ear" is on and Im thinking she is saying something and really isn't. I'm a little neurotic, I know :) She loves to say "clap clap" , her version is "aaa aaa". She says "dadda". However, she is always talking, which is absolutely perfect.
She loves to just play by herself and crawl and explore her world. She is such a happy baby, Eric and I are just so mesmerized by her everyday. Ok hopefully by my next posting she isn't walking, we'd like her to stay a baby just a little while longer.
TRYING TO STAND UP




AT THE PARK W/ NINO STEVE

Family time

My Dad and Rhonda came in to town this weekend to spend some time with us. We had a great weekend. Saturday, we went to a spring training game to watch The Dodgers. The ballpark was beautiful and we could not have asked for better weather. It was 72 degrees, sun shining and just beautiful. Our good friends Jammie and Greg and their family who are also like family to us, were there as well. So, we pulled out our big blanket and had snacks, drinks, and enjoyed each other's company while sitting on the grass. Bella and Guiliana had a great time playing together and being outside. They both did so well, neither of them got fussy. Sunday we went to church with the family .Here are some pictures from our day in the sun as well as from after church. We had such a great weekend!





Guiliana and Grandma Fran


THE GIRLS IN THEIR TENT


My dad and Eric






Jame and Gules


At church on Sunday

Pictures

Here are her 9 month pictures, these are just a few that we loved. They all came out so stinkin cute :)




Bella Flora

9 Month Stats

Today was Isabella's 9 month check up. We are happy to report that she is in excellent health :) She has never had to go to the Dr. except for her well visit check ups, she has yet to even have a fever (yes Im knocking on wood as I type this. Here are the stats from today:

She weighs in at a nice 21 lbs 2 oz. That puts her in the 85-90% range.
She is 29 inches long which puts her in the 90% range. She definitely takes after her daddy.
Her iron test was perfect, no anemia. Dr. said she looked great. I can start giving her some dairy products like yogurt and cottage cheese next month. She still can't eat eggs, strawberries, peanut butter, fish, and milk until she reaches a year old. However, I know she will love them all once she does :) I have started to add some protein to her diet. She loved the ground turkey I made the other night. SHe has had chicken and turkey and loved them both. I can't believe only 2 more months of bottles (yay, I hate hate hate the Avent bottles, they leak like crazy). However, that means no more baby, she will be a big girl.

Some other things going on: she sleeps like a miracle. She falls asleep at about 745 and sleeps until 6 am, I give her a bottle and she falls back asleep until 7. She doesnt even make a peep all night. I think she is even more tired now that she is crawling because up until last month, she was waking up at 530 or so.

This week, she has started crying for Daddy. Eric is home more often now while he is in the training program so her and daddy spend a lot more time together. ON Tuesday, her and I were walking at the park when Eric drove by coming home from work. He stopped and got out and held her and gave her a kiss. He put her back down and started to walk away and she screamed. Not a whine, but a fierce cry. she wanted her daddy. He of course had to come back and settle her down. It was so cute! Then, yesterday he got home from work at 7, and picked her up like he normally does and kissed and hugged her.I had dinner ready for him so I told him to hand her back to me and eat. So he did, and ......... WAHHHHHHH! She was all about being with daddy. It's so cute, she actually cries for daddy now. Before, if she wanted up or to be held, it was always me she wanted. Now, It's kinda nice not to be the only one she cries for. I always knew she'd turn in to a daddy's girl someday. Although, she still prefers me of course :)

We are so lucky to have a happy and healthy baby girl. She is growing by the minute, we have to cherish every second !

Her favorite spot

Bella's favorite spot to crawl to is the window by our front door. We can not keep her from it no matter what. She loves to crawl to it, and stand herself up and just look out. I'm sure she has seen the dogs do it a time or two, so she has since followed. I snapped a cute shot of her looking out,then Dakota following over and looking out w/ her.







This past weekend, we rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned the carpets as well as the furniture. Now that Isabella is crawling everywhere and pulling herself up, her clothes have been dirt stained.. YUCK! So, Eric cleaned the carpets and furniture, and I mopped the floors. We are very clean people, so it was kind of yucky to see Bella w/ dirty socks or feet from the floor. So we got it all clean :)

These are some pics from the lobby waiting to get Isabella's pictures done. They turned out fabulous, can't wait to share them w/ you all. Here are pictures of her purple dress, and her jean dress with the little red belt :)