2 Year Checkup

I took Bella to her 2 year checkup with her pediatrician, and she's perfectly healthy...yay! She weighed in at 34lbs and 36-1/2", which puts her (still) at the 97% for her age.

We were 8 days too early to get the one vaccine she needed this visit, so we decided she'd get her first flu shot. We'll go back in a month for the booster and the vaccine. Her pediatrician highly recommended for Bella to get the flu shot because it's already been a very active flu season for her office. I didn't get her one last year because she was getting 4 vaccines and I thought it was too much at one time.

Houston Zoo Boo 2009

On weekends in October, the Houston Zoo puts on Zoo Boo to celebrate fall & Halloween. The weather was gorgeous on Saturday, so we headed to the zoo for the opening day of Zoo Boo! We met up with a few friends...Annie & Lizzy, Lauren & Aiden, and Michele, Scott & Zachary.

The kimono dragon exhibit- thank goodness for glass!

Next stop was the elephants (Horton)...Bella loves "Horton Hears a Who" movie and now calls elephants "Hortons".

Bella really enjoyed checking out the giraffes too.

The meerkats were digging around and she thought that was pretty funny.


For Zoo Boo, they have a pumpkin patch where the kids pick their pumpkins and then decorate them. Lizzy & Bella picking their little pumpkins.

Bella & Sammy (scarecrow) in the pumpkin patch

Lizzy & Bella decorating their pumpkins...with permanent markers!

Lizzy & Bella at the pumpkin decorating station

Brian helping Bella put the finishing touches on her pumpkin.

Pumpkin Craft

On Wednesday, we went to Shelly & Brayden's house for lunch, playtime and to make a Halloween craft. Bella wasn't too interested in making the trick-or-treat bag, she preferred to ride the horse (a-ha).



I'm not super crafty, but luckily Shelly made the project almost fool-proof! I used paint, stencils, glitter, stickers & glue. I think Bella's Halloween bag came out cute. She keeps calling it her punkin purse (pumpkin purse).

Bella's 2nd Birthday Party

We celebrated Bella's 2nd birthday on Saturday (10/10) in Sesame Street style! I made her cake and decorated with letters and numbers...it didn't hurt that the letter "B" coincided with the number "2". The cake toppers were bought, so don't think my fondant skills are any better than basic beginner level. :)

Bella getting ready to blow out the candle.

She had a ginormous bouncer (18' tall) with all the Sesame Street characters on it. It had a jumping area, obstacle course, and a huge slide to come down. It was a big hit and kept all of the little toddler friends super busy.

The "big kids" wanting to get in too! I think the adults had just as much fun as the toddlers.

Michele helping Bella slide down.

Cousin Joshua also celebrated with us and Bella made sure he had his pacifier.

Thanks to everyone who came to the party and celebrated Bella's birthday with us!

Guess who's TWO???

My sweet Bella, that's who! It's hard to believe my baby girl is now two...where has the time gone? Here's a picture of her 1st birthday cupcake....

..and here's her 2nd birthday cupcake. Yep, still all over her face. :)

We celebrated her actual birthday with lunch at Gatti's Pizza. A few friends joined us and we enjoyed pizza, pasta and LOTS of cupcakes. After lunch, we headed to the game area. Bella's favorite ride was driving the ice cream truck.

Zachary hitching a ride in the ice cream truck

Then, Aiden joined the ride too!

Carson (Car-Car) riding the pirate ship

Getting ready for Halloween!

I wanted to make sure the leotard for Bella's Halloween costume fit. Well, it fits and she doesn't want to take it off. I put on her fairy wings and she was running like a wild child all around the house.

She kept bonking Milo on the head with her wand and saying "POOF!". I'm not sure what kind of spell she was casting on the poor dog.

I finally figured out a way to get her to sit...turn on Elmo!

Navy Pier- Chicago

After seeing Kristin & Matt off to the airport, we headed to the Navy Pier. It was SUPER hot this day, so we really didn't stay too long.

Bella enjoyed riding Thomas the Train all by herself....we were quite shocked that she didn't cry. Yay for the big girl!

We strolled around and checked out the cool shops. It was too hot to do too much outside.