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

Bath time

Over the Christmas break, Aunt Sara took care of me a lot. Mommy forgot to bring my bathtub with us to Morgantown so we improvised. I washed up in the kitchen sink (after it was thoroughly scrubbed of course). This is actually a Bott tradition. As little girls, Aunt Sara and Mommy were bathed in the kitchen sink at Watoga State Park cabins. Grandpa Bott has a picture of the two of them in the sink together.

We've had a busy four days in Morgantown. It was nice seeing all of our family, but we're ready to go home. Mommy and me are exhausted. We miss Daddy. He's in Atlanta working. He told Mommy he's bringing home a gift for me. "If I'm going to be a traveling Daddy, then I'm going to be a Daddy who brings presents home," he said. I don't mind that!

Christmas bonus

I visited with Santa at the Town Center on Christmas Eve. I sure liked the fur on his coat. Thought you would like to see this photo that captured my first visit with Santa.

Christmas morning

Santa was good to me. He gave me a lot of great toys, including the one you see in the photo. It's called Gymtastics. Mommy said it's supposed to encourage me to crawl. Geesh. The lady won't let up about this crawling business. The other toy I'm holding is a giraffe to hold these funky blocks I got. They're called Peek-A-Boo blocks. They have different designs and things inside them.

Course, all the toys I received this year. Light up and make some kind of noise. I heard Mommy say something about removing the batteries. I got a lot of nice gifts from cousins, aunts and great aunts. And the grandparents and great-grandparents loved the calendars (featuring me every month) that we gave them. I didn't realize I was in such high demand. I'll have to do a photo shoot and publish a yearly calendar now.

Daddy took this photograph with his new Christmas present, a digital camera. Mommy said we'll have a plethora of photographs to choose from to post on the blog now. They were thrilled to receive that gift from Granny and Papaw. And Grandma & Grandpta Bott gave them a computer so we're really becoming a high-tech family.

We drove to Morgantown to see the Chase family yesterday. Today we visit with the Botts. Daddy and I slept in the car. Mommy said it was a stressful drive through fog and pouring rain. But Daddy wasn't feeling well and I needed my beauty sleep.

Today is our last day with Daddy for more than a week. He travels to Atlanta tomorrow for the Sugar Bowl. Those 'Eers better win. The least they could do for taking Daddy away -- so he'll miss his second anniversary with Mommy -- is come home with a trophy.

I hope you all had as wonderful of a Christmas as I did. Love, Belle

Merry Christmas!

We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Mommy's last day at work will be Friday until the New Year. I'm excited to be able to spend so much time with Mommy over the holidays. We will miss Daddy though as he has to travel to Atlanta for the Sugar Bowl.

I'm excited to smell all the good food over the holidays. See the lights. And visit with relatives. I haven't been to see Santa yet, but Mommy said he'll know what to get me anyway.

Dr. Skaff's office called yesterday. The urine test they did came back negative, but I still have to have an ultrasound done.

Mommy and Daddy keep giving me fruits to taste. I'm adjusting to the taste of applesauce. I'm still not crazy about the fruits.

Love,
Belle

First taste

I had my first taste of fruit this evening. Mango. Much to Mommy's disappointment, I didn't care for it. I opened my mouth wide, ready for food and Mommy tricked me by giving me something I wasn't expecting. She and Daddy thought it tasted fine, but I didn't like it. I made a yucky face and they tried to feed me more. After five bites, I just didn't open my mouth anymore. I guess tomorrow they'll try to feed me some other fruit. I hear applesauce might be on the menu. Love, Belle

Doctor's report

Daddy and I have hung out together this week. I like that. He makes me laugh -- even when my legs are sore from shots. I saw Dr. Skaff yesterday and received four shots -- two in each leg. One was my flu shot. I weigh 17.5 lbs and am 27 3/4 inches long -- both of which are in the 90th percentile. Dr. Skaff was impressed with my development and told Mommy and Daddy I can graduate to foods with a no. 2 on them. Dr. Skaff said he whatever Mommy & Daddy are doing it's good.

I've been running a fever today and a little cranky, too. I have to return to the have an ultrasound done in the next two weeks to make sure I don't have a kidney infection. I apparently did have a UTI when I had a viral infection. I was really sick! So now I'm on antibotics. Since I'm so young and I got a UTI, Dr. Skaff has to make sure I don't have a kidney infection.

Good news. I may get two front (bottom) teeth for Christmas. They should be popping through any day now. All I want from Christmas is my two front teeth! :-)

Sleeping

I have heard that certain animals hibernate during the winter. Mommy said I must be taking after them. I've slept a lot the last week. I'm getting nearly 12 hours a night. Mommy worries that I can only stay awake for an hour before I'm ready for another nap, but I told her it's just because I'm growing. I'm such a big girl now that I don't even need a pacifier to go to sleep. Course, sometimes I just scream my head off until I fall off to sleep. I have a runny nose and Mommy said she isn't sure if it's a cold or because I'm going to cut a tooth. We expect one to come through any day now because my gums have really been hurting.

Santa's Helper

We had our first big snow last night. Mommy has had to break out my winter wardrobe, including my little Santa outfit. I'm getting pretty good at sitting up on my own. Only a little wobbly from time to time. I think I'll be gtetting a tooth any day now. My gums are really hurting and making me kind of fussy. I also have a runny nose, but that could be a cold or just the weather. I'm looking forward to seeing Aunt Sara and everyone at the holidays. Love, Belle

Big girl

I'm getting to be such a big girl. When Mommy came home last night, I was showing off by sitting up on my own. It's definitely easier to balance myself if I have something to distract me. Since I can sit on my own now, Mommy & Daddy have started putting me in the high chair to eat. I like to throw my toys on the floor and watch them pick them up. Love, Belle

Six months!

Good morning. I'm six months today. Each day I acquire new skills. Last night I grabbed the bottle on my own and held it while I ate. I'm also getting pretty good at this sitting up thing. As long as I have something to distract me, then I don't realize I'm having to balance myself. I have this picture up today because, in case you didn't know yet, I LOVE the Muppets. Mommy bought me the first season on DVD. I just laugh and laugh at them. Fozzie is a little annoying, but we really like animal. Love, Belle

Sitting Up!

I'm feeling much better now and nearly back to my old self. Although, I still felt very sleepy yesterday and slept quite a bit.
I did have the strength, energy to practice sitting up on my own. Mommy helped me sit up on the floor and kept her hands out as bumpers. When I would start to tumble, she would sit me back up. I managed to sit for a whole minute on my own without tipping over. The folks were quite proud of me, especially since I turn 6 months tomorrow. We're excited for the holidays. The tree is up. Lights are up. And there are even some presents under the trees. I'm sure my two grandmas (pictured above) will be spoiling me at Christmas. Mommy said she thinks we'll have a carful to bring home again and it will likely all be for me! By the way, in our house, we say Merry Christmas! None of that silly Happy Holidays stuff. Love, Belle

Ill

Hello all,

Belle is continuing to recover from her first illness -- some sort of virus. She was running a temperature of about 102 last week. We had to take her to the ER on Thursday evening. We didn't leave until 1:30 a.m. Unfortunately, the care wasn't that great and she had a lot of unnecessary tests run. They thought it could have been a urinary tract infection, which I guess is common in babies. So she had to have a catheter put in twice to extract urine. She didn't like that at all. She was all of sorts because it was well past her bedtime and it was too noisy for her to sleep. She also had blood drawn, a nose and throat swap. Apparently one of those tests revealed she had some sort of virus. Dr. Skaff said there wasn't anything to do other than let it run it's course. She has had some diarrhea for the past couple of days. We're hoping she's coming out of it and we'll be back to her old self.

Dedication

For those who couldn't attend, I was dedicated to God's family on Sunday, Nov. 20 -- same day that Daddy turneed 30! I surprised the family and was very well behaved while Pastor Earl walked me around the congregation. Course it doesn't hurt that I had a power nap before the ceremony. /I wasn't shy around Pastor Earl, though, because we had met on the porch of our old house several times. Everyone greeted me after the short ceremony. Then we went to the fellowship hall to surprise Daddy with a 30th birthday party. He was surprised and even happier to see he got the framed photo of Mountaineer Field. Both events went off very well and Mommy was relieved to have two major events behind her.