(Baby's 1st) Memorial Day

We had a BBQ in our backyard to celebrate your 1st Memorial Day:)

Daddy blew bubbles for you for the 1st time.

You really liked watching them float all around!

And then, after everybody went home, you gnawed on a frozen bagel for awhile & got crumbs all over the couch;-)

8 1/2 months:)

You get more comments on your big blue eyes than anything else;-)

(In second place would be how smiley & happy you always are.)

Here you are with your "Anti-Pauff"...aka...your Auntie Dylan.
And look at you, you big girl...standing on your own 2 feet!

Here you are with Papa, practicing your newest skill: waving HELLO:)

Sometimes you wave inwards at yourself instead of out at the person who is saying HI to you. I know it won't last but Daddy & I think its just the cutest!

I think you own more hoodies than your Dad & I combined.
And that's sayin' something!

You sure do love your "Gi's"!

That's what you call Casey & Lucy...your (Dog) GI (es)!

Yes, that's right. Mama bought a basket & put you inside of it so that she could take your photo.
This type of behavior should come as no surprise to you by now.

Not that you minded! You smiled the whole time:)

Purple stripes + hot-pink/green soled shoes = RAD

Man, kid. You are just too cool for school;-)

I.Just.Love.This.Picture.

...our SMILING HAPPY LITTLE PERSON...

...sitting in the grass of our front lawn...

Mama's 1st Mother's Day

My 1st Mother's Day was SO special:)

Flea Market fun in the morning...
Dinner with the family...
Loads of cards & gifts, including a scratch-off lottery ticket that ended up being a $100 winner!! (Many thanks to Alisa for that one!)

Thank you so much to everyone for all of the Mom's Day love:)

Check out this cool plaque Dylan surprised me with (on behalf of Stella, of course!)

Stella bought me matching Mommy & Baby tambourines so that she & I can play music together...

...and Rob bought me my very first pair of real Oakleys!

Ooh, la la.

Check him out, by the way.

He was rockin out on Rachel's guitar for awhile.

There's no mistaking he's the Daddy of a baby girl now, is there?! :)

Speaking of Rachel...she & Stella had so much fun playing together!

How cute are they?! I mean, really:)

*Eight*

Today is Stella's *8-month birthday* & the personalized hat I bought her to wear on the day she was born FINALLY fits:~)

BTW: She started to wave hello on Saturday & it just might be the cutest thing ever.

Best Friends

These 2 are so ridiculously cute together, I can hardly stand it:)

My New Favorite:)

I've always loved baby hats on Stella.

But my newest favorite thing on her...?

Baby Leggings!

How funny & cute are they?! :)

Ok, ok...

Enough pictures, Mom!

It's time for TUMMY TIME:)

Stella Bee: Week 33

Stella was born on a Thursday & ever since then, every Thursday in my day planner has been marked with a number corresponding to the number of weeks she's been alive. Today is number 33:)

I don't have a ton of time to sit at the computer these days & write the kinds of letters I did to her when she was still in my belly...but I DO want her to be able to look back & know what she was doing during this crazy/wonderful whirlwind of her 1st year of life.

And so...that brings me to the following list of All Things Stella, in no particular order:)

* You are 7 & 1/2 months old now...otherwise known as 33 weeks.

* You're not crawling yet...but you sure like to "creep" when you're on your belly!! If I put you down onto the floor & look away for a few minutes, when I look back you are always in a different spot than where I put you down........but its always backwards that you've moved:)

* You still drinks lots of breast milk every day. You also eat oatmeal cereal almost every day. You are such a good eater:) So far, you've tried the following (organic/pureed) fruits & veggies: sweet potatoes, peas, butternut squash, green beans, lentils, carrots, apples, bananas, mangos, peaches, pears, apricots, strawberries & blueberries. You like the green beans & lentils the least so far & pretty much LOVE everything else:)

* We let you occasionally take a small sip or 2 of water from a cup. You don't hold it yet but you do a pretty good job of sipping from it when we hold it for you:)

* You are still saying "Da-Da" pretty much all day, every day:) I've noticed you saying "Gi-Gi" lately, too...which I think might be your manifestation of the word "Doggie" since I say it to you all the time, whenever Casey and Lucy are around:) I haven't heard the all-important "Ma-Ma" yet, though!

* Your hair is still "peach fuzz" at best...and I must admit that when Daddy & I see tiny babies with lots of hair now, we giggle at them secretly because they look so silly to us! We're just so used to seeing your bald little head, I guess;-)

* You smile at EVERYTHING:) Some of your favorites are: other babies (in person and in magazines/books), your grandparents, your own reflection in the mirror and Casey & Lucy.

* You don't have any teeth yet.

* You've only been sick once so far & that was with a cold a couple of months ago. You were sneezing & had a runny nose for about 4 days or so. We didn't have to take you the doctor's or anything, luckily.....you just got better all on your own:)

* Daddy still gives you a bath around 7:00pm every night in your baby tub in our kitchen sink. Then he dresses you in a comfy sleeper & its off to bed! Your bedtime is still 7:30pm & you still wake up between 7 and 8am almost every day:)

* You wiggle your arms nervously when you're anxious & although I know I shouldn't think so...I find it adorable:)

* As of April 17th, you were 26 1/2 inches long & you weighed 14 pounds, 8 ounces. We don't take you back to see Dr. Trotsky again until the middle of June for your 9-month appointment.

* We call you by your given name some of the time...but lots of times we like to call you other silly names...

Pumpkin.
Munchkin.
Peanut.
Peanut Brittle.
Stellaphant.
Pum-Pum.
Stell-Bee.

...just to name a few;-)

* The first time we noticed you doing it was at 4 days old & you used it to learn to soothe yourself back to sleep & let us know when you were tired for months.......but you stopped sucking your thumb a couple of weeks ago. Even though I know its probably for the best...I would be lying if I said that I didn't already miss it. It was just about the cutest thing, ever.

...xoxo...

Baby Swing: Take 1

90+ degree days in April are unusual in the suburbs of Philadelphia, so Stella & I took it upon ourselves to take advantage of it while we could. After all, 75 degree temperatures at 9am in the Springtime are lovely, to say the very least:)

One early morning, a day or so ago, we took a walk down to the playground on the corner & tried out the baby swings for the first time.

I'm not sure Stella knew quite what to make of them...

Being her first time & all, I didn't leave her in it long. I just pushed her a few times & snapped a couple of photos...then plopped her back into her stroller & we were on our way...

We'll have to go back there with Daddy this weekend & try em out again:)

Just a couple (long overdue) Easter Pix

... with her fabulous (newly crowned) GodParents:) ...

...and her fabulous (not-so-newly crowned) biological parents:) ...

silly pink bow: REVISITED

...xoxo...

Its been awhile...

I can't believe how long its been since I last posted on here!

I guess we've been busy with life...and there hasn't been a ton of free time to sit at the computer & write.

Its been great spending more time outside though, now that the weather has gotten so much nicer.

Flea markets, picnics @ the park, walks around the neighborhood......and my little go-with-the-flow, happy-go-lucky baby girl loves it all:)

Adventure Aquarium

On Good Friday, our cousin Darcel invited us to go to the Adventure Aquarium with her & her family. Stella really enjoyed seeing all the fish & other cool animals they have there. She also seemed to really like that there were lots of other kids all around her:)

Next, we'll have to take her to the zoo:)

Hat # 472

While it goes without saying that Stella owns many-a-hat, this one is the very first that her Auntie Nathalie knitted for her:)

Happy Easter!

...Baby's 1st Easter dress...

...and her 1st Easter basket...

Springtime

I love that it's finally getting warm enough that Stella & I can spend some time outside almost every day.

Hooray, Springtime!

...xoxo...

*Seven*

For some reason, "Seven Months" sounds SO MUCH older to me than "Six Months" did!?

It's so crazy to think HOW FAR our little munchkin has come in these 7 months:)

It was tough to get a decent shot of her to commemorate her 7-month "birthday" this morning because she was far too interested in checking out the frame to pay me much mind at all!

That is the name of the game with her these days...

She is Little Miss Inquisitive! Always wanting to explore anything & everything she can get her little hands on:)

Indeed.

..xoxo...

Baby's 1st Rainbow

Just minutes after her Daddy got home from work tonight, Stella got to see her first rainbow!

We saw the rain drops start to fall while the sun was still shining brightly & all ran out front to catch a glimpse of it. Rob knew just where it would be best seen from & I, of course, grabbed my camera on the way out the door:-)

Easter Egg Hunt

Stella went on an Easter Egg Hunt today & had SO MUCH fun:)

Ok...you got me.

Maybe she just decided to try on her Easter dress & sit on the couch & play with some plastic eggs for awhile...

;-)

The Letter M

Oh...well, would you look at that?

She's learning all about the letter M.

Looks like she's already getting ready to learn to say Ma-Ma:)

Da-Da!

Stella started to say "Da-Da" this past Monday & has been saying it all week long!

It's awesome:)

We were at Target today & she was saying it randomly as we strolled through the store...

So cute!

I guess all of Rob's hard work finally paid off...LOL

Now I've got to get to work on getting her to say Ma-Ma next;-)

*Christening Day*

This year I got to share my birthday with Stella's Christening Day & I can honestly say that she is the first person I've ever met that I didn't mind "sharing" it with;-)

She looked so beautiful in her gown & was so well behaved all day. She only got fussy a couple of times & it was really a long day for her...including getting dressed & undressed & dressed again multiple times. (Her dress was too bulky for her to fit into her carseat with it on.)

The cutest part of the day for me was when she stuck her hand right into the holy water when we weren't looking! She sure is in that "grabbing anything & everything" phase!!