Why I Love Being her Mom

the unconditional love she gives me

when i look at her and just feel the absolute and forever love for her

watching her grow

waking up to her smiles

her laughter

i was part of her creation

the joy she brings me, even in my worst moments

the bond we have created

the trust she puts in me

teaching her

knowing that i have a purpose

watching her discover

i am able to comfort her

reading with her

those unexpected moments

the pride i feel when i look at her

i matter to her

absolutely everything. 

A Little Catching Up

Hot diggity damn, this girls energy level just blows my mind. Her level of fear has seemed to disappear. Saying that she is ev.er.y.where is an understatement. The playroom was the best thing Rick and I have done as far as room changes. There hasn't been one day that we haven't spent a good amount of time in it. Usually at the end of the day it looks like it had a good play...and Momma cleans it all up after she is sound asleep for the next morning. If there is an award for making messes, this girl is a real winner. 

In other news...is there a such thing as starting too early? Sure there is but we bought it now just for her to learn about it, sit on it and become familiar with it. Everytime Momma goes, her little tooshie will be on the potty too. I wasn't going to win the Minnie or plain white potty battle at babies r us. ;) So Minnie and Mickey it is! i guess it will add a nice splash of color to our bathroom.

On a Halloween note, I am still working on her costume. I am struggling with one part since I am not a sewer. Back to Michaels today for the third time for the same things! Just 3 days to get this sucker done. Third time is a charm right? Let's hope. We did make time for a little pumpkin painting...this girl loves anything soft and gooey that she can mush between her fingers. Proud to say some paint did make it onto the pumpkin and not just in her hair, mouth and on the chair. 

Stella has such an obsession with the tractor. I swear she can hear Rick start this thing up from miles away. As soon as her eyes spot the green monster she is all ear to ear smiles. She is happy just sitting on it even she isn't scoring a free ride. true country girl.

Cheers! To a Happy Halloween week!

13 Month Update

Dear Stella,
    I am having so much fun learning, playing and spending each day with you. Each day presents something new. Your age right now is indeed a fun one and our interaction is priceless. I live for our lunch dates, our baking together, our projects and so much more. You have really grown into your own person and have quite the personality. You are playful, and cuddly when you want to be. You are incredibly smart and you pick things up quickly. Momma and Daddy have to start watching our potty mouths! Stella you still seem to amaze me each and every day. You are growing so fast,..if only time could slow down a bit. I would love for you to stay this size for a bit longer. You make Daddy and I laugh all the time and we are so thankful for that. You are truly my ray of sunshine. And you are 13 months old!!  I love you so much. 

Love you to the moon and back,
Momma

Let it be known, taking pictures of you is nearly impossible..you don't sit still!

Here are a list of things about Little Miss Stella at 13 months...

-You are a great eater! Your favorites lately have been pomegranate, avocado, english muffins, baked oatmeal, wild caught salmon, Horizon organic mac n cheese (I always sneak peas in there), pickles, broccoli and spinach. You intake about 16 ounces of milk a day!

- Your words are Dada, Pop pop, Ice Pop, and A! is Ellie. "Momma" is few and far in between :)

- The list of things that you can identify is endless. Some are eyes, nose, belly, hair, piggies, bunny, duckie, kitty, Minnie and Mickey, milk, blankey, fishy...

- You are pulling yourself up on EVERYTHING, climbing the stairs, standing on your own, and taking on average 10 steps all by yourself. You get so proud of yourself when you do these things, especially walk and stand on your own.

- Sleep is good :) 10-11 hours straight through the night. Two naps (sometimes one) a day depending on what time you wake in the morning. You are without a doubt a belly sleep- but up in the air.

- Things that you love to do are color with crayons and chalk, destruct things and knock them over, go for walks, throw your balls from the ball pit, speed around in your walker, DANCE (you LOVE to dance), give kisses, swing on your swing, being baked, taking baths, jumping in your crib and being cuddled at night in your glider.

- You are wearing a few 6-12 month left overs, and mainly in 12-18 months. You are still wearing size 4 diapers and are in a size 2/3 shoe. love those tiny chubby feet.

- You now have 8!! teeth! Two molars finally broke gum! We brush those chompers twice a day- morning and night. Thank goodness for those SoBe ice pops- you love those.

- You are forever on the move and don't stop...I am not sure where all of that energy comes from ;) some sort of energizer bunny.

- Excited doesn't even describe how you feel and act when Daddy get homes from work. You love to stand in the window or door and watch for his white truck to pull up. (sometimes when you see a white vehicle drive down our street to say Dada) As soon as Daddy pulls up, he stops in the road, rolls down the window and waves to you and the smile on your face is priceless and the amount of Dada's that you yell are endless. so stinkin' cute. 

- You still love your blankey and we don't go anywhere without one. (we have three, smartest buy we ever made)

-Things that you don't care for are being told no, having your finger and toenails cut and riding in your carseat at times.

the beginnings of a braid!!!

I love you baby girl...

I Put a Spell on You

Stella has been living at the chalkboard easel lately. a girl after my own heart. Besides eating the chalk, she is quite the artist. 

We have been enjoying this Fall season so much. From the cooking, and baking to the brisk evening walks after dinner. I try to tell Stella that Fall is not the season to be a nudist. She is on strike this past week with wearing clothes. Coats, vests and hats? Forget it! The entire walk last night was a hat battle. Momma and Daddy vs. Stella.  I am sure you can guess who won?!

On the Halloween costume note, I got the biggest part of her costume done! Go me! Can't wait for the reveal. All I gotta say is thank goodness for naps. 

Some of our favorite fall recipes lately have been this baked apple oatmeal. Stella and I both love having this for breakfast. It is so warm and satisfying on a chilly morning. We did a pumpkin pie version as well, but the apple hit it out of the park (with a tablespoon of pumpkin butter..yum)!

and this homemade applesauce recipe. We have it as a snack, on the side of dinner, or as dessert served warm over vanilla ice cream.  I am sure there are so many more things you can make with it. I always make a big batch and store it in mason jars in the fridge. Way better than store bought!

We have also been enjoying more roasted veggies for dinner rather then grilled veggies and pumpkin butter on anything that you can spread something on ;) Fall flavors are just the best. 

and so are these smiles, especially in bones pj's. 

Our weekend and other stuff...

Another weekend came and went, another weekend closer to Halloween and I still have a lot of work to do on Stella's costume. This weekend really felt like Fall. Stella was bundled up in layers all weekend long. She is going through this for a lack of better word, phase where she hates putting any article of clothing on or off, including diapers. As soon as that diaper is off during a diaper change she is gone. As I am trying to be stern and tell her no, I try so hard to hold back my laughter at her little chubby butt crawling away as fast as she can. With that said, putting on coats and hats is a real pain in the ass these days. She better get used to the layers because it is only the beginning :)

At the end of last week, Stella and I added these fun cookies to our list of Halloween treats. She was much more interested in eating them than making and decorating them. All in all, she is a great baking partner.

Stella had a reaction to her chicken pox vaccine so it was kind of a low key week. You can't help but worry even if you are told that it is 'normal' from a doctor. She had slight fevers, her belly and back were covered in rash, no appetite at all, incredibly clingy and just cranky. Stella fought through it and I naturally worried as I comforted her and had an extra Stella Cidre to keep myself sane. Towards the end of the week, we had our soup for two lunch date as always, made messes and went on evening family walks after dinner. 

These Friday morning smiles just make me smile....

As far as the weekend went we had my sister's wedding ceremony on Saturday. It was a bit over two hours away so Rick and I just prayed that she would sleep on the way there and back. Let's just say we lucked out with this little lady because she did just that. I think this was the first time ever that Stella stayed up until 10:30, and all she wanted to do was walk laps around the reception! Our child was the only one up towards the end of the night, every other baby was asleep in their stroller. "I swear, my kid is in bed each night by 7:30!" 

She was still up with the roosters the next morning. Rick and I looked at each other when we heard her on the monitor and were pretty close to doing rock, paper, scissor as to who was going to go get out of bed and get her. Rick caved ;)

And for Sunday? Yep we are crazy. As tired as we were, we rolled out of bed and headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. 

I haven't been able to write about this yet, but will write Stella a letter one day telling her about our guardian angel...

On Sunday we went to the local nursery and purchased this Anne Magnolia tree in loving memory of our baby girl. This Magnolia tree symbolizes strength, beauty and love. We will watch this tree each day as it grows to be big and beautiful. Simply perfect. 

While bundled up we played with the leaves, on the swing and and watched some football with Mr. Sam Adams Octoberfest. 

And what's a weekend without a little matchy matchy??

Happy Monday.