Outpatient

Bella had outpatient surgery before her birthday. She had her tonsils removed and tubes put in her ears. She had fun dressing in the gowns and her colorful bracelets definitely made a great story for superhero bands. She was very brave and had a sore throat for a bit but made a full recovery well before her birthday.

Rug Auction

The girls had a great time separately at the rug auction. Bella was diligent about taking notes and feeling each one. Marin chose to take her shoes off and run up and down the rugs. At one point she even started laying on them and rolling around. We definitely took notice as she spent more time on the softer ones. Makes sense!

Happy Birthday Bella

Our Happy Birthday tradition, the girls sit on the bed to be sung to and open presents.

What one tries the other tries. So cute!

Her new bike! Bella was so excited to help pick it and of course to wear the helmet. We are working on negotiating the pedals. She will get it soon enough.

Talking on the phone with all the grandparents overseas. Of course one by one. She received a lot of well wishes and birthday songs. And she only hung up on Grammy accidentally once.

Writing out her thank you cards.

Bella's 4th Party

Bella's 4th Birthday Party hosted at the house. Mom and Bella made the cake, each layer over three days. One of the kids said there was an "h" on the cake and he was facing the "4".

Bella was waiting to paint on the wall for the whole day. She had to wait until the very end of the party to dig into the finger paints. She found her own side of the wall and decorated the whole side with her purple paint. She was so excited to paint and smile for all of the pictures.

Zeny & Bella share a moment after the cake was all cleaned up.

Layer 1

We are making a three layer cake for Bella's party on Saturday. Today we made the first chocolate level. Bella held the mixer and really had a good time afterwards eating the remaining dough. Good thing it is special birthday season and she can do whatever she likes.

Cupcakes for School

Here are our girls helping to make cupcakes for Bella's school. They are going to have a short celebration on Friday morning for her school. Bella and Marin figured out how to fill the mini muffin pans from their own bowls all by themselves. We won't do the icing until Friday morning so as it won't melt too fast! Ah, the joys of living in a very humid and warm climate.

Daddy's birthday

March is a busy month for us. It starts with Daddy's birthday then ends with Bella's. The girls are really good at making cakes. We made a double decker chocolate cake for Daddy's birthday. Marin helped with the baking and Bella make sure it was nicely frosted. Then of course a big kiss for their favorite guy!!

Swimming in KK

We loved the pool and the beach. Marin had a great time going up and down the slide over and over. Bella went once and then was content to hang out in the pool and jump up and down in the water.

Kota Kinabalu

Our first evening in KK. We went to congratulate our Mommy friends who hiked Mt. Kinabalu for the last two days. All the kids were looking forward to swimming and running around in the grass.

All smiles - computer

Here is Bella playing with her and Marin's Christmas present from Grammy & Grampy.