2010 - What A Year It's Been!

I am off work tomorrow and plan to spend the day with my little sweetie. Since this is the last post of the year, I thought that I would make a list of Stella's milestones. I've enjoyed having this blog so much and cherish the stories and pictures. There is much more to come in 2011. We wish everyone a wonderful new year! Spend time with your family and friends doing what you love most. Time flies by.

January 20th - You were born! Happy Birthday Stella!

January 22nd - We came home from the hospital.

February 7th - You attended church for the first time.

March 6th - You went out of state for the first time to Missouri.

March 15th - Mommy had to go back to work and you spent your first day with Nene!

April 4th - You are rolling over both ways.

April 30th - First overnight and big trip to Mobile, Alabama.

May 9th - You were dedicated at church on Mother's Day.

June 12th - You went on your first swim.

July 14th - You are sitting up well.

August 10th - You crawled for the first time!

August 17th - You spent the night away from Mommy and Daddy for the first time at Nene and E's house.

September 1st - A stinky 1st trip to the ER.

September 21st - You can pull up.

September 22nd - Tooth #1 appeared!

Oct - Nov - You consistently say Dada, Mama, and ByeBye and know the meaning.

November 18th - You climbed out of your bed.

December 15th - You stood up all by yourself!

December 26th - You got your two front teeth on top for Christmas!

All Things New

I'm trying to decide where to start cleaning my house. My goal is to take down the tree and decorations by the end of the week and do some heavy housework. I'd like everything to look sparkly clean as we ring in the new year. Plus, Stella needs some space to play with all of her fun stuff. I would like to start off 2011 clean in hopes that it will carry on throughout the year. Just grin and nod as you read this to encourage me.

I will miss the wonderful Christmas season, but with a child each year will bring more fun and excitement. I look forward to them all, but will always remember her very first.

1st Christmas

Stella's 1st Christmas was exactly what we expected, FUN! We have been busy for the past several days celebrating with all of our family. Christmas Eve, we ate breakfast with Stephen's family and opened gifts. That evening we went to Reelfoot Lake for dinner with Granny and Granddaddy. Christmas morning we woke up to gifts at our house, breakfast and play time at Nene and E's, and went to see Papa and Nana later that afternoon. Sunday, we made the trip to Missouri to see everyone and had a great day at Mamaw and Papaw's house. Tonight, we get to celebrate once more. If you are counting along with me, that will make seven celebrations. Mommy and Daddy are tired!

Check out my awesome Christmas jammies from Nene and E.



Yes, that's a gingerbread rock band. We finally got her in the bed around 10 PM Christmas Eve.




This is what the milk and cookies looked like after Santa came and left his note for Stella. (before Layla jumped on the coffee table and ate the rest)



Santa's surprises.




Is this all for me?



OK, first things first. A girl has got to eat.



We made it to Nene and E's house for more gifts and breakfast. Stella got a shiny, red piano and Aunt Sis calls this her Jerry Lee Lewis stance.



Trying out Aunt Sis's new suitcase. . .



"COOL! Just what I wanted! A Leap Frog Learn 'n Groove table."



Stella's mini kitchen.




Yum, candy cane.



Stella and Layla checking out the new stuff in her play room.



We still haven't finished decorating and unpacking, but you can see that there are now plenty of toys to keep her entertained.



We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas, too!

Night Away #2

Stella got to stay at her Nene and E's house last night while Daddy and I enjoyed a night out in Nashville. We had a great dinner and then got to see Garth Brooks for the first time ever. What a great concert! He sang all of his biggest hits and the show was full of energy and fun. We missed Stella, but got several updates about the fun she was having and Aunt Sis came over to play with her, too. It was our 2nd time away from her at night and we made it just fine. I woke up in the middle of the night and normally would go in to check on her. It's also weird to go to sleep without lullabies playing softly on the baby monitor. It's crazy how much you can miss a little baby in just a few hours!

It's Garth!



"Shameless"






Add Trisha Yearwood. . .



We went to the 6 PM show and there was also a 9 PM show. It was CRAZY downtown as our show was letting out with thousands trying to get in for their turn. We finally made it to our car and pulled in our driveway by 11:30 PM.

Chocoholic

I baked chocolate chip cookies last night and decided that Stella deserved a special treat since she has been eating so well lately.

Hmmm...what's this gooey thing, Mommy?



Doesn't she look so pleased?



My mommy's baking rocks!



Do I have any chocolate on my teeth?



I think I made a mess.



Yep.

Goodyear Christmas Party

Stella went to the Goodyear Christmas party with me on Saturday and was able to meet and visit with several of my coworkers while I painted dozens of faces. She had lots of fun even though she wasn't too sure about all of the workers that were walking around in costume. Santa, Rudolph, Dora the Explorer, and Spongebob were not her favorite part of the day. She didn't cry, but would bury her head in my shoulder each time they walked by then peek to see if they were gone. The surprised look in these pictures is her spotting one of them I'm sure. And side note: She is going to have a permanently orange nose if she doesn't stop eating sweet potatoes, carrots, and pumpkin!

"Mom, this kid beside me isn't old enough to be scared but I'm freaked out!"



Still cautious to ensure that she stays a healthy distance away from Rudolph. . .



Notice the candy cane drippings on her collar.



And this is a picture I took with my phone of her playing on one of the huge, inflatable bounce slides. I put her up there after all of the big kids were gone to see what she would do. She LOVED it! I had to get a friend's son to climb up there to get her off of it when it was time for us to go.

Hi Sugies

Stella's nickname at our house is Sugies. We call her that all of the time. Yesterday before it was time to get ready for church, Stephen and I were sitting on the couch watching tv while she played in the floor. She crawled over to us and pulled up on the couch and Stephen said, "Hi Sugies" to which she replied "Hi Sugies."

As plain as I would have said it. . .

Stephen and I stared blankly at each other for several seconds as we digested the fact that our child had plainly spoken two words as if it were nothing. Of course, we tried several times to get her to say it again. No such luck. I think that we have a little repeater on our hands because she tries to imitate many things that we say, but none have ever been that plain. Oh how I wish the video camera had been on and pointed her way! Kids can be so amazing. She may be small, but she is a little sponge learning so many things each day.

Stephen and I are still laughing about "Hi Sugies." It really reminded us of an E*Trade commercial. Something like that should not come from such a tiny body.

And now for a picture:

Santa's Village

We went to Martin tonight to see Santa's Village. Stella loved all of the lights and there was also a petting zoo.

Is your momma a llama I asked my friend, Fred? (Stella and I read that book all of the time!)



Woah, a camel.



Family photo op.



It's so fun to share my favorite time of the year with my sweet little girl. The best gift ever!

Welcome To My Home

We bought a Fisher Price Learning Home for Stella a couple of months ago and she just loves it. I think all of the features on it are so cute and she loves to play with it.



Peaking through the door at her daddy.



Mom, look who came to my house!



And then he had to ring the doorbell and come in her door over and over.



She giggled the whole time.

Baby Jesus at 10 months

I had to sing two songs as Mary for the preschool choir Christmas program Sunday night. The preschool director asked that Stephen stand in as Joseph and Stella could be baby Jesus. I was very nervous about it because Stella is so vocal and mobile now, not to mention 10 months old. I could just picture her wiggling out of my arms and taking off down the middle aisle saying byebye in nothing but her diaper. The director told me that she wasn't concerned about us completely looking the part, just that she wanted us to do it as a family. I was convinced.

The choir sang 3 songs as we waited in the hallway for our part. Stella was yelling, her version of singing along, while we were out there. I was sweating trying to hold her still under all of those silly sheets we called a costume. Finally, it was our turn. The first song was about baby Jesus that I sang a line of and the choir would repeat after me. After each line, Stella wanted to hold my microphone. The next song was sung by me to the children gathered around the manger. Stella kept leaning over sideways looking at one of the little girls trying to make her talk to her. It was pretty funny.

All said and done, her first performance was a hit. She crashed as soon as we got home. Stephen said that her big debut was tough on her. :)

Brrrrr!

Stella is happy about her new hat since it is so cold! It definitely feels like Christmas is right around the corner.

Christmas Shopping Trip

Stella, Nene, Aunt Sis, and I are in Nashville shopping this weekend. Day 1 was busy, but fun. Stella had to take a little break.



After shopping, we went out to dinner with friends of ours from Murfreesboro and Stella finally got to meet Mondale. The last time Mondale saw me was right after Christmas last year when I was great with child!



"Hey, I've heard about you."



When we made it to our hotel last night, Stella was so full of energy. Aunt Sis was monitoring her as she bounced around the pillows so she wouldn't fall off of the bed.



She finally had enough and went to sleep. Check out that hair from all of the playing before.

A stinky first.

After a rather large dinner, Stephen decided that Stella immediately needed a bath. I advised against it, but since I was on my way to choir practice my opinion was not needed. Mommy thought she needed to settle her tummy, Daddy said it wouldn't matter.

As I am walking out the door. . .

Stephen: "I see bubbles in the water."

Me : Laughter

Stephen: "Oh my gosh!!"

Me: Running quickly to the bathroom. . .

Stephen: "Stella pooped in the her tub!"


Santa didn't see me did he, Mommy??

Spaghetti

is not on Stella's list of favorites. . .

Yes, that's spaghetti in her eyebrows, eyelashes, ears, hair, etc.



I'm not for certain if it was her runny nose or the taste, but dinner was quite the struggle last night. I had just bought some new baby food for her and was sure that she would love the baby spaghetti. Nope! My little sweetie has been a wonderful eater for the past month. She finally wants to eat, even a couple of jars at a time some days. Stephen told me that she ate her breakfast well this morning so I'm thinking it was more of a power struggle last night.

Curls

I just love Stella's hair. Because of her curls, it's hard to tell how much it has grown. As you can see in this picture from a bath last week, it's getting much longer! The curls wrap tight once it starts to dry. I'm going to have so much fun with bows. I already love to play with her hair.

Can you tell that she enjoys a shampoo?



Thankfully, her little face boo boos have healed!

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday weekend with your friends and family. We have certainly been enjoying ourselves. Stella had a great first Thanksgiving!