Snow Bunny

We've got a good 12"-14" of snow here right now, and and it's still snowing. We're expecting another 6 inches or so in the next 24 hours. As you can imagine, this causes great joy in the heart of little Bella. She stands on the couch all day and watches the snow falling and says, "Snow! Awesome!" and it's quite cute. Last night we all got bundled up and went out for a walk in the wintry wonderland. Bella had a ball, and was quite insistent that the snow was making a "mess". We're not sure if it was because of the snow on her mittens or the snow on the ground, but it was a "mess". After a walk around the neighborhood (with intermittent snow ball fights and snow angels), we headed in for some hot chocolate, and Bella was not happy. Inside was not where she wanted to be. I didn't get any pictures of us outside (because it was dark), but I did get a few shots of Bella inside, with tears on her cheeks after being made to come inside. Bella wishes to especially thank Auntie Sherrie for her super-warm hat.

Inside the Box

So, y'know how everyone says that kids are generally more interested in the box itself than what came in it? Well, Andrew and I can now attest to the validity of that statement based on first hand experience. Bella occupied herself with this box for 2 hours last night. The last time she spent that much time with a toy was . . . uhm, it was . . . well, maybe the doll stroller and car seat she got for Christmas? Maybe? Anyway, after freaking out the first few times we shut her up in the box, she decided to put herself in there and "knock on the door" to get out, and then shriek "HELLO!" when we would open up the flaps. Hilarious. But enough explaining, see for yourself.

Dad is Awesome

Bella has reached that band-aid/owie stage. Even if I put a piece of tape on my hand for a minute just to have a place to put it, she thinks I have an owie and gets very concerned. She thinks all the stickers on the clothes in the store are actually band-aids for 'owies'. The really great thing is that she has an Athletic Trainer for a father, and he comes with lots of 'band-aids'. Every roll of athletic tape is a roll of band-aids. She comes running up to us with a roll of athletic tape and says, "Owie?" and so we have to put bandage up her hands. Here are the results of saturday morning's tape job.

Peanuts

In case you were wondering, toddlerhood has welcomed us with open arms. Bella seems like a completely different girl than she was a month ago, and it's amazing. Her energy level has doubled (she now has to run everywhere - forget the walking!), she's a little mockingbird imitating everything we say (yikes!), and she is suddenly very easily scared by bearded men (we're not really sure what brought that on). Oh, and the other night? We had our first "peanut-up-the-nose' adventure. Such fun.

Goofy Girl

Yesterday, Bella was helping me sort laundry on the bed. I had to run out of the room for a minute to get the phone, and when I came back, this is how I found her. She thought she could fool me, but then burst into giggles and burrowed further under the covers.

Laundry Basket Sledding

When we were out at Grandma and Grandpa's last week, Bella felt the need to go sledding, but we were without sleds. So, I tied a length of rope through the holes in one of our laundry baskets and off we went! Bella was all wrapped up and cozy while I hauled her around the top of the hill like a little princess in her Downy-scented carriage.

Working with Tools

Bella was very helpful last week when it came to deconstructing her little red wagon for storage. She tried using all the tools that Papa had out, and we began to really see the wisdom of the phrase, "When you first get a hammer, everything looks like a nail."