Looking back

I've been looking through Belle's pictures since she was born. I can't help but laugh. I didn't realize how much she's changed. And she's already turning 1 this week. CRAZY! Where has time gone?! Time flies.

I remember that night I gave birth to her. October 17, 2008. Craziest, quickest, most painful night of my life. She was so tiny, weighing only 5.4 lbs.

She was so small...but very loud. She cried loudly. And she was a big eater.

She never liked the swaddle. Every time I wrapped her like this, she'd wiggle her way out.

She loved the camera right away. And the camera loves her more.

Kathleen took this picture at her baptism in April. Such a good baby.

She especially loves being outside. Belle likes to quietly sit and stare at the trees, squirrels, & dogs that pass by.

Oh where has time gone??? She's already starting to walk. But she'd rather hold on.

Belle is loud, she laughs at people at the TV talking directly at the camera, she likes to watch people sing, she loves fruits & veggies, she doesn't like to wear pants, she loves dogs, she'd rather wear a bathrobe than a sweater, she doesn't prefer to wear shoes, she'd rather play with cell phones & remotes than her own toys, she doesn't like anything on her hair, she's very curious, she falls asleep to baby einstein, etc etc. The point is...I'm never bored. haha!

I just hope she doesn't get too big too fast!!

Change

It's good for some change. Especially around the house. Our house hasn't changed since we moved in 2001. It's about time.

Yellow walls & tacky couches. Gone.

White. Cause it's fresh. It's clean. And it really bothered me how the yellow walls made a lot of my pictures look orange.

We will not be orange anymore!

And big credit to Aris for working his butt off that day to make it look beautiful! Thanks to my sister for helping. And also my brother for babysitting Belle while we painted. Don't you love teamwork?

And the couches? The couches bother me more. They were ok when my parents first purchased them in 2001. But now they look....

Outdated.

So my grandma & I made a cover for it! Ok, she really deserves all the credit. She did most of the work. She's so talented.

I love the fabric. It's not really polka dots going on here...but I love the circles. (And Belle's blurry cause she was jumping).

Currently working on the other 2 big couches now. This one was practice.

And speaking of change....Belle got a haircut!!

HA..no. Just kidding. She didn't get a haircut. I just put her hair behind her ears & she already looks like she got a haircut!

Hair musical

Has anyone else noticed Belle's hair has grown?! It's not a lot but it has grown! This is Belle at 5 months...with just a wee bit of hair.

And here is her hair nowadays!

The wind blowing effect!!

(This was when Belle came along to the tennis courts while my brother, sister, & Aris played. She was basically a ball girl since she ran after all the tennis balls & collected them)

Now she can have pigtails! We've been having a little too much fun with the hair.

What her hair looks like when the pigtails come off. And she learned to comb. All by herself!

And we have even more fun during her bath...

Hehehe I couldn't help myself!

True story!! I gave Belle a bath, and before I could get her dressed, she fell asleep in her towel!

I just put her down to nap. She looked too peaceful to disturb.

So I'm still in the middle of crossing things off my to do list. But I managed to sneak in a little something....A camera strap cover!

Kathleen emailed me this link giving instructions on how to make a camera strap cover.

I had to try. I was originally thinking of using leopard fabric...but then I realized Aris also uses the camera & I imagined him using the camera & yeah..well..you know. A guy & leopard just doesn't fit. So the gray & white polka dots with pink on the other side did it! A good balance I think! Thanks Kathleen ;)

Whacky

That's a good word to describe my house.  It's just crazy here.

 PROOFS:

Doesn't her outfit look like it's an old lady's outfit?!

What is going on here??!

Two of her many facial expressions...

Don't try this at home.  haha!

So this is where the whacky-ness comes from.

Our house has just gone upside down!  

Tons of stuff going on these days.  Lots of projects.  Hope it all goes well.  So I can blog about it later on.  Crossing fingers...

US Open

My family & I were lucky to have the opportunity to watch the US Open this year.  We went on the opening night watching Venus Williams & Andy Roddick.  Venus's match was one of those thriller matches.  That was fun to watch live.  Andy Roddick had an easier match, putting his opponent away quickly.  

Belle stayed behind with her Aunties.  You can see from the look on her face how she feels about that. hehe. 

The not so terrible traffic on the way!

The sun setting.  Inside Arthur Ashe stadium.

The boys.  Aris wants to point out that he's eating candy in this picture. haha!

Picture of Sharapova on the big screen.

Venus being interviewed right before she came out

And here's Andy Roddick (in black).  Sorry but I already forgot his opponent's name!

 

I noticed that the NY crowd likes to route for the underdog.  That was unexpected.  

My brother & his friend were rowdy & screamed out loud.  They were the type of fans I would not wanna sit next to.  I'm sure the people around us felt the same.

And my mom told me how she met an old Filipino man that travels every year to NY from Philippines just to watch the US Open.  Crazy!  It's only then that I realized how lucky we are to have the tournament here in NY.  Our travel was within an hour.  And not a 22 hour plane ride!

Unfortunately we only went there once during its 2 weeks.  Overall, a trip much worth it.  Next year, we have to go several more times!!  

Magic

It's September.  Next month is October.  Which means....Belle is almost 1!

I can't believe it.  She's a big girl.  She dances, claps (with sound!), high fives, plays peek a boo, eats my food instead of whatever Gerber has to offer, laughs at herself in the mirror, climbs everything, etc! She's full of tricks!  

Ok, I know it's normal for babies to be doing all of that at this age.  But to Aris & I, whenever Belle does something new, it's magic!  We get so excited.

Peek a boo!  Actually, it's renamed to "Where's Belle?!"  She responds mostly to that! haha

And after "Where's Belle?" she claps!

A lot of clapping.  Cause she's proud of herself.

Bottle on one hand, & the other pulling her leg straight.  I don't know why she does it.  I didn't teach her that!

Then fell asleep with her legs crossed.

It's so entertaining watching Belle feed herself.  How she tries to get the pieces all at once but only one makes it to her mouth.

I know if someone took a picture of me like this...it would be the most unflattering picture.  But Belle doesn't mind.  Cause this is her in all her glory!