yep, got it.

I had this little lovely from Justin awating me in my inbox at work when I got back from a meeting this afternoon:

"Don’t want to alarm you but I just realized that we are having another baby in 2.5 months… AAHHHH!"

Thanks babe, I'm already reminded with each precious little jab into my ribs, the seven trips per hour to the bathroom, gasps from strangers about how huge I am and a constant stress that I have no idea what to do with the nursery that B2's arrival is in fact right around the corner... not. overwhelmed. at. all.

this. that. the other.

I hope to get more pictures from Disneyworld, but my camera battery died about 45 minutes into the day (so unlike me, I'm not proud to admit it) and I need to steal Miriam's camera at some point... I was fortunate enough to capture one of my favorite moments on film - Bell's first encounter with a costumed character didn't go so well per se. When Miriam gave the giant furry monkey a hug, Bella must have thought she was going to be eaten because she completely lost her mind. I think I preferred this better than a cuddly one anyway...


We were able to spend a couple days in Florida sharing a house with Justin's brother and sister-in-law and our niece Sophia... it was really fun to watch Bella interacting with her (she's six months old) as it gave us an insight into her upcoming role as big sister. There was a lot of petting her head (the girl's surrounded by pets at home, give her a break!) and giving her her pacifier... after she took it out of her mouth.


We quickly learned that we had absolutely no need to buy anything for Bella for Christmas due to everyone else's ridiculous generosity, but we'd already decided to buy a kitchen set for her and when mama has her mind set on something, logic takes a back seat. I'm so glad Justin agreed this time too, because Bean loves it and I'm shocked at the joy I get from watching her little mind at work as she's pretending to stir the pot on the stove just like she's seen Mommy and Daddy (mostly Daddy. whatever. don't judge.)


J and I both participated in fantasy football leagues again this year and both had ridiculous strokes of good luck and he ended up winning his and I made it to finals again but then took second place... fortunately the girl who beat me didn't ever pay so I took home the pot - wahoo! So, with my winnings (and my cut from J's winnings - yes I get a cut, I put up with a lot every Sunday when he watches hours of football and is talking about football hours before and after he's done watching - so yes, I get a cut!) I bought the following. Dear Fantasy Football, thank you!

AND I just found out one of my favorite peope ever has started a blog so check her out, especially if you need a good laugh or a chance to realize you're not the only who thinks that way! she's phenominal and I've been blessed by her friendship for more than 12 years (and now I feel insanely old.) and just love her!

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.