Baby on the move!

She finally did it! 

During the last few months we saw lots of bum scooting, rolling around, slithering on her tummy, and then suddenly we saw Arabella crawling!

After her g-tube surgery, Arabella became so much more mobile. She started to throw herself backwards and forwards, and we had to constantly catch her or surround her with pillows! Then we placed some squishy foam underneath the carpet in an effort to be more hands-off. That way, Arabella could start to explore by herself. And explore she did!

She would fall down, she would get frustrated, but now she's taking her first steps to independence. 

Great job Belle! 😀

Summer of Bella

Summer is here, and it's been hot, hot, HOT. Lots of sun, and sometimes lots of humidity. We've had to be extra careful with Arabella because of her lung condition, but it just means limiting our time in the heat. 

And keeping her cool, and in the shade!

This is the summer of Arabella...

We've been going out everywhere with her. Visiting friends, family, going on walks, going to parks, pools, trails, beaches - you name it...

We're taking advantage right now, and going out as much as possible, because come October we'll close ourselves off again for cold and flu season.

But for right now, we're really enjoying ourselves, and Bella has been a lot of laughs. 

I've told you guys before that she points at everything she finds interesting. That finger is her main line of communication 😄

She makes a lot of faces, and she grunts and groans when she's not happy. 

Momma will tell her "No, no, no!" and wag her finger at her, and Bella will shake her head and wag her finger right back at Momma. 

She gets excited when she sees a phone or iPad. She wants to tap it and swipe it, knows how to access the phone's camera, and gets upset when we take it away, or tell her NO. 

"Here we go with the iPad again", we tell ourselves. So now we hide it and keep it out of sight. 

Bella loves to take selfies of herself, and after a few minutes it's not uncommon to find 50 pictures of herself in the camera roll, like this one:

She's turning into quite the big girl, with an even bigger personality... 

Her hair is getting longer, thicker, and lighter. Her features are changing right before our eyes...

Arabella's also made great strides with her mobility this summer. She has no problem sitting on her own, moving and scooting around on her bum, and recently she's learned to shift herself from sitting into the crawling position. 

She's so proud of herself. And we're really proud of her!

Can you tell that she was once a micro-preemie? I wonder what people think when they see her...

Arabella's been doing so great, and developing so wonderfully, that I'll have to write a separate post about all of the things she can do.

Baby, you're a superstar! 

Daddy's girl

It's great being a father to this little princess. Every day brings so much joy. 

Smiles, and smiles, and smiles...

A few weeks ago it was Father's Day.

It felt very different from the first one. This one felt right. Away from hospital walls, this is how it was supposed to feel, I suppose. 

Comfortable. Intimate. Worry-free.

What more does a dad need, than to have his girl by his side? She is the best gift I can ask for...

Each and every night, when my head hits the pillow, I tell God "thanks" for another amazing day, and I realize how lucky I am to have her in my life. I'm lucky to experience her love and laughter, and it's so much sweeter because I know how different things could have turned out. 

I can't imagine my life without her.

As soon as I come home from work, that smile greets me at the door and those little hands reach up to say, "Take me Dadda."

If that's not the best feeling in the world, then I don't know what is...