Author: Helen

There is not a day that goes by without Bella surprising us with something new.  Many times Barry and I look at each other in disbelief asking: “Did she really say that?”  I beat myself up for not finding the time to write her progress down, so here is the list mostly for us to remember 🙂 and for all that are reading this and simply want to share our joy.
Bella, at the age of 18 months:
–  Counts to 15 out loud, starting with 1 and so on without stopping.
–  Sings the whole “Twinkle, twinkle little star” song, keeping the tune that it should be sang with (I love hearing her sing it 🙂
–  She also sings the “A,B,C Song” and the “Itsy bitsy Spider” with tiny hick-ups, so I am thinking in about a week she will master those 🙂
–  Says the alphabet from A-K, skips L, M, N, and goes straight from O- Z
–  Puts on “Tea Parties” every night for Barry and I (it is so darling, I never want her to stop)
–  Enjoys “Peekaboo” books, she has four and pretty much has them all memorized.
–  Knows and calls out the following shapes:  circle, square, triangle, diamond, rectangle, oval, star and heart.
–  Recognizes the following colors:  red, yellow, blue and orange.
–  Loves to watch Veggitales, her favorite character is Bob the tomato 🙂  she memorized lines from the stories and sings “Oh little Joe”  (extremely cute)
–  Can pick out the following letters from her “alphabet letters collection” M, P, N, O, G and A.  Calls them out and tells us what starts with those letters 🙂
–  Loves Elmo “Look & Find” books, she is very observant and loves to find missing pieces.
–  Mastered the shape cube and puts all of the shapes in the right cut-outs.
–  Loves building towers from whatever she can get her hands on.
–  Talks in phrases, some of the examples:  “Open the door”, “I love …. (whoever she thinks of)”, “snacky time”, “Buddy is barking”, “Dinner time”, “Go to Nana’s/Papa’s”,
“Bella time out”, “Sleepy time”, “What are you doing”, “What is that”, “Help Bella”, “Mama helps”, “Park time”, “Go get mail”, “Mama is cooking” and many more.
–  She can say pretty much every word she hears, at least she always tries and her pronunciation is amazing, one of the big words she said recently was, certainly.  I just
looked at her and smiled, explained what it meant.
–  If she hears a line out of a book or one of the videos she has, she will tell you the name of the book or the movie, it’s pretty incredible how much information her little
brain holds.
–  Names all of her close relatives by name, she has now mastered adding uncle or auntie and then the name 🙂
–  Absolutely loves to draw, she draws at least 3-5 times a day.  She is familiar with crayons, markers, chalk, and a little bit with water colors.  Whenever she feels sad, she
wants to draw, which reminds me of one individual (myself)  She loves to use the isle, which we bought her a while back.
–  She calls crayons “crannons”  and we both love hearing her say it 🙂
–  Eats with a spoon all on her own, I didn’t even know until I walked away for a minute and she was going after her Chinese fried rice all by herself and ate two bowls without
making any mess.  I was so impressed, just stood and watched her in disbelief, thinking (when did she master this?)
–  She still continues to clean up messes as she makes them.  If she sees something sitting not straight, she will definitely try to straighten it out, we just shake our heads 🙂

There is so much to write, it can go on forever, but I am glad I am able to record it here, since there is only so much you can fit into “The First Year” book.
Below are a few recent pictures of our little busy bee 🙂

Yes, our family went tent camping!  Can I say that probably out of all of us, this seemed to be the biggest ordeal to me and I stressed about it for months in advance.  Camping lovers would call me crazy as it was only for 2 nights and 1.5 days, but I call it survival.  I have come to one conclusion, you either love it or you hate it and I just happen to be on the dislike it side 😉  We had a great time as far as camping goes, if you do not count night time.  I told Barry, if we cross out night time and move it indoors, I just might like camping a whole lot better.  The nice thing about this trip was that Barry’s and my family were all there, with exception of Lily, TJ and Ava.  It was nice to reunite and just enjoy the outdoors.  We went to the Pinecrest lake in Sonora county.  The drive was a bit challenging as it goes in stages of highway speed to city therefore we had many stops on the way of just waiting at the traffic light.  Bella was not in the best of moods when we left our house, so it was definitely an interesting drive 😉  Our daughter absolutely loved camping and I believe she would like to go again sometime soon, although her mommy said it’s not looking positive for at least 5 more years.  She enjoyed throwing dirt around and playing with her bucket and shovel, she loved the tent!  We have had this tent since we got married  and I never saw it opened until just now- it’s definitely a nice tent, fits 8 and 4-6 very comfortably.  Some of the things we did while we were there:  men went fishing, ladies took many walks, cooked a few meals, played with kiddos and enjoyed the fire.  Fire was my best friend as it got cold very early in the day, and just the beauty of it is quite breath taking.  All in all, great time and I am glad we went, but once I got home and took my first shower in 3 days, I realized that I do not appreciate showers as much as I should.  The feeling of being clean is absolutely indescribable.  Bella’s whining attitude has stopped and now we get only a few tantrums here and there, but that’s nothing compared to the nonstop whining.  We believe camping experience has put a positive spin on her little world 🙂  It’s great to have our daughter back 🙂

 

 

We found out something wonderful on May 14th, 2011.  We will be parents again!!!  Both Barry and I are extremely excited and can not wait to meet this tiny creation.  One funny thing is this baby will be born in January, just like Bella, my hope is they will not share birthdays.  From what I can gather right now, my due date falls on January 21st vs. Bella’s was the 7th with actual arrival on the 11th.  Barry and I were talking after going to Lissy’s (neighbor’s girl that I am watching) birthday party how I would love for our second child to have their birthday either in Spring or Summer, since there are so many options for birthday parties outdoors, but here we go again, another Winter baby 🙂  God has a great sense of humor and we are totally on board 🙂  I am currently 14 weeks along and already noticing the difference between two pregnancies.  One of the crazy things, is I have been feeling this baby move around at around 10 weeks, when with Bella it was more like 18-19.  It’s so crazy, because I feel the movements and want to feel them, but can’t because the baby is so tiny that it’s not something I will feel or see externally for a little while.  I started off a little rocky, feeling pretty nauseous and absolutely exhausted since the time I wake up in the morning.  A few naps here and there helped tremendously.   I also have a completely different life style compared  to when I carried Bella, I used to sit most of the time and now I am on my feet pretty much all day long, active all the time.  I am happy to report that my energy is back up where I do not feel the need to rest, at least it’s doable 🙂  My belly is also much bigger than last time at this stage in pregnancy, I was this big at about 21 weeks, but I have gained 4 pounds, so everything seems to be going well.  I have not been able to go see a Dr. at this point, which has been a very difficult thing for me, as I have gone twice before week 14 while carrying Bella.   We are currently going through some insanity with health insurances, but God is Amazing and I get to see my Dr. next Friday!  We can not wait to see and hear our baby 🙂  This time around, we are planning on finding out whether it’s a boy or a girl, but who knows maybe we will chicken out once the time comes 😉  At this point, I absolutely can not wait to find out- don’t know why.  Below is the most current picture of me and the “bump”  😉

Bella got to experience her first fireworks, which ended quiet fast, as she did not like the noise nor the lights.  She kept telling me “loud” and “bright” so we finally asked her if she wanted to go back inside the house to which she replied with excitement “yes”.  As I was still trying to make it exciting for her, I said, why don’t we watch it from the window (the fireworks show was put on by our three neighbors) and she agreed gladly.  Once we started watching, after about two minutes into it, she once again said, “bright” and “all done” so with that we headed to sleep that evening 🙂  It was a very nice day with family and Bella of course had the cutest outfit.

Barry and I have been planning to go to San Francisco for a little while now but finally decided to act on it.  We asked Papa and Nana to watch their darling granddaughter to which they gladly agreed as always and we took off to one of the busiest cities nearby.  Let me just say, we had one of the best days to ourselves!  It felt great to reconnect, not to worry about baby being hungry, pee peed, hot, cold, sun burnt…it was just great!!!   Not to say we don’t enjoy taking trips with our princess, we certainly do, but this was a completely different experience since we have had her and we needed that very much.  We started off with the basics and most common places to go, Pier 39, after which we headed to the Fisherman’s Warf and that of course led us to one of my favorite places in SF- The Ghirardelli Square where I always order the same thing (Espresso Escape)  Our day was completed with Chinatown, which I nor Barry have never walked.  We drove though it, but ever walked and it was definitely worth it!  It was almost crazy to not rush and just enjoy one another 🙂  To walk and sit and go as we please.  Thank you very much our dearest parents for watching Bella and for making it a day to remember for us!

This was probably one of the most spontaneous vacations we have gone on.  We were invited by Oleg and Lilya and planned to go until Bella got sick and all of the plans changed.  As of week prior to the trip, we have told them we were no longer going, considering the 9 hour drive and Bella not feeling good.  Little did we know that a week later, we will be joining them 🙂  It was definitely the most spontaneous vacation we have ever gone on, given the fact that it was for 6 days.  By that time Bella was well, but I being the worrier in the family never stopped worrying how she will do on this long drive.  I am happy to say, she did fantastic, it almost seemed like she enjoyed it, new scenery, big trucks on the way, rest stops and etc.   The closer we got to Palm Desert, the higher temperature reading we got and at our final destination, it was reading 115 degrees, to which I thought- ” what in the right mind are we doing here?”  As Oleg came out to greet us, the first thing I asked him, is this how it has been and will be for as long as we stay, he smiled and said “Yep.”  I must admit, I felt a little panicked, since I had a toddler in the car and a little limited to the activities as you can not do much outside in that heat.  If one wonders what 115 degrees might feel like in Palm Desert, just imagine stepping into the sauna with coals sizzling hot, it’s that first breath you take as you are walking in- that is exactly how it felt.  With that said, we headed straight to a very beautiful resort with a room and a terrace.  The place was pretty much surrounded by pools, which made the stay absolutely fabulous!  Bella had the best time ever, running through the fountains set up for kids and playing in the kiddy pool.  She ate great, slept great, was the happiest little girl ever.  It certainly  made me want to invest in water fountains and a pool 😉  not happening of course 🙂 While we were there, we swam every day, went on walks, set out on the terrace in the evenings and watched the million stars, visited “The Living Desert”, went shopping to Palm Springs outlets, ate fun food and just had the best time hanging out with Oleg and Lilya.  We thank them dearly for making this trip possible for us 🙂

I meant to write this pretty much as soon as I turned 30, but as always short on time and did not make it a priority.  I feel like I have lost most of what I wanted to express in this post, so I will simply say what I want to say today.  I never in million years thought I would live this long;  some might say it’s a crazy thought, but when I was little, 30 seemed so old and unreal (I am laughing to myself as I write this).  Here I am, 30 years old and feeling very much the same as in my twenties.  It still seems like a big number, but I believe I only have great things to look forward to, there is still so much I would love to do in life and God willing I will have that chance.  My 30th birthday celebration was one of the best days and it is only because I was surrounded by my most favorite people- family!  I love, love, love my family!  They certainly made sure I felt special this year and I did beyond measures.  I loved every minute of that day.  My beautiful and talented mom cooked all of my favorite dishes, I was blown away!  My sweet dad spent half of his morning, making the best shishkobabs I have ever had, my great brother and Lilya showed up with a whole load of cherries, which were bought just for me 🙂  and of course my lovely husband and Bella were there to help with every little thing 🙂  The presents were above and beyond amazing- I simply feel blessed and loved by God like no other.  Turning 30 made me think of all that I have accomplished so far and at times it does not seem like much, but then I look back and evaluate what is truly important to me and it seems like I am right where I would want to be.  I have the best husband and daughter, the best parents and brother, a beautiful home, a dog and of course the ability to stay home with my darling Bella.  A true gift from God!  I would not change a thing and God knows exactly where I am.  Let the fun 30’s begin 🙂

What a beautiful and blessed day, May 22, 2011.  My one and only dearest brother united with Lilya to become one.  It was definitely one of the most emotional days for me, I had a difficult time holding in the tears as I was taking pictures of the gorgeous couple.  Their journey started off at a friend’s wedding where they both were in the wedding party.  Apparently they both caught one another eye and the dating part of life has began.  I liked Lilya since the first picture that was shown to me and once I met her in person, she pretty much sealed the deal for me and I believed she was the one for Oleg 🙂  She has a very kind and genuine hart and most importantly she is in love with my brother.  I love the way they look at one another.  The pictures below are a quick glimpse of the beautiful day.

 

I tell myself over and over again, that I need more time, so I can record memorable moments as our princess going through her early years of life.  So in this post I decided to record some of the things she has been doing up until now (16 months of age) and I will try to keep this going as much as possible.  Some of these are funny moments and some are not so funny as she is studying our patience 😉  I am learning that my daughter might be even cleaner than I am, which to be honest, scares me a bit as many people think that I am over the top, which to me it’s simply a norm.  Here are a few things what led me to this conclusion:

–  While at the park (we try to take her daily) she tries to clean out the bark that she finds on steps to the slide.  She refuses to make a step, until she picks up every piece of bark (can I just say WOW!)

–  If the door is open half way, she will either open it all the way or close it, there is no such a thing as half way (crazy rigtht?)

–  If she sees a dirty diaper that I have not had a chance to throw away, she will immediately pick it up, say “trash” and take it straight to the diaper champ, which she opens and closes on her own.  After she accomplishes this task, she claps 🙂

–  She has watched me numerous times, wiping hand prints from the refrigerator, dishwasher and etc.  If she gets a hold of  a damp towel, guess what our daughter starts doing, wipes refrigerator doors, floors, dishwasher, stove and so on.  The first time she did this, I think she was barely a year.  We video taped it and laughed uncontrollably.

–  Bella loves to help in the laundry room.  What that entails is moving clean laundry from the dryer to the couch and dirty into the washer- it’s impressive to watch her.

–  One of our very favorite moments was when I was putting her down for a nap, I noticed her lie down but then suddenly sit up and what seemed to me trying to clean out her sheet.  Indeed, she found a few crumbs on it and would refuse to lie down again until it was all clean.  It took me good 5 minutes to explain to her that it was all clean and she could peacefully take her nap.  Barry and I had a great laugh after that.

–  She cleans her toys when she gets a hold of a damp towel.

One of the highlights just a few days ago was when we got home from the park, I took her jogger into the garage and when I came back I heard her close the door to our shoe closet.  I looked for her shoes and they weren’t where I took them off, so I decided to check in the closed.  Indeed, she put her little shoesies in the slot for her shoes and closed the closed behind her.  Once again, I shook my head and said, why are you growing up so fast and gave her the biggest hug.  She also hates it when I leave my shoes by the door, she makes sure they go straight into garage, carries them over there and drops them off.  Pretty hilarious if you asked me 🙂

Like I said, this little lady just might top me in cleanliness 🙂

Bella loves to talk and her vocabulary grows daily.  Without hesitation I can say that she is way over 100 words in her vocabulary and the craziest thing, she says good 70-80% of them clearly.  I couldn’t imagine that she would be at a point to tell me what she wants and when she is done doing something and when she wants to go on a walk or a park.  Currently she is working on putting sentences together, so far they come in 2-3 words at a time, her first one was “I don’t know” to which now she has also learned “I know” and uses it in perfect content.  She loves to sing, one of the favorite songs is from the “Cat in the Hat” – go, go, go, go…on an adventure…. and “The Old McDonald had a Farm”  she likes to sing the ia ia oh part.  She also chooses her kids DVD’s, where I give her a choice and she says “this one” it’s amazing.  She knows how to turn on TV and DVD player.  She has also mastered to remember where I hide the cookies and snackies, so she simply goes into the pantry and starts demanding “snackies” or cookies to which if I respond positively, she yells out “YEY” – picked up from her bestie Lissy 🙂  She knows many animals, which are accompanied by the sounds that each animal makes, she started counting, but so far only 1-2-3, she loves the alphabet, so we go through it quiet often.  Colors green, red, blue, purple and yellow have been mastered, we shall be moving on to pink, orange and so on.  Currently favorite books are:  God Loves You, Peas and Thank you, Thomas the train, First 100 animals, I love you Papa, Find Elmo and the Bible Songs book.  What blew me away a few days ago is her remembering the order of songs from the CD that I play for her from time to time.  Before the next song begins, she knew exactly what it would be and start doing actions for it.  Her response to sounds is very strong, whenever she hears an airplane, says it right away (er plane), the same thing with the mower, dog, cat, bird, it’s absolutely amazing.  She is a real sponge!  About three weeks ago I was calling Barry from upstairs while holding her and said “Babe” to which I heard an echo from my daughter with a huge grin on her face “babe” then I called “honey” with once again, a little copy cat saying “oney”  I was laughing so hard and it also made me re-think that maybe we should start calling daddy just “daddy” 🙂
There have also been a few moments where she thought our requests/commands were funny and she wanted to see how long we would go along with her cuteness.

–  Our daughter LOVES standing on couches, ever since she mastered climbing.  “Bella, please sit down, no standing on the couch!”  Bella’s response:  huge grin and “he he he”  this continues until we get her off the couch and once again explain why she should not be standing on the couch- usually this type of behavior ends in tears 🙁

–  If our daughter wants something and can not have it right away, she will cry hysterically, to which our response is usually, have her cry it out.  Once she is done crying, and the same item has been offered upon availability whether it’s a toy or certain food, she absolutely refuses to accept.  WOW!  Don’t even want to know what it will be as she gets older.

–  Bella’s least favorite word is a “no- no” which we use very often around the house, trying to explain each time why it’s a “no-no”  One of the things she loves to do is throw food on the floor while she is eating.  After saying somewhat of a soft “no-no” a couple of times, and seeing no results, a more firm “no-no” follows.  Our daughter falls apart and starts crying while at the same time looking at us and trying to tell us how heart she is by waiving her little hand from side to side saying “no-no” with tears coming down her face.  It’s truly heartbreaking and funny at the same time.  She actually tries to tell us that she is hurt by the whole thing and we need to stop.

Well, these have been just a few examples of what joy this little girl has been to us.  I am sure I will have more in a few months.  I better keep my notebook next to me at all times.

I have been wanting to do a little photoshoot with Bella and my parents for a while and we finally picked a day.  The time of the day was not perfect as our princess gets tired after 6 P.M. so we had a little extra sun.  Over all it was a great experience and Isabella did wonderfully!  Enjoy 🙂