Randoms

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

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.

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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

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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

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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 

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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

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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!!

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!



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More visitors

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!

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!!!


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