Happy Birthday Beautiful Baby Girl!!

Today was Isabella's FIRST birthday! The year has gone by too fast! We had such a great day today. Isabella, Nanny, Auntie, Caleb, and I went to Washington Park Zoo in Michigan City and to the beach! It was a beautiful day!! Took lots of pictures but to exhausted to post them right now. I'll get some up tomorrow. Until next time...

Bella's Birthday Present

I know it's early but we got Bella her birthday present on Thursday. We decided to get her a bike seat for my bike and a helmet. We took our first bike ride on vacation, and she loved it. So it made us think, what a perfect gift that would be! It was a task trying to assemble it and attach it to my bike. My neighbors probably got a good laugh watching me! I did complete the project, then Bella and I took our first ride together. We rode all through the subdivision. By the time we got back to our house, Bella was almost asleep! The next couple days we weren't able to enjoy it because the weather kinda stunk here! Finally, we had some clear skies, and this evening when it cooled down a little, Aunt Jenny took her for a short ride. Here are some pics:

Just some quick updates...Bella's surgery went well. She didn't fuss or cry at all. She was loving all the attention. We go in for a checkup on the 20th so hopefully all will be well. Bella is also walking around like crazy. I have a couple videos but I can never get the video uploader thing to work on here. I'll keep trying, but I did catch a couple pictures:

This week is going to be a big week in the Standeford house. On Wednesday, we have a trip planned to the zoo for Bella's FIRST birthday, Thursday she goes for her 1 year checkup and shots :(, and Sunday is her birthday party. Gonna be a busy week. Look for lots of pictures to come. Until next time...

Ode to Hilton Head

Four Steps

Bella took her first steps!! A couple nights ago, Jason and I were outside with Bella. I was sitting at the edge of the deck and Jason was walking Bella around the yard. When he got closer to me, he let go of her hands and she took 4 steps toward me!! We were both excited! For obvious reasons, we didn't catch it on camera, but hopefully soon. Now we can't get her to do it again!! It's like the little stinker knows what she did and isn't going to do anymore!!

Bella gets her tubes put in her ears on Thurday morning. We have to be at the surgery center by 6am and her procedure is at 7:30am. Thankfully we are able to have it done her in Plymouth and not have to drive to Mishawaka that early. I'm really not looking forward to the whole thing. It's hard to watch your baby go through something like this. I know it will be quick and she will be fine, but I'm still nervous. I have to keep telling myself it is going to make her feel so much better!! I'll let everyone know how it goes!

There really isn't anything else new or exciting going on in the Standeford household right now. So, until next time....

Catch Up...

A lot has happened over the last month and a half since my last post. Where to begin? We lost Grandpa at the end of June after a battle with cancer. It was tough to see him go but he is in a better place and that's what we have to remember. He was Bella's buddy and I only regret that she didn't really get the chance to remember all the fun she had with him. Grandpa always wore flannel shirts, so I took some of them and I'm going to make a blanket for Bella to cherish! I'll post pics when I get it done.

Bella sharing a cookie with Grandpa

We recently took a family trip to Hilton Head Island, SC. Jason, Bella, and I went along with my parents, my sister and her family, my oldest brother and his family, and my aunt and uncle and their family. We stayed at an awesome house in Palmetto Dunes right on the beach. The weather was perfect!! We stayed for a whole week and enjoyed some wonderful beach time, pool time, bike rides, and gorgeous scenery.

Mom, Dad, Jason, Belle and I in front of the house

There will be many more pictures to come. I have videos of Bella to post too. She wasn't sure about the water the first couple of days but by the end of the week she was a beach bum!!

Bella update: Since my last post Bella has gotten in her two bottom teeth. She had another bad ear infection that lasted over a month and took 5 antibiotics to get rid of. This led us to go to an ear specialist. She will be getting tubes put in her ears on August 6. She also is now doing breathing treatments and taking Claritin for asthma and allergies. A couple weeks ago she started standing on her own. I'm sure she will be walking soon! Not looking forward to that since she is already into EVERYTHING!!

That's about all right now on what is going on in the Standeford household. We are busy planning Bella's first birthday party. Can't believe it is already almost here. Time sure flies! Until next time...

How can Bella already be 10 months old?

Man does time fly!! It's hard to believe our little princess is 10 months old today! She is growing and changing so much every day. Right now she is weighing in at 23 lbs and is around 31-32 inches long. It has been a wonderful experience being home with her more. She definately keeps me on the go!! She is climbing up the stairs and just figured out how to go down them within the last week. Bella is constantly waving at everything now, accompanied by "hi" or "bye." She is defiantely a little show off!!

She loves to be outside!! She is unsure about the feel of grass and usually bear crawls around the yard because she doesn't like to get down on her knees. It is hysterical!! One of our favorite past times is to go for walks in the stroller. Luckily we live in a nice subdivision so we can enjoy our daily walks in our neighborhood! We have about 4 birdfeeders in our yard so Belle can enjoy watching the birds, something she picked up from her Grandpa Haines!! Also, a couple weeks ago we planted a wildflower garden for her. It's exciting because some of the flowers are starting to pop up. It will be fun this summer to watch them grow. Once we get some good blooms I will post some pictures.

Bella has become a very observant girl! We like to call her Nosey Nancy. She is constantly pointing at everything and she loves when you tell her what it is! A couple weeks ago, we went to Monrovia for the Triplets' graduation. I can't believe they are going to be college freshman! Isabella was so well behaved durning commencement. I was quite relieved, especially since it was so hot in the gym!!

So as you can see, things at the Standeford household have been quite busy! I'm hoping now to stay up on my post (for about a week we didn't have a computer because our PC crashed). I have taken several pictures over the last month so I will get some posted soon. I'm including Belle's 10 month picture I took today at the park! Until next time...

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...