23 Months

Right now you are daddy's girl. You like FOOTBALL and wrestling and you ask for daddy when you get up, but he's already at work.

You are still very much on the go. It finally cooled down here so we could enjoy the outdoors without melting :)

You love to show off, especially if daddy is around.

You are VERY independent and like to do everything on your OWN. You tend to be a bit bossy too...we're working on that.

You still melt our hearts.

You cannot wait to drive...I think it's your need to do it yourself :)

You have a very impressive vocabulary. You can pretty much say anything...including NO.

You LOVE to RUN. And you usually say "I'm running." when you're flying through the house or playing outside.

And you GIGGLE like crazy when daddy chases after you...it's by far one of your favorite games right now.

We love you Stella...one more month and your *2*...how is that possible?

A Table Set for 4

I know Stella's birthday isn't for another month, BUT she got this table and chairs EARLY from GaGa and Papa. To say she LOVES it is and understatement. She LOVES to invite her "friends" to the table to color. I think it's funny that Stella normally sits in the pink or yellow chairs...those are her favorites.

I caught her here telling Button the bunny to sit while they color. I guess I've told her a few times to sit in the chairs NOT stand.

Stella's friends were very cooperative and paid great attention as she worked on her masterpiece.

Stella can be good at sharing and here's the proof. She is sharing her gray crayon with Bear.

Thanks GaGa and Papa...I have a feeling we're going to get a LOT of use out of this table.

Wrestling & Playing Catch

Stella has been extra attached to her daddy lately and the other night all she wanted to do was play with him and she wanted to play rough. This is her getting ready to pounce on Tom.

She did let me play keep away for a little bit, but then it was all about daddy and she kept telling me "NO PICTURE."

Notice I'm on the sideline, ha.

Then she really wanted to have fun and they started wrestling. I know Tom looks scary in this picture, but I promise you they were squealing with excitement!

I don't know how many times they did wrestling moves, but Stella kept saying "again, again." Needless, to say she had a blast beating up on daddy. :)

Today she came and jumped on me and said wrestle,but then after a little bit she said "no...daddy do it." I guess I don't do it right.

Is She Interested?

Yes, that's right! Don't adjust your screen. Stella is wearing her big girl panties. But don't get to excited...they're over her diaper, but she's been showing a big interest in her panties again, so I might give in and "really" start the training.

Checking out her panties...AGAIN.

Oh how she cracks me up. She not only insisted on wearing her undies...she wanted to put on her headbands. Oh goodness.

Playing in her stellar outfit. I think I should bust out my mom's old Jane Fonda videos for her to workout to in this get up :)

And what a tough life she leads. This evening she wanted to watch Mickey and this is her relaxing. What a LIFE!.

I love how she crosses her ankles and is so dainty. LOVE YOU STELLA!

My Little Artist

Earlier this week my mom sent Stella a package of goodies. Stella absolutely LOVES the coloring books and markers. She stayed in her high chair forever coloring and making a mess :)

Very serious about her art work.

My mom also sent these earrings and Stella loved wearing them...how funny!

When she was done coloring she INSISTED on "organizing" all the markers. Yes, she had to have EVERY single one with her. If you look closely you can see some her "art" on the tray.

This was her last night. I ran to Target to get a couple gifts and there were some crayons in the dollar bins (love those bins) so I grabbed some and Stella LOVED that she didn't have to sit in her high chair while coloring. She set up shop on the floor and went to town!

Then she was back at it this morning. I'm so glad she likes coloring because in this heat it's a good distraction while we're stuck indoors.

Thanks Gaga!

Jump Zone

WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD! Welcome to JUMP ZONE. Tom heard about this place when I was PREGNANT with Stella and has wanted to go ever since. Well, today was the big day and oh boy did we have a BIG TIME.

Checking things out at first.

Realizing this is a fun place and she better get to jumping!

The beginning of the slides...this is nothing compared to what she did with daddy later.

Now she's ready for some big girl action!

This slide was SUPER fast...

so fast they flew off the end!

BUT that wasn't the end of the slides...Stella wanted to go on the Octopus.

This picture cracks me up...Stella looks terrified and Tom's waiving while holding her in the death grip. But after the slide Stella yelled AGAIN.

She was so excited she wouldn't even stop to look at the camera and off they went to the top of the slide. They were having a BLAST!

And I will end you with this funny picture! I'm not quite sure who had more fun Stella or Daddy, but I DO know that we'll be going back soon because they both talked about it ALL afternoon. If you live in the area check it out. It doesn't cost a thing for parents and depending on your kids age...it's very reasonable!

Fun Mommy/Daughter day

This summer Tom and I quickly realized that Stella loves splash pads, so the other day I saw there was one in the area while watching the news and we finally made a trip up north to try it out. But first we had to return somethings at the mall, but we were too early, so Stella played on the playground before it got TOO hot.

Here she is making sure the slide wasn't too hot. Always making sure she wont get hurt :)

I know the outfit is a bit random and her hair is everywhere, but we were headed to the splash pad I wanted something easy to change out of for her swimsuit. Right now her super STRAIGHT hair is hard to tame anyway :)

We finally made it to the packed splash pad. Stella was very hesitant at first (which surprised me).

She even tried to break out.

Then she started to warm up to the idea of playing in the water.

By the end she was loving it, but eventually wanted a snack so we packed up and headed home. It was a fun mommy/daughter getaway for a couple hours. I think we'll go back to the splash pad, but we'll probably take some friends because it'd be more fun if I had someone to talk to while she runs around with the kiddos. And I WONT forget the snacks next time.