Wade in the Water

Today was another beautiful day at the beach! Stella was much more cooperative today and was thus much easier to maintain throughout our excursion. She enjoyed playing in the wading pool and digging in the sand. Again, she indulged in a long nap on Papaw's lap!

Checking out the surf.

Checking out the sand and seashells.

Taking a snooze!

It's Your Turn!

Today we spent most of the day at the beach! Although the days of just relaxing are over, the days of fun are just beginning. Since Grandma Tessie & Papaw Keith are in town visiting, we decided that each of us should have a 30 minute interval of time in which we would be responsible for keeping tabs on Stella. Ideally, this would mean that each of us would have at least one interval of 90 minutes wherein we could relax. Sounds PERFECT in theory, but let me explain how the time intervals resulted: Alan's turn was first. They started by playing in the sand; then Stella remembered the ocean and decided it was time for a swim. She was very brave and fought the waves. Unfortunately, because they were bigger and stronger, the waves won that fight easily. Then, it was my turn. We spent our time sitting in the sand and allowing the waves to gently break over our legs. Then, we took a long stroll down the beach so that by the time we got back to our spot, my 30 minutes was up! Next was Grandma Tessie's turn. Stella determined how that time would be spent. Mostly, she just ran and ran and ran and made Grandma Tessie chase her, which she did proudly. Finally, it was Papaw's turn. Guess what he did during his 30 minute interval? He held Stella while she took a snooze! Papaw definitely got the best deal today!

Daddy & Stella playing in the sand.

After our fun day at the beach, we came home and got cleaned up for dinner at The Ocean Grill & Tiki Bar. We had a great dinner and got to listen to some fun music on the pier. I thought Stella looked super-cute in her little dress tonight, so I had to take a photo!

Going to dinner!

Fun in the Sun!

This past weekend was a weekend full of fun for our little lady! It started off with Daddy Daycare Friday when Alan decided it was time for Stella to have her own pool to play in on the back deck. When I arrived home from school, she was having the BEST time "swimming" in her pool while Daddy watched proudly (and comfortably) from his beach chair while music blared from the iPod. It was quite the sight. Then, Stella showed off her jumping skills ~ Alan would count to three and she would jump up as high as she could (which is actually quite high) and then fall down on her bum. I'm not exaggerating when I say that she has a couple of bruises on her derriere!

We were up somewhat early Saturday morning, so we knocked out our morning run before it got too hot. Then, Stella had some more fun play time in her little pool while I relaxed on the beach chair and Alan worked in the yard. After a LONG afternoon nap by ALL, we went to The Miller's house for a Fondue Party. Stella got to play with her friend, Everlee, while Alan and I got to enjoy the company of other adults. It's so nice that the Millers live so close to us because we were able to walk to and from their home.

Sunday was ANOTHER fun day! We went to a SPLISH SPLASH BIRTHDAY BASH for one of the neighborhood kids. Although a little chilly, Stella was all about the swimming pool. Normally, Alan is the one who sacrifices comfort for the sake of Stella's fun, but on Sunday, I did! May sound like a small feat, but I don't do cold swimming pools for just anyone. Stella loved swimming until her teeth started chattering. I was a bit disappointed in the effectiveness of the "swimmies." They didn't really do their job in keeping my child afloat, so I guess I'm going to have to find something else for our summer pool excursions.

Time-Out (and not the athletic kind)

I know I should be happy that my child is such a great eater and prefers to eat steamed spinach and blueberries over hot dogs and grilled cheese, but when I cook dinner, I really want her to eat it! Last night's dinner was a BATTLE! I always present Stella with a protein, a veggie, and a fruit. Of course, she eats the veggies first, then the fruit, followed by chicken (if we're lucky). Last night's choice was shredded BBQ chicken and cheese quesadillas. Yummy, right? Well, Stella found it more fun to throw her chicken across the room. After one stern warning, she laughed at me and threw it again. Then, she went immediately to time-out where she giggled and made silly noises. Alan and I did our best to ignore her and not laugh back. At this point, it was still funny. Typically, it only takes one or two times in time-out for Stella to get the point. Last night, she NEVER got the point. The child was in time-out over seven times. Each time she was put back in her high chair, she threw more food. By about the tenth time, Alan and I had both given up, Stella was crying so hard that she couldn't have eaten had she wanted to, and the dogs had bellies full of BBQ chicken and tortillas. I didn't expect her to eat the chicken, I just didn't want her to throw it! Am I expecting too much of a 17-month old?

The reason I struggle with this is because I refuse to be Stella's personal chef. I want her to eat what we eat. I don't want her to learn that if she throws her food, I will present her with different options. I don't want her to learn that throwing food is an appropriate reaction to not preferring a certain food choice. Sooo, do I just let her starve? Do I give her more of the other options that I know she likes and will eat? Am I being too type-A, controlling, obsessive? I know I should choose my battles, but healthy nutrition is very important to me. Alan and I are not picky eaters and I don't want to create one! Maybe I'm just a horrible cook.....

Blogging Bandwagon

So I'm not sure if this is even something I should even TRY to add to my plate these days, but I have found myself with literally no time to update Stella's baby books. Maybe, just maybe, I will be better at this. This, after all, does not require a pen! Maybe I can even find the time to update during study hall duty because this happens to be one of the websites my school has not blocked! I suppose I'm just going to dive right in and see what happens. I encourage all of you to reprimand me when I don't update. This is, in the long run, something I hope my little lady can read one day!

Recently, Stella's personality is growing more and more. She has such a great sense of humor and loves to laugh and play. Here's a snapshot:

• Clear Words: bye-bye, mommy, daddy, night-night, dog, car, bow, good girl, what's that?, up, down, all done, no, yup, papaw, boo-boo, Addie (her friend), hey, hi, and more.
• Decoded Words: Subby (Sully), Nona (Mona), pease (please), sapni (paci), hurrie (hooray), and ousigh (outside)
• Stella LOVES to dance - she hears a beat and starts shaking her booty!
• Stella LOVES to take a bath - she'll splash and play. She doesn't mind if water gets in her eyes, and she'll pretend to swim on her belly!
• Stella LOVES to brush her OWN teeth, but HATES it when we try to help her. She's definitely Miss Independent.
• Stella will sit in time-out for as long as we want her to. She really only goes to time-out if she is acting "ugly" (hitting out of anger) or if she throws food. We think she enjoys time-out because afterwards we get to hug, kiss, and snuggle. She will say "Sowwy Mommy/Daddy," which, of course, melts our hearts.
• She is really into hugging our legs. If I'm standing at the sink doing dishes or getting ready in the morning, it is not out of character for her to run up and give me a big hug around the legs. Then, because she is very fair in her love, she will run and do the same to Alan, Sullivan, and Mona.
• Stella does NOT like it when people don't acknowledge her. If we are in the grocery store and she says hi to someone, she expects a response. Think this is the result of someone getting a bit too much attention throughout her first 17 months of life?! Anyway, she will CONTINUE to say hi until the person she is addressing acknowledges her existence.
• Stella LOVES the dogs. And when I say "love," I really mean ADORE! Mona is her favorite, but she is still equal in her distribution of love. She does tattle on Sullivan a bit more, though. She will shout "NOOOO!" or "STOP!" if Sully has one of her toys. She tends to offer her toys up to Mona, though.
• Stella LOVES the beach and the ocean. Last week when we were playing in the sand, a plane flew overhead and she shouted up at it, "HEEEEY!" After screaming "hey" to the plane for a good 60 seconds, she realized the plane was not going to answer and she asked me, "What's that?"
• Stella continues to be a great eater chowing down on pretty much anything we put in front of her. Favorites still include peas, avocado, steamed spinach, brocolli, pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, pancakes, chicken, mac-n-cheese, tater-tots, turkey-roni, and many others. She sucks down her milk and chugs water like it is going out of style!
• Stella is also a great sleeper. Recently we've transitioned to one nap per day. It has been nice because we have more time in the mornings to play and do fun activities. Then, come 1:00 pm, she's literally walking to her crib and asking for her blankie and paci. Usually she sleeps anywhere from 2-3 hours, unless she's with Daddy - she has him wrapped around her little finger and often gets away with LOTS of play on Daddy Daycare Days! I don't mind, though because then I get home from work on Fridays and normally get some snuggle quiet time with my little lady!
• Stella still uses a paci and her blankie, but usually only during naps and at night. Sometimes we will resort to the paci when she's not feeling well or if she's had a little stumble. Otherwise, she manages life without it!
• Stella still going to Miss Tina's during the day. She LOVES it there. Every morning when we're on our way to her house, I ask her if she is ready to play with her friends. She says, "Yup! Timmy and Addie!" It's too cute to watch her run in the front door and greet Miss Tina and the other kiddos.

That's all for today - I'm going to try to figure out how to post pictures and make updates. Oh - and I might have to find some friends who are willing to "follow" the adventures of Stella*R Stories!