My little fish...
my little bella is at such a great age right now...her personality is definitely becoming known by all - strong-willed, independent, daring, a total ham, outgoing...so much fun YET so much work at the same time. we do not go a day without a timeout because we are trying to teach bella that the word NO is not something we scream at mommy, so the second it comes out of her mouth, she goes to timeout! let me say, 6 months ago, she loved timeout, but now, she HATES it! and it is definitely working. we went from about 5 a day to one a day. she knows why she gets in trouble and she always gets up after her 2 minutes are up on the timer, comes and gives me a hug, and says, "I all better now mommy." so bella has definitely "found" herself, but it's so worth it if you look at the big picture because this little one is sooooooo smart, i just know she is going to do amazing things with her life.

so we were at her friend marley's birthday party yesterday and everyone was swimming...now bella has been in swimming lessons for the past month, but she had been pretty hesitant though making progress at the same time...very slow and steady. well, i don't know what came over her, but yesterday at the party, everything clicked all at once. bella finally understood that floaties make you float...novel concept! she was on fire...swimming BY HERSELF and JUMPING OFF THE EDGE INTO THE POOL! i was beside myself! i have been waiting for this day, and now that she feels comfortable, i think she'll be swimming and surfing with her daddy before we know it! love it!!!!!!!!!!