Aunt Sis Strikes Again!

Stella's cool new toy from Aunt Sis:



It lights up, spins, and plays music.

GO TITANS!

Doing the Dishes

Stella is ALL over the house now. She is into everything and is a very fast crawler. She is going to have incredible upper body strength because she still prefers to push off with her arms and slide across the floor. It's much more effective than a traditional crawl on our wood laminate floors. Smart kid, huh? I've threatened to attach a swiffer cloth to her belly and let her go to town! This weekend she decided to help me with the house work.



This is her "I'm a little stinker" face.



And guess who has her first TOOTH? Yay! After a long period of heavy drool and incessant chewing, she finally cut it over the weekend. I spotted it last Wednesday while she sat with me during choir practice. It was just a little spot where her gums were breaking. Now you can see the little tooth shining through. Maybe I'll tie her down for a picture of it, but she's not a fan of anyone checking out her mouth.

Daddy's Girl

Why are you outside and I'm in here?



Notice Layla in the bottom left corner. She is never too far away.

I'm a Big Kid

Look what I can do!

I can pull up on anything.



This is now more fun than playing inside the Baby Einstein.



I would like my bib off, please.



Nice hairdo.



After a shampoo.



I love bubbles!

Just Monkeying Around

Monkey jams are fun!



Do I look cute?



Thanks for the swell jammies, Aunt Sis!

8 months!

Stella is EIGHT months old now! That's 2/3 of a year people. :)

And to celebrate one more month of life, she pulled up on the couch all by herself for the first time! I grabbed her hand once she made it because she tried to be a big shot and let go. I told her she wasn't quite ready for that yet. She's been trying to pull up for the past several weeks. I'm glad that she finally figured it out. She always has the cutest look on her face after she does something new as if to say, "Did you see that Mommy?"

Almost. . .



She did it!



Stella is starting to enjoy some kid's shows on tv for short periods of time. She likes to watch Nick Jr. at Nene's house in the mornings, especially Jack's Big Music Show. Yesterday's episode featured country/bluegrass and she loved the song "We're a Jugband." She still doesn't watch for very long, but that's OK by me. I really don't want her glued to the tv at this point. Up until now, Sportscenter and Wheel of Fortune were the only things that held her attention. She truly belongs to Stephen and I!

Football!

You can't be a member of our family and not love football. Stella got to go to her first high school game last night and I would say that she is definitely a lover of the game. Look at the concentration on her face while watching the field. . .



Before the game we went to Wendy's for a quick dinner. Notice that there isn't much around her. She wanted to grab the tray and fries which would have been perfectly fine had she wanted to eat. But. . . she just wanted to play. Stella could care less about food. We still feed her as often as she will let us, but bottles are her thing. Everyone keeps telling me that one day it will hit her and she will love to eat. We will just keep waiting. As long as she is healthy and growing, I'm OK. I know you can't tell much in this picture, but she is wearing a jersey with glitter that says "MVP #1 Cutie." I love it! Her hair is also cracking me up lately. The curly poof on top continues to grow. I've been telling her that she has the Buddy Holly look going on.

Rubber ducky, you're the one. . .

You make bath time so much fun!

Stella LOVES the new bathtub. We got it as a gift at one of our showers and honestly had forgotten about it until last night. I'm glad we got it out because she had the best time playing and didn't want to get out. The bill on the duck quacks when you squeeze it!

Morning Routine

I cracked up the other day when I found out about Stephen and Stella's new morning routine. Normally she is still sleeping when I leave for work in the mornings, but I got to catch it action two times this week. Since mornings are always hectic, Stephen has taken advantage of Stella's newly acquired skills that make her a little more independent.

While he is getting dressed or fixing breakfast, Stella props up on her pillow and watches Sportscenter while having a bottle. Sometimes she tosses it to the side for a little playtime with her toys. She is a little sponge now learning so much everyday. I know I say it all of the time, but it's so fun to watch!

Jailbird

According to her Daddy, Stella looks like a little jailbird in her new pants that we found at Baby Gap.

At the rate she is getting around these days, we may have to put her in baby jail every now and then. You definitely can't leave the room anymore.

Twenty Eight

I turned 28 over the weekend. Woohoo! This past year has FLOWN by for obvious reasons. I have been very preoccupied with everything baby. I am so glad to be a mom. In fact, I can remember last year that my birthday wish was just to have a healthy baby. Now I do! As always, Mom cooked up whatever my heart desired for my birthday dinner. I chose chicken and dressing, green beans, and mashed potatoes. YUM! Instead of cake, I asked for peach cobbler. Mom made sure to cut my name in the top of the crust. It was all delightful and I am still full. Mom has always made birthdays so special, one of many reasons why she is so wonderful. I got to open presents afterwards and scored some awesome items. Here are a few examples:

Because my sister is both awesome and hilarious. . .



Whew, Tommy helped Mom procure this set from Sephora before it sold out. While I am sure that he cannot understand the importance of this eye shadow palette, I thank him for making my birthday complete!



Speaking of Toms.



My sweet hubby hooked me up with some new Paula Deen cookware.




Auntie and family arrived on Saturday. Even though the Tittle/Turner clan spent the weekend hacking and blowing noses, we had a great visit. Stella had fun playing with everyone. Here are a few pictures of Ryan helping her stand. She loves to sit and stand over and over.

Brave and curious

Stella is constantly moving and exploring. She is crawling the traditional way and still uses her scoot/pull method as well. She is trying to pull up on everything. Yesterday afternoon, I put her in her crib while I went to put laundry in the dryer. When I came back, she was holding on to the top of the crib with one hand, leaned way back trying to balance herself and grab with her other hand, too. I laughed and helped her out before snapping a few pictures. She almost had it down but couldn't figure out how to stabilize herself to get the other hand up there. She was hanging on for dear life! She stood there for a long time after I helped her with a grin on her face like she was so proud of herself. Then, she let go and fell all the way back. She had a surprised look on her face, but no tears. I'll have to watch her like a hawk now. She is very brace and curious.

Apologies for the low quality pictures lately. . . As some of you know, I've been using my Blackberry and computer at work to blog. My nice set up that I had at home was destroyed a couple of weeks ago. My dear husband may or may not have sat on the ottoman causing my laptop to bounce off into the floor shattering the screen. It was a true test of our marriage. HAHA! So, you'll all have to suffer through pictures from my phone for now.

Afternoon naps

Stella falls asleep on the way home from Nene and E's house almost every afternoon. I will hear her talking and playing in the back of the vehicle and then silence. . . I always crack up when I get home because of the funny positions she can get into while napping. Here is an example. I love the grip on her carrier while the other hand is placed on her cheek.

Sippy cup

I'm not a huge fan, but mommy makes me try it anyway.

Late Night Visit

It's amazing how fast a child can get sick. Stella was finally over her stuffy nose at the beginning of the week. Wednesday evening we went to the funeral home for a visitation. While we were there, we noticed that Stella was getting hot. We left to go eat dinner with everyone at McDonald's. When we sat down to eat we noticed that a rash was forming around her ears, on her nose, and along her hairline. I took her temperature when we got home and it was 102.1. I gave her some Tylenol and called the after hours line at Dr. Bates office. The nurse I spoke with told us to monitor her fever and behavior during the night and call back with any changes. I had explained to her that she had been to the doctor several days ago and was currently taking amoxicillin. She said that it could take up to 8 days to have an allergic reaction, but also believed that it must be something else since there were no breathing problems involved. Stella went to sleep happy, but still hot. She woke up around 3 AM fussy and more spots had appeared on her face and her bottom. I took her temperature again and it was 102.7. So, I called the same line again and the nurse thought that we should take her to the emergency room. Stella was still smiling and acting fine, but her eyes proved that she didn't feel well. They looked puffy, watery, and very tired. We checked in at the ER and were the only ones there, thank the Lord! We got in very fast. They took her temp, blood pressure, and did a RSV test. She tested positive. :( Unfortunately, RSV is just a bad cold with fever meaning that there is no specific remedy for it. It takes 8-10 days to run it's course and is contagious for other children. It normally involves respiratory problems, but she has not shown signs of that at this point. I'm so thankful that she seems to have a mild case. Maybe she'll get well soon. Her fever is still up and a few more spots (hives or rash) came up today. We may have to make a visit to Dr. Bates this afternoon since it's a long weekend and they won't be in again until Tuesday. I've bleached, cleaned, disinfected . . . . a virus stands no chance in our home!

Now for the fun update: Stella is up on her knees and has discovered a new way to crawl. It's so much fun to watch her learn new things. It's also keeping us on our toes!

Here are some pictures that we took on our phones during the ER visit.

Stella looks slightly annoyed about the late trip to the ER.



At least the walls were covered with a fun ocean theme. She loved looking at everything.



Spots came up and went away even as we waited. This was after the bad ones had cleared up but shows what they looked like. Almost like a mosquito bite. . .



Fell asleep while watching SportsCenter with Daddy.



Totally out and ready to go home.

Bling!

I had a Lia Sophia jewelry party last night that was lots of fun. Carter came with his mom and entertained Stella. He had her trying on all of the bracelets. She LOVES jewelry!








Welcome pretty weather! We have missed you.

Nevermind all of the toys on the quilt, there is grass to touch!



She was mesmermized by the grass and the fly.



I love to be outside.