Scratchy Throat

Look who has a popsicle!!!! Late yesterday evening Stella was running a high fever so we got into to the doctor just in time (our urgent care pediatric clinic is open to 8, thank goodness). The doctor says her throat is VERY irritated, but since it's viral and not strep there's not much we can do.

BUT he did say popsicles would make it feel a little better. Well, Stella didn't want anything to do with popsicles when she had the stomach bug, but NOW is MUCH different. She was very found of her new treat.

I had to add this picture because she is pretty much mocking me. I was telling her no (she was going after our dog) and giving her "the look." I always start laughing after she imitates my look and so does she.

Yesterday afternoon Stella was "helping" Tom with the laundry. She does everything he does. He always shakes the wrinkles out before folding and she does the exact same thing. I caught her doing this the other day when she was "folding" the clothes in her room the other day too.

Daddy's little helper.

And then later she tried to bite his toes...who knows why? :)

Hope you're enjoying your weekend!

17 Months

This is what I see everyday while I finish "getting ready" in the morning. Stella LOVES to brush her teeth. She used to let me do it, but now she wants to do it.

She's very good. She gets both sides. And when I'm finally ready to get out of our bathroom...

This is what happens. Please refer back to the first picture and notice my angel. Yes, that's how much she loves her toothbrush. But don't worry I can usually distract her and she's off playing in the other room. I hope she always likes brushing her teeth. ha!

Stella also LOVES to help me "make" salads. When I get the spinner out she goes crazy. She was so proud of herself helping me tonight.

Look at her little fingers...she is working so hard to clean the lettuce.

Please tell me this WHEN DID STELLA GET SO OLD!!!!??

17 Months...I can't believe it. Just recently it seems like she is repeating words we're saying all the time, even when we're not talking to her. It's so fun!!! She really likes words and is all about the alphabet. She's loved the ABC's since she was born,b ut now she loves to repeat letters with her daddy all the time. We have to sets of letters on the fridge and another in the bath. So far, her favorite letter is B.

Favorite words=ball, baby, bunny, daddy, mama, Papa, GaGa, Beau(my brother), shoe, boot, bug, duck, cow, kitty, dog, hi, bye bye, belly, stop, go, car...there are several more, but a new one I like is welcome. When I give her something I tell her to say thank you, instead she says welcome. I just want to eat her up because she knows those go together but she doesn't understand what she's supposed to say. AHHHH I just love her so much!

Other info...

*Stella loves to Skype with her grandparents in Oregon

*Stella loves to visit Papa and Grammie here and meet them for lunch

*Stella loves it when Daddy gets home from work

*Stella loves to read her books and is starting to 'read' them to us. I think it's safe to say her favorite is "Hop on Pop" by Dr. Suess

*Stella loves to entertain herself but then is VERY adament when she wants us to join in the fun

*Stella has 12 teeth that are all the way in and 4 either slightly poking through or close to it

Life with Stella is more than we could've ever imagined and we can't wait to see what each day brings because there is always an adventure.

Playdate

My friend Lisa and I have been trying to kick off a bi-weekly playdate for a couple months now and we finally did it. Of course we wanted to document the fun with a group picture of our "meeting." Stella wasn't wanting to sit still at first and was trying to get away from the icky boys :)

But once everyone was situated we started snapping picturse quickly. What a bunch of cuties. It was a fun morning with some new friends! Everyone had someone their age to play with---Stella enjoyed hanging with (from left to right) Reid, Lilly, Cruz, Trevor and Trenton.

We hope to continue to meet every other week and add to our playgroup.

In fact, I met two of the moms for the first time and I LOVE meeting new people. Thanks ladies!!!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Passed Out

First Haircut

Before...

A little mullet-like.

Here we go....

This is the only picture I could get of Stella in the chair with Bek because she got wiggly and I had to hold her, but she did great.

Excited about her new do.
And After...

She was on the go as soon as we got home, so it was tough to grab a picture, but you get the idea.

Still cute as can be!

Skating, Skating. SKATING!

This girls LOVES the skating rink. Stella had a blast watching her daddy and aunt and uncle show off their moves this Sunday at the skating rink!

I'm not kidding she was cracking up at Tom in skates. Who knows why she thought it was so funny, but she just laughed and laughed and laughed.

Stella posed with Tom and soon-to-be uncle Julian.

Here they are with Aunt Lori...she is the reason we were at the skating rink. We were celebrating her birthday again. SO FUN

The Bride and Groom to be dressed in 80's for the festivities!

The Third Wheel

This is what Tom wrote on his facebook last night, "Just had a date with my baby girl with candle light and music. The chicken was delicious. The potatoes were divine. We got dessert on the house. It was Chick-fil-a."

I tagged along on this special date because they need a photographer. It was so special. I grew up going on daddy/daughter dates with my dad so I'm glad Tom and Stella are carrying on the tradition. He decided to take his little date to chick-fil-a because they decorated the restaurant for Valentines day...there was candle light, flowers, live music, and even a stuffed cow for the first 50 "ladies". It was too cute to pass up. I love watching Tom love on Stella. She is truly the apple of his eye and as you can tell she is a big fan of his.

How cute is the picture of Stella giving him a kiss at the "end" of the date!
Now that is a romatic Valentines...watching my hubby love on our little girl!!!!

Fun Date Night

Self-portrait! Tom surprised me with a night away for Valentines. We had a WONDERFUL dinner and stayed the night at the Embassy Suites. It was such a nice treat. Thanks Babe!

This was from our floor.

This picture may seem random, but one thing I love about my husband is his humor and as we were walking to the elevator he asked me if I knew where the exit was...we were standing right here. *6* signs letting us know...we got such a kick out of it. It might not be funny to you but we sure got a good laugh!

And this is our VERY tired little girl after a fun night with Grammie and Papa. We're pretty sure she had a great time, stayed up late and ate lots of yummy foods...all the fun stuff that you're supposed to do with your grandparents!

And like I mentioned before Stella is very spoiled...this is her Valentines loot from Grammie and papa. SHe also has a V-day dress from them but I didn't have it when I took this picture, so I'll post her in dress on Sunday.

Have a good weekend!

Feelin the Love

I woke up to these pretty flowers!!! Since I'm still asleep when my hubby leaves for work I found this little surprise this morning...and it's just the beginning of a special day/night.

Stella has packed her bag and is ready to go to Grammie and Papas. This is all part of Tom's special surprise for me...how exciting!

Don't be fooled this bag is full of toys.

Stella got a surprise too...a box of goodies from Gaga and Papa for Valentines.

I've said it before, but this girl is spoiled!

I'll post more about our fun date later this weekend.

Happy Birthday Aunt Lori

Tonight we celebrated Aunt Lori's birthday with the good ole Catfish Hole. A local joint that is known for it's fried food. Stella LOVED the hush puppies!

Playing with the birthday girl.

They were both thought they were so funny. Stella always cracks up at her Aunt Lori. We were glad to help celebrate!!!

Wordless Wednesday