A few more.....

I found a couple more cute pictures! I wanted to find the pictures I took when Emma found her baby powder (can't remember if I told that story already.....), but we left her alone (didn't quite know it) for 2 hours with a brand new baby powder container! She took advantage of every minute with that thing! By the time I woke up (yes I was napping for the first time in like a year and will never again!!!!), the smell of baby powder had reached my bedroom and was almost unbearable in hers! Everything in that room was white.........including Emma. You could only see her little eyes amid the dust! It was awful! For the next couple of days she was sneezing out white rocks and crying tears of dust! I can't imagine what her lungs looked like.......
I've got to find those pictures..........hmmmm............

Cuties!

Thought it had been too long since I last posted pictures.....

Starting at the top- Emma playing "Tea Party" with her little dog :) Then I put some pictures of Christmas. I loooove the look on Emma's face right after I told her Santa had come- it's priceless! Then of course some pictures of the girls and the gifts Santa brought to them!
Then a bunch of pictures from Bela's birthday! She's a little pink princess. And who knew we could go to the park on her birthday WITHOUT JACKETS!? Also, Emma helping to bake her cake and a little picture of her eating it!

Enjoy!
By the way, you know your child is a danger to herself when the babysitter tells you that Bela tried everything in her power not to make it to the end of the night! As she was telling me this, Bela was trying to ride her little motorcycle DOWN THE STAIRS into the living room! Yikes! That child is COVERED in bruises. It's just a matter of time before Child Protective Services is going to call us. Oy yoy yoy!

Oh....So Little.......Too Little?

Well, the verdict is out......Bela is micro-mini. I always knew that she was, but hearing a doctor actually say it made it fact. She is officially smaller than about 80% of kids her age (thanks to all of my family members out there who gave her the incredibly small legs that don't even allow her to touch the ground on baby rider toys!) So....when I asked her doctor what we could do about her size, he suggested we bulk up her diet a bit by giving her Carnation Instant Breakfast 3 times a day..........Feeling myself that giving a baby a chocolate protein shake isn't exactly the best way to increase her weight in a healthy manner, I am currently fielding suggestions for beefing up the babe (we've got 3 months to gain 3 pounds- the clock is ticking)......anyone? anyone?.....
Despite her small stature, Bela's personality is growing immensely!! She has a HUGE presence anywhere she goes (but especially at mass- her voice carries there the best). In fact, we tried out a new church today that was a lot closer to our new house, hoping we would like it as a family. When we walked through the doors and saw how tiny it was, Braden and I shot each other the look- you know that look if you're a parent: the one where you just know your kids are going to be the loudest ones there and you're sure to be embarassed. Turns out this was a really small church with no music at all (I think they actually used a CD player to play some Gregorian chant for the entrance and exit songs but otherwise, silence). And of course Bela was her usual stubborn self who wanted to get down and run around and threw her little body all over the place until she got there. Then she spilled all kinds of snacks because of her impatience and unwillingness to allow me to get some cereal out for her...no, little Bela has to smash her hand into that bowl, rustle around and grab it with an ironclad grasp until the ground is covered in Cheerios. Yikes.
Both of the girls start playschool (Mother's Morning Out) tomorrow. Emma is SOOOOOO excited about it. And truthfully, I'm really excited for her. I know that she will love it, and I am looking forward to having a morning where I can actually clean my house (yes, the bugs are getting to me finally!). Bela, though..........well, I'm a little worried about her. Emma's no cupcake, but Bela can get that girl to cry in wrestling matches. Not only that, she is now at this stage where she actually understands what you're asking her to do and SHE SHAKES HER HEAD NO!!!! AHHHH!!! She'll also give you that look like "I'm going to do it!" and, with a smile on her face, she'll do whatever it is you just got done telling her not to do. And she WON'T STOP!! So I'm just imagining that Bela is going to be sent home from the "Infant Room" tomorrow with a little note in her diaper bag asking me to come in for a conference with her teacher. Oy vay...... talk about one tough cookie. That little baby is a match in strength even for Braden and I anymore. She can wrestle with the best of em!
We took the girls to the zoo yesterday and had a blast!!!!! I think Bela liked it just as much as Emma. She walked around and made animal sounds, danced and squealed in delight! Her favorite thing there was the aquarium. She couldn't get enough of the giant fish that swam right up to the glass. Emma's favorite animals were the flamingos. Yes, she told EVERYONE we saw on the way into the zoo "I'm going to see the flamingos!" Not sure why the fixation on this strange animal, but we had to go back and see them twice!

So Big!

As a family, we went to a fellowship that we were invited to yesterday. Is this a southern thing? I'm not sure, but for those of you (like me before yesterday) who don't know what it is- it's just a gathering where you pray, study scripture, eat, and share your faith. It's a wonderful family experience! So anyways, we went to a fellowship at a cabin in the woods yesterday- it was beautiful! Emma's favorite part was the worship band that played- yes, it was a service that she actually got to dance at- SHE LOVED IT! Of course, she grabbed her little butt and started shaking it, saying "I shaking my foof!" That's niiiice.........must be her father that taught her that ;) Bela liked the dancing too, and she also liked being seranaded by Crystal, the Mary Kay director who invited us (who also happens to be the preacher's wife). It was such a visual for me to see my kids dancing and Emma singing and running around- the very symbol of having faith like a child. Makes me wonder- when did we become afraid to dance?

Emma is still living in the glory days of Christmas. Everyone who comes to our house gets the very excited Emma who says "Santa came! Santa came! He brought all these fings (things)!" Then of course, the guest is invited to a tea party and to dress up or play in the ball pit! Yesterday my director came by to pick up some baby things and Emma said "Do you want to wear this dress?" as she held up her little princess dress. Angie just laughed and said "Uh, honey, I won't fit into that!" Emma just looked at her and said "Mommy does- here" and handed her the dress. Angie just laughed and said "I'm sure your mommy does, but I don't honey!". Oh Emma.......

Bela is totally loving all of the Christmas presents as well, especially the squeeky shopping cart. She loves to take her little baby doll for rides and gets going super fast and can't stop until she hits something! It's sooo funny! And she's really walking now too! She started really walking on Christmas and now does almost no crawling! And tomorrow she's turning one...........she's so big!

Thank You for this Gift....

A big thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for their gift to Bela on her birthday- portraits of the girls! They had this amazing photojournalist come out and take pictures of the girls so that we might share with everyone a bit of their little lives and personalities which are growing and changing so much these days! Enjoy some of the pictures (there are hundreds!) I'll keep adding!

Aunt Carol- do you recognize Bela's sweater?!