Even Though They're Far Away...

Stella knows her baby cousins. 

We discovered her affinity for their photos when 

we received Mason's birthday party invitation today.

(Happy 1st Birthday Mason!!!!)

(And Happy 16 Months to Stella today too!)

She carried around Mason's invitation 

and kept repeating his name

so I got out photos of Kyley and Calyn

and sure enough- she did her best to say their names too.

Mason & Kyley are both easier to say

than Calyn, but I think she'll get the hang of it.

16 months is a pretty fun age.

Big Brothers Are Pretty Hilarious

That's what Stella thinks.

I think that Stella is about the luckiest girl in the world

to have a big brother who adores her

as much as she adores him.

A Busy Mom Will Do....

A busy Mom will do pretty much

whatever she needs to do to keep

toddler hands occupied

when dinner needs to be made.

Stella seemed to enjoy the bubbles

And it kept her busy.

It kept Cole busy too...

Yeah, he's silly

I'm a proud Mom!

Christmas Photos Catch-Up

I thought it was high time I shared some pictures

from our family Christmas...

Cole enjoyed his T-Shirt of the Month Club subscription.

It's like the gift that keeps on giving!

Puzzles

Oh Man! Christmas is so exciting!

We had such a wonderful day spending it enjoying our little family.

Stella loves her new bean bag.

And she loves to do cheesy smiles.

She really didn't mess too much with the tree.

Mostly she just liked to sit near it.

And look at the lights.

She even helped as Mommy took the tree down.

So now we're on to the new year.

Happy 2012

Stella Sounds Off

So, I realize that I've been walking around these past few weeks

as if I'm a person who doesn't have a blog to update.

I realize that I only did 4 posts in all of December.

I actually have a lot of photos and videos.

They just didn't make it onto the blog.

I realize that I haven't shared one single photo of my kids

opening their gifts on Christmas.

I'll try to get some of those on here soon.

In the meantime....

Stella has been learning what sounds animals make.

And what it sounds like when someone in the house burps. 

Yeah- she's pretty much awesome!

The Reader

Stella is taking after her brother in at least one aspect-

She loves books.

This is not news to anyone who has been near her in the past few months.

She has an uncanny knack for finding a lap and plopping down

with a favorite book for a quick read

and then demanding that you read the same book over and over again.

She will sit and look at books by herself-

but only if she has to.

Her book basket overfloweth

and we now have a stack of books next to the basket.

It's fun to see her point at the pictures she likes.

Daddy even got her a new reading seat.

She looks comfy!

Here are some other pictures of her sitting in her bean bag.

She's a little bit cheesy!

Doesn't she look like a big girl in this picture?