i wish i had a good excuse..

i can't believe it has been almost an entire week since i have posted. i feel like i should have some amazing excuse, like i was in some remote tropical location that doesn't get 3g coverage or even cell phone service (hello, hawaii, right below my house....)

but i don't. pretty much i have done very little this week to warrant an excuse. except that it has been in the 70's almost every single day. and sunny. and perfect. so we have been outside getting our LIFE on.

last year, at this time, bella was so tiny, that i probably didn't go outside much, for fear that if i lay her down she may roll away and i would never even notice. but this year? the girl is on fire! she loves the outdoors. she runs, she falls, she rolls. i ask her, "bella, you want to go outside?" and she goes, "yep!" and runs to the door. as soon as she gets out of bed in the morning, she is chomping at the bit.

a couple of nights ago, we reserved our camping spot for our first camping trip of this year! last year, we went camping with her at the ripe old age of 5 months, and then again a month later. then we took her one more time, for good measure, right after she learned how to walk. with joels deployments to haiti and jordan, that was about all we could fit in during the warm months. this year, bella is in full blown small person mode-she can walk, run, stand up, sit down and practically swim, so i am a little nervous about taking her. the last time we went, she could just barely walk, but she was so slow, that she was pretty easy to catch when she did try to run off. she didn't really walk much, either, so i could sit her down and know that, 5 minutes later, she would probably still be there.

this year? i fear that if i look away for 1 second, she may be in the water. so in preparation, we decided to get her, her very own life jacket.

i'll sit right here, mom. now, where's the water?

i'm outta here. 

we're pretty excited about trying this bad boy out. can't you tell??

-----------------------------------------------

if you haven't entered yet, rompers and ruffles is giving away a cute onesie or t-shirt with the applique of your choice on it. if i could enter my own giveaway, i so would. but since i can't, YOU SHOULD!! bella will be getting her goodies any day now, and my heart is all a flutter with anticipation! giveaway ends feb 27th, at noon!! so get on it!

who IS this kid?

i need to talk about my baby. because i do NOT do that enough. really. ok. so not really, i talk about her all the time. 24/7. maybe too much. i don't know. can you talk about your baby too much? can you talk about MY baby too much? i mean, look at her.

gah! she is so cute. i just want to nom on those little cheeks.

so here is what i want to talk about. my kid is amazing.

i don't want to talk about last night. because i don't want to jinx it, like last time. let's just say, it was monumental in the sleep department.

but yesterday, the girl stood on her own, for the first time. well, the first real time, at least. she has been "practicing" all week, letting go of things, only to flop down on her butt. but yesterday, she let go of me, and stood for 5 WHOLE SECONDS! for those of you without kids, this probably seems silly. but if you have babies bella's age, give or take a few months, this is pretty exciting (or, it's incredibly terrifying. it's a fine line).

for one, she just made 7 months last week. and while i know every momma thinks their baby is a "person prodigy" because they are better at being human than any other baby their age, i think my child is pretty incredible.

i am that mom. i always said i wouldn't be. that i would humbly make it through her childhood, never bragging, just being secretly proud of her every movement. but i lied. you just can't predict how those little hands will tug at your heart strings.