2009 in Review

I borrowed the following from our Christmas card newsletter, figure it's a good recap of our busy year! (and thank goodness for blogger - I couldn't think of one thing we did each month for at least half of them and had to reference my blog to see how we spent all our time.)

January: Bella started crawling. Life got exhausting! February: Our first family outing to a Cavs game. Bella met Cleveland Browns player Josh Cribbs, turned out to be a bigger moment for Justin than Bella, but that’s to be expected. March: Cleveland tempted Bella with blue skies and she quickly developed a love for playing outside! April: The first project Justin worked on at NASA went up in space! It’s official, he’s a Rocket Scientist! May: Happy 1st Birthday to Bella! One year flew by, this girl rocks our world! Cavs playoff fever took over our lives for one of the craziest busy months we experienced. June: Dana went to Colorado Springs for work and brought Bella to spend some time with her Colorado cousins! July: A trip to Riviera Maya with Dana's family and all the free food and drink turned out to be a little less fun for Dana - WE’RE PREGNANT!! August: Full of trips to the zoo, outdoor concerts and cheesecake for Dana's birthday. September: Our first long family vacation! Joined up with Dana’s sister and kids for a week-long trip to Seattle and Idaho to visit family. October: Bella’s first time trick or treating! Dana bit off more than she could chew sewing the costume, but with some help, Bell was the cutest Alice in Wonderland. no bias. at. all. J ran his first marathon, we're so proud of him! November: our first ultrasound and we managed to refrain from finding out the gender of Baby Bail #2 (B2) it’s going to be such an awesome surprise in March! December: Looking forward to Christmas with Justin’s family in Orlando - Bella's frist trip to Disney World!

One Piece at a Time

More to come on Christmas and our trip to Orlando for the holidays... but we did enjoy a sunny Christmas day in Florida and a Cavs win over the Lakers! I had to share this video of Bella opening one of her presents from my parents - her concentration cracks me up!

Holly Jolly

We took Bella to visit Santa over the weekend - she did great! She walked right up to him and waved hello before talking a little gibberish... turns out that even in the midst of testing every boundry, she is in fact a very good little girl that continues to steal our hearts and expects some quality results from Santa this year and he reassured her he'll find her in Florida!

Bell with Santa last year

...and for the sake of making your hearts nearly as happy as mine - check out this old post with pictures of baking with Bella and J's family last year. this girl. love her.

Food Network's Got Nothin' On Us

mine and Justin's conversation after I got home from a movie night with my girlfriends:

Justin: Bella was in a really good mood tonight
Dana: What'd you guys do? What'd she have for dinner?
Justin: We were playing all night, she threw everything I gave her to eat on the floor but I think she was full because they were giving out a lot of those samples of the tofu or soy chicken nuggets and I might have given her a lot. she really liked the meatloaf.
Dana: Wait a minute, our daughter's dinner was samples at the grocery store?
Justin: *chuckles*

not that I can really say anything, me and B2 had movie-butter popcorn for dinner. yikes. clearly I need to pay some attention to this:

Ms. Tollhouse

Ever since Bella's first birthday and her interest in my ridiculously sweet baking skills, I've been trying to think of things she and I could do together in the kitchen. Since her ability in the kitchen is probably already pretty equivalent to mine, I figured we'd start with some chocolate chip cookies - brace yourselves - not the break apart ones either. I'm talking old school, from scratch. I remember when I was younger I used to love helping my mom bake and my sisters and I would stand on a stool or chair to help knead the bread dough (we'd chant over and over "push roll over push roll over" and then made it a song, I'm sure it couldn't have been more annoying) or stir the cookie mix and always fight over who got to lick the spoon.

So I have these high hopes of memories and traditions Bell and I are going to start together. I quickly realized that I was probably at least five years-old in my memories, and my baby girl... is a baby girl. 18 months wasn't quite old enough to grasp what was going on and completely freaked out when I let her stand on a chair to reach the counter. The girl wasn't feeling it. at. all. lesson learned, we'll try again in a couple months... I'll stay out of the kitchen for a few months if I have to. *sigh*

All in all, it was still a good afternoon and Justin's already eaten a good amount of the batch - and it reminded me of one of my favorite Friends episodes that still makes me laugh thinking about it... so if you have three minutes of your life to waste, check it out!

such a good show, I need to get the seasons and watch them all like I have time.

make it a grande!

Rushing to be on time to my OB appointment only to find out they need to reschedule (again) makes me VERY crabby. The first peppermint hot chocolate from $tarbucks of the season more than makes up for it. ((yum!)) Happy Monday!

22 Weeks, etc.

I specifically chose this picture because it doesn't so much show that my belly is as big as my backside... both are growing exponentially quicker than last time! Since my sisters have a history of following me around the house chanting "ghetto booty" in my best of days, I'm okay living a couple thousand miles away this time. haha!

clearly ready to quit having my picture taken...

In other, less awkward for family reading news - Bella and I each had our H1N1 flu shots this week. Friends at work had an over/under going for who would cry more, me or Bell (they've seen how completely absurd I am getting regular flu shots at work) but I was a total champ. Didn't even tear up when I got my shot - no exaggeration that was the first time I didn't even tear up since I was probably seven - but then I cried along with Bella when she got hers. eh.

Nerd Alert: I bought a ticket online a few weeks go see New Moon with a group of friends at work when it comes out on Friday... and then when I heard a local radio station was giving tickets away for a sneak peek on Wednesday, I asked my producer friend and got a pass to see it Wednesday as well. That's right - bring on the judgement - I'm seeing the same teenybopper movie twice in three days. AND I re-read the first and second book in the Twilight series in the last two weeks. *whew* I feel better letting that out. while I'm at it: I like Britney Spears too. THERE I said it. haha!

Can't Wait for Reading Rainbow

I had to catch video of Bell reading her book outloud this morning - it's become a ritual each morning while I finish getting ready for the day... she either plops on the stairs or finds her special chair in her bedroom and I *usually* get five uninterrupted minutes. it's a win win!

movin and groovin

I felt the baby move for the first time this morning! I was awake before J and Bella in our hotel room and just laid there still in the silence willing baby to say hello... after about a minute I got two soft kicks right to my hand. I almost forgot how awesome, intimate and wonderful it is to feel the baby move around.

I still don't feel anything in all my fat-big-belly-glory when I'm walking around or sitting still, but I'm only 18 weeks, so I feel lucky to have those stolen moments this morning!

Highs and Lows of Rox

I was just running around in circles in the driveway with Rocky nipping and barking at me... GO ROCKIES!! I love this stuff, seriously!

*update 30 mere minutes later*
...and just as quickly my heart is broken a little and I sit here sad and frustrated. ugh. the only solice I take was that I didn't spend $$ to fly home to watch the games that were delayed first, and lost second. UGH. at least the Red Sox are out too.

Happy Rocktober!

WAHOOO!! Rockies are in the playoffs!! Time to start looking for flights with crossed fingers it works out for me to go home for a game! Everytime I'm pregnant, they make it to playoffs... a sacrifice I'm willing to keep making for a run to the World Series. haha! I'm so excited right now!

my big fat swederican self

old wives tale - you know you're carrying a boy because you carry the baby everywhere. I must be having the most boy of boys because I am carrying this child everywhere. seriously... all frickin over. for example, I'm sitting on my couch and can barely concentrate on the keystrokes because my back fat is pinching to the point of nearly painful. back fat? seriously?! the stretch marks not on my stomach last time was bad enough last time. UGH.

I'm not allowed to workout either because of the scare before - so clearly this can only get better. frick. the fact that this baby's favorite food includes Dr. Pepper, nachos and chips has absolutely nothing to do with it, I'm quite certain.

Molls, this one's for you

as soon as I opened the dip and J brought down the bag of chips, she swooped in, took one in each hand and walked away refusing to share. she's gonna fit in just fine... haha!

...and no juding, as soon as we could get a picture, we took the chips away. she only got one. or two.

it starts...

yesterday I wore my shirt inside out throughout the entire day at work... I noticed about half way through, but figured I'd just roll with it since it was a totally different pattern inside than out. already multiple times I've stared blankly at someone as I think of the word that's on the tip of my tongue... usually it's in the middle of a meeting too so it's incredibly convenient. ugh, my mind is already gone.

Adding to the Roster...

What's one more?! We've been keeping this one under wraps for quite awhile... I'm 13 weeks pregnant! We would have told more people sooner than this, but I really wanted to wait so I could tell my family in Seattle and Idaho when we were visiting in person. totally worth the wait. Baby Bail #2 (B2 as J affectionately refers to it) is due to arrive March 20, 2010. We had some minor complications/scare a couple weeks ago... a blood clot tore from the placenta or something, so there was some spotting and light cramping, but 30 minutes of ultrasound and an experts promise it really wasn't a big deal, left us breathing a little easier. All is well!


We're compromising this time (read: I win!) and will wait until the delivery to find out the gender... everything in me is saying "boy" which makes me almost certain it will be a girl. This pregnancy has been almost entirely different than it was with Bell. Where the first one was ridiculously easy, this has been hard. I never had morning sickness and I couldn't find a vitamin or "fix" for the life of me for a couple of weeks. no throwing up, but constant nauseousness. the first time I wasn't incredibly tired, now I'm usually ready for bed before Bella. Since it has been so different already paired with Justin's hopefulness for a boy, leads me to believe it's likely going to be a hyped-up, curly hair, crazy energy baby boy. we'll see... in 27 more weeks.

M-I-C (see you real soon!) K-E-Y

The stars simlpy aligned and for the first time in three years the Cavs are playing on Christmas Day somewhere else! while we were able to sneak out for a quick trip to Colorado last year, this year the team's on the road the entire week before Christmas, all the big concerts and events are either the weekend before or after Christmas, and the boss gave the okay to take most of the week off... SO since it's our year to stay in Ohio for the holidays, the family all decided to head to Orlando so Justin's brother and sister-in-law could join us with their new baby girl. and one of the most exciting parts: we're taking Bella to Disney World! no, she likely won't remember a minute of it. no, it won't be easy with an 18 month-old. YES, we'll remember her smiles and excitement and will gladly pay admission for the 1,000 pictures I plan to take!

rocky mountain girl at heart

I got an email this week from the Rockies with information how to buy post-season tickets... I feel another trip to Colorado in the fall! We're ready for ROCKTOBER!!

I was pregnant with Bella when the Rockies went to the playoffs in 2007,
if all goes according to plan, she'll always be a Rox fan... in her from the start!

Birthday Weekend!

Normally I'm not a huge fans of my birthday, but Justin is well aware of this and consistently goes above and beyond to make sure I have a special day... and since he's extra wonderful he even gives me an entire Birthday Weekend! Saturday started with a morning full of Bella, an afternoon of shopping and then a birthday dinner with friends from work at Cheesecake Factory (delish!) Sunday was my actual birthday so we started at First Watch (my favorite place for breakfast) and after a quick afternoon nap for me and Bella we headed to the East Side for this huge (free!) Christian festival that encouraged families to arrive with a cooler and a blanket for an afternoon listening to Matthew West, Brandon Heath and Jars of Clay - it. was. awesome.

okay, it was awesome, and ridiculously hot. poor girl, she had a good time though!

keeping herself busy between sets...

After the long day Sunday we decided to extend my birthday weekend (like I was going to say no when J suggested it!) and putzed around in the morning before taking Bella to the zoo in the afternoon. it was especially awesome because it was another free activity as our county gets free admission on Mondays, alright! It was less awesome when a terrential downpour randomly came and soaked us to the core (you should have seen us trying to run from one exhibit to another searching for any kind of cover... me jumping over puddles so my flipflops wouldn't get wet - like it mattered since it was raining so hard anyway - and Justin trying to manuever a crying baby in her stroller, it was ridiculous!) and the day concluded with a dinner at Dave & Busters, which turned out much better than we expected because Bella was mostly content just chillin' in her stroller while we played games! Happy Birthday to me!

BIG fan of the giraffes!pointing out the fish once we finally found cover from the rain!
not nearly as exciting as giraffes as it turns out...
she did enjoy squirting the water... all that power in those little hands!
WINNER!
picking out her prize with all our winnings...

can't. quite. decide.

her new fuzzy friend! ...that she's already forgotten about :)

sleepytime - or not

for some crazy (awful) reason Bella stopped sleeping through the night. the last four nights she's either up crying at 1:30ish, but goes to sleep after five minutes of backscratching, or 5:30 and she's likely up for the day. I usually take care of the wakeup calls in the middle of the night because J's still pretty incoherant, but he is an absolute rock star about getting up with her in the early morning... seriously, my hero! this morning I was a little jealous to come down and learn I'd missed a cuddle session!

Bell's Newest Trick

Bella's vocabulary isn't exactly something to brag about (I don't think, I wouldn't have any idea though because I don't know where she's supposed to be at anyway!) but we're thrilled each time she picks something up, mostly because she's so darn cute when she says it! She's got mama, dada, dog, cat, plane (sounds exactly like dog, but whatever. an oversight.) and now "uh oh". She loves uh oh - so proud of herself each time she says it! her favorite lately? sitting in her high chair, saying "uh oh", showing us her perfectly adorable toothy grin, then dropping whatever she's eating on the floor and looking back up at us like she did something amazing. I'm sure the game will get old eventually, but for now, it makes my heart happy!

Congrats Cousin!

a BIG congratulations to my cousin Anna on her engagement last week!! I got the text on the drive home from Columbus and literally screamed out loud I was so excited for her! She and her fiancé live in Seattle and he proposed at the top of a mountain during a hike complete with the ring and champagne in his backpack to celebrate! Well done Barclay! I’m seriously so so excited for them and can’t wait for the wedding next spring/summer - we just booked our tickets to go visit my family in Seattle and Idaho at the end of the summer, we’re really looking forward to it and finally giving a congratulations hug and squeal in person!

I think one of the reasons it’s so easy to be happy for Anna is she’s so charismatic and happy that you just love to see good things happen for her. We’ve always loved when the other would visit, she’s literally like the older-sister I don’t have and we always got along really well and gravitate to spend time with each other when the families are together. Growing up we were pen pals and I still have some of the letters she sent me and our dialogue was completely ridiculous, it was awesome! I can still remember the thrill I got each time my mom handed me one of her decorated envelopes after getting the mail for the day, and the fervor to respond as soon as possible about the boy she liked and tell her all about my latest crush. I’m so blessed to have such a great relationship and influence as a constant in my life…

Anna, in celebration of you I’m going to wear the pink shirt, so you should definitely go purple. I love you!

We Heart America (and Fireworks)

Every year since I've moved to Ohio we've celebrated the Fourth of July by hosting a bbq for friends and family and consequently I've missed fireworks for four years in a row because no one's "well" enough to drive to a park to see the action... we've climbed on the roof each year to try to see something, but nothing. ever. four years. Did I mention 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays? There is quite literally nothing like seeing them at home in Loveland - the entire city goes to the lake and the show is awesome - complete with heart-shaped fireworks (what would you expect from the land of love?!)

This year I really wanted to see fireworks so Justin packed everything up and drove us to Columbus to stay with some of his high-school friends and watch Red White and Boom at the state's capital. Their show is rated in the top-ten in the entire nation (I still liked Loveland's better, expect the finale, theirs was phenomenal). Bella did great the entire day and woke up in the park just in time for the show that started at 10:00. I was nervous she was going to be scared and I'd still miss the fireworks because I'd be walking around with her, but she absolutely loved it. She was clapping and bouncing and completley giddy! Granted, we paid for it the next day keeping her up so late, but it was worth it. Happy Independence Day, God Bless America!

my new favorite picture of Belly Bean - and she's rockin' her first ponytail!
it's kind of a long video, but I love the end, you can literally see her face light up!

Gold Digger

I walked into the room to find Bella going through J's wallet as soon as he'd left to go take a shower! You better get used to it Justin...

she left quite the paper trail...

Welcome Sophia!

Justin's brother and sister-in-law in Florida had their baby on Thursday, June 25th! (or as Nate likes to brag... Jesus' half birthday, haha!) Sophia Ann weighed in at 7 lbs 6 oz and 20 inches... we're excited to meet her!

Living with the Jetsons

I just paid a library fine online. I'm not entirely sure why, but it feels like I should be living in an age of space cars and dogs named Astro when you're paying library fines online. I feel old. I remember pushing nickels across the counter to the ladies when I was younger with a late fee...

My Road Runner

I figure the best way to move past the gray cloud hovering over my head that made Eeoyre's look tame is to get back into the swing of things with story time! The good news is now that work's slower during the summer I can catch up on updates and pictures... employee of the month here I come!

Anyway.... a couple days before I was leaving for a conference in Colorado Springs (Jenn, was Courtney down there? I swear I saw her...) Bella and I were shopping for some sandals for her at Payless - the only place I can find open toed shoes that fit her since they sell baby shoes in wide and she has such little club feet with stubbies for toes - and the bright red sale signs around Gymboree caught my eye. She and I mosied over just to look, since she really doesn't "need" anything. Until I saw this ridiculously cute dress for cheap that she simply had to have. obviously. I decided to get a matching one for her soon-to-be cousin (J's brother is expecting a girl in the next few weeks!) so we can get some cute pictures for his mom. I remember a magazine article I recently read encourages moms to talk to their kids while they're shopping so after about a minute of rifling through the sale rack trying to find the same dress in another size, I turn to ask Bella if she likes it and...

Her stroller is EMPTY! Immediately I stop breathing and my chest must have shrunk because I was literally in physical pain fear struck. It's incredibly how quickly a room can shrink and your mind can go a thousand different places. It didn't take long to remember I'd forgotten to fasten her lap belt after I was trying shoes on her at the other store and had put her back in the stroller. She's tried to wiggle out of the stroller before, but she got stuck and we obviously saved the day when we heard her crying.

I look down the aisle in the direction the stroller was pointing - nothing. I do a scan around the area I'm shopping - nothing. I get on my tip toes, like that would even help - nothing. On my way sprinting to the sales desk to call a red orange amber alert - whatever - I see the front and my little toddler is waddling of the store!! I finally took my first breath since I realized she was missing and by the time I got to her in what I can only imagine would be an Olympic qualifying time and had her in my arms we were no longer in the store.

Never in my life have I experienced a more terrifying moment than when I stared at an empty stroller my daughter was supposed to be filling. Lesson learned!! (and I never thought I'd be one of those moms with the backpack leash for my kids, but now I'm not so sure. I can't go through that again - I won't live to see 30!)

mother father

we just got a text from Justin's brother that sums it up pretty well: this is killing my soul.

MVP

I got a chance to sneak a picture with LeBron's MVP trophy! I could barely hold it, it's heavy!

here's hoping the MVP takes care of things tonight... we've won three in a row before! literally though, I'm so nervous I may be making myself sick. ugh.

frickin frustrated

UGH. I'm so frustrated right now! I preface this by saying I really sincerely still think the Cavs are going to win this series and move on to the Finals, but that doesn't mean I'm not border-line depressed right now. To lose TWO games by such a small margin (especially with Orlando shooting ridiculous from the three-point line) is completely heartbreaking.

literally, last night I went on a run around the neighborhood after midnight to try to blow off some steam I was so riled up from the overtime loss and looking down the stretch 3-1 in the series. It didn't work... I realized I'm the most out of shape I've been possibly in my entire life AND the Cavs loss was still fresh in my mind. son of a $#@&! I was still up staring at the ceiling until 2:00 a.m. I got a text from my dad trying to politely remind me that it's just a game... but when it's your paycheck too it's a little different. I do get way too intense over this sort of things though. ugh.

anyway, goes without saying I'm taking a night off from basketball and will not be watching the Nuggets/Lakers game - it's getting too much. I can't handle it.

Admission: I Am a Witness

Seriously, I have no idea how I'm so genuinely lucky to have been there and seen two of LeBron's biggest games ever - I'm not a huge fan just to be a fan, in fact I usually don't like the superstar simply because everyone else idolizes them so much and I can't seem to figure out the reason (case and point: I don't like Kobe and I hate the Celtics) - but there is no denying he's ridiculous. Countless times each season I'm literally laughing because I can't believe something I just saw him do.

Last night's game... I've never gone from depression to euphoria so quickly ever in my life. Everyone in Cleveland was completely deflated as we waited for that one second. and then AMAZING HAPPENED...

Justin took his dad to the game and described the the moment we won - "we jumped up like little school girls, legs kicked back and all, and gave a double adult high five" HA! I guess Mo coined it perfectly when he said all swagger goes out the window after something like that!

I also got to go to Detroit for the Eastern Conference Finals in 2007 when LeBron had that ridiculous 4th quarter and double overtime victory... ridiculous.

smooch!

Last week a couple of my friends and I took Bella to lunch with us - she makes my heart happy! I'm going to be doing this more because I don't get to see her as much during playoffs, so busy...

SO much to blog about (family visit, Bella's birthday, 1st Mother's Day, life in general) but I'm not sure if I'm avoiding posts because I'm so tired and busy they'd be lackluster at best, or because the creative jucies are gone and I'll take any excuse I can get. shoot.

525,600 Minutes

Happy 1st Birthday Isabella Marie.

Our lives are forever changed for the better because of you.

You have blessed us beyond measure - we love you!

pretending to be Martha

My mother-in-law and I took a cake decorating class awhile ago because I had these high hopes of a rocked out cake for Bella's 1st birthday... we decided to test our skills at my sister-in-law's baby shower and what started out as a complete disaster (may have had something to do with the bottle of wine we shared, oops?!) turned out to be the hit of the party if I do say so myself - and I do. ha!

we had three different types: strawberry, chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate - the strawberry was made from scratch with real strawberries... delish!

getting started - the first plan was a baby sleeping in a blanket all the pieces seperate...
not any better all pieced together! ((ugh))

Plan B = lady bug cupcakes for her lady bug themed nursery...
MUCH better!

Anyway, my big lesson with Bella's birthday party in four days: not there yet and not worth spending hours trying to figure it out. yet. here's hoping she'll be impressed for the next one... haha!

Bring Out The Broom

Cavs Sweep! On to Round Two!

Best part about it is they're the only team to do it so we have an entire week before the next game, lots of deep breaths for this girl, and not to be uber corny but that's five guarenteed nights I get to be home to put Bella to bed, ALRIGHT!

Ready to Run - almost

I love this girl - she rocks my world.

I can't believe how quickly she's grown up, ugh.

Amazing Happens - HERE

not to sound hypocrticial or bandwagon, because everything I've said about Cleveland in the past, I still stand behind (sorrrry!) but when the positivie things are happening, I'm going to be pumped about that too - plus it's my job to be excited about the Cavs (not that it's hard, did you catch the last post?!) and you can buy my love; it's not like I'm not going to bite the hand that feeds me - ha!

big fan of this video released online yesterday, it totally gets you ready for the next two months (knock on wood!) Where will Amazing Happen? Believeland anyone? I really think we'll be hoisting the trophy in the highlight reel this time...

*Megan and Auntie - you can't rain on this parade with your jaded-Laker talk! Although you wouldn't have Rozum in you if you didn't try... haha! LOVE YOU ANYWAY!

It Starts...

Life has already become third round hectic at work - which is awesome and exhausting - but all worth it. I really sincerely believe this is our year!!

For those not really following basketball -

(borrowed from the PD to give an idea what this season has been like already!)
Cavaliers 2008-09 By The Numbers:
66: Franchise record for wins in a season.
39-2: Record at The Q, the best in franchise history and tied with the 1985-86 Celtics for the best-ever home record.
27-14: Road record, best in franchise history.
26-4: Record vs. Western Conference, team record.
25-1: Home record vs. Eastern Conference, NBA record.
13-3: Record vs. Central Division.
33: Years between Central Division titles.
23: Longest home win streak in team history.
13: Longest overall win streak in team history.
8: Win streaks of at least three games, most ever.
7: Player of the Week awards for LeBron James, NBA record.
3: Player of the Month awards for LeBron James, team record.
3: Coach of the month awards for Mike Brown, team record.
0: Games LeBron James and Mo Williams sat out due to injuries.

LETS GO CAVS!!

Rocket Science

One of Justin's projects he worked on three years ago during his first stint with NASA at Zin Technologies is in space! Part of his project was installed into the International Space Station in January. I'm SO proud of him - how cool is this?!

maybe he'll build us a house on the moon next... ha!

Talking Crawling Climbing

Unfamiliar Territory

sunshine and blue skies - they want to go play!

Hello, my name is Mom

Bella stayed and Grammy and Grandpa's last night and Justin and I were so stoked to sleep in this morning - I still woke up at 7:30a and willed myself back asleep. Then I woke up again at 8:00, noticed J was already out of bed and laid staring at the ceiling refusing to get out of bed before 9:00 on my morning to catch up on sleep. Eventually I relented and got up by 8:30. It's official - we're parents.

grab coffee, it's a long one

There have been a few things I’ve been meaning to write about (how many of my posts start like that? too many I’m sure…) and never find time to do it. not that there’s not time to do it, it just never happens. very disappointing. SO here’s my life in bullet point:

· Bella is growing so quickly (real observant I know) and I’m left feeling like I can’t figure out a way to really savor every day because we’re just making it through one day at a time... and now she’s nine months old. AUGH! Two weeks ago she got bumped from one classroom at church to another because she’s a crawler… they could break it to a new mom a little more gently than a sudden, she’s too old for this classroom and will be graduating high school and moving out and getting married in no time! (okay, maybe it wasn’t quite like that, but that’s what I heard!) Needless to say – tears! I’ve been taking advantage of sales for new summer clothing lines, and learned quickly in Target that she’s no longer in the infant section (there’s basically zero selection even for 9-12 months) and we have to buy clothes from the toddler racks. TODDLER?! I started breathing harder as I blindly piled clothes into the cart (Justin loved that) and walked away clutching my baby a little too tightly. She also has seven teeth now, eats cheerios and is really showing her personality – particularly when she’s crabby. not fun for anyone. I was talking with a girlfriend and realized I’m going to have to start really thinking about my parenting style because even though I’ve been a parent, I haven’t really had to parent, whatever sense that makes. Now that she’s swinging at me and throwing fits for no reason (I thought that didn’t happen until she was two?!) we need to figure out how to respond to it. me crying in the corner isn’t going to work much longer. ha!

· My parents bought tickets to come out for Bella’s birthday and Andrea just bought tickets for her and Lili to come out as well – it’s still over two months away but I’m SO excited to have everyone here to celebrate her day!! I’m a huge nerd and am already thinking about what theme her party will be but football and basketball games seem to be what best holds her attention at this point and I can’t picture her blowing her candle off a basketball cake. oh my.

· We’ve been talking more and more seriously about trying to sell our house and make the move back to Colorado – I can’t even explain how nervous I am to go back, but I the network that I need, especially in this new role of mom, is there… the market here is SO depressing though. Justin showed me that there are four houses within five miles of our house that have foreclosed and are listed for under 100k, which does no favors for us. Plus, he was always confident he’d be able to get a job wherever we moved, so selling the house was going to be the biggest hardship; now with the sweet economy the way it is, we’re not sure if the job or house will be the stumbling block. I’m not sure how to go at this anyway but blindfolded and have faith that it will work out if it’s supposed to. fingers crossed…

· Justin and I were encouraged by our small group leader to participate in Lent this year and have taken the challenge – no, we’re not Catholic, but I really like the approach to it: this is borrowed by Mike - sorry dude, I figure if the Pastor can use it I can too – The Lenten season is a 40 day period of time many Christians spend in contemplation of Christ's sacrificial death for us, as well as our own areas of sin, seeking the gift of repentance. You've probably heard of people giving things up for Lent, and I think that in general it is a good thing to do. A few things to consider fasting: TV, movies, non-Christian books, food, alcohol, the internet (except as needed for work), etc. Certainly things you think can get in the way of your relationship with God are good things to put aside for a season. A fast is usually only good if you replace it with something better - so if you ditch the TV, replace that hour with Bible reading and prayer. If you fast food for certain days, use the tummy rumblings as a reminder throughout the day to throw up prayers for yourself and others. Be serious about it - if you're going to not watch TV, for example, unplug the stupid things in your house and turn 'em backwards if you have to. so Justin’s not drinking alcohol and I’m not drinking Dr. Pepper and we’re both keeping the TV turned off until 9:00 p.m., which is pretty huge for us because we watch far too much TV. It’s been pretty cool so far actually because Bella’s in bed by 8:00 and so we have that hour to just the two of us. In the future we want to take that time to do our bible studies, have dinner together, get our house ready to put on the market and just enjoy the time together. So far I’ve fallen asleep before 8:30 (had to be the lack of Dr. Pepper) and the other night watched the Cavs game (it IS work technically!). TMI WARNING – we were talking about what we could give up for 40 days, and Justin slyly suggested I give up abstinence. HA! crap…

She's Gone Viral

my little belly bean was the cavs.com photo of the day. it's good to know people. haha!

- close up -

5 - 5 - 5

I was tagged by Sherry (awhile ago, just read through the whole blog past the picture to see I was tagged. oops...) to post the 5th picture from the 5th folder in my pictures files. I literally laughed out loud when I saw which one it was. can you tell I was five days overdue and waiting at the restaurant for our check before going to the hospital for the induction?! I actually like it because I think you can really see how ready I was!

The five people I tag are... Jenn, Megan, Gwen, other Jen and Sondra. lets see 'em ladies!

The Sentiment is Mine

So I'm not a songwriter (or a singer - except in the shower, and then in addition to all my thinking, I'm a pretty phenomenal singer. must be the acoustics... ha!) but I'm pretty sure if I could write a song - it may not be that far off from this one:

I Wish by Point of Grace

I wish I didn’t feel so helpless
I wish I didn’t act so selfish
I wish I didn’t wring my hands night and day
My hair was a little bit smoother
My jeans fit a little bit looser
And I always knew the right things to say
And I wish I wouldn’t hide what’s been going on inside
And I wish you wouldn’t get scared and run away

I wish I was doing better
With all the things that matter,
I guess I got some learning to do
I wish everyone had someone
To hold ‘em and to love ‘em
The way I’m always gonna love you
I wish wishes came true

I wish there was a cure for cancer
I wish somebody had an answer
And all God’s children, never got hurt
I wish Eve never bit that apple
Young men never went to battle
And I didn’t get so mad at the world
I wish I was more like Jesus
And could pick up all the pieces
And make a better life for my baby girl

I wish I was doing better
With all the things that matter,
I guess I got some learning to do
I wish everyone had someone
To hold ‘em and to love ‘em
The way I’m always gonna love you
I wish wishes came true

For everything I am wishing
I know someone up there is listening
So, I say my prayers when I go to bed
Pray my wishes come true

I know wishes come true.

Our Little Cavs Fan

We took Bella to her first Cavs game on Sunday for the Cavs vs. Lakers game (we figured we outta go big for her first time!) and she really enjoyed the entire time... even if the refs did make a lot of bad calls and the stupid Lakers broke our undefeated home game win streak. I think she really enjoyed some people watching and all the flurry on the court - she only cried once after a big play in the game and mommy clapped really loud and startled her. oops?! All in all, a really good day with the family that she may have already forgotten, but I'll always remember!

She doesn't quite size up - yet.

a confused baby with Cavs mascot Moondog!
not as glorious as a giant purple dinosaur, but a very close 2nd!
just chillin' at my desk - she liked to spin around in the chair.
I can confirm, it truly is as fun as it looks.