Memorial Day

Wow, I just experienced a 3 day weekend with my whole family home. That hasn't happened in...well I don't remember when the last time that happened! Vinny and I took Bella swimming in the hot tub (which isn't very hot). Then we hung out around the house and just enjoyed being together, shopping and watching movies. It was Bella's first time in the spa, which is doubling as a really little heated pool. She hung out in her float, looking none too happy about the whole thing. I think she'll like it better once she figures out how to splash.

Bella's Christening

This weekend was Bella's christening, which overall went very well. There was mass confusion when we started to sing the second verse of "Jesus Loves Me" because no one realized that "Jesus Loves Me" had a second verse, and also when we sang "Jesus Loves the Little Children", because there are so many different ways you can sing the order of colors, but great nonetheless. The pastor even got Bella's godparents to pay for her college education by sneaking that into the list of promises :) Somehow I think God might let them off the hook for that one though.

And the party afterward was awesome. The food was great. Chiazza gave us a full brunch instead of the lunch we had ordered and it was still less than we had anticipated price wise. Always a nice surprise!

Not so nice as a surprise, Bella had a MASSIVE diaper blowout at the beginning of the party. I've never actually watched a diaper overflow, especially not onto my lap, but I got the opportunity Sunday and it's an opportunity I would gladly have given up. So we had to run home and change. Luckily, we had already taken her out of her white christening gown, so no harm done.

Jumparoo

Since Bella has decided that sitting is no fun, everyone's arms have been getting a good workout. She's trying desperately to stand for about half the day. So we broke down and bought a jumparoo. A nifty little device that basically hangs your baby in a seat suspended by 3 bungee cords with toys surrounding them. The problem...even on its lowest setting, Bella is about 3 inches too short to reach the floor. So we put a box under her, and she bounces around to her heart's content. She's even started to make the seat spin so she can turn for a new set of toys. The total wonderment in her eyes is awesome when she makes herself move. Almost as cute as when she found her feet in the first place. Not so great is that one of the rattles drives to dogs to howl, and it isn't removable. I'm hoping they'll learn to love it.

LOL.8

LOLSpeak is a popular internet meme juxtaposing a bold, sans-serif caption with a picture . The caption generally acts as a speech balloon encompassing a comment from the subject of the photograph or as a description of the depicted scene. The caption is intentionally written in the grammar- and spelling-poor patois stereotypically attributed to Internet slang, and often follows certain conventions.

LOL.7

LOLSpeak is a popular internet meme juxtaposing a bold, sans-serif caption with a picture . The caption generally acts as a speech balloon encompassing a comment from the subject of the photograph or as a description of the depicted scene. The caption is intentionally written in the grammar- and spelling-poor patois stereotypically attributed to Internet slang, and often follows certain conventions.

LOL.6

LOLSpeak is a popular internet meme juxtaposing a bold, sans-serif caption with a picture . The caption generally acts as a speech balloon encompassing a comment from the subject of the photograph or as a description of the depicted scene. The caption is intentionally written in the grammar- and spelling-poor patois stereotypically attributed to Internet slang, and often follows certain conventions.

LOL.5

LOLSpeak is a popular internet meme juxtaposing a bold, sans-serif caption with a picture . The caption generally acts as a speech balloon encompassing a comment from the subject of the photograph or as a description of the depicted scene. The caption is intentionally written in the grammar- and spelling-poor patois stereotypically attributed to Internet slang, and often follows certain conventions.

LOL.4

LOLSpeak is a popular internet meme juxtaposing a bold, sans-serif caption with a picture . The caption generally acts as a speech balloon encompassing a comment from the subject of the photograph or as a description of the depicted scene. The caption is intentionally written in the grammar- and spelling-poor patois stereotypically attributed to Internet slang, and often follows certain conventions.

Wubbanub

I realize I have not really defined the "wubbanub." It is definitely one of the best suggestions for baby items we have gotten. It is basically the soothie pacifier that the hospital uses attached to a little beanie animal. This little attachment is great when they're little because it weighs the pacifier down a little and keeps it from flying all over the place. And it's great when they're a little older because it's a bigger target to grab onto and get to their mouths.

So, we have quite a few of these. We started out with the red and yellow Dougie Doggie, so named because my friend Natalie, who is a social worker, says alliteration is good for kids' development. i have no idea why, but that's why he has his name. This is Dougie:

Then we decided we wanted to get something a bit more feminine, so we ordered the purple and green Frenchy Frog. Aka Francois le Frog, aka French Frog, but usually he just goes by Frenchy.

Dougie was relegated to being a traveling dog, so he now lives with the carseat. This is largely a result of his going out frquesntly in her first few weeks and being the victim of a dropping in the parking lot in the rain. So he knows the dark and dirty side of life. And we wanted to spare the Frenchys.

Yes that's right, plural...Frenchy's' After Dougie went down in the parking lot, and we had to wait (read "suffer") til he was washed and dried, we made sure we had a Frnechy on hand for all occasions. So we have 1 on each floor on the house, Uptown Frenchy (who hangs in his crib), Downtown Frenchy Brown (the main floor Frenchy), and basement Frenchy (who is a bit ghetto and occasionally tries to sneak upstairs). For a while I also had a working Frenchy, but he was kicked out of the building with Bella. Here is Uptown Frenchy, getting breakfast in bed with Bella:

I don't know how long it will be before we can wean her off these things. She doesn't really use them a TON, but they are completely invaluable in the middle of the night and when she's tired.

Hanging with Owen

Yesterday Bella hung out with our friend Natalie and her little boy Owen, who is 20 months. He was so sweet with her, bringing her Dougie Doggie (the wubbanub) when she cried and putting it in her mouth. Of course, he also wanted to see what her eye felt like too...but you can't win them all.

I love the fact that she has some kids to hang out with, and that she actually seems to be interested in it now, as opposed to being a baby blob. I think it's the quietest I've ever seen her while awake - just watching Owen and Vinny playing.

We're going to hang out with our friends Stefanie and Marcus this weekend and their little boy, Xander, who is a month older than Bella. I'm so excited to see how she does with another baby her own age!

Baby Idol

One of the students in the Epidemiology program saw a contest for "Baby Idol" being promoted from a local radio station. The winner gets some pretty great prizes, so I entered Bella. Now she just needs your votes. You can vote everyday through the end of the month. Anyway, here's the link: http://www.92probabyidol.com/vote.aspx?Id=4504

And while I am definitely biased, I think she's the cutest one they've got by any measure. So cross your fingers and get to voting!

focusing on our looks

This is the weekend to focus on our looks. I finally lost enough weight to earn a trip to the salon for a cut and color. After much deliberation, and input from half the known universe, I decided to go with honey colored highlights and to cut off a ton. So here's the final product:

Which I love. So thank you to everyone who gave me input. And sitting with me is our newest little model. Vinny and I took her to an open casting call for models this morning and she is now being represented by Model Club Inc. It's all a matter of luck as to whether she gets chosen by clients, but we'll see what happens.

So now its time to figure out what to do with Vinny. What do you think about a shave head, or maybe pink highlights?

Bjorn Bouncer

So, we have a bouncer. A nice Fisher Price rainforest bouncer that makes pretty sounds and lights and moves and has lots of toys. The problem: we keep falling over it. The legs stick out so far that it almost jumps out at you as you walk by. So, after some research, we bought the Baby Bjorn bouncer. This thing was expensive. No question about it. But worth every penny. She sits in it happily for hours, just looking at the simple wooden blocks on the toybar, it's lightweight, it folds flat, it bounces nicely, she can use it til she's 2 years old, and best of all, the base is right under the seat, so no more tripping!

LOL.3

LOLSpeak is a popular internet meme juxtaposing a bold, sans-serif caption with a picture . The caption generally acts as a speech balloon encompassing a comment from the subject of the photograph or as a description of the depicted scene. The caption is intentionally written in the grammar- and spelling-poor patois stereotypically attributed to Internet slang, and often follows certain conventions.

LOL.2

LOLSpeak is a popular internet meme juxtaposing a bold, sans-serif caption with a picture . The caption generally acts as a speech balloon encompassing a comment from the subject of the photograph or as a description of the depicted scene. The caption is intentionally written in the grammar- and spelling-poor patois stereotypically attributed to Internet slang, and often follows certain conventions.

So, Nanny is here now

So, Nanny is here now. While this is lovely, she is mainly here because some nutjob at work decided that having Bella at work was interfering with their productivity, and rather than say that to me or the department chair, they went straight to human resources...who kicked Bella out of the building quite unceremoniously. And of course there is a HUGE waiting list at every daycare in the state, so I had few options about what to do. Not that I'm bitter.

So, Nanny is here now. Which is actually really great. Bella is getting to know her great-grandma, and so am I. I'm learning all kinds of things. We have taken to watching Dr. Phil in the afternoons, and I never know what new disfunctional information I'm going to learn!

So Nanny is here now. And I'm saving lots of money. It was cheaper to fly her up from North Carolina (even with the crazy price of gas), than it was to pay a sitter for a week. So, we now have in-home help, which I never thought I could afford. Most of them don't get paid in kisses and hugs.

So Nanny is here now. And things are so much more productive around the house. She doesn't usually cook, but she helps occasionally. And every once in a while she decides to do laundry, which keeps it from taking over the floor in the bedroom. And she washes the baby bottles after she uses them, which is more helpful than it sounds. I never knew how many peices baby bottles had! And she got the notion to help us plant flowers...well, plants at least, which I probably never would have managed by myself. So we've planted lettuce right outside of the kitchen, which will hopefully grow, so we can eat it. I'm trying hard not to kill it.

So Nanny is here now. But she's going home on Tuesday morning. She'll be back in a week and a half with Papa in tow. But I'm really going to miss her until then!

LOL.1

LOLSpeak is a popular internet meme juxtaposing a bold, sans-serif caption with a picture. The caption generally acts as a speech balloon encompassing a comment from the subject of the photograph or as a description of the depicted scene. The caption is intentionally written in the grammar- and spelling-poor patois stereotypically attributed to Internet slang, and often follows certain conventions.

Starting to Blog

Alright, our friends Marcus and Stephanie have inspired me to blog. After watching them document the comings and goings of their little guy, Xander, http://thexmarksthe.blogspot.com/, I am inspired to share our little beauty with everyone too. While I'm not nearly as amusing as Marcus often is, I have high hopes that I can develop my skills if only given enough time.

So, let me introduce you to Bella. AKA, "Bella Bella!", aka "stinkybutt," aka "pookum," aka "piccolina," and a myriad other names that pop into people's heads when they see her. Her basic stats are on the main page, so I won't elaborate in this blog, but basically, she's our first (and likely only) child and, of course, the center of our universe. Since we have family and friends all over the country, I thought perhaps folks would like to follow her progress here instead of getting photo galleries and guessing about what's actually going on. So I'll try to keep this up to date and we'll see how it goes!