First Solid Foods!!

Last Friday we had our 6 month Dr's appointment, one that we had been waiting for with excitement because we were waiting to get the Okay to give Isabella her first solid foods. Originally the Doctor told us to wait until this appointment to help Isabella get all the bulking up and calories she could from her regular diet of breastmilk but we got the seal of Perfect yet again at this visit and started Rice cereal that very night.

Bella ready to begin her first meal!

1st Bite given by Mommy!

Some great eating shots

Daddy taking his turn feeding her

Bella wants more!

All Done.

We have done great so far, Rice cereal seemed to make her tummy hurt so we switched to Oatmeal cereal. So far our great sleeping went out the window with new stuff in her tummy but we're hoping that will change once she is used to eating something different each night. Eric is really excited to try sweet potatoes, which I think we plan to do this coming Friday. I'm also hoping to start making some of my own baby food. I bought ice cube trays and everything. I'll let you know how it goes.

~ That's all for now

Trish

Dinner at Susan, Paul and Max's crib

A couple weekends ago Eric and I headed of to KC to have dinner with Susan, Paul and Max. We loaded up our hot new ride and drove to their beautiful house for dinner. The company, dinner and evening was a blast and we fully intend to make this a more frequent visit. Although I'm not leaving the house between 11:00am-10:00pm for the next week (110 degree heat index this week) But I digress....
Anyway, It was your traditional awesome dinner party and the most fun part is showing off pictures of our beautiful babies and awesome friends. Here is mister Max, one of Isabella's new friends.

As you can see they enjoy hanging out together. Max is two months younger than Bells, Doesn't look like it though. We love our tiny petite girl.

The Mama's and their babies.

Max and the Daddy's

Then since we took some great pictures of Susan and I pushing our strollers the last time Susan came to town ( see previous blog post "Susan and Max") We thought it only fair to capture the Dads hard at work with the strollers.

It was at Paul and Susan's where Isabella discovered the true joys of the exersaucer, she loved this thing so much that we bought one for her a couple of days later. I love it too because I can plop her in it and play with her or cook, or post blogs!

We've had a very exciting couple of weekends. More to follow and Bella sleeping in her own room, starting solids and Eric's first Father's day.

Hmm... I need some kind of clever sign off. Any ideas?

~Trish

Bella and Mommy's Summer Adventures: Episode 1

So as you know, the best months of teaching are June and July! Just Kidding, I love my job but I'm also having a great time off for the summer. I love being able to spend my days with my beautiful baby again. It's even better than maternity leave too because Bella is old enough to really play and we can go on a variety of adventures. We're taking Lawrence by storm. Here are a few highlights from our first couple of weeks together.

Isabella and I have been going to a particular playgroup since she was one month old. I finally had time to host it myself and we were pumped to have all of Bells friends over to play. I was also excited because it was one of the larger playgroups so the house was full of beautiful babies, mommies and daddies. Here is Bella and her buddy Lyla (for more info on miss Lyla check out our link to her blog) This pictures is taken just before Bella pulled Lyla's hair...ah sigh, so it begins!

This is another candid shot, This picture happened just after Tara (looking at the camera) licked Bella's forehead and then Zoe decided to take a seat on her smaller buddies.

Only my girl could sleep with 10 other babies and 10 adults in the room.

We also headed out to KC with daddy to go see Heather. We had a blast swimming in her pool and hot tub and even taking a bath in her sink. I know Bella's gonna hate this picture when she's sixteen but it's soooooo cute I just had to post it.

Here's Us three girls.

Heather and Bella in deep conversation.

We've had some great visitors this month too. At the end of May Uncle Rich and Aunt Nicki came to visit from New York, they were here for Rich's sister's graduation but we talked them into dinner. We love this picture because I'm not sure if Rich or Isabella is more uncomfortable! HA!

Nicki on the other hand is like a duck to water, Bella loved hanging out with her.

Here Rich let's Nicki hold the baby while he takes care of the beer.

Uncle Loren came to visit too, Bella was a little confused because his beard looks so much like Daddy's not to mention the Royals hat.

Tomorrow we're also getting a visit from my Godmother that I'm really looking forward too. Also, we have our six month Dr's visit on Friday and we plan to give Isabella her first solid foods this weekend. We're starting out with Rice Cereal unless the Doctor tells us otherwise. Eric and I are looking forward to baby food, we're hoping to make a lot of it ourselves. I also hope that we have a child who has as much love for food as we do. Who knows, sushi or chicken strips?

~Trish

P.S. I hope I spelled Nicki's name right, sorry if you spell it differently, chaulk it up to new mom brain.

6 Months Old!

Bella has turned six months old today. I can hardly believe that my baby girl is already half a year old and she is the most amazing baby EVER! She is reaching all her milestones beautifully and is a joy to watch and hang out with. She rolls over like a champ, sits up on her own, and is now sleeping soundly in her own room, almost through the night. (she did sleep through the night two nights ago but woke up once last night) I'm so glad that I have the summer to spend with her because I hear from this point on they really start to get moving, literally. I'm so happy that I'll get to be home for a lot of her new discoveries and excitements like teeth! We've been working on a tooth since she hit four months, it's got to come through soon right?

Reason number 42,734 why I love my wife...

So, like every other set of parents, we have a bedtime routine for getting Bella to sleep. Mostly this involved Trish doing it all - pre-bed diaper change, nursing, and then getting her to sleep, typically with a few sweet songs as Bella drifts to sleep. While this is going on, I'll usually finish dishes from dinner...or more likely a beer. But the other night, when Bella was a bit fussy and Trish was taking a bath, it hit me as to how lucky I am to have my wife. I was sitting there, trying to think of a song to sing to Bella, when I could only come up with two (I don't think "Honky Tonk Woman" would really be considered appropriate) to sing. And them I recalled all the wonderful songs that Trish sings to Bella, songs I've never heard before but that she sings so beautifully. And it made me thankful for having such a beautiful, talented wife who sings like an angel, and who can use her talents to put our baby girl to sleep. Because if I had to sing Bella to sleep, well, let's just say she'd talk a whole lot sooner, "dad, please stop singing, you're terrible."

I truly am a lucky man to have such a gorgeous, talented wife and such a beautiful daughter. 'Tis the good life.

Memorial Day Weekend full of Neutebooms, Wells and Studzinski's!

We had a fantastic time over memorial day weekend with our second annual Neuteboom/Wells/Studzinski family get together. It is so amazing to me that just last year I was only pregnant and Gabe was only about 7 months, wow how time flies. Well I have a huge amount of pictures for this post so we better get started.

First off a HUGE thanks to Grandpa Ric for a week of Daycare and to Grandma Connie for coming out the week before memorial day to provide Grandma Daycare. We were able to make it through the school year keeping Isabella at home or with family. We'll start up at real daycare in August and we are looking forward to it.

Okay Trish, get to the point already...... So Friday after work Eric, Bella and I headed over to Connie and J.P's new Condo to meet up with the Clan. Nancy and Lindsey drove in from Missouri and Heidi, Chris, the now 18month old Gabe and J.P. made the long haul together from Colorado Springs. We enjoyed a great outdoor meal, catching up with everyone, and playing in the grass. It was so nice to see everyone.

Bella got to meet her Awesome Aunt Nancy and Cousin Lindsey

I like this picture of the siblings with their beautiful babies.

Thelma and Louise

The Cousins! I always have super fond memories of playing with my many cousins. I can't to watch these guys tear it up. Next year's Memorial Day weekend is going to be a riot.

Kisses for Bella

The next day we parted ways and the boys headed to KC to buy me a new car. I loved my little Scion but it was just that. too little! I had to put the seat down just to fit the stroller. So Eric and I decided to upgrade and he, Chris, a former car salesman, and J.P., a man who loves to buy cars, went to find us the perfect vehicle. And they did! Here is what they came back with, Our new beautiful Rav 4!

While the boys are away, the girls(and babies) will play. First we all headed off to Kansas City to shop for a bit which proved a little more difficult with two babies and didn't last as long as the usual shopping excursions. We had a great lunch at The Cheesecake Factory and Gabe was cracking us up trying to get the sleeping Bella to eat french fries with him "French Frwy, Bewa!" Most of the fries ended up on the floor by way of the back if Bella's car seat. We then headed back to Lawrence . Heidi, Chris and Gabe had a room at The Hampton Inn so we went there to relax and swim. Eric and I were so excited to get Isabella in the pool for the first time. However since Eric was out buying us a new car I had to go in without him. We had such a fun time swimming with Lindsey and the little ones.

Here we are getting ready.

Okay, Bella has two swimsuits, I know that seems silly but this second one is actually a dollar store purchase. Gotta love the Dollar store!

Bella loved the pool, She is as much a water baby as we thought she would be. The next morning we swam again with Daddy, he was braver than I was and even dunked her. She didn't mind too much.

Sunday evening we went over to the Averill house for a BBQ and games. I sadly forgot my camera but I know the rest of the family has great pictures I'll have to steal and post later. Monday morning everyone headed back to their respective places and Eric and I rested from such a fun and eventful weekend. I can't wait for next year!

~Trish

5 Months Old

Our Beautiful Baby hit 5 months last week. I can't believe how much she has grown! Above is a wonderful Artsy picture taken sometime last month but on the side you'll see her awesome 5 month shot. She's wearing a onsie that Julie made at the baby shower, her own personal Bad News Beers cheerleading outfit. For those of you who haven't heard yet, the Bad News Beers is our softball team. Bella has been out to several games now but I keep forgetting the camera. Check out my or Richie's facebook page for great Beers pics.

So I have a few more adventures to account for last month as well as just some fun pictures I wanted to get up on the blog.

First up, Art in the Park! Art in the park is the annual Art fair held in South Park and it was a beautiful day with many great artists selling their wares. I love Art in the Park and I force Eric to go every year, I had so much fun walking Bella around the park and seeing lots of friends. Special Shout out to Gail Gaus, sorry you didn't get a chance to see Bella, she can't wait to meet her Uncle Gaus' Mamma! We bought a few things at the fair including Connie's mother's day present and something for our winter decoration collection.

Eric and I keep accidentally dressing alike, we refuse to take pictures of it because of how cheesy it is but it just keeps happening. The last time was when we met up with Jaq and Joe for lunch at Free State. As we're driving I look over and notice that Eric is wearing a light blue shirt over a white T-shirt and khaki's. This would be no problem if I wasn't also wearing a similar shade of shirt over white with the exact same color Khaki's. ICK! However, matching shirts is much cuter and more fun when it's me and Bella. Like this pic!

The other day I was puttering around the Internet and started looking at the meaning of Bella's birthday. I looked at her birthstone, turquoise. Her birth flower ( yeah they have those, odd huh) and of course her horoscope. Our girl is a Sagittarius, the same as her Daddy and here's what I found out about the Sag baby.

November 22 - December 21 Planet - Jupiter Element - Fire
That happy-go-lucky child in the play circle is bound to be a Sagittarius. These carefree tykes march to their own drummer, and yes, they will walk early! They'll also be beating a path to everywhere, since they love to explore. Independent and free-spirited, it's imperative that the Sagittarius baby have lots of room to roam. Confined spaces are a disaster for these wandering souls, so they'll simply flail about until they can get out. The good news in all this is that the Sag baby won't have to be entertained every second of the day. That said, be sure to keep tabs on them in public places, as they could easily wander away! Above all, the Sag baby loves to explore, whether it's a new toy or a new friend. No fear here! This kid is a sponge, soaking it all up with relish. Thankfully, this child will know how to make friends and can be counted on to have lots of them. They love being part of a group, whether it's at home or out in the big, brave world. And it's that world they want to see, which may be why it's so easy for this baby to hit the road. Whether by train, plane, or the high seas, the Sag baby will travel better than the rest. To sum up, the Sagittarius baby needs freedom, has a curious mind, and is forever on a journey of discovery. Happy trails!
Copyright 1999-2009, Astrology.com and KnowledgeWeb, Inc., All rights reserved

Before Eric headed back to work we got to catch up with all his work friends at Cynthia's retirement party. Bella was a hit! Cynthia was smitten with her and we had fun raising a glass to all the wonderful work Cynthia has done. I'm also a little jealous since she and her husband are planning to take the RV across the country for their retirement. I'd love to travel all over.

Okay, that's all for this pretty random post. Great adventures coming up include a total Neuteboom/Wells/Studzinsky invasion! We are so excited to spend the weekend with all of Eric's family. I'm really looking forward to seeing my nephew Gabe and Cousin Lindsey and I'm REALLY excited for both of them to meet Bella. I'm sure we'll have loads of fun pics to document the weekend. It will, by the way, include Bella's first pool experience. Eric and I are both avid swimmers and I think we'll have a little water baby. I can't wait!

~Trish