Ice Cream Social

We went on a family date tonight to Cold Stone Creamery. Steve decided to be healthy and get a smoothie, but I indulged in brownies and fudge - it's a good thing we like our gym!

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Trying some of mommy's fudge brownie yumminess!


Sucking on daddy's smoothie...she loves drinking from a straw! A friend told me that you can add fresh spinach leaves to any fruit smoothie without changing the taste, SOOOOO I'm going to try that this weekend with some mango smoothies for Bella.
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The ice cream made her hyper!


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Our very own Stupid Human Trick! Steve tips Bella forward and she arches her back way, way back to keep from falling forward. We call it "The Swan"!

I Know, I Know...

I know that I'm not supposed to allow babies to climb stairs, but Bella and Rex are actually really good at it! I close all of the doors upstairs except for Bella's bedroom, and they love to climb up the stairs and play in her room. I peek in on them every once in awhile, but most of the time, they just crawl back down the stairs after a little while. Sometimes I can hear them giggling at the top of the landing, so I caught these pictures yesterday.

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Dahlias, Peppers, and Bugs! Oh My!

Went out to weed the garden this morning, and this is what I found...

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Our dahlias are finally blooming, and are beautiful!

I thought our peppers would never produce any vegetables, but we're seeing small plants this week. Whatever disease killed our snow peas has also killed our cucumbers. They are huge, but very pale green, and not at all ripe. We're down to tomatoes, lettuce, and peppers.

Drum roll, please...we have the same caterpillars that Julie has on her tomatoes! They are huge and very icky. This is the first time I've seen them, and I almost called Julie out of wierd excitement that we had the same bugs!

Playroom Update

We were able to get some new things for Bella's playroom! We got the cubby sets and reading bench that I had found at Home Depot. It's still definitely a work in progress, but I'm really happy with how it's coming along.

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I'm trying to turn the left side of the cubby unit into a reading corner. The little rocking chair that Mom and Dad Wires bought Bella for her first birthday is perfect for this spot! For now, I have a little blanket on the floor, but I think a small carpet would look better.

The ribbon at the top will eventually hold her artwork and stuff from school, but right now, it's pretty empty. I've seen some cute ideas to hang some baby clothes or some little shoes. I'll see what I can come up with!

Bella's 15 month Check-up

This past Tuesday, I took Bella in for her check-up. She is officially 27 lbs. and 7 oz. Most of the moms I meet have 2 year old that heavy! She is 31 1/2 inches long, and I won't even mention her head! Needless to say, I think her head may be the reason she isn't walking yet. :) Developmentally, she is on track with her communication and abilities.

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Bella also had to have 2 shots. She absolutely hates to be restricted in any way, which is exactly what you have to do to an infant when they're getting shots in their legs. She was screaming so vehemently at being held down that she didn't event notice she was given any shots! Of course, I felt like a traitor the entire time, but as soon as she's freed, she's completely fine.

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We are looking forward to a laidback weekend. I almost have enough money saved for the cubby system that I want to buy for her playroom. I won't bother posting pictures from the Home Depot website - I'll just wait a week or two until I can take real pictures! I think we're going to go to IKEA on Saturday and see if they have anything comparable. These types of outings are extremely fun for me!

Bella's PJs

Grandma Wires made some adorable pink "kitty" pajamas for Bella's 1st birthday. I finally remembered to take some pictures of Bella in them! Everytime she wears them, she is enthralled by her own pantlegs...thanks Grandma and Kaylie!

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Bella's Standing!

Wow! Bella's standing up on her own! It was just all of a sudden, and she was super proud! I posted a video on Facebook, but here's a picture of her new talent. She's doing it constantly now! I love it! I can't stop using exclamation points!

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Puppy-sitting

We agreed to "babysit" our friend's weimaraner for the weekend. Wow! Puppies are even more difficult than toddlers! The puppy is in to everything and he moves faster than Bella, so we keep tripping over him. He is super-cute, though, and Bells loves him! We're enjoying playing with him, but it definitely strengthened our decision that we don't want a puppy right now. Here are some pictures of the two "babies" playing!

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Phantom of the Opera

Here are some pictures of last Friday night when we went to see Phantom at the Fox Theater. Mel's friend, Brittani, came along, and we had a great time! We had been wanting to see Phantom for awhile now, and this was their farewell tour! It was amazing! The first picture is from our seats - we were very high. (The whole ceiling is designed to look like the night sky, so that's the blue part.)

4th of July Parade!

Woke up early this morning to make it to the parade in Marietta Square. After the Memorial Day parade in Springfield, we thought we'd give parades one more chance. It turned out pretty well! Lots of fire trucks and school bands! Bella did really well, even in the heat. Here's a picture of her waving her flag!

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VBS Week Is Over

I love VBS week! It is always exhausting, but so much fun! This year was a new experience for me - instead of taking charge of a class, I taught the Missions classroom. Each age group came to me everyday, and I taught the same lesson about five times a day.

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We learned about China, Albania, India, Armenia, and Cameroon. I'm really sad that I forgot to take pictures of my room to post on here! I took a camera, but kept forgetting during the bustle of the day

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I took Rex and Bella with me each day and kept them in the nursery. I got quite a few chuckles walking in every morning with a baby on each hip and two diaper bags thrown over my shoulders. Good memories!