First Ear Infection

We took Bella to the pediatrician this morning and she has an ear infection from the cough/congestion. It's her 1st ear infection, which is strange since she's had so many colds. So, our little one is on antibiotics for the ear infection, Zyrtec and Singulair for the asthma/allergies, Tylenol and Motrin for the fever, and I have another prescription on hand in case her ear starts dripping guck! That's life right now...

We can stop the nebulizer for now, which is a blessing because Isabella hates it more and more everyday! As soon as she sees the ducky face mask she shakes her head and says no. Poor thing! She's only 18 months and has had so many illnesses and complications and tests...

So, please continue praying for Bella that she can feel better soon and for all of us to keep our sanity!

Happy 18th Month Birthday to Bella!

Isabella is 18 months today. She weights about 24 lbs now and it's growing more and more everyday. She's been eating really good, loves to "read" her books out loud, is getting better at coloring and using the crayons, loves to watch Little People and Baby Einstein DVDs, and is developing a little personality of her own.

We also went to the allergist today and did her skin test for allergies. She did so good through out the testing. She got poked 20 times and didn't even cry. They are "little" pokes in sets of 5 so it wasnt' too bad. And then we had to wait 15 minutes for the skin/body to react. It turns out she's allergic to cats and cockroaches. I can understand cats, even though she has been exposed to them only once. But cockroaches?? The doctor said it doesn't mean we have them at home but that maybe she has had some airborne contact in other houses or stores. He also said she might be allergic to peanuts and tuna so we are doing a blood test to get more accurate results. So for now we'll continue giving her the Zyrtec and the nebulizer is kinda optional. I just hope she continues to get better and sleep well!

Two days in a row!

LOL... I know, when it rains, it pours! So, here I am again... :)

We are taking Isabella to the allergist on Friday to have her tested. She's been on the nebulizer for over 3 weeks and on the Zyrtec (allergy meds) for well over a month. Maybe 2. Yiaks! I just hate seeing her sick. She's been feeling a lot better but she HATES the nebulizer. It's like an infant torture method. She cries and screams and kicks and pulls her hair and screams some more THE WHOLE 10 MINUTES we give her the treatment. Poor baby. We have tried everything under the sun. Put on a video, give her a toy, sing to her, hold her in different ways, etc, etc... nothing works! Anyways, hopefully this Friday the doctor will give us some good news.

Mocha has also been somewhat tortured. We decided to put her outside to see if it would help Bella's allergies. Well, she's been spoiled for almost 4 years and it's been rough on her! :( Hopefully the allergist diagnostic will also be good news for our little puppy :)

Vacation and Updates

We decided to visit So Cal for Thanksgiving since our families live so far away and we are going for Christmas. We drove down Tuesday night and came back home last night. We drove at night so she could sleep in the car. We tried to keep her schedule somewhat the same (naps, feedings, etc) and she did really good. Our friends just loved her and Bella was so comfortable hanging out with them. We went to the beach in Malibu, Hollywood and all around LA. It was a lot of fun, even thought I didnt get to go shopping a lot for Black Friday... but I did get Bella a Christmas present! :) It was a great trip overall. We got to see lots of friends - Claudia & Mike Benggon, Eddie Vargas, Samuel Rodriguez, Ada Garcia, among others. And we got to meet some new faces too :) We didn't have turkey for Thanksgiving (which I had been craving) since most of our friends are vegetarians. Instead I bought a roasted chicken from Costco :) hahaha But it was great being able to hang out with people our same age and to do some sightseeing around LA.

Isabella will be 18 months in 3 days and we are enjoying her more than ever! She's such a happy baby now. She's a talker like her daddy and loves to pretend she's reading a book. I also got her some Little People DVDs and she's loving those! She is so cute and funny and I just love her to pieces! :)

Family Christmas Pictures

We went to JCP to take our Christmas pictures and Bella was NOT in a good mood... :(

Still sick...

Well, Bella's been sick for weeks and was getting better with the Zyrtec but now she's getting worst. She coughs and coughs and coughs. Poor little thing. Last night we were driving back from Mariposa church and she coughed the WHOLE HOUR drive :( We just dont know what to do. She was coughing just at night but now she coughs during the day too. And she wakes herself up at night because she just coughs, coughs, coughs... And last night she woke up at 3:30 and couldnt stop coughing. So I was up with her for about 30 minutes trying to help her go back to sleep. We gave her another medicine for cough suppressant but it doesnt seem to help much :( ugh ... and her appetite is way down too.

Anyways, if you are still with me, please keep Bella in your prayers. I just want her to feel better and be healthy!

And here's a picture of her :) Our little cutie :)

My Little Fairy Princess

I took Bella to JCP for their Fairy Event and spent an arm and a leg buying pictures. But they were worth every penny cause they came out super super cute!!! :) These are a few of them. I hope you enjoy them!

Videos of Bella

Here are some videos of Bella. First saying "Papa", clapping, and pointing at her nose. Then, tickling daddy and pretending he's a horsey! :)



ETA: Sorry the second video is not uploading... will try later.

And she's walking!!!!!!!

We've been "encouraging" Bella to walk on her own, but every time we let go of her hand she'd sit down. She's been cruising since she was about 7 months and loves pushing her walker around the house. But today while we were playing, walking back and forth between Billy and I, I let go of her hand and she kept walking on her own. Only 3 or 4 steps. But I just started crying. I felt so overwhelmed with joy to see her grow and take her first steps. We already talked to her grandparents and they are all excited about seeing her walk next week when we go for a visit/vacation to Louisiana and Texas.

We also went to her "well check" appointment with the pediatrician this morning. She weights 20 lbs 12 oz and she's 27 and 1/2 in. She's in the 30th and 20th percentile respectively. She's gonna be petite! :) She also got 2 shots and poor baby cried and cried and then snuggled with Daddy. She's definitely a Daddy's girl :)

I'll post some pictures tomorrow so y'all can see my little angel :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BELLA!!!

A year ago, Bella arrived to our world and changed our lives forever. I can't believe she's ONE!!! She's so adorable and cute and I love her beyond words. We built her a little swing/slide playground set yesterday and she was so happy swinging in it.
She's also getting more and more expressive every day. We went to Lowes to buy some paint and other stuff for the new house and she was waving "bye-bye" to a lady that picked up her ducky. It was so cute :love: She used to give me kisses (aka open mouth pecks) but I dont know why she's not doing it anymore :( I just keep telling her to kiss me and since she doesn't I just kiss her all over her face and she laughs.

More teeth coming out!

What else can I say?! Her teeth are coming out and she's cranky! LOL

I can feed myself!!

Bella fed herself with a spoon for the first time on Wednesday. She was so cute trying to put the spoon in her mouth. Only problem was sometimes she would turn it and the spoon wouldn't quite fit in her mouth! I'll put some pictures later.

And yes, I'm still sick. Billy and Bella are doing better, thank God! But I'm worst. I think I have a sinus infection now :(

Update: I went to the doctor again today and he said I have bronchitis and asthma and a sinus infection. Great. NOT!! He gave me like 3 or 4 prescriptions for different meds. *sigh* When will it all end?!! I changed some sheets yesterday and did a bunch of laundry in an effort to clean the house and get rid of any possible bacteria still lingering around. The winds were wild out of control for like 5 days so that didnt help with allergy stuff. But it stopped today and I've opened all the windows and hoping the house will air out.

Still sick...

Here I am. Laying on the couch sick as a dog. Well, actually our dog is the only one not sick in our house. Go figure! We started giving Bella antibiotics last night and I got my prescription today for antibiotics too. Billy goes in for a doctor's appointment this afternoon so we'll see how he's doing. Bella still had a fever of 101.1*F last night so that's why we started giving her the antibiotics. Last night was rough too. She felt asleep around 6:30 pm but then woke up every 20-30 minutes crying until about 11 pm.

I haven't been able to scrapbook much and I feel sad. I was doing pretty good on Bella's baby album.

Now we are ALL sick... :(

Thanks for the prayers, good thoughts, and concerns about Bella. She's still sick. Last night was terrible too. She woke up at 4 and wouldnt go back to sleep for about 45 min, just crying and crying. We gave her Motrin and even fed her 6 oz. The urine sample was useless cause it didnt go inside the little bag it was supposed to... but I dont think that was critical since the white blood count was normal. We are just waiting to hear from her pediatrician today.

The worst part is now Billy and I are REALLY sick too. I had a fever last night and what I can only describe as a hot flash. Am I too young for those?? In any case, I have no idea what was wrong but I was super hot and couldnt fall sleep for 2 hrs. Now we have pounding headches, body aches, terrible soar throats... what's wrong with us?!!! We are falling apart... :(

One a happy note: Bella said Mocha for the first time. And both Billy and I heard her, so it's not that I'm allucinating with my illness :P She also discovered toilet paper and how fun it is to unrolled it! :)

Another trip to the ER

Please keep praying for Bella. Last night her fever went up to 104.1*F. We gave her a bath at almost 11 pm! We've also been giving her Tylenol and Motrin. But since it's been 5 days, we called her pediatrician in the afternoon and she saw us in her office. She doesn't have an ear infection or any other bacterial infection that the doctor could see. So, she sent us to the ER for lab work. We did that and thank God the nurse that drew her blood was really good and got it in the first try. We are now waiting for her to pee so we can bring a urine sample back to the lab. Sorry if it's TMI. Hopefully we'll hear from the doctor soon to see what we can do for our little one.

ETA: Well, the doctor just called and said the white blood count was normal. The hemoglobin and iron are a little low but nothing major. She's still waiting on a couple of other tests but wont get them until tomorrow. So, we'll see how she does tonight.

Top teeth are out!!!

Well, at least one of them. Her top right tooth came out 2 days ago. The other one is *wanting* to come out but still on limbo. No pictures yet, sorry :(

The sad news is that Bella's had a high fever for the last 4 days. And after our last experience with fevers (febrile seizure and all), we've been REALLY keeping a close eye to her temperatures. Last night she woke up at 1:30 am and her temp was 103.5*F. The night before it reached 104*F. We've been giving her Motrin and Tylenol, keeping her hydrated with pedialyte, and giving her baths once or twice a day. Please keep her in your prayers that the fever will go down and stay down!

Bottom Teeth are out!!

Isnt she adorable?!! :) Her teeth have been out for a couple of weeks but we hadn't been able to take a picture. Now one of her top teeth is coming out but that one is going to be even harder to catch in a picture... we'll see!

Almost 1!

Bella's 11 months and soon she'll turn 1! It's been quite an amazing year.

We've been planning her birthday party, actually TWO birthday parties! One here in Merced and another one in Louisiana at B's mom's house. A friend from 2Peas is working on the invitations and I can't wait to see them.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!! :)

I'm officially 27 now. It was a good day. We all went to church in Mariposa and I got a couple of presents from church members! :) Everybody loved seeing Bella again after not seeing her for almost 2 months!
Then we went to a friend's b-day party. He's turning 40 on Monday and some family and friends were coming from out of town. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELBIO!! :)
So, tomorrow we are having MY birthday party!! :) Can't wait for Ice Cream Cake!!! :D

'Twas The Day Before My Birthday!

Well, it's my last day of enjoying the mid-twenties. the prime of my life is coming to an end. the foxy chick days are gone. it's all downhill from now on. the sharp mind and free spirit days are over (...) geesh, so dramatic! LOL

On a brighter note, my most dear wonderful parents and brother got me a Cricut Expression. I wasn't supposed to open it until tomorrow, but what's one day. No, not even. Just 12 hrs. So, anyways, I did it! I did it! I opened the Cricut!!! :D :grin: :grin: :grin: It's gorgeous! LOL Now I'm so excited about getting some cartridges and start cutting stuff! :D ok, I better stop. my face is going to hurt if I keep smiling this big! LOL Gracias Mami, Papi & Davidcito!!! XOXOXOXO

Also, Billy is planning a little birthday party for me on Sunday. I'll miss our good friends from Southern and Andrews who don't live near us anymore. But we've met some wonderful people at our 2 churches in Merced and Mariposa, and so I hope a lot of them come! :)

I'll post some thoughts tomorrow on what it feels to be 27!! :o