A very full week. . .

The big event of our week was definitely Bella's birthday; but before I get into those pics, I thought I'd share a couple from our Christmas decorating which we did the day before her birthday. Bella did her fair share of decorating - focusing mainly on the red globes. She would put them on and take them off over and over.

This was the look she settled on!It was fun to see her get so into it. The house is all decorated now and I love it! My favorite time is in the evening when the only lights on in the living room come from the Christmas tree. So pretty!

OK, onto Bella's birthday! We had a jam packed day of activity. After church, we had some friends come over who have a little girl about a year younger than Bella. We ate pizza and cake and opened a few presents. Here's Bella sporting her new hat and gloves!The birthday girl with her cake. Cake decorating is definitely not one of my talents. I have no idea how to decorate with frosting and have it look nice so I just grabbed some ribbon and let that be it. Bella didn't seem to mind.

We got this birthday girl hat for her first birthday though she didn't want to wear it then or last year. This year she actually sought it out and put in on herself. I think she liked being the "birthday girl"!

After many attempts to blow out the candle by herself. . . . . . Daddy stepped in to help her out. She gave it a good effort though!Opening up one of our gifts to her - the Sleeping Beauty dvd. She's really into Disney characters and princesses lately. Time to eat cake! We also got her the Minnie Mouse plate that she's eating off of here.

After cake time, we headed off to a kid play place called Kid Junction. They have big slides, rides, and lots of pretend play areas: post office, pizza shop, grocery store, etc. Bella loved it! Here she is in the slide area.

The play restaurant was definitely a highlight. Bella took great care to make some delicious meals!There was also a dress-up stage area.My camera battery died after this. I should probably invest in a back-up one. Thankfully, we still got lots of pics from Bella's big day. When we got home, Bella opened up some more presents and then we popped some popcorn and watched Sleeping Beauty. All in all, a very fun birthday!

Later in the week, Bella and I put together a little gingerbread house. She's been looking forward to this ever since she saw the box earlier in the week. I thought she'd need a little more assistance from me, but once we got the actual house up, she decorated it all by herself. Notice the Snow White outfit. Like I said, she's really into princesses lately.

Here's the finished house! I have it proudly displayed in the dining room.

That same day, I had another doctor appt. Baby is doing well - the heartbeat was in the 160s! I still haven't progressed any, but the baby is very low. My doctor mentioned that my belly was measuring a little small, so he ordered another ultrasound which I scheduled for the next day. I wasn't too concerned at first, but as the day went on I felt a little bit of worry slip in. The possibility of a slight problem was enough to get us to do things we hadn't done yet: pack my hospital bag, pack the baby's bag, install the carseat, wash some clothes, etc. I am happy to say that we are ready for this baby now and everything is looking good! Baby is measuring right on track. We also finished the baby's room this week, though I haven't taken any pictures of it yet. Stay tuned!

On Thursday, Bella had her 3 year well visit. Here are her stats:

weight: 31 lbs. (50th percentile)

height: 31.75 in. (50th percentile)

We have a healthy, average girl. Looks like she is slowing down in her height as she used to be in the 90th percentile for that. I really didn't think that would last too long anyway. Bella did great at this appointment. She got a doctor kit for her birthday and has been really into checking our heartbeats, blood pressure, ears, etc. so she was totally prepared and even a little eager when it came time for the doc to examine her. Some things he had her do were identify colors, jump, hop on one foot, and draw a circle. She passed everything! Next visit is in a year!

Friday evening, our township had its first annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Andy was asked to do the invocation. Here is the mayor handing him the microphone.

Bella all bundled up. It was a very chilly night.Good thing we came prepared with some hot chocolate!This week, we have dental appointments coming up. I'm really not looking forward to it as Bella was fairly traumatized the last time we took her to the dentist. Here's to hoping that this one goes much better. And of course, I'll have another baby appt. Between all my appts., the extra ultrasound visit, Bella's well visit, now the dentist. . . I feel like I've been living at the doctor's office.

Next week, I'll be sure to post pics of the baby's room!