A year in the life of Bel

Since the beginning of our blog last December it has been our goal for you our family and friends to stay up to date on our LO's latest and greatest with a little bit of info on DM and myself mixed in. When the blog first started Bel was all of 5 months old and had just learned to sit up on her own and now she is officially 1 year old. Every time we look at our little angel it reminds us how fast time really goes. We thank God every day she has been in our lives, from the first day we saw her on the ultrasound at 7 weeks and now when she wakes up calling to us with a smile. We are so blessed that she has each and every one of you in her life

Below is a recap of our baby from 20 weeks gestation until her 1st birthday party.
Enjoy!

A nice long weekend

Bel and I went up north with Grandpa D on Wednesday night to extend our weekend at the cabin. Grandma JJ was already there with the dalmatians on their week vacation. DM came up on Friday night after work and meeting Grandma Leann and Joe to hand over our furry creature for the week.

The LO loves many things in life, and in these pictures are a few of her very favorites (playing in the water, puppies, nums, and family).

Ouch!

The pictures speak for themselves. Bel hit the pavement (no not walking) literally. We were talking with neighbors in their driveway last Tuesday night when she wanted to stand. So I put her down and she did really well for a while. As her little self got tired there was no where for her little toes to dig into and splat... there she went. Thinking it was just a little road rash I tried to calm her down until DM saw the blood in her mouth. We went home to clean her up and there we saw her little tooth had been pushed into the gum a little (this is the tooth that has been taking forever to come in) and the blood on the gums was a little scary. So on top of the week we had already had with the eye Dr. for me after she scratched my eye we now need to head to the dentist. So Wednesday morning off to Dr. Kris for a mommy and baby dentist visit. All this before she is one! What on earth will the next year of her life bring us?

Out of Towners

In town for the wedding were a number of family members that we don't get to see that often (maybe twice a year if we are lucky). It just so happens that DM's Aunt JoAnn, Uncle Pat and Aunt Charlotte were here for Becky's wedding and we were able to spend a little bit of time with them on Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday we went to watch DM's cousin Diana who is a local singer around the cities and met the aunts and uncle at the cafe where she would be performing. It was a wonderful show as always, but more importantly it gave Bel a chance to visit with her "Greats". This weekend was the first chance that they have been able to see her since she was two weeks old and it was a fantastic time. Today (Sunday) Pat, JoAnn, Charlotte, Diana, Joe and Grandma Sandie joined DM, Bel, Grandpa George and myself for mass and we followed with lunch before the IL group headed back home. It was a wonderful weekend spent with family, and it will be a crazy couple of days as the LO catches up on her rest!

The last of the four

This past Friday (7/11) the last of DM's siblings got married. Becky and Eric were married at 4:00 in the afternoon on the hottest day of the year. A quick but very nice ceremony followed by a very fun reception made the day! I forgot I had the camera until right before Bel left with my parents so a quick candid shot of Becky will have to do along with a couple of pics of DM, Bel and myself.

Summer Adventures

(Brandon on the left with Griffin & Rob on the right with Bel)

Summer vacation... how sweet it is to be a teacher! Since our summer has started it has been so much fun to be at home. Bel is constantly discovering new things and becoming more independent by the minute. Time has gone by so quickly that its hard to believe that she will be one in only a couple of weeks.

(Kiss for Bel)

In trying to keep up with her constant need to explore new things DM and I have ventured out into the big world of family oriented places; parks, zoo's, museums and at the end of next week the water park. We will also be attending our upcoming parish picnic that will have many fun things to do as well (Father Charlie in a dunk tank???)!

(A ride in Cinderella's carriage)

We have had a blast at these places and continue to enjoy the fun that we are living not only through ourselves but also through our LO. We recently have been spending more time with good friends Sandra and Brandon and their LO Griffin (who many of you may know as our future SIL, or her boyfriend). Bel and her BF are two weeks shy of being a year apart and it is so much fun to watch them together and listen to their style of communication!

(Bel's mommy was a swimmer and Griffin's mommy was a diver... playing in the water is what they know best!)

(Driving together!)