Friday, June 26, 2009

Happy 9 Months Sweet Pea

Digging for treats at our hotel in Omaha.
Getting ready to go watch daddy at the Naturals game.

As her top teeth start to come in Stella sticks her tongue out a lot...I'm assuming she is feeling her teeth with her tongue.
Look at those pearly whites.

GUESS WHO IS 9 MONTHS (I'm a day late, I know, sorry).

What Stella is up to...
1. Still sleeping great and she hates to miss a nap.
2. Eating chunky foods (she is kind of leary about some textures)
3. Swimming in the pool...she loves to just hang out in her floaty.
4. Saying more words...Dada is still her favorite and I've yet to hear Mama, but I swear she is saying duck in the bath tub (she has a couple rubber duckies) and she'll imitate me when I say quack quack.. She thinks its hilarious. Sorry Papa, I promise we're not teaching her to be an Oregon Duck.
5. Stella loves to dance. With all the news coverage on Michael Jackson there has been a lot of music and she loves to bust a move to the Jackson 5.
6. She has just (in the last couple days)broken skin on one of her top front teeth.
7. Stella is climbing on everything and sometimes tumbling.
8. She is very interested in Diesel (our dog) and he is still not quite sure about her.
9. Stella is very independent and does things her way..I have know idea where she gets that from :)
10. and most importantly SHE IS TAKING THE BOTTLE. She is weaning herself and prefers the bottle. I am still nursing at night, but sometimes she will have nothing to do with that.

We love you Stella and can't wait to see what the future holds. You have blessed us more than you will ever know and we pray God will direct us in being the best parents for you we know how to be!
Love you!!!!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Father's Day...Omaha Style

So at the last minute (since the Hogs won) Stella and I decided to surprise Tom and take a fun road trip to Omaha, Nebraska for the College World Series. It was a whirlwind to get this together, but I got Tom Friday off and I also took a vacation day---we loaded up the car and off we went. Stella did great (of course) and we really had a fun family weekend even though the Hogs lost.Here we are waiting in line to get our seats (we bought general admission...which were a lot cheaper.), but as you can tell Miss Thang is relaxing and taking her morning nap while we wait in line. Little did we know a storm was going to delay the game 2 and a half hours!

Right before I took this picture her feet were propped up...like she was laying out. Stella can be a Diva when she wants to.
Here are Stella and her daddy in our seats BEFORE the delay.
Getting ready to cheer on those hogs...we were surrounded by LSU fans.
I didn't think she would take another nap in her stroller, but she conked out again as we were making our way back to the stadium after the rain delay. Notice she is bundled up...the weather was very tricky throughout the day.
Game on...Daddy is very serious about them Hogs.
Proof that we were there and the sun did FINALLY show up.

Stella and I left the game early since it started a little later than expected we needed to get dinner for the munchkin and she'd been such a trooper I didn't want to press my luck. Dad stayed behind, but still had a blast. When we picked him up...he had an idea...before heading home Saturday he wanted to take Stella to the Omaha Zoo (it's supposedly the 2nd best in the nation, just behind San Diego).
Stella and her daddy looking at the desert animals. It was a very neat zoo and Stella really seemed to take it all in. She waved at ALL the animals.
In awe of the animals moving around.
Butterflies...if you know Stella at all, then you KNOW she LOVES bugs. This zoo had an insect area and there was an entire walk-thru area of butterflies. She was so wide-eyed during all this it was hilarious.
Trying to get the bees.
Look how close we were. The zoo was a great end to the trip before hitting the road back to Fayetteville.

And of course we topped Father's Day (weekend) off with a little church and...you guessed it...RED ROBIN (Daddy's favorite).
Sticking her tongue out...very much like her dad likes to do.
Stella was cracking up at Tom here. He was asking her to feed him her treats and she just thought that was hysterical. It is so fun for me to see Tom with Stella. He is an incredible dad and she is definately a daddy's girl! And I love that because I was a daddy's girl and there's nothing better. Love you Dad!
And in the end...Stella didn't share (I guess we'll have to work on that), but you can't blame the girl---those peach puffs are pretty tasty. :)

One more story...

I'll admit, I don't know if it possible at this age, but both Tom and I swear she actually said it.
Ok, here's the story...
Thursday night when we were getting Stella ready for bed in the hotel I was changing her into her pjs. She was just smiling and me and doing her own thing and then all of a sudden she turns her head to Tom says "Hi Dada." smiles and then turns back to me so I can finish getting her ready. It was amazing and Tom and I kept asking each other if it really sounded like that or if we made it up. But we BOTH heard it. Anyway, that still makes Tom smile and probably will for a long time.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TOM...STELLA IS ONE LUCKY GIRL!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Beach Bum

Guess who likes the beach? The post below explains why we were at the beach. But this is Stella enjoying her first time to the beach. We are at Orange Beach in Alabama enjoying a day in the sun and sand.
Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?
Stella LOVED the sand...she would just rake her hands through it, but she also tried tasting a couple times too.
Taking it all in.
Now the ocean...that was a different story :)
A little better now that her toes are out of the water.
The pool on the other hand was a BIG hit.
Smiling for daddy.

Summer Lovin'

The beautiful bride and my wonderful friend, Megan, gearing up for the big day.
Megan was breathtaking. For those of you who don't know Megan she is an incredible women of God and an amazing friend. I was so honored to stand up there on her big day as she married the lovely John Mark. I'm sorry I don't have more pictures, especially one including the groom, but it was kind of crazy getting the usual amount of pictures in with an 8 month old around.
If you are wondering where we are...Fairhope, Alabama. It was amazing and such a nice break for the daily grind of life. I forgot how magical weddings can be. God truly has great plans for Megan and John Mark.
This was the sunset right at the end of the ceremony..can you believe it?
The wedding started at 7:00 (which is Miss Stella's bedtime) so she was already zonked before the party got started. She did great though, but that is why we didn't get many smiles from her.

I just love my family..thanks for making our little road trip so much fun!
Last smile of the night.

We love you Megan and John Mark! Thanks for including us during this special time. We love you and are committed to praying for you and your new journey together!

Monday, June 1, 2009

Too Beautiful to Stay Inside

The other day it was beautiful outside. It was about 80+ and NO humidity, so Stella and I decided to go to the Naturals baseball game. It was a Sunday afternoon so we didn't have to worry about dinner time or bedtime. We waited until she woke up from her afternoon nap and headed out the ballpark to cheer on daddy and enjoy the sunny weather. Stella did great and loved every minute of it!
Watch the Naturals take the field...notice her hair starting to curl a little. This girl can sweat.
Showing off her pearly whites after daddy got done working. As you can tell Tom was in the sun a bit more so he was a little hot. Don't you just want to pinch Stella's cheeks.

Movin' on Up

Well, I told you last week that little miss thang started crawling on her 8 month b-day...here's the proof. And now that she's on the move--there's not stopping her.
How cute is this outfit. It's from my Mommom (Stella's great grandma). She thought since Stella loves bugs so much this would be a good outfit...it's even cuter when she's crawling.
Look at me Mama.
Very proud of herself.
Stella loves to crawl after our water or the remote control.
But if crawling isn't enough, Stella cannot not get enough of pulling up on things. I wonder how far off walking is? hmmmm...