THE SUPER SECRET BABY PAGE

Hey Remember Me?!

2011-04-14T20:33:00.000-07:00

Wellll yes it's been a while so let's just jump right in. Starting at Bellys 1st BIRTHDAY!!
(About half a year ago. What I've been super busy.)

Here is the first of her two first birthdays.

This one consisted of Mom, Dad and Grandma. On her actual birthday.

She LOOOOVED tearing the paper off. And like you'd suspect didn't really pay any attention to the toy.
Lesson:
Wrap paper in paper and that is the perfect gift for a 1yr old.

And now a little birthday cake.

Yumm.

Now on to the big one. The birthday party where we invited a bunch of people.
I would like to go on record and say the inviting a bunch of people to a 1 year olds birthday party was MY horrible idea.
(You'll see what I mean. Don't let Rach try and take credit for it.)

Getting ready.

G-Mom getting drinks ready

Uncle Russ ready for some food.

The amazing cakes (yes cakeS) our friend Marissa had made.

Some of the ol' FG peeps stopping by to mark the occasion.

These pictures are a bit out of order but I assure you Bella did not have the amazing time I thought she would. It was kind of interesting though. Watching 20 something people sing Happy Birthday to someone without looking at them. Fun times. fun times.

Next up.
Just some more cute pictures.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2010-10-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

Okay so if you're just reading this check the previous posts for the trip to Maine, Boston and the like. But only after you've check out,

Bellas First Halloween!

So our little girl had her first Halloween tonight and thanks to Ben, Wendy, Ella, Leo, Todd, Julie and Boogs it was AWESOME!

Down the block from Ben and Wendy they block off an entire street to let the kids trick or treat without having to worry about getting hit by a car. Everyone comes for miles around to trick or treat here because it is such a prime candy spot. So they invited us to bring Bells along and even though she can't eat candy and was freaked out by how many people there were, we are DEFINITELY going back next year!

But I'm jumping ahead.

So there wasn't a shortage of costumes for Bella this year. We had bought her a Winnie the Pooh costume but my mom came across a pink poodle costume and she had to see Bella in it! So we put her in the pink poodle first and of course she was adorable. See for yourself.

We were going to take her to the mall in this but she wasn't having it.
Here wait, I think it looked a little something like this...

"Yeah, I hear what your saying about the Poodle costume but I'm not really feelin' it for the mall."

"No dad I know it's cute, but your just gonna have to trust me on this one."

"Dad, don't dress me. Just let mom do it. She knows what she's doing."

And so the Pink Poodle outfit though cute as a button was done.
So on to costume #2 WINNIE THE POOH!!

Now this was a bit of a tough sell at first but after about two minutes she loved it.

Belly was pretty skeptical on going out in public dressed like Pooh.

Mom are you sure this is a good idea?

I don't know, something doesn't feel right...

DAD DIDN'T PICK THIS COSTUME DID HE?!

Taking me to the mall as a Pink Poodle?!

What is wrong with you?!

So in any case we went with the Wexler/Garfields on Bellys first Trick or Treat and had a great time. Bella didn't like it as much as we did but after she got some Cheerie O's instead of candy she was just fine.

And on the ride home she gave me that look.
That, "we're doing this again next year right?" look.

Ugh Ohh. Random Cuteness.

I love random cuteness.

Until next time!

SETTLE IN KIDS, THIS IS GONNA BE A BIG ONE!

2010-10-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

HEY YOU!
YOU WANNA SEE MORE PICTURES?

Alright hang on, lets get the cutesy ones out of the way first.

Almost there...

aaaaand...

DONE!

Okay, so mom and dad had been taking me to parks to play.

Now fall in LA is nice, but you don't really get to see the leaves change color or feel the cold, crisp air on your nose. So they decided we should all goto Maine and enjoy fall as a family.

Not even a year old and my first ride on a plane is FIRST CLASS!
And guess what...

I ACED IT!
No crying, no fussing, just hanging out taking in the view at 30,000 feet.

So we got to Maine and stayed with Aunt Elle and Uncle Pete!

They took us to the Lobster Shack down by the water.

Then Uncle Eric and Uncle Sandro and my Cousin Rachael Maria joined us. And we headed up to Bath to spend the weekend at a lodge.

Real quick, Maine is COLD!

But beautiful.

but still friggin cold.

Eric and Rachael Maria

Sandro, Rachael Maria, Bella and Rachael

Elle at the cabin.

Sunset from the backyard of the cabin in Bath.

A shot of the back of the cabin during the day.

Same angle of the cabin at midnight using a 30 second exposure.

another 30 second exposure from the other side.
The small cluster of stars twords the top is called the seven sisters.

So then Pete and Elle took us to this little restaurant near an old military fortification.

Then we headed back down to Elle and Petes house and took some nice family hikes.

Grandpa Tony and Grandma Trudy came up from New York to see Bella.
She LOVED them.

Then another lunch at the "Lobster Shack."

We witnessed the shear efficiency of two men changing a baby.

Belly played in the grass some more.

I have no idea what was going on here but I find this picture hilarious.

This looks like an album cover to me.

Then Sandro and Rachael witnessed Eric....

use the baby as a sunshade.
(no he didn't but it completely looks like he is.)

Then it was off to Boston to meet up with Becky!

We walked around the park for a while.got coffee

watched the birds

walked in the park some more

Then I had one of those classic, "this is a great idea!" bad ideas.

"I'll take Bells on the Merry Go Round!"
What kid doesn't like the Merry Go Round?!

This one.

and so we went, around and around and around....

and it got worse and worse and worse...

and just when I thought the music would never end...

it didn't.

But eventually I got wise and put her in her favorite spot, on my shoulders and she calmed down a bit.

and eventually the music ended and we went back to the Four Seasons to meet...

BECKY AND MADELINE!!

We had a great time walking around Boston and seeing the sights.
Freezing, vomiting, drinking hot chocolate, heck you name it we did it.

Then we flew home.

6 hours of sitting in front of chatty drunks who have no respect for a kid trying to sleep.
And they were worried that I was going to be a pain in the ass.

Then it was home to play with Pino.

Try on some new clothes from Grandma Gerry.

And another hike with dad.

That pretty much brings us up to speed.

Tomorrow I celebrate my first Halloween! So tune back in for pictures of that!

Okay it's time for my nap.

THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!!!!

2010-10-01T22:25:00.000-07:00

DID YA MISS ME?!

Belly got a new horse that she LOVES!
(Let's hope she drops this hobby or it's gonna get expensive.)

IT'S FOOTBALL SEASON!

Yes Rachael is on a one woman mission to make her daughter a Patriots fan for life!

And she doesn't want to hear anybody talkin' any smack!

Brady to Moss!

TOUCHDOWN!!

We had an amazing full rainbow over the house the other day.

Here she is using the restaurant highchair for the first time and loving her first taste of pancakes.

NEW PICS!!!

2010-08-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

YOU READY FOR SOME PICTURES?!

Oh no she's at it again.

Bellys impromptu Earths Best Ad

Really this is the Earths Best?

Following in moms footsteps

Got this great new app for the Iphone 4. It's called IncrediBooth. I love this app!

These are my new favorite pics.

!!!CAUGHT!!!

A BUNCH OF NEW PICS!

2010-06-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

BELLY IN THE POOL!

( her fathers natural habitat )

AFTER HER BATHS I ALWAYS DRESS HER UP IN HER CUTE TOWELS AND SHE IS THE QUEEN OF THAT ANIMAL FOR THE DAY!
TODAY ITS THE BLUE COWS!!

RACH ENJOYS PUTTING TOGETHER BEAUTIFUL AND STYLISH OUTFITS FOR BELLA. PLEASE NOTICE THE MATCHING PASSY AND SOCKS.

SOME OF BELLAS CLOSE UP MODEL SHOTS.

ANOTHER FUN DAY OF FEEDING NEGOTIATIONS.
( I think we won this one )

AND FINALLY SOME MORE CLOSE-UPS OF OUR AMAZING DAUGHTER. :)

BE SURE TO LOOK AT OLDER POSTS FOR THE FATHERS DAY AND IPHONE REVIEW.
Spencer

FATHERS DAY!!!

2010-06-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

Fathers Day and Philly Cheese Steaks

Belly gave me a little fathers day dance, probably the funniest and most adorable thing I've ever seen.

THE IPHONE CAMERA REVIEW

2010-06-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

This is a recap of the journey through the photos on my iphone.

Five months till she arrives

Mom relaxing 1 month till the big day

The day of a nap and an ice tea

Hours after she was born!

Two days old

Three days

Just after her first Christmas

Just after her first New Years

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

A little Dyno

On her way to 8!

WHO'S READY FOR MORE??

2010-05-16T20:55:00.000-07:00

So Belly is just kickin' back and eatin' some solid foods like the big girls. She's digging her peas and squash. We got her this little seat that sits her up while she eats. She's BIG and healthy though and growing like a weed. She loves to kick her little legs up when she's in her stroller. Enjoy the pictures.

The little MOVIE STAR!

YOUR GONNA LOVE THESE PICTURES.

2010-04-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

So Belly's two bottom teeth are really coming in. She still doesn't like to eat but she's growing fine and is as healthy as could be.

Kristen and Molly wanted to have some hang-time with Belly.

One of my favorite outfits for Bells. Her kitty cat suit.

She's our little couch panther waiting to pounce.

She loves to stand and it's amazing to see her trying to balance herself. She can't quite do it on her own but it's amazing how well she's doing for five months.

Her little chubby marshmallow man legs.

Dyno looking stunning as ever.

Okay bath time, my favorite. You can almost hear her yelling at me when she's 11 for posting these pictures.

She loves her bath, it's like a day at the spa.

Back in her bouncy. Or as I call it, "The Board Meeting."

Her head is sooo small I can hold in between my two fingers.

Some nap time.

Some Dad time.

Then back to the bouncy.

Now for my favorite of the bath time pictures. Priceless.

Are you kidding?! COME ON! That's MY daughter.

Lucked Out.

After the bath more standing...

Some more fun with dad...

and relax.

SOME HIPSTAMATIC SHOTS

2010-04-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

Okay for those of you who don't know Hipstamatic is an Iphone app that makes pictures look like they were take with an old 1970's 110 camera or Kodac Disk camera (remember them). Anyway it makes a really cool effect and you can mix and match lens and films and all, so check it out.

Okay now THIS is the greatest book for people with babies. This was a book at the pediatricians office that I feel in love with. Soo cute.

And finally here is where Bella takes after her dad. It brings tears to my eyes.

Then theres just our beautiful baby.

SHE'S STARTING TO LAUGH AND SMILE!!

2010-04-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

I call this one the board meeting.

Starting solid food

She is really growing fast.

2010-03-12T09:26:00.000-08:00

So here we go, settle in there are alot of pictures.

First a visit from Uncles Eric and Sandro (who are expecting their first child soon!)

Next Aunt Julie for some Bella time.

Then a dinner out for mom and dad on Valentines Day.

Belly trying on some of her new clothes.
(she threw up on it 10 minutes later. It wasn't a judgment.)

Mom and Bells looking good.

Dyno is still adjusting, poor girl.

Her little bottom. More of that later...

Working and taking care of baby.

Her very colorful nap time.

She is a champ at holding her head up.

A little quality father / daughter time.

More of her hilarious faces!

A visit to Pino and Gregio (Per and Ron)

She not to sure about that leather book.

This might add to Dynos poor adjustment, but I have too.

We share a couple of hobbies.

BATH TIME!!

Look at that cute, little fanny!

Getting ready for some French beaches.

Okay back to nap time.

And a final 10am photo shoot.
So cute.

2010-02-26T16:05:00.000-08:00

2010-02-26T12:47:00.000-08:00

VIDEOS!!

2010-02-26T11:45:00.000-08:00

MORE PICTURES OF MY AMAZING BABY GIRL

2010-02-07T19:29:00.000-08:00

Not going to write anything, the pictures tell the story. They are in reverse order from about Jan 21st to Feb 3rd.

HERE ARE THE NEW PICS YOU WANTED!!

2010-01-14T13:43:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pictures of the little lovely. She is growing very fast and from what we hear, now is the stage of packing on the fat. She is officially 8 weeks old now.

This is her Jackie Gleason impersonation.

She's not quite sure about you.

You seem okay.

There's just something about you.

2009-12-27T20:24:00.000-08:00

Okay so here are more pictures from Christmas. Some of the pictures are duplicates that I just touched up to make "pop" a little more. They aren't in any real order I just wanted to get them up as fast as possible to let everyone enjoy. I made most of the retouched ones 5X7 if you want to download them and print them out. As usual enjoy and Happy Holidays!

I call this one, "The Thinker"

A retouch of a previous post. (One of my favorites.)

Very ethereal

At least she get's a great nights sleep!

My Nan. (My dad's mom)

Grandma and Bells

Still judging.

Dyno wanted to be Santa this year.

But Bella wanted to be Amish.

Bells maxin and relaxin

Momma baby time

How cute is that!

An afternoon nap

Stillll judging.

The lovely Dyno

Boom Boom as a Christmas gift.

My artsy shot

Yees Smithers.

My all time favorite.

Feel free to comment and tell me your favorites.

Getting through the trials and tribulations of week 3!

2009-12-12T23:04:00.000-08:00

Well Bella is doing great and we are in week three now. Our daughter is almost a month old! I have to admit this has been a really hard road. It seems every step of the way has been a little rougher than expected. But on a whole we are good and we will get through all this in one piece. Everyone has been amazing with all their help. My mom was here for three weeks and we don't know what we would have done without her. Kristen was out for a week and kept our spirits high. I turned 38 on the 10th and it was great eating cake and watching "UP" with my ladies. All in all life seems to be rolling along. Here are more pictures for your viewing pleasure.

(these shots are in reverse order over the course of a week.)

:]

Neat shot from our house. The buildings in the distance just look like rocks. I love the rain.

Kristen practicing her baby story for everyone back east.
"It was thiiis big."

The lovely Kristen

My birthday cake!

Her favorite sleeping pose.

The ballerina at her rehearsal.

She's judging you right now.

Grandma and Bella enjoying some quality time.

Rach and her mini-me

Rach and Bells just foolin around.

My grandmother Erna, she's 93 sharp as a whip and a real fire cracker.
She doesn't even take any medication!
Let's hope Bella got some of those genes.

And another shot of Grandma Gerry and the baby.

WE'RE ALMOST AT TWO WEEKS!

2009-12-01T09:51:00.000-08:00

So we are almost at her two week birthday and it's astounding to see how much she has grown. Already some of her infant clothes are tight on her.

She's feeding away and growing pretty fast, we are just starting to get into the swing of the feeding cycle and getting some sleep here and there. It's not an exact science but close enough.

We went to see the Pediatrician last Friday and I am happy to say Bella-button is a happy, healthy little girl. She has almost gotten back all of her baby weight and there is no problem with Jaundice. Mom has been an invaluable help being here and helping with the baby and Ron and Per are keep us well fed with their weekly food drops. All in all everyone has been really amazing and we really appreciate it.

Well enough about all that how about some pictures!!

I think I'm already embarrassing her.

More pictures

2009-11-27T17:30:00.000-08:00

So we have been slowly getting into our groove of feeding, sleeping, eating and the like. Things were a little tough but I think we are getting the swing of it. I haven't found the time to put up as many pictures as I would like or write about our experience or draw little cartoons of the funny things yet but I think over Christmas we should have it down pat so Ill do it then. Here are some random pictures from the first week of Bella life. Rach and I were blown away at how powerful our love for our daughter is. It's absolutely frightening and so wonderful at the same time. This little life suddenly becomes your world and though they are so small your world becomes so very huge. My daughter is my heaven.

BELLA FRANCESCA
was born at 9:40pm on Wed. Nov. 18th at 7lbs/7oz and 21 inches long.

Better pics

2009-11-20T10:14:00.001-08:00

My little girl sleeping and squeeking.

/:)

Some pictures

2009-11-20T08:41:00.001-08:00

So as you'd all expect we've been busy littlt bees with our new arrival. We have been adjusting rather well and can't wait to get home. Here are some photos of the new arrival.

And now for THE BABIES ROOM!!!

2009-11-05T13:41:00.000-08:00

So we've been constantly been saying, "We're working on the babies room." Well to all of you have heard this time after time I thought I would bring you through the process of painting, "the Babies room." It was an ambitious effort by the two of us but it turned out better than we could have imagined. Thank you all so much for you additions to our daughters room. Look close it's all there folks.

Why don't we just paint it pink? Well because honey I have this great idea for different shades of pink stripes. It's gonna be awesome! I'll just work on it before and after my full time job! I'm a genius!!

Family FUN!

AND THEN FINALLY!!!

It's such a nice warm, inviting room. Thank you all for your help in making this an incredible room for Bella.

To all those who have helped us by moving, purchasing, understanding, suggesting, nudging, listening, empathizing and lending a hand you all helped calm our nerves. From the bottom of our hearts.

THANK YOU.

Okay so it's time for an update.

2009-11-05T13:32:00.000-08:00

So we have been working our butts off to try and get everything done by the time the baby gets here and I am happy to say we are 95% done! There are a few more things here and there but for the most part we are good. Somehow cave men had babies so I think we'll be fine. Here is a picture of my lovely wife and child. Doesn't she look beautiful. :)

9 months pregnant and she can still rock the spandex! She has been doing what she can (which is alot) but for the most part she is trying to take it easy. The dog and cat have been keeping her company, you know for moral support.

But other than that we are just waiting for our daughter to arrive. We all can't wait for her. :)

So what's new on the baby front???

2009-08-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well we have recently gotten back from Maine and Tim and Caseys wedding which was fantastic. Maine is an incredible place and has gotten Rachael and I thinking about trying to buy a summer place out there. Here are some pictures...

On other fronts Rach recently had to go take a THREE hour blood test to see if she has Pre-natal, Gestational or something like that Diabetes. The short comic that follow details those three hours.

Other than that the baby is fine, the due date got pushed up by two weeks, Bell can't wait to get out, and we can't wait to meet her. Hope all is well in your world, and check back for updates.

So here is the newest round of pictures

2009-08-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

So we have gone in again and had and Ultrasound and everything looks fantastic! Bella is coming along nicely at 1.5 pounds. We saw her spine, (which is not like mine) we saw her strong little legs and her perfect brain, (which is like mine). In the side by side photos you can see her face, her eyes are in shadow but I highlighted where they are to help you see it. Other than that we are doing well although the wives tale is true and Rachael says Bella is stealing her beauty. But she says she's completely fine with it. We hope to hear from all of you and keep your calendars open for some events in the near future.

Love you all,
Spence and Rach