Well, we are hoping all of our visitors will bring some warmth and sunshine our way! We start off our visitor-a-thon today actually with Eric's Aunt Jeanie and Uncle Don coming to stay with Scott and Kelly. Followed by my Uncle Ray, Aunt Judy, and cousin Brenna next Tuesday who are all staying with us in the wigwam. They are coming to visit my parents and celebrate my Dad's birthday with him! Then Maggie, Tommy (my new Brother-in-law), and nephew Ryder for a week. It's their spring break and Maggie's 21st birthday! Should be a good time! The day before they leave Eric's parents are coming to stay with us for Kai's 1st birthday and baptism. We are super excited to see and spend time with all of our guests. They all got the word that February's are also a good time to visit. I hope they are not too disappointed if the weather doesn't shift soon! We will keep you posted!
We have been doing well since the holidays, besides the snow ins and indoor-play. Kai has started to walk! He is pretty good at it now! He can stop and dance ( a slow bob of the knees I think he gets from Eric), he can catch himself mid-big brother-attack, and even walk in a circle to change directions! He can also climb up the stairs in scary fast speed. We are super excited that he started officially signing for things that he wants. He is signing milk, sleep, and all done. His words are still limited to Dada, Eat, and now Ein-ein (Baby Einstein videos). My mom says she thinks she heard him say Gigi. And I think I did too. I am just so sad he still hasn't said Mama. There has been the few rare occasions that we think we heard it but it was too muddled to tell. He has 6 huge teeth and eats ALL day long! We call him munch-chi-chi because he is munching non stop! He loves his mum-mums and anything I am eating. In fact the other day he ate Eric's leftover turmeric chicken pot pie! I was in shock that he liked it as it was spicy and couldn't get enough! Maybe my dream of having one of my children become a renowned chef will come true! We are most excited by Kai's new (maybe a fluke- shouldn't really be saying anything) decision to sleep in longer chunks of time through the night! His pattern has become bed at 7:30 bottle at 12:30 and up at 6:30! I can live with that! He even slept all through the night this week! Shhhh. Keep that on the down-lo! I haven't slept, seriously, in over three years and I just have become numb to it. So this new and improved sleeping from Kai is throwing me off! Thank goodness, for Jake pitching in to help out! His new thing is crawling into bed with us in the middle of the night, all sneaky. Sometimes it isn't until his foot is lodged up one of our noses that we notice! Genny that Jake book you got us is so on point right now in our lives! Funny!!!!
Other than his sleeping habits, Jake is doing pretty well! He is talking way more, which is good and bad! He has found his inner lawyer and likes to decide when mommy and daddy are right and wrong. He is constantly negotiating how much more time he can have to play: "5 more minutes" as he looks at his imaginary watch on his wrist. It's pretty cute. He is very open about which friends he'd like to play with, what he'd like to eat, and where he'd like to go! His imagination is off the moon right now too! It is super cute to see him talking away with his little toys having these awesome little experiences with them! He is super into whales and LOVES watching whale songs on you-tube! We promised him we would take him whale watching this year and he never forgets. He reminds us by telling every stranger we meet that we are going whale watching on a big boat! We got him a cool green whale mobile and found a cool whale night light that spins in a circle so it looks like whales are swimming around him all night. Hopefully, that will help him stay in his room at night! He is getting sooo big! He is 3t and starting into 4t! I can't seeem to keep up with this growth spurts, which is another reason he's up all night! Leg cramps! Errrggghh! We put the kibosh on potting training until after the visit-a-thon. I just wasn't ready and I think that feeling was mutual! We went and checked out preschools for the fall and fell in love with St. John's down the street. It was so nice, great curriculum, spacious, super close, and affordable! We will find out next week if we got in! Say a little prayer for us!
Besides that, Eric and I are doing well. Eric still is enjoying his job and in this economy still has a job! They even did layoffs in his department and some of his coworker good friends got let go. Say a little prayer for them too! We are just trying to stay positive and inspired with this new year that little shifts in the big picture will help ease some stresses. Other than that, Eric turned 35 WOW! I chopped my hair to my shoulders WOW! I started a new blog with hopes it will pour over into a new career and book (see the sidebar for wholemomma) WOW! We joined RCI with hopes that more travel will be in our future. We officially decided there will be another sibling for the boys hopefully next year. We haven't started trying yet but we will keep you posted. We are just HOPING spring will come soon so we can go outside!
My parents are doing well and seem to be starting to settle in. They are breaching their two year mark. I know can you believe it? We are proud that they have made friends and have gone on some cool trips. I know they are excited to see some family...especially, Ryder! They have been bonding well with the boys and I know it's a constant reminder that they miss Ryder!
Until next time enjoy some pics and stay warm!
Big Love, The West Coast Bellers: Eric, Maria, Jake and Kai
Kai's picture face!
These are pics from the boardwalk in Juanita. We walk here on wet days to stay out of mud. We all love the water, turtles, beaver damns, and view!
This is Lionel our new goldfish!
Brother Love!
One of Jake's new hobbies, jumping on his bed!
Check out the mad hand control with this car play.
Kai LOVES playing cars and trains with his big brother!
Jake made a MOON out of his train track! The perfect merging of his interests.
Kai is so auditory based in all that he does. He makes beats and sounds from anything he can get his hands on!
Time for spring cleaning!
Jake really helped out Eric with the leaves by holding and drinking his Vitamin Water! 
Man where there a LOT of leaves!
Gigi with her new buddy Kai!
This was on Gigi's birthday! Doesn't she still rock it for turning 40!!
Hey BamBam! That is supposed to keep you out of that drawer! So much for baby proofing!
Emma and Kai on New Year's Eve! Doesn't Emma look pretty!
Eric turned 35! This is gonna be a great year for him and for us!
