Merry Christmas!

This is Stella on Christmas morning ready to dive into the presents under the tree. Unfortunately, her cute Christmas PJ's could not be worn because the girl is a super soaker and leaked through her diaper, PJ's and sleep sack last night!

Stella liked her new book. I will probably have it memorized in a week just like the others, Brown Bear, Polar Bear, etc.

Stella seemed to really love her baby doll from Grandma and Pop Pop. At one point I thought she was going to kiss it, but she proceeded to bite it. Great.

Stella loved the Trail of Lights. She was mesmerized by all the lights, sounds and people.

Stella's first visit to the Trail of Lights!

Christmas in Houston

Bath time

Stella's Friends

Stella's friend Cora Mae came over for a little holiday visit. The girls mostly played outside as it was 75 degrees in Austin today, but we tried to get them to pose in front of the tree... that was quite a challenge. Earlier today, Stella had some fun with her very best friend, Puck

Stella's First Car

Stella got her first car from Granny and Pa in Houston. She is an excellent driver and has already mastered parallel parking! Watch her in action.

Ho Ho Holidays

Stella's first Christmas has inspired us to do some very festive activities. Last weekend we strung the lights outside and she helped. They are of course a hode podge of colors, different types and designs and some blink, some don't. Very cheesy and delightful. Last night we took Stella downtown to the Holiday Sing-a-long and tree lighting at the Capitol. Stella wanted to have no part in being held last night, unlike all the other babies I saw. She insisted on standing the whole time as she cruised around her stroller. She did like the music and danced a bunch while holding onto her stroller. At times she would make a mad sprint crawl towards something but we caught up with her each time. She also really enjoyed the stroll downtown since there were many people out and about. She really is a social butterfly. Next weekend Stella's running in her first 5 K, the Trail of Lights Run. She has been training and thinks she can keep an 8 min. mile pace in her jogger. Wish her luck!

Pasta!

Pasta seems to be a favorite with babies and Stella is no exception. This pasta was not cooked by us, we got lazy and bought some for our camping trip and she didn't eat it while camping. It is a terrible green color but Stella loved it. And the pasta pictures are classic. The first picture is Stella getting ready for election night. We were decorating the house with some streamers. And the next one is the only picture we took on our camping weekend, the day we left. I thought Stella looked cute with all the stuff packed around her. Puck sat in the way back and stared at her the whole time.

A Taste of Fall

It finally felt like Fall here the past few days, except Sunday which got up to the mid 80's again, but most of the past few days have been wonderful and tonight it is expected to get really chilly. It is so much fun to take Stella out-and-about Austin. She is really a social butterfly and loves going places. Here are a few pics from our recent outings to the fountains at Town Lake, eating breakfast at Austin Java, and the pumpkin patch, again.

Stella and the Great Pumpkin

We took Stella to a Pumpkin Patch and she gave it a mixed review. At first she found it entertaining but once the gnats started swarming (don't forget, it is still 80 degrees here during the day and those pumpkins just sit outside all day on hay!) she wasn't a fan. We still got some good pictures but didn't get our pumpkin yet (again, the 80 degrees). We will get it this weekend so it is not a rotten mess by Halloween night. Our neighbors have 3 children and they adore Stella. They keep asking to see her in her Halloween costume. I told them to make sure they come over to our house first on Halloween night to ensure she is still awake! We are prepared for lots of trick-or-treaters. Last year I was pregnant and tired and actually shut the light off early. I don't think I will have to do it this year, unless the commotion wakes up Stella. Happy early Halloween!

9 Months!

Wow, 9 months with Stella on the outside sure went a lot faster than 9 months with Stella on the inside. When I gave birth to Stella, I was amazed how I could grow something so large in 9 short months. (Don't forget she was 9 lbs 3 oz!) But now, I am just blown away that 9 lbs 3 oz seems so little and that she has grown into this small person in 9 short months.

Because I wanted to subject Stella to a photo shoot today, I also rewarded her by taking her to one of Austin's newest parks where they have a numerous fountains that rhythmically get larger and then smaller. It was quite fun. If she was in her swim suit, I am quite certain she would have crawled through them, but instead we watched from her jogger. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera since we just got finished with a run, but I will try to get some pictures of her enjoying the fountains soon.

Instead, enjoy the photo shoot from our back yard. Stella had fun trying to eat the rocks and leaves. It was cool enough in the morning for the long sleeves, but of course, by the afternoon it was back up into the high 80's. It feels like Fall will never get here. Each year, this weather gets more and more unbearable. I just keep telling myself, you will love Austin again in December. It's a long time to wait!

Halloween Comes Early in Austin

We had to try Stella's Halloween costume on to make sure it fits. I think she enjoys being a cat. I know dressing up Stella for Halloween this year is solely for our own fun and benefit, but she did smile in the costume... so maybe she was having fun too? Her Grandma and Pop Pop also got her another costume so she will actually have a costume change on Halloween! We plan on having her help give out candy, until her bedtime which is pretty early. Hopefully she will be able to surprise a few trick-or-treaters.

As promised...


and just for fun

Musically Inclined

Stella recently scored some great new toys from random garage sales and consignment sales. Her favorite is this music stand which has all sorts of different noises and songs. She loves to dance. Of course, she is camera shy though, so when I pull out the camera to take a video, she tends to stop what she is doing. Darn her. I did catch some cute pictures and a cute video I will also post. We can't wait for fall... or at least we will pretend it is Fall and take Stella to the Pumpkin Patch for the classic baby sitting with a bunch of pumpkins picture. Stay tuned!