Isabella Nellie turns 1!

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….!