Lots of Bella

I've really fallen off the blogging bandwagon the last couple of weeks... sorry guys! We have been so busy, and little Miss Bella does not allow me much free time to post blogs. Stephen is finishing up his first round of essay grading tonight (96 essays!), so I'm going to upload pictures in between washing dishes, as Bella has already gone to bed (free time is definitely a thing of the past!). I've gotten several requests for more Bella pictures, and I realized that I haven't posted very many pictures of her since she was born, so now I'm feeling guilty. And I'm going to try to start posting more pics of my little angel.

(Warning: These pictures may give you baby fever. I recommend taking your birth control before scrolling down...)



Gameday

Stephen and I have not fully converted to being Bulldog fans yet, but we figure that it's Bella's right to be a Bulldog fan, since she was born right here in the heart of Bulldog country. Plus, she kinda looks like a bulldog with all the baby fat on her face. (For those of you not familiar with southern football, the Bulldogs are the team for UGA, where Stephen works. They are also one of the biggest rivals for Auburn, our alma mater.)

Bella's gameface








Gooooo Bulldogs! (FYI: in Athens, they actually spell it "Bulldawg" to account for the Southern drawl.)


Halftime break: package of goodies received in the mail from Sonya, with Bella's first "pearls" and Mema's 90th birthday crown! Even a bulldog needs to dress up!


Nap during the third quarter to get ready for the fourth quarter showdown!


Post-game trip to the World of Wonder playground, where Bella had her first swing ride.




The Front Porch (Series 1, by Stephen)

I love how this captures Bella's expressions as she grabs hold of one of her favorite toys:

The excitement (My bear!)


The concentration (How am I gonna get that bear?)


Ready to grab...


Got it!


Examining the bear


Eating the bear


Memorial Park

This is one of our favorite parks in Athens. It has a miniature (free!) zoo with alligators, turtles, owls, eagles, bears, deer, turkey, and more. There is also a pond with ducks, and a big playground. Bella will love going there when she gets old enough to appreciate the animals.

















Show #2



Junker's second show was great! There were tons of people there and the band sounded awesome. Like a real band! The guy who did the sound for them at that show also runs the sound at The Melting Point, one of the best music venues in Athens, and he recommended that they book Junker for a weeknight soon, which would be a huge step up for the band. The Melting Point has already been in touch with Stephen and they are trying to work something out for next month. And... if you have been wondering what the band sounds like, there is finally a video recording from our friend's camera on Junker's facebook page. Not quality footage, but you can at least get a sense of what their sound is like. (http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=480981180020) This is one of Stephen's older songs that he wrote in Tucson.

Bella and I went to the show together, and had quite the adventure when she got hungry. This time, Stephen's parents weren't there to keep an eye on her while I warmed up her bottle, so Bella and I traipsed into the women's bathroom together (with Bella in her stroller, which took up half of the two-stall bathroom). I really, really felt like a mom as I strolled her past inebriated college kids, lugged the stroller inside the bathroom, and parked her in front of the sink so I could warm up the bottle in the sink. She loved all the attention she got from the college girls who were waiting in line to use the bathroom, though. It would have been much simpler to pop out a boob and skip the whole bathroom adventure with the drunk college girls. Maybe next time I will be brave enough...

I got this huge headband for Bella to wear over her ears and keep her earplugs from falling out. She had such a great time at the concert and I was so glad that she was in a good mood. She pretty much entertained herself for most of the show with toys, and of course with her favorite game (putting her feet in her mouth).





Mom's Visit

Mom recently brought my brothers and her hubby over to check out our house for the first time. Check out these awesome white rocking chairs Stephen's parents passed down to us. Our front porch is really starting to get that Southern feel to it now!





The Swing

Bella is so funny when she cranes her neck up to watch the butterflies on her swing's mobile.







The Front Porch (Series 2, by Loreal)

Bella and I had got ready to go for a stroll around the neighborhood, then it started pouring down rain just as we were about to leave. So I took a million pictures of Bella instead.

















Bella has been rolling over, tummy to back, for two weeks now. I had just gotten her to tolerate tummy time, and now we're back to square one. When I lay her on her tummy, she immediately rolls onto her back, and she gets mad if I try to block her way and force her to stay on her tummy! It's pretty funny. (No back to tummy rolls yet.)

You don't really think I'm going to stay on my tummy, do you?

Here I go...

Yea!


The Jumperoo

This is one of her favorite things right now, even though she doesn't jump in it yet.





Another afternoon at Memorial Park

After I complained to Stephen about how he never takes pictures of me and Bella together (there are ten times as many pictures of Stephen and Bella than there are of me and Bella), he took this whole series at the park (of course on a day when I wasn't wearing any makeup and hadn't washed my hair... thankfully he mostly used the sepia setting, which is so forgiving). So, here are some mommy and daughter pictures...















And here are some daddy and daughter pictures, too!




Do I have to say how much we adore this little girl? Yesterday, we were eating at a restaurant for Stephen's birthday, and a man came up to us and said that we needed to quit smiling so much because he could see me beaming from across the room. I can't help it if the most wonderful thing in the world is sitting right across the table from me!