Be Thankful.

I am thankful for the two loves of my life and the joy that they bring me each day. 

I am thankful for my house full of messes, the food on the floor under the kitchen table, the floors that need to be mopped and the pile of dishes in the sink because that means that I have a home.

I am thankful for the huge piles of laundry because that means my loved ones are close. 

I am thankful for the early morning wake up calls from the little miss upstairs because that means I am alive and have a precious gift to tend you awaiting me. 

I am thankful for the love I have to give and the love I get back. 

I am thankful that my precious baby girl Mabel was with me for 5 and a half months and is now perfectly healthy in heaven. 

I am thankful for my happy and healthy marriage. 

I am thankful to be the best Momma that I can be. 

I am thankful that Rick and I are able to give Stella the best life that we can. 

I am thankful for friends and family that surround us. 

okay and let's get real...

I am thankful for these 2 or 3 hour naps. They allow me to take a nice long hot shower, use the bathroom without having two little eyes rushing me, and the hot baked goodies that we bake :)

and I am thankful for the snowflakes falling right now because Stella and I get to make snow cream!

I am thankful.



Stop focusing on how stressed you are and remember how blessed you are. 

14 Months

Dear my Sweetest Stella,

   I am sitting here pinching myself to make sure this is real You are 14 months old. Where has the time gone? Stella, I don't even know where to begin with this letter. I am having so much fun with you each and everyday. This age is truly a blast! You are funny, loving, smart, curious, and the list can really go on and on. This time of the year is a time to be thankful; but I am truly thankful for you each and everyday of my being. I am thankful for you, thankful for the giggles that you give me every single day, thankful for those cheesy grins, thankful for the kisses that you smack on my lips, thankful for your health, thankful for your trust that you have in me, thankful for absolutely everything that has to do with you. Stella, I have had some sad days this past month, and to put it as simply as I can...you have been my ray of sunshine. You have helped me get through those bad days; you make me see sunshine on a rainy day. You are an amazing little girl with a huge heart, and the love that I have for you in my heart is larger than I can ever describe. 

You have changed so much in this past month and have learned so many new things. I love you so so much and you are one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Thank you for being you, and for loving me the way that you do . 
You are nothing short of an amazing daughter. You are my daughter and I am proud to be your Momma. Happy 14 months sweet baby girl. 

All my love,
Momma
P.S: Love you to the moon and back.

Here are some 14 month updates...

Your appetite is great! Your three meals are never left at the table:) Your favorite foods right now are spinach, avocado, pomegranate, cinnamon chex, poached eggs, pasta and broccoli. Oh yea and can't forget the sweet peas! You usually have a light snack in the afternoon between lunch and dinner. That snack is typically a yogurt, goldfish, some shredded cheese or some serving of fruit like sliced grapes, or blackberries. We let you have one treat a day and that is after dinner. On grocery shopping days I let you pick out a donut from the bakery and on the other days it is either an ice pop or a mini powdered donut. 

You awake anytime between 6-7 a.m. and are in bed every night between 7:30-8:00p.m. You are a kick butt sleeper and only awake in the night if you need to be changed because of a dirty diaper. We have made the transition to one nap a day. One nice looong nap- 2-3 hours! :) Depending on the time you woke up, the time of breakfast or your afternoon appetite, your nap is sometimes before lunch and sometimes after lunch but is always in the afternoon around noon/1ish. 

Some of your favorite things to do lately are... dance, play with stickers, draw on the windows with the window crayons, finger paint, walk laps around the house, turn the TV on and off, and to have dance parties in the kitchen. 

Some of the new things that you are doing and saying these days are...

 -When we ask you if you want to eat, you say "eat" and you sometimes walk right to your chair.

 - When we tell you it's time to brush your teeth, you say "teeth" and walk right to the bathroom.

 -When I say to you let's go potty, you walk in the bathroom right to your potty.

 - You know the number 1 and hold up one finger.

 -You are a stair climbing machine. Those bad boys are blocked off now!

 - You tell Ellie to "get" when she is in your way.

 - You can blow kisses ( well half way- you put your hand to your mouth, we are still working on the blow part).

 -You say catch when we ask you if you want to play catch.

 - You say 'HOT' when you see my coffee mug. 

 - When we say milk, you walk right to the refrigerator.

- You look out the windows and call the Deer "Deeries"

- You call Ellie. 

- When we ask you if you want to take a bath, you walk right to the steps to head upstairs. 

- You are getting better at using a spoon when you eat.

- You are talking up a storm!!! All day, every day!

- When we ask you if you pooped... you grunt! It is hysterical. 

- You can identify eyes, nose, mouth and hair.

-You can use your Leapfrog Jr. all by yourself. \

...I am sure there are many that I am missing ;)

You are one smart little girl Stella. 14 Months is so much fun! 

More Pictures than Words

I don't really have much to write on this night that I sit here with the lap top on my lap, Stella asleep and Rick watching some boob tube. Christmas is slowly quickly making it's way into our lives and we haven't stuffed ourselves with a delicious turkey yet. It's crazy. Christmas jingles are on all day, Christmas jammies are out and even worn to go shopping, Momma's DVRing Hallmark Christmas movies, we already watched Elf. Okay, confession: Elf is the best movie made and we watch it all year round! And the best of all? I already started my Christmas shopping- thank you free shipping!

Anyway, it's a new week, and it's Thanksgiving Day week!
And completely random...it was like effing Spring outside! You bet your ass we were outside soaking it up.

So here goes the pictures shall we? ...

Yes to Christmas jammies :)

This little gal can point out Santa in a crowd!

Did someone say STATIC? 

swinging our hearts out until it gets too cold.

Okay those eyes are killer! 

Crunching the leaves... "November you're beautiful"

Loading firewood...in training.

Sidewalk chalk with my blondie,

Stella and I gave some warmth and Christmas cheer to baby "Mabel's" tree. Our guardian angel that watches us from above is thought about everyday...xoxo
Mabel means strength, beauty and love. 

So thankful for these two...love them to pieces. 

'Literally' walking around town.

Who needs a stroller?! :)

CHEERS! to a great Thanksgiving Day week!

Toddler Bites

Stella definitely has favorites when it comes to filling her belly. Even though she would rather eat those favorites, she really is open to trying anything. She usually eats whatever we are eating. Unless she isn't hungry, she usually gives no problems with eating. After dinner is when she gets to enjoy her little sweet treat for the day. For example, she loves loves loves glazed or powdered munchkins; so on those days that Rick or I pick a couple up for her she will get to eat one after dinner. :) She most enjoys taking a bite and putting it back in the bag, taking another bite and putting it back in the bag- it's comical to watch.

Here are some of Stella's plates lately...

Breakfast. 

This plate is full of her favorites. These 4 foods (pomegranate, fried egg, avocado and spinach) especially the spinach, are her go to foods these days. 

mini waffles with butter, mandarin oranges and yogurt

mini waffles with butter, half of banana and a serving of yogurt

bowl of cinnamon chex and sliced blueberries

Lunch.

tuna sandwich, blueberries, and organic rice and corn cheddar puffs

she is a sucker for pb&j! Peanut butter and jelly, organic rice and corn cheddar puffs and peas

whole wheat pita, tuna salad, slices grapes and avocado

tri color tortellini with homemade applesauce

Dinner.

Dinner time is usually a chaotic time around here. Rick is usually home and in the shower, and I am cooking dinner while running around after Stella. She can usually be found outside the bathroom peering through the crack under the door calling "Dad!" I am not sure why but if she doesn't eat around her dinner time I hit the panic button. She gets one snack and some milk in the afternoon around 3 or so. I don't let her snack much during the day after lunch because I like her to be hungry and eat her dinner. So when dinner time hits, she is hungry! like momma get that damn food on the dinner table hungry.  

Therefore, because I panic to feed her on time, and i'm trying to cook and look after a busy toddler there are not many pictures of Stella's dinner plates. She likes to dig her hands in it before I can even snap a photo. ;)

Lasagna soup with blueberries. 

Some of our other dinners lately have been turkey sausage and apple stuffed acorn squash, creamy tomato penne with spinach, chicken and veggie stir fry, spicy parmesan shrimp, brown rice and beans with veggies, and tacos.

Bon Appetit!

Baby it's Cold Outside

Baby it's cold outside!

Temps are around 30 degrees...Brrr. That means indoor activities at their finest. We have been finger painting, catching fake snowflakes on our tongue in the warm bath, having kitchen dance parties to Christmas jams and spending time at the kids section at Barnes and Noble. All of the Christmas books make story time that much more magical! This little gal can point out Santa already!! 

Okay these chocolate dipped chocolate chip cookie dough bites really deserve a post of their own. Yes, they are that good! Rick and I had too easy of a time popping them into our mouths last night. They are egg free, and it is just like eating that cookie dough when you are baking cookies!

Making these treats and listening to Christmas music = a damn good time! Not only have we been listening to Christmas jams non stop but I am a sucker for the corny Hallmark channel holiday movies. Yep, I DVR them and watch them with the little one goes to bed. Love them.

We used this recipe. They are a must try!

Oh This Girl...

Oh this girl...
testing boundaries already...
really pushing the limits...
but Rick and I can't help but laugh...

This weekend Stella has shown us a whole new side of her personality. Rick and I saw and heard sooo many new things first hand. When we ask her is she wants to eat? she responds 'eat.' what? where did that come from?  If you ask her if she pooped? she responds with a grunt as if she is pushing out a terd. and where did she learn that? She covers her eyes and plays peek a boo, she changes the channel on the TV and then looks at Rick or I and says 'Uh oh' along with doing the hand gesture. oh this girl!  She pats the side of her leg while calling Ellie when ask her to call Ellie. ellie just looks at her thinking 'riiight, like I am going to listen to you?!'  And the continuous conversations with herself are priceless.

This weekend was productive. It all started with me telling Rick that we needed the cabinet locks put on STAT after Stella got into the pantry, dumped an entire box of cereal on the floor and began eating it piece by piece off of the floor. Stella was Rick's little helper when it was time to put on those bad boys.

 

We are having a wood stove put in so Rick finished up prepping the existing fireplace space since the rest of the supplies are arriving this week. That meant indoor activities while Daddy worked. Crayola window crayons, cartoons, baked cupcakes, and we were part of the crazy Sunday food shoppers...

WINDOW crayons Stella not doggie nose crayons... :)

Ellie the red nose bulldog... ;)

See that ivory chair in the background that has her name on it? 

Funny story...

Stella knows she is not suppose to climb and stand on it but she does just to be told no. She thinks it is funny and some sort of game. I was in and out of the playroom while cooking dinner and Rick was playing with her. I heard him say to her to sit in the chair and not to stand. So I walked in the playroom and she saw me right away. She smiled at me ear to ear and I sternly (okay, I was trying my best to not smile) told her to sit while pointing a finger at her. While smiling at me, she pointed a finger back at me and babbled something! WHAT?!

Rick also helped out Stella and I with one of our DIY pallet projects. It still needs a few last touches and tweaks that we will be working on this week. We will reveal the end product on December 1st ;) hint hint. So excited!

These frigid temps make me want to cook soup. Now that it seems the cold temps will be hanging around for a bit it is time for soup Sundays. We wrapped up the weekend with this lasagna soup. With a few substitutions it is definitely a make again soup! 

Our Last Spring-Like Day in November

I think that it's safe to say that we had our last 'spring-like' day outside on Wednesday. It was beautiful outside. Besides our quick errands that we ran that day we spent most of it outside soaking up the temps, jumping and playing in the piles of leaves that Rick had made over the weekend, swinging on the swing, doodling with some sidewalk chalk and just walking laps around the yard. As I was pushing Stella on the swing, I looked over at Ellie and was just in awe...

of all the places in the yard to lay....

Wednesday told in pictures...

simply and completely smitten...

and no better way to share an afternoon snack than on the kitchen floor...

happy friday!