Christmas..........Sigh

Ok all, Here is my best attempt to wish all of our friends and family a Merry Christmas. Although I am trying hard to get into the season i am Not yet successful. I guess I am kind of a grinch, even tho I need to be "merry" for Bella's sake. I will however try to be cheerful about the whole thing until it is all over. SO again, I will tell you not to be an ass like myself. Enjoy the holiday as people are never in a state of mind or nearly as giving as they are at this time of the year.
Enjoy your family, friends, and the season everyone holds in the spot light, Time with the ones you appreciate is valuable and all to often infrequent. We are glad to have all of you in our lives.
Merry Christmas.
Levi`

Bella had a great time swinging at Aunt Renee's house on Thanksgiving.

Notice the deathgrip on the rope, but she did really good and wanted lots of turns:o)

Growing up..............

So......Here Bella is already 20 months old. She has begun to actively potty train. We started at home and she also trains in her new class in day care.
She is doing well at it thus far, she has a couple of accidents at school during the day and almost none at home. Let me tell you she sure does look cute in her new "big girl" underwear. She hasn't quite decided how she feels about them yet, but she is getting used to them. SO! lots of laundry, candy and patience later this will all pay off........or so I tell myself. To me this is just one step closer to BOYS!! EERRRRrrrrrrr. that's all they do it for, after all, who wants a girl who pisses all over herself.
Ok thought... out of my head!! SO all else in the world of Bella and her family. we all stay pretty busy. just wanted to let everyone know that your little diva Bella boofoo beefy face cutest baby ever grace winckel is growing up. "yep thats her real name"
Well wishes to all who are dear to us.
Levi

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

Bella is a LADYBUG!

"No more pictures Mommy"

Bella's little party at daycare

Trick-or-treating at the trunk-or-treat

Having lots of fun with Daddy, the bucket is getting heavier

ghostly white family, it was dark, there was a flash...

Mommy and Bella (I did have white makeup on, I am not really that pale:o)

The results are in!!

So....We took Bella out last night on her first official trick or treat. Not once did she actually say trick or treat, she was however fairly willing to hold her bucket out for random people to toss anticipated surprises in it. After a while tho she just said the hell with it and made us carry the bucket "it was pretty heavy after all" So all in all she had a good night trick or treating, little does she know the things in Halloween years to come.
Hope all hallows eve night was good for all of you too.
Pictures are coming soon to a winckel fam website near you.

`Levi

Halloween!!

SO here is the deal, this year Bella actually has a slight awareness that she can wear a costume and run around all while getting payed more attention to and getting candy at the same time. SO she will be dressing up today as she is booked for 2 events. To our surprise Bella got an invitation to a little costume party at her school. Sara and I will be also be taking her trick or treating this evening so that we can steal all of her candy hehe. We will be sure to take lots of pictures, and I will put them up on the site as soon as time allows. Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween and the your kids can look even half as cute as mine. heheeeh
Beware of the witching Hour.........
Levi

potty training

We have had success two days in a row with Bella going to the bathroom on the toilet. We will see how it goes!!

dance dance!!!

Bella is gettin' down with the Ace of Base. She loves to dance. Almost everyday on her papers from daycare they say "my favorite thing today was...dancing":o)

dancing baby

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bella playing...

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Best Buddies Sabre and Dexter

Dexter and Bella having a rest

MMMMM mac and cheese

Going for a cruise

Looking cool in my sunglasses

Updates updates! We are settling into a routine here in Sierra Vista. I am now working just the mornings at the before and after school program, and am full-time at Blockbuster. Here in a couple of weeks I am set to get promoted to a shift leader. So things are working out as well as I had hoped they would. Levi is working at El Paso Barbecue as a server. He just can't get away from people counting on him and giving him more responsibility though. He is already the person they ask to take another table if they need more coverage, and has been closer a few times. He said he is really enjoying it, although it is an adjustment for both of us to be on our feet so much. We decided to have Bella go to another daycare, even after trying to search out someone who would do in home care. The prices looked like they would be about the same or that in home would be more costly. Bella is actually doing really really well at this facility. She never cries or fusses when we drop her off and we have to seek her out and entice her to come along when we pick her up. So that is good. She is cutting her incisors right now and that is hard. She is understandably cranky, so hopefully that will be over with sooner rather than later. As you can see she is growing and so is her hair!! It's about time. I was looking at some pictures the other day and I realize now how bald she really was. Anywho, that is it in a nutshell.

She ain't no scaredy cat

I was flipping out a blanket onto the floor to entice Bella to lay down, and to my disgust there was a relatively small spidey, but a spidey none the less. I was hurriedly preparing my foot to smash the critter myself, when a smaller Bella-foot smooshed said spidey to smithereens. Have no fear, this girl can watch out for herself!! And save her mommy from doing the dirty deed:o)

Winds of Change

Well this week finds us relocated to Sierra Vista, exercising the generosity of my Mom and Dad. We made the decision to move with some upset that happened in the workplace. So hopefully this will be a new start for us. Levi is enjoying Sierra Vista so far I think, and I already knew that I liked it. We have already begun the hunt for jobs. I stopped off at my old job with the city Parks and Leisure office and was met with welcome and a job offer as soon as they go through the standard paper work. So I am going to accept that and continue to look for work either part time, or full time that has a lot better pay and more benefits. Levi has already spoken to the manager at McDonald's and she said they were looking for an assistant store manager. We will cross our fingers for that, and he also put in for another self storage company, so he would be very comfortable stepping into that job. We are just looking to get a foot in and then look for better opportunities as they come along. The dogs are loving the back yard and so is Bella. She wanders at will and is having a good time with all the room and backyard to run around in. Send well thoughts for good jobs our way!!

A "little" fun around the house!

Bella found some of my socks, a gift from Brett one Christmas, and now thinks it is the coolest thing to wear them around:o)

Pictured here is the newest addition to our household, Dexter, a miniature Dachshund. We are currently underway on the long and tedious process of housebreaking, and stopping bad chewing habits. Neither Levi nor I have had a puppy in quite a while, so it is proving to be an interesting ordeal.

Here he is standing next to one of Bella's sippy cups, so you can kind of tell how little he is. Bella thinks it is awesome to have a puppy her size. Hardest thing to not get her to pick him up, because she REALLY wants to, but she often misses his belly and gets his neck. Poor dog just goes limp and takes it. I think they will be great buddies and Bella is having fun with him. Sabre alternates between acting the crotchety old woman who doesn't want to play, to romping around a little and having fun with him. She is probably still adjusting, and I can tell she is trying to teach him how things are done, for example peeing on the dirt...

New Toy

We got Bella a new toy yesterday. Didn't take her long to figure the whole thing out, but she dropped the hammer for the more effective slapping the balls through with her hands. She is having fun at the moment, and we can always hear what she is doing with this toy. This along with more noisy books from Grandma Deborah are making fun times!!!

A work in progress...

Well, Bella had another doctors appointment today. A followup of a followup of a followup. The ear infection that she has had for the last two months looks better than it has in a long time, but is still not gone. But no fever whatsoever, yay! Fever has always been the sign that Bella has developed another infection, or that the infection is getting bad again. She has been on every antibiotic that you could imagine at this point to no avail. Now the infection has started to move down to her chest, and she sounds a bit wheezy and crackly. So the doctor is putting her on a nebulizer, and then also a round of steroids. After one breathing treatment at the doctor's the crackling was already gone from her lungs, so that is promising. We will continue to do that at least three times a day, we rented a nebulizer from the doctor's office. The steroids are only a five day treatment, once a day. Along with all of that Bella also received a shot of antibiotics. We will go to yet another followup appointment tomorrow to determine if she needs another booster of the antibiotics...
I am really hoping that this kicks the infection. I hate seeing her have to go through all of this, although she is amazingly well-spirited. Perhaps she has gotten so used to being sick that it no longer causes issue with her temperament...? The doc also gave me the number to an ear, nose, and throat specialist, and mentioned multiple times at today's visit that "when" she gets tubes in her ears how much that will improve her susceptibility to such infections. And with her having to go to daycare she is exposed to those infections more often than if she were at home. Tubes she said, would also equalize the pressure in her ears so that there wouldn't be as much suction, which is a lot of what pulls congestion to the ear and causes the infections in the first place. All in all an informative and hope building day.
That is the main point of interest at our house at the moment. Went to the mall yesterday and the McDonald's playplace. We took Jaysen and Jorden with us to give Grandpa some downtime. They all three seemed to have a grand time, and Bella always enjoys having some other kids around to play with...even though she doesn't play with them so much as next to them.
Sara

Pictures and more pictures

I really hope this works for everyone. David has a site like this and does journal entries kind of and pictures all the time. So I just check it from time to time and keep up that way. Just an idea. That way we don't have to worry about people not getting it, or email changing the way they do pictures. Also you wouldn't have to save as many emails in your boxes:o)

Nasty Palo Verde Beetle that was on the porch. There has been one other that showed up. It almost dropped right on Levi off of the ceiling. GROSS!!!!!

Father's Day weekend 2007. Went to visit Papa Doug and had a grand time in the water.

MMM Broccoli!!!!!
Ignore the bbq sauce and focus on the piggy tail, kee hee!
Mommy and Bella

Pictures got a little out of order with my upload, more of playing at Papa's

Trying to teach Bella to get a drink from the hose...
Sprinkler fun!!

Nap time
Levi and Sara at Tyler and Toni's wedding
Sara and Levi's Grandma
Bella, Toni, and Tyler
Sara, Bella, Levi, Tyler and Toni

Scrunchy face!!!
Bella loves Pansy's doggie bed
Snack time with Bella, Jaysen, and Jorden
Being funny with Daddy and Bella
Mommy and Bella

Deborah Hardy, Douglas Dee Hardy, Sara Dee Hardy, Rowena Grace Hardy, Bella Grace Winckel
Four Generations: Douglas Dee Hardy, Sara Dee Hardy, Bella Grace Winckel, Rowena Grace Hardy
Mohawk!!!
Box house that I made for Bella, she still plays with it.

Mommy and Bella

Sweetest Baby

This is one of the sweetest pictures, and I know it is one of Mom's favorites:o) Mom and I waited and waited for her to fall asleep so we could snap this picture!