All I want for Christmas

We went to the Homes by Avi Kids Christmas Party this past Saturday. Here are a couple of pictures of Bela's first time on Santa's knee.


The photographer was pretty quick to get this picture. The remainder looked like this one once she realized just who she was sitting next too.

I think Santa needs to be around more than once a year, that way kids will get used to him. HeHe. Poor Bela, hopefully next year you are happy to see this jolly ol' man. She was really happy though with the present he brought her. A shiny xylophone. She's a budding musician!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY BELA BEAN!

You are one year old today ... ONE YEAR! My have you grown.

When you were born	What you are today
6 lbs 1 oz	over 23 lbs
49.5 cms	over 75 cms
couldn't hold your head up	roll over, crawl, pull yourself up onto EVERYTHING
8 bottles a day	2 bottles a day plus food!
fave food – formula	chicken, pasta, and cheese, you are not much of veggie/fruit girl...but you will eat them pureed
no teeth	6 shiny teeth
lots and lots of sleep	1 or 2 naps a day with a good night's sleep
no smiles or giggles	you smile every time Mommy or Papa smiles at you and laugh when we chase after you!
a few coos, mostly gurgles	Da and Tah are your favorite words, sometimes you even talk in your sleep
fave toy – none	balls, spoons and bowls, the remote and telephone
EVERYONE INSTANTLY LOVED YOU	AND WE STILL DO!

The End

It's the end of an era. Ok, maybe I'm being too dramatic. But seriously, it's the end of my time at home raising my baby girl through the first year of her life. It was a tough job and someone had to do it! So, yes it's the end of an era. This also means that my baby girl is not so much a baby anymore, but a ONE YEAR OLD. Soon, I will no longer be counting her age in months, but in years. Yikes. Has it been ONE WHOLE YEAR already? Where did the time go?
Oh right, at the beginning it went to feeding her every three hours - waking her up, keeping her awake to eat and then putting her back to sleep. This also involved washing and sterilizing around 8 bottles a day! And the constant worrying of being a new parent. If I was feeding her correctly, was she eating enough, was she gaining enough weight, how many dirty diapers did she go through? I remember sitting on the couch a few hours after we brought her home for the first time, Juan was out getting groceries, Gabriela was soundly asleep and my Mom was cleaning something in the kitchen. And I thought to myself, oh lord, what am I going to do. It was overwhelming at first. How could it not be? I mean, Juan and I were in charge of a tiny little life. But now, after (almost) one year of looking after this little one, I realize that I did it. And I'm continuing to do it. You just have to take everything in stride. She's her own little person and let's you know what she needs. Whether its food or a comforting snuggle. She's an amazing wonderful girl and Juan and I couldn't be happier. So yes, it's the end of an era. The end of my era being with my little girl day in and day out. I hope to return to it someday, but for now I have to go back to my other job and look forward to my evenings and weekends and those snuggles and smiles whenever I see her.
I'm going to miss you my baby girl.

Bath Time!

At the Park

It's been beautiful here the last couple of days, here are some pictures of us at the park - IN NOVEMBER!



She doesn't seem so impressed with the swings - I think it might have been too relaxing


Beautiful blue sky!

First day at Daycare

This morning was sad. Bela went off for her first day at daycare today. I'm pretty sad (yes, I did cry). I can't believe I won't be staying at home with her anymore. I'm going to miss her so much. She starts daycare on Mondays and Wednesdays for the month of November and then moves to full-time in December when I go back to work on November 29th. I know she is going to be fine. The ladies that take care of her are really great with the kids and very understanding. When we left her this morning she was playing and having fun. And to christen the occasion she had a giant poop explosion before we left (and the daycare ladies got their first experience of that!) HeHe. Here are some pics of her before going this morning and with Cori and Rashmin.

No, she's not standing on her own. Juan propped her up against the couch.

And now me, outside the daycare.

First Halloween!

Bela was Cheer Bear for Halloween! Here are some pics (and yes, I did make her costume!)