A weekend update.

I have gotten behind in my blogging this week. Here are a few pictures I have taken recently.

Stella accompanied me outside on Thursday afternoon to water our flowers.




I noticed that my daisy plant was a little sparse in the middle, so I took a closer peek.



. . . and this is what I found. Awww! I hated to move it, but it was ruining my plant. Sorry momma bird.



Thanks to my pal, Tommy, I was able to make chocolate cobbler with Hershey's Special Dark cocoa earlier this week. Mom taught me to use it in brownies and such to make a much richer and delicious treat. Too bad Union City businesses no longer find it necessary to carry said product. UGH! Luckily, Tom found it in the great city of Nashville. Chocolate cobbler is one of the easiest recipes that I have ever been given. I keep these ingredients on hand all of the time, so it makes whipping up a quick dessert very easy. I'll post it below in case you would like to give it a try. All cocoa works great but if you ever spy some of the Special Dark, snatch it up!



6 tablespoons of butter
1 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
------
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups boiling water

Place butter in 8x8 dish. Melt in oven while preheating to 350. Stir together flour, sugar, and cocoa. Add in milk and vanilla stirring until a batter forms. Spoon batter over melted butter from the oven. In a separate bowl, stir together the 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa. Sprinkle over butter and batter.
Note: With each step, be sure to not stir together in the baking dish. It looks a little weird just spooning the batter over the butter and then sprinkling the other on top, but it works for some reason. Carefully pour boiling water over all of the ingredients. Bake for 30 minutes or until set. 33 minutes is the magic number in my oven.

** The batter comes to the top and the rest creates a nice chocolate syrup. Vanilla ice cream tops it off just right. :)

Post chocolate cobbler nap. . .

4 month check up.

Stella is growing so fast. Today, she weighed 14.4 lbs and measured 24 inches long.

I am 2 feet!



I have to get shots for what?



We are so proud of our big girl. How is it possible to love someone so much!?

Pears

. . . . Stella can take them or leave them.

We have tried rice cereal on several occasions with Stella. She wouldn't get one bite down so we switched to fruit.

Apples = Fail

Bananas = Fail

At least she got some pears down. Maybe she just isn't ready? We'll continue to try a few bites here and there. She'll decide what she likes soon enough.

I'm supposed to do what with who?




Gross!



I thought you said that this was yummy?




Whoops! A few pears ended up in the hair.



You didn't get rid of my bottles did you?!

Finally!

Stella is finally asleep for the evening. She woke up at 7 A.M., napped about 40 minutes after lunch on Mom's shoulder, and that was IT for the day! Good grief. She was so tired all afternoon but just couldn't get to sleep. She missed her morning nap. I think that was the reason for the mix up.

She spent her first whole service in the church nursery and did well! I am sure that the ladies held and talked to her, which is perfectly fine. She was somewhere new and didn't want to miss anything by napping. Poor baby finally settled down around 9:30. She will sleep all night no doubt. I went in to check on her and she was in full stretch out mode. So sleepy!

Now, it's Mommy's turn. I have been entertaining her all day long. :)

Stubborn.

Stephen's Dad and Dawn got this precious outfit with strawberries on it for Stella the day of her baby dedication. She had it on today and I wanted a picture. Stella has started something new when she decides she doesn't want to do something or cooperate. She will stiffen her legs straight as a board. It's impossible to sit her up. I finally was successful.




Well, not for long. . .



And this is how she ended up!

Decisions, decisions.

The pictures from the photo session I talked about last week were posted online yesterday. Here is a sample of some of a collage that can be created using the different poses. I love stuff like this!



Katrina is awesome. It seems to take no time to get great shots. She and Whitney are both great with kids and make the experience fun. The hardest part was the wardrobe changes. Stella got fussy every time I bothered her to change, but she didn't seem to mind getting the pictures snapped. Now, how in the world do I choose my prints? I have to remember that there are many more sessions to come. I already have some poses in mind!

This could get bad.

I am a Promise!

With a capital P!

I used to have a hard time remembering my last good cry.

Enter baby. . .

Yeah, that changes things! :) I have shed SEVERAL tears in the past four months. (Stella is four months old today!) Well, today it wasn't just a tear or two. It was full blown waterworks.

The culprit:



Mom bought Stella this book with cd for Christmas even though she hadn't quite arrived. This little book is so sweet. I wanted to read it to Stella today so I hunted down the book, but first popped the cd in the player. As soon as "I Am a Promise" started, I broke down. I mean SOBBED. . .

When I was a little girl, Sis and I always listened to and sang that song. We had a book to go along with it as well. I guess I was just flooded with wonderful memories with the greatest sister and family ever, and couldn't control the overwhelming emotions. The song and book just talk about being anything you want to be with God by your side. I had the luxury of growing up in a wonderful, Christian home. My memories are filled with fun times, music, love, and laughter. My parents always supported us and believed that we could truly do anything we set our mind to do. As I held little Stella and listened to that sweet song, I just prayed for my baby.

Then I heard the door open, and Stephen walked in to see my red and splotchy face. Of course he asks, "What in the world is wrong?!" All I could squeak out was, "I love this baby." He just smiled and understood that I needed my moment.


"I Am a Promise"

I am a promise
I am a possibility
I am a promise with a capital "P"
I am a great big bundle of potentiality
And I am learnin' to hear God's voice
And I am tryin' to make the right choice
I am a promise to be anything God wants me to be.


I can go anywhere that He wants me to go
I can be anything He wants me to be
I can climb the high mountains
I can cross the wide sea
I'm a great big promise you see!


I am a promise
I am a possibility
I am a promise with a capital "P"
I am a great big bundle of potentiality
And I am learnin' to hear God's voice
And I am tryin' to make the right choice
I'm a promise to be anything God wants me to be
Anything God wants me to be!

Monday isn't so bad. . .

when you come home to this!



Lovin' bath time.



He said what?!



Bath time leads to fro head!

Baby Einstein Test Ride

Cool! A new toy.



Whatcha lookin' at frog?




Hmmmm, a blinky keyboard.




Was that the right note, Mom?



The supervisors: Daddy & Layla.

Photo Session

Stella had her 3 month pictures made today at Photography by Katrina. I can't wait to see them! She did so well and the shots I saw were so sweet. I am excited about the "Watch Me Grow" program. We will get a panel with a pose from each session: 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Also there will be a composite with little shots of her hands, eyes, feet, bottom, etc. And my favorite, a 20 page album with poses from each session. I love pictures! A little too much. . .

Here is a picture that Dad sent me from his phone on Sunday. I was out of the room trying to download Stella's dedication pictures while the rest of the family was entertaining my child. They are a funny bunch. At least Stella thinks so!

Happy Mother's Day!

What better way to celebrate Mother's Day than dedicating our precious baby this morning at church!


I LOVE this dress!


Gifts from Stephen, Stella, & Layla.


My favorite flowers.


Itty bitty vase and flowers for Stella, from Daddy. :)

All aboard!

Stella got her first book from Reading Railroad in the mail today, "The Little Engine That Could." I am so thankful that our community sponsors this program through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. All children from birth to 5 years receive a book each month. Stella loves story time already. The bright illustrations hold her attention as she listens to us read. I hope you will register your child for the program or tell others about it. If you live in Obion County, you can visit the Rotary Club's website for more information and to download the registration form.

Mom informed me the other day that she potty trained Sis and I by reading books. She said she could keep us in there as long as necessary by handing us a stack. Too funny! Dawn and I still enjoy our books and magazines.

Here is a staggering statistic for you: 50% of American adults cannot read an 8th grade level book. It is hard to believe, but true. It is sad to see some of the other statistics. Google "literacy statistics" if you are interested. When I hear the numbers I think about those who I went to school with, possibly sat beside, that were never able to read over a 5th grade level. That's 20% of the American adult population. That is why programs like Reading Railroad are so wonderful! Many kids can now get their hands on books well before they reach Kindergarten, boosting their chances to become excellent readers. It's estimated that children in the early school years learn eight words each day. That's nearly 3,000 words per year! Children are just little sponges ready to soak in all that we can teach them.

And this has been your public service announcement for the day! :)

The great switch.

I found this article online and thought it was interesting. It is always neat to me when I read about how drastically things have changed through the decades. How we raise children has DEFINITELY changed. I think we could all benefit from bringing back a few things. Not necessarily with the colors we choose for kids to wear, but you know what I mean. . . Cell phones at 4?! I don't think so, Stella!




Once upon a time there was a happy little color named “Pink” and it was loved and worn by all. But one day a crazy King Trendy grabbed the happy little color and told little boys they couldn’t wear “Pink” ever again. And little boys everywhere cried. They became very “Blue”…

True story – sort of.

It wasn’t until the 1950s that the stereotype “pink means girl and blue means boy” became the popular trend in Western Europe and North America. It’s never been common practice in other countries.

There seemed to have been a serious effort in the early 1900s to establish characteristic colors for girls and boys. But it took decades to develop a consensus on what those colors were. For years one camp claimed pink was the boys’ color and blue the girls’. A 1905 Times article said so, and Parents magazine was still saying it as late as 1939.

Why pink for boys? Some argued that pink was a close relative of red, which was seen as a fiery, manly color. Others traced the association of blue with girls to the frequent depiction of the Virgin Mary in blue.

An excerpt from Ladies Home Journal, June, 1918:

“There has been a great diversity of opinion on the subject, but the generally accepted rule is pink for the boy and blue for the girl. The reason is that pink being a more decided and stronger color is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl.”

It’s amazing what we learn from history. So where does that leave us today? Does it leave us mired in a stereotype where boys should never wear pink? What do you think?

--------------------------

Well, I know how I feel. The "boys" in my life, Dad & Stephen, both wear pink.

Enjoying a pretty day. . .

Stella's easy chair.


Look at my cute, chunky legs.


Ok, one more picture Mom.

First "big" roadtrip.

Stella is now a full-fledged traveler! She made it over 1,000 miles as we drove to and from Mobile, Alabama. I had obligations to attend a conference for Junior Auxiliary. I knew there was no way I could make it several days without my sweet girl. Even though our plans were set weeks ago, I got nervous as I packed our bags on Wednesday. The last thing I wanted was for her to be uncomfortable or even miserable during our trip. As usual when I worry, Stella proves me wrong! She had two minor bits of fussiness on the way down. 3-5 minutes of whining and crying meant, "I am tired!" After I soothed her for a few minutes, it was nap time. The same thing happened on the way home. I am so proud of our little baby for being such a good sport. 15 total minutes or so sure isn't much in the grand scheme of things. We were on the road 10+ hours each time. As Aunt Sis suggested, she deserves some kind of baby award! (This is not purely a mommy brag. I have witnesses!)

Here are some pictures of her enjoying her bed at the hotel. Yes, her bed. Mom and I shared a double bed and let Stella have her own space. And it begins. . .





Unfortunately, there wasn't much time to explore the city or shop. I was in sessions and meetings most of the time, and it was much too windy for Mom & Stella to venture out on their own. The storms that made it to our area over the weekend were definitely fueled by the crazy winds coming up from the gulf. I don't know that I have ever been in wind that strong that lasted for so long. Aside from the storm and flooding back home, the oil spill was causing quite a stir as well. We watched disaster relief teams set up in the convention center where our conference took place. We were able to take a longer route home and make it back safely. We are very fortunate in our area to have missed lots of the damage that resulted from the storms!

Tonight, we got to see our buddy Carter play t-ball! Here is Stella taking in all of the new sites at the field.