Life of Laraia: Bella Rey

On July 21, 2015 Bella turned 15 months. She is just getting smarter every day. I love how she gets so excited with each new thing she learns. It is so fun to hear her try and copy words that we say. I weighed Bella this morning and she is almost 23 pounds. I feel like she has grown so quickly over the last month. She is a little toddler now, and such a delight!

About 15 month old Bella:

Words: All done, ball, book, banana "anana", bird "burr", bye bye, dada, mama, down, go, more, snack "nahg", star "dar", up. Signs "please" and "thank you" occasionally.
Bella loves to brush her teeth. She now has two half teeth, and her hands are always in her mouth so I think she will have some more pop through soon.
Bella loves to watch movies and shows now. "Sophia the First" is her favorite tv show, and she likes pretty much any fast paced animated movie. It is fun to see her walk around the room and stop to watch the movie. She watches multiple episodes of Sophia without moving. In the mornings she sits in bed with us and points at the tv indicating she wants to watch Sophia.

snuggling baby watching Sophia

Bella is a hefty eater still. She is pretty good at trying most foods. When I ask her if she wants breakfast, lunch, or dinner she runs to her high chair and waits for me to put her in. Once in her chair she taps her tray to show me where her food needs to go. She loves to dip her food in sour cream (or just eat sour cream by the spoonful.) She is getting really good at using a spoon, and can stab certain food with a fork. We have been working on using a plate and most often she does well with it. Sometimes she will dump it upside down, but doesn't really throw it off her tray anymore. Bella loves to watch music videos while she eats. I don't like that it is becoming a habit, but sometimes when we are in a hurry it is the only way to get her to eat faster. She will clap when the music video is done and points at the tablet to ask for another one.

Bella's new favorite snack

Bella still nurses before bed, in the morning, and occasionally in the middle of the night if nothing else will get her back to sleep.
Bella loves to play. Independently, with other kids, with mom and dad. Any type of play is fun for her. her favorite game right now is chase. She loves when we say "I'm gonna get you." She giggles her deep raspy laugh, then starts running away belly pushed out, and arms trailing behind her. Her Hulk action figure, baby Elsa, musical stroller, and mommy's baby doll are her favorite toys. She loves to snuggle all her babies. She growls when she plays with Hulk. When we want to distract Bella from something, we tell her to go get Elsa, her baby, or Hulk and it usually works. Bella loves when people come over so that she can show them her toys and play area. When she is paying with other kids she often stops to give them loves. If she hits a kid she will usually go give them a love to say sorry if I ask her to. Lately Bella has started cleaning up her toys without me asking, if she sees me starting to clean up. She knows where to put everything away. (ie. milk goes in the fridge, toys go in the baskets, Elsa goes in her stroller.)

Recently we started going to play grounds, and Bella loves them. She feels so big on the toys and loves to explore. Our public library has a nice little playground specifically for toddlers and Bella loves it! During the 4th of July we went to a fair, and Bella couldn't get enough of the bouncy house and slide. This girl plays hard!

Bella has started pulling her diaper off so she has to wear shorts always now. She also grabs at her bum when she pees, and brings me a diaper after she poos. I am thinking of getting her a little potty chair to start getting her interested in it.
Bella loves to dance and attempt to jump. We will count 1-2-3, she squats down, and occasionally she will pop back up to try and jump. when I ask Bella to tap dance she will start to stomp her feet. She is always wiggling her hips and moving her arms to the beat. I am so glad she loves music so much.
I gave Bella her first pedicure and she though she was so pretty. I love putting new clothes on her and telling her she is pretty because she gets this big cheesy grin and sways back and forth. Love my rough and tumble girly girl.

She loves her new Havaianas

She though she was pretty cute in her new swim shirt.

Bella has started to fake cry to get her way. The other day I wasn't getting her teething tablets to her fast enough so she started fake crying. As soon as I held my hand out with the tablets she gave me a creeper smile where she scrunched her nose, squinted her eyes, and jutted her bottom jaw out while she smiled.She is manipulative!
Bella is still obsessed with her Daddy. If I need her to go somewhere without being sassy and resistive, I say "let's go find Daddy" and she comes right along.
Bella is such an independent person. She wants to do everything herself, but is not against help if she can't do it. I especially love when she reaches her hand out for us to hold to help her down a step.
My favorite game to play with Bella is when she says "mama" in a sweet voice, I say "Bella" back to her and we go back and forth for a while just saying "mama" "Bella" "mama" "Bella." It is pretty sweet.

Bella is the sweetest. She is always snuggling us, giving us kisses, and holding our hands as we walk. It lifts me up each time she runs up to me in the middle of playing just to give me a hug. We love this little girl so much, and even though her sleeping has been awful, we think she is pretty great. I can't believe she will be 18 months so soon. She is growing up so fast, and we are enjoying every minute of it!