Bella at Play

As soon as Bella woke up this morning, she got out of bed and got her baby doll. I left the room for a minute to do something. I heard Bella talking a lot, so I peeked in her room to see what she was up to. Here's what I found:

And since we're on the subject of Bella playing, we had some fun art times last week...here's some pictures from that:

playing with sidewalk chalk:

Our first finger-painting experience with REAL paint!!


check out these hands:

3 years and counting...

Today was Neil and my 3 year anniversary!
Sadly, he's out to sea, yet again...so again, for the third year in a row we aren't able to celebrate. Year #1 I was on bedrest with Bella.
Year #2 Neil was out to sea
Year #3 Neil out to sea
I'm sure we'll celebrate one together eventually...

But I have to brag on my husband for a second. Even though he's out to sea, he put lots of forethought and effort into doing something special for me. I'm totally impressed. This is what I recieved in the mail:

In case you can't read it, one heart says "Neil" and has his birthstone set into it. The other heart says "Pammy" and has my birthstone set into it.
so...jewelry - forethought - sentimental value - the works! What a great hubby I have!
What makes it extra-special though, is the fact that Neil is not really much of a "gift" person. So I am totally blown away!
Happy Anniversary to me :)

Savannah

Wednesday, Bella and I drove up to Savannah to meet Neil's parents for the afternoon. We had lunch together and played with Bella in Forsythe Park. It was a pretty chilly day, but it was still lots of fun!

Bella pointing at a Police horse she wants to pet:

Bella next to the Police horse:

Swinging at the playground in Forsythe Park:

Showing Nana and PopPop how she can jump:

Bella with Nana and PopPop in front of the fountain...it took many attempts to get this picture, and it still looks like Bella is pulling her Nana's hair...

New Bun in the Oven

Well, here's the official announcement. For those that don't know already, I'm:


Today was my first ultrasound for the new little one, and it went very well. Praise the Lord, there is only one! (I had a dream that I was told I was having twins...probably just anxiety because I'm at a higher risk for it)
Of course, they told me that because I still have the same uterine abnormality (bicornuate uterus...ie: heart-shaped), I'm going to have to go through the same stuff all over again. Even though Bella didn't actually come until 39 weeks last time, because I started having pre-term contractions that had to be stopped starting at 30 weeks, bed-rest, and all the rest of that mess, they are still going to be watching me like a hawk this time.

Both the midwife and the doctor are "concerned" about my running. I told them that I drastically cut my weekly mileage when I got pregnant, going from 20-25 miles per week pre-pregnancy to 10-15 miles per week once I got pregnant...and that I've been really good about warming up very slowly until my heart is ready for more. Apparently that made them feel a little better, because they said that I could still run...for now. I don't know how long they will let me do it, but I'll take all that I can get!

The midwife said that other than that everything looks good. I was dead-on (as I should be) as far as my due date, September 19, putting me at 11 weeks pregnant right now.

Ok...without further ado, here's Baby #2:

Bella's 1st Hair-cut

So I'm finally getting some pictures from Dallas on here...

While we were in Dallas, Bella got her first haircut.

But it wasn't just from anyone...she got her first haircut from my grandmother's hairdresser, Xiomara (pronounced Cee-o-mara) that also cut my hair when I was about 6... She also gave the first grandchild on the Albright side (Karen) her first haircut almost 40 years ago.

She is the sweetest lady in the world, and she refused to let me take a picture of her...

But here are pictures of Bella... she didn't like it too much. No pictures of tears here, but the tears did come...so sad. But her hair looks better!

ABCs

I got this from my sister-in-law. Thought it was fun.

A - Age: 25
B - Bed size: Queen
C - Chore you hate: vacuuming - there just doesn't seem to be a point when you don't have a Rainbow...it just pounds all the dirt into the ground, clogs up the filter in like 30 seconds, and causes stuff to be in the air forever causing me to sneeze. Yeah...really need a Rainbow.
D - Dad's Name: William Kemp Albright
E - Essential start your day item: Bella
F - Favorite actor(s): Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Jeremy Piven...
G - Gold or Silver: Silver, or Platinum...yellow gold - not so much.
H - Height: 5' 4.5"
I - Instruments you play(ed): vocals, cello, guitar, and piano. in that order.
J - Job title: Stay-at-home-mom, or for the more "politically correct" version I laughed at my phone company for: "domestic engineer".
K - Kid(s): Bella (2 in April), Baby #2 due in September.
L - Living arrangements: comfy single-family house in a wonderful, quiet neighborhood, with Bella and Neil, when he's not out to sea...
M - Mom's name: Olivia Catherine (Matl) Albright
N - Nicknames: Pam, Pammy, Pamcakes, Pamcakes & Syrup, Aunt Jamima, Ramalamahampam, Spam, Cooking Spray, Panama, Ms. Pam, Baby, Hon, Sweetums, Mommy...and the most random..."Mrs. Mike Jones - don't act like you don't know"...weird story.
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: 2 or 3 overnight stays because of preterm labor scares, hernia surgery when I was 5 weeks old, and viral meningitis when I was 6 weeks old.
P - Pet Peeve: whining; clutter.
Q - Favorite Quotes: "Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate." Captain Jack Sparrow - Pirates of the Caribbean; "Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath." Godfrey of Ibelin - Kingdom of Heaven.
R - Right or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: Jessica (28), Brandon (19), Stephen (16)
T - Time you wake up: right now, about 7am. Bella's having trouble getting changed back to Eastern Time...
U - Unusual fact about you: My PJs have to match - always. It drives me crazy if they don't.
V - Vegetable you dislike: beets, radishes, turnip greens...anything like that. yuck.
W - What makes you run late: it's in the Albright blood. Drives Neil crazy.
X - X-rays you've had: Back, hip, shoulder, foot, teeth.
Y - Yummy food you make: French Dip Sandwiches, Chicken Spaghetti, Tortilla Pie, Chicken Salad, Pizza...oh, and lots of desserts...the list goes on! I love to cook!
Z - Zodiac: Gemini...but who cares?

In Dallas - week 2

1. Bella experienced the Little Gym this week - balls, bubbles, balance beams, sign language, and ALL the fun gym equipment she could! Who is Mommy anyway? Apparently she doesn't need me there!

2. Bella has been waking up dry in the mornings a lot since we've been here...we say "All night, All dry - BIG GIRL!" She gets excited. Usually she wakes up about 2 times to go to the bathroom at night when she's dry in the morning...so, so cool for a 22 month-old! I must say that I'm proud!

3. Dinner's company last night consisted of 3 cousins (Jennifer, Lauren and I), and 2 second cousins (Bella and Kaylee). way fun!

4. I finally get to spend some time with my mom tomorrow! I'm excited!

5. I think we may venture out to the grocery store with Gigi again today...much patience needed.

oh, and I've been averaging running once/ week. not cool. too many circumstances... hip hurting, foot doing something weird... ugh! I just want to run!!! There is supposed to be good weather this weekend. hopefully, I'll be up to par.