HAPPY EASTER!

Bella got to lazy to walk so daddy put her on the ice cooler.

Bella trying to keep up with the rest and racing to get the eggs.

Bella and her many friends! They had such a great time!!

We had such a fun Easter with Bella this year. We went for our usual Easter picnic and then we had a fun time with our friends on Sunday for a yummy Easter dinner. The kids had an Easter egg hunt and then we just sat and visited, which is always fun:)! Bella unfortunately could not have any of the Easter candy, so we had to fill her eggs with soy free, dairy free, and gluten free snacks. Sounds delicious doesn't it??!! Bella was spoiled by her grandparents who gave her some fun books, clothes, bibs, and money! We are very fortunate to have family like we do. We sure do miss them during the holidays. We hope that all of you had a Happy Easter.

Bella is now walking more and more and our goal for having her walk by this weekend might come true! She has really become a spitfire and she lets us know when she is not happy. Her favorite thing to do is dance and she now has mastered the New Kids On The Block move from the Hanging Tough video (any of you who were NKOTB fans know what move I am talking about :)). Hopefully I can capture this on video so that you all can see it.

By the way this video is very long and do not feel bad if you do not watch it. It is intended for the family, but if all of you friends want to watch it, then knock yourselves out.

Bella at 11 months

For all of you who get motion sickness...Caution while watching :)!

Bella at her lookout post! She loves this slide and so does mom!

One of her many adventures in the Dryer.

Bella and her friend Lilly at the park.

So Bella is finally taking some steps and is getting a little better at not looking like she is trying to walk the white line after having too much to drink :)! I am really looking forward to her walking! I know all of you mothers are saying "Oh you have no idea what you are asking for", but it would be so nice to get her off the ground. She is now throwing tantrums, which I think is sometimes hysterical! She will bounce up and down and then throw herself back onto the ground and proceed to cry out loud. I didn't think that they started this young, but hopefully it is not a sign as to what I am in for as she grows older.

Rick has been working super hard these last few weeks with all of his dental requirements and I think he is ready for this year to be over. I can't believe that we have already been out here for almost three years and only have one year left. Time is flying by so fast and Bella will be turning one next month. I am still working away and am glad that I have the opportunity to be at home with Bella. We are excited for Easter and can't wait for our annual picnic.

We went to Bella's GI Specialist and we are going to be able to start her on some soy foods. If any of you know any foods that contain soy for toddler's I would so much appreciate it. We get to try her on a next step soy formula at 13 months and am so looking forward to not having to buy the pure gold formula "Neocate". So everyone keep your fingers crossed that she can handle the soy. I hope that all of you are doing well!

Snow Day

This week has been a very long week. Bella became very ill on Tuesday and had to be taken to the hospital. It was awful not only for her, but for me keeping her entertained for three hours. She is doing so much better now, and is finally sleeping a little. This week has also been a strange week out here in Dallas. We have had two snow days. This never happens here and yesterday we decided to take advantage of it and take Bella sledding. Well she hated every moment of it, which really disappointed her dad. But it was fun to get dressed up in snow gear and it reminded us of our many years in Salt Lake.

Bella is as crazy as ever. She really is a climber and likes to be adventurous. Yesterday, I always know that she is into trouble when she is silent. The first incident happened in the morning when I hadn't heard much from her and went to go check on her. Well she was sitting up on her toy box just chillin'. Are you wondering how she got up there?? Well she pushed the glider ottoman over to the toy box and then climbed upon that to get up there. The next incident was only about an hour later. Again there was silence and so I went to check on her. Well this time she had opened up the dryer door and had climbed into the dryer and was just sitting in there in her clothes and throwing them out. She is quite the "Curious George". She does make me laugh and never ceases to amaze me with her creativity.

Bella raiding the fridge.

Her infamous bed head after naps.