Penny and Bella

Bella loves her peas.....

...and so does Penny.

first class

First class is the way to go! We flew to North Carolina on American Airlines and now I don't think I'll be able to fly coach again. We had free drinks in real glasses and fresh, warm chocolate cookies...along with beef quesadillas and a great salad. It was spectacular...and a must when traveling with a 5 1/2 month old baby girl. More details to come...

cracked!

Our toilet cracked! It's the guest toilet (i.e. the toilet that we sit on to watch Bella bathe) and we can no longer use it to relax and recline. Bath time has become one of my favorite times of the day. Matt and I sit together (one on the stool and one on the 'pot'), share a glass of wine, 'oh and ah' over Bella and talk to each other. Now we're going discuss new toilets, where to buy one, how to get rid of one, where to put an old toilet and how to install a new one. Fun, huh?

crashed

She's like an airplane that has coming in for a landing...but crashed! Although it doesn't show, she's getting better and better at rolling over and raising her head while she's on her belly.

A big ducky!

Bella had fun sitting in Jack's big duck! Quack!

first hair cut

Matt saved his gum on the baby seat...but then forgot that it was there. He put Bella in the seat and you guessed it - it stuck in her hair!

We got a flip video camera so we use it lots to capture a minute or two of the day in the life of Bella.

Matt thought that ice would help get the gum out...which really just made Bella cry. Then he got the scissors - and Bella received her first haircut! There's an obvious line of missing hair on the back of her head now! I got the rest out in the bathtub with baby oil. What a learning experience for Matt!

5 month update

Bella was 5 months old on Saturday! Here's what she can do:

• She rolls over with ease.
  
• She purposefully grabs things and usually puts them in her mouth. At El Rodeo in Rolla, she was given a straw to play with. She promptly put it in her mouth while holding it on both ends with both hands. It bent and she placed the middle in her mouth - Pretty Bright Idea! Next she held it with one hand and maneuvered the straw toward her mouth again. This time it poked the back of her mouth and she gagged - Not So Bright Move!
  
• She can sit up with assistance (or soft pillows around her).
  
• She smiles lots! In fact, she's very social. On the flight back to Houston, she kept smiling at people around us. So all these people started talking to us which makes me uneasy - what do I say to all these strangers?
• She poops once every 3 days and she's about to graduate to size 3 diapers. Yes, she's got a cute, chubby booty. When in Rolla, she had an up-to-the-armpit blow-out! It was a first for us (and of course Dad missed out on it). Fortunately we were at Grandma's house when I started changing the soupy, split-pea mess. When I took off her diaper and lifted her legs, I discovered how far up the green mess traveled. She needed a bath, so she got one, immediately in grandma's utility sink.
• She likes to sleep on her belly so we let her. She's strong enough to lift and move her head around.
• She sucks her thumb and chews on her fingers a LOT! People say she's teething. I'm not sure about that, but we'll see soon enough.
• She yells a lot. It's not babbling and not crying. Just loud vocalizations. She did this in church while everyone was singing - she blended right in (sorta).
• She sometimes tries to imitate mouth movements. It's really cute when she opens and closes her mouth and tries to do what you're doing.
• She still nurses. We've tried rice cereal and carrots (blended after being cooked) but she doesn't seem to know what to do with the stuff once it's in her mouth. We'll keep trying!

Bella meets Aunt Jackie

On the way up to the lake house, we made a detour through Bedford, Texas to make the long awaited introduction to Aunt Jackie. We had made a couple of attempts before while both driving up to Missouri back in April, and again during the drive back in early May. On both of those occasions, the the timing just wasn't right. We also wanted the visit to work out with cousin Carol and Mark who live just down the road a bit in Hurst.

While we were there cousin Carol passed along a family heirloom that was passed to her from Aunt Jackie when she was little. This is a very nice German china tea set, complete with teapot, cups, saucers, and sugar bowl. Now Bella is all prepared to have a tea party with her best friends Duchess and Penny. The gifts didn't end there. I received a small pendent that Matt's mother had given to her many years ago. All of this, and a wonderful Italian dinner at a great place just around the corner.

The Lake House

We had a great time at the lake house! Thanks Dan & Sandy!

Our little Bella, the baby, met Bella, the dog. Fortunately, both Bella's got along very well. In preparation for viewing the fireworks over the lake, from the boat, we bought Bella a brand-new, red life jacket. Of course we didn't actually see the fireworks because Bella (the baby) was asleep. We watched them on TV with Bella (the dog) which was all that Matt needed. He reminisced about being in New York, for about the millionth time.

Bella got in the lake in her floaty. It didn't really work out that well because she's still too small. Once she was in the life jacket in the floaty then she was fine. We're definitely taking the life jacket when we go on vacation. We're hoping to got out on Matt's sailboat while visiting friends in Baltimore.

basking in the sun

Look at that crazy Duchess face!