Christmas with the Richards!

On Tuesday before Christmas we headed North to Corsicana to spend some time with Terry's family. We were able to spend some very good quality time with them. We got to see all the family which was very nice. We even got to see Terry's Great Aunt Edna and her husband Jack. They live in Louisiana and we haven't seen them in quite some time. Bella loved getting to see everybody and was constantly entertained.

Bella the Princess

Bella couldn't hang. She was worn out so she took a nap with Granny Richards.

Bella and her cousin Jordan

Bella and Jack

Bella and Uncle Dennis (where did that puppy come from?)

Terry, Bella and Granny Richards

Bella and Aunt Angie

Bella and Granny Summerall

Bella opening presents (note PawPaw Ervin lurking in the background)

What is he up to?

UH OH!!

Bella in PawPaw Ervin's mess :)

The Richards' clan!!

Bella's First Christmas

Well, we had Christmas with my parents last Saturday. We had some great family time with Mom, Dad, Tim, Alyssa and the kids. We ate some good steak and potatoes and even peach cobbler. We took pictures of the grandkiddos in their matching pj's in front of the tree. Ryan wasn't nearly as excited about it as I was (he takes after his daddy) so there aren't as many pictures with him. We still got some cute ones.Bella opening some goodies!

Tim showing Ryan his new shirts!

Courtney in her "Fancy Nancy" glasses.

Bella with her new bunny from Nana.

Courtney with her goodies!

Monday night we had our family Christmas. Just the 3 of us. It was so much fun to see Bella get excited about her toys. Daddy got her a pound puppy. He said she needed it because she loves dogs and since we weren't getting a real one (more on that later) she needed a stuffed one. She also got this stage that she LOVES. All she has to do is make noise and it comes on. She is learning to hit the buttons to make it sing to her. HOURS of entertainment!!

After it was all said and done, Mama and Baby had to take a nap!!

Bella is 7 months

December 20, 2008
Bella turned 7 months right in the midst of the Christmas holidays. She is sitting up very well now and her personality is shining. We think she is absolutely hilarious. We laugh at her ALL the time. She has also discovered ALL octaves of her voice. Sometimes she tries to squeal so high that nothing comes out. She is getting better at eating her baby food and we have discovered that pears are her favorite. She eats a lot of pears, gotta start somewhere.

Bella meets Santa

Bella did so AWESOME when she took her picture with Santa!! She was extremely tired but she still gave a great little Bella grin.

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!

What an amazing surprise we had!!! When we were at the hospital with Grammy last night I kept hearing that it was snowing in different parts of Houston and even in our area. I really didn't think it was going to be a real snow, but boy was I wrong. When we left the hospital the flakes were HUGE!! I could not believe it. The snow was stacked on our cars and and on the grass. We headed home and it continued to snow hard all the way home. When we got here I was disappointed to see that the snow wasn't sticking at our place like it had been at the hospital. That did not stop me from getting out the camera.






We went back inside thinking that was really all we were going to see. We started Bella's bath and changed into our comfy clothes. I was in Bella's room getting her p.j.'s and I heard talking outside, so I looked out her window onto the back porch and OH MY was I surprised to see it was snowing really hard and STICKING to the deck. We hurried up the bath and went back outside to take more pictures. It was so beautiful and so refreshing!! When we walked on the deck it didn't take anytime before our footprints would be gone. So here are the rest of our snow day pictures.

We had so much fun and Bella loved the snow as well. She kept looking up at the sky and letting it hit her in the face. We definitely weren't the only crazy ones out in it. There were lots of neighbors out and about with us. I hope it snows again soon!!

Grammy

Grammy (Mom's mom) had surgery last night. She had 12-14 inches of her colon removed. The section that was removed was dilated to the size of a football. YIKES!!! Her surgeon just happened to have already operated on a family member, he removed Terry's appendix several years ago, so that was comforting that we had already dealt with him. Grammy is in quite a bit of pain so please keep her in your prayers. Please pray that she have relief from the pain and that she has a quick recovery.

While we were in the waiting room some volunteers brought in therapy dogs. Bella nearly lost her mind. She did so good petting the dogs and of course the dogs were very gentle. She started laughing hysterically and could not stop. It was a really nice distraction. Here are some pictures of Bella and the dogs.

Bella's 6 month stats

We went for Bella's 6 month shots yesterday. Mom went with me because Terry was out of pocket for the afternoon. She screamed bloody murder during the shots but as soon as I picked her up she stopped. Good girl!! She was pretty clingy the rest of the day but I don't mind cuddling with my girl one little bit.

6 month stats:
Height: 26 1/2 in.....67%
Weight: 15.5 lbs.....27%
Head: 17 3/4in........96% WHAT!?!?! Dear Lord, Please let Bella grow into her head. Amen.
It doesn't look like it's that big. And NO I'm not biased and if you think she has a big head.....keep it to yourself :) She is pretty much perfect!!

Beauty and the Beast

Last weekend we drove up to Dallas to see my "little" cousin Calli as Belle in Beauty and the Beast. She is a sophomore in high school this year and scored the lead role. There is definitely something to be said for that. I of course began crying as soon as she started singing. I am so proud of her. She is the youngest of the grandchildren on my Dad's side of the family and this was the first time that we have seen her perform. She did a great job and I look forward to the next couple of years of high school musicals with her.

Belle and Bella

Gaston and Belle

Signing autographs

Calli and Tiffany

Us with Belle and the Beast


Courtney with one of her favorite people.

Courtney was so funny throughout the show. My favorite part was when Belle (Calli) gave her father a scarf and told him that she made it just for him. Courtney said (loudly) "Calli did NOT make that scarf". I started cracking up!! Typical Courtney.