9 Months Old

Coincidentally, Jonas turned the big "9 Months Old" during a very busy time in our lives.  I was heading to Girls Camp, John was flying solo as a single parent, and we were heading out on our Utah Vacation immediately after.  It only makes sense that I did not remember to get a single shot of Jonas at 9 months.  So, after perusing my pictures, here are a few that were taken around that time.  Hopefully quantity makes up for quality right?  Of course, who am I kidding, anytime this little cutie is in a picture it's ALWAYS a quality shot.  

Happy 9 Months Old Jonas Brutus Beef!!

He's turning into SUCH a little boy.

Who LOVES his corn.

And LOVES his baths.

And enjoys "melting me like buttah" with this adorable smile.

And LOVES to splash.  Seriously, it's like he has to do so many billion splashes each time he hits the water.  So to meet his quota, he splashes non-stop like a crazy boy until it's time to get out.  He's hilarious.

I can't go on enough about this cute little guy.  Each day gets more and more fun to watch him grow up and develop his little (BIG) personality.  He's such an easy going kid and a joy to have in our family.  Rarely does he ever get upset and rarely does he ever NOT smile at his sister.  He loves her and I love seeing it.   They are the best of friends.  


He still has no teeth and has no desire to crawl.  Maybe this means he'll be a laid back little boy all his life.  Or maybe it means he's a smart little guy who has learned how to manipulate everyone to wait on him hand and foot.  Yup, guilty as charged.  How do you expect me to resist hmmmm?  Of course, maybe it's because he is incapable of bending at the waist thanks to his Daddy and all those moments of "core training" / balancing the little monkey by his feet.  Regardless of the reason, I'm convinced he's going to go straight to walking and bypass crawling all together.  He's already started showing interest in pulling up on couches and tables and balancing.  


He's a heavy boy.  We didn't get stats or a doctor's appointment this time around but lets just say he's Heeeeaaaaavvvvvyyy.  As in probably around 23 lbs I'm guessing?  I keep telling him it's time to start learning to walk so my arms don't have to keep breaking by carrying him everywhere.  And we've long since left the infant carrier behind.....both combined are past my weight limit.  


He's turning into such a little boy and it's fun to see him get older and older and grow up.  He's nearing the age where he can keep up with his sister and I can't wait to watch them play together.  


I'm so beyond thankful that I get to be the Mom to such a cute little guy and that I get to spend my days watching him grow up.  I fear the day I have to actually scold him.  How will I be able to stand my ground against such a cute little face?  Of course, I had the same worries about Addison and we managed just fine.


Can't imagine life without you little Jonas McKay.  And I can't imagine life before you came along....even though it was only 9 short months ago.

Sink Swimmers

Every once in a blue moon, Jonas gets to take his bath in the sink.  It's easier for both of us and he seems to like it as well.  Last time it happened, I noticed Addison was wishing she could join him.  


Lucky for her, they got dirty again a few days later, and we had another reason to throw them both in the sink.  I thought it'd be cute to have one in each sink but since we only had one sink stopper, we had to cycle them through.


John thought I was a bit odd for putting a 3 year old in the sink but the 3 year old was loving the idea of it.  Yep, every once in awhile we go a little silly here.

They both ended up loving it.  I loved that I could just grab the nozzle and rinse them off after it was all done.  Not sure it will be a weekly thing but at least she got to enjoy the life of a sink bather at least once.

The New Do

This post is for my cousin Jared.  Who won't get off my back about updating the blog.  And apparently is dying to hear about my haircut.  Time to silence the little pest.  ;-)


So, a few weeks ago, I gave in in a weak moment.  I had plans to go to Girls Camp (another post for later) and decided that I was in desperate need of a haircut.  After squeezing me into an appointment, my beloved stylist made it happen.  I had secretly decided to do something bold.  I've always been a bit on the conservative and safe side.  After googling a few short hair pictures I asked John his opinion on what he liked.  He didn't have much to say about any of it but of course he had no clue I was talking about which one do you like on MY head?  


So, while he flew out on a day business trip, I went to my hair appointment and CHOPPED it all off.  As in 7+ inches.  I was nervous and excited and scared.  But, after all, it's just hair right?  My hair stylist fixed it all cute (like they always do) and I was pleased with it.  


But then I woke up.  And regretted it.  I have no skills with fixing hair and I missed my long hair and my pony tail.  I don't think I'll ever be able to master a round brush and blow dryer simultaneously in this lifetime.  I had never had it this short in my life.  Don't get me wrong, I didn't shed any tears over it or lose any sleep but I definitely miss my long hair.  At least now I can say I know what I look like with short hair.  I doubt I'll go this short again but I can say I've done it.


I miss my pony tail.  I wonder what kind of concoction I can mix up to speed up hair growth?

This was when it looked cute after my stylist fixed it.  I wonder how much she charges to come over every morning.

Oh My Gee

Look Who's Three!!

Our sweet little girly, Addison had a blast celebrating her 3rd year of life.  It's hard to imagine I became a Mom three years ago.  It's been said, the days are long but the years are short and I'd definitely have to agree.  I'm not sure where all those years have gone but I do know it's been a blast watching Addison grow up and seeing her personality develop.  


Now that she's older, she gets more of what a birthday actually is - which makes it more fun for me.  This year, I decided to start tapering off on the festivities and make them nice and low-key so we could all enjoy ourselves.  Enter Chuck E. Cheese.  So much better than spending our time outside in the heat with a picnic (yep, we've been there).  So much entertainment to keep the kids happy and busy so I could sit back and watch instead of playing "Master of Ceremonies".  It was such a fun day to celebrate and I can't wait until we get to do it again next year (okay, maybe I can - she can't grow up THAT fast!)

Since we were celebrating her birthday party on Monday, we decided to have her Birthday Dinner on Sunday.  She did a great job in picking out her favorites:  Spiral ham, strawberries and "teewee's" (kiwi's), and "spicy drink" (Sprite), and broccoli.  

The day of her actual birthday started off with Grandma Bell and Addison heading out together for a special date - just the two of them.  We were so excited Grandma Bell drove all that way just to spend her day with her and she was BEYOND thrilled that they got to go on a date.  She talked about it quite a bit the day before and anxiously kept asking when it was time.  They started their date at "Donald's" for breakfast and then headed to the park to swing on the swings.  Then they ventured on to the "Cookie Store" (aka Walmart) and yes, Addison helped show Grandma where they could go to get her cookie.  Grandma gave her some money of her very own to pick out her own toy.  She was in heaven.  It was a great way to start her special day and I hope she always remembers her one-on-one time with Grandma.  After all, Jonas is a fan of Grandma too and he likes to get in on the action when he can.  Case in point:

We had a little informal party for her at home so she could open our family presents and check out all her loot before we went and partied with her friends that evening.  Since her birthday was the "Yo Gabba Gabba" theme, I got adventurous and put some iron-on characters on some shirts for her and brother.  She was quite pleased with the outcome and still loves to wear her "Foofa" shirt to this day.  

Jonas even got in on the action and got his own shirt.  My favorite Gabba character is Brobee so of course I had to put it on a shirt for him.  Such a cute boy!

Addison had lots of family and friends come and celebrate her birthday with her at Chuck E. Cheese.  She had a blast running around on the rides, eating pizza, opening presents, and blowing out candles.  Thanks to everyone who was able to come and help create the memories.

Grandpa and Grandma Fields were out of town during Addison's birthday but they made sure to make up for lost time and invited us over to eat a delicious dinner when they got back.  Of course, they gave Addison a great little dollhouse gift/accessories that she adores.  She has carried them around with her everywhere.  Addison is so lucky to have such loving and great grandparents on both sides.  And we are a lucky family to have Addison.  She is the sweetest, cuddliest, most thoughtful little girly and LOVES to talk and ask questions, and loves her brother and her Mommy and Daddy.  She will always be my first baby and my little girl.  

A few things about her:

-She's into anything Gabba, Mickey, Rapunzel, Barbie, girly, and pink.  

-She loves to help Mom with most everything around the house and is always such a good help.

-She loves to have cuddles every night with either Mommy or Daddy before falling asleep.  She'll almost always request to lay in your "nook" (lay with your arms around her)

-She gives the best juicy kisses.

-She loves her brother 99% of the time and makes him laugh about 100% of the time.  Usually we have to tell her to go hide when it's time to feed him dinner b/c all he wants to do is watch her every movement instead of eat.

-She is a very thoughtful girl and is really good at giving random kisses.

-She loves to act silly especially when she's excited to go somewhere or do something - I love watching her do this.

-She loves to snack - more so than eat - but she is a good eater and will eat almost anything once.

-You can usually get her laughing pretty easily if she's crying.  

-She is very independent and likes to do most everything on her own.

-She loves watching for school busses when we drive.

-She can ask about a billion questions all in a row.

-She loves to run, walk, jump on the trampoline, do gymnastics, play with friends, go places, and adores her Grandparents and her cousins on both sides.

Happy 3rd Birthday Addison!

Bell Bonanza

A few weeks back, we had a mini-Bell Reunion in Kansas City.  When I was growing up they used to occur at least weekly.  We'd all gather around my Grandparents house and visit until the wee hours of the morning.  To this day, that is still one of my favorite places to travel back to in my head.  It was pure chaos but in a good way.  Nowadays, we are more spread apart and thus only have reunions every once in a blue moon.  I'm thankful the moon turned blue in KC and I'm especially grateful we had the opportunity to go see it.  :D


The festivities coincided with the weekend of the KC Temple Run and also my cousin, Nathan's graduation celebration.  Since most of us were already within range of each other, it didn't take much effort to plan a get together and talk a few more into showing up/driving the distance.  


We started the festivities at Famous Dave's for an early lunch.  We are a large group and a loud group.  Kudos to our poor waitresses who had to deal with all of us - I can't even remember how many people we had there.  All I do remember is that I couldn't hear a thing from all the noise and combined I think there were 7 glasses of drinks spilled.  Some while cleaning up the others.  And no, the majority were not kids that were spilling them.  Poor, poor waiters.


We really got to let loose afterwards when we all met up at a local park and sat and visited a little longer before we all went our separate directions.  There was LOTS of picture taking and lots of catching up going on.  I even got to meet my new cousin-in-law that I hadn't even met before.  I think everyone had a blast and it was so good to see everyone again.  


The weekend festivities were chaotic and seemed to fly by in a blur but I'm very grateful they got to fly by in the first place.  It made the craziness of driving there/back worth it.....almost.  ;-)  It's still too soon to rehash but lets just say our trip up involved a speeding ticket (guilty as charged) and our return trip involved running out of gas...literally...yeah it was a first...thank you Grandma. ;-)  Good thing she earned her keep in helping me juggle two kiddos the whole weekend since John had to stay behind and work.  

The Bell Family....and that wasn't even all of us!

The Cousins.  We grew up hanging out with each other so it was so weird to see all our kids playing together.    Whodathunk we'd grow up and produce offspring?  

The Bell siblings.  My Dad is in the middle.  Now you can see where I get my photogenic abilities. ;o)

It was a great weekend to spend together.  Hopefully it won't take us so many years to do it all over again!