The Many Adventures of Stella

Us at dinner

2011-05-07T18:42:00.001-07:00

Dinner at the Temecula Creek Inn.

New blog address

2010-07-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

I've started a new blog for Luke & Stella rather then trying to do two for each kid. It has been hard to keep up with both and since they are really interacting together it seems their stories are becoming so intertwined it didn't make sense to keep individual blogs.

Here is the new link!! All our love...
Presenting the Amazing Luke and Stella
http://lukeandstella.blogspot.com

Mama!!

2010-07-05T23:25:00.001-07:00

Today Luke started calling me Mama and I asked him why. His response was quite simple: Cause sister is calling you Mama. I hadn't noticed as I've really only heard her babble Dada and Baba....Well a few hours later I walked by her and I clearly heard, Mama, Mama....baba. Well suffice to say I'm through the roof...she knows who I am!

She is so GORGEOUS....

2010-06-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

The ladies at day care are right Stella is gorgeous....we hear it every day and these photos confirm it. I can't tell if it is her dimples, her eyes, her big smile or just her fantastic disposition. Doesn't really matter we love her and think she is just the tops!

It most definitely has been awhile

2010-06-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

Ok a lot has happened in the many weeks it has been since I last blogged....

Stella is now crawling...she can cross the room a lot faster then we can keep up with. We are having to remember how we "blocked" access to various areas within our house previously when Luke was at this stage. It is actually funny how we go about it. We moved into this house when Luke was the same age Stella currently is and our conversations seem to go "oh remember this is how we did this" or "this is how we made sure Luke didn't bonk his head on the fireplace".

Luke being a precocious two year old makes sure to let his sister know what not to do...the kid can repeat anything we say with the right inflection and tone. It is a little scary at times. He also can be a little bossy but at least the kid knows what he wants and how he wants it.

So last week we took a big family vacation and went camping. We went to my family's favorite camping site near Yosemite. We had a blast. At first we had thought perhaps Stella and I wouldn't go since things at work are just so chaotic but I said screw that I'm going and I'm taking Stella with me. We missed the trip last year as I was just too pregnant to deal with sleeping in a tent and using pit toilets. This year was our fifth trip and my Dad, Uncles and Cousins 10th year. My family actually has been going to this area since the 50's. It is always fun to hang out, sit around the fire and spend time together in the outdoors. The kids loved it.

Clapping it's the new activity

2010-06-03T10:48:00.000-07:00

Stella has discovered the wonderful world of clapping. She is becoming quite the expert! Last night we sat around in a family circle singing if you're happy and you know it clap your hands...and she did repeatedly when it came to that verse. Of course when it was time to show Daddy she clammed up but Luke and I saw it!!! I don't want to hear how it could have been coincindental cause I believe she is a genius....

In other Stella news - she is progressing with her crawling hasn't quite grasped it but she can motor across a room using many different skills. It is funny to leave for a second to find her completely somewhere different from where I had left her. Apparently the other day at school she had a toy one of the other girls wanted and she just rolled away from the baby as fast as she could giggling the whole time. Such a prankster.

Luke has been getting his sister in stitches as well. I have some good video where he is playing peek-a-boo with her and she is just cracking up. The girl loves to laugh...even when she is crying she smiles.

She is such awe of Luke it is adorable. It is obvious she looks up to him, you can just see it in the way she gazes at him. Luke is a fan of Stella and the more she gets social the more he wants to play with her. He is starting to get a little "rough" with her and tries to tumble/tackle her but we are doing our best to keep an eye on them. He isn't really menacing about it but when you see it happen it can be a little surprising. I'm sure being an only child myself I don't quite understand as Curtis keeps explaining it as "well that's what siblings do, it's his sister". So I guess I need to research sibling rivalry so I can understand or grasp the concept. By the way, this doesn't happen a lot there are more cute things happening with their interactions such as....

Luke yelling, "sister, sister watch" or "sister look at this" or "hey sister, that's Luke's toy".

9 month check-up

2010-05-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Stella had her 9 month check-up! She is reaching her milestones quite well....even though one of the photos previously posted might suggest she has an abnormally large noggin ;-)....heeheee

She has actually slowed down in her growth a bit but the doctor isn't concerned. She is currently 17.11lbs; 27" long & her head puts her in the 50 percentile (weight & height has her in the 25%). Ok so maybe (just maybe) her dome is a little big so is Luke's and he is a super genius!!!!

We are in just about to start toddler-dom soon and I'm not sure I'm ready. I have already weened Stella so I could start my darn cholesterol meds and I really miss nursing her. I still bond with her but it is sad sometimes that that phase is passed and over.

It is interesting sometimes to notice how we interact with her. The more active she gets the more we are aware that Luke takes up a lot of attention. So we are doing our best to make sure to include her in everything. Luckily Luke loves playing with her and letting her know which toys are his and which are hers. Honestly though he is pretty good about sharing so that makes things a lot easier.

Sunday Stella got upset about something (I think she hit herself with a toy) and she was crying and Luke came over and gave her a bunch of kisses to get better. It was absolutely adorable. He also let's us know when his sister is upset or is crying (as if we can't hear her). He really likes us to do something to help sister.

One Luke note: his new phrase is "No Way"....for everything it is "No Way".

9 months already

2010-05-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

I can't believe she is already 3/4 of a year old. Stella's birthday is just around the corner - where has this first year gone? Stella has hit so many milestones in the last month it is crazy. She has finally started to sleep through the night (as long as she isn't sick), she has her two bottom teeth, she is getting on all fours and rocking (a prelude to crawling), she loves to interact and play with Luke and she has a little boyfriend named Caden. Caden just started last week at day care and apparently made a bee-line to Stella. He holds her hand which has gotten Curtis all in a tizzy....;-) Dads & Daughters...thought we wouldn't run into this for another 14-16 years.

Mother's Day

2010-05-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

Almost there - she is going to be crawling any day now!

We had a lovely Mother's Day with the kids & Nana, Papa & Sarah. We started our day with Curtis and I having our golf lessons and then we went to brunch with Kristin and the kids. After that we went to Santa Monica and met up with everyone and had lunch on the pier. It was a gorgeous day. The kids enjoyed being outside and riding around in their strollers looking at all the people. We took a ride on the carousel with Luke and we saw a sea lion catching some lunch in the water. We finished the day with the kids and I painting in the backyard. It was a lovely day all around.

Stella News...

2010-05-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

She has her first two teeth!!! The bottom middle ones have come in...which explains all the bad sleeping habits she had gotten into lately. Whew it wasn't us spoiling her.
She has really mastered the art of sitting and is now on her way to crawling...yikes.
She amazes me every day with her changes.
She is starting her babbling and has really gotten good at saying dadadada and babababa.
Oh yeah and she is sleeping through the night hoorah!!! This has been a milestone that kept eluding us but has finally settled in.
She is really good at eating and we have already moved her onto yogurt and teething crackers. I have pretty much weened her though I do get the longing every now and then. It can be so nice just to sit and enjoy the moment and know there is nothing else you can do right now but be one with the baby. Of course when I was nursing all the time I wasn't nearly as blissed out as I was during the last few sessions and it definitely took me two months to get this kid to latch correctly! But I'm now missing it on occasion and knowing that I am done with birthing babies I get a bit nostalgic at times.

As I mentioned on Luke's blog I'm probably going to condense the two blogs into one in the next few months for ease and so that I hopefully will be able to update everyone a little more often. At times the idea of updating two blogs can be a handful and if I don't write down what is happening I tend to forget. Both kids are changing so much and so fast I want to make sure I can get as many good moments documented as possible.

Sharing her bed...

2010-04-17T07:24:00.000-07:00

The other night we put Luke & Stella in Stella's crib together - they were really cute playing together. Luke had wanted to stay when it was time to go to sleep but we told him he was too big and sister was too small to share a bed but in a few years they could if they wanted to.

8 months already

2010-04-17T07:17:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are only 4 months away from Stella's first birthday. This first year is flying by. I hadn't done a monthly comparison in photos of Stella in a long time so I thought it would be interesting to do one now. She truly is becoming quite the beauty and man does she have a smile!!!

7 months 6 months

5 months

4 months

3 months

note: I'm a bit of a technotard and I recently changed some kind of setting (I'm the typical user) so now I can't quite post as prettily as I would like...with that in mind I can't figure out how to label the photos with the cooresponding month but these are shown chronologically!!

Monday morning blues....

2010-04-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

While I am the first to admit that two kids is a lot more work and a lot harder then I had ever thought (really not hard but more time consuming then I ever thought possible) I am truly missing hearing and playing with them today. I got some nice play time with Luke this morning and got to roll around with Stella for a few minutes which is always nice.
And I do have to say that I know if I was at home I would probably be looking forward to that 12p nap time right about now but that doesn't change that fact that sometimes going back to work on Mondays is tricky....I admit I want it all...the job, the family, the bigger house, the domestic goddess lifestyle. And I realistically know some days you just have to compromise to get all of that and today is the day.
But seriously what I wouldn't do right now to hear Luke say, "Play mommy" and for Stella to stare at me and smile!!!!
Curtis actually had to kick me out of the living room this morning so he could feed Stella as she wouldn't eat she was so busy watching me walk back & forth going from room to room. It doesn't help that the house is the size of a shoe box but it is our current shoe box and we love it.

Please make this last...

2010-04-11T13:07:00.000-07:00

Stella is finally "sleeping" through the night. She gets up once at around 3-4a for about 10 mins takes a little snack and heads blissfully back to sleep. I really wish she would take a pacifier though it would make it so much easier. She has also really gotten good at soothing herself back to sleep which has been a tremendous help to us as before she would just cry until we got her.
I'm in the process of weaning her since I need to get on some cholesterol meds (thanks genetics!) which I think has been a harder adjustment on me then on her. I'm down to only the middle of the night snack which means pretty soon she will be completely dependent upon the bottle. She is going to be 8 months next week so I'm thinking it is time anyways. We have started her on a sippy cup and she is now having two "solid" meals per day in addition to a bunch of formula. I can't believe how fast she is growing and how the time is just flying by I feel the time has gone even faster with her then it did with Luke.
Thankfully with all the growing up she is doing she is really starting to interact with Luke. The two of them are such good friends right now. They love to play together on the floor and Luke does his best to include her as much as possible though we really need to be careful he doesn't feed her anything. He is really on this kick of sharing his food!!!!

This sitting thing is easy...

2010-04-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

Disneyland!!!!

2010-04-11T12:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some great pictures of Stella at Disneyland!!!!

This morning....

2010-04-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

Fun time waster...

2010-03-31T14:11:00.000-07:00

I was goofing around at work and came across this site today that had me enter in my birthday, Curtis' birthday & Stella's birthday so that I could get a milestone chart. It is encouraging to see that she will be sitting up soon (which we knew was happening pretty quickly) and to see that there is still a lot of wonderful things to look forward to. Which right now we could use some positive reminders as we are exhausted (another long night with Stella thinking it was time to play between 12:30 & 2:30a!) and I'm fighting a cold!!!
Anyways - here is the chart (I posted Luke's on his blog).
Congratulations your little girl will:
Smile at you in December 2009. Mom, you’ll be 35; Dad, you’ll be 35.
Sit up in April 2010. Mom, you’ll be 35; Dad, you’ll be 35.
Say a first word in October, 2010. Mom, you’ll be 36; Dad, you’ll be 35.
Start walking in December, 2010. Mom, you’ll be 36; Dad, you’ll be 36.
Start preschool in September, 2013. Mom, you’ll be 39; Dad, you’ll be 38.
Go to kindergarten in September, 2014. Mom, you’ll be 40; Dad, you’ll be 39.
Lose a first tooth in October, 2015. Mom, you’ll be 41; Dad, you’ll be 40.
Start junior high in September, 2022. Mom, you’ll be 48; Dad, you’ll be 47.
Get a driver’s license in October, 2025. Mom, you’ll be 51; Dad, you’ll be 50.
Be eligible to vote in October, 2027. Mom, you’ll be 53; Dad, you’ll be 52.
Graduate from college in October, 2031. Mom, you’ll be 57; Dad, you’ll be 56.
They sure do grow up fast, don’t they?

School pictures

2010-03-29T21:08:00.001-07:00

Here are Stella's first school pictures (nice and big!). Seriously folks how can you not stare at her picture all day long...if only the best baby contests would take professional pictures for submissions. She would win hands down (I know, I know I'm biased but hey someone needs to toot my kids horn!...well besides the grandparents!).

Pop-Pop's visit

2010-03-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned on Luke's blog my Dad came down for a quick weekend visit with the kids and us. We had a lovely relaxing weekend though Luke was sick all Saturday with a fever that has now turned into Roseola or it was Roseola the whole time. Anyways, we had a nice time catching up and hanging out. On Saturday morning we all walked down to the park by the library and the kids did some goofing around. I took Stella down her first slide and she loved it - I think we have a future daredevil here.

As I have mentioned before Stella is really coming into her own now. She is rolling over like it is old news. She sits up for longer periods of time and is really trying to creep forward when she is on her stomach.

My Dad got to experience the full force of two kids in the house this weekend and he may have gone home with a little cold. He saw first hand the chaos that we call our family and the reasons as to why we are a little sleep deprived (Stella was up every hour on the hour last night). I think she was fighting a head cold and an upset tummy.
She is really enjoying her solids and I'm starting to ween so I'm sure that has something to do with it. I had wanted to try and breastfeed for the full year but I just got news that my cholesterol is really high and my doctor feels I need to go on medicine which I can't take while breastfeeding. It is getting time anyways as work is really starting to get busy but I am going to miss that extra bonding with my daughter and the quiet time at work!!!!
Anyways, back to my Dad's visit. My Dad is a master gardener and Curtis and I have been talking about wanting to put in a little garden for this summer. So my Dad watched how the sun moved across our yard for his first two days here and suggested where we should plant our first plant bed. Curtis and he then went and did some plant shopping and we now have a small garden! We are very excited to be able to eat our own vegetables, show our children the importance of patience and tending to something with care and forethought. Curtis had also been dying to get the topsy-turvy to plant some tomatoes so this gave him the excuse. We now have a good variety to start with and have it still be small enough to see how we can do with the commitment of a garden. I am looking forward to the fresh strawberries and bell peppers. There is nothing like a fresh vegetable or fruit eaten straight off the vine that has been warmed by the morning sun. In addition to our vegetable garden I've been slowly and actually quite lazily trying to grown some flowers. Luke and I have been planting bulbs and few have started to bloom. We also planted some vegetable seeds that I'm hoping we can transplant into the garden in a few weeks.

She has a little friend

2010-03-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the kids daycare had a teacher appreciation party that I went to. I got to speak with both kids daycare providers and talk about their life away from us. As Miss Robyn and I began talking I discovered Stella already has a little buddy. Stella's group is made up of 4 girls and 1 boy!! Her little buddy is Angeline. Apparently Angeline loves to role over to Stella and hold her hand. How adorable. This weekend Stella was rolling over a lot so I have a feeling she will be returning the jester pretty soon.
Stella is starting to enter the phase of not wanting to be alone in a room (can't say I blame her we are pretty cool people most of the time) and she really hates it when Mommy walks right by her and disappears. She really let's us know it by her piercing screams. Good times let me tell you.
This has been really great at bedtime. Luckily Luke can ignore her or he tries to tell her stories to see if she will calm down. The best is when he shsshhs her. It doesn't have the effect he thinks it should have.
Anyways, we are really trying to get a bedtime routine set up with her (the same as Luke's) which means her bedtime is moving a little bit. This is fine since both kids still seem to be thrown off from the time change.
Other sleeping news, Stella is finally doing really well at night. NO she isn't sleeping through the night yet but she is only waking up at around 1a for a quick feed (should be easy to break her of soon) and then again at 5:45a or 6a.
Sometimes we really have to remind ourselves (and probably her doctor) that since she was born almost a month early she is a little behind the "standard" milestones.
We know this next month she is going to be doing so much, she is really holding her bottle now, she is sitting up for longer periods of time, she is starting to show signs of teething, she is really rolling over and creeps a bit while on her belly. So we are in for a very exciting few months!!!

I know I like to brag...

2010-03-19T23:55:00.001-07:00

but seriously folks, she is just the cutest!!!

I just want to cuddle her all day

2010-03-17T22:07:00.000-07:00

Stella is really changing every day. She is in that great baby phase, no longer a newborn not yet a crawler. Her parents are the best thing in the world and she can't live without them. These are the days I just want to cuddle and play. The great spring air, weather, sunshine and the longer days only want to encourage all of this to an even greater passion then before. I've always loved spring, spring in LA is a very wonderful smell. Spring in Texas is a color splash with fields of exploding flowers. Spring in San Francisco is green headlands and sunny days with fewer hours of fog. The days are finally getting longer and we are no longer stuck in the doldrums of the winter short day, the gray of rain and trees without leaves and lawns that are brown. Spring reminds me of the life I have created twice with my kids, once with my marriage and again with everyday that I breathe.
YAY spring is here...bring on the love fest.

She loves her food, baths & hats!!

2010-03-17T22:02:00.001-07:00

7 months

2010-03-15T16:25:00.001-07:00

Wow - how did the first half of Stella's first year go by so fast? I can't believe she is already passed that milestone. I don't have any pictures on my work computer to upload unfortunately.
I do have a small list of Stella's current favorite things:
She loves to eat - though it doesn't help her sleep through the night yet.
She loves to make raspberries with her mouth.
She loves to laugh and has a bunch of tickle spots.
Her brother is a world of endless fascination.
She sleeps with two loveys and a glowing seahorse that plays music.
Her toes are the most peculair things she has found.
She really wants to control her spoon when eating!!

Mondays are hard!

2010-03-15T16:11:00.001-07:00

We had a great weekend hanging out as a family. We didn't do much we played and cleaned Saturday and had Jen & Craig over for dinner. We spent most of Sunday trying to find our "dream" table at antique stores. I have found variations of the table set we want online but it is a bit more then I want to spend but I may have to breakdown and buy. Though I really feel I should be able to find a used version.

Yesterday we all went out to a very early dinner at El Torito and had a nice time together. It's been awhile that we have gone out to eat and not end up having to rush out with food in to-go boxes. I have to say that was a big treat!!!!

So it is Monday and work is a little slow today so I'm really missing my little Stella-bean and I wish I could just leave and go get the kids.

Stella is really getting good at sitting up without support though rolling over is still happening sporadically. I keep reminding myself that Stella was born almost a month early so she is a little behind the curve on some of this stuff but I know once she starts sitting, she will start rolling and then creeping and crawling. She hasn't gotten any teeth yet either but I'm sure those will start coming in soon. It will all start to happen at once I'm sure.

Anyways, I miss her and Luke tremendously today and can't wait to get out of here and go play with them!!!

Pop-Pop's true gift

2010-03-12T23:00:00.000-08:00

A visit from the once and future princess, the newest grandkid and only granddaughter!!!

school pics

2010-03-09T14:22:00.001-08:00

Stella has gotten her first school pics...here is a little sneak peak. She is just tooo precious.

My sick little princess

2010-03-09T11:00:00.001-08:00

During the Oscars Stella got all cuddly just kind of chilled on my shoulder. Curtis and I both noticed this isn't quite normal and looked at each other going something is wrong. Sure enough she had a little fever. So yesterday I stayed home with her to make sure she was soothed and comforted by her mommy.
Now her is my dilemma...is it wrong to take a little enjoyment in my daughter being sick??? I found today that I felt even closer to her then before (if that is even possible) and just really enjoyed being able to comfort her all day yesterday.
I got to hold her most of the day in my arms while she took little naps and ate. She ate all day long since I think her throat was really bothering her and the milk helped sooth & coat her throat.
The doctor is really encouraging us to allow her to play on her own and not to over hold her so she doesn't get spoiled. Which I understand and it is what we did with Luke but I'm having a bit of a hard time as I know she is my last baby and I just don't want this phase to end yet!!!
Though I really don't want a spoiled little princess...just a happy little flirty fairy princess...there is a difference in my world!!!!

She rolled over!!!!

2010-03-05T09:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning we were doing some tummy time and Stella rolled from her belly to her back!!! She is getting really close to rolling from her back to belly too.
Stella's nickname at day care is Happy...which I think is totally appropriate. She is just such a cutie-pie. I'm so enjoying this age right now. She is all smiles when she wakes up in the morning and flashes those dimples to both Curtis and I and our hearts just melt. I just want to lay in bed with her all day.
She thinks Luke is just the most awesome kid. Last night she was sitting with her Nana on the couch and Luke was jumping up and down and doing a little dancing and she was laughing up a storm. The two of them just get such a kick out of each other it is adorable. I know when they are older and fighting over toys we are going to miss these moments.
Luke is starting to understand that Stella has her own toys and when we ask them to bring them to her he does and he will sometimes place them in her hand and show her how to use them. She is a pretty quick study and loves it when he helps.
Luke also tried to feed her a pretzel & some milk so we need to keep an extra eye on them sometimes. I think I'm going to have him help feed her a bottle this weekend since he seems to have some nurturing instincts with her.
She is also getting very good at holding the bottle on her own. She isn't quite there yet but everyday she holds it a bit longer then the day before.
Oh & the girl loves to eat!!! She is really taking to the purees! I need to get some photos up of her eating it is precious.

The happiest baby ever...

2010-03-01T08:43:00.000-08:00

Stella is such a happy baby it is wonderful. We took her and showed her off this weekend at my Dad's 60th extravaganza. She was passed around and cuddled by all kinds of people and she did it with a smile, a laugh, a coo and a snuggle. She is just a doll. Now if we could only get her to sleep through the night.

We are having a hard time with her night time sleep lately. She keeps getting a cough that wakes her up. We can usually get her to calm down with some rocking or a small feed but within 15 to 20 mins she wakes up again. The doctor keeps saying it isn't anything to worry about but it is honestly driving us crazy. We are getting really sleep deprived and not sure what to do.

We know she could sleep through the night as she doesn't need to feed in the middle of the night anymore. But it is just this yucky cough. I'm guessing I just need to push her doctor for some kind of imaginary cure.

6 months already...WTF mate!!??

2010-02-17T20:16:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow Stella goes in for her 6th month check up. I can't believe she is already that old. Where has the time gone? She still hasn't rolled over but she is getting so close. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that she was 3.5 weeks early so I'm trying not to stress about it too much. She is turning into quite the little laugher. She has a cute smile and coo about her when she finds something amusing which is pretty much most of the time. Luke and I apparently are endless punch lines. She loves to watch Curtis walk through the room and you can already tell she has her Daddy's number.
I put her in the exersaucer tonight and she has grown so much in the last two weeks I can't believe it. She doesn't really need anything to prop her up anymore. She was playing with the toys and giggling.
I'm still adjusting to life back at work. It is starting to get a bit tougher to do this whole mommy/work/life thing. There is always so much to do and so little time to oneself, family, husband, friends and work. We are trying to schedule our nights & weekends but there is just a lot always going on. We went from have nice easy going days while I was on maternity leave to a whirlwind of to-do's. And yes we are having fun but there are definitely times where it seems life is getting away and I'm not able to stop and take a moment and look at my family. Well except when the kids are asleep am i able really to look at them but at that point I'm so crossed-eyed from exhaustion I might as well be asleep already.
Who know that Curtis and I would think going to bed at 9:30p was late....

She's just too cute....

2010-02-16T10:49:00.000-08:00

One of those days...

2010-02-16T09:11:00.000-08:00

Three day weekends are a blessing as they allow us as a family to spend a lot of time together but come that following Monday or Tuesday it becomes harder then normal to go to work. I'm really missing my little Stella. She got pink-eye again and had a bit of a tough night coughing a lot so she slept with us which is starting to become a bad habit that I am having a hard time wanting to break. I can see how she can become very easily spoiled. Since I know she is the last baby all I want to do is hold her and cuddle her but this leads to bad habits and we've done such a great job with Luke I need to make sure we still follow the rules we started out with.
Either way doesn't help the current Tuesday blues...I just need to put my head down and get working...

Stella's eyes have changed color!!

2010-02-02T09:10:00.000-08:00

The other day I noticed that Stella's eyes were starting to change color a bit and it now appears she may have green eyes like her mommy. It was kind of surprising I just figured her eyes would stay blue like her brother's but as the saying goes, "each child is a their own individual" duh!!!!
I will try and get a good shot of her eyes this weekend.
In other news she is really close to rolling over and loves to sleep on her side. It is the best during the morning feed (that's the 5am feed) when she is done eating she just curls up to me while we are both laying on our sides. I love the snuggling and warmth. I'm lapping it up as much as I can though it makes getting out of bed hard some mornings.

Day Care newsletter

2010-02-01T11:52:00.000-08:00

I think I can finally see a little of myself in Stella!!!! She is in the two top pictures - the one on the right has some similiarities to me...I think.

Rolling over...almost

2010-01-26T20:31:00.000-08:00

Stella is getting really close to rolling over...she loves to chill on her side.

Uncle Danny is a pro...

2010-01-26T20:13:00.000-08:00

or maybe not...at least they are both smiling!!

I think someone is...

2010-01-26T20:07:00.000-08:00

Trying to tell me something....

Stella and Luke's first bath

2010-01-26T20:05:00.000-08:00

Tonight we gave Stella and Luke their first bath together. It went pretty well. Luke stayed in his end of the tub and Stella made sure not to splash him! My pictures did not come out very well....oh well next time I guess.

Playing with her dolly....

2010-01-25T15:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a fuzzy picture from my phone of Stella "playing" with her doll in her high chair. She has been getting held so much from being sick that I'm getting worried she won't ever be happy if she isn't being held...

Stella is growing up so fast...she has just experienced her first cold and it has been a doozy. Poor thing keeps coughing and it keeps her (and everyone else) awake at night as well as causing some serious vomiting sessions due to the congestion she has...Curtis got to experience it first hand at 5am the other morning. It's funny now but not then let me tell you....

5 months can you believe it!

2010-01-15T23:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of her through the months - I can't believe she is already 5 months old. Where did the maternity leave go...how did she get so big, so fast?????
Thank god she isn't a newborn anymore, I don't do well with newborns, they make me nervous.

Wow this girl can make her presence known....

2010-01-15T22:55:00.000-08:00

So I'm not quite sure why (well I have some ideas how) but Stella has got some serious gas. The poor thing wakes up sometimes from being uncomfortable though a bit of comfort and some milk helps calm her. But man once she relaxes boy does she let out a stench. I feel embarrassed for her, at school apparently one of the day care providers was convinced someone had a dirty diaper and didn't believe Miss Robin when she said, "Nope no one is dirty, it's just Stella." Oh my poor stinky little girl. I'm hoping it is a phase and eventually this awful gas will just go away. Seriously this girl can clear a room and I'm not kidding!!!
Oh the embarrassment this story will have on her at 13, 14, 15....

Laughing and playing

2010-01-11T21:44:00.000-08:00

Here is Luke waking up his sister!!! I know Stella is just gonna follow him around wanting to play all the time. Luckily he seems to want to play with her as well.

What a time it's been

2010-01-11T09:47:00.001-08:00

Stella has celebrated her first New Year's, Christmas, road trip, is about to turn 5 months old and started day care. I've returned to work and do miss my lazy days with Stella though I'm enjoying returning to work (especially the day's end when I can rush home to hold and cuddle my gorgeous daughter). She is already a hit at day care and the women say we should change her name to "Gorgeous".

She is showing signs of having a wonderful personality and loves to flash her dimples at everyone. She is growing so fast that pretty soon I know she will be too big to continue to be the cuddle bug she is now.

She has taken to sleeping through the night and that is GREAT!. She woke up at 5:40a this morning which is perfect as we need to be up at 6am to start getting ready for the day.

Alright, time for me to head off to the Mommy room.

She's a big girl now

2009-12-09T00:28:00.000-08:00

Stella has made the transition to her bed! We have finally broken down the pack-n-play in our room and have committed to having her sleep exclusively in her crib. So far it is going really well. She is pretty much sleeping through the night. She will sleep until about 5am and then go back to sleep until around 7am when her brother gets up. Usually Curtis has time to get Luke dressed, fed and Sesame Street started by the time she wakes up. This works out quite nicely for me as it allows me an extra 30 mins of sleep and I don't have to worry about entertaining Luke while I feed Stella. We shall see how we handle all this when I head back to work on January 4th.

Speaking of work I took both kids in to the office today with the help of Kristin. I wasn't sure how they would handle all the strangers peering and making cutie-pie faces at them. Luckily they did surprisingly well. My first visit with Luke was awful but then I was extremely nervous bringing him in. I don't do well with showing off my kids to my co-workers. Anyways, everyone was great and said wonderful things about the kids.

And of course they all asked if I was ready to come back. My response..."eh sure". I know I will be happy when I get back to my job but I also know this little fantasy world I have been playing in has been fun especially these last few weeks. I've finally gotten the physical and emotional parts of my recovery handled and I'm relishing being a stay at home mom. I've recently realized this is the only time in my life that I am going to be able to do this. The next time I anticipate having this much time on my hands I plan on being retired and my children will be out of the house. It is a sad but yet invigorating feeling. Which means in my next 3 1/2 weeks I really need to make a go of it!!!

Of course it is Christmas time and that also is a great wonderful time sucker but I do hope to get Luke to the Aquarium for a Luke and Mommy day and I hope to have a few last days of just Stella and I doing Mommy/Daughter stuff (shopping, watching chick flicks, laughing at the boys). No matter what I'm going to hold both my kids as much as I can and spoil them rotten with my love. It's a mother's right!!!!

Jumping Bean

2009-12-09T00:17:00.000-08:00

Fun times with Luke

2009-12-09T00:09:00.000-08:00

Here are some great pics of Stella and Luke "playing"

She's so BIG!!!

2009-12-09T00:03:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Stella is already going to be 4 months old. I put her in the Johnny Jump-up yesterday and she really likes it. She also can sit in her high chair and she is so OVER her swing. The times they are a changing...

Stella's really big adventures

2009-12-08T23:43:00.001-08:00

So Stella is a US traveler now.... I can't say world traveler yet!!! But she has been to Texas!!!!!
Stella was a big hit with her Mimi and Papa in Bryan. She even dressed up for the big game between A&M & UT.

Stella was a great flier she slept on both flights. We were able to take direct flights which is always a blessing when taking long flights. Thankfully the flights were full of other children so we were not too worried about being the only people on the flight with the screaming kids and even better our kids (as well as all the others) didn't scream.
Hanging out with the boys.....

Stella is getting bigger every day. She is a really happy baby and loves to talk and giggle. I had really thought you couldn't be a happier baby then Luke but I have been proven wrong. I'm going to miss our talks and laughs when I go back to work.

She really looks up to her big brother. She watches him move around the room and Luke loves to come up to her and say "Hi. Hi". It is cute. She smiles and coos at him all the time. I think they are going to be great friends.

The other night we trimmed the tree and Stella did her part. She looked adorable in her dad's arms and helped with putting on the tree topper!!!

Little Stella Smiling

2009-11-23T21:46:00.001-08:00

She can grasp!

2009-11-19T18:54:00.000-08:00

Stella has taken to grasping while laying on her little gym mat (we currently don't have our camera on hand so I haven't gotten any pics yet). Tonight Curtis gave her "dumbbells" made from Luke's little tool chest nuts and bolts. It was so cute especially when they were working on their curls together.

We all got out H1N1 shots on Tuesday (well all of us except Stella) my arm still hurts!!!

Stella is growing up fast. She gets more beautiful everyday. Jan 4th seems to be coming up quickly. My health is finally getting better and I believe my doctor should be giving me a clean bill of health soon. Yay!!!! Thanksgiving is next week and we are going to Texas and spend it with some of Curtis' family. We haven't been back to Texas since we left in 2003 and most of our friends have since moved but we are looking forward to seeing Curtis' brothers and sister-in-laws.

This weekend we are having an early Thanksgiving with Nana & Papa. Should be a good time the Wells and Mavros families will be attending as well as Kristin. We are making Roast Beef as we will all be filling up on turkey next week. It is going to be great!!!

The big move

2009-11-09T12:47:00.001-08:00

So we have started the transition of Stella from our room to her crib. So far the first two nights have been pretty successful. Curtis and I have been somewhat selfish in not wanting to do the move as Luke and Stella share the room and we were not sure how Luke would adjust. So far Stella waking up in the middle of the night hasn't been too bad but more about Luke's reaction on his blog!!
Stella is taking to her bed and has started her naps in it as well though she still prefers her swing.
It is exciting and sad to have this step take place already. It means she is growing up and the family dynamic is changing and she is no longer a newborn. It also means soon our room will be free of baby paraphernalia and we will get a full night's sleep someday in the foreseeable future!!
Stella's head control is great and she really loves to sit up in a lap and look around at what is going on. She is turning into a beautiful baby and has such a great temperament. We are truly blessed with our children.

Laughing in her sleep

2009-11-05T08:15:00.001-08:00

Last night while Stella was asleep I could hear her laughing. I got up to make sure she wasn't awake and sure enough she was asleep with a big smile on her face. She has the cutest little laugh. She is really enjoying stretching and hanging out with me. Curtis says I'm currently her favorite! I will take that as Curtis is definitely Luke's current favorite. I'm sure at some point this will switch up like when they are teenagers....

Getting cuter everyday!

2009-11-02T14:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some cute pics of Stella with her Aunt Sarah and Luke as well as by herself. She is just growing up so fast and is adorable. She has great head control and really likes to lay in her gym and swat at the toys that are hanging. Luke loves to protect her and hold her hand. He will climb on the couch when she and I are practicing her sitting up and will help keep her balanced on one side while holding her hand in his. Stella is so lucky to have such a great loving older brother. I always wanted a cool older brother!

Stella's first Halloween

2009-11-02T14:15:00.000-08:00

Stella's first Halloween was little uneventful. When we went to put her in her costume she had poohed all over it so she ended up being herself. She also took a nap and ate while we trick or treated with Luke. Next year she will definitely be out there with us!
Luke and Maddie offered to share their candy with her which was adorable.

Happy girl!

2009-10-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

Schedules, schedules

2009-10-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

So Stella is still sleeping in our room since she isn't quite on a schedule yet though we are getting closer. She has dropped a night feeding which is great she can sleep between 9p to 3p usually. Some nights it is a 5 hour stretch and other nights she sleeps for 5 hours and then is up for 3 hrs. Those are the toughest nights for us especially for Curtis since he is working.
Stella is changing more and more each day. She is a very happy and content baby except when she has gas...it is very uncomfortable for her. I'm trying different cuddles to help her - right now laying her across my lap seems to be the best position.
Her dimples are out everyday when she smiles. She loves to smile and coo. We are so happy with the newest addition to our family. I can't wait to play dress up with her and to visit magical lands and have tea parties.
She is totally enamored with her brother. Last night she was sitting on Nana's lap and watching Auntie Sarah read to Luke. I think story time is going to be huge in our house!
We are hoping to move her into her room soon. The room has gone through some moves and is a bit of a mess all due to mommy well and a lack of space but really I need to go through and organize everything again. Right now her crib acts as a hold all for everything that needs to be put away.

She of many costumes...

2009-10-29T13:31:00.001-07:00

Since Stella was so little I had a hard time locating a Halloween costume for her so I decided to go with some kind of homemade ones. We haven't gotten really good pics yet but we should have some cute ones this Saturday. She is going to be a duck and a bear!!!!

2 months old already!

2009-10-17T05:24:00.000-07:00

On Thursday Stella turned 2 months as part of this milestone she had to go and have a checkup at her doctors. Here are her current stats - 11.14 oz, 22 3/4 long she is in the 95-97%. She is healthy girl.
She received her first rounds of vaccinations which she was not happy about and which always make Mommy cringe when the kids receive them.
She's waking up so I shall go tend to my little beauty!!!

Middle of the night musings of a 2 month old

2009-10-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

2 months coming up fast

2009-10-11T22:42:00.000-07:00

Stella will be two months old on Thursday - I can't believe it. I thought time flew by with Luke it is now a rocket ship with two kids. A lot may have to do with my recovery which took longer then with Luke for sure. I am so grateful I'm getting 20 weeks off from work for my maternity leave, these first two months have been so focused on just getting me on track!!!

Stella has her doctor's appointment on Thursday which means the beginning of all the vaccinations poor little girl. She is going to hate it. I can't remember if she is old enough to get Tylenol before the appointment probably not.

It is great having two kids but it is work - I wouldn't say it is hard or difficult but as parents you are constantly going and on the move. I could not imagine doing this alone or if we didn't have our act together. I do dread the nights Curtis has to stay out late for work, it is a pain in the butt when Stella is feeding and Luke is demanding attention (which he thrives on). Thank goodness Kristin (Luke's best friend!), Alicia, Paul and Sarah are here they have been so helpful and as Stella becomes mobile I know they are going to be lifesavers - especially for those much needed hours away!!!!

Similar photos different kids

2009-10-11T22:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of Luke (top) & Stella (bottom) at around the same age - Luke is about 1 month older in the bath photo. Thought it would be fun to see if there are any similarities between the two...still hard to tell.

Recent pics

2009-10-11T21:55:00.001-07:00

She is really starting to smile

2009-10-07T21:49:00.001-07:00

I captured a great smile from Stella today it is on my camera phone so I need to figure out how to get my phone photos on to this computer. It is adorable and I'm pretty sure we have a photo very similar of Luke. I want to post the pictures side by side for a comparison.
Stella is growing so fast, I can't believe she will be 8 weeks old already. She is starting to outgrow many of her 3 month old clothes - AMAZING.
She is starting to get to a more interesting phase then that of a newborn which we are really looking forward to - the long nights of sleeps are something to look forward to as well. I feel like these two months have been harder then the first time but that probably is due more to my recovery then anything else.
I'm going to my doctor this week hoping to get the all clear to be able to lift Stella in her carrier and to push her in a stroller as well as pick up Luke, something I have really missed.
I'm looking forward to some long walks as the weather becomes more fall like. It has been so nice lately.

Another teaser of a night

2009-09-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

The other night Stella gave us another teaser of a full nights sleep. She slept from 9p to 3a. It was glorious. Of course the last two nights have not been so easy. We are hoping that we are only a week away from her starting to sleep longer nights...here's to the power of positive thinking!!!
Stella is starting to have more awake time during regular business hours usually between 6p and 9p. She does have a few hours during the day that she is awake as well though she is still not quite interactive i.e. smiling when she isn't gassy. I do have to say the smiles I have seen are beautiful and I can't wait to see her "real" smile and not one due to gas!!!! She currently has her daddy's dimples and I'm pretty sure they will stay.
She is now 6 weeks old her doctor said she will start to change her days and nights around 6 weeks but the 6 weeks is suppose to be from her due date. Which really means around 9 to 10 weeks for her since she was so early. I'm really hoping she will be somewhat of an exception.
Curtis looks like a walking zombie by the end of the day and I can last until about 2p before the grunts and stiff movements kick in. I'm trying to get naps as much as I can but it seems as soon as I lay myself down Stella either wakes up or a headache kicks in. Not sure I have mentioned it but the cluster migraines are back and I've got the oxygen again to help allivate the pain that comes with them.
Quick note about my health - I go to my doctor's tomorrow to have my blood pressure checked and probably my blood as well to see if my levels have returned to normal.

Nightime is the new daytime

2009-09-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

Stella is about to be 6 weeks old, how exciting and amazing!!! We have started to work out a schedule it just unfortunately still involves a lot of awake time during the middle of the night. Some nights are better then others which end up just being teases such as two nights ago. We got to sleep from 10:30p until 3:50a. It was marvelous though I did wake up a few times to poke Stella to make sure she was alive (I know morbid but not uncommon!!!) I also kept rolling over onto two big hard melons in my sleep though I didn't want to wake Stella and feed her.
Of course the next night she didn't let me sleep for longer then 2 hrs (45 mins at one point!!). It was a tough one, every time she would fall asleep in my arms I would hold her for about 10-15 mins and think ok she is out. I would then put her in the pack-n-play and in about 15 mins she would wake up and want to be held again or fed.
Luckily she finally let me sleep from 8:30a to 12:oop...it was glorious. We just keep hoping for another long night. Fingers crossed it happens soon!!!

Our little fashonista

2009-09-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

Here is Stella in a few of her frocks!!!

Some of the exciting people Stella has met

2009-09-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

I realize as I'm posting these pictures that I'm lacking a lot of photos that I had thought we had taken but the files show me we didn't!! Sorry Dad I don't seem to have photos of you in the hospital, I will need to get some from you....;-)

Random pics

2009-09-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

Back to my story...

2009-09-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

Stella arrived perfectly and everything went well with her delivery which was great-though after she arrived my body had other plans for me which is when everything went spiralling out of control.
It started in the middle of the night - we had sent my Dad home to sleep and it was just Curtis and I in the hospital room trying to sleep. We had sent Stella to the nursery so that I could rest with the hopes that Sunday would be a day of cuddling, feeding and bonding.
Around 3am the nurse called the doctors into my room to look at some bleeding I was experiencing. I kept telling the doctors it is normal to bleed after the surgery and delivery of a baby so they really shouldn't be so concerned (like I know this stuff!!!). I was not in a position to really understand what was happening and what they were saying so I did what I do best in these kinds of situations, I deny what is happening and accept that this is just normal routine procedure (though something kept nagging at me reminding me this didn't happen with Luke).
While the doctors where terrorizing me with removing clots in my room Curtis was able to sleep - not sure how as there were seriously 10 people in the room holding my hands, calming me and doing what needed to be done. The nurse kept telling me it was a good thing Curtis was sleeping that he shouldn't see what is happening. At that point I really realize this isn't normal bleeding.
Eventually they decided to take me back to the OR to remove a lot of clots (my uterus didn't do what it was suppose to do is what I have come to understand at this point). It is at this point that Curtis wakes up and realizes something is wrong!
So I finally get out of the OR and I'm back in my room. Curtis looks the worse for wear, the poor guy has been calling family and letting them know all that is happening and just being plan freaked out. I had a moment of panic in the OR when I heard a nurse refer to me as "the bleeder".
So come Sunday we think everything is ok and all is smooth sailing. I will be home in a few days, they are letting me eat. This is great! I can't wait to be with both my kids at home and start this maternity leave. So at the end of the day I tell Curtis go home, hang with Luke and my Dad. Little did we know two days later I would be back in the OR!
Sunday night I lose my appetite and come Monday I'm really not interested in food. We tell my Dad it is ok to go home as I thought I was just turned off of the hospital food and that nothing was wrong. By the end of Monday that all changed as my insides stopped working, I seriously had no appetite and my stomach was swelling to the point of me looking 10 months pregnant!!!
I also started throwing up so much they had to put this god awful tube in my nose that went to my stomach. UGH.
By Tuesday I was ginormous and I was back in the OR. This time they knocked me out but before I went under I remember hearing I was lucky as I was getting the best surgeon for my problem. Once again I was not sure what was happening but just knew I was lucky to be in the hospital. Apparently my bladder had torn at some point and I developed something called post operative illeus. Surgery was a necessity.
So after all this was done I was set to recover for the next few days (ended up being 7 days). On Wednesday the hospital released Stella and she went home with Curtis and Lori Wells. Lori spent the night with Stella, Auntie Kristin had been taking care of Luke at this point! Thank god for friends and family. At this point I couldn't imagine not having Curtis by my side and I don't think he could handle being away from me with all this stuff happening.
On Thursday my Mom and Katie arrived at the hospital. My mom gave Curtis a much needed hospital break and she stayed with me through the duration of my stay. Katie and Curtis took care of the kids and brought them by daily so I could see them and do a bit of feeding with Stella. I was able to pump in the hospital to ensure my milk came in which was great.
After being in the hospital for 12 days I was finally given a good enough bill of health to be released from the hospital. Hallelujah!!! Talk about cabin fever!!!

I can't believe a month has passed already

2009-09-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

Just born!!

1 month old

Stella's arrival...

2009-09-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

Here is the story of Stella's arrival!!!

On Thursday August 13th I went in for my 36 week check up and we noticed my blood pressure was a bit elevated. Nothing too dangerous but I was to start keeping track of my blood pressure at home. At this point it is pretty much decided I will experience preeclampsia again. Well on Friday when I go to work I had checked my BP and it was high and I started wondering am I suppose to be at work or on modified bed rest - I hadn't thought of asking for some reason (I believe I was living in a land of denial at this point). So I called my doctor and left a message asking since my BP is so high should I be working. My doctor calls back and says no I shouldn't go to work (oops I was already there) and I should go to Labor and Delivery to be monitored. What?? I just was hoping I would need to go home and chill for a few days not go to the hospital....

So I call Curtis tell him what's up (of course I'm still in the land of denial) and let him I'm just going to the hospital to be monitored but I should be out by the end of the day he doesn't need to worry about me. That didn't fly - especially since this was the same thing that happened with Luke. I thought for sure they would release me and tell me to come back when my water broke. Curtis luckily had some foresight and said "Honey I will be there shortly with the bags and start calling your family".

This was Friday the 14th - the doctors didn't want to deliver Stella yet as she was only 36 weeks and two days old they really wanted to hold out until the following Thursday when she was 37 weeks old. Unfortunately my body had a different plan.

So here I am in the hospital before everything went pear shaped!!!

I was monitored throughout Friday and Saturday. Curtis had been saying for weeks that Stella would be born on the 15th, who knew he was going to be right.

On Saturday it was a lot of back and forth about Stella's pending arrival. One arrival we were able to count on was my Dad. He drove down late Friday night so he could be by our sides and there for the delivery of his 2nd grandchild and 1st grand-daughter.

Anyways, we all thought for sure Stella would not be arriving on the 15th and Curtis and Dad went home. Luke was being watched by our friend Kristin at this point. We had all thought there is no way she is coming out until days later since the doctors were adamant that it was too early for her to be born.

Well that all changed quickly. At 7:40p my nurse told me to stop eating they were going to take me into the OR soon. Umm soon ended up being 7:50p. All of sudden I'm calling Curtis telling him it's time get here as soon as you can. Easier said then done.

The guys had all settled in for the night and were about to start eating a pizza and watching a movie. Instead they gathered up Luke and took him to Danielle & Jason's for the night. They were slightly delayed with traffic at the Hollywood Bowl - go figure...

Basically Curtis ended up not getting into the OR until right after Stella's arrival. Poor Curtis got into the OR and unfortunately the door was at the wrong end of the operating table and I think he got a bit queasy seeing me cut open!! Can't say I blame the guy...I was queasy just being on that table.

Hello I'm new here!

2009-09-06T12:27:00.001-07:00

Stella Jean-Marie Shipman has arrived!!
She made her debut on August 15, 2009 at 8:37pm.

She weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 20 inches long.

She is gorgeous and we are so excited to have her join our family!!!!