A Day In The Life...

So, this is pretty much what our day consisted of...

Stella crawled into the sunroom to look out the back window.

It was really too hot to be outside, but that didn't stop her from trying.

She's enjoying her new found freedom.

Time to check out the exersaucer.

Looks like it may be time to pick up Dad's project.

Oh, Hi Stella- what are you doing right there?

Uhhh....

Helping Mommy with laundry.

Gosh, now she's clear down the hall.

What the heck!

Why did we wish for this?

Just so you know, moments after I shot this picture

she started toward the cat door.

Oh yes, back to the step again.

I'm sure we will have a tough time keeping her off of these.

"Look at me Mom. See what I can do!"

Wait for it....

Taaaa-Daaaa!

Look at this new trick!

Back to the sunroom.

(Mom was basically worn out by this point)

I don't even have any explanation for this little move.

Needless to say, after an exhausting day of exploring

our little lady is fast asleep now.

She's Got Moves

Stella loves music.

She gets to hear a lot of music at daycare

but we also play a lot of music at home.

Most of her toys also play some kind of music

so she does a lot of dancing and singing.

I've noticed recently that sometimes she even sings along to the radio

when we're in the car.

Cracks me up every time.

Chit Chat

Stella has been able to say a few words for a while now.

You know the usual DaDa and MaMa.

Her third word was Kitty.

Well, it sounds more like "kehhhh"

but she consistently says it whenever she sees the cats

and the dog

and Lenny the Guinea Pig at daycare.

I guess they are all kitties to her.

Then Daddy changed it up on her

and started calling the cats

Kitty-Cat.

Stella stayed right in step and now says "kitty-cat"

She also says "hi" and "bye-bye"

Check it out....

Phone Dump

We were supposed to go on vacation earlier this month,

but our plans changed.

We were, however, able to scrape a couple of days together

and we headed to Kansas City to Great Wolf Lodge.

Cole and Stella enjoyed the pools and slides.

Stella got attacked by this beaver too.

Cole is a good sport, and poses for pictures

on big cupcake bears.

Awww.

Somebody's excited for football season!!!!

This is the usual response when she gets into the Wii game

and we tell her "no!" in our sternest parent voices.

Yep- she gives us a big old smile

and then turns around and pushes the buttons while we laugh.

Yeah, we're in trouble!

I walked in to Stella's room the other morning and was greeted by this

happy sweet snuggly girl.

How did she get so big?

Milestones

We've hit a major milestone over the weekend.

Stella decided that being stationary was no longer fulfilling

Please ignore the whines- she was getting sleepy

and the animal tails- there isn't much that goes on around here with at least one four-legged observer.

Enjoy!

Can Someone Please Stop Time Right... Now!

We are getting very, very close to being mobile.

Well, at this point we're semi-mobile because

Stella rolls all over the room.

But I think we are knocking on the door of true mobility.

What do you think?

Oh, and did you enjoy that nice little nugget that Stella shared at the end?

She doesn't yet realize that letting one rip is not so lady-like.

This Is My Too Busy To Post Catch-Up Post

Yeah, so it's been a busy time around our house.

Well actually, my office moved at the end of June and

it has been quite a task trying to get settled.

Plus with the nicer weather, we've been doing some

work around our house.

Oh, and we were out of town over the 4th of July

so---- yeah.

Haven't been posting so much.

That doesn't mean that I haven't been taking pictures though.

Here are a few....

Stella has been eating more solids.

Here we have some cantaloupe, eggs & blueberries.

She is particularly fond of blueberries.

They make her pucker :)

We were in Wichita over the 4th of July

celebrating Calyn's birthday.

We always like to get the little girls together for

a group photo shot.

Here are the girlies with their Mommies.

Emily & Calyn (12 months)

Me & Stella (9 1/2 months)

Carey & Kyley (14 months)

Calyn was giving kisses

and Stella loves the attention.

Cousins bathtime!

I've said before how much Stella loves the cats.

I'm actually pleasantly surprised how tolerant Lucy is of Stella's affection.

I guess she figures she can put up with a little abuse

if she gets petted.

I can't recallif I shared this picture before,

but I really like it.

Stella's daycare has lots of costumes for the kids to play with.

This was a picture that they took for some decorations on the wall.

I think it's hilarious.

She's her Daddy's daughter!

She doesn't get to ride in the Jeep very often.

Actually, I think maybe only once or twice ever.

But on this day, it was parked in the driveway

and with no top, it was definitely inviting!

Oh, and here is Stella with Uncle Mike.

It was so nice to see the family in Wichita!

We haven't seen Mike & Mallory since Thanksgiving.

I'm sure Stella looks quite different to them now.