A Snapshot of Our Life

Teeth!!!

2012-02-07T23:08:00.000-07:00

The little FINALLY has a tooth!! This past week has been a nightmare! No sleep for baby or mama, lots of Ibuprofen... for baby and mama. Lots of snuggles and tears wiped away. And what do we have to show for it? A shiny, SHARP little pearly white!!! Finally!! Actually, it's sort of translucent still, there is only a tiny bit showing, it's still working it's way up, but at least the initial cutting through the gums is over. Thank goodness! Stell was doing so well with sleep, naps, temperament and everything up until a week ago when this little bugger started working it's way through her poor gums. Now were going to have to work on sleep again, it's a constant battle, but she WILL sleep through the night soon {or so I keep telling myself...}. Were also working on getting her to sleep longer in her crib. It's right next to our bed, up against it even, but she wont sleep more than an hour or two in there usually. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Co-sleeping with her, and I will tell anyone and everyone what a wonderful thing Co-sleeping has been for our family {to each their own right?}, but she's now to the stage where if she wakes up, she doesn't cry out to let me know, she just sits up... and she's not quite able to climb off the bed unassisted. So, i'm afraid she's going to take a tumble and hurt that beautiful new tooth of hers. So, she's napping more often in the crib, and thankfully she's getting more comfortable in it. We're still putting her to bed nightly in it, but when she wakes up she sleeps the rest of the night with us in bed, which is just fine with us for as long as she wants to, we both love it {Yes, even Brent is all for co-sleeping, thankfully}.

Brent's parents came to visit this past weekend, we always enjoy their visits and are so happy they could make it out here! This weekend Brent is going fishing with a friend, so my sister is flying out to spend 4 whole days with Stell and I! I am stoked!! She hasn't been out in a few months, and we never get much time to hang out over Christmas, so it will be nice to spend some time with her, Brent and I might even get a date night, yay!

I don't have any pictures of the illusive tooth quite yet, I've only seen it once or twice myself, but i'll be sure to post them when I do. For now, enjoy some other deliciously cute photos of the little causing some trouble around here, a new constant.

not so happy after a few minutes in the snow... she wouldn't keep one glove on either.

much happier inside with a snack

we caught the wild animal!!

playing in Abby's cage, an every day occurance

she loves her Abby

I Love Zulily!

2012-01-19T10:43:00.002-07:00

Just thought i'd share that Svan Highchairs are on Zulily today! This is the chair we have for Stell (bought it on craigslist to upcycle) :) and we LOVE it! It's a huge space saver and cleans up so easily! It's also very sturdy and looks great! She loves it. I ordered an extra cushion, and i'm contemplating ordering the play table set for her birthday gift... we'll see. If your not already a zulily.com member, follow this link and we'll both get a credit! sweet!!

http://www.zulily.com/invite/jnorris214

I also ordered this to hang in her room,

Happy Shopping!!

cloth diapers rock!!!

2012-01-16T17:36:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine just started up a new blog all about cloth diapers and i'm loving it! I thought i'd give a quick shout out to Missy over at Divas, Diapers and Dudes, She has some great info and sure is posting new things quick!!! Head on over and take a gander, especially if your curious at all about cloth, we love our fluff!

pardon my cleanup

2012-01-16T14:52:00.001-07:00

I'm working on taking all of our Christmas decor down around here but it's taking me longer than I'd hoped, so please bare with me. Stell has been napping somewhat sporadically, which means I'm hardly getting housework done, let alone any blogging done. Also, our pup Abby had a pretty big knee surgery on Friday morning, so she's cooped up in a kennel in our living room for the next 8 weeks, poor girl! She had the TTA surgery and we are so thankful for how things worked out, she actually qualified for a study that a local emergency and specialty vet is doing and we saved almost half the amount of the surgery! I cannot believe how lucky we were to have qualified, and also that the surgeon happens to be the best in Idaho and the surrounding area. Abby is on the mend now thankfully, her surgery went well, and her leg is nice and swollen and purple, but she already wants to be up and playing, it's amazing how much different she is from just a few days ago. She blew her ACL/CCL back in November and has been limping around in pain since, it was so sad, we were just trying to get through the holidays before having the surgery. So for now, we're holed up at home, baby not sleeping, Pup in pain, and only a few loads of laundry getting done a day, it's going to be a long few weeks around here, but we'll make it through :) I'll hopefully get the blog back to normal soon, but until then, enjoy the adorable photo card I posted for Stella's birthday below, she turns 1 is just a few weeks!!!!! EEEEKKK!!!

Stationery card

2012-01-16T13:37:00.001-07:00

Big One Pink Birthday Invitation

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10 months and growing!

2012-01-12T23:59:00.001-07:00

Stella Jean,

You are 10 months today!! I actually cant believe i'm getting the chance to write you this letter on your monthly birthday! It's been a VERY busy few weeks, and you have grown so much! You are now using a push cart to assist with walking, and will stand on your own with no help from daddy or I, soon you will take steps and be on your way without us. I cannot believe you are almost walking! You're a pro at climbing, you love stairs, climbing daddy and I, up onto the bed or couch, all over Abby, even your highchair has had it's attempts! We are already talking about building a tree house for you to use in the near future... several years into the future. You are becoming more adventurous in everything lately, not just climbing, but with food, bath time, being away from mommy, and many other things!

Foods you love right now,
Beans!! LOVE LOVE LOVE beans, you devour them.
Puffs are still a top choice when you're just munchy hungry.
Raspberries
Blueberries
Olives, which is something new, you ate a ton from your daddy the other day and we had to stop giving them to you until we knew how you reacted, all's well with olives!
Bread, any kind of bread really, pizza crust is a big hit usually
Pasta, noodles are so much fun to eat and play with!
Pan Dulce, Mexican sweet breads are probably one of your favorites, they were actually the first thing you signed for ever! you asked for "more" pan dulce and I couldn't have been happier to give it to you!

Oh yea, that's another new thing, signing!! You ask for "more" now! Not always, but if you really want something you'll start hitting your fists together and smile when we give you what you're wanting, its so wonderful to know what you're asking for! I *think* I've seen you sign milk also, but i'm not quite sure, I do know that when I show you the sign you fling your head back towards my breast with mouth wide open, you know what you want! you are getting better at the few words you know, Da. Momma. Abs, kiggy, we hear them often now and I'm more sure that you know what you're saying. You wave hello and bye bye, it's adorable, and people get a kick out of it wherever we go, especially you're favorite bankers! You have a special friend at the bank actually, Carly, she adores you, and the other day hung out with you while mommy took care of some things, Carly crawled around with you and the next thing I knew, you were squealing with laughter!!! Sounds I had never heard you make! All over some silly pen on one of the girls desks, it was a wonderful sound to hear! I'm so thankful to have people all around us and everywhere we go who love and adore you!

You are becoming more independent every day little miss, and we cannot wait to see what else you learn this month! i'm sure your next months post will include highlights from you're learning to walk, more words, more signs, and playing! I cannot wait to explore more of this world with you, and to watch you absorb things through your big bright eyes!

Daddy and I love you baby girl, Keep smiling your big smile with those big bright eyes,
Love, Mommy

9 months and growing

2012-01-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

Stella Jean,

You are 9 months baby girl!! Well, you have been for a few weeks, but with the holidays and traveling, i'm a bit behind on this post. You have grown in leaps and bounds over the past few weeks! You are now literally into EVERYTHING! I had to re arrange the bathroom cabinets to make them baby friendly (i'm ok with you getting into things in certain rooms), and we've also had to stop keeping water in the house for Abby and Lil, you just seem to have a little honing beacon for that darn water bowl! You are *kind of* walking, with help, and a neat wooden cart that you got for Christmas from Abuela and Opa. It rolls a bit to fast for your little legs to keep up with, so we still have to hold on and slow it down, but you love to go! Always the mover, you're also now climbing everything... stairs, couches, out of the tub, the entertainment center... nothing seems to stop you. Going down on the other hand is still something you've yet to master, one day soon i'm sure.
Things you've mastered this month:
*taking your diaper off, you think it is hilarious to pull off your velcro diapers... and then leave them in your dust while you crawl down the hall naked.
*climbing, you're a pro! You can climb from the floor, onto the ottoman, up onto the back of the couch, you're going to love trees :)
* eating, you love food! You've had so many new foods this past month, More berries, blue and black along with your favorite raspberry; seasoned potatoes, pork, chicken, different breads, top pot donuts, barley biscuits,
* growing! You moved up to 12 month clothes and some 18 month pants!! you are so long! at your 9 month well baby check up you were 20.8lbs, and 30 inches long!! 75% for weight and 90th% for height :) We also moved you up to a convertible car seat! your head and feet were sticking out of your infant seat, so we thought it would be safer to move you to a Britax boulevard (taller back for tall babies) and you're pretty happy with it! You're never a fan of being put into either carseat, but once strapped safely in, you're content.
* Talking! Were pretty positive you've said your first words! You now say 'Dada' 'Ab' 'ma' and I think i've heard 'kiggy' aka kitty... but we're not sure on that last one, it may just be an excited squeal whenever you see Lilly.

You are doing so much these day Stell, and every day you look more and more like a big girl, a little human, you no long look like a baby, but more and more like a toddler! I cannot believe we are quickly approaching your 1st birthday! We love you baby girl!!! We cannot wait to see what these last few months bring!

Love, Mom and Dad

Resolutions

2012-01-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

I've never been one to partake in actually writing down resolutions to hold myself accountable, but this year i'm feeling different. I feel strong, confident, and like I can accomplish anything (well, almost anything). So, I thought i'd put it all out there, write my resolution for 2012 so I would have people to hold me accountable. Will you help hold me accountable?? I'd also love to hear your resolutions if you have them, lets support and encourage one another to keep our goals, I think all big goals should be a group supported effort.

My 2012 resolutions:

1. Get to my goal weight, which is my happy weight of 160lbs (yes I realize I just put my weight out there... or at least the weight I want to be) I've only got about 10lbs to lose thankfully, but they are those stubborn last few lbs that have held on tight to my body... I think it'll take some serious workout to get them off. and my happy weight is just exactly that, where I am happy, not too skinny (like I was when Brent and I were married and I was around 150lbs, my arms look scary thin!) but not too chunky (as in where my pants are so tight they leave marks... ouch!). I have already lost all of the baby weight I gained with Stella, plus about 8 more lbs! I am so thankful she is active, which keeps me on my feet most of the day, and also for Advocare's Meal Replacement shakes, which I drink EVERY morning with a scoop of Spark, yum! They have helped to boost my metabolism (like i'm a teenager again kinda metabolism!) and fill me up for breakfast, which has helped me drop the stubborn pounds my body is holding onto. If you are at all curious about Advocare products, send me an email, i'd love to give you more info on it!

2. Get back into being active. I want to compete in a marathon, or two, or three. I was never a runner, my lungs cant take long runs ( I have sports induced asthma, lame) but I LOVE to speed walk and do intervals (jog, walk, jog, walk, sprint, walk, etc.) I think it would be a huge personal accomplishment to take part in a few marathons, start with a 5k walk, then do a 5k run, then maybe a 10k? I know Boise has a ton of events that span from April-October, I just need to find a few that sound fun and that I might be able to take Stella in the jogger with me, she'd love it. I also want to be able to hike with my husband again without gasping for air or having to have him pull me up lol, it's bad... he can go miles without getting tired, I can barely go a mile... yikes!

3. Organize. Everything. It's a constant work in progress around our home, organizational messes at their finest. We just have too much "stuff". Really, we need a bigger house haha, but since that wont be happening for awhile, I need to purge. We have 3 boxes of donations that need to go out, and many more half filled that are always on the to-do list. It's tough with Stella right now, she wants to pull everything out of the boxes that I put in them, which is fun, I let her do it because it's not a huge priority, but eventually I really need to hunker down and take those boxes out. I know I will be so much happier when my house doesn't feel so chaotic!

4. Take a family vacation. Just the 3 of us. Brent and I haven't had a vacation alone for a long time, we usually meet up with family, which we love, but we were thinking this year it would be great to go on our own somewhere with Stella. Were not sure where yet, but were taking suggestions! Driving or flying doesn't matter, we just want to explore somewhere fun and new, and preferably with incredible food.

5. Be successful with my business'. I sell Advocare and use the products and love them. I want to take it further, build a team, and travel to training classes throughout the year. Are you looking for an amazing company to work with, or to get healthy with world class products (Advocare is the only nutrition company found in every professional football locker room), why not join my team? I also sell bulk foods and candy for my mother in law's distribution company, which is so much fun! I love visiting customers around Idaho and attending shows to see new products (but I haven't done that in a few years and probably wont again for awhile). My goal for the candy biz is to have 10 new customers by June, and 10 more between June and December, bring on the coffee and sweet shops!!

So those are my big goals. I know i'll come up with more later, or little goals that will hopefully lead to my accomplishing the big goals. It takes baby steps, or huge leaps, whatever you're comfortable with. I'll keep you all posted on my accomplishments, and I cant wait to hear your resolutions and goals for the year!!! Happy 2012!!!

well i'm back

2012-01-03T08:14:00.005-07:00

This month has been pretty busy, as you can probably gather from the crickets chirping on my page. I backed up 2 weeks ago and drove to Seattle for the holidays with Stella and our pup in tow. My sister was kind enough to fly over and drive with me, While Brent was headed the opposite direction to a jobsite in Wyoming. We were a week early to Seattle, but I was thankful for the extra time with family. We had such a wonderful time at home, It really makes me miss my family when we get back, but we'll probably never move back to that area, too many people, and Boise is just too wonderful to leave for now. I thought i'd share a few highlights from our trip, it was pretty great;

~ Stella mastered going up stairs, and even tried to go down a few without falling, this one will be a work in progress for awhile.

~ I got a chance to catch up and spend some much needed time one on one with many friends and family, including a day of baking with my grandma, who also taught me a few more crochet stitches and how to read patterns. I'm working on my first pair of slippers :)

~ One of my Christmas gifts from my dad was a new laptop!! a Dell something... i'm still figuring it all out... and it's bigger than my old one, so i'm relearning to type lol. bare with my typos if I miss them. I'm so excited to have a windows 7 computer! Now I can have the blogger dashboard on my hard drive to upload and design new blog posts.

~ I also got a new handbag from my mom and sister, i'll post a pic, but it's this Chloe bag, i'm in love!!

~ Stella has become a bit more confident with walking!!! I'll post more about that in a catch up 9 month post...

~ Brent and I got to take a quick lunch date one afternoon while Stella napped and my sister watched her, we didn't get to do what we had originally planned, but it was still great to just have some alone time with him, we need to find a sitter here to allow us that more often, I miss dates with my hubby.

~ I also got to spend some alone time at the spa with my sister, mom and a friend. We booked massages and pedi's at the downtown Gene Juarez salon and spa, it's amazing. I havent felt so relaxed in months, We plan to do it again at Easter, but hopefully this time I wont be away from Stella for 5+ hours.

~ I made Advisor status with Advocare while away!!! I'm SO EXCITED!!! If you havent checked out my Advocare link on my sidebar yet, do it! You owe it to your health to check out these products! And, the 24 Day Challenge is on sale now, this NEVER happens! order through the banner on the main shop page to get the discount. I'm currently doing the Herbal Cleanse and have lost 4 lbs, and I feel incredible! So much more energy, and I just feel great!

We had so much fun while home, Brent got to spend some time fishing with his dad and brother, and his aunt, uncle and cousins flew up from California for the week, it was so wonderful to spend time with them! We spent a fun day in Seattle, chowing on Hom Bow and other yummy foods at the market, I wish I could order hot hom bow to Boise whenever I wanted it... like right now.

We'll be home for awhile now thankfully, no trips planned, and no visitors for a few weeks I believe. It'll be nice to stay home and get things back in order, our house is a mess!! I did a huge shopping trip yesterday to make sure we had food again, lol, coming home to an empty fridge on new years day with no delivery nearby is not fun.

I hope you all had a wonderful 2011, I know we did!! Here's to an even more fantastic 2012!!!

Christmas morning, 2011

I'm hosting a giveaway!

2011-12-08T08:02:00.001-07:00

Well, me personally, I am hosting a giveaway of a Scentsy Buddy over at a good life today, did you enter? You should, its a pretty sweet giveaway. I'm also offering her readers and mine free shipping through the 13th of December if you email your orders directly to me, the 13th is to ensure delivery by Christmas, because delivery's on Christmas eve just dont sound like fun! So head on over to a good life and enter, there are several way to get several entries, but the one mandatory entry is to check out my Scentsy page and let Amy know which buddy and scent pak you'd prefer,I know, it's tough to choose, but you can only pick 1. Happy shopping!!

I need a makeover...

2011-12-07T12:29:00.001-07:00

Alright blog friends, I need some help. Or more so some suggestions. I need a new look, new hair in particular... I've been wanting to change it up for awhile, nothing drastic or crazy, just something different, easy, and cute. I'm scheduled to get a cut and color this Saturday morning, and my sister is going to be here to go with me!! I'm so excited for a little mini spa trip with her! I just want some ideas on what I should do.

I don't normally do self pictures, especially without make up... so here I am, in all my real-ness. My hair is ALWAYS up, always in a ponytail or messy bun... I just cant keep it down when Stella loves to pull it so much.

And here is my hair down... it's gotten pretty fuzzy and brassy since I had Stella, It's very limp and just not pretty. I need a new look.

So what do you think? Any suggestions? I'm pretty open to anything buy completely chopping it off... I don't look good with short hair, as much as i'd love to try it.

Thanks in advance for any input!

My first ever Sponsor Swap!

2011-12-02T10:53:00.001-07:00

I see these going on all over the blogosphere these days, up and coming and smaller blogs swapping ad space to promote their own blogs or business, and I am finally ready to jump in the swap bandwagon! So, If you are a fellow blogger, or have a small Etsy shop or home business you'd like promoted, and would like to trade a 200x200 or less space on this here little bloggy, please shoot me an email and lets swap! and extra special love for sending me a button that is decked out for the holidays!

Happy Holidays!

She Dances

2011-11-30T18:23:00.001-07:00

We've always known Stella was destined to dance one day, and that day has finally arrived. Stell has recently taken to bouncing when she hears music, even a jingle on tv will get her little legs-a-hoppin'! So today I finally was able to capture her adorableness on camera! She bobbed and wiggled, and just loves to move! So here you go, our little dancin' machine! (You may want to mute the music on the blog before playing this video)

Family Christmas Pictures

2011-11-29T14:35:00.001-07:00

I am so very excited to share our family pictures done by none other than the awesome Nikki Hoover over at NHP. This slide show took me over 3 hours to upload and put together... I need a faster computer lol, but I was determined to get it done and posted so all of my friends and family can see them. When our pictures turn out this amazing, it really makes me want to get pictures taken every month! I love them!

Enjoy!!

"Picnik Show"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

Photo card (see below)

2011-11-28T21:40:00.001-07:00

We had our Christmas pictures taken last week with the Fabulous Nikki Hoover Photography, and here is our final Christmas card!! I'm so excited with this years card and photos, they turned out pretty amazing if I do say so myself!! We used Shutterfly to order our prints through, and I have to say, I've used a ton of different photo hosting sites, and Shutterfly has the most adorable and creative ideas I've found yet!

Do you have a Christmas card to share? I'd love to see it! Leave a link in the comments to share your photo cards this holiday season!

Photo Card

2011-11-28T21:33:00.001-07:00

Handwritten Wishes Christmas

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Thankful!

2011-11-28T10:26:00.001-07:00

We have so much to be thankful for this year. Stella is obviously the biggest blessing we could have ever wished for. This year will forever be one of the best years of my life, because of her, and the years to come will only get better and better. We are thankful to have a home, cozy and warm and filled with love. We are thankful to be able to afford food, clothing, and material things, that sometimes I honestly think we shouldn't have so much of, but feel blessed that we do. Thanksgiving every year is spent as a family, normally just Brent and I, but this year the 3 of us. We had some dear friends, Clint, Amy and Cora, over for dessert, and were so thankful they could join us! In years past, Brent and I have taken trips over the Thanksgiving holiday, normally up to Sun Valley for the long weekend to our favorite B&B, but this year we had the little, and wanted to be in our own home to start a new tradition with our family.

We had a great 4 days of daddy home, I love when Brent gets time off and we spend it together. We did some shopping, crossing 3 more people off our Christmas lists. Did some much needed house cleaning and organizing, and spent some time with our awesome friends! Clint, Amy and Cora invited us to go meet Santa, the REAL Santa! Fluffy white beard, bowl full of jelly, and the kindest, gentlest manners i've ever seen in a santa, he made me want to curl up on his lap and list off what I want for Christmas! Stella loved him! She pulled on his beard and coat, played with the pinwheel and candycane he gave her, only smiled at him, not the camera once, just stared curiously at his face, wondering who this jolly old fellow was that had her snuggled into his hip. I think we'll go back to this Santa again every year, He had a special Santa quality that is hard to find. Thanks Amy for the invite!! I went a little overboard with photos, but your kid only meets Santa for the first time once! Right!?

I love this one, they look like they were genuinely having a great conversation.

waiting patiently in line to meet the jolly old soul

some naked time over the weekend

Our wreath this year, it's square! We bought it at the market :)

Love this outfit by Tea collection, Stell loves their soft clothes

We headed downtown to the Boise Market on Saturday morning, it was too beautiful out not to go!

and I enjoyed my favorite Mexican hot chocolate from Big City Coffee, yum!

One last cute pic of Stell and I at Edwards Greenhouse, where we met Santa

8 months and growing!

2011-11-17T15:57:00.001-07:00

Stella,

You have truly become quite the little handful this last month. You are a professional crawler, and quickly moving onto being a walker. You get into EVERYTHING now, opening cabinets, pulling out drawers, we need to do some serious baby proofing around our house ASAP! You've perfected standing, and hardly wobble at all anymore. You love to walk along the couch, usually to wherever Abby is sleeping. you also love to go up and down, across the room from couch to chair to ottoman, and back again, over, and over, and over. You are finally mastering how to sit back onto your bum from the crawling position, pushing with one hand and balancing with the other. Daddy and I think you will be walking in a matter of weeks, most likely long before Christmas! And then were sure running wont be far behind. You've always been quite the mover! We just didn't think you would be this busy of a mover so early :)

You have also become quite the eater! You love trying new food, smelling it first then attempting to swallow our entire finger along with whatever we've offered you, it's pretty hilarious watching you eat! You chew very deliberately, mouth open, and staring at whomever gave you the food. You also clear your mouth, show us your done, and open for a new piece, sometimes we cant give you food fast enough. So far your favorite foods at Peas, beans (black and pinto so far) Organic Banana and Greens puffs (Happy Baby Organics), carrots, bananas (sometimes), Avocado's, Kiwi berries, and stone fruits. We always get that funny "what the heck is this?!?" face when we introduce something new to you, but within a bit or two, you're hooked. You're not a HUGE eater though, you like almost everything you've tasted, but after a dozen pieces or so, you're over it. I'm still nursing you several times a day baby girl, you love you some boobs, which is just fine by me, I love that something from my body can fill your tummy better than anything else, and that I can offer you all the nutrients you need to grow. I love how you touch my face while staring up at me with your big blueish eyes, How you curl into my chest, and bring your foot up over my shoulder, your my little nursing contortionist. We've had to start quieting the room and dimming the lights while you nurse, because you have become extremely distracted, you really don't want to miss anything.

Little gremlin, you are so much fun right now! I love this stage of your life. I've loved every stage so far, but every day is a new adventure with you, we have so much fun playing together! It's getting very chilly outside now, the leaves are on the ground, daddy spends some time each night raking and filling bags, while you trail behind him, making sure no leaf is left behind, instead they all end up in your mouth, some even make it to your tummy... mmm, fiber. You are still very much an outdoor baby, as cold as it it, your little nose can be bright red, fingers like little ice cubes, but you'd still rather play outside, and sometimes even cry when we bring you in for the day, fighting the whole time. You are finding things to keep you occupied on your own, which is wonderful when mommy wants to do some laundry or make dinner (we've actually had a home made dinner every night for almost 2 weeks!!!), but most of the time you just follow me around, from room to room, all over the house. It's so fun that you can crawl and follow, I love when you finally catch up to me wherever I've gone, you always smile and look so proud of yourself!

You certainly are also trouble for daddy and I, but we love it, and were ready for all you can dish out! Last week I caught you with Lilly in a headlock... literally. You had your arm around her neck and had her pinned to the floor, poor cat! She was so good to you though, and just let you do it, your animals love you so much. Yesterday you learned how to pull the Velcro off your diaper, or how to just take it off in general... which scares my quite a lot actually... I love when your naked and let you be naked all the time... but what scares me is the one time you poop and decide to take the diaper off yourself... oh man does that scare me! I'm sure it's going to happen though... maybe we'll just stick to snaps for awhile. You also had your first bloody and fat lip!! A casualty of crawling and taking a faceplant without stopping yourself, it was the saddest thing ever to see the blood pouring out of your mouth, not knowing quite where it was coming from, and you sobbing in my arms, so scared from the pain and unsure of what was happening. You were a trooper though, and still nursed like a champ, even with a top lip twice the size of the bottom. It ended up being more of a scrape on your lip than a cut, and you were back to normal in only 2 days thankfully, your such a tough little girl!

I'd love to tell you what a good sleeper you are also... but we struggle with that one. You have a high need to sleep with someone, or near someone, which is wonderful most of the time. I absolutely love sleeping with you, and could not imagine any other sleeping arrangements. The only thing is naps, which have gotten better, but still don't last much longer than an hour to maybe an hour and a half if were lucky. Night time is hit or miss. You usually are in bed and asleep between 7:30 and 8, but have been waking up within an hour or so. I think it might be too warm for you sometimes, so were going to see how you do sleeping in just a diaper for a few nights, it's too chilly to have no heat, and we don't turn the heat up that much, but I think your body is just so warm naturally, that when you're up against me sleeping, our bed turns into a little oven. I guess you might be like your daddy in that sense, he radiates heat when it's barely 10 degrees out!

Stella Jean, Daddy and I are so thankful to have such a smart, curious, and energetic little girl! We thank God every single day for you, and could not imagine out lives without you in them! I cannot wait to see what this month brings, i'm sure many new things are going to happen, some wonderful, some spills, some possibly yummy and yucky food adventure... All of which will bring smiles to our faces i'm sure. We love you so much baby girl! Happy 8 months of life :)

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Inspired by Pinning ~ Pinterest project # 1

2011-11-10T10:44:00.001-07:00

Hi. My name is Jess, and I'm slightly in love with Pinning.

Pinterest is my new found obsession... I love all the creativity that is flowing around those boards, some super smart, some super creative, and some just so darn cute! A few weeks ago I decided that it was time to tackle one of the many crafty ideas I had pinned onto my bedroom board, New DIY headboards for our bedroom. Which go adorably with our new bed from here! So, I went out around Boise, in search of the perfect supplies for my project, wood, batting, and a beautiful fabric. We already had the staple gun and staples (Brent actually has 3 staple guns...) and I ended up having to go back to JoAnn Fabrics for hangers... but after 2 trips out for forgotten supplies, I was finally able to put these beautiful new pieces of art together. So, here's how it went...

Lay boards out along folded batting. I used a king size extra fluffy bag of batting, folded into 3rds, and then laid out my 4 24"x24" pieces of half inch thick plywood, being sure to space them a few inches apart, then cut and smooth batting.

Fold batting along edges and staple with gun, I used alternating staples, horizontally and vertically, just in case some decided to pull.

Smooth the batting somewhat taught as you go along, so you don't leave creases or wrinkles on the front.

When your all done, you can trim the excess batting to make sure it's not too bulky. Also trim the corner folds so they are not too bulky either.

Finished batting covered boards!

lay your fabric (I used a twill style thicker upholstery fabric) print side down on the floor, you can iron if it is especially wrinkly, I didnt as you can see above... but it smooths out when you pull and staple it tightly.

Be sure if you have a print that it is laid level along the print, I didn't on the first one and had to redo part of it...

Fold fabric over batting, and staple at the edge of the batting, so there is a nice little tuft along the edge of the board. I put staples every inch to inch and a half apart, just to be sure it wouldn't tear or pull.

Staples placed about an inch and a half apart. Continue folding fabric along each side, tucking corners in at the end. I forgot to take pictures of how I tucked the corners, i'll add those when I finish the last two boards this weekend.

Some of the finished boards!!!

I chose two contrasting colors, they look so great staggered on the wall!!

I'll be hanging and finishing up this Pinterest project this coming weekend, Stay tuned and check back in a few days for the final reveal! :)

Fall in full swing

2011-11-10T09:50:00.001-07:00

We've been thoroughly enjoying the arrival of fall around here, so much so that I've once again been neglecting the blog, my apologies (sorry mom). So i'm taking Stella's nap time, and my usual 'pick up the house and shower' time today to update and share some of what we've been doing around here.

Lots of puppy lovin'

I love this picture, Brent snapped these of Stella, trying to get Abby's attention through the door. If Abby is outside, Stella goes and stands at the door, slapping her hand constantly until Abby responds, haha.

The Leaves were nice and crunchy this year, not yet spoiled by rain, still clean and somewhat bug free. Stell had a BLAST crunching through them, eating some, breaking some, and having a good 'ol time with her papa.

And now a little fun with dad in the leaves, I think dad got more of a kick out of all this than the little did...

Our little Pumpkin

2011-10-22T10:39:00.000-06:00

Pumpkin Picking at Linder Farms

It's that time of year, there is a crisp in the air, the leaves are turning from bright greens to beautiful rust, garnet, amber and tan, and starting to drop. I love Fall. I love cozy sweaters, jeans, turning the heat up. I wish we had a fireplace. It's the one thing I had to give up when we were house searching that I regret, oh I really wanted a fireplace. Next time, our next house will have a fireplace. Maybe 2. We have a new tradition that were starting with Stell, the pumpkin patch!! Brent wasn't too thrilled with going to the pumpkin patch, but we went with some great friends, the York-Millers, and had such a fun time! This is Cora, their adorable little girl, with her daddy Clint, who is newly returned from Iraq (Welcome home Clint!!) Amy, Cora's mommy, and I met a few months ago at the Great Cloth Diaper Change when Stella was just 2 months old, and I'm so thankful to have her as a new friend! She's taught me a ton about baby wearing, and cloth diapers, and a ton of other awesome things this new mommy didn't have a clue about. But, back to our trip to the pumpkin patch. We got there pretty late in the evening, so I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked, but we still got some fun ones.

Clint giving Cora a lift

Cora and a pumpkin, she's wearing carhart overalls, Love!

We found an already carved pumpkin in the field!!

Cora saying hello

Stella and I in the patch, Thats Amy hangin out behind us too

Stell sitting on her first pumpkin!!!

She really didnt care about the pictures

She wanted that pumpkin!

again, why is dad taking so many pictures!?!?

And then we found this......

A GIANT "cornbox", full of corn kernels.

It was kinda a big hit with the littles

Stella loved it

Playing in the cornbox

daddy wasn't really watching for a second and Stell got some kernels, I still wonder how many she ate.

Linder farms has a growth chart to take pictures with littles by, so as you go back every year, you can get a new picture and see how much they have grown! So cute!

Cora and Clint taking a ride on the littles tractor!! Cora was SO excited!

We had such a great time, we stayed a bit too late probably, but we were dancing by the fire and enjoying the music way too much to think about bedtime. We got a couple of pumpkins that are begging to be carved by our front door. I cant wait for Stella to stick her little hands into the gooey seeds, and then to roast those yummy seeds :) Delish! I'll be sure to get those pictures up when I get them, they are going to be pretty fun!

Introducing new foods

2011-10-17T14:36:00.003-06:00

We've been giving Stella real food for quite some time now. Not all the time, but once or twice a week she'll get some banana, or avocado or maybe beans. She is so great, and so excited every time we offer her something, she opens wide and shoves her face into our hand, trying to get whatever were offering. Lately I've been trying to give her more and more foods, She's 7 months now and is so interested in everything we eat, I feel kinda bad that I don't give her more food already, I usually just forget to not season whatever veggies were eating, and we haven't been to the market in a few weekends to pick up fresh produce. Well, today I decided to jump into this baby food thing full on. So, while at the store, I loaded up on a TON of fresh, organic fruits and veggies. Tonight for dinner were having baked sweet potatoes (my fall favorite!) and she just had a bite of raspberry before starting to rub her eyes and show me she was ready for a nap, the look on her face while chewing the slightly tart berry was priceless. I found this website a few months back, www.weelicious.com, a mommy food blog, it's full of great recipes for babies, toddlers, kids, and the whole family. She's got some great recipes, and they are SO simple. The only thing were skipping is the pureeing part, were doing the baby led weaning thing, and she's getting just diced or slightly mushed foods, so she can chew and not have an issue with choking later on, she'll learn how to chew from the start. But reading about food combinations that I would never have thought of before is so fun! I love her ideas, and that they are simple, easy to make, and take hardly any time.

Some of my favorite combo ideas so far? Banana Raspberry (mashed), apple oatmeal and molasses, Eat your greens mash: sweet potatoes, pees, carrots, green beans and broccoli all steamed and mashed together, celery root and potato mash, carrot and cauliflower mash, roast pear and banana, I could keep going but you get the idea. Paring fruits and veggie up should be fun, and I love that I can introduce Stella to new flavors so easily. I really want her to be an easy eater, not a picky one. I was super picky as a child, sorry mom, and didn't really indulge in culinary creativity until I met Brent. He introduced me to so many new things, and to this day I appreciate him being so pushy with food.

I am excited to begin this new journey in Stella's life, She's going to be a great little eater, hopefully :)

7 months and counting!!

2011-10-12T22:09:00.000-06:00

Stella Jean,

You are 7 months old today!!! So many times have I pinched myself this week, I just cant believe how fast you are growing up! You've accomplished quite a lot this last month, further proof to us that you are a bit more advanced than you should be, and we love it. People keep asking us when your first birthday is... and are again shocked when I tell them you are barely 7 months old, you are just so bright and alert and interactive for a 7 month old. So, new things this last month include,

~ Your Crawling!!! You started the rocking thing and leg scooches over a month ago, and a few weeks ago you started the dramatic hand/arm movements, but crashed and burned repeatedly. This week however? You're becoming quite the pro!! Just last night (Oct. 11th) you followed your daddy down the hallway, half crawling on your knees, half using your feet, I don't think you really like the hardwood floors. I've taken several videos of your new technique, it's pretty adorable! You also love to follow us, if i'm in the kitchen for even a minute, I can peek around the corner to find you making your wobbly way towards me, I love it.

~ You growl! And you love it! It's the cutest thing, you copy my growl, your daddy's growl still kinda scares you (haha!), he's much more scary than mommy, but you still give him an unsure smile. You like to snarl your nose and furrow your brow, and let out this adorable WRRRRAAARRRHHH, almost in a hush at first, but it gets louder as we keep playing. We'll growl back and forth forever, sometimes the whole drive to the grocery store, I growl, you growl, and you love it.

~ You're a giggler! You have a full on laugh now! Before, your daddy made fun of you because you had the "Thomas" laugh, kinda a silent giggle, just like mommy's and aunties and grandma's. But lately? If we really get you going with tickles (which your sometimes not sure of, but mostly love) or doing something really funny, you let out some full on belly laughs! Just like your daddy, loud rolling laughter, it's hilarious!

~You're a pro at sitting! You've been sitting on your own for almost a month now, it started about a week into 6 months, you were pretty wobbly at first, so we'd surround you with rolled up towels and blanket, but pretty soon you would flip around and crawl over those soft bumpers, so we don't really prop you up anymore, you're just too mobile to be kept in check. Although, while you were playing and I was making dinner last night, I heard a loud thump, and turned around to see you just starting to cry, you had been playing with a toy and laid back, apparently a little too enthusiastically, and it scared you, but you were just fine after a little snuggle and kiss, and went right back to playing again, my tough little cookie.

~ You camped for the first time! We met daddy and 'uncle' Jason up at Elk camp a few weekends ago, and you spent your first night in a tent! It was a canvas wall tent, with a wood stove, so it was pretty posh camping, but we still slept in sleeping bags (albeit on a cot) and had a dirt floor. You loved it. We took a hike, you napped on the way back in the wrap. We played with camp tools, and Jason shot an Elk, daddy did too, but the elk took off and got lost, and after a full day of searching, couldn't be found, daddy sure made some bears and wolves happy! We got a little overzealous with dressing you at bedtime, put you into your footie pj's and snuggled you into the sleeping bag with mommy, only for me to wake up several hours later to a sweaty, soaked baby girl... I guess it was a little warmer than we anticipated, so I stripped you down, pulled the top of the sleeping bag down, and we both slept much better the rest of the night. You woke up a super happy little camper, literally :)

~ You've become a great little traveler! We took another trip to Seattle a few weeks ago, and you did such a great job!!! You were better than Abby, who has become not a great traveler... We had to stop more for her than you, so next time, Abby gets to stay home. While there we bought a new car, and had plenty of lovin's from family and friends, you are always a big hit back home! The drive home was just as great, for you at least, not so much for Abby... I was debating leaving her in Yakima... (not really) but when she climbed over the seat and stood on you in your car seat... that was it. We stopped at Petco and bought a short lead, gate for the back, and organic holistic sleepy treats... which we gave her 10 of :) She slept from the Oregon boarder pretty much until home... making the ride much more pleasant. She had a freak out the next day while driving up to go camping also, not fun. So I made her drive home with daddy, where she did much better in the front seat.

~ You are becoming a better sleeper... Finally! Mommy had some rough nights this past month, you were very unhappily sleeping in your own crib in your nursery. So, Last week daddy took your crib down and moved it into our bedroom, snugged it up against our bed, and left the front rail off. It's now flush up against our mattress, and you sleep SO MUCH better! The first night we moved you there, you slept for 3 straight hours... which is very rare for you, Mommy was so happy!

~ You give kisses! We'll, they are a baby version of kisses, or face sucking, whatever you want to call it. You like to take my cheek/chin/eye/neck and completely devour it with your mouth, sometimes totally latching on and sucking. At first I thought this was your way of telling me you were hungry, and it just might be so, but I notice you do it when your really snuggly, and after a kiss I usually get a nuzzle into my shoulder, it's adorable, and makes my heart melt.

There are so many other things your now becoming quite a pro at,

~ keeping yourself occupied while I shower/do dishes/ switch laundry/ sweep/ etc...
~ chatting back with us like your having a conversation
~ looking at the cell phone when a voice you recognize is on speaker phone
~ pulling yourself up when holding our hands. This actually kinda scares me, because you do it in the bathtub with daddy, you grab the side of your little tub, and hoist yourself onto your feet.... We've been trying really hard not to let you and teach you that you only sit in the tub.
~ picking which toy you prefer to play with
~ looking around when we mention Abby or Lilly, you love your animals!
~ Interacting with other babies and children, big kids fascinate you and scare you... or overwhelm you, especially when they are very lovey on you. But you love your similar size friends!
~ eating. You've become a little eating champ, mostly. Were doing the self led weaning/eating thing, not that i'm weaning you from nursing, they just call it that for some reason, I actually plan to nurse you as long as possible, hopefully past 2 years. but we just chop up our fruits and veggies into tiny pieces and let you go at it. sometimes i'll give it a little squish if I feel it's too hard or too solid for you, but you've got the chewing thing down. yay!
~ your legs are SO long!! They now hang over the edge of your car seat, which means we'll have to upgrade to a convertible car seat very soon!
~ You're wearing 9 month onesie's, and 12 month pants! which just proves how much of a big girl you are, but, it was to be expected with how tall your mommy and daddy are.

Little Monkey, You are growing so big so quickly. Daddy and I cannot believe 7 months have flown by already. It's been an amazing journey so far, this parenting thing, and we truly couldn't imagine our lives without you.

We love you baby girl,
Love,
Mommy and Daddy

She's mobile!!!

2011-10-11T15:26:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to share a sneak peek of one of the thing i'll be posting about for Stella's 7 month update. She's a mover!!! She always has been a mover.... even in the womb, she was a mover. So, here is our little monkey... Crawling away in all her glory :) You can mute the music if you want to hear her baby screeches and raspberries, she's pretty cute.

and

In a Funk... a quick update

2011-10-10T23:22:00.002-06:00

So I realize it's really been forever since I've posted... I've been a bad mommy blogger and have really been neglecting my creative writing lately. I've kinda been in a funk. I've also been out of town a ton, which makes it difficult to post things when I don't have my normal set up. And? I've started this draft about 5 times already... hopefully I can finish it this time.

So, what all have we been up to around the Norris household? Lots! It has been an eventful month, and i'm hoping things will start to slow down now, I'm ready for a break. Stella has become quite the grown up little baby this month, but, you'll hear all about that on Wednesday ;) So, whats new?

We bought a new{er} car! I drove to Seattle with Stella and sold our Land Rover (great car, horrible for families) and bought a Toyota Highlander! I LOVE IT! Huge shout out of thanks to my parents for putting up with Stella and I for almost 2 weeks!! And Huge Thanks to my dad, for helping me search every car lot in the greater Seattle area for the perfect car! Turns out all that searching led us right back to Auburn, just down the road from their house, to Doxon Toyota, where we got our Highlander. They were great to work with, gave us an amazing deal, and all the free soda and cookies I wanted {which really help keep the tummy growls away when sitting at a dealership for 4 hours through lunch time...}. My mom drove home with me and even after 9 hours of travel, I still love it. It's perfect. I'll post some pictures of it soon. Promise.

I'm now an Independent Consultant for Scentsy! I am in love with their warmers and scents, and the buddies are so adorable! Stella loves to chew on her Ollie the Elephant :) I've posted a button on the side of my blog that leads directly to my personal website, where you can order and get information about our products. The warmers and buddies make awesome Christmas gifts! :)

Fall is here! We went from 90 degrees to 40 degrees... in 3 days! It was quite the shock, but Boise has leveled out into the 60s for now, and hopefully will stay like this for another week or two.

As I mentioned earlier, the biggest new thing around here is how much Stella has started to do this month, I cant wait to post her 7 month update, she's quite the little girl now! Stay Tuned for it ;)

Pretty Please?

2011-10-06T12:15:00.005-06:00

So Last night Top Baby Blogs reset their votes, and everyone was once again at 0. Things move quick over at TBB, and the same blogs are always at the top, even today, not even 24 hours later. I would love your votes to help out our tiny little blog if you love it, or even like it. Maybe one day we'll get our turn on the first page :)

Just click this link and click above the little owl on the left :) Stella and I would very much appreciate it, she'll even give you a little growl of affection!

See!? She's already super happy you voted!

Sneak Peek... 6 months

2011-09-27T23:28:00.001-06:00

2 weeks ago Stella had her 6 month photos taken with Nikki Hoover Photography, as I've said before, She's amazing. She posted these beauties for us to enjoy a few days ago, and i'm just now getting a chance to share them here. I've been in Seattle for almost a week now, car shopping... fun. My car sold in just a day (YAY! Thanks to my mom and dad for letting me sell it at their shop, and my awesome detailing skills), but finding a new(er) car has been somewhat of a challenge, but hopefully the right fit will come along soon, I am heading back home tomorrow. Until that new(er) car debut, enjoy this sneak peek of Stella's 6 month photo shoot.

6 Months and Growing!!!

2011-09-12T19:13:00.001-06:00

Stella,

Today we celebrate your first, half birthday! Yes, this is something we do in our family. It unofficially started a few years ago, because your auntie and I share half birthdays on our birthdays... my half birthday is on her birthday, and vice versa... it's kinda become a fun little thing that I wanted to carry on with you. No gifts, maybe some cupcakes, and lots of loves and celebrating. This is quite a huge milestone for all of us! The 6 month mark is something all parents look forward too, half a year old, it's kinda a big deal. and let me tell you, this month? You've got a whole lotta new things under your belt.

You are a rolling over fool. Seriously, we'll put you down for some naked time, and next thing we know your on your back, 2 seconds later, then tummy again, then back, then you've scooched yourself right under the ottoman... kinda like you've backed into your own little parking garage. Thank goodness your chunky little legs don't fit under the couch, or else we'd find you in many more new parking spots around the living room.

You prefer to 'walk'. Seriously. You would much rather be standing on your own two feet, holding our hands and walking around on your own, than any tummy time or back time or sitting time. It's not going to be long before your up and running. Literally.

Did you notice how in the above paragraph I mentioned sitting time? Yep. You are now officially a sitter! You can pretty much hold your own now, sometimes with a little wobble, and for some reason whenever daddy is sitting on the floor with you, you tend to face plant forward or fling yourself onto your back... but you've pretty much got it down. You love sitting in the bath too... which is kinda scary and kinda fun for all of us. Daddy called me into the bathroom last night (he always does bath time, it's your special time together) and was cracking up, because you had turned around in your infant seat, and were trying to escape the tub by climbing the seat. He tried several times to turn you around, and you'd grab the side, flip back over, and proceed to stand and climb... you were so determined! You do this a lot now, try to turn yourself around to stand up or climb up what ever your sitting on. Were just waiting for the moment you lunge forward and start crawling.... it'll be happening anytime now.

You are such a happy girl almost all the time now. We are greeted to a huge gummy smile almost every morning in bed, It's the sweetest thing ever... until you grab my hair and squeal as you yank it, or roll and kick your daddy's back, he loves waking up like that, really, he does. Sometimes you like to wake up a tad bit earlier than we plan, like, say, 5am... especially on weekends. We chat with you, change your diaper, play with the sheets, and usually within 45 minutes or so, you'll want to nurse and fall right to sleep. As long as we don't have any early plans that is just fine, but I still prefer your regular wake up time of 7:30ish. You're going to sleep most nights in your own crib in your own room now, and you take every single nap in there too. You fall asleep between 8 and 9pm, and wake up to feed around midnight every night, if i'm super tired, i'll just bring you to bed with us, if I'm somewhat alert, i'll sit in the rocking chair with you until fall back to sleep. I love our snuggle time, but sometimes I don't love that it's at 3 am, we've got to kick that nursing time very soon, cause mama wants to get a better nights sleep. I'm really hoping that as fall starts to arrive, and nights start getting cooler, you will become a better sleeper. We've noticed you sleep best when it's cool in the room, and you're snuggled into your sleep sack, for some reason you sleep better all warm and snuggly, but, no surprise, so do I.

Your daddy and I cannot believe that 6 months has gone by so quickly! I know I say this every month, but it really feels like we just brought you home yesterday. I don't think anything could have prepared us for this precious time to go by so fast with you.You are becoming quite the little girl, no longer just a baby, long past a newborn or an infant, you are a tiny human, as we affectionately like to call you. People tell me all the time how beautiful you are, and are shocked to learn you are only just 6 months, I am told all the time that your features make you look more like an 8 month old, and that you act much older, and are much much more coordinated than other 6 month olds they know. I love that you are growing into such an amazing little girl, but am sad that my baby wont be a baby for much longer. I'm sure these next six months will go by even faster, and we'll be celebrating your first birthday very soon. Until that time though, we continue to enjoy every smile, every laugh, every coo, every sweet embrace that you give us. We look forward to your happy reaches to us when transferring from mommy to daddy or vice versa, I love seeing your face light up when daddy walks through the door every evening, I love how excited you get when Abby chases a toy, and how much you study her when she brings it back. I love how you interact with your animals now, open arms and mouth when Abby kisses you, and using her as a jungle gym when she's laying next to you, and how you reach for Lilly, pulling her ears, fur, and any other part of her you can get a hold of... even if she doesn't love it, she still tolerates it for a bit.

You make mine and daddy's hearts smile baby girl. You are our little, our love, and we are so thankful for you being in our lives. We love you Stella Jean.

Mommy and Daddy

Stella would love a special half-birthday vote ;o)

I will never forget.

2011-09-11T19:20:00.000-06:00

"Where were you when the world stopped turning, on that September day?" This song by Alan Jackson brings tears to my eyes and a knot to my throat every time I hear it. It also sums up the feelings and thoughts that pass through out mind on every anniversary of 9/11 to date. Today we remember the terrible and horrific attacks that happened 10 years ago on our nations soil. My heart aches for those friends, family and loved ones lost that day, and to those who's lives continue to be altered because of the attacks. I don't want to post much today, I only wanted to share what I remember every year on this anniversary, where I was when I found out that the first world trade center tower had been hit by a plane. I would love to hear your stories also, I know this is one day that no one ever will forget what they were doing. It is a hugely significant part of our lives, a now a huge part of our history as a country. I know one day Stella will ask us what happened, why so many people mourn on this day, and we will explain to her what happened, where we were, and what has come of the whole situation.

On September 11th, 2001, I was 18 years old, and had been living in Sitka, Alaska for all of 2 weeks. I woke up to a knock on my door around 7am. It was my young life leader, Brent Cunningham, a teacher from my high school whom I had moved to Sitka along with some friends and his family. He had a very sad look on his face, asked me to pack a bag and meet him downstairs. I looked across the hall to my friend Kayli, whom I had moved up there with just weeks earlier, she had the same confused look on her face as I did. We asked what had happened, and he told us there had been an attack on New York, the news was just starting to cover it, and we were going to stay with his family for a few days, just in case. Then, it registered, I heard sobbing, wailing, coming from down the hall. I quickly grabbed some clothes and shoved them in a backpack along with anything else I might have needed, and headed down the hall, where we met up with our friend Rebekah. We stopped in the rec room to watch the tv for a few minutes. Almost all of the girls in our dorm were in there, crowded around our tiny tv set, when we saw the second plane hit the tower. Screams let out through the halls, it was so shocking to watch. We headed downstairs and met up with some friends, told them where we were going, and signed out of the dorm, explaining that we might not be back for a few days. We then headed over to the Cunningham household, where we were greeted with huge hugs from Karin, Brent's wife, and their daughters Kailee and Megan. They had the tv on as well, and we all just stared in shock at what was going on. We sat curled up in blankets all day, watching the news. Learning that our airport, the main way off the island (no roads connect to Sitka from the mainland) had been closed along with every airport in the country, all planes were grounded until further notice. We also learned that the ferry, the only other way off the island, would not be in service either, until they had cleared and secured all terminals for threats. We were stuck. It was very weird, the planes were something that we had already gotten used to in our short time on the island. There were always flights going in and out, and you could see and hear the jets from our dorm. They were grounded for 3 full days, and we all watched as the first plane took off from the island. I finally got a hold of my family later that day. We had been trying to reach each other all day, but the phones were jammed all over the country. I told them where I was, that we were safe and in amazing company, but also how much I missed them and wished I could be home with them right now. I think we ended up staying the night, or two nights? The days all start to run together after such a vivid morning, but I do know that we did not return to the dorms right away. When we did we started learning things from people with family in New York. One girl in our dorm was from New Jersey, and had more people than she could count involved, I believe she flew home very soon after the attacks to spend time with family and friends. I am so thankful to have had friends to be with during such a scary few days.

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

On Vacation: Part one

2011-09-09T22:24:00.000-06:00

Sorry for being MIA for over a week now, we've been travelin' fools over here. Last week the little and I flew home to the Pacific Northwest, Seattle, and enjoyed a long week visiting family and friends. I love going home, I truly miss living in the Seattle area, even though I know we love Boise, i'm always torn, especially when I visit, it's tough not to want to stay. We had so many fun things planned this trip, and to start us off I've posted a ton of pictures from a road trip we took to a friends wedding. Saturday morning we packed up my mom's car and headed to Vancouver, Washington.

It was a long drive, I got kinda bored and took a couple selfies :)

After 2 hours of traffic through Tacoma and Fort Lewis, we pulled into an adorable little town, Dupont, for some leg stretching and naked time. Stella had a massive poo, so she got to air out for awhile and let the buns get some sun, while mom and I tried to set her GPS to figure out where the heck in Vancouver we were going.

We made it to the church with a half hour to spare... whew!! Neither of us expected traffic to be so bad, so we were happy to just be out of the car after such a long drive. We changed in the parking lot... yup, we were those guests lol. But at least we had dresses to change out of our jeans into. It worked out well, Stella got some more naked time before the wedding, then she slipped into her adorable little dress and headband, isn't she cute!?! She also got a new toy to play with during the ceremony, which only kept her entertained for about 10 minutes before she was chucking the thing into the aisle, where it would land with a huge thump and rattle... great. So I wore her in the sling, and danced around the back of the chapel for most of the ceremony. Stella really was pretty awesome throughout the whole thing, much better than her first wedding earlier this summer. She loved watching all the people up on stage, and loved when they had music and people singing, that got her attention with the first notes of the piano.

After the ceremony, the bride and groom, Laura and Andrew, rode off in this awesome Plymouth! It was such a beautiful car! I just had to snap a few pictures to show my dad and Brent.

My sister (the blond) was one of the co-maid's of honor. Laura and her have pretty much been best friends since high school, where they were co-yearbook editors for 2 years. And their yearbook teacher? She came to the wedding too! Her and her husband flew all the way up from Arizona to attend Laura's big day, that's Ms. B below Pammy and Laura. She was actually my yearbook instructor in middle school, almost 15 years ago! She said that she will be back for Pam's wedding when it happens and she wouldn't miss it for the world.

Stell was quite the grump during the reception. She would not smile for anyone... well, except for Ms. B's (or now Mrs. Rodriguez) husband, Freddie, he seemed smitten with Stella, and she reciprocated that affection right back. It was pretty cute, I think she thought he looked like her daddy, because they both had facial hair... she has a thing for men with facial hair... it's pretty cute.

miss grumpy pants hangin out with grandma

and gettin some snuggles from Auntie

See, still grumpy

not even kisses will cheer her up

Stell finally told auntie off a little, lol, which shocked all of us a lot.

finally a happy girl with her mama

and no, my hair did not look like this the whole time, it was cute and down with a slight curl, but it was super humid and hot, so up it went when we got to the reception and Stella started pulling it.

awww, smooshy face kisses from the little, a mama's favorite

I love me some little snuggles

We had a great time celebrating Laura and Andrew's wedding, and I'm so thankful I was able to make it over for the event! Cheers to them and many years of love and happiness to the newlyweds!!!

Hard at work

2011-08-31T10:34:00.000-06:00

This past weekend Brent's parents were in town to visit the little (and us) and to help us re-build a portion of our fence. We have been trying to get this fence building thing organized for some time now, over a year actually, but things never seem to fall into place. So finally, we just decided to do one side at a time. Our neighbors to the West (Tom and Lyla) were just waiting for the go ahead from us, and they were up and tearing down the old fence early Friday morning. I felt terrible (literally) because I couldn't help much, I was down and out with a bladder infection. But they were so quick, the fence was down in less than 3 hours. Tom got a little trigger happy with the chainsaw and buzzed the fence in half, making it easy to just lift the old slats out, and the posts were so rotten they were easily pushed right over. It was weird not having a fence on one side for a full day. Abby was super confused, not sure which yard she could pee in or why she could now go up front freely, I found her several times at the front door when she was supposed to be out back eating. Thank goodness she's never been one to run off. We are so thankful for all the help we had this weekend! The boys took over the fence job, while Beth and I had baby duty, and took on a couple other projects around the house, including re painting our front door (again) and putting new hardware on it, and also sprucing up the front of the house with some new numbers (finally!) that we have been meaning to put up for 2 years now... oops. It was a productive weekend, and we are so happy with our new fence and gate!

A portion of the new fence already finished. and the old gate just hangin' out.

Jim, Brent, and Tom working hard on the fence, 3 2x4 rails meant lots of screws!

Isn't it pretty!!!

Stella had a blast watching the boys and chewing on her indestructible book

Lunch break! Tom and Lyla joined us also and we had a great time visiting with our neighbors

Abuela Beth napping with Stella after a hard days work

She had a rough weekend, lots of playing and snuggles, we had one tired baby

Thanks to Opa and Abuela for all their hard work and help this weekend!!! We had a wonderful weekend!!!

Living room makeover

2011-08-29T18:13:00.000-06:00

I've been trying to post these pictures for a few weeks now (ok, for almost a month...) but with many visitors, and a baby who is kinda a not great napper right now, it's been tough to get pictures with the living room clean, let alone in decent light... which i'm still not sure I captured. While my mom was here at the beginning of the month, we decided that my living room needed a little sprucing up. I've been tired of the red theme for some time now, and was thrilled when she suggested we tackle this big project! The new color theme?? Blue! I wanted something calming and beautiful, and I'm so happy with how it turned out! So, after looking through some recent Pinterest pins of things that had caught my eye, we got to work, and, I'm beyond happy with how things turned out! Even Brent likes it, Thankfully. He was out of town while we did all this, and it was a total surprise. I'm so thankful my hubby is ok with things I do to our home, he knows when I get a creative itch, it's hard not to scratch it, and that's just one of the many amazing things I love about him. So, want to see our new living room?? I'm sure you're dying to know how it turned out, It's pretty awesome.

The Ottomans came from TJ Maxx Home Goods... probably my most favorite store, ever.

The whole living room, well almost, minus the large sofa along the front wall, but you get the idea

Abby enjoying the new pillows, curtosy of TJ Maxx and Fred Meyers (floral print)

We added a few new "home" photos, prints that I've collected of Washington over the years from Pike's Place, they help us miss it a little less in some ways. We also bought new end tables (which I LOVE!) to help us be a bit more organized. and see the new lamps? Those were our color inspiration, the perfect shade of blue.

Pillows

Our new lamps, from Lowes. They are so perfect!

So, what do you think? I'm wanting to add a few lemon yellow accent pieces, but its really hard to find the right color for some reason. As always, the house is a work in progress, never ending, but so much fun to work on.

Whats with the awful week!?!?

2011-08-26T16:08:00.000-06:00

This week has been horrible. I honestly have not ever wished a week would just be done and over with more than I have this one.

On Monday, I woke up to a text from my mom, a friend of our families week old baby had passed away, unexpectedly. SIDS is something that I have feared from the minute I found out I was pregnant. and I feel so blessed that Stella is amazingly healthy, but it can still happen to anyone. The funeral was last night, my parents went, and they shut down their shop so all of their employees could attend and support their fellow co-worker. I wanted to be there, to support them, and tell them that they are not alone in this journey. But I will be there next week, and I will hug them both when I see them, and pray that their hearts heal, and I will let them know that this little blessing may have been in their lives for very a short time, but will be in their hearts forever.

Also, My car is in the shop. And it's going to cost us twice as much as we were expecting... awesome. Don't ever buy a Land Rover, they are super expensive to fix. Ugh.

Then, I get sick. While Brent is out of town. I think I have a bladder infection. Awesome.

My sister tells me to go to the dr. immediately, she's dealt with many of these and they can get out of control quickly. I've never had one, so I wait until the pain is crazy, and it's almost 7pm...

So last night I pack the little up and head on over to urgent care, hang out there, pee in a cup,

Yep it's an infection...... Yep you get antibiotics...... Yep it's going to take a few days to fully get out of your system.

Oh, and I made sure they gave me the pregnancy and nursing safe antibiotics... this mama does not like meds, and if I have to take them, I don't want them affecting Stella.

Got home, went to bed.

Brent had to take a taxi home from the airport at midnight, we had been asleep since 9.

Woke up feeling better, could finally pee somewhat normally, But then???

Sick. I'm not sure if it's from the antibiotics, or from the infection, or the fact that I took the antibiotics on an empty stomach (dumb of me, I know, but they said it was ok to do), but they did not like me this morning.

Thank goodness Stella was napping! She woke up right when I laid down to rest, of course, so I scooped her up, brought her to bed with me, and we slept another hour or so.

I felt good enough to eat a hot dog bun (the ones from costco, so yummy and fluffy!) and drink some water and chicken broth.

So far so good. I think I just need to keep food in me and i'll be feelin' better in no time.

So, the last two awesome events above now mean our weekend plans to build a new fence (I really dont know what were thinking, building a fence in the middle of August when it's 100 outside...) around our house are getting somewhat scrapped, and we'll only be building one side. and the awesome neighbors on that side made me go in and sleep, refused my help to tear it down, and told me if I needed them, that they would watch Stella. They tore the fence down, and Brent and Tom (our neighbor) will go get the materials we need when Brent is off work.

Since things have been a bit rough this week, we've made sure to love on Stella a little bit more (although I dont know how that was even possible). We've also let her get away with some things she normally doesnt get away with.... Like riding the dog. One day this will be a no-no, but for now? Sure. Why not climb on up and have some fun. There will be no separating this girl and her dog.

Here's to hoping for a better next week.

And many prayers and blessings going out to our friends back home who are missing their baby girl this week.

Randoms

2011-08-23T23:02:00.000-06:00

Not much has been happening with us this week, which is why I have had a lack of posts as of late. We've been taking it easy around our house, trying hard to get Stella on a regular sleep schedule, which she still fights like crazy at every nap, and every bedtime. Even if I lay down with her and nurse her to sleep, she wakes up as soon as I get up... lame. The other night she was awake for 2 full hours from about 2:30 til about 4:30.... again.... lame. She has such an active mind, and is such an active little girl, I think she just prefers going a million miles a minute, and we prefer her to chill out and nap at least twice a day, so for now were agreeing to disagree, and trying our best to get her to like sleep a little bit more. She is so active, that currently I am sitting out on our deck blogging (because it's finally tolerable to sit out here and there is an awesome breeze going through), which she bounces away in her activity jumper. I never thought I would be one of those parents who rely's on a big toy to keep their child happy, but seriously? She is so active, it's tough to put her down and have her stay happy for more than 5 minutes, even if surrounded by toys. She wants to be into everything, touching, seeing, biting, jumping. Her favorite thing to do is stand up on our laps and jump, she laughs and we get the biggest, gummiest grins when she's jumping, she just loves it.

This little girl is going to keep us on our toes. We can already tell she's a mover, we've known this since the first ultrasound, she was wiggling all over, just this little embryo, standing straight up. Where most babies at 10 weeks gestation are curled up and looking like a seahorse, Stella was dancing across the screen, even the tech warned us we were going to have our hands full. I wouldn't have it any other way though, She keeps me moving, gets me out and about, loves the park, loves being outside (literally, could stay out there all day) and is just our little firecracker. I cannot wait to see what her activity brings us as a toddler :)

I have a ton of pictures to share from the last 2 weeks, I am just now getting around to uploading them, and didn't realize just how many there were... Enjoy!

The little, or Gremlin as we affectionately call her when she's got this face/attitude going, is now into EVERYTHING. Fighting hard to reach things she wants, putting everything she successfully grabs right into her mouth, yea, it's fun

Daddy's cup is especially yummy to chew on

mmmmmm. cup.

Daddy trying to take it back... Stella was having nothing to do with handing it over though...

look at the sheer happiness and huge smile on Stella's face, you can see it, even though she's upside down, you can see it on Brent's face too, I love it.

so happy!

Have you ever had an ORANGE watermelon??? We have! and it was delish!!

I've only dared take one photo of Stella sleeping... i'm afraid the flash will wake her. But isn't she so freaking adorable!?!
She's such a big girl now sleeping in her own crib!!

Last week I finally got around to painting our dining room chairs, yay! I had been wanting to for awhile, but it's tough finding extra time for crafty stuff with the little. So, I had daddy watch her, and I was able to paint all 4 chairs! I only got one coat, so they are a little rough, not as smooth as I had hoped, but at least they are yellow!! I love the color, it brightens up our kitchen a ton!

We've had some pretty awesome sunset's lately, and I finally got a picture that turned out! For some reason the pink skies never look the same in the pictures, but orange? It looks pretty great!

These next pictures are of Stella eating some of her first foods, I just loved the intense look on her face watching daddy scoop the rice, and how big her mouth gets as the spoon approaches, love it.

And don't you love her bib? Yes, my sister bought it for her, so it's totally ok that she is pretty much advertising her auntie is Hot... and Single. Her number is 555.... ;)

a few of our favorite (and necessary) things

2011-08-20T17:25:00.000-06:00

I've been wanting to share the things that are our saving grace with Stella these days, things that keep her entertained, things that keep her engaged, things that make her happy, things that make our lives a little simpler. We have our go to items, the ones that never get left at home, always make it in the diaper bag, or in the carset with Stella, the ones that i'll even tuck inside the wrap with the little while were are the grocery store. I know every baby is different, but I do think that most enjoy similar simple toys at this age, things that make noise, feel good in their hands and mouth, and keep them entertained for more than 3 minutes.

So, in no particular order, Stella's favorite things:

Indestructibles - books that were built for babies.

via

These books are AWESOME! Stella is totally in the destruction stage... chewing, tearing, pulling, ripping, kicking... she is pretty much into everything right now. The other day at Starbucks, she grabbed a handful of straws and knocked over a stack of bubble lids... in one fell swoop. She totally destroyed one of Brent's work documents just a few minutes ago, it's now covered in baby drool, ripped into pieces, and crumpled into an unrecognizable blob. I found these books at one of our local downtown book shops, The Rediscovered Bookshop , and from the moment Stella had them in her grasp, they have not been let out of her sight without a fuss. She loves them! The cool part? These can be crumpled, chewed, pulled, dunked in water, washed in the washing machine, run over, etc. and wont be damaged.... The only thing that really ruins them? The microwave... which I don't know about you, but I don't normally microwave my books ;)

Sophie

via

Sophie the Giraffe has been around for 50 years (as of 2011! Happy 50th Sophie!) and thank goodness she's still one of the best teething toys around! Stella loves her Sophie, she goes everywhere with us, and is always the first toy I go to if Stell is fussy.

Rich Frog Duck Crinkler

via

This little duck is another one of the little's favorites. She'll twist, pull, chew and overall try to destroy this little crinkly duck in everyway she possibly can, and it has held up over the last month just perfectly. She loves the crinkly noise, and that she can chew, and I love that it is soft, entertaining, and fits perfectly in her little hands.

Homemedics sound spa lullaby

via

This sound machine has been our nighttime saving grace since Stella was born. It was a gift from a family friend, and we honestly use it almost EVERY night, I love it, Brent loves it, and Stella for sure loves it. It helps block our the street noise, or neighbor noise, or any other noises that the night brings. The light show is great for getting Stella calmed down and relaxed for naps or bedtime, we turn it on while were reading books if she's not really into the book, it's a good distraction but keeps her calm. The projector part tilts, so it can be shown on the ceiling above the crib, or on the wall at any height. I love the rain setting, it reminds me of the sound I grew up with in Seattle, the constant rain drizzle hitting the roof, hitting the patio outside my window, it's a very comforting and soothing sound, both Brent and I love it.

Didymos wrap

I realize you cant see the whole wrap, but check out their website to see more beautiful patterns and wraps

Stella loves being worn. I've worn her since the first day we brought her home.... we'll, my sister actually wore her in the Moby that first week while my milk came in, it was just too painful to have her snuggled tightly against my chest. But, she's been worn almost every day of her life. I wear her around the house, on walks, at the grocery store, to the market, to parks, pretty much anywhere. Only recently has she been in the stroller, which I think she enjoys for short walks and when it's really hot out. Otherwise, she's being worn. We now use a Didymos wrap, which I borrowed from a babywearing friend, and have decided to purchase from her, I love it because it's so much more sturdy and breathable than the Moby. I can no longer wear her in the stretchy Moby wrap, they are not safe for babies to wear over 15 or 16 lbs, they just sag and get super loose. Woven wraps don't do that, they only have a slight stretch, which is perfect for small adjustments and for the baby to be able to move and wiggle a little, but they wont sag or need to be adjusted, even if you're going hiking or will be wearing the baby for a long time. I also prefer these to the more structured carriers that are advertised so much, such as the bjorn or infantino, which are not safe baby carriers at all, and can cause injury to babies when worn too long or improperly (i.e. facing outward). I love seeing moms and dads wearing their little ones, but please research before you buy, try on carriers, and look a little more deeply into good carriers vs. the inexpensive and not so great ones. I've been thinking of asking a good babywearing friend if she would be interested in writing up a blog post on the different types of carriers and carry's, so keep an eye out for that sometime in the future.

Raw Baltic Amber Teething Necklace

via

We ordered this exact Baltic Amber necklace a few months ago for the little and I am SO thankful we did. Not only is it absolutely beautiful, but Stella is a different baby with it on. She was getting to the point where her hands were always in her mouth, crying in pain constantly, nursing non-stop, and had some major rashes going on down there from all the acid building up in her body from the developing teeth. This necklace took about 3 weeks to arrive from Latvia (my first piece of international mail!) and was hand made to order just for Stella's little neck. Baltic Amber is a natural healing analgesic, it has natural anti inflammatory and pain relieving properties that the skin absorbs from the amber beads which help with teething. So far? It's perfect. Stella is super happy almost all the time, and hardly seems to have any pain from teething anymore. She wears it 24/7, and the days we do take it off? the rash returns, and her pain seems to come back, so we just keep it on to keep the pain away and keep the little happy. Stella also has a Healing Hazelwood necklace, which helps pull the acid out of her body and into the wood and also is a huge help with teething. We put that on her when her rash flares up, and in a day it's usually under control.

Well, these are just a few of the things we cant seem to live without these days. Do you have your favorite, go-to items, the ones you never dare leave the house without, the ones that are babies tried and true happy time things? I'd love to hear what they are, and what you can't live without.

Our week by Droid, week 1!!

2011-08-20T13:11:00.001-06:00

I'm so excited to be linking up for the first time this week and share our week in phone pics! I've wanted to do this link up for awhile, but I rarely upload all the photos I take, until I realized I could easily upload them right to the blog through picasa, how awesome is that?! So, hopefully now i'll remember to join in the phone photo fun!

Want to hear another really exciting new thing for us this week??!?! Stella is sleeping through the night!!! Well. Almost. We've started putting her in her crib, in her room for naps, and she sleeps so well, that we thought we'd try out putting her in there for bedtime. She slept 9 hours the first night (albeit, after a 2 hour sleep fighting battle between her and us...). It was rough, especially for me, but she finally went to sleep, stirred once and daddy calmed her down in just a few minutes, and then... she slept! All night!!! So, we tried again last night... and it only took about 25 minutes of fussies and just a little bit of dancing and again, she went right to sleep!!! Tonight??? Umm, she was asleep in less than 10 minutes :) I AM SO HAPPY!!! She has woken up a couple times tonight, but she was down by 8:45... which meant Abby and I could go on a bike ride, which I haven't been able to do with her since last summer, it was so great! I would love to share a picture, but I don't dare sneak in there and use the flash... i'll get a cute one of her napping, we don't mess with nighttime. Hopefully it will continue to get easier every night, and soon, she'll just lay down, and go right to sleep, babies do that, right?

so, here's some of our week in Dphone pics...

The beginning of the week I found myself doing some projects around our house... I installed a retractable clothesline, which, I love. and I painted our dining room chairs an amazing shade of yellow! I looove them! They have brightened up our tiny dining room a ton! and now pull the living room and kitchen together :)

Brent, Stella, Abby and I took a walk along the greenbelt downtown, our power went out for a few hours and it was way too hot to hang out inside with no AC, so we packed up, and walked almost 4 miles along the river. Stella passed out halfway back, and I kicked an exposed root somewhere along the way, leaving me with a split big toe and lots of blood to clean off my sandal.

We are officially starting Stella on more solid foods, still mushed, but different from her norm. This week she LOVED avocado, which is the green stuff smeared around her mouth. She also enjoyed chewing on a green bean that we picked up at the market, she would not let that thing go, and cried when it broke and I had to take it away :(

More of Stella's culinary adventure a few nights later, applesauce on the left (the yellow mush) and zucchini on the right (the green mush), the small bowl in the middle is a mix of the two... this wasn't a big hit with her. and the last pic was out grilled dinner that night, chicken, squash, and corn with a garlic parsley butter, yum!

Linking up with Amy @ a good life, head on over and check out their week in pics!

Oh, and how about sharing the love and clicking through for a vote? Thanks!

More visitors

2011-08-13T19:36:00.001-06:00

On Friday around lunch time we had the pleasure of having some great family friends swing by on their way back to Washington State. They have been traveling in their 5th wheel all summer long, and have not been home since the end of June I believe! What a way to spend the summer!! I've enjoyed following their adventures over the past few weeks and they have truly been to some amazing places around the US. Multiple national parks, several states, and they visited a ton of family, even making it to a wedding, family reunion and 1st birthday of a great grand niece! It was a pleasure to have them in our home once again, even if for just a few short hours over a long lunch. Brent was able to make it home to visit, and we loved hearing the stories of their past couple of weeks on the road.

Sharon snuggling with a very sleepy baby

And the eyes are closing...

Finally passed out and so cuddly

Sharon loving the baby time

Nick gettin in on the snuggles action too

and Stella giving daddy the evil eye, hahaha

Their Golden, Tucker, smelled the grilled chicken in Brent's hand and came to investigate :)

Nick entertaining the baby

Stella's favorite toy, the ball, she seriously loves this thing

All the visiting Nick and Sharon did with babies back east and Stella is sure to prepare them for their families newest pending arrival! They will be welcoming their first grand baby this December!! We cannot wait to meet the newest little love in just a few short months, Congrats Nick and Alicia!!!

5 months and growing!

2011-08-12T20:08:00.001-06:00

Stella Jean,

You are 5 months old today baby girl!! It is still hard for me to fathom how quickly you are growing up! You are becoming quite the little girl, actually looking more like a little person, than a baby. You are rolling over a ton! We always seem to miss it, we'll put you down to play, turn around to get something and you'll be on your belly from your back, or back from your tummy... I have yet to get video of you rolling over, but I will soon, I promise. One day last week we were snuggling in bed in the early morning hours, and you thought it was hilarious to roll towards me repeatedly, when I flipped you back to your spot, you giggled and rolled again, repeating this fun game probably 15 times before I decided to get us up out of bed to start our day. Then of course you didn't roll over at all for a few days... it's just how you roll, pun intended ;) You are such an active little baby! You are into everything, reaching for anything you want, even people! You enjoy pulling the sunglasses off my face, picking up toys off the floor when we lower you to grab them, using your feet to push and hands to pull to get something just out of reach, sitting up from laying down. You are not quite fully sitting up on your own, but it'll happen any day I bet, you sit up with just a little support in the bath tub, you love to grab the faucet while water is coming out and are fascinated be everything around you.

You are sleeping SO MUCH BETTER!!! I worked really hard while daddy was away last week for 10 days to get you to sleep on your own, especially for naps! You now go down for 3 full naps a day, sometimes it's only a half hour nap, but most days you'll sleep for a full hour to an hour and a half! Night time sleep is doing much better also. Thankfully you now go to bed at about 9:45pm, much better than the 11:30 bedtime you kept just a few weeks ago. You'll sleep for an hour or so and wake up to nurse, then go right back to sleep for a few more hours, it's wonderful! You're still nursing once or twice at night, which is just fine with me, as long as you go right back to sleep, which does not always happen.

You and your daddy have developed quite the special relationship this past month. You LOVE your playtime with him. Some of your favorite things to do is throw the toy with Abby, play airplane in the air, read hunting magazines and rip out the paper, its all pretty adorable to watch. I love the way your face lights up when you see him, and the way his lights up when he gets smiles from you, you two are going to be inseparable one day.

Now to share a couple of my favorite photos from today's 5 month shoot, which was actually on time this month!!! YAY me! :)

Happy 5 Months baby girl!!!

Say Happy Birthday with a few clicks to vote ;)

Our week

2011-08-11T22:04:00.000-06:00

Sorry for being mostly MIA this last week. While the hubby was out of town for 10 days, my mom and sister came to visit us for a few days. I was so happy to have them here to keep us company and love on the little for a week! My sister was only here for the weekend, but mom drove over and stayed for a full 6 days!!! It was SO wonderful having her here all week, just someone to help out with Stella, let me clean, help me clean, and go do fun things with all week made Brent's absence much easier on us. Unfortunately, I forgot to charge my camera battery before they arrived, so as I was trying to click some pictures on Friday night, my camera went dead... then Saturday we went to the market, and as I pulled out the camera to shoot a cute picture of my sister wearing Stella at the market, I had forgotten to put the battery back IN the camera... fail. So, I didn't get any fun market pictures like I had wanted. Mom and I went to Sun Valley on Tuesday, I actually remembered to bring the camera, but, didn't take any pictures while up there... fail again. What did I take pictures of? Us hanging out at home. Lame huh. But there are some pretty adorable shots of Stella with our guests, she sure was lovin' her some family time!

Getting snuggles with Grandma

Doesn't Stella look so content! She really loves her Grandma's cuddles.

I love these series of pictures with Stella and her auntie. Bare Bum (naked time), Aunties cute braid (and little sneak of her newest tattoo!!), kisses and huge smiles! What more could a baby girl ask for!?!

Grandma gave Brent and I a date night while she was here, and apparently everything was great up until Stella started fighting sleep... Bath went great, naked time was awesome, the tour of the backyard went splendly, but sleep? No thank you Stella said. And she fought it like crazy I guess... We didn't get the "Having a meltdown" text until we walked in the door.... where we found this scene below:

Stella finally passed out, slung over mom's arms where she had been bouncing her trying to get her to calm down in between heartbreaking sobs mom said. It broke her heart but what a trooper!!! and for the record... Brent and I only went to get ice cream and were barely gone an hour... poor little just cant handle her evenings with anyone else but mama I guess, something were going to have to work on apparently.

After Grandma got the little to sleep (yay!) She passed her off to dad for some snuggles, he had been missing his girl an awful lot while out of town. 10 days is the longest he's been away from Stella so far, and it was tough, so he's been catching up on all the lovin's he can get!

Don't ya just love sleeping babies?

How about a vote?

The Dirty on Diapers

2011-08-07T23:49:00.001-06:00

And by Diapers I mean Cloth Diapers. Stella has been wearing cloth diapers since she was about 2 weeks old... so over 4 months now. I thought it would be a great time to talk about our experience so far, and share some adorable pictures of her fluffy bum. I've had several friends email, text, and call me with questions, wanting advice, wanting to learn or who are just curious about our experience so far. So here goes, here's what we've learned in the first 4 months of our journey with cloth. I've taken the most frequently asked questions and answered them with our own experiences.

*Disclaimer* All of the info here is from our personal experience, and all feelings and reviews of diapers are our own opinions.

Stella is 2 months old here, sporting her Fuzzibunz with agoo leggings and some crazy hair

"Isn't it a ton of extra laundry?" It's really not that much extra laundry. I do a load of diapers every 2-3 days. Thankfully our stash is large enough that I can go a full weekend (camping, traveling, etc.) without having to wash diapers. I don't usually let them go more than 3 days though, to keep the stinkies away. My routine is simple also, which surprises most people. Here's what we do:

1. Cold water pre-rinse/soak (30 min), followed by regular wash and double rinse

2. add 1/4 amount of detergent (during pre-soak)

(we use method free and clear, there are many cloth diaper friendly detergents, rockin' green, charlies soap, etc.)

3. Pull inserts out of diapers, dropping both cover and insert into washer

(if load is larger, smaller loads I just throw them in and the swishing gets the inserts out)

4. close lid :)

Pretty simple huh?

There are other steps I throw in depending on how the diapers are. If it was a pretty poopy few days? I add a tablespoon of oxy clean. Sometimes I wash on Hot, if I remember to switch the dial after the soak, and usually only if i'm noticing stinkies. I haven't really had any repelling or leaking issues, so I haven't had to strip them yet (wash them in dawn dish soap to get all the build up out). Most diapers come with directions on the best way to prep and wash them.

To dry the diapers, we either sun the covers on a line outside, or throw them in the dryer on low heat with the inserts, which always go in the dryer.

Stella in a Blueberry cheetah minky print

"Are they expensive?" Nope! Cloth saved us money. Lots of money. The average family spends between $3000 and $4000 on disposable diapers from birth to potty training. A family using cloth? Between $300 and $1000. Our personal stash is around $800 I think, I have a bit of an obsession... and pockets tend to be a bit more per diaper. But we also plan to have multiple children, all of which will be in cloth, so I think having a larger stash is worth it. Also, the water and electricity bills have pretty much stayed the same, even with pre-soaking and double rinses. I hang all our diapers in the sun to dry and get stains out (the sun is magic on stains!!! more on that later...), saving us electricity usage.

.... Want in on a little secret? I've never paid full price for any diaper we have! Keep a look out on sites such as babysteals.com, ecobabybuys, and zulily.com, they have regular diaper sales with huge discounts! Also follow them on Facebook and you can usually get a heads up on the sale and get great feedback if its a brand you haven't used. Sometimes you can find a good deal through www.Amazon.com, but be careful, they could be knockoffs. I know Fuzzibunz will come with a sticker on the inside that you can verify it is real. So really, our stash is probably worth twice as much as we've paid for it, I'm totally a bargain hunter. Also keep a look out for clearance sales, I linked up the clearance page for Blueberry diapers further along in the post, they are usually irregular, meaning some stitching is off, or the fabric was flipped.

In a fuzzibunz at her 3 month photo shoot with NHP

"They are too much work, harder to use" Cloth is easier than people think. So many people still associate cloth diapers to what they were 15+ years ago, prefolds and plastic pants. Cloth has come a long way in the past 20 years. Now you can choose from prefolds with cute covers, pockets, all in ones (AIO's), and many more! We prefer the pocket: Stuff, snap and go. AIO's are just like disposables, they are sewn together and the whole thing is just one piece, sweet! Prefolds are the same as they always were, sorta. Now you can get more fitted prefolds, so they aren't as bulky between the legs, pretty cool huh?

In a Fuzzibunz Perfect size Small, in Buttercream at almost 5 months old

In the same diaper at 3 weeks old

"What do you do with the poop?" So far Poops have been pretty simple. Breast milk baby poop pretty much dissolves when it hits water, especially when it's getting swished around. The pre-soak is for getting the poop out, then it's washed away in the wash cycle. What little stains remain are sunned out, leaving the covers bright white again, usually. The awesome thing about poops in cloth? NO BLOWOUTS!!!! Stella has had some pretty impressive poops, like, puddled around her hips, all over her bum, and lingering at the legs, all with one poop. Still, it stayed contained, it didn't get all over her carseat, or clothes, or shoot up her back like so many horror stories I've been told. I think maybe twice we have had leakage out the leg, always after a growth spurt when her legs seem to be a little less chunky, and the leg gussets were more loose than normal.

When the poop gets to be a bit more solid after Stella starts eating solid foods, We'll just simply give a good swish in the toilet before the pre-soak, getting all the chunks out. They also sell diaper sprayers which can be set up on the side of your toilet, I've never used them but they look pretty neat, we may get one when solids are introduced. I'll probably talk more about the solids when the time comes.

Modeling a Crushed Berries Perfect Size Fuzzibunz, today, almost 5 months old

"What are your favorites?" We really love our Fuzzibunz Perfect Size. The small's (7-18lbs) have been so great for us, they really are perfect. Perfect rise, perfect leg size, perfect fit. They have two rows of snaps along the top, so you can adjust around the legs and belly. I hope the medium's (15-30lbs) do just as well for us, Stella only has a few pounds left in small's, she's currently about 16lbs. Fuzzibunz also have one-size diapers, which I just purchased and finished prepping last week, So I don't have anything to report on them yet.

We also really love Blueberry Diapers. They are a one-size diaper, so as you may notice in the photo below, there are snaps that you can raise and lower the rise, or make the diaper smaller and larger. These are meant to be sized from birth to potty training, making them very cost effective, because your baby can wear them for multiple years. Stella couldn't quite fit into her's until she was almost 12 lbs, they just didn't fit right, were super bulky, and just too big, but now? They are awesome. Blueberry's are actually the hubby's favorite, and we both really like the hook and loop systems, because they can easily adjust when Stella's belly is particularly big and round, or when she's had a growth spurt and is kinda skinny again. Hook and loop's are also pretty awesome for double stuffing at night time, because I can still fit the leg and belly without leaks and it's still super comfy for the little. Another bonus? They are the cutest diapers ever! I love their minky prints, so soft and furry, and adorable! See the two animal prints hanging in the photo at the bottom on this post? Those are Blueberry's, and I just picked up a couple of diapers in their clearance sale that the print fabric was sewn inside out... for $12! I couldn't believe the deal, plus free shipping!? sold! I picked up an adorable owl print, a cow print, raspberry truffle, and a couple others, LOVE them! I'll put a picture of my new additions below.

In a Blueberry hook and loop pink/chocolate polka dot Minky. One of my favorites.

We've tried many other diapers throughout our journey, Thirsties, Happy Heiney's, Prefolds, G-Diapers, and more. Some have been good (Thirsties and Happy Heiney's), some have been awful (G-diapers...), so we've stuck to what really worked for us, and what we really liked. I think the key to being happy and successful with cloth is to find the diaper that fits your baby. All babies are different, some have skinny legs, others are chunks, and not all diapers are created equal. Try out a couple of each to start with, and then load up on the ones that really work well for you.

A small portion of our stash, sunning on the back deck.

Our Blueberry Minky collection... I think there are 15... I probably have almost every print they make :)

The little in her Raspberry Truffle Minky, This is one of the reverse prints that I scored on clearance, works awesome, fits great, they just sewed the print on backwards.

A pile of diapers, fresh out of the dryer, organized and ready for stuffing.

I'd love to answer any questions I didn't cover in this post. I only really covered the basics, so feel free to ask anything else you may be curious about. Please also remember that this post is strictly on our experience, what works for us, and what doesn't. Every family is different, every baby is different, and not all diapers are created equal. :)

Snapshots of our week

2011-07-31T16:29:00.000-06:00

So I'm thinking of starting up a new weekend post/photo dump with randoms that happen throughout the week, nothing fancy, just extras that I don't get to blog about throughout the week normally. I find myself with a ton of pictures left at the end of the week, photos from a day spent out back, at the park, cute snuggles with daddy, or even sometimes mommy if I'm lucky. We'll see how this goes, I'm not sure I can keep up a weekend post every weekend...but i'll sure try :)

Now I fully understand the term "sleeping like a baby", She's so cute.

Having fun hanging out side with daddy

and a couple attempts at family photos that didn't turn out so well...

Happy Weekend!

Wordful Wednesday: Plums

2011-07-26T22:42:00.001-06:00

While camping this weekend Brent introduced Stella to her first red plum.... and....... I think it may have been love at first taste,

Yummy Plum.....

Even my hands taste delish! (Look at that tounge work!)

Dad "rejuicing" the plum, because she kept sucking all the juice out and would leave dry spots, lol.

So much better with new juice

She took to this plum like it were my own breast, sucking and holding it, making the little 'nomnomnom' baby noises, it was hilarious! We have been letting Stella explore more flavors over the last 2 weeks. We're holding off on any more Brown rice for just now, she wasn't sleeping very well after having it, so I stopped for a few days and she returned to her better sleep patterns, tried once more and no sleep that night. So, Were just sticking with letting her taste things for now. So far she's in love with plums, Rainier cherries (Seeds out, just licks them) and grapes (bit in half and she just licks them). She's not so much a fan of peaches, but that could have been because they were not quite ripe, she really likes juicy fruits with lots of flavor. I am so excited to be introducing her to these flavors, we really want the little to love her fruits and veggies, and to have a very versatile palate. One thing Brent insists is that she never say no to any food, or tell us she "doesn't like" something. I know it's bound to happen, all kids go through some stage of frowns and noses turned up at the suggestion or look or smell of something, or they come home from a friends house or school and magically no longer like something, but he's really hoping we can nip this in the butt from an early age, I never realized he meant this early though.

Linking up for Wordful Wednesdays with http://parentingbydummies.com/ and http://sevenclowncircus.com/.

Like that Stella's exploring the world of flavors??? Show us some love with a few clicks for a vote :)

Camping on the Columbia River

2011-07-26T16:07:00.000-06:00

This weekend we packed up the little and headed to the Columbia River for a little condo camping with Abuela Beth and Opa Jim. I say condo camping because we got to stay in their amazing 5th wheel, instead of our plain 'ol tent, we were pretty spoiled. We had an awesome trip, took several very long walks, a couple fun bike rides (my first in almost 2 years!) and played in the water a ton. Abby swam all over the place, even Beth and Jim's dog Mia went in the water past her paws, a big first for her! We stayed at the Boardman Marina Park, In Boardman Oregon, It was great! We lucked out by booking last minute and got an amazing spot right on the water, it was perfect.

Abuela with Stella Wrapped on her, I got tired on our long walk and passed her off for more snuggles.

Loving this cup, It entertained her for a good half hour or so.

checkin' out the river with opa

Lovin's

Apparently it's never too early to learn how to tie on a fish hook

The view from our camp. Stunning.

UPrinting Giveaway Winner!

2011-07-22T14:41:00.000-06:00

I'm blogging this weekend from Boardman State Park in Boardman, Oregon! It's a beautiful day here on the Columbia River, We've met up this weekend with Brent's parents, and had an awesome 3 mile walk already today down along the river. Stella's loving the sun and time with her Abuela and Opa, I'll be sure take lots of pictures to share sometime this weekend.

Now on to the winner, I'll keep things short and sweet. The winner of the UPrinting.com Stickers Giveaway winner is comment 2, Jenn! Jenn, Please Email me your at my contact info with your Email address, so I can get you the info for the stickers from the sponsor.

I hope Everyone has a fantastic, fun and safe weekend!!

Raspberries

2011-07-21T14:34:00.000-06:00

No, Not the juicy red fruit, more like the juicy baby kind! Stella has been mimicking us blowing raspberries for about 2 days now, and its so freakin' cute I just had to share! She does it constantly, and drools and spits all over the place, but she shreiks and really loves the reactions she gets from it, its so darn cute! Enjoy!

Wordful Wednesday. 4 month photos

2011-07-20T16:50:00.000-06:00

Today I finally took a few minutes to get some of Stella's 4 month photos done in her rocking chair, yay! I'm happy when I'm able to get these done within a week of her monthly birthday lol, which was just barely the case this time, she hasnt changed a ton in the 8 days she's been 4 months though, so i'm not too worried. I love taking these pictures, it's been so fun to see how she's growing and changing. She can now sit up in the chair on her own, I dont have to prop her up in the corner or hold onto her while I shoot to make sure she doesnt flop forward or to the side. This shoot she finally took interest in the chair! She just stared at the polka dots and really seemed to be examining them! I only got a couple smiles today, she was very excited about Abby's bringing her toy to her, which is probably one of her most favorite activities now, she loves that Abby retrieves! You should see how excited she gets when Abby is swimming! legs go crazy and huge smiles and shrieks!

Happy girl watching her puppy

So serious, this is the look she gave me in most of the pictures

totally diggin' the polka dots

This week Stella had her first sorta giggle! It was just a little one, and of course Brent is out of town, so I haven't tried to get another one out of her, I want him to be here. I tried to video it, but whenever my phone or the Flip come out she's mesmerized, its pretty funny how into the cameras she is, future toys i'll have to keep on the high shelf I guess. I'll try my hardest to capture it next time, hopefully with Brent getting the giggles :)

Linking up with parenting BY dummies and seven clown circus for Wordful Wednesday.

How 'bout clicking through for this little sunshine??

New Giveaway! and a Winner!

2011-07-18T10:41:00.002-06:00

I am very excited to announce my second ever giveaway!! Mom's (Or dad's) with personal businesses or Etsy shops listen up!! UPrinting.com has graciously offered to give one reader from A Snapshot of Our Life the following item:

250 Customizable Stickers for One (1) Winner

2" x 3.5"70lb Label Matte,

Front Only Printing,

4 Business Days Turnaround

All readers are welcome to access their FREE Label Templates, Enjoy!

To Enter:
1. Leave a comment below telling me about your personal business.
2. "Like" A Snapshot of Our Life on Facebook
3. "Like" UPrinting.com on Facebook
4. Follow A Snapshot of Our Life publicly with Google Friend Connect

This giveaway will end on Friday, July 22nd at noon. Winner must reply by email to me with their Name and Email Address within 24 hours to claim their prize.

Restriction: Limited to US residents 18 years old and above only.

This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive
stickers for hosting. Check out standard label templates on UPrinting.com.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now for the winner of our very first giveaway! Per the random.org sequence generator, the crochet stuffed animals go to Comment number 3!

Random Sequence Generator

Here is your sequence:

Timestamp: 2011-07-18 18:05:55 UTC

Bri, Please email me within 48 hours to claim your animals. If I do not hear back, the animals will go to comment number 1, as per the sequence :)

And don't forget to show us some love with your votes :)

Wordless{ish} Wednesday {On Thursday}

2011-07-14T11:45:00.000-06:00

Stella had her first taste of food the other night, and? SHE LOVED IT! See that smirk? And the organic brown rice bits stuck all over her face? Yea, it was pretty adorable.

licking every last bit off her fingers... mmmmm

MOMMA!!! I WANT MORE!!!

I thought I'd link up to my first Wordless Wednesday today, hosted by The Paper Mama. I realize i'm a day late, yesterday kinda got away from me, I had this all planned out... and then life happened :) So, at least i'm only a day late, not too bad in my book for blogging.

Happy Thursday!

4 Months and Growing!!

2011-07-12T22:13:00.002-06:00

Stella Jean,

Today is July 12th, which means you are officially a 4 month old! You have had a TON of first this past month monkey! You now love to stand up! Which gets pretty tiresome for your daddy and mommy, so we broke down and bought you a Baby Einstein activity jumper, you love it! We don't let you spend too much time in it just yet, I only really put you in it when I need to shower, do laundry, dishes, or anything else that requires both hands and possible bending... Otherwise you're still quite content being wrapped up to mommy, or held. You have become quite the little chatter, talking almost ALL day long, nonstop... currently your daddy is holding you, and you have half your hand shoved into your mouth, but, your still talking, it's pretty awesome. You even seem to talk back sometimes when we talk to you, it's pretty funny when I ask you a question, and you actually seem to answer! I know you have no idea what i'm asking, but your sounds are starting to mimic ours enough to make it sound like your talking, we love it.

Baby girl you've become quite the little sleeper also, another thing mommy is extremely grateful for. Some nights you'll let us put you down in your co-sleeper next to me, some nights I give up after 11pm and bring you to bed with me, either way, you'll sleep well wherever you are, better when you're next to me. You also love to follow me around the bed, which really scared me at first, now I think subconsciously I know you're there, so I wake up with my arms around you, and you curled up against me. It's such a wonderful feeling waking up with you, and to see your huge smiles first thing every morning melts my heart. I cant imagine not waking up to those smiles, they set the mood for my entire day.

Other new things you've become pretty great at this month?

Traveling. We drove to Seattle again, and then to Portland for a friends wedding. You did fantastic in the truck every time! and you loved staying in your first Hotel, The Benson, in downtown Portland. Thankfully Auntie drove up to hang out with you during the wedding, or mommy would have missed the entire evening, you were quite chatty and sometimes fussy. (Thanks Auntie!!)

Boating. You went on your very first boat ride this month! and your second just last weekend. You love the boat! and love being on the water. We are so thankful that you enjoy your life jacket, the waves and bumps (go figure huh), the sound of the motor, and all the other things that make a day on the water fun.

Wiggling. You are a mover. Have been since the first time we saw you on the monitor in the doctors office, you were wiggling away, and I'm not sure you've ever stopped. You can move yourself in a full circle in just a few minutes. You roll from side to side constantly. You've even rolled from back to tummy a few times! You can scooch now also, pushing yourself along the floor on your back, The other day you even moved yourself a little bit forward while on your belly, you lifted your leg up to your side and pushed, and off you went, a couple of inches albeit, but you still moved your body forward! I couldn't believe it, so I took a quick video, which i'll be sure to post soon.

I'm sure there are a ton of this i'm forgetting, but it's getting late, and you and daddy are fast asleep. I really should join you both, so for now, I'll leave you with an I love you Stella girl. You are my world, your daddy's light, and the joy of our family. Keep on growing like a weed, keep on making us smile every minute of ever day, and keep on being our perfect baby girl.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Night Walks to the canal

2011-07-11T16:29:00.002-06:00

With the temperature in the low to mid 90's outside now, walks have become more important to us than ever. We usually have to wait until the late evening to head out, and Stella is always draped with a gauzy blanket until out of the sun, otherwise it's a blinding 5 minute walk to the canal for her. But once were down there it's wonderful. Abby loves to swim, it runs in the family I guess, and she's an awesome jumper, with some pretty impressive splashes and retrieves. We have so much fun on our short walks, I really hope one day soon we'll be able to resume the entire 'loop', which is just over 2 miles down the hill, and around the canal back up the hill to our house. I did the loop often during my pregnancy, and walked it every day the week before Stella's arrival, trying to help things get moving. I love the walk, but there is zero shade, no trees, all sun, so it's tough to be out that long in the direct heat, especially for Stella. I think we'll stick to our short evening trips for now.

mommy checking in on Stell

They were having a 'moment', I love when she looks at him like that.

Just a girl and her dog. This is bound to be one strong companionship between these two, it's love already.

Abby waiting patiently to be allowed into the canal, we make her sit until were close enough to see the water, then she goes charging in, she loves it.

I love the lighting in this picture, how you can see the sunbeams, I never get this lucky with lighting :)

And now for an awesome sequence of Abby jumping into the water, it's rare that I actually get the launch off the side and the entrance into the water, this is pretty neat (I think) :)

Don't forget to check out our awesome first giveaway!

and show some love, click through for a vote :)

Our Little Water Baby

2011-07-11T13:34:00.000-06:00

We spent last Saturday up at Arrowrock Reservoir with our good friends Jayson and Lindzee on their jet boat, It was Stella's second boat trip with them this month! We have such a great time with them, and loved spending the super hot day (it was 93!) out on the water. Stella got her first taste of 'swimming' in the lake, you'll see that below, I actually rode the tube (which I am super afraid to do, but Jayson is a great driver and understands my fears, thankfully!) and only freaked out once... I thought they were going to do circles, and started screaming and waving for them to stop... turns out they were just trying to get me outside the wake to ride the smooth water... oops :). We swam, Brent fished, and we all had a great time out on the water. Stella LOVES the boat, seriously, I think she maybe fussed once or twice, it was a great day. We've got a little water baby on our hands, maybe it's time to start saving for our own piece of fun on the water.

First catch of the day! and one of two... it was a sad day fishing... especially because Brent was the only one who remembered their licence... fail.

Stella says "always wear sunscreen, your lifevest and a UPF 50 hat while on the water!"

and make sure your daddy holds onto you tight over the big bumps

She was chattin' away, loving the boat

and her safety schpeal is done, thanks Stella for the tips!

'aunt' Lindzee driving the boat

and 'uncle' Jayson relaxin'

Look how cute her tankini is!!! Hard to see really, but she enjoyed it :)

Daddy riding the tube!

And what boating trip isnt complete without a good 'ol nap!? she slept for over an hour while we were docked at our beach, naps are important!

So, this is how mommy introduced Stella to the water, just toes at first, and gradually going up to her knees... The water was 73 degrees and so warm, how could she not enjoy it!?!

And this is how daddy introduces her, dunks her naked bottom in up to her belly off the side of the boat, lol. She had pooped and we rinsed her off and let her cool down before getting her dressed again.

She wasnt really happy about being swished around sans pants, lol.

And now for the epic first wipe out of the day, Brent going feet over head off the tube, and I got almost all of it... enjoy :)

"Picnik Show"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

Vacation Time! and my first GIVEAWAY!

2011-07-08T14:46:00.000-06:00

Checkin' out Grandpa Thomas

And showin' him how well she can stand

An Awesome puppy cupcake stand at the Auburn market

Pammy with a bunch of pretty glass flowers

And at a booth of fun signs and bird houses

4 generations here. My Grandma Rea, My mom, Me and Stella (who wasnt quite happy about getting more pictures taken)

Stella with her Great-Grandma Grisham

So... When I was about 6 months pregnant with Stella, I found this adorable crochet book for animals and asked my grandma if she would be willing to make Stella the animals in the book. She thought they were great, and now Stella has a huge stash of crochet animals made with love for her by her great-grandma, something we hope to keep forever and she can pass down to her kids one day. Grandma loved these animals so much, that she kept making them, and now has this huge stash of her own! She makes several animals a day, She's incredibly talented and these are easy-peasy for her. She has found another book, with more animals, and also creates animals from pictures, she's that good! So, keep scrolling down for my first ever giveaway, featuring my grandma's animals!

Stella hangin' with Great Grandma and Auntie.

My beautiful mama

relaxin' with daddy

Playing out in the yard with daddy and grandpa

Hi friends!

Abby Waiting for a toy to be thrown

Stella, Momma and Grandma

Happy girl!! Stella loved visiting with her great grandparents!

We think Stella has a lot of my grandpa's looks in her, I see it in the nose, and face kinda...

This is her new thing, feeling faces, she loves grabbing chins and mouths and noses

Great-Grandpa checkin out his newest great grand baby

I'm pretty sure were all laughing because Abby had just licked Stella's face, it's always pretty hilarious :)

SO... Now for our first giveaway info!!! As you've seen me post many times, particularly here, and in some pictures here , These little stuffed animals are awesome! Stella loves her's, she'll stare at them for every, and is now holding them, chewing on them, and knocking them over. They are so fun!! My grandma is thinking of starting her own Etsy shop to sell these fun and baby safe animals, so I thought I'd do a little feedback to see if there would be interest in them, and what better place to ask for feedback than on my blog?! So, she has graciously agreed to make either 2 small custom animals, or one larger custom sock monkey! What a great first giveaway!!

*These animals are machine washable, and filled with regular cotton batting. She uses hard eyes on the animals and sock monkeys for kids 4 years old and older, babies to 4 years get good 'ol crocheted eyes, so no choking hazards for little ones.

Here are the 4 ways you can enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me about your child's favorite animal, and colors (2 max), and why they would love one of Grandma's Animals.

2. Follow A Snapshot of Our Life publicly on google friend connect (leave a comment letting me know you already follow or are a new follower)

3. 'Like' A Snapshot of Our Life in Facebook (leave a comment letting me know you 'like' us)

4. Let your friends know about our giveaway by posting a link to this giveaway on your own blog, or link up to our Facebook with this giveaway, be sure to let me know when you do.

This Giveaway will close on July 18th, 10 days from now. 1 winner will be chosen and will get to choose their favorite animals to be made in their choice of colors. It will take a week or two to receive the animals, since they are being custom made for you.

Stella napping with all her buddies, including her jumbo sock monkey "ms. pinky" :)

Don't forget to show some love and head on over to vote for us on Top Baby Blogs! The love is much appreciated! :)

Happy Fathers Day!

2011-06-19T23:44:00.000-06:00

I want to wish all of the daddy's out there a wonderful and blessed fathers day!

And to my own husband, and new father, happy first fathers day hun! You have been amazing so far with Stella, I could not have asked for a better partner in life, and a better father to her and our future children. Watching you love her, and cuddle her, and make her smile over these past 3 1/2 months makes me so happy. I appreciate all that you do for us, and all that you are as a husband and father. Stella and I love you.

And a very special happy fathers day to my dad. Thank you for all that you do for us. For being an awesome grandpa to Stella, and for loving Brent, Stell and I. You have always been an incredible dad to Pammy and I, and I love you so much for it!

And to Brent's dad, Jim. Thank you for being so loving to Stella as well. And for raising Brent to be the loving and amazing father he is now. He gives all of his credit to you and Beth, you truly raised a remarkable man.

Happy Fathers Day!

Flashback Friday

2011-06-17T23:00:00.000-06:00

I was just reading up on Flashback Fridays and was sad to see that this will be the last week that Christopher and Tia host the event! I've unfortunately only joined up a few times... mostly because I forget, then realize when its too late... that's just how my brain works now. But today, I want to link up in honor of their last time hosting. This was one of the first fun blog hopping type events that I joined, many months ago, and I truly wish I had done more. So here is my flashback, circa 2004. Mexico with Brent and his parents. We had a wonderful time in Cancun and Tulum, and I really hope we can make it back there soon.

This was new years night, I could not believe how my camera captured this picture, and these fire dancers were incredible!

The cheesy bed pose, but this was a pretty sweet hotel room, it was a full circle! a totally round little condo!

My goodness we look young!!

On top of the tallest Myan ruin in the area, what a view!

Brent's parents on top of the ruin, Love the canopy views!

Sneak Peek!

2011-06-17T11:07:00.004-06:00

Last week I took Stella for a special 3 month photo shoot with Nikki over at Nikki Hoover Photography (which we will affectionately refer to as NHP in all future discussions or posts :) ) I had wanted to surprise Brent with some special new pictures for his office for Father's Day, but cant decide which pictures to get, so I told him he could pick. We'll get them ordered and framed, and he can add some pictures of his beautiful daughter to all of the duck hunting and deer hunting photo's that line his wall at work.

So what do you think? Isn't she growing so fast!! She's so adorable! and when she wasn't looking at the camera she was flirting back and forth with Nikki's youngest son, Weston, who had the most adorable smile and flirty wave for Stella whenever Nikki was trying to get her attention.

and linking up with a couple of new Blog Hops for us! Welcome fellow hoppers!

And if you love our blog, how about a vote?

Were Listed!!!

2011-06-16T11:57:00.000-06:00

I am so excited to finally be listed on Top Baby Blogs! I never really thought I could compete with the big blogs, but finally built up the nerve to apply, and was approved! If you're visiting from TBB, welcome! I am so happy you stopped by to check us out! and if you are a regular follower and love our blog, we would love you right back for clicking through and giving us a vote :)

Happy Blogging!!

My Button....

2011-06-14T13:04:00.000-06:00

So I was just checking things out to make sure everything on the blog worked and linked up properly... and figured out that my blog button doesnt work! I'm so sorry if you've tried to grab my button and were redirected to photobucket... when I first made it I tested it and had no problems... I'm not sure what happened when I must have published it. I think I fixed the problem and now have a working blog button that actually DOES redirect to A Snapshot of Our Life, YAY! So, feel free to grab my newly working button. And, if you display my button on your blog, please let me know so I can add your button on my blog love page :)

Thanks!!

3 Months and Growing!!!

2011-06-12T21:54:00.000-06:00

Stella,

Today you are 3 months old!! You are growing so fast, and have changed so much in the past 13 weeks! You are such a happy girl now, smiling constantly at mommy and daddy, and even people you meet for the first time if you're in the mood. You squeal with pleasure when you see big smiles or when someone pay you special face to face attention. You are such a chatterbox!!! We sit and talk for hours throughout the day, and if we are distracted, you screech and let us know you were not done with our conversation. I have to admit, you make mommy laugh constantly throughout the day, with your many noises and faces you make, you're one hilarious baby girl. You've taken quite the leap on many levels over the last few weeks. You now wiggle and squirm your way all over the place, using your super strong legs to push yourself up and around on the carpet, daddy and I have to watch you carefully to make sure you don't scoot your way into the couch, or make it too far across the room. You also roll back and forth, from your back to sides easily, and once or twice to your tummy, we're thinking you'll be rolling around the room in no time. We are trying to get you to sleep on your own, for more than a couple hours at a time. Last night you actually slept in your travel crib next to our bed, for 4 hours!!! Mommy was so happy!! Hopefully you'll be going almost through the night very soon, with just one feeding in the middle, that would be perfect! Your body is also now absorbing almost all of the food you get from mommy, which means you have taken to only pooping once every 7 or 8 days... which at first scared mommy and daddy a lot, but now we kinda get it's normal, and you're thing, and you're still growing and doing just great, so were not too worried. You love your bath time, and baby massage every evening. You love to snuggle, love your naked time, and love the mirror. We cannot believe how much you've grown and changed so far, and how fast you're developing mentally and changing physically! We are so excited to see what this 3 month of life brings with you, and what changes you'll make over the coming days and weeks.

We both love you so very much baby girl,

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Spending your 3 month birthday on Jayson and Lindsay's boat on the Owhyee Reservoir

You LOVED the boat!!! And your life jacket, thankfully!! You took several naps, usually lulled to sleep by the jetboat engine and the bumps on the water.

Chillin' with daddy on the boat, you were so freakin' adorable in your little life jacket!!! Daddy forgot to get a picture of mommy with you, but that's ok, we'll get one soon hopefully.

I Love Advocare!

2011-06-09T18:36:00.000-06:00

I am very excited to share that I am now a distributor for Advocare! A friend sent me a sample of her "mommy energy juice" of choice, Spark, and ever since that first glass, I've been hooked. With the lack of sleep, trying to keep the house up, my not being a napper, and just overall general exhaustion, I was really needing something to get me going, give me more energy, and help my focus. I have found this in the delicious flavors offered in Spark! So far my favorites are Mandarin Orange, Cherry, and Fruit Punch. The other flavors offered are Pink Lemonade (which I have yet to try), Citrus, and Grape. I like to add a splash of Lemonade or a slice of lime to my drink also, it's so much more summery this way!

This is my stash, I send out samples of my 3 favorite flavors, so if you're interested, shoot me an email or leave a comment for more info :)

I've also started drinking the meal replacement shakes when I feel slightly hungry but don't want to fix a big meal or need something to hold me over until dinner, they are yummy too! Surprisingly not very chalky, like most mix shakes or protein packs are. I ordered them for my sister to keep at her desk at work, she is in an extremely busy season at work right now and often works through her lunch, some days only drinking coffee all day... which is not healthy at all, so hopefully she likes these shakes and finds they help her make it through the day while still providing the nutrients she needs to not drop a ton of weight like usual during busy times.

If you're interested in trying a sample of Spark, please feel free to comment, and/or email me, I just need your address and i'll get one sent out. Or, if you'd like more info and/or to order, you can just click here to go to my direct sales site.

The "Snapshot" part of this blog, and some blog hopping love.

2011-06-09T13:31:00.002-06:00

First off, WELCOME ALEXA BLOG HOPPERS!!! I mean to say this every week, but dont normally get a chance to, so here it is, I love having you here, and hope to check out all of your blogs and send some blog love back!

So, on to the part about why this blog is named "A Snapshot of Our Life".

I had fully intended to have this blog be full of pictures one day. Pictures that I took, that Brent took, and others took of us... but it's been tough with the little around. I also have been slightly discouraged by not knowing how to work out DSLR camera. I really need to get the manual out and read it, cover to cover, to help me learn what some of the not-so-well-known buttons and knobs are on this thing. We have a Nikon D3000, and it is awesome, I just don't know what i'm doing, but i'm working on it. My dear friend and much loved photographer, Nikki Hoover, gave me some great tips the other day on how to take better pictures. She told me to take 100 pictures a day. Of anything. Of everything. Just take pictures. So, That's what I've been doing the past few days, taking pictures of everything, mostly Stella, but a lot of other things also. Today I will share with you the raw, unedited photos, partly because my demanding little one doesn't allow me much time to post, let alone edit, so i'm doing this in kinda a rush... oh how I long for the day that she will go to bed early and I can spend a little bit of time blogging every evening, but for now, I squeeze it in while I can. and trust me, i'm not complaining, I love this little girl, I just wish I could share more adorable photos with friends and family of her :)

So, here goes, some of the best of my 100 photos a day, over the last 3 days,

nom nom towels, she's chewing on everything now

So Tired!

She was waiting for me to throw her bumper

our strawberry plants are producing!

and some berries that came off the plant

The beautiful planters my mom planted for/with me for my first Mothers day, I love them!

A Mule deer shed Brent found in the Nevada mountains

I kinda love this picture, Abby came right up and stuck her nose in my face, how could I not capture it??

Lilly lounging just out of the sun's reach

Napping baby on the back deck, loving the shade on a sunny day

more daddy snuggles

we have one happy baby on our hands...

sometimes...

there's the smiles

and some giggles came with this one

see how her tongue is curled? she's screeching haha

and now just talking

and more excited screeching

so cute!

now just some bubbles

very focused on the camera

my super happy girl

Catching up.... Again...

2011-06-02T22:39:00.000-06:00

I'm realizing more and more.... it's tough to blog with a baby! I have sat down to write up a post and download photos several times, but Stella wakes up from her quick nap, or wont let me put her down, or laundry really needs to be switched and folded, which i'll admit doesn't usually happen until we can no longer see the blankets on the guest bed... but you get the idea. I'm sure all of you have been here, struggling to manage the time as a new mom, and not knowing where all the time goes, because at the end of the day, the pile is 3 loads larger, and all I've managed to do was the dishes and take a shower, which I still consider success.

So since once again, the baby needs her mama, daddy needs a break, I will leave you with the most adorable picture I currently have

Stella, mommy and daddy all dressed up for the Garcia 50th Family reunion dinner last weekend. We had so much fun visiting family and introducing Stella to the whole Garcia crew, what a weekend!!!

2 Month Check up

2011-05-18T15:48:00.000-06:00

Stella had her 2 month checkup this morning and here are her stats:

Weight @ Birth: 7lbs 8oz
Current 2 month weight: 13lbs even!!!
Gain? 5lbs 5oz... our little chunk. She's in the 92nd percentile for weight, my girl likes to eat.

Height @ Birth: 21.5 inches... but 20.5 inches in the Dr's office at 5 days old...
Current 2 month height: 23 3/4
Gain? 3 1/4 inches... she's in the 76th percentile for height, and she's all torso.

Stella was all smiles for Dr. Archibald, her pediatrician. He was very impressed with her head control, her reaction to things, including the blood pressure meter mounted at the wall, at which she kept smiling the whole time, and her overall appearance. She is a SUPER healthy girl! yay!

We talked a lot about sleep. I guess i'm not doing the whole sleep thing right... She doesn't go down until about 11, and sleeps til about 4-5am, then nurses and sleeps for about 3 more hours. Apparently she's supposed to be going to be between 7 and 8pm... I don't know how I feel about this really. She's usually wide awake from 6pm til 10ish, so I have a really hard time believing she should be asleep and in bed by 8pm. I'd love it, really, if she was asleep by then, but she really doesn't follow that schedule. I'm sure when she's a bit older, say around 7 months, she'll hopefully be on more of a early schedule and will be sleeping through the night, but right now while were nursing, i'm not going to push the sleeping all night thing. She gets several wonderful naps during the day, and I know she's getting plenty of sleep, so I'm just going to follow her sleep cues and do what works for her. I am curious though, if you have a young baby (or remember your child's sleep patterns when they were 2 months old), do they sleep from 8pm til morning? I'd love to hear your sleep experiences.

Now for the part that scared me a little. Stella's left side of her head is flat. Really Flat. Like hold a book against it and it's perfectly flat. I hadn't noticed it, although I had noticed she likes to favor laying on that side. Dr. Archibald noticed right away, and wasn't super concerned, he just said we really need to start laying her on her right side to get the plates to even out, it's making her right side bulge into more of an oval rather than a circle like it's supposed to be. If it is worse or not any better at her 4 month appointment, we may end up having to get her a sweet helmet to wear that will even it out with built in plates. So we'll be doing some neck stretches and propping her on her right side to get things evened out, hopefully.

A little on Vaccines

Vaccines are something that I have been doing my research on since before Stella was born. We knew at birth we did not want to give her any of the shots, so we signed wavers against the Hep B shot, the erythromycin, and Vitamin K shot. No biggie. Now comes the big ones, her childhood vaccinations.

We've decided to wait until her 4 month appointment to start her vaccinations. Her pedi is very adamant about vaccinating, so I did a ton of research and was very prepared when he wanted to know why we're waiting. He's really only adamant about 3 of the required vaccines, HIB, DTaP, and Pc, the others he's not so pushy about, thankfully. I'm ok with the HIB (a strain of meningitis), it's essentially Glucose water, with a little bit of saline, and the dead virus/bacterium complex, and depending on the brand it has some tetanus or diphtheria virus in it. It's the least invasive of all the vaccines. DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussus) is the biggie that we want to avoid. I wish they made just the pertussus vaccine, it would be so much better to give it alone than to have it with two other vaccines that are meant to protect adults. The DTaP vaccine has aluminum, formaldehyde and/or mercury in it... depending on the brand/maker/mix. yes they are small amounts, but why even chance it? Pc (Pneumococcus/ Pneumococcal Disease) is supposed to protect kids from the common cold turning into Pneumonia, a blood stream infection, or meningitis. This one is a bit more scary, because it deals with lung diseases, which are much more transmittable than most of the other diseases there are vaccines for. I had bronchitis last year, which could easily have turned into Pneumonia, but i'm thankful it didn't, but it made me realize that it is very easy to get to the scary point that could land you in the hospital for treatment. I don't ever want to go through that with a baby, so we'll probably get this vaccine at the 4 month check up. Unfortunately, this shot also contains aluminum, so we'll be staggering the Pc and DTaP vaccines to be sure Stella does not get too much aluminum in her system at once, it's just not safe, and the side affects far outweigh the benefits for us at this point. We are healthy, i'm breastfeeding, she has no older siblings, she does not go to daycare, or really have much contact with older children in general, and we just don't agree with overloading her body with a vaccination that is the same amount given to children as is given to adults. Of course this is all just our opinion, and I do hope that each and every parent will fully research the vaccines that their child will be receiving, and make their own, informed decision on what is best for their child.

After all that fun info, I thought I'd throw in some cute pics from this week,

Hangin' out with daddy before he left for a week and a half for work. Shirt? 6 months, Pants? Newborn... yep, daddy dressed her :)

Napping in the moby, her new daily napping spot. She will only sleep about a half hour laying on her own, so the moby is where she will sleep for a good 2+ hours in the middle of the day, a much needed break for mommy to get some things done around the house.

Bath time! We bought Stella a baby bathtub last week so I wouldn't have trouble bathing her while Brent is gone. She loves it! She is so calm, and just hangs out and kicks her legs in the water.

She started crying when I pulled her out of the tub... I see a battle coming at bath time when she's older.

Baby Legs!! I love her face and hand placement! Stell has several pairs of babylegs that she has yet to be able to wear, they now fit her chubby little thighs, but are still too long. I just bunched them up and she loves them.

She's such a happy girl hangin' out in her fluff!!! her legs are blurry because she wouldn't stop kicking her legs! She's so cute!

This was part of a series of smiles that I was trying to catch, but kept getting sorta smiles, she's still adorable though.

2 Months and Growing!

2011-05-13T13:52:00.000-06:00

Stella Jean,

Yesterday you turned 2 months. 2 MONTHS baby girl!!! It boggles my mind how much you've changed in the past 8 and a half weeks. You now love to smile at random times, sometimes all it takes is meeting a new friend, mommy or daddy smiling at you with a big bright face, getting kisses from auntie, or your favorite, most happiest time, nakey time. Oh how you love to be naked! You are perfectly content just hangin' out on your changing table, wearing nothin' but the safetly belt. You cry when we have to get you dressed again, so we usually try to allow at least half hour of nakey time a couple times a day.

You have become so much more alert over the past month baby girl. You wake up ready to take in all the day has to offer you, which lately has been a lot of sunshine. The past few days we've slept in, woken up to birds chirping and heading straight out to the back deck for some fun in the sun. You're always plopped right under the umbrella, but you're happy as a clam to feel the breeze on your legs and face, and see the bright green grass. So many thing catch your attention now, birds flying by, Abby giving you kisses (they don't bother you thankfully, you actually seem to smirk a little now), daddy spinning the umbrella, reflections of light off the windows. You'll move your head back and forth to take it all in, I cant wait until you can crawl around to start putting feelings and touch together with the things you love to look at.

We've caught you starting to look at your hands, your eyes get big, and you move them around your face a few times, then it's over and they are just another thing you don't quite realize exist. You've also been getting into more of a regular pattern for sleeping and alertness. Last night you slept for a full 6+ hours!! Mommy was extremely thankful for that, even if you didn't go down until almost midnight. You are much more happy in the morning after a good nights sleep, and then you get a good nap from about 1 til 3ish, then head into the rough part of the day. Were guessing you're a little colicky, you like to fuss pretty loudly for several hours every evening. If only we could figure out a good routine that would make you happy all day... but for now, fussing a little at night isnt a bad thing, as long as you sleep well afterwards.

Another big first you did this month!? You took your first BIG road trip!!! Grandma, mommy and you drove from Boise to Auburn last week so you could meet your grandpa Kelly and a lot of other family members. You actually did a great job on the way there, only really fussing when you were hungry or needed changing, and we made it almost to Ellensburg without really having to keep you occupied with the paci, Thankfully grandma sacrificed her left arm to reach back and keep you content, she had back pain and bruises all week to prove it. You met so many people on this trip Stella, Grandpa Kelly, Uncle Dane, Great Grandma Grisham, and several friends of ours! It was a wonderful trip, daddy even came to celebrate mommy's first Mothers Day with us, which was extra special because of you, and because mommy spent the day with her mommy and Brent's mommy. I couldn't have asked for a better trip. Even with the not so great drive home... Thankfully daddy flew back over to drive us, and he was more than patient with stops. We stopped 6 times! you did NOT like being in the car for so long this time... and our trip ended up being 11+ hours instead of the normal 7. I'm thinking next time we drive to visit family, it should be at night time.

I don't have any current stats to share with you right now baby girl, but I'll be sure to post them when we go in for your 2 month check up in the next week or two. If I had to guess i'd say you were between 12 and 13 lbs... and about 24-25 inches long. You're our little chunk, and we adore you and your little rolls.

We love you baby girl, you have brought so much happiness into mommy and daddy's lives, and we love watching you grow.

(I'll post her 2 month picture tonight when we get a good shot, it's been a bit sunny here this week and it's too bright out to take pictures during the day.)