Bella is Growing Up

I was just noticing today that Bella seems so much older than she did just last week. She seems to understand more now. For example, she really seems to enjoy the Touch and Sparkle books. They are animals books that have parts that you can feel, like the fur on a rabbit. She seems excited when I pull one of these books out. Just today, she followed my lead and touched each page on the spot where she could feel the animal. It's like she was watching and listening to me and knew just what to do. She also crawled to me today when she was crawling toward the front door and I said, "Bella, where are you going? Come over here to Mommy." When I said this, she stopped, turned around and looked, and began to crawl to me, with a huge smile on her face, of course. My sweet Bella is always smiling!

I think Bella will begin walking very soon. Today, while standing, she let go and balanced for several seconds before grabbing back onto the toy bin or falling back on her butt. She kept doing this again and again. It was like a game to her. She seemed to think it was a lot of fun.



Last week, Bella said, "Mama," for the first time. What a sweet sound! It brought back memories of Eli saying Mama and Dada. That seems like it was just a few months ago, but it's been almost two years since Eli first spoke those words all parents love to hear. Where did all that time go? As I watch Eli and Bella grow and change, it makes me sad that Stephen is not here to share these precious, once in a lifetime moments with us. I look forward to the day he is home and we can once again create memories together.