Bella's 1 year update!

Okay so we are so behind on our blog! Lets just say its not on the top of our priority list...but today I'm making time to share all about Bella at 1 year! She is so smart (yes we are a little bias) but she is picking things up so fast!
First off she started walking 2 weeks after she turned 12 months...and its been so fun to see her make her way around the house walking and exploring at her new eye level! You can tell she is so proud and excited to be up on her own two feet. Now that she is discovering new things and getting into things that she shouldn't she loves to look at us for permission to touch and if we say no she shakes her head no also. So cute!
Along with picking up on walking she has been increasing her vocabulary. Here are the words she says: momma, dadda, Hope (our dog), shoes, socks, juice, up, bath, teeth and ball. Her pediatrician wants her to say at least ten words by 15 months...I think its safe to say she is going to be a talker! She babbles and speaks her own language mainly to Hope. Hope is her best friend. She wakes up calling for her, she follows her, she feeds her, she shares her toys with her and she even barks with her.
Bella also loves trains..she makes a train sound when she plays with them. She is trying to say train but hasn't quite got it yet. She loves being outside. We can't say the word outside or she gets her shoes and starts to put them on to go outside and if you tell her no she gets very upset.
She now has 7 teeth and eat just about anything and everything you give her. Her favorite meal is breakfast and she loves to use forks and spoons now. She feeds herself and even wipes her mouth to clean up.
Her favorite songs to sing are ABC's, If your happy and you know it, and Head Shoulders, Knees and Toes. She know where her head, toes, eyes, nose and belly is. And she gets a kick out of touching our belly buttons! She laughs a lot and loves to give besitos (kisses). She is sleeping through the night and loves to watch Elmo first thing when she wakes up. She also likes the show Dinosaur Train. Whenever she hears music she dances and giggles, we think she is very musically inclined!
She is so much fun at this age! We are having the best time ever and no matter what is going on in our life, the time with her is more important to us than any material thing. God blessed us with such an amazing life with her that we want to make every moment count...and we intend to do so.

Baby's 1st Christmas, New Years, 11 month update and more!

Okay so I'm going to be honest..the next few posts are so late...but its better late than never! Life has taking us by surprise and now its January 21st and I haven't had time to sit and write about Christmas, New Years, Bella's 11 month update and everything in between!
WARNING: This post is super long and over due sorry!

So let me start with Christmas...we anticipated the day when we would celebrate Christmas with our child and as parents. I've got to say, its so much funner when you have a kid to celebrate with! Don't get me wrong Jesus and I have had 11 years of amazing Christmas memories just the two of us, but Bella adds to the magic. She was spoiled enough to celebrate Christmas 4 times this year. First on Christmas Eve we went to my dads aka Grandpa David's and ate some yummy menudo, a tradition with him. Then we decorated his Christmas tree and opened presents. We headed to mass afterward and celebrated the true meaning of Christmas. Later that afternoon we went to Dora's and Terry's for some more Christmas fun. We had a yummy dinner, homemade cookies, and of course presents. She managed to stay up past 10pm and enjoy time with her Grandma Dora, Grandpa Terry, Tio Ty, Tia Christina  Peggy and Great Grandma Benita. After a long day she slept like a mouse until woke her up Christmas morning! She was sleepy but we managed to get her to the Christmas tree to show her what Santa brought her...a rocking horse! She was not thrilled...in fact she just stared at it then decided it was funner to open daddy's gifts. Soon after that the house was filled with the Valdez's...Grandpa Sergio, Grandma Wendy, Tio Noah, Tio Nick, Peggy, Nina Tere, Adriana, and Gabby! We ate breakfast and of course opened more gifts! By lunch time Bella was exhausted and napped only to be woken up yet again to head to Nana and Popo's house. We ate a lunch and it was time to open gifts one last time and man was it a zoo house, but always fun spending time with Tio Eli, Tio Isaac, Tia Diane, cousin Marcus, Tia Lisa, Tio Fernando, cousins Kari and Kali, Tia Maryann, Tio Anthony, Tia Ruby, Nana, and Popo. By 7pm we headed home and went to bed early! God had filled us with so much love for two days that we were ready for a quite night.

Then came New Years!!! We decided to stay home and count down the last hours of 2012 with Noah and Nic. The problem was they had so much fun playing with Bella and wearing each other out that by 11pm we were all headed to bed! We watched New York welcome the New Year, but we were ready for bed! Waking up to three kids the first day of 2013 made Jesus and I realize we were meant to have more kids and have the feeling of a house full of love. No we are not pregnant...but God willing we will be blessed if we get the opportunity to have more kids.

On January 5th, Bella turned 11 months!  She now has 6 teeth, she stands, takes a few steps at a time, says momma and dada, she barks with the dogs, she eats almost anything you give her, her favorites are reading about dinosaurs, watching dinosaur train, bouncing balls, rolling her school bus, playing in the bath, and chasing the dogs. The weekend after her birthday, Daddy Jesus got the flu and was nice enough to give it to both Bella and I. She got very high fevers, but luckily recovered fast from it. Nobody likes to see a sick baby..especially us. We are in the process of planning her 1st birthday party! Its fun, exciting and sad. If Jesus and I have already cried this much just for her 1st birthday, I can't imagine how we will be when we send her off to college or when she gets married. Jesus will be inconsolable! Bella and her daddy have a very special bond. She can twist his heart and make him tear up for anything..whether its because she crawled up to him and gave him a kiss, or if she hurt herself and lays her head on his shoulder for comfort. I love to see his love for her. Its amazing to see a man so vulnerable. At the end of the day when we lay next to each other and he holds me tight and says "my life is so perfect with both of you in it, I know all is right in my world. We are looking forward to many things this year, but even if nothing changes or if everything changes, as long as I have my hubby and my baby each night to say I love you, it will be a great year!

Merry Belated Christmas and Happy 2013 Everyone!

Ten Month Update

Here we are yet again in disbelief that Bella is another month older...and to think that she will be 1 in less than two months brings a wave of emotions through us. Each day gets better and better, she gets funnier, smarter, and we get to know her a little more each day. She can be dramatic and emotional (like her momma!) and then she can be silly and laugh at the smallest things (like her daddy!). She is curious as interested in everything she catches her eye on...she loves to touch and point at anything. We tell her the name of what she is pointing at, she takes a minute to stare at it and process what we are telling her, then she moves on and points to something else, and we repeat this process over and over. These days she gets lots of exercise! She loves bouncing in her excersaucer (not sure how you spell that?) and she walks with her walker. She doesn't like to be held so much anymore, she would rather be holding on to your hands while she walks. She loves our Christmas tree and gets in to trouble grabbing and biting through all the presents under the tree. She finds it funny when we scold her and tell her no...we are working on that. She had a tough couple of weeks fighting a stomach bug then a cold, but now that she is better, she thinks she still has special treatment. We are trying new foods and its hit or miss whether she eats well or not. But she finally got the hang of holding her on bottle! Yup it took us 10 months to unspoil her and convince her that she can hold her own bottle! Daddy of course thinks we should still do it, but I convinced him that she needs to learn so she can graduate to a sippy cup in a few months. She loves drinking out of a juice box though. Jesus gets more emotional than me when it comes to seeing her do things independently...he still can't stand hearing her cry herself to sleep. He looks like he is going to die! I also get emotional thinking about her growing up..but since I'm with her all day every day I feel like its my job to teach her new things. I have my moments though, where I look at her or see her struggling to accomplish something and I forget how little she still is...and I scoop her up and kiss and hug on her till she pushes me away! Her slobber kisses are the best...she comes at you with a wide mouth and slaps you a good wet kiss! Its funny now, because she now notices when Jesus and I are kissing or hugging and she laughs and comes up to us. When we scoop her up and kiss her together she laughs and seems to happy. Its the best feeling to know that she loves us. This month she will be celebrating her 1st Christmas..we are so excited for her!
      My little angel is ten months now and I feel like it is too soon for her to already be two months away from being a year old. This month continues too be full of new experiences with her. It was a rough one for her though, the majority of this past month she was sick. She had too share her stomach bug twice with mommy and daddy. It's amazing how fast a stomach virus travels within this house now with a child. Our poor girl even spent her first Thanksgiving sick, but still stuffed her face with mashed potatoes. Through it all though she continued too have a happy spirit. She loves rolling a ball to you and you rolling it back to her makes her laugh a lot. She gives you a big smile, squinting her eyes real small and giving you a loud laugh. She is also very acrobatic because she loves too be bouncing real high in her bouncer. She bounces so hard in that thing that she makes herself fall asleep from all the energy she used bouncing. It's the funniest thing just seeing her bounce up and down with her eyes and head starting to slouch in it. I know it's not good that I do this, but making her jump on the sofa also makes her laugh real loud. I do tell her not too jump on the sofa while she is laughing, so it kind of makes up for her jumping on it. She is very attentive too, pointing at everything she sees. She points so much that as soon as you pick her up from her crib she's pointing away. One of the best things she does now is when I go and pick her up in the morning or from a nap out of her crib she rests her head on my chest on hugs me tight. It's the best feeling a dad can have, knowing she feels safe and loves you. Her first Christmas is coming up and we are both excited to celebrate it. Her first Christmas event was the capital tree lighting. She had a blast dancing too the Christmas caroling, playing on hills of the capital and was amazed with the huge tree a lit up. We will see how her first Christmas goes for her, I know she will be spoiled from all the grandparents. Santa will also be bringing her something special as well.

Bella's 1st Thanksgiving

I'm a week late writing this but better late than never! I have a good excuse though...baby Bella has been sick for the past week with congestion and a stomach bug and unfortunately it all started on Thanksgiving day :( We woke up Thursday so excited that she was going to experience her 1st Thanksgiving with all her family, but as soon as we got her out of the crib she threw up. From that point on she got sick after each bottle. She is, however, a good sick baby. She doesn't cry or fuss too much..just clingy! She continued this way through the weekend and on Monday we took her to the doctor. Dr said she has a stomach bug which she gave to daddy and me as well. Poor baby, a week later she is still recovering. Anyway....we managed to have a GREAT Thanksgiving. We got to see and spend time with Luana, Mikey, Niko, Nathaniel, Tio Danny, Tia Suzie and Lamar! Grandpa David Tish made us a delicious Thanksgiving meal (thank goodness since we were busy with a sick baby!) Later on that afternoon Tio Isaac, Tia Diana, Marcus, Tio Eli, Nana, Jody, Great Grandpa Mario, Great Grandma Chila, Tio Alex, Tia Martha, Tia Maryann, Gabriel, and Alexandra all came to visit as well! Lots of laughs, hugs, and memories created! Its such a great feeling to see everyone so happy and enjoying themselves. Seeing them all is bitter sweet, we love to spend time with them but we hate having to say good bye. Time flies so fast that we hardly get to see them. Well I will let the pictures explain the day! We pray you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Blessings!

Nine months with Bella!

Bella has reached her 9 month birthday! She now weighs 18 lbs and 2 oz and is the healthiest and happiest baby we could have ever asked for. She has her four top teeth coming in which will make 6 total teeth and she is cruise walking around the furniture! What a big girl! She loves to wave  bye-bye and say mama and dada. She talks gremlin when she has a lot to say and shouts when she is upset. She is eating much more solid foods...she loves mashed potatoes, carrots, cheerios, daddy's sopa, cheese, and beans. She finally holds her own bottle..but only when she wants to! We love watching her grow into her own personality, and when we explain things to her she says "huh?" She loves to read books and be read to. She turns the pages and gets upset if we don't re-read a book she likes. Her new thing is dancing..to anything! You clap, she dances, your phone rings, she dances, a commercial comes on, she dances, and of course if you put music on, she will bob her head and bounce her body! She knows the meaning of "come here", "besito", "ball", "down", "milk", "mama", "dada", and her name! Its so amazing how fast her brain is leaning things. Her laugh makes us laugh no matter the day we've had, and when you hear her patter down the hall its like music to our ears. I enjoy watching her play in her play room and figure things out and my heart melts when she spots me and gives me a big smile! I have to say this past month has been by far the most enjoyable one for me and I am looking forward to this next month. Her Dr is betting that she will be walking before her 1st birthday, we shall see!
This past month has been a different exciting adventure every day. She likes to be chased by me crawling after her, she gets very excited and can't crawl fast enough to get away because she is laughing at the same time. She has really become more attached to her best friend Hope (one of our dogs), constantly following her. Hope, however, is constantly on the move because when Bella catches up to her she pulls on her tail. It's hilarious to us, but apparently not to Hope. The walker has become another new toy to her. She has this huge smile when she starts to walk fast in it. Oh and bath time now has become a little bit harder because she pulls herself up in the tub and stands up with support with the bathtub edge. She also lets me know when she does not want to get out of the tub. When she gives me her hands to lift her up, she stands up half way then forces herself to sit back down in the tub and then looks up at me and smiles while she continues to splash. This month was also her first Halloween, she was a chick, we took her trick-or-treating and got lots of candy. Since she couldn't eat any of it, mommy and daddy didn't want it to go to waste so we ate it all. She also went to her first pumpkin patch. Every day when I come home from work I get excited to find out what else she has learned.

7 Days to Knock the Socks Off Your Spouse

Jesus and I promised each other that every Wednesday night after Bella goes to bed we will have marriage night, no T.V, no phone, just the two of us and whatever we want to talk about. The night ranges from talking about serious things to playing a game of chess (he usually beats me!) Anyway we found this link to a great idea that we are going to start doing for everyday of the week. Life gets busy (and tough at times) that making time for our spouse seems impossible, but its really the little things that count...and lots of little things add up to lots of love! Thought I'd share with everyone...and share the love!

Prettiful Designs: 7 Ways in 7 Days to Knock the Socks Off Your Spous...:

Say it isn't so...

cheese!

At the Little Gym

Running with Mommy and Daddy

Nap Time with my bears!

Say it isn't so I'm not 8 Months!

At Gymboree with Daddy and Mommy

Sea World with my cousins, Tia and Tio

Finding places to crawl into

Bella is 8 months now! Say its isn't so!!!! Each month goes by faster than the last and this month crept up so fast I haven't even had time to write about it! The girl is doing so much that it brings us to tears on how much she has grown in such a short time. Jesus knew without a doubt that I needed to stay home with her to enjoy each of her milestones and man was he right! I wouldn't take any of these days away! Bella learned how to crawl shortly after turning 7 months...and now she crawls with speed! She also loves to crawl over and under things! We made her an obstacle course in her play room that she loves to crawl over and through. She likes to crawl into a ball pit and bus that we have..but her favorite thing is chasing daddy around, she laughs and catches him quickly! She just started pulling up to stand yesterday! Now she stands in her crib and in our living room ottoman. She laughs and giggles when she stands with pride. When she is upset she lets out a growl that sounds like a dinosaur! She just got over her first sickness..the awful stomach bug! She was nice enough to give it to us as well, so we all spent daddy's 33rd birthday sick. It was awful but we made it through! She is eating three meals and naps twice a day. She refuses to hold her bottle but that's okay, we like snuggling with her. She enjoys dropping cheerios on the floor to see Hope come eat them! She has been sleeping on her tummy since 6 months but she still doesn't sleep through the entire night, she wakes up once or twice early in the morning around 3-4 am and then sleeps till 8am. This past month we took her to Sea World with her cousins Abby, AJ, Eli, Tia Sandra and Tio Marco! She really enjoyed the shows! She was very attentive watching their every move! We plan on going again before the year ends...but until then we are excited about the holidays to come! We took her to her first pumpkin patch and she didn't know what to think of all the pumpkins! We are so happy to be her parents and so proud of her! Love you baby girl :)