HELLO!! Bella is 16 months old!
The new picture above is of Bella enjoying her FIRST time swinging in a park swing. She really liked it. Grandpa Wright was here visiting and was in on the special milestone as well. We were a bit afraid of her falling through the holes - but she really didn't wiggle much at all. She DID try to eat the swing several times. - and for good reason.
At the beginning of last month, she cut a tooth. Well, now she has cut FOUR teeth!! Two top molars (can you believe it!) and her front two bottom teeth. Bless her heart. No wonder she has had her hands in her mouth so much!
Shortly after Grandpa arrived to visit, our family (and Grandpa) were quarantined for five days due to an outbreak of whooping cough in our family. I found out I would NEVER make it in prison!! It's a funny thing - if you have no where to go, it's nice to stay home. If you aren't allowed to leave, you suddenly need to be EVERYWHERE! It was a crazy five days. :0) Several of the kids are still coughing but are healing just fine.
What can Bella do now? Well, the biggest achievement is that she can go from her tummy up to a sitting position!! Most of her milestones take so long for her to achieve that you really don't know when she ACTUALLY did it the first time w/o aid. This time, she did it all in one day and did it over and over again! YAY, Bella!!
She can also army crawl about four - five feet without stopping - if she is highly motivated.
We are working on trunk control while kneeling up high (bottom off legs). She can't do it without someone holding her legs together BUT, she is well on her way! We are also introducing the concept of crawling up stairs. We have to do all the work for her right now, but it's training her mind.
She is learning the meaning of "nice". She likes to give kisses, which means she grabs the sides of your head and then pulls your chin to her MOUTH! She sucks on your chin and then usually grabs your nose. It can really hurt now that she has some teeth! When she does this, we say,"Nice, nice - be nice" and then take her hand and stroke our faces with it. She is really getting it!!
The other day, she signed "ENJOY" or "YUM", mimicing us after a little song we sang! IT was SO CUTE!!! So... she can sign THREE words now. :0) Mommy, bye-bye, yum! That's all a person need to know, right!?? hee hee
For our church's Trunk 'N Tailgate, Bella and Brynn were Tigger and Winnie the Pooh. Talk about CUTE!! Bowen was a pirate, Bradly was Spiderman and Brandon was Sampson. The older kids didn't dress up but it was lots of fun for them anyway. We love to do things as a family!
Earlier this week, November 11th, Brittlyn turned 17!!!!!!!! - and Bowen turned 5. I cannot believe how fast time flies!!! Yes, they have the same Bday. It was nice to have Grandpa up here for the small celebration.
We are really looking forward to the holidays this year, as Bella will be much more aware of things. :0) May this month remind us of the many blessings God has given to each of us. May we be careful to thank HIM and give HIM the praise.
