*Stella & Luke* 2

Dawn and I took Stella & Luke to the mall this past weekend & after we got back to the house, I snapped a few quick pix of them.

As always, they were being super cute. They have such funny little personalities already:)

"Oooh, Luke. Your skin is so baby soft."

"Ok, ok...enough already with the touching..."

"Hey, look...what's that?!"

"Oh, for heaven's sakes."

*Stella & Evie*

Stella & I had the pleasure of meeting little Evelyn ("Evie") Anna Gibbs last week. She was born on January 2nd, making her & Stella just a little over 4 months apart. I didn't have time for a full-fledged photo shoot or anything but I wanted to snap a few of them together since it was the first time the 2 of them met. I can't wait to photograph them again...and to watch them grow up together:)

"Hey Evie...wake up. Its time for our photo shoot."

"Here I am, Stella! Wide awake!"

"Ok...go on with it. Take a close-up if you must."

"Um...this is getting kind of boring..."

"Mom...Evie's really getting tired of this. Please stop."

"Evie...don't worry. I promise; she'll be done soon."

"It'll be ok..."

"Mom...look at what you did. You've upset the baby."

"Oops! Anybody got a burp cloth?!"

22 weeks, 6 days:)

Life with Stella is so crazy & wonderful...

It so weird to think that she wasn't a part of our lives SUCH a short time ago.

She's getting so big so fast and changing more & more every day.

She really holds on to her toys now & loves to grab at everything...especially my hair! I think I understand now why so many new moms cut their hair short;-)

We were in PetSmart the other day & she grabbed the electronic pen right off of the credit card machine. She is too funny. Pretty much anything within her reach is fair game:)

She is also becoming REALLY interested in what we are doing whenever we're eating or drinking in front of her. She especially loves watching me drink from a water bottle. She's fascinated by the way the water swishes all around. I think I may consider starting her on rice cereal at 5 1/2 months rather than waiting until her 6-month birthday on March 11th. We are going to break out the highchair this weekend & set it up...so we'll be ready:)

...my little ham...

...in her Valentine's Day hat...

...her face in this one cracks me up!...

...xoxo...

5.Months.Old.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * COSTUME CHANGE * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Month 4 Updates:)

Stella turns FIVE MONTHS OLD next Wednesday.

I look at her & can hardly believe how much she's changed from the day we brought her home from the hospital. She has SUCH a fun little personality & it is so neat watching it develop in different ways every day.

She is still exclusively breastfed but we will begin introducing rice cereal to her sometime in late February/early March. She still loves her sleep & has been sleeping an average of 10 hours straight now for months:)

She is drooling A TON these days, which we're thinking might mean she is beginning to teethe. She also loves to chew on anything & everything...especially her hands & of course...those feet!

Her toys & rattles hold her attention now for much longer than they did before. Its so cute listening to her play with them in her carseat when we take her out for a drive!

Oh, and the "milestones" have officially begun!

She rolled over for the first time last weekend:) Rob & I were so excited that we screamed & cheered her on as if she had just completed her first marathon!

She also just made the BIG MOVE from her bassinet to her crib...a transition that I worried about for weeks which ended up being SO MUCH LESS of a big deal than I had made it out to be in my head. She adjusted to it in no time!

These past few weeks have been quite eventful:)

We can't wait to see what she'll do next!

Here are a few snapshots from her 4th month of life...

contemplative BEAN

...xoxo...

Exton Field Trip

This past Monday, I drove out to Exton to visit the girls at my old office. We had lunch together & they got to meet Stella. It was a lot of fun. I had missed them all so much!

While we were there, Lauren was nice enough to treat Stella to some fun new baby things, including this silly fru-fru pink headband...

It's the first of its kind to make its way into her wardrobe...and sure made for a fun photo op!

Thanks, Auntie Lauren:)

A few things...

* 20 weeks *

...I've learned as a new mom. . .

* That a 12-pound person can easily generate more laundry in a week than Rob & I combined.

* That becoming a Mom has practically eliminated the desire to shop for clothes for myself in favor of baby girl dresses, itty bitty jeans & pint-sized Converse.

* That a person can throw up on me 10 times a day & I'll still happily kiss her goodnight.

* That bald really IS beautiful.

* That watching Rob play guitar to another girl makes me REALLY happy:)

* That barely an hour after putting her down at night, I just miss her SO MUCH.

the Bean & her Mom

*19 Weeks*

Stella was born on a Thursday...

Today, we celebrate her 19th week:)

Is this hat not the silliest?! LOL

Stella's New Hobby

Ever since discovering her feet last weekend, she has been obsessed!

In the bath...at diaper changes...pretty much whenever she has the opportunity, she goes for them:)

Letter to a (Stella) Bean 2

Dear Stella,

It's been AGES since I last wrote you a letter...and you are napping like a good little bean at the moment...so I thought I would take advantage of this time & type out a few thoughts...

First off...you're wonderful. Please don't ever forget it. You have the sweetest smile, the silliest laugh & the biggest, most beautiful eyes. You have won your Dad & I over a zillion times already...and it's only been 4 months. We are in trouble & we know it;-)

Speaking of those EYES...they are what everyone seems to notice & comment on whenever we are out with you. They are almost always wide open & looking allllll around...so I guess they're hard to miss. You are very alert & interested in everyone & everything around you.

You like bright lights & colors & music. Sometimes you get mesmerized looking up at the ceiling fan in our bedroom:) You love bathtime & sucking your thumb. Actually...lately you've taken to sucking on ALL of your fingers and sometimes even your whole hand! Dr. Trotsky told us last Thursday at your appointment that you would soon be discovering your feet & trying to "eat" those, too! Well...it was Sunday night when it finally happened! You were in the bathtub when you starting pulling them up to your mouth. Daddy & I couldn't help but smile...laugh...and run for the camcorder:) Ever since then, you've been grabbing them at almost every diaper change.

As of last week's appointment, you were 25 1/4 inches long & weighed 12 lbs., 14 ounces. It won't be long before you'll have doubled your birth weight:) I imagine you'll have hit that 14 pound mark by your 6-month appointment in March. Daddy & I always try to guess what your weight will be before every appointment...but we are almost always wrong;-)

Ah well...I can see you starting to squirm on the video monitor so I'm thinking it won't be long before its time for a diaper change & nursing session...

So with that...I'm off.

Thanks for being a happy baby...wonderful sleeper...a natural at nursing from the start...and most of all...for choosing me to be your mom:)

I am so lucky to know you.

...xoxo...

*Stella & Luke*

Dawn & Mark came over for a visit last night & so Stella and Luke had another chance to get to know each other better:)

I took this cutie pie pic of the babes & their Dads...but never got around to getting them to take one of Dawn & I with our respective spawn.

Darn it. Next time for sure!

These 2 were a riot together. How funny are their matching Chuck Taylors?!

Luke didn't waste any time grabbing Stella's hand to hold...LOL

Luke's expression in this one is priceless.

And what's with Stella's hand on his leg? LOL

I'm not sure what exactly is happening here but I can't look at this one for too long without bursting into laughter.

It's storytime, guys! Time to read about The Fuzzy Bee:)

Yup. That pretty much sums up my girl right there:)

Silly little sweet potato!

Now she's all prim & proper, hands folded in her lap!

It was only a matter of time before they decided that they'd had enough of our little impromptu photo shoot...

...and only another second or 2 till the sheer misery set in...LMAO

E-A-G-L-E-S

I'm not a exactly a huge football fan or anything...but its hard to not jump onto the bandwagon (at least a little) when everyone around you is on it having a grand 'ol time...

...and what better way than to dress my favorite munchkin in Eagles wear?!

4 months

Little Miss Stella turned 4 months old today:)

Great Taste

Hmmmm...

Looks like SOMEONE is taking after her Mom & Dad already!