Birthday Parties!

We had Bella's two family birthday parties the past couple of weeks. I'm not going to write too much about them, other than they were super fun! Here are a few pics from her two special days. :)

Rainbow cupcakes from B-Day Party 1

 

          

 

 

Rainbow cupcakes from B-Day Party 2

Daddy playing with her cell phone from Uncle Joshy

Enjoying her Winnie the Pooh gift bag and her Angry Birds piggy

Chewing on her toy from Aunt Britty

Checking herself out in the mirror

She sure loved those cupcakes!

Cake smash!

She's such a big girl!

Bike helmet from Grandma Silly

Isn't she a sweetie?!

Bumpa got her this plaque. It's hanging right above the door to her room. :)

Happy 1st Birthday!

It was one year ago today, in the early morning hours, that little baby Bella came into this world. I was trying to remember what I was doing a year from last night, but I couldn't remember. Well I shouldn't say that, I know I was in labor, but I don't remember what stage I was in at that particular time. Maybe that's for the best. Isabella Anne was born at 2:20 am two days after her due date. She was beautiful. From the first second she came into this world she had her daddy wrapped around her little tiny finger.
This past year has been quite the eye opener for me. Being a mom is a lot of work! I give kudos to all those moms out there that are super moms and can juggle everything in their lives but still have all the time in the world to spend with their kids. I definitely have a new appreciation for my own mother. On Mother's Day, I think I am going to list some moms I know that have inspired me to become a better mother.
So, what has Bella learned in her year of life? Well she rolled over, sat up by herself, took a bottle, then solids, and then table foods and a sippy cup, she hasn't crawled yet, but she scoots like a maniac, she gets into everything, and she has a small vocabulary. She points at everything and asks "what's that?" It sounds more like "sssswwwaazzzzaaa" but her voice goes up at the end so you know she's asking a question ;) She also says dada, mama, and hi and she fake laughs at all our jokes to makes us feel like we're funny. She loves to read books and do puzzles. She just read Dan and I an excerpt from a magazine yesterday. What a genius. :)

Today, Bella and I met Daddy at Culvers for lunch. We ordered Bella her own meal for the first time (grilled cheese) and she got her own birthday frozen custard. Then she got to go back to work with Daddy for a little bit so he could show off his big birthday girl. Daddy took the rest of the day off to spend with us. Although it is a dreary day, it's been a happy day at the Purcell house. Right now, Bella is fighting off sleep because she wants to enjoy more birthday time. Tonight, the three of us are having a pizza party with homemade pizza and a Disney movie. It's a good day.

I've been doing a lot of reflecting these past couple of days. It's been really hard for me to come to terms with the fact that my little girl is growing up, and although she's not running off to college tomorrow, I know that I have to cherish the time that she's little because it's going to go by too fast. Bella was only a couple weeks old when I broke down in tears because she was growing up too fast. (That also could have had a little something to do with postpartum but the reality of it all hit me like a ton of bricks.)

We had one birthday party for her a couple days ago and will be having the other one next Sunday. I asked everyone (Grandma's, Grandpa's, Aunts, Uncles, Godparents, etc) to write her a letter telling her how much she means to them and I am collecting all those letters and saving them until her 18th birthday. On her 18th birthday, I'm going to give her those letters and let her go somewhere and read them alone. I am so excited for her to read the letters. Bella will be the only person to read them so it's between her and the person who wrote the letter. She has made such a difference in the lives around her and I want her to know how we feel. You don't always tell the people you care about most how much you love them, and this is something she can keep forever. I must admit, however, that neither Dan nor I have written our letters yet. It's so hard to put everything I feel into words.  I'll get it done.

Well I'm off to spend the night with my family. Happy March 22! My favorite day of the year! :)

Just one of those days

I'm just laying in bed thinking to myself "Self, you need to get up and moving around!" i have to drive to Monroe to go get a large bookcase I bought for Bella's room. It's supposed to be part of her birthday present but I don't want to wait. I have been rearranging her room like a crazy person lately and with this final piece of the puzzle I think I can finally stop. Bella's changing pad has now been moved to the floor because getting changed is now her most hated thing to do so she flails around and throws herself backwards and really makes me worry about falling off the changing table. She's being a real stinker lately. She's now found out how to throw a pretty wicked tantrum and does so multiple times a day. I've about had it with those tantrums! Yesterday she threw one right after her bath and she wouldn't let me put clothes on her, so I stuck her in her crib and let her scream it out. She calmed down after about a half hour and when I went back in her room she was in the strangest position (in only a diaper) sleeping. I took a picture but I don't know how to get that on here from my phone.
Other than the tantrums, Bella is just Bella. She likes to play this blinking game with you where she blinks a very exaggerated blink and waits for you to do it back. When you do she will blink again. This game can last a good 30 minutes if you let it. She also has learned how to say Hi and she says it all the time. She knows it's cute so she says it when she's doing something wrong. Smart... real smart. :)

Optimism - word of the day

I have been a little stressed out lately because of all the problems Wisconsinites are facing because of the new Governor. Pardon me, but I think he's a real douche. I will not get into politics here, but I do want to say he is making our state-working lives hell. I do not want to argue with people about whether they are pro-Walker or anti-Walker, Republican or Democrat, or whether they prefer brown rice or white rice. I have my opinions, you have yours. I don't go around throwing my opinions on your facebook walls or texting you with my madness - so don't do it to me. I understand that not everyone thinks Scott Walker is a heartless sonofabitch like I do, and I'm ok with that. But, please do not come to me looking for a debate; I will just stop talking to you. Maybe for a really long time.

This is going to be a real tough road for us, but hopefully it will make our family stronger. We are going to have to start being extremely tight with our money and will no longer be able to do "fun things" like going to movies, going out to eat, or having a little retail therapy once in a while. Although that really sucks... REALLY SUCKS... it will force us to spend more time together as a family and do things that don't cost any money. I can't wait for spring and summer... Dan just found a cute little park near our house that we can ride our bikes to. This coming fall we will be participating in "The Tour de Cheese" which is an annual bike ride, and yes, Bella will be coming along for the ride. Last year, Dan's dad bought Bella a trailer of sorts to hook on to the back of an adult bike. We used it a couple times last year, but she'll really be able to enjoy it this year because she can sit up. The only thing we'll have to buy for that is a helmet for her. :)

On another note...

Bella will be turning 1 in 21 days. I can't believe this year has gone by so fast! I'm full of so many emotions. I'm happy, excited, a little sad that my baby is growing up so fast, and nervous.That little girl needs to just SLOW IT DOWN for a second. I need to catch my breath! She is going to be having 2 (1/2) birthday parties - both of which will be Winnie the Pooh themed of course. The half party is her celebrating with her best friend Patrick - they were born 3 days apart. I'll post pictures of the parties at the end of March. We also have both of our dogs birthdays to celebrate. Zoey turns 2 on the 6th and Kya turns 2 on the 20. They will be getting their own doggy birthday cake. March is all about birthdays at our house!

I spent the weekend rearranging our office to accommodate a twin sized bed. I am very proud of myself. I packed up a bunch of books that I'm planning on selling at a garage sale this summer and now the office looks like a dorm room. :) We still have our computer in it and one bookcase with "office materials" and the bed. I have to do some touch-ups with some paint, but otherwise we're set. Now when someone spends the night, they don't have to sleep on our couch. My goal for this week and next week is to go through boxes in the basement and decide what I can get rid of and how I can neatly store the rest. I like having things organized, so this is going to be fun for me. As odd as that sounds.

Well I hope everyone's March is fantastic, talk to you again at the end... hopefully I'll bring an early spring with me. :)