Our Little Genius

Okay... so I know all parents think their child is 'gifted' beyond all others.... but really, Bella is a GENIUS! Well, maybe not a genius but at least extremely intelligent! :)

While Bella is taking a bath, we practice learning animals... their sounds and body parts. For example, I ask her where her nose is and she points to her nose. So far she can show you where her....

.... hands...

.... ears....
... nose...
(her fav bc she can stick her finger up her nose while she shows me)
.... hair....
... tongue...

.... along with eyes, teeth, feet and her belly button. She also knows what sound a cow, sheep and horse make. Wow, I told you she was gifted! :) ..... hoping everyone knows I'm kidding!


Of course, every genius has a weakness... or two. One of Bella's would be the toothbrush. I have to be careful not to say "brush your teeth" to her when she is armed with a toothbrush bc she associates brush with a hair brush!

... now she got it!

Just a few other fun pics to catch you up...

Auntie Em was in town from school so Mom, Em, Bella and I all went to the Dallas zoo. It was an unnaturally chilly day... for Texas..... in November but we still had a lot of fun!

Em & Bella in the nest. Oh... and since it is Texas and we rarely have cold weather I didn't have any gloves for Bella and had to put my gloves on her.

Bella especially loved the bronze statues of animals all over the zoo....

.... the lamb being her favorite.... to nuzzle

... and ride!

Her first pony ride... the pony attendant said Bella had great balance! What can I say, she's a genius with many talents! :)

Bella's new piggies

Bella has an affinity for anything with a strap/cord (i.e. shower sponges, buckets, spaghetti strap shirts). She think they are all purses. Her newest purse being one of my bras.

Sleeping with her eyes open.

First fire in the new house...

So I know all the books say not to reward or sooth your child with treats/food.... so call me a bad mother, but it works. No matter how hurt Bella gets (this particular time her fingers were pinched in the guest rm door... thankfully not full on shut in the door) M&Ms always make her stop crying! How great would it be if that would last forever ;)

I have never met a child, until Bella, who could get chocolate all over her face from just 3 M&Ms.

Have a WONDERFUL week!

Ladybugs, pink eye and more!

(Sorry the pictures are somewhat random but they downloaded backwards for some reason!)

Last Halloween Bella made it to one house before passing out and this year we got to 2 before having a meltdown.... so she's progressing! What more could we ask for! What really counts is how precious she looked in her ladybug outfit. She wasn't a huge fan of the hat that came with the dress, so we opted for a matching bow but did at least get a few pictures in the hat before she ripped it off!

Last week we went to Green Meadows, a petting zoo with pumpkins and a tractor ride. Bella has just recently dropped her morning nap and we are still working out the kinks... so she didn't last very long at the petting zoo. But before her meltdown she did get to play with some of the animals.... her favorite being the goats!!!

the meltdown!

Bella's most recent achievement is being able to put money in the piggy bank her Nona and PopPop gave her.

This week Bella has been trying to get over pink-eye and croup...

Being ill and having a bad hair day is never fun!

I was searching in the "family" barn the other day and found this precious rocking chair that is also a step stool when you turn it over. It was Cousin Katie's when she was little and she is letting us borrow it. Bella LOVES it and sits in it every morning with her Raggedy Ann doll.

Just some other favorite pics...

Yesterday we went to the Dallas Arboretum which has an amazing pumpkin display. These days we don't get a lot of smiles in pictures from Bella so I was ecstatic to get this one.... even if it was a fake smile!