Hawaii Again!

We had a really good time in Hawaii this month.  S worked like crazy but Bella & I had fun regardless.  =)  Bella did amazingly well on both flights to and from Hawaii thanks to our new DVD player and she's okay now if she doesn't sleep in the plane.

Waikiki Beach is so calm and sunny.  Bella loves the sand  more than the water.  She had a good time throwing sand everywhere while me and Hubby took turns going into the water. So refreshing!

Bella went thru a "lemon" phase where she would eat the lemon out of our water!  Here's one where she's all puckered up after eating one. 

We finally made it out of Waikiki one weekend and here Bella's playing next to a tide pool.  It was a bit cool that afternoon and she caught a cold the next day.  Of course the following day I caught her cold....that wasn't too fun.

Bella hanging at Waikiki Beach.  Thanks to some friends we had an umbrella at the beach...gosh the sun is so strong out there.

We stayed at a condo next to Ala Moana mall.   Bella and I went to the mall almost everyday and here's a toddler toy store we loved.  She really liked the Thomas the Train station.

We went to the Zoo again since she loved it so much the last time we were there.  Surprisingly, this time she so so scared of the animals she didn't want to come out of the stroller.  There's a playground in the middle of the zoo where she played a bit with other kids.

Having breakfast and Longhi's.  They had the best pineapples and a really nice view.  Bella still likes to "taste" new items at times.  

We're at the mall again in the toy store.  She had so much fun playing with the different toys each day.  It really was our personal play room for couple weeks.

We stopped by Dole plantation on the way to North Shore.  It was pretty fun for Me and Hubby.  Bella doesn't look too happy there.  =)  We bought some pineapples and they were the sweetest pineapples EVER!

North shore was nice and peaceful.  We weren't prepared for the beach so we didn't stay long but it was still fun to hang out with my husband for once at the trip.

Bella in the plane watching her Einstein DVD.  She had a good time and the little girl who sat by us was such a good sport!

This seems like an ordinary picture of a baby sleeping in her stroller but this picture is truly AMAZING to us b/c this was the first time she EVER fell asleep in her stroller.  I was so surprised I had to take a picture to remember this monumental moment.  =)   She fell asleep right when we landed in Honolulu airport. 

Maybe b/c we only stayed for couple days in Waikiki  this time (we rented a condo the rest of our trip)  they gave us a ginormous suite.  The suite had a quite stunning view of Waikiki.   

Birthday Party

We went to a birthday party today and Bella had a great time.  Bella is getting older and she's getting more laid back about her naps and we are so happy about that!  Bella actually fell asleep very late this afternoon and when I took her out of the car and put her down in her crib, she actually went back to sleep.  This is pretty big news for us b/c she's NEVER been able to fall back to sleep after we take her out of her car seat.  Actually, it's pretty big news that she can fall asleep in the car without screaming her head off for 30 minutes.  We've been going out more b/c she's been so much better about being in the car.  She's getting so much easier to take care of these days.  I LOVE that she can enjoy her car rides and not get irritated the moment she sits in the car seat the way she used to.

This is one of my favorite summer dress for Bella.

A picture with Daddy.  She loves her grapes!

I didn't know I looked so intense putting on her sunblock! It takes effort to cover everything. =)

I think she gets her intense eyebrow action from me.  Doesn't my eyebrows from above look similar to hers below? 

Bella's Drink of Choice!

It's been quite warm the last couple weeks.  Here you see Bella's two favorite activities for the summer.  Hanging out at a bookstore and drinking her Starbucks drink of choice: Mango Banana Vivano with soy milk and no protein powder.  She loves sharing this drink with me and I think it's one of the healthier drinks at Starbucks. 

First time to Huntington Beach

We took Bella to Hungtinton Beach for the first time and she loved every minute of it.  She had a great time hanging out with our friends (who set up the blue tent in the background for us).  Of course she had more fun throwing sand everywhere and walking on the beach & getting her little feet wet.  Bella is a water baby.  She LOVES playing in any kind of water from the hose, pool or the beach.  I wish I can take her swimming everyday but b/c of her eczema I try not to soak her in Chlorine water (aka pool).  The beach, is a different story!  I am looking forward to our Hawaii trip this month.  Now that she's older, we'll have more fun on the beach playing.

Bella in her blue tent with her own chair.

The water was cold, but Bella didn't seem to mind so much.  I think she really liked the different texture on her feet.

Happy family.  We're getting more family pictures together.

My little baby is growing up too fast!  She looks like such a big girl now.

Bella usually doesn't look at the camera when all 3 of us are in the picture....but here she's looking at the camera.  We just have to have her work on her smile now.  =)

Bella's Friends

I would like to introduce to you to some of Bella's friends.  The very first friend she liked is the white dog in the middle with her nose falling off  (I put her toys one day in the dryer & ruined them).  Few months later, she moved on to the teddy bear on the far left with the pink sweater.  She loved him so much she would kiss him all the time.  I don't know why but she has a love & hate relationship with Piglet.  She throws him to the ground sometimes  and refuses to kiss him while she gives kisses to all her friends.  Few hours later, she would pick him up, give him a kiss & throw him on the floor again.  Right now she really loves her "Teddy", the biggest stuffed animal sitting in the middle.  She wants him going to bed and and plays with him in the morning.  She woke up 4am yesterday and I heard her yell "Teddy! Teddy!"  I took him out of the crib 'cause I thought he was too big to be in the crib with her, but not after last night~  When "Teddy" is out of sight, she opts for Mr. Giraffe on the far right.  Today I saw her sleeping with her arms wrapped around Mr. Giraffe.  I'll replace him with "Teddy" so she doesn't scream for him tomorrow (just in case).  The brown puppy just hangs out & gets love when she plays with all her buddies in the morning.  It is SO cute to see her try to feed her friends her snacks & drinks!  She brushes their teeth with her toothbrush and when she "talks" to them, her daddy says it sounds like she's telling them what to do....

Picture of her friends on her new pink chair.

It's not too often we get a chance for a family photo and for bonus Bella is also looking at the camera.

This is our favorite picture this month.  She looks so cute staring at the remote and smiling at daddy.

Bella will be 17 months at the end of this month.  I can not believe she's so big now.   I know she's my daughter and all but when I look at pictures like this I can't believe how cute she is.  =)

First trip to Legoland

Bella's first train ride.  She had her own seat and everything! 

It was really amazing what they made with Lego pieces.  Here's hubby posing as a Hawaiian cowboy...I think.

Family photo before we left the park.  Bella was pretty out of it by the time we left.

Here's Bella with Daniel and Jenny.  I love this picture with Bella putting a huge piece of melon in her mouth.  Daniel and Jenny look darn cute too taking a break from their snack to pose.

My cousin, his children and my hubby before their roller coaster ride.

Here's Bella on top of a toddler sized slide.  I think she wanted to come down face first. 

My cousin whom I haven't seen in 10 years came to visit with his wife and kids.  It was nice to finally meet his family and have them meet my family too.  We all went to Legoland together and we all had a good time. I was excited for Bella to experience new stimuli but I think she'd enjoy the park more in few more years.  We left the park earlier than our cousins and came home by 7pm but Bella had a really hard time falling asleep and that night she woke up at 11:30pm and she did not go back to sleep until about 3am!  I guess the park was just too much of a stimuli for her??? She's never done that before and I was so dead tired the next day and so was she.  She took a long nap the next day and went to bed super early.  I am so happy that Bella is growing up and is more responsive.  It is so fun to watch her dance and play.  It really brings a smile to my face and lifts me up every time.  It's also nice that she can communicate to me what she needs.   It's really amazing to realize how much she can understand.  I really love this stage more than any other stage in her life so far.  

Bella 16 months now!

It's been a long time since I posted any pictures since her birthday in March so here's a picture chronicle of Bella until now....

Here we are at the Honolulu Zoo a few months back.  She loved the zoo so so much.  We'll definitely have to take her to the zoo back at home too.  The Honolulu Zoo was surprisingly clean and had more animals than what I expected.  Friends told us not to expect too much and we were pleasantly surprised.

Daddy, Bella and some lovely giraffes in the background.

We were in Cancun, Mexico a few weeks back.  We stayed at the Rosewood Miyakoba and it was THE most amazing hotel we've stayed at.  Thanks to work, everything was paid for as well.  The weather was quite humid which was great for Bella's skin.  Her eczema was totally gone that week and she got to wear shorts and tank tops the entire week.  It was so awesome in many ways expect for my hair!

Here we are at Tulum, one of the Mayan Ruins near Cancun.  It was super hot, but we went for a quick swim which was so refreshing.  The water was the amazing aqua color of the Caribbean and the sand was butter soft on our feet.  Thanks to Mom baby sitting, we were able to make this trip.

Not sure where we're at.  It's a cute one, so I added it.

Bella's playing at home.  After our trip to Cancun, her eczema has really cleared up and she's able to wear short sleeved outfits.  Yipee!!!!  I am so happy especially since the weather's been super duper warm.  I notice now babies/infants with eczema and I really feel for the babies and their parents.  

She's growing up so fast!  Bella finally started walking at the end of 14 months.  I was getting a bit worried because she took her sweet old time walking.  Even at 16 months, she not in any hurry to run off somewhere.  Bella's in her pink fairy outfit.

Bella and headless daddy at church.  She looked so sassy, I had to snap away.  It's one of my favorites pictures for the month.

Bella at a friend's birthday party.  She was such a good girl even though she missed her morning nap.  There's been many many birthday parties this year.

Bella at a wedding.  It seemed like one of the hottest days of the year and the church had no air conditioning!  We felt like we were melting, but Bella had a good time people watching and entertaining herself.  She's been so good in public places...I don't know if this is because she's a girl, the age, or if this is her personality.  We're hoping this will be permanent trait of hers.

It's been a long time since the last post.  We've been quite busy going back and forth from Hawaii, my mom's health issues, vacation, weddings & birthday parties, and of course Bella is growing up fast & I've had less time to sit and work on the blog.  I hope I can keep it up!

Roseola

This week was one of the most difficult weeks of my time with Bella.  I recently joined the local Mom's Club to have Bella play with other babies and to meet other moms in the neighborhood. We've gone twice to the play dates and both times Bella got sick.  The first time she caught a Cold which wasn't so bad.  She just had a runny/stuffy nose that didn't seem to bother her much. She was her usual happy self despite the Cold.  I agree with the philosophy that it's actually good for her to get sick a few times before starting school to build her immunity.

Well, I think this week she caught Roseola after her play date and had a fever of over 103 for 3 straight days.  Fever combined with her teething made her so miserable all she did was cry and cling on to me 24/7.  It was pretty difficult to deal with to say the least.  Not only was it physically draining, it's difficult to see your child suffer so much.  Motrin really saved the day/night this week.  I think it helped her to sleep through the night. The Pediatrician didn't know the cause of the fever until she broke out with the rash today which is typical with Roseola.  

I think I almost reached my breaking point today.  Even though her fever died down, her teething still made her irritable with crying spells all day long. It was a tough week to say the least.  However, when we put her to bed and started looking at her newly arrived photos from her 1st year Birthday, I just felt so much better.  (The thick slice of ice cream cake helped too)  

I knew that being a Mom would be hard work, but I never thought I would be so physically tired all the time.  I guess I am pretty weak and need to do some muscle training to keep up with my little one.  In that way I can't wait until she can walk!!!  Everyone tells me it'll be harder once she walks, but at least I won't have to hold her so much (or so I hope).

Birthday Pictures II

We finally received our pictures from our photographer from her birthday party.  We are so happy with the pictures and she was really awesome to work with.  We really enjoyed Bella's birthday party with our friends and had a great time doing Bella's first professional photo shoot.  I felt bad for not taking any professional photos of her the entire year so I was pleased that the photos came our really great.  Here are a few of our favorites....enjoy!

Here's her princess cake.  It looked really great but I heard it didn't taste very good.  I was so busy with her that day I think I managed to drink a sip of water and that was about all the food I had the entire day.  Here Bella's in her traditional Chinese dress.  She had Korean one and a princess dress too!

We had to help her hurry and blow out the candles.  She was reaching for the flames with her hands!

Family photo where we're all looking somewhere different.

This photo looks neat with the mirror as the background.

I really like this photo of Daddy and Bella.  They look so happy together~

Another fun one with Daddy.

Here's Princess Bella clapping for us during the photo shoot.  Did I mention it was a Princess themed party?

Me and baby happy together.  The photos look great but the weather was actually pretty cold.

Here's Bella looking postcard perfect.  Our photographer did a great job editing the photos.

Pretty in Pink.