Memorable Monday, Part 1

Bella is famous for getting up early. This morning, she decided to rise and shine at 4:30 a.m. I listened to her for about a half hour then got up with her. My great plan was to lay with her on the couch for the next hour until my alarm when off. Well, she got a little fussy because I would not give in to her demands and off to her room she went.

At six o'clock my alarm went off. And I kid you not, she must have scooted out of her bed like she was tied to a rocket because she was out of her room in two seconds flat. It was hilarious to listen to her. I guess she was doing her form of running. You would have thought she had been set free from jail.

So I get out of bed and tell her that I'm going to go take my shower. She said, "Yes" with a little attitude as if to say, "I know, mom, I'm not an idiot. You always get in the shower when you first wake up." So I'm in my shower scrubbing on my face when from the other side of the shower curtain I hear a shrill squeal. I about peed my pants. Bella had made it into my bathroom and was very excited with the fact that she had found me. Well, we laughed for an entire ten minutes.

I hope all of you have had as good a start to your week as Bella and I have.

Love to all,

Jen and cruisin' Bella

Memorable Monday, Part 2

Bella is using a walker at school now. You can see from the video just how well she is doing. Watcht out world; here comes Bella!

The Great Negotiator

Hi all! Just wanted to give everyone an update on the goings on of sweet Bella. She is thriving in school and is starting to reach out to her fellow classmates. When in circle time, Bella will reach out and "see" who is sitting next to her. Bella is the only one allowed to do this; everyone else is supposed to keep their hands to themselves.

So on Wednesday Bella's teacher told me that she made Bella scoot around the room rather than being carried everywhere. This upset Bella because she likes being carried everywhere. As you can imagine, Bella threw a few tantrums. The kids in her class were so sweet. They tried to help Bella calm down, and one boy even said to Bella, "It's going to be okay." Her classmates seem to be more interested in her. I just love it!!!!

Now to the point of why I titled this blog "The Great Negotiator." Last week Bella got in trouble for hitting me. We were out running errands, Bella got impatient with me, and started hitting me. I told her that she had to go to her room when we got home. All on her own she apologized to me. I accepted her apology and said that she still had to go to her room. At our next stop, she again got impatient with me and started hitting me. I told her she was definitely going to her room. She apologized again. I asked her, "Bella, are you apologizing so that you don't have to go to your room?" And what did she say? "Yes." Well, that just made my heart melt. How could it not?

So she managed to get out of going to bed when we got back to the apartment. However, it only lasted about 45 minutes because I made her mad and she got in trouble again. The result - she was sent to bed for the night. Poor girl!

She's such a little stinker.

Have a great weekend!

Jen and Stinker Bella