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!