Arabella's Odyssey: Bella's favourite things

Arabella loves music. Music is her world.

Since last September she's been especially in love with the Australian children's music group 'The Wiggles'. She claps and dances to all their songs, and it's the only show on TV she'll watch!

"Dadda, play the song about the 5 little ducks!"

Of course, mom and dad know all of the songs too! Sometimes I find myself randomly signing them in my head throughout the day. They're permanently embedded into my subconscious 😬

And when we need Bella to be calm, music is the only thing that works. We noticed this as soon as we brought her home from the hospital. Music is all she needs to be content.

Play-time with Bella means playing with all the toys she can get her hands on. THIS ONE...no wait...THAT ONE...never-mind...THAT'S THE ONE I WANT!

Toys and books are great for a while, but only for a few minutes until she wants the next one 😄

You know she's concentrating when that tongue is out! 😛

Bad hair day...

Every item she has in front of her is going to be thrown onto the floor. Pretty typical behaviour, right? But it's her favourite!

"Give me that phone, dadda! I know you have games on there!"

Bella wants phones. She wants iPads. TV remotes. Cables and gadgets. Just give me the cool stuff, guys!

She still doesn't talk or babble very much, but she definitely communicates with us. She points and she grunts. And this is her way of saying, "Take me to the swing!"

One of the things her physiotherapist has taught us is to encourage her to stand.

And Bella's getting better with each passing week. We're still hoping she will start to crawl one day, so we're working on that too!

For now she moves and spins around on her back, which makes tube feeding really difficult. There have been many occasions where her feeding tube will get tangled or dislodge. Formula ends up spilling out...so then it's time for yet another late-night laundry load! That's definitely not one of our favourite things!

Tube feedings are best accomplished while she's in her stroller. Bella can sit comfortably and take in the sights and sounds of the neighbourhood while the pump slowly delivers her food.

While on our walks, Bella absolutely loves watching other people. If you ask us, she's a little too nosey sometimes!

She loves animals, and isn't afraid to reach out and touch them. Dogs are great, but ducks are her favourite! "Quack quack!" (Bella will open and close her hand to mimic a duck quacking)...