Family is Moving! So much to do...so little time

I am still SICK! I cannot believe it. We are moving out of this place in 3 days and I have to kick this sinus infection. I finally broke down and went to the doctor yesterday...I was sicker than I can remember being in a very long time. My head felt like it was being hammered, my ears were plugged, even my teeth hurt. Tylenol (the only thing I can take) didn't even seem to touch my pain.

Antibiotics! Hallelujah! Today I am smidge better!

Anyway, I have so much to pack, clean, and get ready for our big move. I am so excited I can hardly stand it. This will be our first place together. Stacy moved in to my condo, so we get to do a move together for the first time.

I am excited about several things:

1. Bella will have her own room and hopefully at some point will move out of our bed and into her own room....and SLEEP through the night. It's been way too long since I have slept through the night!

2. A private backyard! Yes!!! I won't be staring into other peoples town homes, and they won't be staring into ours while we eat at the dinner table!

3. A playroom! I have big plans for our playroom...seriously, I have it all planned out! I am so excited to have a room to put all the toys and be able to close the doors!!!

4. A bigger kitchen...I spent so much time in the kitchen. In fact cooking and baking are therapeutic to me...of course with a fat glass of wine...lovely!

5. More space for family gatherings...I love being the host for family dinners and parties and we wil finally have a large enough dining area for everyone and enough room!

6. A big jetted bath tub... We are so excited for this.

7. Last but not least...our closet is three times the size it is now! Which is good because now Stacy can actually put his clothes and shoes in there!

My goals this New Year is to have every bit of our new place organized...down to each drawer, closet, nook and cranny! I so so excited!

"Mooo, Neigh, Meow...."

Bella is really really into animals, animal books, and animal sounds. She loves her Fisher Price baryard and giggles at all the noises it makes. She also is always wanting mama to read her books with pictures of animals in them! Currently she says the following sounds...which are hysterical!

"Moo" for a cow

"OOh Ooh Ahh Ahh" for a monkey

"Meow" for kitty cat

"Woof" for a doggie

"Neigh" for a horse

"SSSSS" for a snake

"Bac Bac Bac" for chicken and a duck... a little confused :)

"Roar" for tiger

"Baaaa" for sheep

A Visit to Daddy's Office

One of my favorite parts of teaching part time this year is our visits to Stacy's office. Since he works 6 or 7 days a week, it is so nice to go and be able to spend some quality time with him.
Today we decided to meet daddy for lunch and get adjusted in hopes of kicking these nasty colds. Here are a few pictures from our afternoon.

Here is daddy adjusting Bella...she was giggling. :)

Bella playing around the adjusting tables.


Finally lunch at Urbia Fresh in Kent...Bella loved the rocking moose!

What an exciting afternoon....sleeping in the carseat with my bunny on our drive home.

Sick...and sick of being sick

I have been so sick for the last few days. This year my immune system has been hit so hard with the lack of vitamins, pregnancy, dietary restrictions, lack of sleep, and breastfeeding...I have been sick more times in the last year than in the last TEN years! Ridiculous! Anyway....with my first baby Maddie was so mellow and would quietly sit and play with toys or look at books...but not my Bella, she's a mover and a shaker! She keeps us on our toes and we wouldn't have it any other way. I love seeing the differences in my children.

However, while I was sitting on the couch EXHAUSTED and shivering with my fever ...hoping and waiting for the Tylenol to kick in...Bella got into my purse and then my wallet. She LOVES pulling things out of any sort of purse or container. At the moment I was thinking I should stop her...but I was just too exhausted to care. I did snap a photo though. At another point of my sickness she fed the puppy Kleenex out of the box...and emptied it. Again, I was too tired to even care! It did give me a chuckle though.

At one point I did get her to lay down with her beloved bunny and her "Ba-ba" for about 4 minutes.It's unusual for our little Bella to sit still, so it was definitely a Kodak moment. Conclusion: It's hard being a good mom when your sick! It gives me even more respect for my mom when I think about how hard it would be to be single, sick, and have three kids! She did it all by herself...thanks mom, love you so much.

Our Newest Family Member

Meet Maya, our new puppy. I know everyone said not to get a new puppy while moving and having a baby etc...but we were just drawn to her. She played on our emotions! It was so hard for our family losing Maisie our first Shih Tzu, and we missed having a little dog underfoot.

So, this was Maddie's New Years suprise! She is now 12 weeks old and super sweet. She is just darling with long eyelashes and lots of pretty markings.

All of us are enjoying her...depsite all the work of potty training and puppy training! Did I forget how hard it was? Absolutely.... :)

It's lots of work, but we know it will be worth it. We love having a dog again and Maddie is beyond thrilled with her new companion. Bella isn't a big fan yet, and tells Maya "No, No" all the time. One of Maya's favorite things to do is pull Bella's socks off and nimble on her toes. Bella doesn't like that at all!

When Mommy Isn't Looking

Ahh..the toddler years! Bella is so a toddler now and whenver I leave the room or i am not looking she seems to get into some mischief! Several times now she has pulled ALL the toilet paper off of the roll. She is very proud and satisfied with herself when she does this! I know I have a picture of Maddie just like this at the same age...

Then today when I went into the kitchen she got a hold of half of her kiwi fruit and demolished it all over the table. She mashed it, smooshed it, tore it, and put all of it in her mouth...including the skin. Thankfully I got there to remove it from her mouth and she was chewing and chewing over and over...probably wondering why it was so tough! LOL

What fun...I can't help but laugh at her exploring her surroundings.

My How She Has Changed!

I cannot believe how much she has changed in one year...I was looking through her professional pics this morning and just had to post a couple. She is a talking toddler now. Moving, dancing, talking, and full of her own opinions! I am loving every minute of it!

Cookies...oh I have missed you

So it has been about a year since my eating MAJORLY changed. I went from eating whatever I wanted to having to avoid a variety of foods due to Bella's food allergies (and I am nursing): dairy, soy, nuts, tree nuts, shellfish, eggs, peanuts, corn, and wheat. About a month ago I was able to add corn and wheat back...and let me tell you that first beer was AMAZING! So eating has been a bit easier.

Bella's doctor and dietician wanted us to challenge her dairy/soy allergy to see if she had outgrown it. But, it was a big fail. She barely slept for a week, which meant we barely slept and it was rough. So, that is a no go...

Anyway, one of the things I miss the most (besides pizza at the Cloverleaf or Katie Downs) is cookies. Warm, hot, homemade cookies right out of the oven. Tonight I was determined to find just the perfect vegan cookies recipe and frankly I now I am not sure why I waited so long! It was amazing! Delicious! Unbelievable! These chewy oatmeal raisin cookies made my day! Oh seriously...they made my week! I felt human again being able to eat something I was baking! I spent the holidays baking and not being able to even sample what i was eating!
Tonight I am happy.

What a Wonderful Blessed Holiday Season

It was a beautiful Christmas! Here are just a few of my two favorite girls. Highlights: Bella got a baby doll and lots of Fischer Price Little People that she loved! Maddie was showered more clothes and jewelry than she hoped for! What a special day hosted by Auntie Susan and Uncle Lothar...made even more special that Kristen and Ali were there from New York!

My First Born Baby

It's hard to believe that 11 years have gone by since I had my sweet Maddie. I don't know how I got so lucky to be blessed by God with this sweet gem. It has been 11 years and we have been on quite the journey together...it started out with just the two of us and no mother or daughter could have been closer. After 6 1/2 years we met the man that lit up our lives and became husband and daddy....a short year later we added a new family member. Maddie, thank you for bringing me so much laughter, joy, proud moments, and learning. Here's to a fabulous 11 years...looking forward to watching you grow into even more of a beautiful lady.

Some of my very favorite pictures from Bella's one year pictures by Justine Shelton. These were taking at the Seattle Center and EMP. We are so happy with how they turned out despite the pouring down rain!

First Official Post

I was inspired by my good friend Katie to finally get my family blog going. It was one of my resolutions for the New Year. I have the best of intentions and am hopeful that I can keep up on this...because it's no good when people have a website out of date! I should know...look at my first blog. :)

Our two beautiful daughters are growing up so quickly. Maddie is 11 years old and I couldn't be prouder of the young lady she is growing up to be. She is thoughtful and sensitive, curious and my right hand lady. She helps me so much with the baby and adores her little sister. Sometimes I catch her reading a book to her or whispering in her ear when I am not in the room, and it melts my heart. She is a sweet soul and I cherish the ground she walks on.

Isabella is one year old now. I cannot believe how fast this past year has gone! She is outgoing, fiery, and extremely inquisitive. She is talking so much now and tries to repeat almost everything we say to her! She is such a blessing and we all adore everything about her.

Here are a few pictures from Isabella's one year pictures. Justine Shelton was our amazing photographer (we love her) and we had planned on taking outside pictures at EMP in Seattle, but in typical Seattle weather fashion we were rained out. So Justine got creative and we moved our pictures to be taken inside at a carnival at Seattle Center.