13 months

Bella is officially 13 months old today (there will be pictures as soon as I can get our laptop squared away). It was a pretty eventful day. Two days ago we found out that instead of living in Portland in our new apartment for the summer like we thought, we would, in fact, be going back down to California to spend the summer in my parents guest bedroom. The job Dusty got in the Portland area required too much commuting and not enough security so we decided that it would be better if he worked for the same people that he worked for last summer. So we got to spend the day in the car. Bella did surprisingly well considering the long trip; she wasn't happy all of the way, but she wasn't horrible. Anyway, here we are.

Bella is becoming such a fun little girl. I can see her progressing from baby to toddler everyday. And it is so much fun. She loves to play and laugh. If you chase her, or even pretend to, she thinks it is the best game in the world. If she is bored or tired or even mad, if you let her stand on her own and then say "I'm gonna get you." she cracks up and runs away. And yes I do mean run. She has definitely developed a second speed. She throws her arms out to the sides and takes off. She loves to go fast. It usually results in landing on the ground, but even that doesn't faze her. 

She is also becoming a wanderer; she has started testing her boundaries. We have a small patch of dirt behind our apartment and she likes to see how far she can get before I call her back. We have a backpack for her that has a handle on it. My sister makes fun of me for putting a "leash" on Bella, but it has come in very handy when Bella tests these boundaries in public. Bella actually loves wearing her backpack. She brings it to me when we are at home and wants me to put it on her. It cracks me up because it looks like she's going to school. 

Her voice is also developing. She's started mimicking what we say to her. Other than "Mama" and "Dada", she's also said "cookie." She says "yea" to most of the questions we ask her. (I guess that's better than saying "no" to everything.) However, in the last few days she has started shaking her head (as if saying no) when she says "yes". I'm not so sure what this means so we'll have to wait and see if she can get them straightened out. She also has full conversations with herself in 'baby.' It is the funniest thing. She just talks and talks. Some times she even does this with her stuffed monkey or baby doll. She loves to sing as well. When we are in the car with the radio on she sings along to the music. If I start singing (which, lets face it, I do most of the time) she really gets into it, even dancing (as much as her car seat allows). I'm pretty sure that she understands most of what we say to her as well. I can ask her to pick something up and if she doesn't get distracted on the way, she can usually get it. She can also find her Daddy even if he's in the other room. (One side note, the other day Dusty went out the back door to take out the trash. Bella was standing at the sliding glass door watching him walk away. As soon as he turned the corner and was out of site she yelled out "Dada!" and turned around to me and pointed to where Dusty went. She really wanted to go with him or get him back. It was so cute.)

Some times she likes to be a little crazy. I think she likes the attention that it gets her. She'll shake her head, swing her arms and twist her body all while making noise. She thinks it's so funny, especially if you do it back to her. Most of the time this happens when she's sitting down, but every once in a while she tries to do it while she's standing up and it's even more hilarious. 

Everything she does amazes me and I could go on and on. I love this little girl more and more everyday and I count myself lucky that I get to be her Mommy. I can't wait to see what she'll do tomorrow.