Happy Mother's Day and all that Jazz!!

So, I've really been slacking on getting post put up on our blog. I'm going to do a little catch up in this one. As of this week, I am only working part time. It was a choice we made because I wanted to be able to have more time to spend with Bella while she is still young. So far, it has been great and I think it was a very good decision.

I celebrated my first "official" Mother's Day on Sunday. We didn't do anything too special. Got up and went to church (I was given a flower for being the youngest mother there) and then we spent the afternoon at my parents house. Below is a couple pics of Bella on Mother's day.

On Tuesday, Isabella turned 9 months old! Where has the time gone? She went for her well visit on Wednesday. She weighs 22 lbs 2 oz and is 30 1/2 inches long. She is in the 95 percentile in weight and is off the charts on height. The doctor said she is a very healthy baby!! Bella has become quite the character. She says mama and dada all the time. She also learned a new word the other day, uh oh!! It's so cute when she says it. She is an avid crawler now! She also loves to pull herself up onto anything. A favorite game is to walk back and forth from one end of the couch to the other! Just in the past couple weeks she has learned how to get herself back down too. Very impressive!! Bella still doesn't have any teeth yet, but we can feel one really trying to come in on the bottom. I am definately over this whole teething business. I think that is it for now! Just been busy keeping up with Bella. Here are a few more recent pics to enjoy. Until next time...

Just a Swingin!!

Over the weekend, we were able to get Bella swing up that she got from the Easter Bunny. Luckily it was nice so we were able to enjoy a little time swinging! She loved it as you can see!

We also had fun walking barefoot in the grass with Daddy!

I'll will be posting a video of her soon, walking with Daddy, once I can get it edited so you don't have to turn your head to watch it! Check back soon! Until next time...

Happy Easter and 8 month Birthday Bella!!

So, I know I'm a couple days behind (surprised, I know). Better late than never though. We celebrated Isabella's first Easter, plus she happened to turn 8 months old the same day!! I can't believe how fast my baby is growing.

We didn't really do anything too exciting Easter Sunday. We attended church, popped in for a quick visit at Nanny and Pappy's, and then headed home to do laundry and all that fun Sunday afternoon stuff. (See pics below of Isabella in her cute new dress) We opted not to get Belle a basket this year since she can't have candy yet and there wasn't really anything she needed. We did however get her a swing for outside that we are going to hang on the deck. Since we have such beautiful weather here in Indiana, we haven't had a chance to hang it yet. Once we get it up and she has a chance to try it out I will post some pictures.

Isabella is growing like a weed and constantly on the go. I would say she is probably weighing in at about 22lbs now and is around 30 inches long. Boy that girl can move too!! I'm not sure I like this whole crawling thing. She definately wears me out!!

Nothing else new in the Standeford house! Just spending our time trying to keep up with everything. I'm getting ready to send out some teaching applications within the next week or two, so everyone keep there fingers crossed and say a little prayer that I might get something for the fall. Until next time...

Bella's not slowing down!!

So I just wanted to give a quick update on how our Bella girl is doing. I swear that girl never stops growing. Nanny weighed her last week and she is weighing in at 21.4 lbs. I decided to measure her a couple days ago and she is 29 1/4 inches long. She is going to be tall just like her Aunt Jessica!! It makes it very difficult for mommy to buy her clothes. The sizes she should be fitting into are too short so she outgrows them quickly. I'm currently buying her 12-18 month stuff!

We have currently been dealing with the whole teething issue. Still no teeth yet!! Bella has been one crabby baby though! I just wish one of those little suckers would pop through already!! I feel so bad for her. There is only so much tylenol, oragel, and a frozen teething ring can do!

On to other news...Bella is starting to "army" crawl. It's so cute to watch her go around in circles. She gets up on her knees every so often but hasn't figured out how to move that way yet! She is also walking now when we hold her hands and trying to pull herself up on everything! She has become quite the show-off!!

Sorry Aunt Donna, still no clicking noise yet! We are working on it though. She does it from time to time but I don't think she is really aware of what she is doing. Her thing now is to growl! I don't know where she got this from (Aunt Jenny) but it is very humorous! I think that is all the new things that have been going on in the Standeford house right now. Until next time....

Vacation Destination: Arizona

So I'm finally getting to our vacation update. On Friday the 13th we set off for Amarillo, Tx. It was an 18 hour trip to get there. Bella did wonderful in the car. We traveled overnight, so she slept a good chunk of the time. Throughout the ride on Saturday she played, napped, and watched a couple movies. It was nice to get to our hotel and stretch. We went to had an awesome dinner at Chilli's and then had to make a stop at WalMart. The next morning we set off for Flagstaff, AZ. We had some issues in New Mexico with the elevation change. It didn't really agree with Bella's ear infection. I had never been so excited to get out of the car before. It was around another 10 hours from Amarillo to Flagstaff!!

Monday morning we headed to the Grand Canyon. It is such an amazing site!! I think everyone needs to visit at least once in their lifetime. You cannot put into words how beautiful it is!! We spent 3 1/2 hours stopping at 4 different viewpoints. Our first stop was Desert View where the watchtower is. Jason and I started to treck to the top. I got about 2/3 of the way up and had to turn around, my knees were getting shakey!! While we were there, Isabella adopted a mountain lion. She got a stuffed one to keep, plus she'll receive a certificate for her contribution. After our day at the Canyon, we headed back to Flagstaff, passing the SanFransisco Peaks along the way. We walked around downtown Flagstaff for a bit before getting a bite to eat and hitting the sack.

Tuesday was time to head to Sedona to meet Aunt Donna and Uncle Jim. They took us up to airport road where you are able to view the entire city. AMAZING!! This is where Isabella got her picture taken by some little old Asian women who were on a tour. It was so adorable. She had on a cute white hat and sunglasses, looking like a movie star!! On our way to Phoenix, we went through Jerome. For those of you who don't know, Jerome is on the side of the mountain!! We drove on miles and miles of winding rodes up and down the side of the mountain! It was cool to see but a little scarey too! I thought mom was going to have a heart attack but she survived!

The rest of the week was spent in Phoenix. We went to see the Cardinals stadium, went to the zoo and aquarium, went to the swapmart, and spent time just hanging out at Uncle Jim and Aunt Donna's. Isabella was starting to love her nightly walks with Uncle Jim. It was so nice to have sunshine and blue skies all week. I definately wasn't ready to come home.

The trip back seemed like it took FOREVER! It's always exciting to go somewhere but coming home is tough! We are hoping to plan a return trip next year!

Below you will find a montage of pictures from our vacation...Hope you enjoy! Until next time...

Arizona or Bust

Just wanted to let everyone know that we made it to and from Arizona safely!! I took over 400 photos so I'm trying to narrow down which Iwould like to post for your enjoyment! Check back within the next couple days and I promise to have some updates! Until then...

Bella is 7 months old Today!!

Isabella is 7 months old today!! I can't believe it, time goes way too fast! She is weighing in at 21 lbs now. Unfortunately we found this out because I had to take her to the doctor yesterday. She has another ear infection!! That makes 3 so far! I'm definately looking forward to spring. Hopefully then, these ear infections will go away.

So, here's a quick update on the week we've had. Over the weekend, we headed down to Indy to see the family and stay at John and Rachel's. It was so much fun to watch the girls play together. Bella didn't know what to think at first because she's not use to being around other babies, she's just use to our dogs. So, Isabella starts petting Ann, thinking she's Maggie, starts pulling on her ear and her hair. Poor Ann!!

Aunt Rachel gave Bella her first bitter biscuit and a cup of juice. I think she had more fun playing with the cup than actually chewing on the biscuit!! She was a mess!! (See pictures below) So, needless to say, Bella got her 2nd bath of the day! Finally, Sunday was church and the benefit for Grandpa. Bella got to wear her pretty dress and look like a princess for the day!!

Tomorrow night, we leave for our trip to Arizona. Isabella's first vacation!! We are so excited! We are driving over night Friday into Saturday. By Saturday, we will be arriving in Amarillo, TX where we will stay for the night. Sunday morning we will be getting up and hitting the road again. Destination: Flagstaff, AZ. We will be staying in Flagstaff on Sunday and Monday night. Monday we will be heading to the Grand Canyon and Tuesday we will be meeting Aunt Donna and Uncle Jim in Sedona to do some sight seeing. Then we will be heading to Phoenix where we will be spending the rest of the week until it's time to head back to lovely Indiana!! I'll have lots to update when we return!!