tummy troubles can't squash this fun

I'm pretty tired of looking at those dead fish every time I open my blog. Bet you are too.

No more dead fish blogs, I promise.

Bella battled a tummy bug Sunday and Monday. I was worried enough to trek to the medical clinic for them to look at her since they no longer analyze samples (in this case-and most cases-stool) without seeing the patient. Ugh! The clinic is very quickly becoming useless to me beyond immunizations. Anyhow, the symptoms have gone away so my guess is that it was a virus, nothing more serious. Another clue is that I feel awful myself. Getting my children's colds and stomach viruses can only be described in a super sarcastic voice as, AWESOME!

I feel like curling up in a stomach cramping ball but the girls are happy little bugs bouncing around all day, cute as can be. Addie wrapped her arms around my neck today and said "I like you Mommy." which made my heart flutter a little bit because I know she loves me but it would be pretty cool if she liked me too. She also exclaimed after completing a task "I am so proud of myself!" which made me doubly proud that I've helped her understand this concept of not just seeking her parents pride but her own.

Bella is speaking new words like crazy. She says: Mommy, Dada, Aiya (for Yaya), Addie, ball, more, eye, head, shoe, nana (for her pacifier), banana, up...a couple more I can't think of. The funny thing is that she's extremely communicative using her voice and sounds. I have no troubles deciphering this language but there are lots of grunts and sounds that I cant' really describe as words yet. She's a grunter for sure.

These moments make me happy even through the tummy troubles.

Bella's new wheels. She loves these little ride-on-push toys that the kids all over the neighborhood have. This is probably one of the first new toys we have bought for our second born daughter. It's a terribly cheap, made in China, toy but that makes it perfect for bumming around Manila. Addie nursing her sick animals back to health. The infant animals are all napping. I adore this elaborate make-believe play she is doing now. I also love that she still requests me to play with her.Addie and Bella monkeying around in the bath tub. We have a hard time getting Arabella to sit in the bath. She's a walking hazard in every aspect of her life!