Isabella Grace

These pictures remind me of how my "baby Bella" is turning into a little girl. I'm not sure what it is about the pictures, the angles, the clothes, the accessories, the hair...that makes her look like a little girl. Or, maybe, it's the truth in pictures. My "baby" isn't so much a baby anymore...until I catch a glimpse of it in pictures every now and then, I still see my baby, and I suppose I always will.

Her vocabulary and speech is phenomenal. She occasionally says things to me in Spanish that she's picked up from school (or Dora)...good thing I took spanish otherwise I'd have no idea what she was saying! Several weeks ago she was trying to get Charles and I to move faster. So she took my hand and said, "Vamanos, mommmy!" I looked at Charles and said, "Did you catch that?" We had a good laugh. Just a few weeks ago, she was trying to put her shoes away in her basket and she got stuck, so she said, "Ayudame, mommy!" (Help me, mommy") Amazing.

Her memory seems to be developing at lightning speeds. She remembers what we did and what we call things and where we stayed. She recalls words and patterns and routines. She insists on doing most things independently and she can accomplish most of what she sets out to do on her own.

She loves her baby Sally. (Charles came up with the name.) For a girl who never had a comfort item (a soothie, a paci, or a blanket), she really seems to be clinging to this baby of hers. She has to tuck Sally in just so and if I lay the blanket on Sally wrong, she says, "No not this way mommy. This way (as she redoes it)". Sally sits down at her table for coloring or coffee. Sally goes for rides in her stroller. Sally gets fed an assortment of items from Bella.

Bella has a love/hate relationship with the sun and the beach. She LOVES going to the pool and the beach, but she gets sooooo heat exhausted and crabby shortly after. We've been spending a lot of time outdoors and enjoying water play with the weather being so cooperative lately.

She's sweet and affectionate. She purposefully says "I love you" and "I love you, too". When I went to wake her up yesterday, I crawled in her bed and snuggled, and she just wrapped her little, warm arms around my neck and scooted closer. She loves to give us kisses and hugs and play. She's gentle and cooperative (most of the time).

She's pretty amazing. She just needs to use the flippin' potty.