Mr. Roy's Influence

At daycare, Bella's teacher, Mr. Roy, leads the class in dance parties. She's learned some moves. Check out the video that Uncle John captured.

Road Trips from Houston - Trip 4

Bella reunited with Matteo! We drove to Dallas to visit with Ana and Matteo. The last time that they saw each other was the summer. We stayed at a hotel that was connected to the Galleria which was so convenient and fun! Not once did Matt have any anxiety about shopping or about being at a mall. Surprisingly, he asked to go look at clothes at Nordstrom just for fun! Amazing! I admit that it was nice to window shop and be so accessible to so much to see and do. There were a few early shoppers, but for the most part the mall was empty.

Besides mall-walking, we ventured out to see the Dallas Zoo. Bella identified monkeys by saying "oo oo ah" and lions by saying "roar!" The giraffe was a new animal that she was a bit unsure of. Mostly because Matt had her face to face with one, literally. She named and quacked at the ducks. We all had a great time. Ana gifted us with a book, "Zoo Poo" which is a toilet training book that Bella loves. How do animals doo-doo? Buy the book and find out!


More about the hotel. We haven't stayed at a fancy hotel with a child before now. Surprisingly, everyone was very accommodating and friendly. We went to a suite for coctails and Bella happily enjoyed all the cheese, crackers, olives and pickles. Others looked on and smiled and laughed at Bella. We even received a gift bag for kids with a little rubber ducky, night light and a couple of other baby supplies. The next morning we returned for breakfast where Bella enjoyed THREE plates of fresh blueberries, strawberries, watermelon and oranges. I ate croissants and the blueberries that Bella fed us. It was a treat!

Bella loved the metal curtain at the hotel and they didn't seem to mind that she walked around and through it many, many times.

Camping with Bella - Trip #3

We went to Inks Lake State Park last weekend with Jack, John and Ashley. It was a good time, but would have been better if "Dak", "Don" and "Ashey" weren't so snotty. It was a bummer that they all had a cold.

We ergo'd (used the Ergo baby carrier) and climbed some rocks. It was warm and gorgeous during the day. It became cool at night. I would consider it cold since it was 38 degrees, but Matt kept his t-shirt and shorts insisting that it wasn't cold.

Jack & Bella love hanging out in the car. We don't mind either since they are occupied pressing buttons and pretending to drive. Of course we keep the keys far way.

Chucky Cheese

We visited friends at Chucky Cheese. It was our first CC experience...and it was a bit cheesy. Bella enjoyed some rides like the merry-go-round and the horse. We need to wait until she's older so she can operate and play the games and rides they way they are supposed to be played.

Road Trips from Houston - Trip 4

Our road trip started out after a bar mitzvah. We went to East Texas to help out a friend. It turned out that we didn't to need help so the rest of the weekend became our own. We drove around Jacksonville and Rusk then ended up at Lake Livingston State Park. Yes, you guessed it, we got Bella's State Park Passport stamped. She actually got the "Piney Woods" sticker! Yeah!

We went to Lake Livingston State Park when Bella was in her teen months. We didn't camp, but just visited friends who were camping. It's not a fond memory. Hanging out with friends was a ton of fun, but at the end of the evening, for no apparent reason, Bella barfed. As I swung her around to avoid getting throw-up on me, the vomit sprayed across my face and mostly ended up in my hair. It was one of those moments when time slowed. My initial reaction was right on, I was avoiding the stream of barf, but as I moved, Bella moved and countered my move. Fortunately, this recent trip disassociated Lake Livingston with throw-up.

Above is a picture of Bella walking. She insisted on wearing those green shoes which are 2 sizes too big. She can still walk, but becomes pigeon-toed and clunky with the too big shoes.

Below is a picture of Matt and Bella crossing a crooked bridge.
Bella says, "I don't know" and motions with questioning hands. It's adorable and we mimic it all the time.
Swing, swing, swing. The girl likes to swing.
She also likes to climb. She is fearless. Her 'too big' shoes got stuck to the side (rubber soles don't slide on metal) so it was a one time ride.
All by herself, she climbs.

Halloween x 3

1. First Bella was a lion, but she absolutely hated that costume. We managed to get it on her once and that was all.
2. Fortunately we had a hand-me-down tiger costume that Bella wore to daycare.
3. For the real Halloween, Bella was a Chinese girl. Matt was an Indian (from India) and wore one of his native dresses from his travels. It really did look like a dress. People just thought he was a bald hairy Krishnah. If Matt was going to be from India, then Bella was going to be from China and I was going to pick a country to represent. It didn't really work out that well because I couldn't find a costume so I just went as a witch, but my hat wouldn't stay on so basically, I just looked festive. Next year, I've sworn off dressing up. It's a kid thing.