Swinging!

Stella got a swing set for her birthday.

Jim and his Dad built it.

And she LOVES it!

Just look at her face when she got to try it out for the first time.

I think this is a gift that she will be able to appreciate for many years to come.

Running Man

Cole has been having a great time doing

Cross Country in High School this year.

He has hit some

personal best times.

Here are some pics from his first meet.

Don't they look like they mean business?

Last minute strategizing before the race.

Lined up- ready to run.

And they're off.

Looking strong.

Finishing strong.

First Birthday Fun

Here are a few shots from Stella's

First Birthday.

We had a football party with some friends

and family.

Stella acted like she knew exactly what to do with the cake.

She had tons of fun!

She Likes It... Or Does She?

A little late to the game,

but our garden is finally producing some tomatoes.

Well, to be honest, it's producing a LOT of tomatoes.

Stella found out that the cherry tomatoes

are the perfect size for her hands.

Yummy!

I like it!

It's delicious!

Whoa! It's juicy.

And maybe a little bit tart.

Oh yeah, it's tart.

Hmmm, what was that thing.

I kinda liked it.

I wanna try it again.

Touchdown!!!!

Stella has a new trick.

We think it's adorable.

Camera Photo Dump

At the beginning of this month I made a personal goal

to post a blog every day.

I failed.

I failed the first week.

But I had some fun photos that I had taken

and then just didn't ever get a blog together.

So here are my photos. 

I'll try again next month.

Creative can smashing.

"You want me to do what on this skateboard?"

"Oh, ok- that sounds like fun!"

Even smiley during laundry chores

And diaper chores.

Pepper harvest from our garden.

More peppers

What, you might ask, are we doing with all of these peppers?

Well, I'm stuffing them with cream cheese and wrapping them in bacon.

You know, keeping it healthy!

I've been freezing them in preparation for football season.

I think I look forward to the peppers as much as the games!

How Sloppy Joes Got Their Name

I believe I have discovered the origin of the name

Sloppy Joes.

Or in this case:

Sloppy Stella.

Stella definitely loves to eat

and she eats just about everything that we put in front of her.

On this day, it was

Sloppy Joes

Yeah, she liked them.

And yeah, she made a mess with them.

It's fun to watch her feed herself.

We've been giving her opportunities to try the spoon.

She usually waves it around more than she actually uses it.

It's a great teether.

Here Mom, you have a bite.