Christmas stocking

Just to be clear, that last post was from Mark. Anyways, I've been working on this stocking for 3 years. It was originally supposed to be for Mark on our first x-mas after we were married, but that never got done... too busy with school. Then our second x-mas we went to the Philippines, so no stocking needed. Then next x-mas we were waiting for Bella to arrive, so we didn't put anything up cuz we wanted to keep the house clean, plus all her baby stuff was all over the place. So now that Bella's here, there was no way I could finish Mark's stocking plus get one ready for Bella. So Mark decided to give up the stocking I started for him 3 years ago, and I would finish it for Bella instead.
So here it is!!!

But don't worry, Mark has a stocking. Everytime we go to visit Maxine and family around the holidays, they always have presents and stocking stuffer presents. So Ate Maito always make us a stocking (what a wonderful sister I have!) So this is one of the stockings from a long time ago that Maxine helped decorate.

Daddy's Little Girl

So pretty much during my junior and senior year of college, if you ran into me at school, you can see me wear basically one of two things, my black North Face Fleece during the cold winter days, or my Berkeley sweatshirt during the cool fall days (plus I was probably wearing this sweatshirt underneath my North Face in winter) So I went back to Champaign in October of 2005 for work and bought our own little Bella a 12 month orange Illinois sweatshirt. She's getting bigger as we speak so she finally fits into it. Needless to say, she only worn it once.

Can't wait for Christmas!!!

So we've been getting ready for Bella's first Christmas! It's been pretty hectic finishing Christmas shopping, wrapping all the gifts, not to mention we're also planning her first birthday party and our big trip coming up!

Anyways, we finally finished decorating our x-mas tree. We put it up the day before Thanksgiving, but procrastinated putting the ornaments up. I didn't want to take our Christmas card pictures until the ornaments were up, so we ended up taking the pictures a few days ago, and thanks to my wonderful Walgreens, we were able to mail them out the next day. That was a tough picture to take trying to get all 4 of my children in the picture. First Sami and Starlight were misbehaving, then when they started cooperating, Bella got tired of it, then Mark got irritable. But we got a picture thanks to Grandpa Marvin!
So I've finished wrapping up all the presents and I put Bella's under the tree. I figured this year would be the only year she wouldn't really care about opening presents. Boy, was I wrong! She keeps sneaking over to her presents when we're not looking and slowing picking at the wrapper. Today, she got more aggressive and obvious...

Geez Bella, wait for Christmas!!!!

New Playmate!

So last weekend we went to visit Andy, Melissa, and baby Andrew. We also got to go to the Mall of America for our Christmas shopping... no tax!
Here are some pictures...

Nice long weekend...

So Bella's first Thanksgiving was fun. We had our family brunch at our house in the morning, then we headed over to one of Mark's aunt's house for dinner. Unfortunately, Bella was in a good mood in the morning, but by the evening, she started to feel warm. By the time we got home her fever spiked to 103! So grandpa Tom (also known now as Grandpa Doc) came over at 3am to help us sponge her down. Eventually we got her fever down to 100. We had plans to drive and visit Maxine and family, but Mark and I debated back and forth until we found ourselves in the car halfway to Pennsylvania! Bella slept the whole way, and we figured that Tom could take a look at Belly. When we arrived, LT was jumping and he screams, "Yes! Tracy!" I was totally stunned. The boy is really talking, it's so CUTE! So we just bummed around all weekend... eat, sleep, shop, etc. Eventually, Belly's fever never went away, so Tom gave her a Ceftriaxone shot. Her first antibiotic. So here are some pictures of this weekend...
Belly's x-mas tree in our Pennsylvania bedroom from Ninang Maito and Uncle Tom

Our turkey...

The girls all wearing Burberry skirts...

Belly's buddy, LT

Matching sweaters with Ate Max...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy first Thanksgiving to our baby girl!!! So this year I decided to start the turkey tradition, just so my kids have some kind of memory of mommy cooking on Thanksgiving morning, just like my memories with my mom.
So here is my first turkey...

Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner

So we had our cooking club Thanksgiving Dinner this past Saturday.

Bella's ready to dig in!!!

Can you find my shoe?

So Bella tried to climb out of her playzone playpen. She tried to use this dragon to get out. When we lifted her out of the playzone, we noticed she only had one shoe off. Where could her other shoe be?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

We're still celebrating Halloween, but Bella is taking a nap so I decided to share some pictures of today so far.

No more Erie, PA

So my brother and his family moved out of Erie this past month. Last weekend we went to visit them. Here are the pictures!!!

Happy Halloween (one day early!)

There's more pictures, just haven't got them yet. These pictures are not of her costume. She and Mark have an awesome costume, but he'd be mad if I posted them (but don't worry I will post them maybe tomorrow... hehehehe)

Baldy has a tooth!

So Bella's gums have been pretty swollen for awhile. On Saturday, I noticed a little hole in her gums, and on Sunday (her nine month birthday), grandma Lu saw some white. I felt her gums, and it was sharp! Her first tooth has broken through! YEAH! Also, on Saturday, Mark and I started her on finger foods. I was tempted to try it earlier, but I was too scared that she might choke. So what I do is I spread the cereal on the table and she just picks it up and eats it! It's amazing how independent she's become. Growing up too fast... but where's her hair!?!

Daddy's Birthday Weekend

So, it's been awhile since I've posted anything. We've all just been really tired and worn out lately. Bella's been sick for awhile now, runny nose, cough, and her highest fever at 102. The fever lasted a couple of days, but now there's this wheezy cough, that sounds yucky, and we'll be going to the doctor tomorrow. Honestly, I think my toothless baldy may be starting to teethe, cuz her gums look a little swollen. So we had plans this weekend to go away and visit Bella's new friend Andrew, but for the safety of both kids, we stayed close to home instead. It was daddy's bday on Saturday. We started the celebration at Ate Ash's soccer game which her team won 7-1. Then we went to grandma/pa's house for Portillo's Chocolate Cake. After that, we ate dinner at our favorite Thai place, and dessert at the ice cream parlor. On Sunday, it was so nice outside, we had to go out and enjoy it! We went to church, then after that we went to Didier Farms to buy Bella's (and daddy's) first pumpkin, which we then carved at Ate Ash/Kay's house. Apparently, it ended up being everyone's first pumpkin carving experience, except for mommy.
Anyways, here's some pictures of things I do now and of Didier Farm:
I have a permanent playmate named Sami.

I had another playdate with Stela.

I prefer standing outside of my swing than being on it.

8 months old!

More pictures

My sippy cup with apple juice

Me in a high chair

With daddy at Ate Ash's playground

Peek a boo!

Creepy Crawler

So Bella crawls now. For awhile now, she's been in crawling position and would rock back and forth with excitement (I think she thought she was actually moving somewhere... which she did end up in different areas of the room, but not actually crawling, more like scootching). Last week, right before our cooking club, Bella's arms and legs started to communicate with eachother and now she's EVERYWHERE! I admit that we haven't baby-proofed the house yet, and that's our new project. Bella seems to LOVE the Tivo and VCR. She'll crawl in that direction and try to pull herself up and stand above the Tivo/VCR. My dad was over today, and he saw her heading over in that direction... I admit, I don't think I've ever seen my dad run and leap that fast... he tried to catch her and stop her from reaching that area. Our family room is taken over by her toys... which was expected, especially since I'm the one who likes to buy the toys, and I'm pretty sure Bella doesn't really care about that stuff yet. She likes more of the basics... the tv remote control (AKA: the clicker), the laptop computer (she loves to press the num lk button), and as we mentioned before, the TIVO/VCR.

Here's a pretty new picture of our little mischievous baby. This picture was probably taken right before she heads back to the Tivo. Doesn't she look like she's up to something?
Anyways, we had a successful cooking club once again. We were supposed have a picnic, but unfortunately the weather wasn't very cooperative. But it ended up better just staying at home, we got to relax and cook without a time constraint. I'll post these pictures up in the next few days. Very yummy food... our topic was Appetizers/finger foods.
Other news, I wanted to welcome to the world Little Andrew ("Fella", to rhyme with Bella and Stela... hehehe)! He was born August 15, 2006. We can't wait to meet you! I sent them this awesome present... a little weird, but funny... it's called the "WEE-WEE Man", it's a pee pee blocker since little boys tend to pee everywhere when you change them.
Anyways, I'm working full time now... boo-hoo, which is why I'm still awake now. I worked the 10pm-8am shift last night, so I slept most of today. Mark and Bella picked me up from work and we ate at a Filipino restaurant for breakfast... yummy. Bella sat in a highchair for the first time! I just tried to post this highchair picture, but the computer won't let me... oh well, next time.

Puerto Rico pictures

Here are the pictures from Puerto Rico. Enjoy!

Meet the Pacifier Club!

So on our trip, Kuya "little" Tom and Bella became very close. When we were in the car, Kuya Tom talked, played, and sang to Bella when everyone else slept. When Bella looked at him, she would laugh and her pacifier would fall out, Kuya Tom would grab her pacifier and place it back in her mouth. And the best was when Kuya Tom was eating a cracker and he thought that maybe Bella wanted one too, so he shared his cracker! I wasn't paying attention, and when I looked at Bella she had this huge orange cracker hanging out of her mouth!
So since they're so close in age and they have one very strong common bond... the pacifier... Meet the Pacifier Twins!

Puerto Rico

We're home from our annual family vacation. This year we went to Humacao, Puerto Rico. Dad hooked us up with a 3 floor, 3 bedroom, 3-1/2 bath condo at Palma Del Mar resort. It was REALLY nice, we were all together, yet we also had our privacy... good job, Dad! Our place was oceanfront and poolside. So I'll post pictures up soon, but I really didn't take much. We went on 2 tours (Bacardi tour and a duck tour of Old San Juan), but most of the time we just went swimming, the guys went golfing a few times, us girls went to the spa, we went shopping, we ate, we slept, we went grocery shopping alot at Pueblo the local grocery store, and we drove around alot getting lost! It was a fun time, but I'm sad to see that it's over since we've been planning this trip even before Bella was born! I still can't believe all the places Bella has been too and she's only 6 months old! She won't remember any of these trips, but it definitely helps her become closer to her Grandpa Tom, Uncle Tom, Ninang Maito, Ate Max, and Kuya Tom... since we live so far away.
Anyways, so we already decided next years family vacation location... HAWAII!!! Just like Puerto Rico, I haven't been to Hawaii since I was a kid. So now there's something new to look forward to, yeah!!!
Anyways, I'll post the pictures up later, for some reason it's taking too long to load.

Chocolate Dream

On Friday, we went to the Pennisula Hotel for Chris' bday to immerse ourselves in all you can eat chocolate! Pennisula Hotel's The Lobby hosts a Chocolate Buffet & jazz every Friday night. There was creme brulee, white hot chocolate milk, and TONS more!!! I definitely recommend this place! YUMMY!!!

The next day, we had our 2nd cooking club meeting. Our first meeting was more just to figure out our monthly topics, but we did make a dessert... Nutella Wontons!!!

So this months topic was BBQ!!! Even though we established a date a month ago, I guess this month kinda snuck up on all of us, and we all didn't realize that the cooking club date was here already! We even though about rescheduling the date, but the month was almost over, so we needed a July meeting. So on Friday night at the Chocolate Buffet, we quickly threw together last minute ideas on what to make on Saturday.
So here's our menu:
Filet Mignon with a special horseradish sauce, arugula, spinach all in a biscuit

Stuffed Whitefish

Scallops

our sides: corn on the cob - grilled pineapple and pears - scalloped potatoes
I'm so proud of us girls!!! Our dinner was REALLY yummy!!!
So other's things going on this week... Little Tom had his bday party at the Little Gym. This place is so cool! I have pictures that I'll post later of the party. It's on my other camera. Also, Mark was out of town for the first time since Bella was born. So Chris spent the week at our house to help me take care of Bella... thanks Chris! I definitely think Bella knows when both of her parents are not around. She was cranky ALL week (but she was a little sick) except on Wednesday when Mark surprised us by coming home for the evening and then drove back the next morning! That was the day I found out I passed, so Dad brought over Bob Chinn's crabs for each of us to celebrate!

I PASSED!!!

So the reason I was so upset for the mail not coming the other day was because I was waiting for my NAPLEX score to arrive (the pharmacy board scores). So ever since I took the test on June 27, and except the time we were in CA, I've been running to the mailbox. Anyways, today it arrived!!! I PASSED!!! I am now a Registerd Pharmacist!!! YEAH!!!

Happy 6 Month Birthday!!!

So I can't believe my baby girl is now 6 months old! Time flies so fast! So this is Bella about 6 months ago in my tummy as Sami tries to play with her...

Bella at 1 week...

Now our baby is doing so many things... sitting by herself, rolling over, talking to herself, working in her office (that's what I call her exersaucer toy cuz she always looks like she's hard at work), playing peek-a-boo, and laughing so loudly! She's also been on many adventures, starting with her driving trip to meet Auntie Chris in St. Louis, the driving trip to celebrate Max's bday in Pennsylvania, and her first plane trip to visit family in California. In such a short time, I can't believe all that we've done with this little girl!

Happy 6 month birthday baby Bella! Mommy and Daddy love you SOOOOOOOO much!!!

Summer Fun

Bella hasn't gone swimming since her swimming lesson, so out came the inflatable pool and the slip&slide! Unfortunately, the water was ice cold, so Bella didn't want to go in.


So we placed her on Kay & Ash's baby swing. Her first real swing ride!

This is Bella's playmate, Stela (our little caucASIAN)! She's 3 months old now and SO playful and smiley!

Look how different a 3 month old looks next to a 6 month old!

This is their second playdate together. Maybe one day they'll actually play with eachother !!!

Thanks for the birthday wishes

Thanks to everyone who called, e-mailed, or texted me on my birthday! Bella and I had a relaxing day together, then I went with my Dad, Mark, and Bella to Tapas Gitana to get me some Paella (yummy)!!! That was good food and crowded for a Tuesday.
Anyways, lots to celebrate this week... my brother's family is coming into town on Friday night for LT's bday celebration and also Bella will be 6 months this Saturday... I'll be getting her a cake for sure!!!

Bella's first airplane trip!!!

I'll get into more detail later. But overall, we had an awesome trip! Bella's first airplane experience was a success! She never cried! So at least we know that the air pressure wasn't too bad on her ears. We started off in San Francsico, then flew to LA where we stayed at Huntington Beach, then we drove to San Diego. Click on the following link to see our pictures!
California Pictures

RETIRED

So I thought I had a hard time retiring Bella's clothes, apparently Mark has HUGE issues letting go. The other day Mark dressed up Bella in a plain white onesie with shorts. When I looked at Bella, the neck line of her shirt stretched all the way down to her belly and her shorts were not shorts (they were sweatpants). So when we were going through the clothes last night I showed Mark that same outfit and he says, "I think that's still ok. Just keep it in the drawer." I guess it's time to realize that she's not going to be wearing those 0-3 month clothes anymore... she is 5 months after all. So good-bye to 0-3 months, hello to 3-6 months and even some 6-9 months!
She's growing WAY to FAST!!!

Next to retire... very pink bugaboo bassinett... that REALLY makes me SAD...

She's growing so fast!

So this past week, Mark and I have noticed that Bella's clothes seemed to be getting shorter, even the new 6 month clothes that we washed. So last night we decided to measure her. She is now 26.5 inches long. More than 2 feet!!! It must be all the new food she's been eating... cereal, carrots, and greenbeans or genetics (yeah, whatever!). Anyways, for now, I still have a hard time retiring her clothes, so she'll be wearing floods for awhile.
Another new thing I don't remember mentioning is that Bella can sit by herself now, without holding her body up with her hands. It seems that everyday she's learning a new trick... she's growing way too fast!

Happy 1st Father's Day!!!

So today was Mark's first father's day and probably the first day in a long time that nobody was sick in our household. Bella had her first fever 2 weeks ago, and kindly gave it to her mommy for the following week. So we started today by going to church, ate lunch at DiPescara's at the mall (this is where Ashley's first communion party was and they have an AWESOME shrimp appetizer which was the main reason we went there). Then we decided to shop for our next vacation... yeah!!!
So we shopped and shopped, then we had to meet up with the family for dinner. We ate at a Brazilian steakhouse, where the meat just keeps coming. I was just shocked by the amount of meat they kept piling on the plate, I forgot I could stop the madness by flipping my green card and making it red so they would stop coming by. So after 5 minutes of the green side up, it stayed on red the whole night. I was SO stuffed.
I don't remember if I mentioned that on Mother's Day, Bella and I had matching dresses...

So today, Mark and Bella wore matching Polo gear...

I also got Mark this awesome tie with Bella's picture all over it... but he'll never wear...
Anyways, so here are all the dads...