First bite

Tonight at dinner, I ate a few bites all by myself. As you can see, I had a little trouble finding my mouth in the beginning. Can you believe Mommy let me make this big of a mess? Don't worry. She cleaned me up promptly when I was finished eating.

Gone fishing

I just love my first tackle box. Mommy says the worm is to lure the fish, but I think it tastes great. Mommy is feeling much better, but her voice hasn't entirely come back. And I think I'm still wearing her out pretty easily. We're managing, though. Daddy is in New York for another game. It's a short trip, but we still hate to see him leave.

Before you know it, June will be here and I'll be turning one year old. Don't make plans for June 10. That's when we're going to celebrate.

Those Mountaineers.

Can you believe those sticken Mountaineers? They lost to Marshall, a team that is far inferior to them. Clearly they were having an off night. Daddy came home upset from the game. Mommy said something about those Marshall fans will be insufferable now. Mommy and I watched the game on television for a little while before I went to bed.
I would say it's been nice having Mommy home all week. But she isn't really much fun. She can't talk or do silly things to make me laugh. Luckily Daddy has been home to care for both of us.

Nothing new in terms of teeth or other developments. I'm prefer standing over sitting. And I would rather Mommy or Daddy just put me in a standing position, rather than making me work for it. Daddy says I take after Mommy. I have a temper and I get frustrated that I can't do what I want to do -- which is walk. Granny bought me a walker. I haven't figured out how this thing works yet, but I have noticed that it makes it easier for me to reach things I'm not supposed to have, like magazines or bills.

On my own

Well for two days now, I've been practicing on my own. Daddy says I take after Mommy and get frustrated easily. I fuss when I can't get my way. And sometimes it startles me when I fall, but I'm willing and ready to get back up and try again. I love this new toy I got for Christmas. Mommy said I'm excelling past my development stage -- something about usually babies stand on their own or try to stand on their own at 8 months.

Hanging around

I'll be hanging around with Daddy again today. Mommy is sick, so Daddy gets to play Mr. Mom again. We will watch the Mountaineers play UCLA this afternoon. Glad Daddy didn't have to travel to L.A.

What a wonderful world

For two wonderful days, I've enjoyed hanging out with my Daddy. We've had such a blast. We played. We watched The Muppets. We went for walks and hung outside on the deck (where we took this picture). We look quite serious in the photo, but our time together was anything but serious.
I've been told by Mommy that some people are upset there aren't any "natural" (i.e. bad photos of me on this blog). Well, truth be told, I really don't take a bad photo. It's true. I'm a ham. I love the camera. Mommy said she'd try real hard to catch a more "candid" photograph so people can see a more dimensional me.

Pulling myself up

Forget this crawling stuff. I'm going to bypass crawling all together and just try walking. Today, I managed (with a little help) to pull myself up from sitting to a standing position. I held onto my Gymnastatics toy and stood for awhile. Guess I'm getting the intended use out of this toy. Mommy has footage of me trying to stand. We're still trying to figure out how to get it on the blog. I like to chew on the top of the toy. I'm still trying to get those teeth to come through.

Visit from the grandparents

Grandma & Grandpa Bott came to visit this weekend. We had a good time. They watched me Saturday afternoon and took me to the mall. Grandpa said I was a "babe magnet." All the women cooed and aahed over me. And a man with his son in a stroller said, "Suck your stomach in son, a cute girl is coming," by when we passed. Grandpa likes to joke around with his puppet, Bear E. Beckner. Even though I know it's Grandpa talking, I laugh to amuse them.

Another doc visit

Yesterday, Mommy and I waited for 2 hours to see Dr. Skaff. By the end of the visit, we were both more than a little annoyed. He wanted to talk to Mommy about that reflux I have in my left kidney. It means there is a small leak of urine from my bladder to the left kidney. I'll be on antibotics for 6 months. Dr. Skaff also referred us to a specialist. I entertained myself for a bit playing with my tackle box, but then it got to be mealtime and I was cranky. Course, I always find Dr. Skaff interesting because of his accent.

The good news is the test for lead came back fine. Mommy & Daddy will continue to watch for paint chips in the house. Other medical update: I now weigh 18.8 pounds.

Hanging with Granny

I haven't had much to report this week. I've just been hanging out with Granny. Daddy and I spent Thursday at Granny's house. Daddy had to use their computer for work. I have fun with Granny. She certainly makes me laugh.

Still no teeth. I'm getting closer to crawling, though. Last night, I did a one-armed Army crawl. Mommy & Daddy were pretty excited. Mommy took video of me trying to crawl, but we haven't figure out how to get it uploaded to the site yet. Mommy also has video of what she swears is me saying "ma, ma." I just babble; I don't know what I'm saying. It sure made her happy though.

We've certainly enjoyed this nice warm weather we've been having. Mommy & Daddy took me out on the deck yesterday to just feel the sun and warm air. I can't wait until summer when I can play in the backyard.

Have a good weekend. We certainly will. Mommy is off on Monday so we get to hang out together.

Playing with Daddy

It's been great since Daddy came home. I wrestle with him on the floor! And then I love on him (like in the photo.) We're having a blast.

Haven't mastered crawling, yet, but I'm working on it. My first tooth hasn't popped in yet either.

We haven't received official news on the tests I had done at the hospital last week. But the doctor at the hospital said I have reflux. The flap between my bladder and kidney (on the left) isn't closing all the way. So Dr. Skaff will likely put me on antibotics to prevent getting a kidney infection. The doctor said it will take care of itself, but I'll have to have the ultrasound and CAT scan done again in a few months to make sure.

Gotta crawl, before....

Slowly but surely, I'm learning how to crawl. Mommy keeps putting objects (like my favorite toys) just out my reach so I have to move to reach them. I'm creative in how I obtain what I want. Sometimes I just roll from side to side until I move forward enough to reach the toy. Other times I slowly reach forward and then fall to my forehead to reach the object. Other times, I do a half army crawl to get it. I often get frustrated and yell, but Mommy just tells me to suck it up and keep going.

We had a relaxing weekend at home. Daddy comes home tonight and will be home for about a week. We're excited to see him. He is in Philly with the Mountaineers (basketball this time.) We're impressed they beat the third ranked team in the nation.

Another big development: I'm pretty close to getting my first tooth. The top right (my right) tooth is trying to pop through the front of the gum. There isn't enough to get a photograph yet. But when there is you can be sure that Mommy and Daddy will record it for the blog.

Pawpaw is our hero!

This is just a small tribute/thank you to my Pawpaw. He took off from work today to fix a couple of gas leaks in our basement. I know it's because he was so concerned about my safety. I also know that Mommy and Daddy are grateful for his help becuase a plumber would have cost mucho dinero. There were a couple of leaks around the hot water tank. Pawpaw had to replace some parts, cut off a line, and more.

Granny watched me at her house while all this was taking place. Mommy went to pick Daddy up from Pittsburgh. We're excited to see him. And we're very happy that the Mountaineers won the Sugar Bowl. I guess we'll let them off the hook for taking Daddy away for a week.

I'm grateful to be blessed with great grandparents, especially those nearby who can help out in emergenices. It doesn't hurt that Pawpaw makes me laugh (like in the picture.) Thank you, Pawpaw and Granny.

Pretty in blue

See how the blue brings out my eyes in this photograph? Mommy said I looked very pretty yesterday, even though the pants were a little short on me. I'm already growing out of some 9 months clothes. We had a nice weekend together -- Mommy and me. I slept a lot, which gave Mommy time to tear down the Christmas decorations and straighten up the house. We played with my new toys that Santa brought. We sure did miss Daddy on New Year's Eve though. Luckily he comes home tomorrow. The three of us are going to hang out as a family together on Wednesday before Daddy has to fly out again to yet another Mountaineer game. Basketball this time.

I woke Mommy had 4 a.m. today. The thunderstorm that tore through town must have woken me. Mommy was frustrated because I wouldn't go back to sleep right away. It was 5 a.m. before she got back to bed.

I still haven't cut any teeth, but they should be coming in any day now. I chew on my gums constantly or anything I can get into my mouth.

We have a busy week ahead. Mommy has to pick Daddy up in Morgantown and he flies out again on Thursday. Mommy has to take me to get an ultrasound of my kidneys at the hospital on Friday. I'm sure it's okay. Dr. Skaff is just very thorough. We'll let everyone know the results as soon as get them.

Love,
Belle