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...

First Cubs Game

So Bella went to her first Cubs game. Luckily, Grandpa Tom and daddy went a few weeks earlier so we had Cubs gear for Bella.


So I was terrified the whole game. We sat fourth row behind the Cubs dugout... great seats... but terrifying to bring Bella. I was so nervous a ball would hit us, but luckily (but not lucky for the person who got hit) the ball went more to the left of us... phew... It was a nice day, Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn were there, and the Cubs finally won! Maybe Bella's the lucky charm.

I still have to post up the videos I promised, but I'm too lazy. I have to show you Kay's b-day party... this is great...
So, Kay's ultimate goal in life is to be a princess. So they gave her this pretty princess party.

There was nothing for Bella to wear there, so I bought her a purple tutu.

Can anyone guess who this is? hehehe

She can sing!

So the other day, we were watching American Idol (which we never watch, but there's nothing else on TV these days). Bella was smiling and laughing as she watched the show from her swing, and when one of the girls started to sing, Bella started cooing along with her. Now, I've noticed Bella do this when I sing with her, but I figured she was just following my facial expressions. But, she really is responding to music.
Also, she has moved on from her hospital pacifier, to normal pacifiers. She takes it out of her mouth, holds the pacifier, and places it back into her mouth now. Bella also prefers holding a toy in her hand at all times.
Here's Bella at 4 months...

Earrings!

So this is before...

This is after...

And this is 45 minutes after the piercing...

Happy kid!

Bella's Flipping Out!

So on Mother's Day, Bella gave me the greatest present... she flipped! I woke up on Sunday morning and looked at her and she was on her belly. I freaked out since she shouldn't be on her tummy, woke up Mark, and we placed her back onto her back. Then we wondered, did she just flip? She's been showing signs for the past month, always trying, and occasionally rolling over on couches (which give in helping her out), but Mark thought that maybe the bed gave in. So we went back to sleep, and I woke up again, and there she was on her belly again! I freaked out again, rolled her to her back, and starting thinking maybe this is it... then I thought, what a cool first Mother's Day present! So we slept again, I woke up for the third time and she was back on her belly! That confirmed it for us, she is now a tummy roller!!! Since Sunday was such a busy day... we went to Church (so I can stand up and get the Mother's Day blessing), went to visit my mom, and went for brunch at the Ritz-Carlton, we didn't have time to test her flipping on the floor. So now we've finally tested it out and she is flipping. I think she's OVER doing it now. Everytime I look at her she's flipping. We wake up in the middle of the night and she's always on her tummy, so we flip her back. I place her on the floor by me as I study, and she flips. She's like a pancake or an egg omelet... always flipping, just to be flipped back. Anyways, I will post a video of her flipping soon. We've got some good ones. Plus I'll post some pictures of Mother's Day with our matching dresses (I'm a dork!).

Bella's swimming video

Here's a movie clip of Bella's first and second swimming lesson. The first lesson they used the noodle. The second lesson they dunked her head into the water.



So other exciting things happening... so far 3 of my friends had babies after Bella was born... Welcome to the world Stela, Tanner, and Audrey! Two of my friends are currently expecting in the fall/winter time. Six babies in one year!!!
I still have to post the baptismal pictures up, but I'm too lazy.
We've been so busy lately! After Bella's baptism, the next weekend was Chase's baptism, then Abby's communion. This weekend is Grandpa Marvin's b-day, Ashley's Communion, Kyle's b-day, and Mother's Day. Next weekend is Grandpa Tom's b-day, Kayley's b-day, and Max and the gang are coming in for a visit.

Bella had her 4 month check-up yesterday. Her stats: 14lbs, 24 inches, 16.5in head.
Her weight and height bring her to the 75th percentile, but her head is anywhere between 75-90th percentile! She had her 3 shots... poor baby. Next week I'm bringing her back for her long awaited ear piercing!!! I'll definitely post pictures of her ear up next week.

Honda Odyssey

So Mark & I bought a car. We thought we were going to just wait it out and let the jeep run until the end, but after renting a similar car to drive to Max's birthday, we just had to get one. So we are joining the MINIVAN CLUB!!!
Anyways, so last week we were at the Honda dealership and my dad starts looking at the other cars there, especially this one...

Unfortunately, our daughter was looking at the same car...

Ummm... sorry Bella... not yet, but nice try!

BAPTISM & BUMBO

So Bella was finally baptized on Saturday. She slept the whole time! Here's a picture of all her godparents that were able to attend.


I'll post more pictures later.

So Mark and I realized that Bella always wants to sit up. So we bought her the bumbo chair for 3-14 month olds.


She also grabs now! She grabbed her lady bug toy and she grabbed her booger suctioner out of my hand!

LOST DOG

So we lost one of our dogs. My family has a total of 3 dogs and one of them ran away or got lost or got picked up by someone on Wednesday. Dad, Mark, Bella, and I drove around calling out her name. Bella's was so cute trying to help... when Mark and I screamed the dog's name out the window, Bella would scream at the same time. It's so sad, this dog was a very sweet dog, smelly but sweet. We called the police in the area, and Mark and I made fliers to post, and tomorrow Dad and I are going to go around and ask the neighbors and post the fliers. It's definitely frustrating not knowing where she is, and I just pray to God we find her. So wish us luck!