Baby Boot Camp

This is me doing push-ups. Granted, they're very distinctly 'girl' push-ups,
but they're push-ups all the same.

You and Me and the Bay at Monterey

Here I am at the beach in Carmel. I was obviously quite enthused about the whole thing.

The Bella Tour 2006: Monterey Bay Aquarium; March 15

I had a lot of fun at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They had this kids area with a round waterbed built into the floor that mom could put me on and let me feel the waves, that was supercool. I can't wait to go back when I'm bigger and can play with the big kids' stuff. Mom even bought me a stuffed animal Nemo fish to play with. She mentioned something about being thankful because her parents never bought her stuffed animals at the aquarium . . . dunno what that was all about.

Here I am at the petting pools wishing I could touch the sea slugs.
But Stick-In-The-Mud-Mom wouldn't let me. Sheesh.


Here I am at the 'coastal bird display' wishing I could touch the birds.
But once again, Stick-In-The-Mud-Mom wouldn't let me. Sheesh.

Here I am at my very favorite exhibit. There was a gihugeous wall of glass that sloped above my head, and then behind it was lots of water and big fishes and turtles. I even saw a sunfish, which my cousin Zach lovingly referred to as "fish with no butt". By the way, I'm sucking on my hand in this picture . . . it's my new favorite past time.

And here I am with the fam outside the aquarium. From left to right, that's DJ, Great Aunt Chrissi, Mom & Me, and Uncle Scotty, with Zach in the background. The diaper on my head is to keep out the sun . . . mom forgot my hat in the car.

The Bella Tour 2006: Salinas, CA; March 13-16

This is how I spent most of my time in the car during the tour,
which I think was a big relief to my mom.

Uncle Scotty got pretty good at making faces at me and getting me
to smile when he was in the back with me. He's a pretty funny guy.

This is me with my Great Grandma Ruth. We had a great time together.

The Bella Tour 2006: Eugene, OR; March 10-12

Here are some pictures from the first leg of our tour down the west coast . . .

. . . me in my lovely little sunglasses and hat, all prepared for the sunny days here in Oregon

. . . all these people keep holding up these little silver boxes for me and then then make bright lights. I don't know why. They keep saying my name too right before the lights . . . don't know what THAT'S all about.

. . . this is me in the car on the way down, playing with my polka dot puppy.

. . . this is me with my Great Aunt Diane. I saw her glasses, so I wanted to wear mine too.

. . . and finally, here I am with my Great Great Auntie Dee. I absolutely loved her and everytime she held me I quieted down and fell asleep. Mom wants to bring her home with us as a live-in babysitter.

We take off on our 650 mile drive down to California tomorrow, and I am NOT looking forward to being in that silly carseat all day long. People just sit on either side of me and make faces at me all day long. It is so tiresome having to entertain these people all day long.

And to finish, a funny little story from my first morning away. I woke up at about 7:00 am, so mommy picked me up and laid me on her chest as she laid in bed for a little longer. Grandpa got up and came in to say good morning to me and mom. Well, I didn't know that it was grandpa. I thought that it was my papa, so I started to smile and laugh because I was so excited to see him, but then I realized that it WASN'T papa, and I started to cry very loudly. I miss my papa.

In which I am surprised.

Bella's Mardi Gras Costume

Bella's Baptism

So Gamma donated, and here we have pictures of
me in my little baptism gown and then me getting baptized.

A day in the life...

So this is what I've been doing of late. Grimacing, staring, smiling, sleeping, and being generally concerned about the world around me. I was baptized almost two weeks ago, but mom didn't get any pictures...maybe Gamma has a few to donate. I've discovered that my fist is a great thing to suck on, except when I get a finger or two back in my throat and gag myself. I'm enjoying the fine art of vocalizing, sending my parents and all others around into a fit of incurable smiles when I get my 'ahgoos' going. I'm also eagerly awaiting my trip down the Pacific Coastline to meet nearly all of my relatives on mom's side of the family. 'cept I'm not looking forward to the part where I have to say goodbye to my dad for ten days...(I don't think mom is looking forward to that part either...)