Third Trimester!

I am soooo excited for my little person to arrive! In honor of that, belly pics!

The Moose

Or rather, the pig as Belle more often calls him these days. ;) 28.5 wks

The Duck

Such a difference! This preganancy has been completely different from the 1st...which I'm guessing is a sign of things to come... ;) can't wait!

Sugar and spice
and everything nice
that's what little girls are made of

Sunshine and rainbows
and ribbons for hair bows
that's what little girls are made of

Tea parties, laces
and baby doll faces
that's what little girls are made of

Tutus and Cupcakes!

One of Belle's friends hosted a tutu and cupcake party! Of course, we could not pass that up!

Afterwards, I was putting dinner in the oven when I heard a little clatter in the bathroom:

That's right! Always remember to brush after sweets, Belle!

Joy To The World

"I believe that if, at the end, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world."  ~ Roger Ebert

What a relief that I can die happy now - because I have definitely contributed joy to the world by bringing Belle into it! Still feeling sentimental after her 2nd birthday & I am just amazed, actually beyond words, at the person she is. She makes me laugh so hard my cheeks hurt every day. She even makes strangers smile everywhere we go.

Some of her funny quotes lately:

"I am going to walk my foots to the dentist party." (She pretends to go to a party every day. She puts on her new princess shoes, my beach bag & grabs all kinds of stuffed animal "friends" & says "Bye Mom, I am going to the party!" Lately, the party is a doctor party or a dentist party.)

Her Christmas List "A bunny. A deer. A Book. A Horse. A Book..." Today she added, "A Pumpkin, A book, A mouse." The animals will be well read & well fed. ;) (oh, and just so you know she's only 99.9% girl... she also wants a train and an airplane for Christmas!)

She loves to help me drive by pointing out the color of the light, "Red light! 'top!" "Green light means go!" and my favorite, "Lellow light...'loooow down!"

And my moment of bragging... she can count to 11 & loves to try and count higher, she knows almost all of her letters & sounds (usually identifying them by saying, "G, Grandpa. D, Duck. etc), and (heavily knocking on wood now) she is excellent with her underoos, as she likes to call them. Oh, and rhyming is big at our house these days! She has nicknamed Dr Suess, Suess-a-ma-goose. I had nothing to do with that! But I love it!

My Belle is 2!!!

I would kill for a big salad...

That being said, it was an absolutely fantastic weekend! One of the best of my life... filled with candy, cake pops, balloons, family, friends, littles, "'cawed things" = scared (scarey) things, costumes, our 1st trick or treating outing, & everything Belle!

Most of you have seen these pictures that Katie was kind enough to take with her professional camera, but for those of you not on facebook... a recap of Belle's Birthday Party!

The beautiful Princess Belle getting ready for her party! (attempted wearing Mommy's red shoes, but decided she couldn't run fast enough. Also attempted to rip off her crown in order to be a "punkin" (pumpkin) instead. haha!)

The Set- Up:

The blurry pics were taken on my phone pre-party ;) When asked what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday, Belle always replied, "cake pop", so I made my first attempt (and probably my last...until next year)! She loved them though! I sent each kid home with a party favor of home-made sugar cookie dough & a cookie cutter - some were princess (the shoe was my favorite) & some were Halloween themed. The dots above the doorway say "Happy 2nd Birthday Belle!" I've never been so crafty in my life, so I had to share the details. ;)

My favorite picture of Belle

Singing Happy Birthday, blowing out the candle & eating the cake pop

Making crowns

Party Time!

Opening Presents:

I get by with a little help from my friends...

And some end of the night family photos:

The tired birthday girl & both sets of grandparents watching a slideshow of Belle that Daddy put together.

But oh wait! This post isn't done!

She wanted to wear the " 'parkley" (sparkley) new shoes from Aunt Laura to bed

And lest we forget the actual Birthday!

 On our way to the park on her actual birthday

(early in the morning - doesn't she look tired?)

Birthday Breakfast Picnic with the ducks!

After which, she wanted to play in the "area", which is the mall playcenter. Those pics are on Pat's phone, so I'll post them later, but this is Daddy & Belle at the new Disney store.

Relaxing before Trick-or-Treating by watching Cinderella for the first time! Look at the little "ooh" her mouth is making in the 1st pic :)

Pictures of Belle's 1st time Trick-or-Treating to come!

2 year stats:

24.2 lbs (a little above the 20%)

34" (above 50-75% - i think closer to a little above the 50th)

Yay Belle! We love you!