Merry Christmas

Well, Santa was good to us this year. He brought Bella an Elmo restaurant/kitchen that she immediately began playing with and has really enjoyed. She will stand on one side and want you to sit on the other.  When I was playing with her I repeated the order into the little microphone by the cash register.  The next time we played Bella did the same thing. He brought Becca a little play table that Bella has mostly enjoyed. Becca has really enjoyed the Pooh spinning top that her Gramps and Grandma got her.  She is sitting up now, so she uses it to steady herself.  Becca also has two little teeth on the bottom, but we haven't been able to get a good picture of them. Becca keeps chalking up first year milestones before we even realize that they have happened. I'm sure one day we will look over and she will be crawling 

The weeks leading up to Christmas both girls got sick, Becca is sick in the picture above, and by Christmas mommy was sick. Todd has been struggling with Bells Palsy for a week now. He doesn't have to return to work until the new year, so he is thankful for that. 

Did you say there was a naughty list?

The girls are all excited about the holiday season, ok, Bella is excited about the holiday season. She enjoys turning on the lights to the tree and the lights to the houses in our little Christmas village. She yells, “Lights, Lights” whenever we go out at night – we try not to go out at night as her continuous observations can make the driver skittish. She has an advent calendar and has yet to forget to check it, and better yet I think she has finally grasped the concept that she only gets one candy a day. There was quite a bit of disappointment for several days until she learned this. She also loves playing with her Little People nativity scene. She can tell you that there are two shepherds and who is baby Jesus and Mary. She can identify Santa, snowmen, reindeer and most any other traditional holiday heroes. We take turns singing holiday songs…well I do most of the singing but she makes a great audience. Oh and that naughty list, well, you won't find either Dyer girl on it. But you might find mom and dad on it. Can you believe we forgot to take pictures of Becca's first Thanksgiving. Becca didn't eat much, but boy Bella was heck on that turkey. You won't find her pardoning any of them.

Thanks to Anthony, one of Todd's co-workers, for the picture. He took several of Becca the night of our Christmas party.

Butterfly Halloween

Bella was a pink butterfly for Halloween this year.  We went trick or treating with our friends from Michigan. It didn't take Bella long to catch on. She watched a bunch of kids a few times and then she joined in. I don't think she actually ever said Trick or Treat but she did thank everyone after they gave her candy. 

This picture was taken from the day of my mom's Halloween party. That weekend Bella had some awful sores in her mouth and she wasn't much for partying. But once the girl cousins showed up she cheered up quit a bit, but she wasn't her normal cheery self for most of the night. 

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins

Here we are at Wiard's Pumpkin Patch in Michigan. We went last year with Bella. This year Bella wasn't afraid of pumpkins. 

Here is Bella and her friend Jamison at the Dallas Arboretum . We went here also year also. This year Bella was able to visit the petting zoo. She loves petting the animals.

Here is Todd with the girls at a little place that was selling pumpkins. This place is on the way home from Bella's school, and she would always yell out "PUMPKINS" when we drove by. So one day we went after school and ran into one of her friends from school.
The next two pictures are from a pumpkin patch that we went to in Texas. It is in Grapevine and was disappointing to me and Todd since we had been to the Wierd's Pumpkin Patch the year before. Bella didn't seem to mind though. For Texas that might be the best we can expect.

Playtime

When we put Becca down on her activity mat, Bella often likes to join her. But Bella gets frustrated with Becca because all Becca wants to do is put the animals in her mouth. And then yesterday we heard Bella crying and when we asked her what happened, she said that Becca kicked her. Poor Bella.

Just like Mommy

Doesn't every girl have one of these pictures? In addition to wearing mommy's shoes, Bella apparently likes to look like mommy, too. Bella, on her own, has decided that some outfits look like "baby" and some look like "daddy" (any t-shirt) and some outfits look like "mommy's" and these are Bella's favorites. I don't know why, but the outfit she wore on the first day of school, looks like "mommy's" and if it is hanging in her closet she will ask to wear it.

Sisterly Love

I was trying to get a good picture of both girls in their coordinating outfits (Bella is not big on the idea of wearing the same thing that Becca is wearing). However, as you can see Bella does not want anything to do with Becca. I think Bella just doesn't want Becca forced on her because when Becca is in her carrier or bouncy seat, Bella will go over to her and give Becca her paci if she is crying or rock her. But the best is when Becca smiles at Bella. Bella gets so excited and starts laughing and shirking, "BECCA!". I think Bella truly can't wait until Becca can play with her.

Here's Becca

With Bella in school this week, Becca and I have had a little more one on one time. It seems that Becca is quiet the conversationalist. I think she might be the one to talk our ears off (not that Bella is any slouch. right now she speaks nonstop about planes and trash). And it would seem that Becca already has a sense of humor. She was smiling and was genuinely mesmerized by one of my co-workers who decided to serenade her with Fancy. And as any good younger sibling should be, she is highly interested anytime her sister comes into her view (actually she might be keeping an eye on her in fear that she will inevitably be falling on top of her). She's pretty tough, though; it hardly phases her now.

First Day of School

Like other children across the country, September meant back to school for Bella, too. After visiting MANY daycares and MUCH deliberation, I decided to send Bella back to Primrose. While I wasn't happy with the care Bella received last time she was enrolled, I do think it will be different this time. It is a different location, and she is 20 months instead of just 4 months. I decided on Primrose because they seemed to have the best mix of play and learning. Anytime I would ask Bella if she wanted to go to school, her eyes got really big and she nodded her head vigorously, so I figured it was time. She was very brave and excited on her first day, although she did cry when mommy left. But when I came to pick her up, she didn't seem to want to leave, and when I asked if she had a good time, I got the same vigorous response. And yesterday when I asked her if she enjoyed her first week of school, she gave me her version of the happy dance. So it seems like it is going well.

The more things change, the more they stay the same...

March 31, 2007

September 1, 2008

Now that Becca can hold her head up fairly well, we busted out the bumbo seat, but just as with the swing and the bouncer, Bella has found it entertaining to get in it and use it as her own personal chair. So we let her since she can't break the bumbo seat like she can the bouncer or the swing. Here she is with her hand in her mouth (the last of her canine teeth are coming in) watching Elmo. Bella would watch Elmo all day, every day if we let her. Her two favorite things to ask for right now are Elmo and "Won moor" (One More) vitamin.

CHEESE

Going for Gold

Here is a shot of Becca and Todd watching the Olympics. I really don't think there is much doubt that they are daddy/daughter.

And I like this picture of Becca. She looks very chilled out in her swing. The trick is keeping sister from either trying to push her too aggressively or trying to climb into the swing.

First smiles

Technically Becca's first social smile came on July 31, 2008 while Mema was talking to her. She was able to capture this picture since she knew we wouldn't believe her.

But I was able to capture this big grin on August 14, 2008. She was smiling at her daddy. She looks cubby in this picture, but she really is not. She has long legs and arms, and they have yet to fill out. But we are working on it. We are also working on getting the front part of her head some hair. Poor thing really looks like her daddy with that style.

How to give a baby a pacifer

Find an unsuspecting baby...

Force it into her mouth...

Then find an escape route.

We're Having a Heat Wave Here

Bella loves to go outside. She will beg to go outside several times a day, and she usually goes out once in the morning with Grammy and then again with us in the evening. And since I have been home with the girls, we have been going outside A LOT more. It's the only thing that keeps us sane around here. But since it has been in the 100's, I really haven't been able to take Bella outside as much and we have had to shorten our time outside when we do go. Becca really can't tolerate the heat. She was born during the summer, but 105 is a bit much. But while Grandma Farrel, aka Mema, was visiting, Bella got to resume some of her outdoor activities, although again, her time outside was abbreviated. Here are some things you can do in 105 heat:

You can play with your water table. Some sorry substitute for a pool.

You can go for a wagon ride. Man I wish this thing was covered!

You can cover yourself in temper paint. Someone put some pants on that kid!

You can go to the park and slide down the slide. Turning your hat sideways apparently keeps you cooler.

Bella's Summer Bob

Bella does not like to have her hair washed. Bella really does not like to have her hair rinsed. Bella does not like to have her hair brushed. Bella does not like to have her hair put in ponytails. Bella got her hair cut off. That's the way we roll in the Dyer household. Hope everyone likes all their limbs.

Matchy, Matchy

A neighbor of ours bought the girls matching onesies and made them matching skirts. The idea of putting them in matching clothes hadn't even occured to me!

Rebecca the Restless

Becca was so still in the womb. She hardly ever moved. I thought I was going to have a docile, sleepy, lazy baby. WRONG. While she is fairly docile when awake (well, of course she is docile -. she's not even 3 weeks old - what's she gonna do? - handstands), once she gets tired she begins to get cranky, and like all babies, she wants to be put to bed. Only thing is, she doesn't know to shut her eyes. At least once a day she says up from the start of one feeding to the beginning of another feeding. I think Bella was nine months old before she did that. Maybe we were too spoiled with Bella. That girl is still a good sleeper. But something tells me that Becca will not be following in her sister's footsteps. Too bad for mom and dad.

You Had a Bad Day

You think you had a bad day? Poor Bella not only had to welcome a new sister this week, but she caught a nasty summer cold and mommy won't even pick her up! What does a girl have to do to get some comforting. DADDY!!!

Sweet Miracles

We give thanks to God for our newest miracle and for all the joy that she has already brought us. How thankful we were to be able to spend that first hour of her life with her, holding her. And how lucky we felt to be taking her home with us. I think my first impressions of her were right - she seems to be fairly docile and easy going. Although, the last few days have been a bit challenging as Rebecca began to get fussier and fussier. But being the old pro's that we are, we were able to figure out the problem rather quickly. It seems she probably has a milk issue as well, but rather than wait for her 2 week appointment, Todd and I made the executive decision to switch her over to soy right away. And today, she seemed much more at ease.

Bella & Becca

I am sure this is the first of many postings of Bella and Becca. Bella likes to give the baby hugs and kisses and seems to be interested in her when she is awake. She hasn't seemed too upset that the baby is here, although the baby is not really awake that much. But today while Todd was holding her, Bella began to fake falling down, and we have seem more "acting out" from Bella. Of course the "acting out" is typical toddler behavior so it might be a little unfair to blame this behavior on the new baby. Becca is still turned around on her days and nights, but she isn't even a week old, so we won't hold this against her.

Rebecca Nicole Dyer is here!

Becca was born today at 12:27PM. She weighed in at 7lb 9oz. She was 20.25in long. And if they took a decible measurement of her screams, it would have been off the chart. This girl can scream. It was a refreshing sound actually. With Bella, all we heard was gasping, grunting, and wimpering when she was born. Becca came out fighting. The nurses gave her the loudest baby of the day award and one even came into our temp room and told us the staff was glad she is going home with us :) We are too! No NICU for this one.

After she calmed down from the trauma of being extracted from her comfortable home, she spent some time snuggling with us and getting to know us. It was a precious 90min before they took her to the receiving nursery.

We are sitting here now in the comfort of our hospital room. Becca is sleeping softly in her little rollaway basket. We will get to feed her shortly when she wakes up.

At this point, it's tough to say who she looks more like. I would guess Cat, but you all can decide for yourselves :)

Sunny Day

Yesterday Bella and I spent the day together since I will be in the hospital for the next few days, and when I come home I'll be bringing a baby with me that Bella won't be able to throw in the toy box when it starts to cry. So, Bella and I went to the park, to storytime at the bookstore, to Build a Bear to buy "Bear" some clothes, and to Chick-Fil-A (one of her favorites). We had fun, although by the time we got to Build A Bear, Bella was already tired and hungry, so poor Bear just got sunglasses, which I'm sure he'll need now that it's summer. Since the time that we've announced that we are expecting another child, everyone has been commenting about what an adjustment for Bella, and poor Bella she won't be the center of attention anymore, and I have been apprehensive about how young she is. So last night when I was telling my brother that I was beginning to get nostalgic for the times when it was just Bella and me and Todd, he said - "But it will be better." And I know this is true because how much fun was it growing up with a big brother! And he should know - after all he has 3 boys. And of course it will be better. Isn't that why we said we wanted another one. We know that the next few months are, well, not the highlight of the child rearing years, but it lasts such a short time. And this time, we will have Bella to keep our spirits bright. In the future Bella may be sharing center stage with her sister, but she will always be in the lime light. That's just who she is. And in no time at all Bella will be glad for the playmate. So here's to sunnier days at the Dyer household.

The Little Gym

Earlier this month, Bella graduated from the little "birdies" class to the "beast" class at The Little Gym. It was a fun day in which, as Todd put it, the teacher pulled out all the stops. There was the parachute, the air track, bubbles and balls. And at the end of class, there was a medal ceremony. Bella was so proud of her metal. She still enjoys putting it on. The following Saturday Todd and I debated on whether to move her up to the beast class for the summer since technically she wouldn't be old enough for it until after the summer secession. So Todd went to the birdies class, and all the mommas made fun of him and said they expected to see him and Bella at the beast class next week. Todd and Bella are very popular. Apparently there is one little girl that asks about Bella all the time, and she gets excited when her mother tells her that they are coming to see Bella. That's our Bella. She makes friends wherever she goes.

Tee Time

I snapped this one of Todd and Bella before they took off to "hit golf balls". Todd actually had a putter cut down to Bella's size, and he practices with her. He says she gets excited when she hits the ball, but she hasn't figured out how to do it on her own. So, she gets bored and begins to pick up the golf balls and behead flowers (a favorite past time at Popo and Grammy's). She also likes to take the tops off of things and put them back, like my contact lens case, or take everything out of something and put it back, like her board books that come in their own carrying case. So she enjoyed taking Todd's golf balls out of their sleeve and putting them back. We've thought about buying her some new toys that work on fine motor skills, but then we figured why should we when she'd rather play with the lotion flip top.

Oh, and she is a real ham now. If you say "Say Cheese" or even point the camera in her direction she will turn on the smile, even if she isn't feeling well.

Don't they look smug!

Go Wings!!!

In the spirit of the NHL Playoffs, Bella sported her new jersey today to show everyone who she is pulling for. Cat gave me an early Father's Day gift and bought tickets to Monday's game 3! So look for us on TV. I haven't decided if I will wear my Lidstrom jersey or just be a secret Wings fan at the game. At any rate, Bella and I have been cheering on our team! :)

Show me the SHAMU

Or just "MOO" as Bella says. We took our first road trip with Bella this past weekend. Since Bella enjoyed her visits to the Dallas and Atlanta aquariums so much, we decided to take her to Sea World so that she could see the animals perform. Now I have to say, all my life I have been a planner, and all my life I've seen my plans either come off beautifully, deteriorate, or die a miserable death (usually it has been the later two). The car ride down to San Antonio was no exception. Since Bella was going to miss her Sat. morning gym class, I looked into when the make-up classes were held, and it just so happened that they had a class on Thu morning (the day we were planning on leaving). I thought, PERFECT! Todd can take her to class, get her all tired out, and then she'll fall asleep in the car, and we can be on our way, and when she would wake up, we'd get down, fed her and be back in the car. If we were lucky, we'd only have an hour to two hours left to go at that point, which would get us into San Antonio in time for a quick dip in the pool and then dinner and bed. Well... Bella didn't fall asleep, but that was ok because then we had the chance to feed her and with a full stomach she was bound to sleep longer. BUT... Todd had to stop for one of his ritual car ride milk shakes, which of course woke Bella up. YIKES! We still had at least 4 hours to go. Let me just say that by the time we got to Austin, we were all cranky and getting on each others nerves. So we got out, let Bella walk around and explore a pet store. She loves animals. Once we got to our hotel we were all a bit spent, but we found the pool and found out that Bella was not too fond of it. After consulting the weather report, we decided to go to Sea World on Sat since it was going to be 10 degrees cooler. Friday morning we headed down to the Mercado and ate breakfast at Mi Tierra. YUMMY! Bella danced around to the Mariachi music and pretty much hammed it up for anyone who would watch.

Then we headed over to the riverwalk to buy some water shoes since Bella fell and hit her head on the cement the day before. Then we headed back to the hotel where Bella took a 3 hour nap. A 3 hour nap. Todd and I read on the patio while we waited for Sleeping Beauty to wake up.

Once Bella woke up, we took her down to the pool. She still wasn't really fond of it, but with her Daddy by her side she was able to remain calm and enjoy it, a little.Then the real fun began. She discovered, with a little help from mom and dad, the playground. It was a big hit, and she was even able to show off some of her hanging skills. Finally on Sat., we made it to Sea World. Bella loved the shows. She was mesmerized, and never really squirmed or seemed bored. But the poor girl did completely tucker out by 2:00.

And no, that is not Shamu in the picture. That is me. And yes, I still have 2 1/2 months TO GO! All in all, it was an excellent trip, and I can't wait to go back with Baby #2. (She still doesn't have a name. What? It's not like she is even here yet!) . Oh, and the ride back you ask. Great. Bella slept most of the way home, and was really quite good for the remaining two hours we had to go.