nineteen months.

it's been a rough day in my nineteen months of being a mama. one of those where i've felt on the verge of tears and hanging by the last strand of patience i can muster. bella is cutting her canine teeth (finally) and one of those little buggers is poking through. i know she's not feeling so hot, but the tantrums and the perpetual "let's-see-if-i-can-get-away-with-this" is wearing on me.

it's good to remind myself of how sweet and loveable my bella really is. you know, when she's not biting her cousin or throwing herself down on the floor when i tell her "no".

my sweet girl is now nineteen months.

nineteen.

where has time gone? she is growing up so fast. just in the last month or so i have been amazed at what a big girl she is growing into. here are a few highlights of my bella as of late:

- at her 18 month appointment, she weighed 22 lbs and measured at 34 inches. which means she's in 95th percentile for height and 10th for weight. i knew she was tiny, but holy cow. dr said not to worry; she's just long and lean. and to try to sneak in butter and other sources of fat wherever we can. i wish my dr gave me those same orders!

(all dressed up and ready for church)

- she's been very into christmas lately... everything is "santa cause". i do have to say, however, much to her mama and daddy's delight, as we were watching a claymation christmas classic the other night she continually said "jesus" the entire time, complete with the sign language and everything. adorable. i guess she does get that there's something more to christmas than santa. and now to preserve that for the years to come.

- she's obsessed... i mean obsessed with applesauce. one night, while we were staying at my mom's, bella woke up in the middle of the night. an extremely RARE occassion (has only happened once when we were staying in a hotel), nick&i brought her into our bed. she rambled on and on, ready to play at 2 am apparently, and requested two things: "applesaaaawww" and "santa". naturally.

- she's been into repeating things... time to crack down on what we say. yikes. i've been known to say "oh my gosh" a whole lot. it's okay for a 30 year old to say it, but a not-even-two-year-old? ehhh. i'm not a fan. the other day my phone was ringing from under a mountain of blankets. as i frantically searched for it, bella comes running up to the couch and exclaims "oh meee gosh! where's your phone?!" clear as day. i lost it and began laughing uncontrollably. so much for a teachable moment. even though i don't want her saying "oh my gosh" i couldn't help it. hilarious. will have to crack down on that later.

("riding" in one of the arcade race cars at a local play place on a play date with some of her friends)

- she likes to play this game where she takes her play keys and purse and says goodbye to all of us and pretends like she's leaving the house. "see ya, mama. bye daddy." the other day, our nephew jude was over to play. she was playing this game, kissed me, kissed jude, and then stopped to kiss the coffee table on the way out :) now that it's cold outside, she wants me to put on her jacket and hat for this game, too. so the other day after i had zipped up her coat, she went around the corner and came back wearing one of my ballet flats. "coooooool, mama. see ya." (she says everything is "coooool" but i just went with the fact that i think she was complimenting my fashion taste).

- she is a tv addict. we only let her watch one video a day. sometimes we allow two... but we have to constantly redirect her because she is always asking for "tv" or a "movie" or demanding to "waaaaatchiiieeeee". (oh yeah, quite a few words in her repertoire have an -ie sound at the end of it... "watchie" (watch) and "chipie" (chips) are two of my personal favs.

- while i was cooking dinner the other night, i spied her in the dining room in this pose that she does frequently... both hands and feet flat on the floor, head on the ground, bottom sticking up in the air. i kept watching to see what she would do and before i knew it, she had flipped herself over in a full somersault right there on the hardwood floor. as i died laughing, she got up and just looked at me like "mama.... please. what's so funny?" what a nut.

(loving on her baby doll... which is hopefully a sign of things to come when emmy gets here!)

- whenever bella watches nick get ice for his drinks, he'll start humming the music and then say "ice, ice baby" (you know, that super cool song back in the 90s?) so now, when bella sees or hears ice she loudly exclaims "icy baby!" people don't get it. but nick and i think it's hilarious.

- opening christmas gifts should be interesting this year... bella's babysitter, tanya, got her a sweet christmas gift that i let her open tonight. inside was a cute little outfit. she was so enthrawled by it, that she immediately took off her existing outfit and demanded nick to put the new clothes on her. after she was fully dressed, she stood infront of us, as proud as a peacock and said "coooool duuuude." oh, wow.

- the other night she was babbling away about papa (nick's dad) and then started talking about bampie (my dad). i asked her where bampie was and she looked up at me without hesitation and said "jesus". i love that sweet, sweet faith.

- she's gotten super sweet and affectionate which just melts my mama heart. if i kiss her or hug her, she'll say "i wuv ooo" (i love you). *adorable*.

(eating her first christmas cookie of the season... well, mostly the frosting)

- she loves breakfast for dinner. we feed her this probably twice a week so that nick&i can wait and have dinner after she goes to bed. it's a nice stay-at-home-date for us :) last week she ate THREE eggo waffles for dinner. it was nuts. and she loooves "iggsybakey". you don't know what that is? let me translate for you: eggs and bacon :)

- she loves to pray at night before bed, and often asks to do it several times (complete with hands folded). i am well aware that this is most likely a bedtime-stalling trick and we will only pray once, but i can't help but think it's adorable that she wants to do it several times.

i could go on and on with sweet little stories about our peanut, but before i get too annoying, i'll stop. she is just such a blessing and we are having so much fun with her. she's a handful, but i love that she has such a strong, independent personality.

(with mama and daddy at the christmas parade downtown)

so that's what i tell myself on the hard days like these. her spunk and spirit is a gift. and one day that strong will and independence that she possesses will be used to accomplish great things. god has given her the personality she has for a special purpose, and i pray that he will mold it and channel it into something so beautiful and reflective of his glory.

love, love, love that sweet little girl napping in the other room. even on the days she drives me crazy.