my pumpkin.

i haven't written an update on bella in a while...or ever...so i thought i would do that today as i find myself packing away more and more clothes that are now too small. watching her--amazed--everyday as she does something different, or discovers new things. and preparing for her to turn *four* months in just a few days.

{sad face}

she has given me a sweet gift lately... snuggle times at 4:30 in the morning (and no, i don't say that sarcastically). normally i would DESPISE getting up that early... for obvious reasons... but as i have started a new nanny job, her nap schedule has been shifting and she is going to bed earlier at night, which makes her wake up earlier to eat than normal. but there are many precious things about this time in our day. it is quiet and dark and everyone else is sound asleep. i love just listening to the sound of her breathing as she eats and watching her drift off, back to sleep. when she is finished eating, i put her on my chest and just snuggle with her for a while before putting her back in her crib. pre-cious.


i miss the days when she used to fall asleep on my chest multiple times a day. now she's busy looking around more, and wanting to observe everything. i don't rock her to sleep at naptime or bedtime because i want her to learn how to put herself to sleep, which has worked out quite nicely. but still, i miss those times with her. and now, she's giving them to me... even if it's at such an ungodly hour and i'm still half asleep. thanks, bel.


she is growing and changing so much these days. when we drive in the car she talks and talks and talks. she's started this shrieking thing that she does when she just wants to be heard, or is really happy. super. cute. she's obsessed with the tv, and even though we constantly try to hide it from her she will contort her body in whatever way she can to find it. ridiculous.

she LOVES to read so nick&i try to read to her everyday and every night before she goes to bed. her bedtime books are "goodnight moon" and "goodnight, maine". love it. she grabs things now, like rattles, toys and stuffed animals and has a "lovie" (a pink stuffed elephant with a silk blanket attached) that her nonni and papa gave her that goes everywhere with us. she has rolled over a handful of times on her own for a while now, from belly to back, but has yet to master the back-belly roll. although the past few days she has been trying incessantly until she bursts into tears and we come to her rescue. she has been loving friday night lights here in the state of texas. daddy coaches high school football and she has gone to every game so far. it's cooler here at night and she loves getting to hang out and watch all the action. she is SO good and content at the games... nick likes to think she's going to be like the coach's daughter on "remember the titans". maybe, i tell him. just maybe.

and she loves... *loves* her daddy. when he comes home from work, her chubby lil face lights right up with the hugest smile. it's the cutest thing i've ever seen. and kind of makes me fall in love with him all over again.

she also has made some new friends that she is OBSESSED with. i babysit two girls, Olivia (9) and Vivian (7) and they sit in the back of our car talking to bella, playing with her constantly. bella stares at them, smiles and sometimes tries to talk back. she loves them... and the never-ending attention they give her! i also babysit a baby boy, Luke, on thursdays who is the same age as bella and they love to check each other out.

uh-oh.

daddy is already nervous about boyfriends. i try to tell him this is at least sixteen years down the road. still. she is going to be a lil heartbreaker, we are convinced. but of course we are... she's our pumpkin and we think she's pretty darn c-u-t-e.