Monkey Wrench

Or maybe the more appropriate title would be "My monkey and the wrench."

Skyler and Baby Bella supervised while Mommy installed seat belts on Bella's wagon. You would have to say that either Mommy is a really good instructor or Isabella is a really good observer - or both.

Baby Bella decided she knew just how to handle the wrench after watching Mommy for only a couple of minutes. She started tightening every bolt in sight - then turned her attention to Mommy's rear tire.

Much to my amazement, Baby Bella spotted the lug nuts on the car and went after them by herself. No one had to show her that the wrench would work on the lug nuts. All was good until she got the wrench stuck - then Daddy had to help her a little.

Wrenches and lug nuts at seventeen months. What's next? Oil changes at 24 months? You just never know what surprising and amazing thing Baby Bella will do next. Whatever you do, don't close your eyes or even blink.

Chalk it Up...

...to a great day. What a magnificent day for the family to spend some time together outside.

Baby Bella enjoyed her first experience with sidewalk chalk. She and Skyler had fun drawing, crushing, and eating chalk. Yes, eating chalk - that was my Bella, of course.

The hand over her mouth? That was a big moment for all of us - the very first time she covered her mouth for a cough. Manners at 17 months? Who knew?

Lil' Deborah

Our Lil' Deborah has learned much while watching Mommy get dressed every morning. She found her way into Mommy's make-up drawer and tried to apply the tricks of the trade.

Skyler and I were watching with amazement as she found a make-up brush and tried to paint her toe nails. Talk about a Kodak moment. It's moments like this...

Food Fight

And a battle royale it is. The continuing evolution of Baby Bella's eating habits is starting to drive Mommy and Daddy crazy. Not to mention getting us uninvited from people's homes and kicked out of restaurants.

It seems our little food critic no longer wants to sit and eat. She want to eat, roam, drop food and put her sticky hands on every piece of furniture. We have tried a dozen ways to keep her in her chair during meals but all we get are blood curdling screams and a refusal to eat.

On this particular morning, I had to sit on the stairs and hold her while she ate her pineapple with her hands. Then she roamed the house with her bag of Nilla Wafers.

In the car, she started fussing at the Wafers. I'm still not sure what they did wrong but she set them straight right away.

Mommy assures me this is just the beginning stages of the terrible two's. I'm sure if she is trying to encourage me or warn me.

Play Date

The House of Cain was blessed by a visit from the House of Sandridge. The kids had a wonderful time playing with Jacob and little Elise.

The boys were trying to watch a movie without the girls but Baby Bella insisted on being included. She embarrassed Jacob by trying to put her arm around him and laying her head on his shoulder.

Good times with good people.

Toy Box

Do toys procreate? Really, I propose a national bipartisan commission to research and report back to the nation on this most pressing issue that has national security implications. (Me thinks I have seen too many political commercials recently.)

It does seem the toys are multiplying at an alarming rate in Baby Bella's room. She has long ago out grown the little mesh toy baskets we bought for her before she was born. Target to the rescue.

Mommy and Daddy had to invest in a new toy box to house the Bella loot. Baby Bella showed her approval by sitting on it and loving on her pig and bear. Me? I love the toy box. But I love the 70's retro pants even more.

Makes me want to burst out with a chorus of "me and you and dog named Boo."

Bookends

Aw, everyday can't be a Saturday in the yard with the whole family together. It was back to work yesterday and once again we had to enjoy bookend parenting. That's what I call it when we only get to the see the kids first thing in the morning and again in the evening.

Here is a snap shot of our Monday bookends.

Baby Bella was full of life for her morning ride to the Academy. She was pulling her bow out, clapping her hands and growling at Daddy. This is a new thing we do - we look at each other in the mirror and growl.

After a productive day at work, we pick up the little Cain's.

Then comes Monday Night Football. I am blessed to have two rowdy kids who love to dance with Hank Jr. and I as we blast the Monday Night Football theme. You can see Bella Boo getting as close to the TV as she can while Hank is performing.

What a great way to end your first day back to work. The kids stay up a little later - to half time at least. Baby Bella made it to the two minute warning before the half - then it was lights out in Daddy's lap.

Blogging About Blogging - # 600

This is blog entry #600 for the Baby Bella Blog. (fireworks, fireworks)

It is true that I had never seen, read, or created a blog until the day Baby Bella was born. I was neither a blogger nor the son of a blogger.

The Baby Bella Blog was a silent goal I mulled over in the last couple of weeks of the pregnancy. I thought about soliciting advice and exploring the idea prior to her arrival but that last week has a way of sneaking up on you.

Six hundred blog entries later I think maybe, just maybe, we can say we've created something our Isabella Reagan will cherish all of her days. (I hope so, I have been told that I have massacred the English language beyond repair.)

Funny how things get woven into the fabric of our lives. A day or two late with the blog and I start getting emails, texts, and phone calls wondering if everything is OK. For some in Baby Bella Blog Nation, the daily dose of Bella is anticipated like that first of cup of coffee in the morning.

So here's to you Baby Bella Blog Nation, I raise my sweet iced tea and toast blog entry #600. These are the life and times of Isabella Reagan Blythe Cain. These are the good 'ole days.

Toy Aisle

Baby Bella enjoying herself on the toy aisle at Target. She is now old enough to want to get down and explore for herself.

Oh, my. The shopping routines have changed in the House of Cain.