bluebonnets

Last night we took our annual walk along White Oak Bayou to take pictures with the bluebonnets. We pick up dinner at Taco Cabana (I know, not that healthy), pick a comfortable spot to eat then walk along the trails until we find a good patch of bluebonnets. Check out 2009 and 2010 for comparison and to see Bella grow!

Who is that?!

doctor's visits

We've had a booked schedule of doctor's visits! Here's the run-down:

I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight (yea! ...and finally) and I have a trial of prescription medication for sleeping. For about a year, I've been about 2 pounds over my before-baby weight, but since January, I've been walking Bella to and from daycare. It's across a long parking lot, but it's made a difference! Most days it's really easy and others it's really hard; imagine pushing a stroller and carrying a screaming and kicking toddler with lunch box and accessories.

Bella's ophthalmologist says she's one-of-a-kind! She's the only child he has seen who has iris trans-illumination that appears to have normal vision! It's not confirmed yet since she can't read, but we're pretty sure that everything will be ok. ...and if it isn't there isn't anything we can do about it (glasses won't fix it). She was a doll during the visit.

Bella's dentist says she might be missing some teeth. She has a very restricted upper frenulum (bumpy, hangy-down thing between her front teeth - think David Letterman or Madonna, but more) and is likely missing the teeth on either side of her two front teeth. X-rays next year will confirm this, but until then we just need to keep brushing! If those teeth are there, we'll make space and pull them down. If not, we'll get implants which were promised to be life-like by screwing them into her bone. Ugh. Sounds horrible and expensive. We'll just wait and see...and encourage smirky (tight-lipped) smiles so you don't see the holes in her mouth!

A New Bed!

A bit before Bella's 2nd birthday we started thinking about toddler beds. A couple of online searches and craigslist viewing didn't excite us. Matt had the idea to make the bed and I found some inspiration here.

Over the holidays, we drew up the exact design to fit our crib mattress. We also retrieved some fabric that I bought for the nursery, before we knew if she was a boy or girl and before we knew what we would do with it. While at my parents house, Matt cut the wood and I cut and sewed the fabric. Obviously, my parents helped quite a bit.

A few weekends after that we put together the bed in my brother's garage. Here's the assembly:


...and here it is in her room! I really need to figure out how to take better pictures. I think rule #1 is to take pictures using natural sunlight. Rule #2 is to straighten out the bedding (but that's hard to do with a toddler ready for bed).


Rule #3 must be to clean the camera lens so there's not fuzz in the picture (it's above the painting...if you didn't already notice). Her room is rather small, in fact so small that a twin mattress will not fit so we're hoping this bed lasts quite a while. Some bright sunny day, I'll try again with different angles and a clean lens.Did you notice the flying turtle? It's hung above her bed by fishing line. It's actually a night light that projects the constellations on the ceiling and wall. While laying in her bed, here's the view. Of course it's mesmerizing in person. These pictures don't do it justice, but you get the idea.


It took some transitioning, but now Bella sleeps well in her bed...most of the time. Matt's the night-time keeper because he can do just about anything and fall back to sleep almost instantaneously. He's spent a couple of nights or at least a couple of early mornings laying on the bench sofa parallel to Bella's bed, just so she feels better with someone in the room. We're trying to get Penny to sleep on the bench, but we're unsuccessful so far. Honestly, I don't blame her...and when Daddy's away, she falls asleep with me, then gets transferred into her bed so we can both twist, turn and kick without waking each other.