Bela's First Party

On Saturday we celebrated the arrival of Gabriela Marie Moreno-Kendall with a meet and greet held at Auntie Carrie and Uncle Doug's house. We had such a fantastic time!


Carrie had set out quite the spread of yummy drinks and snacks, including an extraordinary apple pie! After some great conversation, and after everyone who wanted a snuggle with Bela bean got a snuggle, we got down to business ... presents!!

But before we got to that, Little Ms. Bela had to pose with her favorite puppy dog, Belle!


Many thanks go out to all of those who came and for the gifts. Ms. Bela bean will be using each and every item! Especially the diapers! HaHa! Just kidding.

(Thanks Dan for being the paparazzi!)

Bela did miss a few people who couldn't show up at the shower because they were sick - especially Auntie Carley because she hasn't met her yet! We hope that all of those who couldn't make it get well soon and get in some snuggles with Gabriela.

Thank you again Auntie Carrie and Uncle Doug for a great afternoon!

Grandma

Grandma Lurana - or just Grandma according to Little Ms. Bela - was visiting this past week. The week was marked with plenty of snuggles, kisses, hugs and love! Gabriela loved her time with Grandma! Especially when Mom had to go for a doctor's appointment and Grandma had time alone with her. I hear that Gabriela didn't leave Grandma's arms for the entire 2+ hours (Yes, I spent at least 2 hours in the doctor's office waiting to see him ... ugh). Here are a few pictures to mark the occasion.

Two Months Old

Ms. Bela Bean turned two months old on Friday. I can't believe it. I have to admit I still haven't gotten used to the idea of being a mother. Sometimes I think to myself when is this little person's parents coming to pick her up? Or who in the world let me take care of this child? And then I realize, oh wait, that's me. But some amazing things have occurred in these past two months that have made my heart melt.

• She has started to smile at me. This is the greatest thing, that she realizes I'm her Mom. Crazy.
• She's a talker. We are starting to hear coos, goos and gahs! She's getting quite the vocabulary going.
  
• She looks to find me when she hears my voice and tracks me around the room to see where I'm at.
• She is holding her head up for quite a long time. She sits on my stomach and looks up at me and bobbles her head.
• She is quite the little eater. Well, she has slowed down in the last couple of weeks. But in her two months of life she has likely doubled her birth weight. All of this has produced some mighty good cheeks, two chins and some nice little leg rolls ... Yea!
• She is more alert. When she first came home, we had to wake her up to eat! Now, she wakes up to eat and sometimes doesn't fall asleep right away! This, I have to admit is a little challenging. Now I have to figuring out from her signals when she's hungry, when she's tired, when she wants attention, when she's had enough and wants to be put down. But I think I'm getting the hang of it!
• She is taking longer sleeps at night. Our bedtime routine involves a nice warm bath, followed by a little song from me - either Let It Be or Hey Jude - then a bottle with Papi. She's sleeps for about 5 or 6 hours if we put her to sleep on her tummy.

We haven't quite figured out a schedule. I'm not sure if this little one wants a schedule. But I'm positive the next month she will keep us guessing as to what she wants and keep us amazed at what she is accomplishing!