fairly certain

that Stella needs one of these. 
picture found here at the GAP

You Are My Sunshine

When I was little, my father used to sing "You Are My Sunshine" to us before we went to sleep.  My mother always wanted him to omit the second verse because she thought it was depressing.  I sing Stella both verses but I see her point.

You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine,
You make me happy when skies are grey,
You'll never know dear,
How much I love you,
Please don't take my sunshine away!

The other night dear,
As I lay sleeping,
I dreamt I held you in my arms.
When I awoke dear,
I was mistaken,
So I hung my head down and cried.

Posting without pictures can be boring so I've been on a blogging break while my computer gets fixed.  I'll just mention a few quick things...

- Stella is growing and growing; she now chows on solid foods, babbles, takes 2.5 hour naps & fell in love with her doorway jumper
- This summer I discovered a love for horse racing. Belmont anyone?  I'm not kidding.  My uncle's horses race later this month--let's go!

- Accidentally I got hooked on the Hunger Game series--very reminiscent of how I got hooked on the Twilight series. Interestingly, I haven't read either of the last books in these series. 

- Noelle moved to London (wipe tear).  Yes, I'm excited to visit London but I can't call, or text, or gchat (no computer) whenever I feel like it. 

- I don't blog about crafty projects because, it turns out, I'm not crafty. 

- I flew solo with Stella for the first time.  I had an entire row on both legs of the trip.  Leaving me without an accurate picture of what it's like to fly solo with Stella.
Thanks for humoring me.  Pictures soon. 

They See Me Rollin'

On July 26th Stellie rolled for the first time and ever since has been refining her technique. 

   

1. lay on back--look around 

2. lift legs and grab feet

 

3.  try not to become distracted with getting toes into mouth  

4. tip over to the side

 

5. in side position, munch fingers for a little while (amount of time depends on how much noise mom & dad are making)

6. rotate shoulder towards the ground, hips and legs should follow, and voila, roll accomplished.

Occasionally Stella's roll isn't so graceful and we find her stuck, arms pinned under her.  Being the attentive mother that I am, I immediately (after a quick picture or two) pull her arms out for her and prop her up.  This week her PT encouraged me to let her struggle a little to get her arms out.  What?  You mean don't rush right over at the first sign of discomfort.  I'm already on the road to making her bed every morning and doing her science projects for her.  So much to learn.

Hands Up, Baby, Hands Up

Once again, it's August. Summer is officially winding down and all those blog posts I was going to do have fallen by the wayside--trips to UT, Stella's monthly stats, visiting D.C, rolling over, NYC adventures, time with friends and the power-boil setting on my stove (how did I not know about that sooner?).  Time continues to pass at alarming rates and my baby is growing up.  It hits me on a daily basis...she fits in her mcclaren stroller, she sleeps with a pacifier, she laughs, she prefers to be sitting up to see the world, she is growing out of (my favorite) outfits.  She has graduated from infant to baby and before I know what's happening, Stella will be graduating from High School.


Last night on the Staten Island ferry, I realized that Stella arms now touch at the top of her head.  NO!  For several weeks I've meant to document just how funny it looks when we held Stella's arms up and there was a 3 inch gap between her hands.  Try it with your arms.  See.  Your elbows should hit around the top of your head and forearms can reach all the way around.  Not the case with baby bodily proportions.  And last night, when I saw her fingertips brush each other,  I wanted to cry.

We took the picture anyway.  Two weeks too late.   Stella hands are currently the most fascinating things in her world and I think that she loves feeling them touch up there.

S.F.G

Morning Routine

 

Most mornings Stella "sits" up next to me while I fold the laundry.  She seems to find the whole process very amusing.  Then while I put the clothes away (which sometimes involves walking out of the room), I strap Stella to her "happy place." 

  

She loves the changing table.  And by table I mean pad on our dresser.

OVERDUE THANK YOU NOTES

 

I went back to work in June (this picture was taken on the last day of school).  There were several reasons going back worked for our family: a few extra $$ before the paychecks stop rolling in, the last two weeks of kindergarten aren't exactly grueling, closure, I adored my class this year (angels!), to collect "my" stuff from the classroom, etc.  The best childcare in NY made the decision extra easy. Thanks Grandma Allene and GG (Grandma Gardner) who each stayed with Stella for a week.  She relished in the love and attention!   

Stella had just started really, truly smiling in response to those around her when Jason's family arrived.  Stella smiled to moment GG lined their faces up and the love affair continued for the next week.  

Grandma Allene rescued Stella from my constant attempts to shove a pacifier in her mouth and inappropriate fashion choices (too hot and/or too cold).  I'm pretty sure she loved being cuddled and held while she napped, too.

THANK YOU MOMS FOR ALLOWING ME TO LEAVE STELLA WORRY FREE.  WE'RE ALL SO BLESSED!