Come Sail Away...

Last week, we went on a cruise to Key West and the Bahamas with the Singleton Family - Grandy & Grandpa and Aunt Karen & Uncle Lynn. It was really a great escape for a week and lots of fun.

Bella had a great time with her grandparents. They spoiled her rotten!


In Key West, we went to an awesome Butterfly Conservatory. If you are ever there, we highly recommend it. There were TONS of butterflies, birds and flowers. They said that if a butterfly landed on you, it was good luck. I hope this is true because the landed on all 3 of us!


In Freeport, we spent some time at a beautiful beach. Bella was a little nervous at first, but really got into it after a little while! She was jumping in the water and making sandcastles before we knew it!


Here are a few pictures of Bella just having fun.


We did so much more including a submarine ride in Nassau, bus tours, swimming, etc. To see all of the pictures, click here.

More to come later!

Poppy

Last week, I lost my grandfather and Bella lost one of her great-grandfathers. Poppy (Ken Given) you were a great man and are already sorely missed.


We love you.

Pastries, Pumpkins and Prarie Wagons

We had a very fun and full day for Bella's 2nd birthday. We started the day with special birthday donuts.

After breakfast, we took her to the Dallas Arboretum. They have an amazing pumpkin festival every fall. She had a blast with all of the pumpkins.


Her favorite part of the whole Arboretum was the area called Prairie Town. This area has all types of houses from prairie times. There was a covered wagon that Bella was crazy about!



More to come later!

Party Time! Excellent!

This past weekend, we celebrated Bella's birthday (which is actually this Thursday) with a party and an awesome visit from Mimi, Zayde and Aunt Amy.

She started off the weekend by spending quality time with Mimi, doing what she loves most...reading.


Saturday was party day! We had the party at a park in our neighbor hood that has a great playground. We had lunch and a really fun craft station where the kids (and some adults) could decorate buckets for Halloween.

(BTW - we got the delicious cupcakes from a great kid, Brian, who is having a virtual bake sale with all proceeds going to end childhood hunger. Check out his website here.)

Bella got some amazing presents from her friends and we thank them all!

Until next time!
The Singleton Family

Fun with Friends!

Bella has had a lot of fun with her friends lately...here are some pics!

Bella & Shane

Bella & Ella

Ella, Alexa & Bella

Elliott, LD, Grayson, Catie & Bella

She is so lucky to have such good friends in her life!!

Love,
The Singleton Family

Family Photos!

For my birthday, we had family pictures taken (minus Patsy). They turned out great! Here are a few of my favorites:






Want to see more? Click here for the full album!

Love,
The Singleton Family

El Paso or Bust!

Bella and I just got back from spending a whole week in El Paso with Mimi & Zayde, Aunt "Mamy" (Amy) and Paddy, Nonnie & Poppy and Nana & Papa.

Bella had so much fun with her Aunt Amy. She was spoiled rotten by all of the gifts and had so much fun playing with her at the park, coloring and reading books.


Bella also got to spend quality time with her Mimi & Zayde.



We finished up the week with a party for Nana & Papa's 55th Anniversary and Papa's 80th Birthday as well as the Fourth of July.

All dressed up for the party!

Playing with her sparkler (unlit, of course!)

More to come soon!

Love,
The Singleton Family

Splish Splash!

Hot summer days are perfect for the neighborhood Splash Park! Bella and Daddy had so much fun running through the water. It is the perfect way to cool off!


And what could be better after splashing around in the heat than an ice cream cone?

Yummy!

Love,
The Singleton Family

Sharing is Caring

Sometimes Chinese food is better when you share it with a friend! Bella and her friend Edie just loved the sweet and sour sauce and crispy noodles and were so good at sharing!


Love,
The Singletons

School is IN for summer!

Bella started Preschool this week! She is such a big girl! She goes to school every day and is loving it! She has 2 sweet teachers - Ms. Evelyn and Ms. Marina - who are great. Here are some pictures from Day 1.

All dressed up for school!

Playing on the playground

Seriously Mom...can you stop taking pictures? You are embarrassing me in front of my new friends.

More later!

Love,
The Singleton Family

Go Cubs Go!

This past weekend, Zayde came to town to visit. The highlight of the weekend was a trip the the Ballpark in Arlington for the Cubs vs. Rangers game. Zayde was so excited to be able to take Bella to her first Cubs game.

It was a really fun game, full of lots of yummy ballpark food (Bella liked to dip her pb&j into the nacho cheese), friends (we ran into our friends Trish & Grayson!) and best of all...a victory for the Cubs!!

Go Cubs Go!!! Here are some pictures from the day:

Zayde & Bella

Bella & Daddy

Cheering on the Cubbies!

Uncle Awesome, Aunt BB & Zayde

Love,
The Singleton Family

Picture Perfect

Bella had a great photo shoot with Mindi Sue in March for her 18 month pictures. We planned on having them taken outside, but Mother Nature had other ideas. That was the day that we had snow! For our backup plan, Mindi Sue took the pictures at our home and they turned out great.

Here are a few of our favorites:






Want to see more? The full album can be found by clicking here.

Love,
The Singleton Family

18 months already??

Bella turned 18 months last week and had her doctor appointment today. She weighed in at 21.5 pounds (in the 10th percentile) and is 31 inches tall (25th percentile). She is on the small side, but Dr. D said she is looking great.

She was a total trooper with her iron test and vaccinations. There were a few tears, but a Dora sticker cheered her up quickly.

Last month, Bella had her 18 month pictures taken by Mindi Sue. They came out great as usual. Check them out at http://mindisuephotos.com/. Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and click on the box labeled Bella-18 months. The password is patsy2. Let us know what you think!

Love,
The Singleton Family

Smile for the camera!

Bella has become such a fan of the camera. Every time a camera is pointed at her, she poses, smiles and says cheese! Here are a few of our favorite shots.

More later!

Love,
The Singleton Family

Spring Break!

We have had such a fun spring break! Mimi came to visit on Wednesday and stayed through Saturday. On Thursday, we had a picnic and playdate in the park with Bella's good friends Catie, Elliott, LD & Grayson.





We also had lots of fun playing and shopping with Mimi and were really sad to say goodbye. We can't wait to see her again next month!

Love,
The Singleton Family