Sneak Peek... 6 months

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!!!

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.

"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

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!!!