Christmas at Disney Trip Report

I fully realize how far behind I am on my blogging so I am going to just have to kind of scan over my trip to Disney so I can get to all my Christmas, end of year lists and updates on Bella blogging!

Day 1 - It was snowing as I left DFW and then I flew in to MCO where it was a lovely 80 degrees. I hopped on Magical Express and was at Pop Century in no time. I had never stayed here, but had heard good things so I was excited. The theme was pretty cool. Each section is a different decade so there were giant homages to the 70's, 80s and so on. I was in the 80s and so there were over sized computer type things and it said like 'Radical' and had people wearing leg warmers all over the place.

I headed out to MK first. It is all decorated for Christmas as you can see...

They just redid Space Mountain so I rode it first. They now have these games you can play while waiting in line. The ride itself didn't seem much different, but maybe a little smoother. After riding a couple other things I toured Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary, Poly and Grand Floridian to see all the cool decorations. Here are a few pics...

WL (my personal fave)...


Contemporary (that tree is made of real ginger bread)


Grand Floridian and the mother of all Gingerbread Houses. Made totally of edible ingredients!

I then headed back to MK for a reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern - which was my FAVORITE meal the whole trip. Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes. Yum. I also got to see the lighting of the castle. They do this whole show where Cinderella has a Christmas wish that her castle would sparkle like her glass slippers and the fairy godmother grants her wish by lighting up the castle. It is so pretty. Sort of makes you tear up. Ok, well it makes me tear up. =)


Then I watched Wishes and headed back to my hotel.

Day 2 - Slept in until almost 8 o clock! Then I headed to Epcot. I rode Soarin' first. I always go back and forth on which ride is my fave. Soarin' or Tower of Terror. I still think ToT wins, but I heart Soarin'. I had a lunch reservation at Rose and Crown, but I went by to see the Canada movie first. I hadn't seen it since they redid it with Martin Short and I really liked it! R&C was delicious. Had some Bangers and Mash and then headed off to try to see all the holiday storytellers. Each country has their 'mascot' of the holidays tell the Christmas, or whatever holiday they celebrate, story and it was SO much fun. Norway had a funny gnome that helps tell the story and in Italy there is a witch. I didn't get to hit every country, though, because I had tickets for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!

MVMCP Review portion of the blog - I definitely had fun. You get 'free' hot chocolate and cookies and they had a cute show in Tomorrowland and in front of the castle. There is also a special parade, which I didn't love. It was VERY slow, with sometimes minutes between floats. Not sure if it was just an off night, but just wasn't great. However, the Christmas Wishes fireworks were just as good if not better than normal Wishes. LOVED it. They also had snow on main street which was fun. But I would say I like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party better for sure. Also, really only like Main Street and the hub are decorated. If you are anywhere else in the park you might not even know it was any other time of year. Kind of disappointing.

Day 3 - Today it rained. All. Day. Long. Lots and lots of rain. And it turned cold. I braved it and went to Hollywood Studios. Luckily all the rides there are inside so I rode ToT, Rock N Roller Coaster, Great Movie Ride and Toy Story Mania. Then I headed over to the Boardwalk because I had lunch plans at Captain's Grille. I so wish it hadn't been raining so hard. I had never been to the Boardwalk area and it looked really neat! I would really like to go back on a nice night. I bet there are lots of cool things going on. Captain's Grille was good. Didn't have as much seafood on the menu as I had hoped, but still tasty. I really didn't want to get back in the rain at this point, so I went ahead and headed to my room and took a nap and watched TV for a while. It was honestly really nice to just be able to relax and do nothing. You moms all know what I am talking about. =)

That night was the only day I had to see the Osborne Lights so I made myself go back out in the rain back to DHS to see them. I had been told they had them no matter of rain or what. So I go back out there, head to the Streets of America annnnnd...no lights. I asked a cast member what the deal was and he said he didn't know. That they always have the lights even when it rains so there must be a malfunction. I convinced myself it would be just minutes before they came on so I walked around for a bit and then on the loud speakers you hear 'Ladies and Gentlemen. Due to adverse weather the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights has been CANCELLED'. =( Talk about disappointed. This was like THE thing I wanted to see on my trip and I had to leave the next day. I was pretty bummed, so I just went back to the hotel, got a pizza and some wine from the food court and went back to my room to gorge and watch TV.

Day 4 - I had gotten breakfast ressies at Boma, so I headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge. I was almost 40 minutes late due to no busses coming to pick us up on time, but they still let me in! =) It was really good, but I don't know if I would have gone there if I had to pay for it. (I had free dining this trip) Kind of pricey. AKL was awesome though. Reminded me a lot of WL. Here is a pic...


I then headed to Animal Kingdom and rode Expedition Everest. It wasn't raining as much this day, just sprinkling, but going on a roller coaster in the rain is not the best idea I learned! Kind of stings. I decided to spend the rest of my trip at Magic Kingdom. They were supposed to be filming the Christmas parade that day at MK, but they had canceled it due to the weather. This worked out to my advantage when I was boarding Pirates of the Caribbean only to see Kelly Ripa (she hosts the parade) and her family boarding right behind me! Pretty cool. I just rode all the things I hadn't gotten to yet. Saw the new Hall of Presidents with the new Obama animatronic. But alas, my trip had to end sometime. I hopped a plane back to DFW around 7 and was home around 9. I missed my baby girl SO much. I think it was even worse since I was alone and had all the time in the world to think about her. Not sure how I will do if Jason and I go for a week's vacation sometime later this year!!

Bella - Almost 8 months!

Sorry I have been so bad about updating lately. I was gone for almost two weeks straight - first for Thanksgiving to Norman and then I went to Walt Disney World for a few days (trip report coming soon I promise/hope!) and so I have been playing catch up all week.

While in Norman, we visited Bella's great-grandmother. Here is a pic of four generations of Trents!


Bella is growing so much! She stayed with my mom while I was at Disney and while she was there she started sitting up on her own. Meaning she could be laying down on her back, would turn over and then push up in to a sitting position! She is also starting to pull herself up to her knees. She likes to grab on to the handles of her dresser and pull up and play with them.


And I mean look at just how gosh darn cute she is!


Another new thing is she likes to say 'dadadada' allll the time. No mama yet, but I am trying! She has also learned to whisper so she says dada real quiet. It is so cute!

She has also started something new that is not so cute. We have always had a real good routine with nap times and bed times. I have a routine that I do before every nap and bed time. She knows it and usually cries when I start, because she knows it is time for a nap. But she has always been fine once I put her in her crib and falls asleep within like two minutes of being put down. All the sudden this whole week she takes FOREVER to go to sleep for her nap. Like right now. I put her down at 9:20. She was yawning and rubbing her eyes, acting super tired. It is almost 10 and she still isn't asleep. I don't know what to do!! If anyone has any wisdom to impart on this subject please help!!

Yum Yum!

I had mentioned before that Bella wasn't really taking to solid foods too well. We tried cereal first, then we tried a slew of other things, both veggies and fruits and she was not interested. Until one day. Literally all the sudden she just decided she liked to eat. The first thing she really ate was pears. Up until then she would take one or two bites and then just refuse to open her mouth at all. This day she would open her mouth wanting more and more. I couldn't believe it! Since then she has eaten just about everything I have given her. She doesn't seem to love peas or cereal still, but she eats everything else! Here is a pic of her after lunch today with peas (yes I keep trying) on her face. Sorry it is a little dark...

Kiley's First Birthday

Recently we went to my friend Lacey's daughter Kiley's first birthday. She had a Minnie Mouse themed party so Lacey made all the kids Mouse Ears with bows on them that would match what they were wearing, which was such a cute idea.

Here is Kiley with her very first birthday cake. She wasn't really sure what to do with it though...


The funny part came when we tried to get all the babies on the couch for a picture, but Bella and another little girl were only interested in checking each other out. So cute...



What I don't have a picture of is Bella trying to lick that little girl as well as trying to gouge her eyes out.

Here is a better pic of Bella so you can see her cute ears...


It was a great party and it is getting me thinking about what we are going to do for Isabella Jane's first birthday!

Get Up for Cheap!

So I am a couponer. Since I quit my job to take care of our little munchkin I have been trying to save money any way I can and sometimes I find some really good deals. I just wanted to share a great deal I found yesterday. If you like Disney movies (or technically Pixar) you will love Up. If you have already seen it you know how great it is. Well, right now Walmart has the Blu-Ray DVD 4 pack unit on sale from $24.96 to $19.96. If you go get this coupon - http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/up/couponoffer/ - you can get it for $9.96!! It comes with the Blu-Ray DVD AND the regular DVD, as well as bonus features and the digital file to download on your computer. Pretty good deal if you ask me! Not sure how long this will last, but I just thought I would send it out.

Happy Halloween

This year for Bella's first Halloween we dressed her up as a mermaid. I know what you are thinking. It's Kelli, must be Ariel from the Little Mermaid...but no! I am trying to lay low on the Disney until she is older. I don't want to over Disney her, I mean what if she got sick of it and decided she didn't like Disney? That would be bad. So anyway, she was an adorable little mermaid. My friend Lacey has several friends with babies so we all got together to take cute pictures and have some delicious food!

Here is Jason with our little amphibian...


I think this one is funny because it looks like Bella is concerned about the crying baby...

This gave me chills...

http://fromthepasture.blogspot.com/2009/10/other-september-11th-attack.html

Bella - She's getting so big!

Last weekend Bella, Jason and I met up with my mom's group from church at the Arboretum. Believe it or not, it was my first time there! We tried to go last spring before she was born, but the line just to get on the shuttle to take you over there was crazy long, so we didn't end up going. It looks like fun and I am sure we will go back a lot once she gets a little older. We didn't really explore too much, but we did get some cute little pictures of her in the pumpkin patch. We also did a group shot with all the kiddos in their Halloween costumes. Bella is supposed to be a mermaid, but she was super fussy and I couldn't quite get her 'tail' pulled down over her feet in time for the picture. Also her seashell headband wouldn't stay on. My friend Allison's daughter Lila was the same thing so see the bottom row second from the right for what she should have looked like. =)




Also, like I have mentioned before, I have been doing training for my new job in my spare time. I have gotten all kinds of certifications from all sorts of cruise lines and destinations. But the best one? Disney of course! I got my graduation pack in the mail the other day and Bella wanted to model for me...


How cute is that?

ACL 2009

Ok, I am so far behind on my blogging, I apologize. I have been SO busy still with my training for work, but it seems to be slowing down a little bit so I will try to catch up with everything I have been putting off!

First up, ACL 2009. Let's see if I can still remember what we did...it was almost a month ago.

We left Bella with my parents for a 4 day weekend to Austin. We love ACL and go pretty much every year, so I had asked my mom to babysit that weekend before Bella was even born. We headed down Thursday night so we could be there first thing Friday when everything starts. It was hard to say good bye to my little angel, but in the end it was SO nice to have a weekend where I could sleep in!

Friday morning we made the requisite trip to Kerbey Lane for breakfast and I had my staple of baked potato omelet and blueberry pancakes. SO delicious. We got to the festival around 1:30 that day just in time to catch Blitzen Trapper who I actually liked more than I anticipated. I liked the music I had heard from them before ok, but in person I thought they were really good. Reminded me a little of Counting Crows, who we all know are my favorite!

After BT we met up with Amanda and Jared over at Todd Snider. He was hilarious! If you get a chance to see him live you must do it. He is so funny. I had never heard any of his music before, but he was a hoot for sure. Next up was Phoenix who was one of the bands I was most excited about seeing. And they were good. Sounded just like the radio and they played all the songs I love, but that was about it. Nothing stood out as an amazing performance or anything, although I did learn they are French and the lead singer has a kid with Sofia Coppola. Interesting.

After that we pretty much just walked around and got something to eat, then staked out a place for Kings of Leon. I really don't know much about them except for their new stuff, but they were really good! They put on a great show and even the songs I didn't know I found myself bopping along with them. =) Also, I have to mention how great the weather was this day. Normally for ACL it is at least one million degrees outside and not a cloud to be seen. It was probably 85 and partly cloudy most of the afternoon. Greatness.

Saturday didn't turn out as good. It was in the forecast to rain so we brought some umbrellas and rain jackets, but it was more than a shower here and there. It would just pour down rain for an hour or two at a time. By about 4 o clock we declared ourselves huge wusses and went home. It was kind of a bummer, because I was really looking forward to seeing Flogging Molly, The Scabs and The Decemberists. Flogging Molly we did see, but I was hunched under an umbrella trying not to get soaking wet. They were so good, I am going to try to see them again under dryer circumstances.

After we left, we went to a place to eat where the waitresses wear orange shorts and tights. We had some wings and watched the devastation that was the Arkansas/A&M game. It was fun, but I wish we had won. If you are following the Aggies this year, they are continuing to baffle me. Super inconsistent. Anyway...

Sunday we actually spent a good portion of the morning going to Academy and every other store in the vicinity looking for rain gear. And guess what? So was everyone else. They were out of EVERYTHING. We did find one awesome A&M umbrella...not sure why no one in Austin wanted it. So we didn't get to ACL until a little later, but we did catch the Toadies and they sang all the cool songs I remember from college. Ahh, made me feel young again. =) I got to see a little bit of Ben Harper and The Dead Weather, and some of Michael Franti while waiting for Pearl Jam, who was also great. But what I have not mentioned was how awesome Zilker Park was. And when I say awesome, I mean muddy. I wore flip flops because it was all I had. About two steps in I realized that was not going to work. They were getting stuck so far in the mud I finally took them off. I and about a third of the people at ACL, spent the day barefoot, walking around in a good 2-6 inches of mud. Honestly it was kind of fun. And though the forecast called for it to be cold and rainy all day, it was perfect weather. Maybe a little cloudy early on, but as the day passed, the sun came out and it didn't rain once!

They are having ACL in October again next year which makes me SO happy. Hopefully this time it won't rain!

Hi ho, hi ho...

As I mentioned before I have a new job. It is pretty much the most perfect job I could have asked for at this stage in my life. First let me talk about how I came upon it. When I first decided to stay home with Isabella, I knew it would be hard. I knew I would miss my old job and my friends there and I knew I would miss having a second income! But I kept thinking, if it gets that bad I can always get another job.

So after a few months of staying home with Bella, I started trying to think of things that I could do from home to make some money and not have to put her in day care. Now if you know me well at all, you know I am somewhat (to put it lightly) of a Disney fanatic. I also love to travel and I really think half the fun is planning out the whole vacation. So I listen to these Disney podcasts, and had always heard about this company called Mouse Fan Travel. They are a travel agency that specializes in Disney travel, but also does all kinds of travel as well. So I inquired about job opportunities on their web site and it just so happened they were going to be hiring in the next couple months. The job was a work from home position that was completely flexible around your schedule and you work whatever hours you want. I couldn't think of anything more perfect for myself so I applied and after a few weeks of interviews and such I got the job!

So now I am an affiliate of MEI & Mouse Fan Travel. I am currently going through training, which is intense to say the least. The first few days were going through the College of Disney Knowledge (did you know there was such a thing?), and now I am learning every detail about all aspects of the cruising industry. Last week I learned all about Princess, Carnival and Cunard cruise lines. This week it is Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. Not sure what is up next, but I have also had to take courses on Mexico, Weddings and Honeymoons, Spa Excursions and Orlando in general. I have learned about every port in the world and everything you can do there. I am seriously going to be equipped to be the best travel agent ever!

So if you like to travel or know someone who does, send them my way! It doesn't cost anything to use a travel agent (well, I think some charge a fee, but we don't). We get really good deals with Disney, cruise lines and all kinds of packages and I seriously love to plan vacations so I am excited to get started! Alright there is my little plug for myself. =)

Anyway, the training is a LOT more than I thought it would be, so I have been SO SO SO busy with that. Three days will go by and I realize I haven't even left the house because every spare second I have I am doing this online training. But it is fun! If this whole thing works out, I think it could seriously be the most perfect job for me. So wish me luck, and now...back to training....

Bella's Play Time

So I am sure you parents all have this issue. How to keep your little one entertained. Obviously you can't play with them 24/7, so I am constantly trying to find new things that will entertain Bella. Has anyone noticed that their kids seem to like random non-toys better than anything? Currently spoons are much adored while we are in the kitchen. However today, after making her play on the floor alone so I could do some cleaning, I decided I needed to give her some attention. We went in the nursery and got on the floor and I got out a bunch of stuffed animals. I was putting on a production of Annie with her doll rattle as Annie and a bunny as Daddy Warbucks, but was she interested? Nope. What did she want to play with? The carpet. I am not kidding. She just wanted to lean over and grab the shag carpet and run her hands over it. Wouldn't even look at me.

Want to know what her absolute favorite toy right now is though?

My iPhone! I cannot blame her as I am also addicted to it, but she is so funny. When she sees it she gets this frenzied look on her face like 'I MUST HAVE IT!'. Especially if I turn on the iPod.

She went to stay with Nana and Grampa while we were in Austin last weekend and it was so weird when I got back. I missed her so much and I swear she looked different! She also basically could not have cared less that I was back. She just looks at me like 'hmmm you look familiar, but whatever'. She did the same thing to me this weekend after she visited her Grammy and Poppy in Oklahoma. My husband took her to visit his parents and when she got home she wouldn't even smile at me and only wanted Jason. It made me pretty sad, but I guess that is normal.

Other than that we are doing good. She turns six months in TWO DAYS!! I can't believe it. She has her checkup on Friday so I will update later with all her new stats.

I know! I know!

I realize I have not updated my blog lately with any news about Bella, Austin City Limits or my new job (yes I have a new job!). I apologize, but I have been SO SO SO busy with the three aforementioned things in the last couple of weeks that I just have not had time. I promise details are coming soon on all of these things, but for now....back to my job training!

Look Ma! No Hands!

So in the last few days Bella has gotten much better at sitting up. In the past if we would just kind of barely support her she would sit, but now without holding her at all she can sit up! If she starts moving around much or goes to grab something she usually topples over, but if she is just sitting there not doing much she is completely self sufficient! Here are a couple pics of her new achievement. She looks a little shocked. =)

I don't heart gardening

I really don't like to garden. I would think, being a woman, it would be ingrained in my DNA somewhere to love to plant things and watch them grow, but no. I am missing that gene. And I am really not sure why I don't like it. I love doing things outdoors. I actually am fond of manual labor. I know that sounds weird, but I worked at Bath and Body Works for seven years and my favorite part was doing stock in the back room. I love putting together furniture from Ikea and Target. I even like cleaning, doing laundry and I love cooking. So I am not sure why gardening seems such an awful task to me. Maybe it stems from the times when my dad used to make me pick up sticks in the yard as a kid. On those rare occasions I truly felt as if life was beyond unfair and my dad was trying to torture me.

I have not done anything with our flower beds in a year. Last fall I was in my first trimester so I was either too tired or feeling too sick to do it and then this spring I had something else that needed nourishing. =) So the gardening has taken a back seat. A few weeks ago I bought some pretty flowers with every intention of planting them, but then it rained for the next three weekends. So today I was all geared up and ready to go on the gardening front. It was nice weather, so I got out there and fertilized our yard. Ran out of fertilizer, but so far so good. Then I raked out all the leaves and old mulch from the beds. Not too bad. Then I have to get down on my hands and knees and pull up weeds. Ugh. They are so hard to get out. And I am pretty sure most of it is actually grass that somehow didn't get fully dug up when we created these flower beds. It is a pain in my, well, knees and back mostly. I swear it was in the 70s this morning, but I was sweating profusely. I was also trying to hurry because I was trying to get this all done before Bella woke up, since Jason wasn't home.

I finally get all the weeds up and then I sort of hoed up the dirt and then mixed in some new soil. About this time Bella wakes up so I didn't get to actually plant the flowers, but that part will be easy. Anyway, this is only the first flower bed. My next task is to plant my tomatoes that Jason got me and then I have to dig up a rose bush so I can turn our back yard garden in to an herb garden. I am actually excited about that part. I would love to have fresh herbs to cook with!

Anyway, if you have any ideas how to make gardening more enjoyable, please send them my way! =)

Mark 10:13-16

This weekend we baptized Isabella Jane. It was a big weekend for her and all her grandparents and her aunt and uncle came in to be a part of it. She did pretty good. She didn't cry or anything when they sprinkled water on her head or held her up to be showed off to the congregation. But then she cried when he started baptizing the other babies. Guess she still wanted to be the center of attention. =) Our good friends Gabby, Jessica, Jarrett and Chris also came to see as well as Gabby's sweet parents who I have known for many years. Here are some pics from my little angels special day!

Bella with the whole fam...


Our friends the Reeds and Jordans


Bella with her Aunt Amanda...


The girls...


Bella with Grammy and Poppy...


Bella with Grampa and Nana...


Bella with Grampa...


It was a great weekend. We went to Breadwinners afterward to celebrate with some tasty food. Thanks to everyone for coming to visit! I love you guys.

Happiness is a Beatles Top 10 List

Recently Rock Band released a version of their game entirely dedicated to the Beatles. Because of this, Entertainment Weekly - my favorite magazine - dedicated last weeks issue entirely to the Beatles. One of the articles they published was what they considered to be the Top 50 Beatles songs and they also did a Top 5 Worst songs. I am a Beatles fan. My dad had the Abbey Road record when I was little and we would listen to it, but I really got in to them a lot more in college. I don't have all their albums, but I do have quite a few. The White Album is probably my fave. After reading EW last week I went through a few days of listening to nothing but The Beatles. I have told you all before how much I love to make lists for everything, so I thought I needed my own list of best Beatles songs. I don't have the time or erudition to make a Top 50, so mine will just be a Top 10. But here are my favorite Beatles songs and a quick blurb as to why. Enjoy!

10. Maxwell Silver Hammer - This is the song my dad and I would listen to when I was little. Why did I love a song about a serial killer at such a young age? Who knows. I guess I just liked that it was creepy.

9. Helter Skelter - Is it weird that my first two songs are related to serial killers? I am just now noticing this relation. Anyway, Charles Manson loved it and so do I. It rocks.

8. Michelle - I feel this song doesn't get the credit it deserves. You never hear it on the radio and no one really talks about it, but I just love it. Maybe because I like to sing in French that I don't understand.

7. Let It Be - What if we all just 'let it be'? Wouldn't the world be a better place?

6. Here Comes the Sun - This song was on my wedding video. It is just such a happy, pretty song.

5. Strawberry Fields Forever - This is the first song that I really latched on to when I started listening in college. 'Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see'. Great line.

4. Yesterday - Who hasn't felt what this song says? When I hear it my heart hurts.

3. Rocky Racoon - I have no idea what this song means, but I just love it. 'Her name was McGill, and she called herself Lil, but everyone knew her as Nancy'. What?

2. A Day in the Life - I really have no comment about this song other than I just really like it. I never get tired of it.

1. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - This song is just plain beautiful. I mean just the title alone paints such a lovely yet aching picture of someone just letting their instrument share their emotions for them. Gets me every time.

Ok that's it. What do you think? If you are reading this list thinking 'how could you forget...' then let me know what your favorite Beatles song is.

A weekend of firsts

Well this weekend Isabella went to her friend Madison's first birthday party. Her mom and my friend Jennifer had it at Gymboree in Plano. We had never been to Gymboree so I wasn't too sure what to expect, but the lady running it made sure that she gave Isabella activities to do since all the other kids were much older.

Here is Bella in a little rocking chair of sorts...


And here she is getting some tummy time on a ball...


Here we were supposed to hold on to a big round parachute thing, but Bella decided she would rather eat it...


Here Bella was having fun with Dad bouncing her around...


And here is Jen and the birthday girl...



The rest of the weekend I spent cleaning. I had actually bought all these flowers to plant and had grand ideas of doing some major gardening this weekend. However if you live around Dallas you know that it has been acting like a minor hurricane around here the last few days. I can hear someone mowing their yard right now and I am imagining them ankle deep in mud! So no gardening got done, but I did get the house nice and clean.

I am sort of a nerd and make lists for EVERYTHING. So I have a clean the house list on my fridge on a dry erase board. I basically try to clean a little every day and once I have finished a room on my list I check it off and move to the next room. That way I make sure I know every room has been cleaned in at least the recent past. Also, every iteration of this list I have one room that gets a 'deep clean', meaning I do fan blades, baseboards, move everything out of the way instead of vacuuming around it, etc. This weekend I did the kitchen and talk about gross! I got Jason to move the refrigerator this time. I literally have not moved it since we moved in to this house. I am guessing (hoping?) this is normal, but I am going to start cleaning back there more often. There was so much dust it was just disgusting. Anyway, my kitchen is spotless now and I am pretty sure you could eat off the floor, but I will just leave that up to the dogs. =)

Today we are starting to try to get Bella on more of a schedule. I have been obsessed with reading about how her sleep habits should be forming and the book I am reading now says at this age (she is 5 months today!!) she should be able to be on more of a schedule and probably start taking only two naps a day. So this morning we started the day a little after 7 and then I put her down for a nap at 9. She was really tired and went to sleep pretty quick. She only slept for about 50 minutes though, so we will see if she can make it to her next nap time, which is supposed to be around 1. She usually gets tired within a couple of hours of her last nap, so should be interesting!

Little Monkey

Here are a couple of pics I snapped of Bella while I was making my breakfast this morning. She is so darn cute I can't help myself!

How am I ever going to say no to this sweet little smile?


Her Nonna got her this little monkey (a little monkey for my little monkey!). I am not sure if she is giving him a kiss or trying to eat him. My money is on the latter.


Here is another picture from Destin, but I just uploaded it today. She was just too cool for riding in her car seat this day...

Crisis of Faith

I don't usually write about this kind of stuff, but I really liked this blog that my preacher from my church in Tyler wrote. I have a feeling that every single Christian in the world has had doubts about God and wondering if everything that we believe is real. I mean you can't see any of it and the bible was written a very long time ago. So as much as I really do believe it, I definitely have times when I wish there was more actual PROOF. So I subscribe to my preacher's blog and he wrote one yesterday sort of on this topic and I just thought I would share the link for anyone who is interested.

http://fromthepasture.blogspot.com/2009/09/is-faith-blind-or-is-it-unbelief-that.html

Sleepy Little Princess

So Bella has started sleeping a LOT more lately. We always put her to bed around 7pm and since last Thursday she has slept until 7am - and sometimes 7:15! - every night but one. Sunday we had her out all day at the mall after church and so she missed some nap time and then ended up going to bed late so she woke up at around 2:30 am and was up forever and then got up for good around 6:30. And yesterday, now this is definitely not the norm, but she slept for 6 hours during the day and still slept until 7:15 this morning. She never takes that long of naps during the day, but I guess yesterday she was just tired!

It is so true what I have been reading about the more they sleep, the more they will sleep. When we put her to bed late she almost always wakes up early or in the middle of the night, compared to when we put her down early.

Anyway, as you can imagine, I am ecstatic! I still have a lot of sleep to catch up on from the last 4 and 1/2 months, but we are getting closer.

Here are a few more pictures that Jason took in Destin. I am so happy he has developed this hobby of his. He has such a talent for it I think!

Out on the patio...



I love this picture. She looks so mischievous!

Destin

My parents recently bought a house, along with three other couples, in Destin, FL. We have been going to Destin almost every year for vacation since I was little. I think it is probably one of the most popular beach destinations in the US because I feel like everyone I know has been a million times too. And why not? The sand is white (usually), the water is blue (usually), the weather is good (you got it, usually), and the seafood is delicious (always!). So anyway, we had planned to go last week and take Bella on her first beach vacation. She was only 4 months and so she wasn't allowed to wear sunscreen, which meant she would basically have to stay in this little UV protective tent we bought her. We also bought a portable fan to try to keep her cool. Well, if you can tell from this pic, she wasn't very happy in the heat...


So I think she was on the beach a total of 30 minutes and we decided maybe next year would be better to try her first beach time. So Jason and I took turns going to the beach and one day my mom was nice enough to let us have a whole day to ourselves on the beach while she babysat. I got nice and sunburned, since my skin barely sees the light of day every anymore, but it was a great time.

It was definitely a different trip than I am used to. We usually rent a condo on the beach where you can walk out on your balcony and see the water. So I kind of missed that, but it was still fun. Their house is in the Sandestin community for those who know it, and it is right by all these restaurants and shops and stuff. We ate breakfast at Another Broken Egg which was amazing. Try the blueberry jumbo pancake. YUM. It rivals Kerbey Lane, and if you know my love for KL, you know that statement is not made lightly. We also went to this place called the Beach Walk Cafe one night on a double date with Amanda and Jared. If you are a foodie and you go to Destin, you must go here. It. Was. Delectable. It was one of those places where the service was impeccable and the waiter really knew everything about the food, wine, you name it. Everything is bought fresh daily and made fresh daily and is just so good. We had fried oysters to begin with. Then Jason had a steak that he said might be the best steak he has ever had. And for dessert. Hold on I need a minute to reflect upon it. Mmmmmm. We had a banana creme pie that can only be described as a revelation. Every bite made my mouth so happy. =) Anyway, all I can say is eat there. You will see.

So we have been back about a week now and Bella went to get her shots this morning. She was so upset and I hate to hear her cry like that. But the doc said she is doing great. She weighs 14 lb 9 oz now and is in the 90% in height. So she is definitely on her way to that ballet scholarship at Juliard! =) (Bella when you read this in 20 years, I am just kidding. A basketball scholarship is also perfectly acceptable. ;) )

Here is another pic of Bella at the beach in her cute hat...

New Bella Pics

Bella is getting so big and cuter every day. I may be a little biased but I think she is the cutest baby I have ever seen. I just want to eat her up all the time! Haha, do I sound like a mom or what?

So Bella has been standing up in her jumper thingy. She has to kind of lean against the front of it, but she seems to enjoy it!




She has also found her feet. Today she was trying very hard to get her left foot in her mouth, but did not quite accomplish it.


I don't have a pic or video or anything, but on Monday Bella did a very exciting thing! She rolled from her stomach to her back. She has been rolling side to side for a while now when on her back so I thought she would roll back to front first, but she has surprised us! I know those without kids are thinking 'big deal', which is what I used to think when people told me these mundane things, but now I know how exciting it is! I freaked out when she did it and she just gave me a big ol' toothless grin.

Last thing I would just like to request some prayers for our trip to Destin in a couple of days. It will be a definite experiment to have her in the car for that long and I worry how she will do. I am going to try to bring some toys and we will also be taking frequent breaks and getting her out of the car seat, but I know how nerve wracking it is when she starts crying while you are going down the road, and there is nothing you can do about it. So wish us luck!!