Giving it a go...

Ok, So here goes my first attempt at blogging... keep in mind it might also be my last attempt...or a very short lived run as I've mastered the ability to find excuses to put things like this off...
ok where to start... Well, summer is finally here and with us that means many great things...namely Birthdays... Bella and I are both July babies and will be celebrating all month long!
To catch you up with what this year will mean for Bella, I guess we will start all the way back at the beginning... well not all the way, just to last year... The beginning of year number 2!    We celebrated her 2nd birthday with a big ole Princess and the Frog party on the bayou... when i become a little better at this I will include pictures, but trust me-it was a little over the top for a 2 year old, but it was a blast none-the-less.
At Bella's 24 month wellness check we noted some concern with Bella's speech...the concern was that well...she wasnt talking...at least not nearly as much as a 2 year old should be.  We quickly enrolled in speech therapy and each week Bella was doing more and more and more.  She is a quick learner and last week we completed her annual review in which (here's the mommy bragging part) she scored average and above in nearly all categories! Needless to say I'm very proud of my little smarty-pants :) She not only talks, but sings most of the live long day! 
 Along with overcoming her speech barriers; Bella also conqured the battle of bowed legs---  After being sedated and waking up with casts--preceeding to houdini her way out of them and  REPEAT x3, we resigned to the braces, which i must say she never really complained about...again I wish i could post the side by side x-rays because really its amazing.  She was a trooper completing that therapy in 1year and 1 day!
Another quest we have come just shy of mastering is potty training... I was almost certain once the braces were off Bella would be just chompin at the bit to begin potty training, however that wasnt so... I began January by taking a week off from work to complete this next task...Bella, on the other hand wouldnt have anything to do with it... she did enjoy toilet paper and flushing the toilet...and together flushing lots of toilet paper down the toilet...but as far as saying good bye to the diapers--she wasnt ready... I packed up the little potty training chair, all the adorable big girl panties, and ran to the store for more huggies... it didn't take much longer for Bella to decide all on her own that she was ready for the big girl potty.  As of right now she only wears pull ups during nap time and bed time; and she mostly wakes up dry...so momma is really excited about that!  

Year number 3 should be another really great year full of lots of learning and growing as we have enrolled Bella into Early Head Start. We've had classroom visits where Bella really enjoyed playing with all the new toys and lots and lots of other children. We learned that a woman who goes to church with us will be one of Bella's teachers (which makes momma more comfortable).  Another exciting thing happening in our lives is that Bella will the the flower girl in Uncle Andrew's wedding, and she will have her first Auntie!  She just loves dressing up and everytime she dresses up she spins in circles with her hands over her head--you just know in those moments she knows how beautiful she is!

So now, we march...in big girl panties, singing, with straight legs into year number 3 with lots accomplished and much excitement to look forward to...and i must say...while we did have our ups and downs...2 wasnt so terrible!