Stella's 7th Month

Stella's horse, Trigger

Stella and I ended the month of April happy to finally be in May because May was a very important month for us; May meant that Steve would be here for good!!!  Steve was days away from his final day as an active duty member of the Air Force, and then all he had was the two-part drive to Reno.  Let's just say that our calendar had the 19th of May very clearly marked!

Shots? What shots?

Since Stella was born at the end of a month, we always end up having her check-ups scheduled at the beginning of the next month.  My dad and I met after work, and we prepared ourselves for a long afternoon.  Stella does well with shots... after they have been in her system.  The initial shots themselves are always a bit of an emotional roller coaster for both baby and Mommy.  Our poor nurse, Julie, is now known by Stella as the source of the pain, so she always gets mixed reactions from Stella whenever they meet.  The first exchanges between the girls was excellent, and the check-up by Stella's doctor went very well.  As of this six-month visit, Stella now weighs fourteen pounds, ten ounces; she is twenty-six and a half inches tall; putting her in the seventy-fifth percentile for height and head, and the twenty-fifth percentile for weight.  All I could think was, "Just like Daddy; tall and skinny!"  Following the stats, it was time for the real fun!  When poor Julie came back in the room, Stella immediately began to cry.  She knew what Julie was there for, and she did not want her shots!  She handled them like a champ this time; she actually stopped crying once she got the shots.  I guess we'll have to see if Julie continues to be the source of Stella's tears instead of the actual shots from here on out!

Giraffe jumper and party hat :)

It just so happened that the same week as this appointment was a rather big weekend for Stella.  Stella had her first birthday party to attend on Saturday, and Sunday was Mother's Day.  A co-worker of mine had his daughter Emma's first birthday on Saturday, and we were pretty excited to see that it was giraffe themed!  I told his wife that they were speaking my language because Stella's theme in life was giraffes, so we would be happy to attend.  Stella had on her best giraffe outfit, we had giraffe gifts for Emma, and we were ready to party!  Stella was a bit overwhelmed by all the people, the noises, and the other babies, but she did very well for her first time as a party-goer.  We spent most of the afternoon on the lawn in the backyard, but Stella seemed to enjoy all the attention and new faces.

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day was the next morning, and luckily Stella had recovered from her day of stimulation.  We started the day off right with breakfast at my favorite, The Squeeze In!  They had a pretty amazing special that morning- free mimosas for mothers!!!  Let's just say that my favorite breakfast spot made my first official Mother's Day start perfectly.  Stella was great in the very loud and crowded restaurant, and she gave her momma and Nonna a morning of feeling very spoiled.  Mother's Day for me was more about celebrating my little girl and being thankful that I am a mother, so it was nice to have an entire to day to play in gorgeous weather with Stella.  Her grandparents had even spoiled Stella with a few gifts for the holiday; Stella's first balls and bubbles!  This meant that Stella and I spent the rest of the day outside practicing rolling the balls (and keeping them away from the dogs) and watching the bubbles blow across the lawn. It was an all-together perfect day, and it gave me yet another reminder of how lucky I am.

Auntie Manthie's hilarious!

Mother's Day also held a surprise for Nonna- my dad had arranged a surprise visit from my sister Sam.  We had been orchestrating the visit for weeks, and we shocked my mom when Samantha pulled into the driveway.  We were all very excited to see her, but it would also mean a test for Stella.  She had been having a small case of "stranger danger," so we weren't too sure how she would handle seeing her Auntie Mantha after such a long time.  Thank God, my sister is brilliant with kids!  She used to be a nanny, so she knows exactly what to do to make a child instantly trust her.  Stella was immediately taken with her; in fact, she was more than taken with Sam.  For the rest of her visit, my sister had a HUGE fan keeping her eyes on her every move. 

Ah... grass!

As far as Stella's activities for the month, she was continuing on with her daily practices in walking and talking.  Our little girl was still not caring much about crawling, mainly because she was still all about walking.  She would get very frustrated if you held her too long because she wanted to walk.  Around the house, one the porch, on the lawn; she was going to walk around every inch of this property.  It was not the best for our backs, but we all took turns holding her hands and walking around behind her.  Thankfully, the weather was beautiful this month because we spent A LOT of time outside on the lawn.  Stella loved to be outside walking, looking at trees, watching the dogs, and playing in the grass.  Yes, I said playing in the grass!  Most babies (myself included as a baby) hate the feeling of touching grass, but Stella is the exact opposite.  She will actually move the towels and blankets we put down so that she can feel the lawn.  I only hope this weather continues because our time outside has become a big part of our daily routine. 

See you soon, Daddy!

With the month about at its half-way point, that meant only one thing- Daddy was coming!!!  I got the call early on a Friday morning that Steve had finished his out-processing and was on the road to Reno!  It really took me aback when I began to process what that actually meant.  Steve had completed ten years of active duty in the Air Force; we would never be separated by a deployment again; ten long months of separation were going to be over; Steve would be here for good!  Steve had a short stop for the night in Vegas, but then we would be seeing him on Saturday afternoon.  It was so incredible to see his big, black truck pull into the driveway.  We had made it!!! 

Daddy's here!!!

Steve and I are definitely still getting used to the idea that he is here, and not just for a visit.  It's SO nice having Steve here, especially for Stella!  We no longer have our nightly FaceTime conversations for him to see the baby, and I no longer have to worry about getting video of everything that Stella does so Steve doesn't miss anything.  Steve was lucky enough to only have to see a few "firsts" via video, but we still have many more that he will get to watch first hand.  More than anything, I think he had to adjust to the hours that we keep with Stella.  Other than that, like he always does, Steve fell right back into being a dad without missing a step.  To her credit, Stella also fell back into her routine with Daddy without skipping a beat.  I think that talking to him every night helped because she knew his voice.  They really are cute together, and it makes me feel so blessed to have them together for good.

We celebrated Steve's end in the Air Force and change of residency by taking Stella on her first trip up to Tahoe.  She had been there in the winter with her grandma, but we had yet to take her there to actually go to the water.  With the perfect weather I had mentioned, it was definitely time to spend a little time up at the lake!  I've said it before, but Lake Tahoe is by far the biggest perk to living in Reno!

Peek-a-boo!

Once Steve was here it also meant another big piece of closure- closing on our first house!  We ended the month by going down as a family and signing the paperwork to move into our house.  With the documents signed and keys in hand, we were ready to finally be on our own!  We won't actually move in for another week or so (mainly due to a few changes we are making) but our furniture will be here from Albuquerque by Friday.  We spent Memorial Day weekend picking out things for the house and preparing for the move.







May has been a big month for The Adkins!  Stella continues to grow like a weed (mainly in height) and amazes us every day with how much she continues to change.  She really does have her own little personality, and it's fun to see how much of both of us we see in our little girl.  I think the best part of this month has been the coming together of our family.  Distance may have kept us apart, but we always did our best to be as connected as we could be.  I almost feel spoiled now that Steve is here, and I have to keep reminding myself that he is not leaving us again.  Now that our biggest obstacle is behind us, we have the joy of moving into our first house in our very near future!  So, here she is, Little Miss Stells, celebrating Memorial Day as she turns seven months old:

May 28, 2012