Oma & MawMaw visit

We had a great surprise today! My mom (Bella's Oma) and my grandma (Maw-Maw Bertrand) were in town to spend the day with us. It was so nice to have someone else playing Barbies with Bella, dressing them up, changing the shoes, combing the hair, etc. Ahhhh, a BREAK!

Bella loved showing MawMaw her "fancy book" (a small photo album of her friends) and telling her about all of her little friends. Then, there was a picture in there from last year's Cinco de Mayo that involved a sombrero. Before I knew it, Bella had dug it out of the playroom and poor Grandma was wearing it. What a great sight! They finished looking through the fancy book with Grandma still wearing the big hat. So cute.

We enjoyed lunch at Lubys and Brian walked over from JSC to join us. It was nice to spend time with them and I know Bella really enjoyed it too. She kept telling Oma "you no go home" and "stay to play with me". After she got up from nap, she was still asking for them. It was a fun day and we loved having surprise visitors for most of the day.

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Zoo Day!

We took advantage of the gorgeous weather we are having and headed to the Houston Zoo with our friends. It was 65 degrees outside, sunny, and a cool breeze blowing. The weather couldn't have been any better!

We started with a sea lion show, then headed through the birds and stopped for a bit at the llamas. We enjoyed a tasty lunch outside under the shade, and were VERY fortunate not to end up with bird poopy like a few others did. Then, it was off to see the large animals....giraffe, elephants, lions, tigers...oh my!

Unfortunately, I didn't realize I hadn't taken my camera out until the very end of our trip. Bella and Zachary played on the playgroup and had a great time sliding, climbing, chasing, etc.

Bella trying to climb like the "big kids"....

As you can tell, the two kids had a great time and were exhausted by the time we were in the car!

Aunt Krissy comes to town!

Ok, so I have been SUPER bad about updating the blog. But, I have been even worse at taking pictures! We've had a few events come & go without even realizing to take out the camera....Thanksgiving (entire week in FL!), Christmas Day & dinner, NYE Bowl game, New Years Day, and now, most of the time that Kristin was here.

While Aunt Krissy was here, we did all sorts of fun things. Friday, we enjoyed a delicious dinner & drinks at BJs Brewery in Clear Lake. Saturday night, Brian & I went on a triple date (3 sets of couples) to dinner and to see Avatar 3-D at the IMAX theatre. What a fun night!

(FRONT)

Another perk of Aunt Kristin's visit is that Bella gets her hair styled. She never sits still long enough for me to tie her hair up or she immediately pulls it out. Well, not Aunt Krissy's!!!

(SIDE) Bella's first braids.

(BACK)

I was amazed that she let Kristin have enough time to braid AND she left them alone!!!

For the sake of Bella's hairstyling.....Kristin, you must visit again soon.

Family Visit to NASA- JSC

Brian took everyone on a tour through JSC and Mission Control. Donovan enjoyed working on the console and pressing buttons.

Then, it was GaGa & Bella's turn to give it a try.

Bella really enjoyed having Donovan around to play Barbies with, and he was wonderful to her. She kept wanting him to hold her or carry her. Where ever he went, she was sure to be next to him.

Family Visits- Kemah

We had Brian's parents (GaGa & PaPa) come in for a week from Albuquerque, NM and my sister & nephew (Michele & Donovan) visit for a few days from Panama City, FL. It was nice to have our family visiting and we enjoyed having everyone stay with us.

While they were here, we took them to the Kemah Boardwalk! Thankfully Donovan likes riding rollercoasters and amusement park rides, so Brian finally had someone to go with him.

The boys showing their tickets for The Bullet (wooden rollercoaster).

No puking to report.

Donovan & Brian ready for The Drop Zone.

Donovan, GaGa & Bella on the Carousel.

Christmas 2009

Santa came during the night and left our house with TONS of goodies! Mom & Dad must have been good all year too, because our stockings were overflowing with wonderful things.

Bella was very tired on Christmas morning, so we actually woke her up at 8am. She got VERY excited when she saw her stocking stuffed to the brim. Santa brought her pretend makeup in a fancy, sparkly purse. Once she opened this, she was done with presents. Seriously. She just wanted to play makeup.

She also got a PINK Barbie that she had been asking Santa for!

Check out her new "tree house"....she LOVES playing in the tent.

After opening presents, we headed off to Christmas morning mass. We usually go to the Christmas Eve service or Midnight Mass, but we had spent the day in Galveston and preparing for Christmas. Anyway, it was sooo nice and EMPTY!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!