Time to Catch up....

Wow! We have been busy. Bella has been dealing with various illnesses following her first birthday....come to find out that she simply has allergies. There is a river running under our building that is being unearthed for the World Cup. It is stirring things up a bit and creating a mold problem. So, Bella and several other children in the area are dealing with allergies. We are working with the owners of our building and trying to see if we can get out a little earlier. Bella and I have been looking at flats in our spare time.

The biggest news other than that is that Bella was fitted with her first pair of shoes on Friday. And...boy is she proud!!!! She loves shoes. When we entered the store the owner approached Bella and thought she was going to have to coax Bella into letting her measure foot....instead, Bella stuck her foot out and pointed around the room and repeated the word "shoe" several times. Bella wanted to try on every flashy pair of shoes available. The owner suggested a flexible sole and Bella found her shoes....pictured above.

Also....for the last two weeks Bella has a morning ritual of putting scarves on....as many as she can find. She also likes putting underwear around her neck....I guess she likes accessories.

It has been very busy and eventful around here for the last few days. Bella woke up on her birthday and opened some presents from Grandmere (already wearing her new pajamas and bear house shoes). Then we had breakfast together. Unfortunately, she got sick that night during her bedtime stories. It may have been a stomach virus or it may just be more teething. In any case, she did not feel well on Friday as we prepared for the party on Saturday. By Saturday she was feeling better and the party was a big success. We celebrated that Bella is 1 and papa is 40! There were a good number of children at the party and everyone had fun. Bella got to spend time with her friends. Today we went out in the park to pull Bella around on the sled since there has been snow here. Mama went down the hill on the sled, the first time in her life that she has gone sledding. It was very exciting. We then went to Jochen's flat and had dinner with him, Doris and Moira. We lit some sparklers in the shape of the letters "B" & "N" for Bella and sang her happy birthday in German and English. It was a relaxing way to end the weekend.

Tomorrow's my Birthday!

Tommorow is Bella's birthday. Today after music class we arrived home to find a package on our doorstep from Grandmere. Bella was very excited simply because she LOVES boxes. In fact, I think boxes are a babies best friend.

We are very busy planning a party for Brian and Bella. It will be interesting to see how Bella responds to so many people in our flat. She is very social but I still think she will be a bit stunned.

So...enjoy the photos! I have posted two of her attacking the box from Grandmere. One of her wearing her new duck pajamas and bear house shoes and one of Bella with her Troll from Auntie Sarah.

Our Saturday Afternoon

We just returned from the Gewandhaus. The Gewandhaus is Leipzig's orchestra hall. Today there was a special concert for families...meaning that while the world-famous orchestra played selections from Mozart, babies and small children could feel free to add their two cents. Bella clapped, screamed, flirted with senior citizens and mostly enjoyed the vastness of the Gewandhaus. She even fell asleep during "The Rites of Spring." What a peaceful life?

Unfortunately we have all been a bit sick lately. Bella is doing well, though and is still pretty energetic. She is almost always happy and on the go. She has started to stand on her own for up to half a minute or so and then she falls down on her butt. She finds this very exciting. She has also taken a wobbly step or two, usually toward one of us. It probably won't be long until she is walking around on her own.