Halloween Eve

Not to be confused with 'Old Hallows Eve' which is tomorrow. I finally finished my Halloween sugar cookies tonight, it only took me two weeks to decorate all of them. Mostly finding time was my biggest problem. Here is a picture of Bella in her under costume....I think it looks like a cute burglar. Now I'm sure you can't wait to see what her actual costume is....stay tuned for this weekend. Or if you live close you might actually get to see the real thing!!

And here is the picture taken after we picked up our pumpkins. Hopefully we can get another shot this weekend with the nice weather, and one where we can actually see her face.

Have a Happy Halloween everyone!!

No pictures of fall

It's fall and I love fall. I was excited to do a bunch of activities - visit a pumpkin patch, go trick-or-treating, make apple pie. Well I guess this year with Jesse's busy schedule, and Bella's not able to do much yet, I will have to give up my dreams for a perfect fall.
We went to a church near our house that sold pumpkins for charity, we picked out a couple, and I had wanted to take a family picture of us. Well that didn't work out, Jesse will have to admit that he was a little bit crabby. I do have some cute ones of Bella (granted she wouldn't lift her head up), I will post them as soon as we get our internet turned back on at home.
We will also get to bring Bella to my work for trick-or-treating and maybe drive around to a couple of friends so that we can show off her costume. But I still really wish I was taking around my toddler that could walk. I don't know what it is about certain activities, but most days go by and although we think about the things she can't do, we don't let it bother us. Other days I get really sad, like how she still can't sit or even hold her head up for pictures. So really this halloween won't look any different than last halloween, except she will be a little bigger and wearing a different costume.
But I guess I can still make that apple pie!

Our First Family Vacation - Hawaii

Bella's first vacation, airplane ride, etc. And boy was this trip a long one. Jesse was really dreading the travelling, and I was a little worried, but Bella did wonderful. That's not to say we weren't up in the back of the plane walking around with her, during hour 12 of a 14 hour travel day. But that was pretty minor in comparison to what could have happened. Plus magically, Bella was able to make the 5 hour time difference adjustment like a champ, which made the vacation that much better.
These next two pictures you could almost call child abuse, with the amount of sand we had to clean off Bella after they were taken. But they still crack us up every time we look at them. Jesse made the turtle sand creature for Bella, and below I wanted a picture of Bella on the beach that would let everyone know where we were.

This is Bella on North Shore. We joked she was our little travelling gnome as we took her everywhere with us and would plop her down for a photo op!!

And the funniest moment of the whole trip has to be on our trip back to the beach house after our afternoon at North Shore. My parents accompanied us, we were actually in Hawaii for my aunt's wedding, so my dad's family was all there and that is how we were able to stay in such a great location, for a decent price.

But back to the funny story. We stopped at a grocery store on our way back to the house to pick up some essentials (to give an idea of prices a 12 pack of pop was going for $8) and my dad stayed in the car with Bella who was beginning to get a little fussy. Well as Jesse, my mom, and I got back to the vehicle my dad was walking away saying he needed to wash he hands. Low and behold Bella had a poopy diaper, and my dad, who hasn't changed a diaper since my little sister was a baby (now 23) decided he would see how wet the diaper was and stuck his finger into it. He was unpleasantly surprised when it came out warm and stinky!! Needless to say he managed to change her diaper without knowing where the wipes were and did the best job he could. Way to go for changing the diaper.....and we will NEVER forget the look on your face as you made a hasty exit to wash up!!

Here is Bella (along with us) at Pearl Harbor. This was the only big disappointment of the trip, as Bella was ready for a nap and decided she would not be quiet and make it on the boat trip to the actual monument. Luckily my dad had seen it before, so he took Bella out to the vehicle so she could lay down. Thanks dad for doing that!!

Jesse and I enjoyed one morning together doing hikes. We tackled Diamond Head first, which was a challenge, but honestly didn't have the greatest views. Then we did Manoa Falls, pictured above. It was the best hike we did, going up the mountain in the rain forest to a small waterfall, with great scenery all around.

Here is Bella during the wedding ceremony, she was definitely ready for bed and actually quite fussy. Luckily she was able to fall asleep in her car seat and sat in her stroller throughout the whole reception.

We took a day to visit a couple different beaches, this is how Bella enjoyed it all, from her little tent that did it's best to block the sun and sand from her.

Our last full day in Hawaii we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center for a Luau and evening show with my parents. It was quite a beautiful place and I must admit it was probably the best pulled pork I have ever eaten.

And finally a quick picture from the balcony of the beach house, just to give you an idea exactly just how close to the water we were. It was a great experience and I don't think we could have planned a better vacation............but we will certainly try.....for next year!!

Hectic Days

Ahhhh....to be back on the beach in Hawaii.

I am long overdue to post our Hawaii pictures....I will try and get to it soon. Problem is, those pictures are mostly uploaded at home, and I don't ever seem to have time.

A lot has happened since we got back from vacation. First my job has been crazy busy, and I can't ever seem to get enough time there to finish everything. Secondly, Jesse is busy studying for his test, which is basically making me a single mother for the next month. And lastly...the biggest change....we pulled Bella out of daycare.

First I want to say that I don't think Bella was in any harm during her stay at daycare, but Jesse and I just starting questioning a bunch of things that were happening. And I think we are learning even more as time goes on. We have suspecions that Bella was left in her carseat or a swing for the majority of the day. We also think she wasn't getting as much to eat as was told to us. Plus little things that I had requested (as in let her lay around on the floor and play with toys) weren't being done. I don't know any of this for sure, but like I said, we have our suspecions.

So my mother has graciously agreed to come down from Nebraska each week and watch Bella (we are paying her). And actually Jesse's mom is helping out this week, so my mom can get everything in order at home before she is down here all the time. In just the past couple of weeks we spent with Bella in Hawaii, or she has spent with her grandmothers we are noticing improvements. In both her weight gain/eating amount and in her trying to hold her head up more, and rolling around more. I don't think we are going to find any immediate success in her development, but even seeing these little changes are encouraging.

One Year Update

It's been one year, and while Bella has been slow to grow and develop, there are a few things that she has accomplished.

Weight

at birth -

5 lbs 0 oz

Weight at 1 year - 15lbs 8 oz

Height at birth - 18 inches

Height at 1 year - 26.5 inches

We are still struggling to get Bella to hold her head up, she tends to prefer to just let her chin rest on her body and look around. She will roll from side to side, while on the floor. And occasionally she has rolled from her stomach to her back, and from her back to her stomach. She still does not like to push up with her arms, and also doesn't like to take any weight onto her legs (i.e. standing). She also doesn't do well sitting, although I think that has more to do with her not holding her head up. Meaning her head starts leaning, and the whole body just goes with it. Although she has gained more of a personality. She definitely has a social smile, and has a very adorable deep laugh.

A couple weeks ago we were fitted for a kidkart, basically a fancy stroller that acts like a wheelchair. It will better position her for feeding, and playing. We are still waiting for approval from the insurance company to see if we will get one. Now we are just basically waiting for her cleft palate surgery that will happen in December. I have a feeling that no matter what skills she learns between now and then, we will be starting all over once she starts recovering from the surgery. We also were a little frustrated with our pediatrician during her 1 year checkup. Our pediatrician is still worried about her weight gain, and wants us to look into using a feeding tube. Personally I think that's ridiculous since she eats fine. And plus there are children similar to Bella who at 2 years only weigh 16 lbs, so since she is already there at 1 year, I think she is doing great. I think transitioning to foods will be a whole other story, but we don't plan on tackling that feat until after the surgery. And besides, at 1 year we still have no teeth.

It's my party

I decided on a theme for her first birthday party....turtles. We figured Bella is slow in her development and growth, so she's like a turtle. I was inspired by different things on the internet and attempted to create designer suger cookies, turtle cupcake toppers, a cupcake stand, and of course put everything together. Needless to say it took a lot of work, but I think it turned out great.

We had a really good turn out for the party, I think about 24 adults and children were able to come. Here we tried to get all the kids in for a picture. The Nebraska football game was also going on, which we had to order.

Bella was able to sample the frosting......I think she might like it!!

Summer months

We were supposed to go back to Nebraska for 4th of July but Bella and I both got sick, and we decided to keep our miserable selves home. We were in a good enough mood that we could put on our new clothes that grandma Sneller bought us and ham it up with dad. In mid-July we were able to go back and see family. Here Bella is playing with Grandpa and Grandma Sneller.

We also caught up on some reading, Thanks grandma and grandpa Kuhlen for the great book.

Lastly we had our first surgery to get ear tubes placed. It was a long day for what was supposed to be a 5 minute surgery. Mostly that was due to waiting around for the surgeons. We also got a picture with Dr. Moore, who is the dentist who molds our obturator. He currently is retired, but is always nice enough to come make us another one when needed.