Bring in the Noise, Bring in the Funk~ NYE 2010!

....and I don't mean rhythm. Something nasty has been going around and we all got it in some way, shape, or form. Alan has a horrible cold and an ear infection that requires Vicodin (YIKES). I am on the mend from a miserable cold and cough. Poor Stella was diagnosed with strep throat today. Who knows where she picked it up because I feel like everywhere we have been, someone has been ill. She never had a fever, but she has been battling a bad cough and runny nose for almost a week. Knowing that our pediatrician was going to close Friday afternoon and not be available until Monday, I decided to bite the bullet and take her in just to see if there was anything going on. Stella was a trooper at the doc's office; we waited for over an hour to be seen (clearly everyone else was thinking the same way). She had to have a strep test and did great. She is now on her very first antibiotic. I shouldn't have been bragging about the fact that she had never been on one while in Ohio (but I knocked on wood!). Hopefully, the meds will help her to start feeling better soon. It had to happen at some point, right??

Want a visual of this moment in time?! Picture this: New Year's Eve @ 9:45 p.m...

Stella - sleeping in her room (without her paci):
Alan - crashed on the couch after taking his cocktail of meds (prescribed and legal):
Canine dependents - comfortably sleeping on my bed:
Me - switching between blogging and folding laundry:Chances are, I won't make it to midnight either, but I wouldn't trade this life for anything. Happy New Year!

Bye Bye Paci - A Rite of Passage

Well, my friends, today was the day. It was a day that I, as Stella's mother, have been dreading since I recognized Stella's obsession and addiction to her pacifier. Knowing that the longer we prolonged the inevitable, the harder it would be, we decided that we would "de-pacify" Stella over our Christmas break. At this point, she only took it at nap and bedtime, but she definitely asked for it and wanted it during those times. We knew we would need the help of the paci on our 12-hour journey to and from Ohio, so once we got home, we ALL had to mentally prepare.

I had been warning Stella that her paci was going to go "bye bye" for quite some time. The typical response that I would receive was, "Shh, mommy. No talking. My paci." Ohhhkay. I just knew it wasn't going to be easy, so I had to come up with something meaningful and memorable for her paci "release." Therefore, this morning, Stella and I went to purchase some balloons. I let her pick out three balloons at the store and she chose an Elmo balloon, a star balloon, and a circle balloon. I told her that we were going to tie her paci to the balloons and send them to the stork in the sky so he could give them to other babies who needed them. Still, at this point, she was adamant that I just STOP TALKING. Needless to say, I kept reminding her that she was a big girl and didn't need it anymore. Then, this afternoon we took a trip to the beach. We made a big deal about the trip because it is rare that we go during the winter months. She was sooo excited to see the "ocean-pool." When we got to the beach, she ran onto the sand. Alan thought it would be a good idea to videotape the event so that we could show her the day she gave up her paci, not thinking that it would come in handy as a reminder later that night when she asked for it. Here's a look:

After the "paci release," we went to our favorite restaurant for dinner to celebrate Alan's birthday, which unfortunately, was overshadowed by our paci ceremony (sorry, babe). When we got home it was apparent that Stella was avoiding bedtime. Normally, she asks to go to bed, but tonight was definitely stalling. She typically gets her paci after she brushes her teeth, but tonight after she brushed her teeth, she was sort-of talking to herself about her paci and how it went bye bye in the sky with her Elmo balloon. It was so sweet to see her realization and her understanding. I definitely underestimated her. After a few minutes of snuggling on the couch, I said it was time to go to bed, and she went with ease. We read a few of her favorite books and sang her favorite songs. Then, that was it! Who knew it would be so easy!

Oh - and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALAN - an amazing husband and daddy. WE LOVE YOU!!!

Happy Holidays!

The holidays definitely hold new meaning now that we share them with our little lady. It's hard to believe that this was Stella's THIRD Christmas (her first being when she was only 4 weeks old). Although she still doesn't entirely "get it," she definitely enjoys opening gifts and playing with new toys. One problem we had Christmas morning, however, was that once she would open one present, she would want to play with it immediately and not open any others! Not only did Santa spoil her, but so did everyone else! Some of her favorite gifts included a personalized suitcase packed with all the necessities to visit Auntie K in Texas, a new baby doll with a cradle and clothes, The Tickle Monster book and tickle gloves, and dress-up costumes and shoes. She also enjoyed playing with cousin Keagan's trains because she is obsessed with Thomas the Train!

Decorating cookies is super-fun when all you do is eat the icing!


Running to see what Santa brought!


Coloring at the kids' table!


Wow!! I LOVE my new baby and cradle!

Handsome Kohen loves his new chair!


They are sweet MOST of the time....Well, Kohen is sweet all of the time!

"Bye Bye Letters"

Stella's obsession with letters has been ongoing for about 4 months now. There are benefits to this obsession, like learning her letters and their sounds, but there are also some disadvantages to the obsession, like only wanting to watch The Letter Factory over and over and over again. The benefits definitely outweigh the disadvantages, and most recently she has started to identify letters that she sees while we're out and about. She'll point to my CFA t-shirt and say, "Hi, f. Ffffff," and make the 'F' sound.

This past week, I stopped at the liquor store and had Stella with me (bad parent? nah!). We went inside, made our purchase quickly, and left in under 5 minutes. When we were pulling out of the parking lot, Stella said, "Bye bye, a. Bye bye, b. Bye bye, c. BYE BYE LETTERS!" Our liquor stores down in Wilmington are called "ABC Stores." Moral of the story? Taking your child to the liquor store can definitely be a learning experience!

Birthday Bliss

On December 2nd, Stella celebrated her second birthday! We can't believe how fast the past two years have passed, but we love and embrace every new stage that Stella enters (good, bad, and ugly)! On her birthday, I took the day off of work so we could celebrate together.

We started the day with a morning tantrum....

Then, we enjoyed a peaceful and delicious breakfast....


Later in the day we decorated a birthday card for Stella's friend/neighbor, Lily....


Next, we decorated our gingerbread house (although the pic is the next day)....


Finally, we ended the day with snuggle time....


The next day, Stella had her 2-year check-up. At the pediatrician's office, she was an angel. She cooperated through all of the poking and prodding and even did some talking for the doctor. When it was time to get the flu-mist, she sniffed in the medicine without flinching. Unfortunately, her vaccination booster shot was not so pleasant. She was NOT happy about the prick, but perked up immediately once a sticker was mentioned! She walked away with about six stickers!

All in all, Stella's 2nd birthday was a success. She's such an amazing little girl, and I know I speak for myself and Alan when I say that we are truly blessed to have her in our lives!

Gobble Gobble & Ho Ho Ho!

Thanksgiving weekend in the Reid household was a busy time filled with lots of fun activities. Thursday was a beautiful day and we relaxed around the house before enjoying a delicious dinner. Then, I decided I would try to do some shopping at Toys-R-Us that evening...yeah right. After waiting in line for over an hour, we decided that we would surrender to the "real" Black Friday shoppers and try again the next day.

Trying out her new tricycle!

On Friday, we returned to find nothing on our lists :-(. We did, however, have luck at Old Navy, Target, and Bed, Bath, & Beyond. Stella was a trooper while shopping, completely oblivious to the fact that we were shopping for her! She ate her PB sandwich in a shopping cart and then came home to take a three hour nap! When she awoke, we decided we would go to Carolina Beach Boardwalk's "Light up the Boardwalk." While there, Stella visited with Santa, roasted marshmallows, and saw many fun lights!

Ready to roast marshmallows with Daddy!

"Who is this lady, Mom?"

On Saturday, we relaxed throughout the day and then went to Airlie Garden's "Enchanted Airlie." Stella, again, got to sit with Santa. Although she didn't cry, she didn't smile much either. It was quite chilly that night, and more than anything, she enjoyed playing "boo" behind the trees while we were waiting in line.

With Papaw & Tessie at the Airlie Pier.

With Mommy & Daddy at Airlie Pier.

Playing "boo" while waiting in line to see Santa!

"Okay...he's not so bad..."

Sunday was Stella's birthday party!! We were fortunate enough to have her party at Giggles, my summer place of employment. She and her friends had a great time celebrating at her alphabet-themed party. She is so blessed to have so many great friends in her life, and boy was she spoiled with some great gifts!

Birthday Party Day is FUN!!

"Bring on the cupcakes before I fall asleep, Mom! I need the sugar boost!"

Thank you! Yummy!

Serious Catch-Up

STELLA'S 2-YEAR STATS

Alan made this video that will give you a little glimpse into our lives and how sweet Stella has blessed us with so much happiness throughout the past two years. Enjoy!

Music credit: Ben Harper's The Three of Us.

Food: She's getting picky and choosy. I find myself trying to trick her into eating certain things because I'm trying to develop her tastes for a variety of foods. She would still prefer to eat plain broccoli, spinach, peas, carrots, fruit, and crackers to any type of meat or pasta. Tonight I actually tricked her into eating a bite of pizza and she gagged. What kid doesn't like pizza?? She still drinks whole milk and water, but has no desire to drink juice.

Words: I'm amazed everyday at what this kid is learning to say! When I returned home from Orlando, I felt like she was speaking more clearly and in longer sentences. Still, many words are words that only Alan & I understand, but she is making major progress. She is starting to use pronouns (I want those!) and ask questions (What Mommy do? and Where'd Daddy go?). She makes clear requests and has a few of her favorite books memorized (Chica, Chica, Boom! Boom!). Thanks to LeapFrog's The Letter Factory, Stella knows many of her letters and their sounds. This morning, she pointed to her initials above her bed and said, "S, R, N." I was super-impressed. She says please and thank-you without being prompted and enjoys bossing around the dogs (Move, Sully! Mona, stop!). She definitely has some speech issues at this point (R's and S's), but I make sure to pronounce words clearly so she doesn't have to go through the same therapy that I had to as a child. Overall, her communication is right on and we are getting some great laughs out of the things she says.

Height, Weight, etc: Will update after her two-year appointment!

Loves: bath time, nap time, blankie (kiki), paci (pafi), milk, Sully, Mona, running, coloring, eating, "helping," reading, singing, dancing, playing with her baby, watching Elmo and The Letter Factory...and many other activities

Hates: time-out, having her diaper changed, riding in the car when very tired...and that's all I can think of right now!

Milestones: We are on the brink of many milestones. I've been contemplating when the best time will be to take away the paci, start potty-training, and move to the toddler bed. She is definitely addicted to her paci (only at nap and bedtime, though), so that is going to be a hard transition and one that I'm dreading. Regarding her bed, she hasn't even tried to climb out of the crib yet, so I'm thinking we shouldn't mess with a good thing! Stella will occasionally ask to sit on the potty and she's actually peed one time! Granted, she sat on the potty and I turned on the bathtub, but still, it's progress!!

DADDY DAYCARE "WEEKEND EDITION"

Stella and Daddy had a great weekend together while I was in Orlando for a teacher conference. They went to the beach, had a play date with Everlee, watched movies, and played music!

Ready for the beach, Dad!

This is fun!!

BEING SICK.....

On Tuesday, November 15th, I woke in the middle of the night to a screaming Stella. Alan went in her room to help her settle back to sleep to find that she had gotten sick in her sleep and was covered in vomit. This was the first time she has ever gotten sick, so she was scared and didn't know what to do. While Alan gave Stella a bath, I cleaned to crib and changed her sheets. The next day, Stella and I hung out on the couch and recuperated. I covered the couch in old towels and she basically just watched movies all day. It must have just been a 24-hour bug because she was back to her normal self by the next day!

Poor little lady...

SINGING & DANCING

As music lovers ourselves, we have really tried to expose Stella to all different types of music. So far, her favorites range from her "Stella Songs" to Dr. Dog to Doe, a Deer. She loves to sing & dance along to her favorite songs and requests certain tunes in the car and before bed time. Whenever Alan pulls out the guitar, she runs to him to play along.

FOOD+FUN+FORT+FLYING=FANTASTIC FALL

Fall in Wilmington is a beautiful time of year. The weather is still warm, but not hot, making for endless opportunities! We fill our days with playing around the house, reading books, going for runs through the park, and visiting the beach.

Mmmm...cupcakes!

Mmmm...popcorn!!


Mmmm...ice cream!

Playing fetch with the doggies on the beach!

Play date with all of her "friends" during Daddy Daycare!

Playing with chalk...still a favorite pastime!

Love wearing Mommy's shoes!

This is what a melt-down looks like....

Proof that she DOES bite her toenails. GROSS!!!!

Soooo, Mommy has started painting Stella's toenails and fingernails to
prevent the previous from happening. First mani-pedi!

Stella loves it when Alan makes her a "fort" with the furniture...though she calls it a tunnel for some reason. This one particular day, we had built her a fort, turned our heads, and the next thing we know, she had turned her fort into a magic carpet!

HALLOWEEN 2010

To celebrate Halloween, Stella participated in numerous activities. First, she went trick-or-treating at the aquarium dressed as a cowgirl. She didn't quite understand the concept at first, but it didn't take long before she was running up to the various vendors and begging for candy!

Stella & Everlee at the aquarium

Enough with the photos, Mom...

The following Saturday (10-30-10), we had our 2nd annual Halloween party with all of Stella's friends. After a quick photo shoot, the kids enjoyed time playing together and jumping in the bounce house. The day prior, Stella had stubbed her toe and was insisting on being carried, or walked with a pretty pathetic (albeit dramatic) limp. The second she saw the bounce house, however, she was miraculously healed and was the last one to stop jumping....

What a cute group!

The next day was actually Halloween. We had a relaxing day of play and then Stella went trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. The second I pulled out her cowgirl costume, she said, "No, no, no, no!" I think she was over it. So, instead of being a cowgirl, she dressed in the cute tutu that Auntie K made for her and went as a fall ferry.

Happy Halloween morning!!

Trick-or-Treating as a fall ferry.

Stella's Auntie K is getting so crafty! She made her this cute tutu and sent it to her as a Halloween gift, so we had to make time for a photo shoot. She had fun playing in the backyard during our pictures, and of course twirling in circles!

Fall Fun!

Clearly, our lives are quite busy these days! Wanted to update the blog to reflect what we've been up to. Recently we took a trip to Ohio to celebrate the marriage of two close friends, Sam & Kara Mikolajewski. While there, Stella had the opportunity to spend some time at Indian Lake! Stella's Grandma Tessie & Papaw Keith have a "cottage" there, and it was the perfect weekend for her to visit as it was the annual Halloween Festival! She got to decorate pumpkins, dress up in her Ohio costume (a sock monkey!), participate in a costume contest/parade, AND go trick-or-treating for the first time. Also, this visit was Stella's FIRST night away from Mommy AND Daddy. (And Mommy's first night away from Stella). Okay, don't judge. It's not that I'm one of those super-obsessive parents who can't leave her child with anyone. It is just that the opportunity has honestly never presented itself. When you live at least 12 hrs from ANY family, it's hard to just up and leave for a night, weekend, etc! Anyway, I'm redeeming myself by going to Orlando, FL for THREE nights in November (but let's not think about that right now). Oops - I digress. So, Stella had a fantastically fun time at the lake, and from what I hear, she was super-sweet and well-behaved (not ALWAYS the case at home).

First boat ride on the O-Heck!

What a catch!

She carried these around all weekend.

Driving already?! Oh no....

That was super fun!

Taking a stroll with Daddy.

Olivia the Horse and Stella the Sock Monkey!


The cutest sock monkey ever!