big 30

today is my 30th birthday. is it the end of an era, or the beginning of one? i am actually pretty excited about turning 30, ask anyone, i havent shut up about it in about a week. i am not normally one of those birthday people, its just another day really. this year is special though, this year i turn 30. yeah its just a number, but its a big number, a milestone number, a number of certitude. or something.
jay z says 30s the new 20.. smart man, then again hes a baller, im not. so that might not apply.
so how did i spend my last night at a 20-something? watching the gay cowboy movie and making truffles... look out! do i wish i had gone out and partied it up? not a chance. my beautiful baby was tucked soundly in her bed, that i wouldnt trade for all the all-night drinkfest parties in the world.
so am i where i thought i would be at 30? dunno, i never really thought things out like that. i am married to the love of my life, i have a perfect daughter, a wonderful family, etc. sounds like exactly where i want to be.
what would i have done differently? nothing, absolutely nothing.
so what do i want to do in my 30s? get a new job, have another baby, lose some weight, get healthier, be nicer. those are my goals.... let's see what happens next.

the second party!

better late than never-
so it has been so long since the party actually took place that i am totally disenchanted in my writing of this! the party went great, lots of fun people, lots of fun presents, lots of fun times. bela had her very own mini cake and she took her time in making a mess of it. grandpa helped her out and smeared a big glob on her face. the day ended with bela in the tub and in jim-jams at omas house. she passed out on the car ride home, she was wiped. thanks to everyone who came to share this fun day with all of us!!

coming soon....

the second party!!

theres nothing better than family...

my aunt elizabeth and uncle ken where in town for thanksgiving, thats my dads brother and his wife. i hadnt seen them in years. bela and i really enjoyed our time with them!! i hope that they are able to come back to visit soon, its been way to long.

the first party

yesterday was belas birthday, today was her first party with my friends. everything went really well, we ate food, bela opened presents, then we ate cake. thats the short version. bela got so many wonderful gifts! lots of great books, puzzles, an awesome music table, a learning treehouse
toy, a chair just for bela, a nursery rhyme player. a beautiful holiday dress, and some really
cute clothes!! this little girl is officially spoiled, but she totally
deserves every lick of it. of course, as i predicted, the bakery
misspelledbelas name on the cake, but oh well , she still enjoyed it!

it took her a bit to get into it, she started eating her normal thumb
an index finger dainty way, but by the end she was covered. tomorrow is
another party, more cake and more present... more later.

slack

i apologize for posting pictures instead of heartfelt and comical words about bela. i am lazy today, again. i should have more to write this week though! thanksgiving and belas birthday are both this week!

foodie

bela stood up on her own this weekend, by stood up i mean she was sitting and she stood up. i think it might be possible that she will be walking by her birthday, well thats only 4 days away, but you never know! i also continued on my "what will/won't bela eat" journey and discovered that she loves watermelon and zucchini, but does not like mango... strange.

she loves it

holy bori

the fabulous oma reached new heights this weekend when she tracked down a store that had belas favorite friend boris in stock. she bought 3 backup borises (bori?) and now we do not have to worry about the what ifs. when oma presented bela with the new frogs, i told her that she was blowing my current scam that boris was in this alone. i do not think bela caught on. the original boris has been retired, he had a nasty accident in chicago and is now out of commission. doris will now be limited to home use only, so we do not run the risk of losing her. the new bori look a little bit different, but only to the trained mama eye. hopefully bela will not catch on. these three new members of the lovey team will be names dolores, horace and florance. for lack of better rhyming names.

bela's wish list

many people have been asking me what bela wants or needs for her birthday. so i figured i would work up a list of ideas. no, she does not require a TMX... not that anyone could get their hands on it even if she did. i think that a toy with three interactive tickle spots is way out of her scope. plus i would not want anyone to get shot, stabbed or mauled in the name of a one year olds birthday. although i bet that thing is cool as hell, how could it not be? 6 AA batteries = off the hook fun. anyhow back to the list:
clothes- bela just now fits size 6-12 months, yes she is a peanut and yes i like it that way. the pants are bit big on her, but gives her room to wiggle, or grow. yes, pink is ok as long as it doesnt include lace, ruffles or looks like a garden threw up on it. she is in need of winter wear - sweaters, hoodies, pants, warm jammies, sleeper sacks. also i am currently in a tights and dress/jumper mode. we like patterned/striped/fun colored tights! you all know how much hair this girl has, we can always use cute accessories to tie it up. also any soft soled shoes - she isnt walking yet, but i am told these are best for beginners. stride rite has some cute ones, also most of you know my new obsession with robeez.
toys- she honestly doesnt have very many toys, at least not big girl ones. she enjoys stacking, putting things inside other things, toys with lights and toys that make noise, including musical toys. of course mama would appreciate learning toys - abc, 123, shapes, colors, etc. anything from the leap frog, fisher price, or melissa and doug lines are wonderful. we also need board books, puzzles (the wooden ones like the "melissa and doug" brand) and bath toys.
ok that is all i can think of right now, hope this helps!!

cousins

too cute to not post

short but sweet

bela and i spent the weekend at my parents house. my sister was in town on friday and then left for NYC saturday morning leaving behind the precious franka. my mom was watching her until my sister gets home tonight. bela and franka had a great time playing together, although it seemed like most of the time they just took turns napping. on sunday we went shopping at the mall and oma bought each girl her very own ice cream cone.
thats all for now, too tired to write anymore, plus it comes over better in pictures.

treats or tricks

we had a great time trick or treating! bela's costume was a big hit, she looked so adorable! we were out for about an hour and half, she was such a trooper. my mom just carried her around and bela loved every minute. she likes when people talk to her and tell her she is cute, thats what the whole night consisted of. by the time we made it back to my parents house it was 7:45. bela took some time to unwind and then was out like a light by 8:30. very late night for my little bug, but it was worth it. i had such a good time with her, you all know halloween is my favorite holiday. can't wait for next year!

trick or treat!

tomorrow is your first halloween! we are going over to omas to go trick or treating! i can't wait! there will be pictures soon!

11 months old!

this is late, i know.
baby b! you are not 11 months old. in the past month you have fully perfected your crawling skills and have before much braver with your cruising. you are not yet ready to let go and stand (or walk), but i think you will be soon. also this month you took your first plane ride! we travelled to chicago for a long weekend trip and you were such a trooper!
also you are getting two new teeth, the top front ones, it been 3 months since your last 2 came in! i guess you like to grow teeth in pairs.
mama is a very non picky eater, daddy is very picky. this month i have been testing my limits with what you will and will not eat. there are very few things that you dont like. new things you like: pickles, olives, foie gras, lobster bisque, french fries... things you don't like (but would most likely still eat): green beans, potatoes (unless mashed). daddy and i also discovered yesterday that you love lima beans. while daddy was feeding you dinner, he kept picking them out of the mixed vegetable medley just so he could 'see your face light up' when you ate them.
i think that is about it for your 11 month update, you are so much fun right now. i can't wait to see what happens next.

chi-town

we had a fantastic time in chicago!! thanks to brittany for taking us along and treating us so well!! thanks to jorge for letting us take over his pad for the weekend!! there is so much to tell, can't even think of where to start.
*belas first plane trip was great, she was a little wiggly, but a good girl on the whole. *friday night brittany let me pick the restaurant for dinner, of course i did some major research ahead of time. we ate at a fabulous place called sweets and savories. amazing. it was me, brit and jorge. i convinced them that we should do the tasting menus, not that it was a hard sell. of course, always the way to go. bela tried just about everything including foie gras! wonderful, i was the happiest girl in the world. *saturday-started the day with an amazing breakfast at a place called orange. wow, orange infused coffee and special babycakes for bela. we spent the rest of the day wandering downtown, shopping and what not. *gap=3 floors *h&m= 3 floors, the way it was meant to be *swirlz-cupcakes galore, friggin genius. *food, food and more food.. you know i could go on all day about that. *sunday- marathon!! big day for brittany! over 40k runners and 1.5 million spectators, holy crap. let me just say that a crowd like that is rough with a baby in a stroller, but we managed and had a great time people watching! bela of course enjoyed all the attention from strangers. brittany finished the race and we were so happy to see her! and SO proud!! *after the race we walked (slowly) to get some well deserved lunch. poor little brit was hanging in there, but was a little sore. *we got back to jorges place and crashed, i think bela might have been as worn out as brittany. she was out like a light at 5:45. *monday, good bye chicago, hello cleveland.
so now its back to reality, but we really had a great time. extra special thanks and hugs to brittany!! you are too good to us!!

countdown

bela and i are leaving on friday morning for chicago!! brittany is running the chicago marathon and is graciously taking us along for the trip! so excited! this will be belas first plane ride! i am hoping that she is a good girl for the flight. i am sure she would much rather crawl around the plane then sit in mamas lap for an hour, but we will see.
it is gonna be so much fun! i hope that the weather isnt too yucky though, dont want britt to get soggy while she is running.

sick girl

andys response

Hey Hey, I may critique the blog, but I must also contribute. Here's from the 67 minutes you left her with us. Decent pics, but she's got serious red-eye in one of them, which takes away from the hairness of my forearms.

true story

sorry i have been slacking on my posts! thanks andy for bringing it to my attention. although he didnt do it in front of the baby because she might be offended.

so on saturday we were getting ready to spend the day at my parents house. bela was playing on the floor with her blocks while i shoved the last few necessities into her suitcase. as i was finishing up, i said to her, "bela, we are going to omas house now!" and no lie, she crawled full speed to her carseat and attempted to climb inside. she loves her oma and she is a friggin genius.

new shirts

here are some images that i am gonna use to make new tshirts for bela. just sharing.

first time for everything

i am at work today, boo. last night my mom came over to pick up bela for a sleepover. brett and i were trying to get in our last few hugs and kisses for the night, but all bela wanted was her oma. she didnt want either of us to hold her, just oma. isnt it funny how she knows already the greatness that is oma?
ok moving on, back to the story. my mom called me a little while ago to ask if bela could have mcdonalds breakfast. sure, whatever. maybe not the best answer on my part, but its just eggs and pancakes.... sorta. in situations like this i think, what would heather do? and believe me, i ask myself this question alot. would heather let her baby eat mcdonalds? no way. eh whatever, bela was with oma and oma rules are different than mama rules. thats what omas are for. so needless to say, bela had her first taste of delicious greasy mcdonalds breakfast this morning. i am sure she loved it, although she is my girl and loves all food.

bad day

yesterday daddy took bela to day care, but forgot boris. oh goodness. needless to say, this made for a very bad day. she would not take a nap at all, i guess she was missing boris too much to sleep. poor girl!

teaching her early!

boris & doris

for those of you who do not know who boris is, shame on you! for those of you who do not know who doris is, you are forgiven. boris is belas favorite lovey friend. he goes everywhere with her and is always present at nap time and bedtime. oma bought boris for bela before she was born, this i believe was a nod to the infamous "duck"
who belongs to my niece holly. i am not going to describeboris to you because most of you have met him and he is pictured on this post (or is that doris?). anyhow, bela thinks boris is the cats pajamas, the boss of the applesauce. i first introduced boris to the scene about 3 days before her first day of daycare, i read somewhere that having a security blanket or toy at daycare would make
this transition easier for both of us. enterboris. he is both stuffed animal and a blankie, perfect! a few months later, i had a scary thought, what would happen of boris was lost or ruined? we needed a backup boris! enter doris. once again oma came through, her first ebay purchase! bela of course doesnt know the difference between the two, but it makes my life easier. before the discovery of doris, boris
was looking pretty gnarly, he was rarely washed. once in a while i
would sneak him away for a quick cleaning, but hardly often enough. now that we have doris, i just do a secret switch and no worries. so today i was thinking, what
would happen if she did know there were two of them? would she then get
attached to both? would we have to get a third namedhoris? (sidenote-boris&doris already have a baby named morris, he lives with mama chris, but that is another story all together) this is what happens when you become a mother, you begin to have irrational fears about trivial scenarios like this. so for now, boris and doris will remain like superman and clark kent, or better yet spiderman and peter parker. one day i am sure she will figure out the true identity of both blankies, until then, their secret is safe with me.

new wheels

michelle and the gang are our reliable source for kick ass hand me downs. bela
has a ton of adorable clothes, shoes and toys thanks to them. we both
enjoy visiting with them because they rule, they are so good to us and
they makebela giggle, among other reasons. well last week the crew stopped over and brought bela a baby sized set of wheels! she loves sitting on it and is currently
mastering the art of going backwards. she thinks it is really funny
when i put her on it and zoom her around the house. once again, the
gang came through! :) thanks guys!! we appreciate all you do!

now that's one hot mama!!

sick again

bela is sick, again. we just barely recovered from the last round and now it begins again. the last time she was sick, she started waking up during the night. we were just about back out of that cycle and now we are back into it. ugh. i thought we were passed this.

the pirate plays drums

so this morning i had bela on my lap as i was wrestling with her to put pigtails in her hair. this used to be an easy task, she would just sit there quietly for some reason until i was done. no more. so as she was dangling by her hair, i flipped on disney channel to see if i could get some distraction. the wiggles were on. ugh, those freaky rainbow dressed men. bela of course doesnt know who they are, but i figured the singing and dance might just work. (she doesnt have much tv exposure. i sometimes let her watch the opening credits of 'little einsteins', which she loves, and then of course the photo captured elmo moment. thats it.)anyhow, wiggles, worked like a charm. she was sucked in from the first second. she didnt even move for the next 5 minutes.
now, for those of you who are not familiar with the wiggles, are you ever in for a treat of a lesson. there are 4 grown australian men, a dinosaur, a dog, an octopus and a pirate. huh? does this make sense to anyone else? they sing, dance and do funny skits. also the cartoon versions of them sing, dance and do funny skits. there are also musical interludes of the craziest songs you will ever hear. freaky stuff. but i guess the kids love it.
bela will not be a faithful wiggles watcher, but next time i need her to be in a weirdness induced trance, wiggles it is.

my world

i am officially undertaking the tasks of reorganizing my life, my house and my world. thank you miss hot mama for you continued help and guidance in this process!! i havent posted in a while because i have been spending my evenings on the above mentioned task. i am rather enjoying it! here is a cute face to tide you over.

vaseline

last thursday, when i went to pick bela up from daycare, i was greeted at the door by mama chris shoving belas head in my nose. smell, she said. i took a whiff.. very fresh and flowery. she washed belas hair 3 times that afternoon she told me. why? apparently she left the vaseline sitting out on the floor and left the room. my little explorer and her pal amy emptied the whole jar and covered their bodies, clothes and hair with it. i picked bela up and she just felt greasy, head to toe greasy. her hair looked like she had two days of style products in it. poor little monkey!! she of course was not phased by this, i am sure she had a ball. i wish i had been there to see it happen.

pink you stink

from day one of my pregnancy, and more so since i found out i was having a girl, i was adamant about being anti-pink. i am by no stretch of the imagination a girly-girl. i do not wear pink and my baby will not wear pink.
during my baby shower, i opened up countless boxes and bags of pink clothes. ugh. i was horrified. all of my girlfriends stared at me knowing that i was doing my best to mask my hatred for the color.
after my shower, i spent hours sorting out all of the offending pink outfits and returning them, keeping only those that were especially cute despite the color. bela started her life in lots of colors, but not a hint of pink, except maybe pjs.
so what happened to me? has motherhood caused me to go completely soft? dont answer that. baby b wears some article of pink just about everyday. no joke. and i hear smack about it just about everyday too.
my response? the girl looks good in pink, its her signature color. i might not be a girl girl, or much of a girl at all, but bela is a little pink princess. just look at this blog, it reeks of pink, but its her color.
i knew that i had slowly given in to the world of pink, but it didnt hit me totally until i was folding belas laundry the other night. holy moly... pink explosion. eh, whaveter, to all you nonbelievers, its true. holly moore has given in to the dark side. the pink side. deal with it. i have a cute baby, pink or no pink.

another thing

daddy got bela a new toy the other day. its the creature from the black lagoon. surprise, surprise. she loves it. i am not such a fan, it is sticky and stretchy and filled with tiny pellets.

9 months old!

bela bela, my baby b. you are now 9 months old!! you can crawl like it is your job! also this month you started pulling up. the only problem is that after you pull yourself up, you think that you can just let go. one of these days you are going to let go and not fall over. maybe next month. you are into everything right now, my little explorer. on saturday you crawled up three stairs while chasing a cat. i was of course right there to catch you, but you did pretty well until i stopped you. this month you also learned how to give high fives and how to clap.
we did lots of visiting this month! we spent the afternoon with nate and alex, you liked them a lot. alex taught you a new song and made mama a copy to bring home. we now listen to this cd every night. you also spent a whole day with mamas friend becky! i am sure she fussed over you and took lots of cute pictures.

of course you are getting cuter and cuter everyday. i am not sure if it is possible for you to be any cuter. your little personality amazes me every day. how can such a little girl who can't even talk be so funny?

i think that is about it for this month. you are busy busy and mama cant keep up. obviously, since this post is about 2 weeks late! thanks to those of you who reminded me!