3rd Anniversary February 9, 2010

Today marks our 3rd anniversary! I can’t believe it has been three years! It has been such a blast and we have so enjoyed this year of marriage. I don’t think I could adequately sum up our year in a blog
post, but some of the highlights have to be:

- Bella! We were blessed with our wonderful daughter 6 months ago! We have enjoyed watching her grow and learn every day. She is truly a joy in our lives!

- We had so much fun having couple time and doing all sorts of fun activities to pass the time before our Bella was born. Some of the things we did were: attending a minor league baseball game, going to
the American History Museum, dinner with lots of people, pre-natal massage for me, lots of swimming, attending a Redskins open practice, seeing an outdoor movie and more. It was a lot of fun!

- Keith has made it through another year of medical school! He is 1 ½ years through medical school and things are going great. He is doing awesome in school and we are adjusting really well to having him
working so hard while having a little baby.

- I quit my job this year to stay home with Bella full time. It has been a blast and I am soooo thankful to be able to be a full-time wife and mommy.

- We took a great trip to Williamsburg in February, Chincoteague in July and September and California in December.

- We volunteered at church in Union (the young couples ministry), the nursery, the Clothing Ministry (Dana only) and the church orchestra (Keith only) which were all such enriching experiences for us!

- We got hardwood floors put in the condo in preparation for Bella’s birth which was our first major home renovation project and very exciting.

- My parents came to visit several times which was really fun!

- We welcomed Autumn and Justin to Maryland where Justin works at the same school that Keith attends which has been really fun. They get to have lunch together several times every week!

So many exciting things are in store for us in our fourth year of marriage and we look forward to experiencing it all together! It is our hope during the next year of marriage that we will be able to bring even more glory to God through our relationship. We are so blessed and thankful for our marriage!

Baby Push-ups January 22, 2010

How to do a baby push-up:
1 – While on your tummy put your arms out to the side like you’re an airplane.
2 – Wiggle you feet like you’re swimming.
3 – Push up with your arms.
4 – Drool (adults sweat, baby’s drool).
5 – Repeat.
**When you get really good at it, you can actually wiggle around on the floor in reverse by doing the baby push-up.

Bella has demonstrated the correct way to do a baby push-up:

Bella’s Fifth Month January 11, 2010

What an eventful month with all the holidays! Here are some of the highlights from Bella’s fifth month…
1 – What has been the best part?
Bella is learning and growing so much! She has turned into a really interactive, extraverted little girl which has been so fun to watch. I think she is going to be a mini Dana (watch out world! Haha). It is fun because she now likes to play with toys (especially with the toys in the jumperoo!) and she LOVES being around people. But I think the best part for me was to see my brothers with her when we went to California for Christmas. They always wanted to hold her and be around her. They did such an amazing job with her and she REALLY loved being with them too.
2 – What has been the hardest part?
I think the hardest part hasn’t been what Bella has done this month, but just how I am adjusting to mommyhood. It’s kind of like the novelty has worn off. Not that I don’t love being a mom and staying home, because I totally do, but its been hard to realize that my schedule is not my own in any way. My whole day goes in 15 or 20 minute intervals (Bella didn’t sleep more than 20 minutes intervals and gets tired of things in about 15 minutes) which are 100% decided by Bella. So I’ve come to realize that I need to have some more built in mommy time which we’re working on doing and its very helpful. God is also working on my heart in so many other ways to make me a better mom and hopefully I’ll have some time to blog about all of that because it’s pretty awesome!
3 – What has been the most surprising part?
That Bella has such a distinct personality already. I had no idea that it came so early. But it really is so fun to see!!
4 – Do you have memorable story from the month?
We went to California for Christmas and I have to say that I was terrified to fly with Bella. She HATES the carseat and often screams for entire car ride so I was terrified that she would scream the whole flight. Luckily she is little enough that she doesn’t have to have a carseat so we just held her the whole way and she did great! She ate, slept, played and generally had a great time having attention. One of the best parts is that AirTrans has their refreshments in the front of the plane so the back is open so all the parents had their kids back there because it was an open space to bounce them and the sound of the engines made it so that you couldn’t hear them at all. So Keith spent a good amount of time back there with Bella. All in all it went really well!!
5 – What has Bella learned this month?
- Bella learned how to roll from her back to her tummy so she does that all the time. Magically though when she learned how to roll that way she forgot how to get onto her back so when she is on her tummy she just screams until someone rolls her back over. I find myself rolling her back over about 324890 times a day.
- Bella has stopped taking naps longer than about 20 minutes. We’re going to work on changing that next month
- Bella started a new screeching thing. She has three distinct screeches: 1- when she wants to talk to us, 2 – when she doesn’t like something, 3 – when something is wrong. The 2nd one is making me totally crazy because its so loud so I’m going to try to help her figure out another way to express herself.
- Bella is getting much stronger. She has used a toy to pull herself up to standing, gotten her entire stomach off the ground using her arms and gotten her entire stomach off the ground using her legs. I’m hoping she waits a bit longer to link them all together haha.
- Bella LOVED hanging out with Daddy a lot this month because he had two weeks off of school and was Mr. Mom for her most of that time. It was awesome!
- Bella discovered her hands and feet this month and is completely fascinated by them.
- Bella enjoyed Christmas when she got to open presents and play with the paper, her new toys and books. She didn’t have a lot of stamina though so it felt like we were having her open gifts every time she was awake which meant she opened gifts allllll day long.
- Bella learned how to wiggle herself all over the floor. She spent a lot of time wiggling herself into walls, then screaming because the walls wouldn’t move. It was pretty cute!
- Bella has begun sucking her thumb a lot, so now she calms herself down, puts herself to sleep more easily and sleeps longer. Overall it’s a win!
- Bella loves the Jumperoo. She now tries to bounce any time she can, so when we’re holding her it is likely that she is trying to bounce.

Thanksgiving, Christmas and Snow Pictures January 9, 2010

I finally got my scrapbooking program figured out so I’ve been able to catch up on some scrapbooking pages. So attached are Thanksgiving, Christmas and Bella’s first snow. Enjoy!

Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy January 1, 2010

Bella loves the Jumperoo! Check out all the fun!

Bella’s Fourth Month December 9, 2009

This month has been BUSY! We have had a few big issues like our water heater leaking on the two units below us and my hard drive crashing on top of the already busy holiday season which have basically thrown all schedules and productivity out the window, but life is good and things are going to be a little less crazy starting next week so that is really nice. Anyways, here are some of the highlights from Bella’s fourth month…
1 – What has been the best part?
Bella has learned a lot this month! But the best part has to be when she laughed! And lucky for us we caught it on tape. What was she laughing about you ask? Poop! Haha
2 – What has been the hardest part?
Teething. No teeth yet, but her gums really hurt her and every few days it makes her really unhappy.
3 – What has been the most surprising part?
How much she has grown! Everyone keeps telling me how big she has gotten and I can really tell that she has gone from being a newborn to full-fledged infant. It is amazing how quickly and drastically a baby can change!
4 – Do you have memorable story from the second month?
I went out of my way to get Bella’s holiday outfit which I was SO excited for her to wear. I got her all dressed and ready for the holiday show that we saw with all the Beams in PA. When we stopped for lunch I fed Bella and handed her off to Keith to change. When Keith picked her up he noticed that she had exploded out of her diaper. I was heart broken because she hadn’t even gotten to the event before she messed up the outfit. But when we changed her we realized that she had poop up to her shoulders and I had poop all over my shirt and pants. We ended up having to go get a new outfit for me and Bella at Target on our way to the show. And once we got to the show, Nancy, Autumn and I went to the bathroom where we all wash poop from mine and Bella’s clothing which was a funny bonding experience. That is a memory I won’t soon forget!
5 – What has Bella learned in the fourth month?
- She now makes all kinda of noises. She loves making motorboat sounds and talking to us. She is gonna be a chatty child!! Haha
- Bella has decided that she no longer wants to have anything to do with the pacifier. So after just three months of use we almost never use it.
- Bella has started sleeping 6 – 8 hours at night! PTL!!
- Bella HATES the carseat and being in the car. She doesn’t cry very often, but you put her in the car and off she goes. It’s crazy! However we have figured out that if we put her in the stroller without the carseat part she is MUCH happier so that’s nice since we’re out all the time.
- We turned Bella around in the baby bjorn and she loves looking out at everything.
- She started rolling from her back to front. She hasn’t put too many together to get very far, but she loves turning herself in a circle.
- Bella started laughing this month and we got it on video!
- We had our first snow storm in December. We took Bella out and Keith built her a little snowman. She was not a fan of the snow…I think it was too cold for her and that she didn’t like it on her face. Maybe next time.

Bella’s First Laugh November 27, 2009

It’s official, Bella is laughing! And wow is it cute! Wondering what she was laughing about? She had a blowout that went everywhere. Just to give you a sample of her cute laugh here is a video we took.

Please excuse the awful video quality. We had a technical issue and had to make a video of a video and I was trying to hide so she wouldn’t see me and stop laughing. So all in all the video quality stinks, but Bella is still adorable so that’s really all the matters. Enjoy!

Bella’s Third Month November 7, 2009

Bella turns three months this coming Wednesday (side note Happy Veterans Day and thanks to all those who serve(d) our country). I can’t believe it’s been three months! Bella is growing like crazy and learning so much every day. Here is some of what happened this month…

1 – What has been the best part?
Bella has become so much more interactive this month. She is smiling allll the time which I just love. She is also going to sleep much easier and sleeping for 5 hours consistently every night which is a huge blessing!

2 – What has been the hardest part?
Bella has become much more of a mommy’s girl this month. She often cries when anyone else (other than Keith) holds her, so I find myself holding her a lot which can get tiring and hard for me when I’m trying to get things accomplished. She also has decided that she has an opinion and isn’t afraid to express it. For example, she has decided she hates her car seat and will cry/scream until she falls asleep whenever we put her in it.

3 – What has been the most surprising part?
That she has already started the everything goes in her mouth phase. Also surprising is that she wiggles herself all over the place. She wiggles herself all over the couch and if she is on the floor on her changing mat she likes to spin herself in a circle. This girl is one strong baby!

4 – Do you have memorable story from the second month?
I was playing with Bella and she was smiling up a storm. I said to her, “how is it possible for me to love you so much!” at which time she lets out the biggest burp then looks at me with the biggest smile on her face. I laughed out loud because she seemed so proud of herself! Yes Bella that is why I love you so much lol.

5 – What has Bella learned in the second month?
- Bella becoming much more alert, really fascinated by the fan and lights, and has started to recognize her toys although she has yet to figure out how to play with anything yet.
- Bella is becoming more tactile as she tries to figure out how to use her hands. She likes to touch everything from my shirt when I’m holding or feeding her to her blankets.
Bella is a drool machine! She makes bubbles all the time and we’re soon going to need to put bibs on her all the time to catch the drool.
- Bella especially hates it when we’re in traffic or stopped at a light. She cries everytime the car stops, she will even wake up from sleep to cry about it.
- Bella is cooing more and trying to hold a conversation with me all the time. She is gonna be more talkative then her mom I think (if that’s possible lol).
- Bella definitely knows my voice and wants to be with mommy all the time. She can even track where I am when she hears my voice. When I go to pick her up in the morning just hearing my voice she’ll start smiling which melts my heart.
- Bella has discovered her hands and wants them in her mouth allllll the time.
- Bella is still sleeping a lot during the day, but her naps are getting slightly shorter and she wants to be awake and looking at things more.
- Bella’s favorite thing to do other than eat and sleep is to stand…often times shell cry if we’re not helping her stand.
- We have put Bella’s pack-n-play in the hallway so she sleeps there instead of in her crib (which is in our room) at night. Now she can talk herself to sleep all she wants and Keith and I are sleeping SO much better.
- For Halloween Bella was a ladybug and a Pea in a Pod. She managed to stay awake for about half of the Halloween party at Keith’s school, but only lasted 3 houses on Halloween night before she feel asleep. Oh well maybe next year lol.

Scrapbook Pages for 2 & 3 Month, Halloween, & Army Ten Miler November 4, 2009

Bella’s Second Month October 18, 2009

Time is FLYING by!! And I am loving being a mom more and more every day. Here are some updates from this month:

1 – What has been the best part?
Spending all day with her and watching her learn and grow. I also love that she still sleeps a lot…I think it’s helping me transition into this mommy role more easily. And at about 7 weeks Bella started to smile. Let me tell you, it is one of the best things in the world to get a smile from her!!

2 – What has been the hardest part?
School started again for Keith. We’re back in the swing of things which means that Keith is working really hard and not getting to spend every moment with us which is sad. We also have been trying to get her on a schedule so she sleeps more at night. This has led to some nights when Bella sleeps great and others that she doesn’t so I think that actually makes it harder because I never know what to expect, but I always really want more sleep. The other hard thing is to watch Bella express sadness and pain. She got her two month shots and it just about broke my heart and I wasn’t even in the room with her (Keith went), but I could hear her at the other end of the clinic which was bad enough. She also went through about a two week period where she pulled her hair then screamed out of pain, then pulled harder because she was upset. It was an awful cycle and just broke my heart to see her sad and hurting.

3 – What has been the most surprising part?
Bella rolled over first the first time the day before she hit 6 weeks. Every time she rolled over from her tummy to her back she would look up at me with a look that said, “what just happened?!” which was really cute.

4 – Do you have memorable story from the second month?
This month we really got out of the house a lot. I’m feeling much more comfortable with it now so we do something almost every day. This month we went apple picking, to a harvest festival, took family photos (pictures coming on that in the future), and we cheered Keith on at the Army Ten Miler along with at least 30,000. We also got out for typical outings like church, small group, grocery shopping, etc. But I think the most memorable thing was that we went camping in the middle of September when Bella was 6 weeks old. Autumn and Justin stayed in a tent and we stayed in the motor home with Tom and Nancy. It was pretty fun and Bella did much better than we expected.

5 – What has Bella learned in the second month?
- She no longer screams for all of her diaper changes (although she does still scream for some), baths or hiccups.
- She now screams every time we stop at a red light or are stuck in traffic. Even if she is sleeping she will wake up to cry. It is kind of amusing.
-She typically goes to bed without any assistance from people (unless she loses her pacifier) which is REALLY nice!
- She rolled over at 5 weeks old, but now every time she does tummy time she gets mad when she can’t roll over.
- She smiled for the first time at 7 weeks.
- She is learning to focus on things more.
- She is learning that she has an opinion and can express it. And boy does she lol.
- Her cries changed from newborn cries to infant cries. My favorite is the one where she says, “i, i, iiiii”. It’s really very amusing and we frequently find ourselves laughing at her while we try to get her to fall asleep (that’s her tired cry btw).