Month: January 2011

I would have never imagined that time would fly so fast, it seems only yesterday I met my precious daughter for the first time.  It’s amazing how vivid that day is to me, I remember every detail, from beginning to the end.  God’s creation takes my breath away every day, to have a living soul go from just lying there to walking and talking and eating on her own- WOW!  I love watching her grow and am still giving all the praise to my God for providing me the opportunity to be home with Isabella.  I love watching her learn things and receive her priceless kisses and hugs J  She is my little “boo-boo”   I never imagined having a little girl for some odd reason, but God has a great way of surprising us and she has definitely become my little buddy J  We read together, play together, clean together, do laundry together and of course go on walks and runs.  It’s easy to forget that someone is constantly watching you and listening to you and then the next thing you see is them demonstrating what they have learned J
As time got closer to Bella turning one, I thought we would have a small family get together and celebrate the special day.  However with time, I realized that I was planning on nothing small but somewhat big and very pink. My baby girl will turn 1 only once, so I took it to a higher level J I chose a cupcake theme, which had pink, purple and white colors.  Everything was decorated and served that represented those colors.  The party was wonderful, family came from Fresno, friends and neighbors joined us as we celebrated our  daughter.  She was the most beautiful birthday girl, in her pretty white dress with balloons and a birthday hat.  Bella was amazed at all of the balloons her grandpa blew for her, there were over 25 of them.  This child LOVES balloons!  She did absolutely amazing throughout the party; accept for when she got her Happy Birthday song and full attention as she tried her first cupcake- then there were some tears.
Bella’s progress up until this day:  set up at 5 ½ months, began crawling and pulling herself up at 6 ½ months, took off walking at 10 months 6 days.  Today she is running around, twirling, clapping, singing and much more.  Her vocabulary is quiet big and she does fantastic pointing at pictures and animals in books that we have been reading since she was only 3 months young.  Some of the words are:  milk, socks, water, bathie, doggy, cat/kitty, mixer, Buddy, mama, daddy, Nana, Papa, monitor, vacuum, car, apple, cookie, bottle and so many more.  She also makes sounds for cow, doggy, cat and sheep.  We have begun learning the alphabet and practicing to potty.  She loves her potty and she spends at least 4-5 times a day sitting on her potty while playing with toys, learning the alphabet, singing and clapping.   Current favorite food:  yogurt, strawberries (whole), apple (fresh), grapes, chicken katletu, potatoes, cheese, bread, eggs and mandarins.  We have days where we don’t enjoy food very much, but that’s because we are teething.  Bella currently has 12-13 teeth and they keep on cutting.  That has been the lease favorite process.
As I look back on this wonderful first year of her life, I am in awe of God and His abundant love for our little girl.  He keeps blessing her every single day.  Thank you precious Jesus for gifting her to us and keep guiding us as we keep raising her in ways that You desire.  Thank You, thank You, thank You….!

As I sit here and reminisce on the past year, I am overwhelmed with love and gratitude to my one and only God!  He has blessed us beyond our understanding.  We started off our year at home lifting glasses with apple cider to the new 2010, wondering and hoping to meet our precious new life, but God intended for her to join us on the 11^th instead.  I will never forget the foggy and wet weather when Barry and I drove to the Dr’s office, hoping for some good news at 9:30 A.M. and later that day at 2:20 P.M., Isabella Nellie has joined our family.  That is when the 2010 made its’ first mark for me.  I was in love with the year from that day on.  Today, I write this entry while my sweet daughter is sleeping in her crib after celebrating her first year of life.  It is a true privilege to be a parent and I am so grateful that God gave us opportunity to become them.  If you asked me what comes to mind when I think of 2010, I can easily say, the first glance at my daughter, the first giggles, the first hug, the first kiss, the sound of the word “mama”, the first steps.  I loved every single day, no matter how difficult it was at times- it is by far the most rewarding job on this earth.  The decision to stay home with my baby girl was one of the best decisions I have ever made and I will forever be grateful to God that he keeps providing us with opportunities.
On another note, Barry’s business has been taking off quite nicely, his confidence is growing every day in what he does and the best part for me is watching him loving what he does.  I absolutely love the fact that he works from home, I wouldn’t have it any other way and when you think one would get tired of another, it is actually quite the opposite as I have come to appreciate him even more.
Summing up 2010:  Pregnant (Helen), Barry starts his own marketing business (Spotlight Marketing), Bella arrives on 01/11/2010, we celebrate 5 years of marriage, first trip as a family to Monterey in June, I began watching Alyssa twice a week, trip to Pismo in September with my family, my dear brother Oleg is engaged to Lilya on 9/25/2010, new Bible study by Priscilla Shirer, I started working for TWPhotography on Mondays, Christmas spent with family, Barry turns 29,  Barry got into his first car accident which shook us all up a bit, once again we saw God’s amazing work in it, when we found out that our insurance covers a rental until we found something else.  A dear friend of mine Tamara decided she was ready for a ner car herself and sold us hers (Honda Civic 2004)  We love it!   Sometimes I think that not that much has happened, but it’s quite the opposite.  It was my best year yet and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us in 2011, but I know for a fact that He never stops surprising us.
Many people tend to declare resolutions for the New Year and I am not usually the one to say anything, but this year, I pray that God gives me strength to love, when it seems impossible, a power to forgive, courage to trust and to never stop talking to Him.