Bella

Well I thought I'd give a little update on each kiddo.  Starting with my precious eldest.  Bella is a little over a month away from being 7.  Crazy.  Each birthday I just can't believe how old she is getting.  Still the sweetest little girl you'll ever meet, even when a little attitude starts to flair all she needs is a quick stern look.  She is a reading machine.  She absolutely loves it and I love that she loves to grab any book and take a crack at it.  She's doing well in school and continues to love it.  Speaking of school, her school is on strike right now.  We have the highest taxes than any other city around us and yet our teachers are fighting for fair pay.  I'd say someone is channeling money terribly in our district!  Its a hard spot.  We and other people in our town can NOT afford a penny more in taxes but obviously as a former teacher I think they deserve way more than then they get.  Tuesday night Bella had to go to bed not knowing if there was school or not (they were in negotiations until midnight) which of course was unsettling for my little worrier.  She seemed to be enjoying her unplanned vacation until the other day when we brought her teacher some hot cocoa (poor things, this strike of course happens during the coldest week of our winter so far) and a cake pop, afterwards in the car she sadly told me she misses Miss P. :(  So hopefully we'll get her back in school soon.  One of the saddest things for me this year is Bella will not wear bows in her hair, and often not anything. :(  It started with her coming home each day with her bow from that day in her bag.  Finally I asked her why she kept taking her bows out and she said, "Mom no one wears bows at school." Sniff. :(  I thought for sure she couldn't be right so at her holiday party I had a look around.  Surely for a party there would be some bows.  I looked around and not one girl had a bow.  One girl had barrettes but other than that not one girl had anything in her hair.  Breaks my heart. :(  Should have known my days were numbered, but seems too soon!  She still lets me talk her into it for church and special occasions but any sort of tie or style is usually short lived. :(  Reminds me of when she was a baby!  Bella is also tying her shoes (well has been for a couple of months)!  Ha I know that's not that impressive.  Its totally my fault.  I have always bought the girls slip on, buckles, or shoes without ties just because its easier for me. :)  Then I asked around and everyone was like yeah my son/daughter can tie her shoes, etc.  Oops!  Thankfully the hubs had taken matters into his own hands.  For gym 3 days a week she wears gym shoes so each morning he had been showing and teaching her the ropes and of course she had gotten it quickly!  She also continues to draw and write.  She definitely has the love language of gifts like her mommy.  She just loves to make pictures and creative creations for everyone she loves.  Christmas is just delightful for her.  She just loved wrapping up things she had made and giving them away.  She is a great big sister.  Brooke is just smitten with her.  75% of the time when Brooke calls Mommy she's talking about Bella (they play house a lot).  Ha.  Her and Brynn have some tough moments but also have the greatest time together too.  Bella struggles a lot with  putting others first.  We are trying really hard to instill this rule into her but its a very hard lesson to learn, even for us!  She truly does amaze me with her maturity at times.  She is an awesome friend.  She loves her friends and family so much and has such a sensitive spirit.  Trying to think about what else is going on with our first baby....  Well lets just get to some pics....

I'm sorry this girl is so adorable and dresses way cuter than me. ;)

(this was pre-anti bow stage)

 (she will however wear handbands!  However those don't stay in very long either)

 Bella won VIP for good behavior at school.  She got to sit in the front row in a special seat at a school assembly.  She was so thrilled and proud, as were we! (her teacher sent me this sweet pic)

Bella has definitely been the most excited about Baby #4. In school they were doing vocabulary and their word was curious and Bella came home with this worksheet.  Made me smile. :)

Love this little girl!