Here Comes Sadie Lady!

Happy Birthday to Mom!

As we got closer to our due date, we all started to wonder if this baby would be able to wait until April.  Between the stress of work and the stress of being a working mom, I think that my body and baby were trying to tell me to slow down.  Between all the action, my OB predicted that we would be having a March baby instead of an April baby. 

The days before Sadie was born, I had a feeling that something was up.  I had a few of the tell-tale signs that a baby was coming, but it took a visit to my doctor to make me slow down and listen.  At my weekly check-up with my OB, she informed me that I was already three centimeters.  She got a smile on her face and said, "I hope your bag is packed.  I'm on call all weekend, and I think I'll be seeing you."  I was trying to convince her otherwise, but she said that if she were a betting woman, she'd put money down that I'd be holding a baby by Sunday at the latest.



As with Stella, there had to be a bit of drama for the birth of this child.  My dad had been asked to go to San Jose to watch a few of the games for March Madness (including the UNLV game) but he was afraid to go and miss his second grandchild being born.  When I left the OB, I was ordered to call my dad on the way home to let him know if he could attend the game.  I told him that he better go, especially to the UNLV game for me, and that there would be no action from this baby while he was gone.  However, I did like the date 3/23/13, so I told my dad that I couldn't promise that I wouldn't be trying for a delivery on Saturday.    

I went to work the next day, and it started to feel like a similar Thursday about a year and a half ago.  I had been laboring for months to create a master binder of plans for my substitute to finish out the year for me, and I had just finished it a week prior.  With the news that my OB had given me, I was glad that everything was good for me to leave if this baby came early.  Although I was not teaching Shakespeare, I was in the middle of a poetry unit, and this day we happened to be working with haikus.  Just like the Thursday I went into labor with Stella, I started having contractions during my classes.

Truth be told, my mom had me a bit freaked out.  She kept telling me that your second baby will come much faster than the first, so I was trying to keep my eye on the clock.  I did not want this labor to progress too quickly, and horror of horrors, I had to do something like deliver this baby at school!  Thankfully, my contractions stayed twenty minutes apart at work.  Since my dad had gone to San Jose, we happened to have my mom staying with us while he was out of town.  When I got home, I let Steve and my mom know that I was feeling a bit off, but not to worry.  I was really trying to convince myself that this baby was not going to come, while not freak out that my downplaying could ultimately ruin my chances of getting to the hospital.  Seriously, my mom clearly had me thinking that your second baby came at lightning speed!

So, we sat and waited.  More than anything, I wanted to watch the UNLV game at 4:00, so I kept telling myself to calm down so that I could at least get through the entire basketball game.  My contractions were ten minutes apart, so I was really banking on wishful thinking at this point.  Let's just say that the basketball game did not help things!  My boys were not having their best day, and their terrible play was stressing me out.  My heart was pounding and I was yelling at the TV, and the next thing I knew, my contractions had jumped to five minutes apart!  Stella was getting ready for bed, my mom had called my dad and told him to drive fast back to Reno, and I started to take some deep breaths.

More than anyone, my mom was really worrying me.  She kept telling me that no one had the power to control their contractions and that I really aught to think about heading to the hospital.  However, through a lot of coaxing and quiet relaxing, I managed to slow my contractions down to ten minutes apart.  Yes, I told my mother, I AM magical!  I still did think that I had a date with the delivery room, so I made sure to alert the authorities (my bosses) that I would not be at work the next day.

Apparently I am more magical than I thought because my contractions only slowed down even more!  Stella and my mom were long asleep, but Steve and I were up watching the clock.  How could we be holding steady between ten and fifteen minutes apart and not progressing?  Steve finally got a bit of sleep, but I could not even close my eyes.  I made sure that everything was packed, did final prep around the house, and I sat there and waited.

Honestly, I am glad that I had already called into work the night prior because I did not sleep at all that night.  At around 5:00 a.m., my contractions finally started to play again!  We were on our way to five minutes apart and speeding up quickly, so I made sure to take a shower and get everything ready to get on the road.  Stella woke up, so I prepared to say goodbye and head out the door, but then it happened again... we slowed WAY down.  How do you go from having contraction every five minutes to then slowing back down to ten?  I called my OB and told her about the events from the last twenty-four hours, and she just told me to hold tight.  In my head I kept thinking, "How was my first baby so clockwork and quick, and my second baby is the taking forever?"

By this time, my dad had arrived after driving through the night from San Jose.  I felt terrible; I had my dad rush through the night to get back, I had taken off work, and there was still no baby!  I was tired, uncomfortable, and beyond ready to have my baby.  My contractions continued, but nothing was getting anywhere.  We all started to get crafty to get this baby moving.  I hung out on my yoga ball, went for a long walk, put extra Siracha in my tortilla soup and lunch, and order the spiciest sushi they made for dinner; we were going to have this baby! My parents decided to stay the night in the hopes that this baby would make her grand entrance, so everyone went to bed with me still holding steady at ten minutes apart. 

My last preggers pic... ever!

Steve and I got into bed, and he asked me to wake him if anything magical happened in the night.  I convinced myself that I was going to get back down to five minutes apart that night; I did not take the day off of work for nothing.  As soon as I hit that magic five minute mark again, I was going to wake up Steve, kiss Stella, and get on the road.  Thankfully, right after midnight, my prayers were answered!


Steve and I got on the road to St. Mary's just after midnight; we had made it to a very cool birth date and after two days of early labor, I was ready to have this baby!  Even though my contractions were five minutes apart, I honestly was not in a ton of pain.  When I left for the hospital with Stella, I could barely speak, so I was worried that after all of this we would be turned away.



We checked in and prepared to be checked out to see if we could be admitted and have this baby.  I still had a horrible feeling that after all this we would be sent home.  By the time I had changed into the ultra-stylish gown, the nurse came and informed me that I had visitors waiting to see me.  I was so worried that my family had woken up in the middle of the night just to go home.  It seems that my fears were pretty spot on- yes, my contractions were five minutes apart, but I was only three and a half centimeters!!!  Really?  I wanted to crawl under the thin hospital sheets and die.

Thankfully, the nurse we were assigned was extremely kind!  She said that even though I was not progressed enough, she wanted me to stay an hour to run a few tests and monitor the baby.  In truth, I could tell she was stalling because she could knew that I did not want to leave only to return a few hours later.  The rule of thumb that I had heard was, "Less than four- out the door," so we waited and hoped that my labor would progress.  My poor family who had come to witness the blessed event (my dad, aunt, and Sadie's godmother-to-be) were all sent home until further notice.

Somehow, between the tests and checks over the hour, we were officially at four centimeters, so I could stay!  Like I said, after having contractions Thursday, Friday, and now Saturday, I was ready to have this baby!  Because of this, I was also extremely tired; I had not slept more than an hour since Wednesday night.  The doctor on call (who actually delivered Stella) decided to get my epidural going so that I could get some sleep.  My OB would not be in until about seven that morning, so we decided to wait and break my water until she arrived.  Boy was that a mistake!

We sent texts to the family that we had sent away and told them to return to the hospital around seven to be sure to be there for the birth.  We had a feeling that once my water was broken we'd have a baby about an hour later, so Steve and I got a little bit of rest while we waited the few hours for my OB to show.

When seven o'clock rolled around, my family was there, but my OB was nowhere to be seen.  Apparently, she was monitoring my progress from an app on her phone (seriously, all my monitors can be checked from her phone) and I guess she didn't want to break my water just yet.  I am not sure what her master plan was, but I think I have a general idea of what happened.  She had a scheduled c-section to do at 12:30 over at Renown, and she had another patient and me both waiting to deliver at St. Mary's.  I think she wanted to break our water right before her surgery, head over and deliver that baby, and then come back to deliver the two babies at St. Mary's.  I can only assume this because I did not see her until noon!

By this point, I was not only ready to have a baby and see my other baby, but I was not too happy with my OB.  I thought that I would have had my baby hours ago, and I was made to sit and wait while she had a nice workout at the gym and enjoyed her morning.  She came like a lightning bolt, broke my water, and was out the door to deliver her scheduled c-section across town.  Before she left, she told me that I shouldn't bet on delivering for another hour or two, so to sit tight.  Since I'm a bit competitive, I informed her that she better hurry because I bet that I would be having my baby within the hour.

In all the joy of enjoying my company in the room and watching another March Madness game (mainly in the hopes that I could get stressed enough again from a basketball game to get this baby moving) I noticed something a bit strange.  When you get an epidural, you are numb from the waist down.  If you start to feel any pain, you have a happy little button that you can push to increase the medication.  I had just explained the whole process to my aunt and cousin, and told them that it was so nice to be able to control my own pain and enjoy the moment.  Right after my water was broken and at about eight centimeters, I began to feel a whole lot of pain on the left side of my body.  I was smiling and trying to calm myself as I pushed my magical button, but nothing seemed to happen.  My nurse noticed me pushing the button a few times while she was in prepping the room, and she let me know that as much as I pushed, the machine would not let me overdose.  I kindly informed her that I was not trying to take an extra dose, but that I was now feeling everything on my left side.  It was the strangest thing because I was totally numb on one side, but I could feel every bit of my labor on the other side.  I later found out that this was called a "window." Sometimes when an epidural is administered, there ends up being a nerve that is missed, and you are therefore given a window to the pain that you were trying to block.  Lucky me!





Between the pain, the lack of sleep, the frustration, and being so over this process, I somehow managed to progress in just thirty minutes.  I let the nurse know that she better get on the phone and call my OB or get someone else in there; I was going to have this baby NOW!  Thankfully, my OB came screaming in the door about fifteen minutes later.  She said she ran all the red lights and stop signs, but she had made it.  I told her that I would have the baby within the hour.  No joke, two contractions later, at exactly 12:48 p.m., there was Miss Sadie!





Sadie came into the world rather quietly.  Besides her initial cry, she was cool and calm.  In truth, it was like looking at Stella's twin!  She looked so much like Stella when she was born that it was uncanny.  She was the same length and only weighed a touch more.  The only difference I really saw was the hair- oh the hair!  Sadie came with much more hair than her sister, and it was R-E-D from the first time we saw her!  Stella's hair turned red after some time, but Sadie was the tiny redhead that all the nurses were talking about.  Besides that familiar appearance and notable hair, the only thing that Steve and I kept commenting on was how quiet she was.  She never cried or made any fussy noises, except that she would make tiny squeaks on occasion.  They were so soft and cute, and she became our Minnie Mouse that first day in the hospital.




Having a baby during the day is very different because you're not really ready to go to sleep and be quiet.  You want to eat and see family, and in particular, we really wanted to see Stella.  Luckily, having Sadie during the day meant that we could have Stells come visit without interfering with her sleep.  My dad was already at the hospital, but he stepped out to pick up Port of Subs for us (bless him!) and now we were waiting on Stella and Nonna.  Sadie had her first bath while I devoured my sandwich; it's amazing what not eating for about 18 hours and labor can do for the appetite!  Besides actually having Sadie, I was very much looking forward to seeing my two girls together for the first time.







Throughout the entire time being at the hospital, I really missed Stella, so I was thrilled to see her come in the door!  The moment I wanted most, to have our little family together, was finally here.  Steve brought Stella over to Sadie to show the big sister her new buddy.  Stella smiled, checked out Sadie, and she waved at her little sister.  We then brought her over to the bed so that we could have Stella actually sit with Sadie.  In truth, Stella treated Sadie much like Gwen; she wanted to pat her on the head and give her a kiss.  It was a short and sweet moment, but I was overjoyed to see my two girls together for the first time.  Our family was complete with the addition of Miss Sadie Ryan Adkins.

Stella the Big Sister!

Steve and I have been planning on having two kids ever since we decided to have one.  The minute we got pregnant with Stells, we knew that we were into this process for one additional go around.  Steve and I always said, "Two and through," and that meant that Stella would eventually be getting a playmate.  We wanted the kids to be a year and a half apart, so we decided to start trying early in the summer.














I went to visit my sister in July for her birthday, and when I returned home, I never quite felt right.  I thought that maybe I got dizzy or seasick from the boat to Catalina, but I couldn't believe that the feeling would linger for a whole week after I got off the boat!  I got that funny feeling, so I decided to take a pregnancy test to see if I was right.  Surprise, surprise... we were pregnant again!  We always think it will take us months to get pregnant, but apparently we have no problems in that department!  We found out we were due with Stella's sibling-to-be on 4/4/13.









The tricky part now was deciding what to do with this information.  Steve and I wanted to tell the immediate family, but we did want to wait to share with anyone else until we cleared the first trimester.  We cleared our little goal, but then we were approaching Stella's birthday.  We wanted the day to be all about her, especially because it was her first birthday, so we decided to wait a little longer.  At this point, all we had to wait for was to find out if Stella was having a little brother or little sister, so we decided to hold out for this last big piece of news. 

Of course, I could NEVER be patient enough to not know the sex of the baby!  I am far too OCD to not be able to plan.  Besides, I needed to clean out Stella's closet, and it would be nice to see if I could simply shift all of her clothes over to the closet across the hallway.  Steve and I scheduled our 20 week appointment for the ultrasound, and we both patiently waited to see what the news would be.  I think that we were both split on what we wanted.  Neither of us said it, but I had a feeling that we had our desires.  I think that Steve was hoping to get his son, and I loved the idea of having sisters.  The picture came up, and there SHE was!  I was lucky enough to grow up with a sister, so I was thrilled to think that I could give Stella the same experience.  Steve had a moment to get his head around the idea of a house full of girls (Gwen included) but he ultimately came around to loving the idea.







Now, all we had to do was wait!  We already had the majority of what we needed from Stells, so we actually had the nursery pretty well set by the time Christmas break ended.  The fun part was trying to get Stella ready.  She definitely noticed that Mommy looked a little different, and she became a huge fan of my belly!  She wanted to see it, kiss it, and share her food with it.  Soon, she became interested in everyone's belly and wanted to see if theirs looked like Mommy's.  I can't say for certain that she knew what was going on, but there really was nothing sweeter than having her ask me to lift my shirt so she could kiss my belly :).






The months quickly progressed, and before we knew it, we were a month away from having another baby in the house!  In a short months from Stella's 1st birthday, she had grown up even more and really had become the big girl in the house.  As we got closer and closer to our due date, it became more apparent that there was a big sister in the house.

Stella's 12th Month

Wow, is it really time to write this already?  Where did the year go?  This was Stella's last month of her first year, but it was definitely an eventful one!  From the the beginning of the month to her birthday party, we had a lot to fit into this month before it was over.

 




To start the month, we had Grandpa's birthday!  It was a small celebration dinner at our house, but it gave Stella a chance to see what she had to look forward to in about a month.  After the dinner, Grandpa and Nonna headed off to Catalina to celebrate the birthday with Stella's aunt, my sister Samantha.  While they were gone, we volunteered to doggy-sit my parents' dog, Trigger.  Trigger and Stella spend a lot of time together already, so they are old pals.  Stella is a HUGE fan of dogs in general, so she thoroughly enjoyed having two dogs to play with in her house.

After having a long weekend with Trigger having a bit of anxiety missing his parents, we were looking forward to having a quiet weekend following.  Unfortunately, Stella had different plans.  We spent a pretty relaxing day getting the house back in order, but after we put Stella to bed, we heard a little cough followed by some pretty serious crying.  Stella had thrown up in bed, and she would continue to throw up late into the night.  We had never experienced Stella throwing up before, so it was a rather sad evening.  Between the two of us, I would have to say that Steve handled it like a pro!  He was totally in charge and such the Dad the whole time.  Stella didn't get much of a fever, so it was just a lot of cuddling and TLC until she fell asleep.

Luckily, Stella woke up the next day as if nothing ever happened.  She was in for a boring few days though because her diet would be all water and bread until we fully tested her stomach.  She had the pleasure of a bread, Cheerio, and pasta diet until we finally introduced applesauce.  Besides the bland diet, you would never know this kid had been sick!  She was running around, climbing stairs, and singing to anyone who would listen.

The weather here finally officially turned into fall, so we had to do a drastic clothing change for Stella.  Even though she gets warm easily, like her daddy, she was still spending a lot of time outside.  Thankfully, after much work we had finally got Stella to wear shoes, and just in the nick of time!  After a summer of being barefoot, it took a few weeks to get her to wear them for more than a few minutes.  But, our outside girl needed shoes if she wanted to play in the new weather.  It is probably our favorite time of year because it really is beautiful here in Reno, and because there is such much to do this time of year.  It's also one of the best times of the year for sports, so if our TV is on, it's either football or baseball (and even a little golf for Steve).

Speaking of sports, Stella got a little insight into the lovely UNLV and UNR rivalry this year.  Ever since I moved back to Reno, my dad and I have made a point of watching the game together.  Being the only member of my family to graduate from UNLV, it's a day where I get to continuously explain why going to UNLV was the best decision I ever made... and why I am looking forward to basketball season ;).  I could care less where Stella ends up going to school, but what can I say, the girl looks amazing in scarlet and gray!

The weekend following our football game, we had another yearly tradition to introduce Stella to- Apple Hill!  My family has been going to Apple Hill in the fall ever since I can remember, and it was time for Stella to take her first trip.  The drive is almost to Sacramento, but it's definitely worth the short trip!  They have countless orchards and vineyards all marked and decorated for the season, and you can go into any one and find all kind of activities and treats.  We stopped at "Denver Dan's" and gave Stella a chance to play with farm animals, go into a pumpkin patch, choose her own apples, and look at local crafts.  It was pretty neat for us to see her enjoying all the new sights and sounds, and to know that the tradition will continue with our kids. 

Apple Hill was the bench marker for what we were calling "The Big Week."  We had about three days to breathe and then we were going into a jam-packed week.  We had a Halloween party, a football game, a photo shoot, guests were arriving, Stella's birthday party, and then Halloween itself all taking place within a week.  We prepped the house as much as we could, tried to get ahead at school and work, but before we knew it, it was time!

 We started off with a rather big Thursday night.  My grandma's retirement home was having a Halloween party, and she had asked if Stella could come visit.  Luckily, my aunt Debbie had bought Stella a Halloween costume weeks before, so we would make sure that she was dressed for the occasion.  Stella was definitely the belle of the ball, and I think that her GG really enjoyed having her come visit.  Right after the party, we had to go up to support Grandpa.  It was my dad's last football game of the season, so we wanted to be there for him.  We were SO lucky that Stella had on her costume because it was freezing!!!  The weather had a serious swing that week, so there we were with a little giraffe running onto the football field.  Stella had her one-year photo shoot in the morning, so we didn't stay too long.

The photo shoot was scheduled for 9 a.m., and the weather was looking to be about fifty degrees!  It was definitely a chilly time to be taking photos outside, but the changing leaves and beautiful scenery made it worth it.  Stella seemed to hardly notice the cold, so here's hoping that we got some great shots of her.  We only had a few hours to prep after that though because it was time for the guests to arrive!

Steve's family has not all been in one place since we got married almost seven years ago!  Lyn and Ken had already made plans to come out for the birthday, but Steve and his sister decided that this birthday could be somewhat of a reunion.  Steve, Julie, and Brian all decided that it would be great to surprise their mom by making sure that all siblings would be here.  So, we had Steve's family flying from Virgina, Texas, and Minnesota to make this birthday extra special. 

I don't think that Lyn had a clue that the rest of the family was coming, and it was so sweet to see her react to the big surprise!  Her birthday is just a bit for Stella's, so this was a birthday present for her too.  Julie also brought her youngest daughter, Caelyn, so Stella had the chance to experience having a buddy in the house for a few days.  I think that everyone truly enjoyed being back together and sharing old stories, and I think that the two girls also enjoyed their time together.  Caelyn was the big girl for the first time ever, and Stella was very interested in all that she had to show her.

 The rest of the weekend was all about family time together, and of course, THE BIRTHDAY!  After shopping around for birthday decor, I was definitely feeling a bit bummed.  Everything was pink, pink, pink and all about a princess theme.  I decided that we would go with Halloween theme instead because the decorations were so much cuter, and besides, Stella looks great in purple and orange :).  We ended up having a family party on Stella's actual birthday, and it was a great celebration!  Stella was a bit overwhelmed by all the people, but I think she had a good time too.  She even had her own little pumpkin pie to blow out a candle on!






The weekend gave me a lot of time to reflect on the last year, and I spent some time going through pictures, videos, and previous blog posts to refresh my memory of what all has happened in Stella's first year with us.  It really is incredible to realize just how much our lives have changed ever since they day Stella came into them.  She herself has changed so much in just a year, and I can only imagine what the rest of her life has in store.  She truly is just starting to come into her own and develop her own little personality.  It is amazing to see pieces of yourself and those you love all blended together into one perfect little person.  Happy Birthday to our bright, little star, Miss Stella Mia!

October 28, 2012

Stella's 11th Month

It's hard to believe, but we are only one month away from celebrating Stella's 1st birthday!  Stella has had a month of being, as her grandfather says, a busy bee.  We all have a little girl on our hands that cannot and will not sit still.  Stella is definitely a walking pro, and she is all about exploring every nook and cranny she can get herself into. 


I have been at work during the days, so I get updates on Stella from her buddies.  Stella spends the days either with her dad, nonna, or grandpa; depending on Steve's class schedule at UNR.  Between the three of them, I am constantly being sent videos and pictures of what Stella is up to while I'm at work.  Gwen is even reaping the benefits because someone is always around, so that means that she is never in her kennel.  It's nice to come home to two happy girls every day after a long day of work.

As I mentioned before, Stella's grandpa keeps telling everyone what a busy little girl we have.  She really cannot be made to sit still; I think the only time we get her to stay in one place is when we get her in her high chair or car seat.  She circles the kitchen island, the kitchen table, the coffee table, then back through the kitchen and starts crawling up the stairs.  It is nice to have such a mobile baby, but we really have to keep our eyes on her, especially when she is somewhere that is not "Stella-proof."  Her grandparents have yet to make their house "Stella-proof," so the days that she spends over there consists of non-stop antics for them.

 







Stella had one 1st this month that made her grandpa very happy; Stella attended her 1st football game!  More importantly, it was a McQueen football game.  We always try to attend one of my dad's games each season, and with Stella being born the night of his last game last season, this season would be her first chance to attend one of Grandpa's games.  Not only was it the first home game of the season, but we actually had a more important reason to be there.  One of our oldest family friends was being inducted into the Hall of Fame, so we made sure that we would all be in attendance.  It was an awesome night that was a huge success, and Stella stayed out the latest she ever has in her little life.  We're already plotting for her next appearance at a football game to cheer for Grandpa, and plans are in the works to take her to her first 49ers game this season!

 Thankfully, the good weather continues here in Reno!  After a long summer of projects to put in landscaping, it has been great being able to enjoy the yard as much as we have.  Stella LOVES playing on the lawn; I think it is probably her favorite place to be.  She has loved being outside on playing on lawns since she was teeny tiny, so it was no surprise that her love continued when our lawn was finally finished.  She loves to run through the grass, chase Gwen, and call the birds.  I think this has to be my favorite new thing that she is doing.  My mom used to take her outside after dinner to watch the birds, and she would make noises to call the birds as they flew by.  In just the last few weeks, Stella has started to call the birds too!  She will look up at the sky and start calling, "Ah, ah, ah!"  It is the cutest little noise that I have ever heard.  Needless to say, between Stella's love for the yard and my love of her bird calling, we spend a lot of time in the backyard.

As you can see in the last picture, Stella finally got into something that Steve's been dying to put her in- overalls!  When I was pregnant with Stella, the first clothing item Steve wanted to buy was a pair of overalls.  After months of waiting, Stella is finally big enough to wear Dad's pick.  I think that Steve had more fun than Stells did, and he spent the day taking pictures and picking her up from the straps.  Stella was a bit confused by the whole experience, but I am glad that her dad had such a good time!

 Speaking of Dad, Stella and Steve have become best buds!  While I am at work, the two of them spend a lot of time together, so they have their own little games and laughs.  If you want to hear Stella laugh, all you need is Steve.  No one can make her laugh like her dad!  Her favorite thing is when he chases her.  She will run through the house cackling, with Steve following behind her saying, "You better run little girl!"  He picks her up and tosses her in the air, and she is in full hysterics by then.  They even have their own version of hide-and-seek that only the two of them play.  Seriously, if it wasn't clear to anyone already, it is abundantly obvious that Stella is a Daddy's girl!  It's amazing to think that these two were separated for the first many months of her life because you would never know that.  They are so adorable together; it just makes me love both of them even more when I see them playing together. 
  

 Other than that, Stella has had a pretty quiet month.  SHE is far from quiet, but it's fun to hear her little voice all over the house.  She is still practicing and learning new words, and she has really gotten into the habit of mimicking sounds.  If you sing something, laugh, or make a noise, there she is repeating you.  Stella is also still very much in love with Gwen.  She walks around saying "Nenna" all the time, and I swear that the majority of her days revolve around following Gwen around.  Stella also understands quite a few words now, and our favorite is "kiss."  You can ask her for a kiss and she will give you one, but she often just walks up to you and does it on her own.  The cutest though is that she's giving kisses to Gwen too!  She started by kissing her back while she was petting her, but now she will walk up to Gwen and kiss her on the nose.  Yep, I kinda love both of these girls!





Well, we are closing in on the official end of Stella's 1st year with us.  It really is hard to believe that she is already old enough to be having a birthday party, but at the same time, it feels like she's always been part of our lives.  She really is such a little ray of sunshine and such the happy little girl.  Speaking of the happy girl, here is Miss Stells hamming it up for her monthly picture:

September 28, 2012

Stella's 10th Month

WALKING!!!  That's really all I can say about this last month.  Stella has become quite the mobile little lady, and she is so over crawling.  Nothing is safe in the house any longer because she is already there before you can turn around.  The little devil will even run!  I think she thinks that we're chasing or racing her, but more than half the time we're just trying to beat her to trouble.

To start out this month, we actually had Stella's nine-month checkup with her pediatrician.  This was by far the most fun visit to her doctor because there were no shots!!!  All we had to do was have her weighed, measured, and give our general report on her well being.  Uh, if only all visits could be this fun!  Well, we were sure that our "little" girl was not so little anymore, but we were surprised by the results.  We were both convinced that she was at least twenty pounds, so we were shocked to hear that she only weighs sixteen pounds, four ounces.  I don't know how that came up on the scale, but it put her in the tenth percentile for weight!  This kid puts away food; it's actually quite impressive.  I honestly thought that we were going to be told to scale back on how much she eats.  The doctor said that because she was crawling and practicing walking all the time that she was using all of her calories.  He said it was nothing to worry about, but we could introduce fats and oils into her diet.  Hearing the idea of feeding her things like bacon and adding whipped cream to her fruit made me nauseous.  To say the least, we decided to stick to her healthy diet and let her continue to eat her massive meals.  She may not have come out big in the weight department, but she did in height!  Finally, Steve's height has kicked in with Stells!  She's like a little tree, and her twenty-eight and one-quarter size put her in the seventy-fifth percentile for height.  I can only hope that she continues to get Daddy's tall genes- can you say volleyball star?

This month also brought a chance to take Stella to her second baseball game.  It was another local Ace's game, but this time she was actually able to enjoy it!  Stella was five months old for her last game and slept through most of it, so this was a huge change.  The biggest obstacle with Stells was keeping her seated; she wanted to walk and see things.  This meant that I spent the bulk of the game walking her around the stadium to let her see everything.  She still could care less about the ball game, but she did love all the people and their food.  Case in point- she made friends with a few parents of players for the Ace's sitting behind us.  It started mainly because she was so interested in what they were always yelling about, but then she really moved in when they kept bringing back snacks.  I think she's a ways off from actually watching the game itself, but I'm glad she enjoys the venue!

Stella's summer activities also continued as usual.  We really kept to bringing her to the pool once a week, and each week made her love the pool even more.  She loves to kick and splash around (mainly kick) and she has become really interested in the other kids there.  I finally got the courage to take her underwater this month, and let's just say that it wasn't the most fun experience for either of us.  You're supposed to blow in their face so they hold their breath before you go under, but Stella took a huge gulp!  When we came up, she gave me this horrible look as if saying, "How could you!"  We've only tried this a few more times since, but she still is not entirely in love with the idea.

She does however still love lakes!  We decided to change the location this month and take Stella to Donner instead of Tahoe.  The main reason we wanted to go to Donner is because this lake is full of public docks and is dog friendly.  This meant that we could bring Gwen and Trigger up to Donner a couple of times with Stella.  It turned into more of a family event than anything, but we all enjoyed the warm weather and beautiful views. 

As I said at the beginning of this post, this month was all about walking!  Just before the I had to go back to work for professional development (August 8th to be exact) Stella moved beyond taking a few steps and started to actually walk.  After a morning of putting my classroom together, I came home to make lunch for Stella and myself.  I set her down on the floor to play with Gwen, and I turned around to put Stella's lunch together.  When I looked back to check on her, she was no longer there; Stella was walking through the living room and kitchen after Gwen!  This simple little stroll across the kitchen was the turning point when Stella no longer feared falling down.  She needed help to stand up, which was usually a very patient Gwen, but once she was standing she was off and walking. 

Sadly, it was back to school for Mommy right after that.  I had my professional development for a few days, then we would be back to school.  In this short time, Stella figured out how to stand up by herself.  This meant that she no longer needed to be next to a table, chair, or Gwen to get mobile.  Stella's sole motivation life became to follow Gwen.  God bless Gwen for being a patient dog because Stella is now even more of a nuisance that she is walking.  Gwen can no longer escape her, but boy does she try!  Stella is even working on saying Gwenna; it sounds kind of like "Danna," but she's still pretty impressed with herself. 

Now that Mom and Dad are both back to school (Steve has gone back to college at UNR) we are all adjusting to our schedule away from each other during the day.  I think that Steve and I are both so glad that Stella decided to start walking over the summer!  There's nothing worse than hearing about some new and exciting thing that your baby has done that you missed.  Walking is such a huge milestone in a baby's life, so we were thrilled that we saw Stella do this first hand.






The summer is over and so are ten months.  We have a tall, talkative, mobile, little lady on our hands that is almost a year old!  She's always walking somewhere now, usually caring objects with her as she goes.  We really do have a little clown on our hands, and she makes our nights after school and weekends so worthwhile.  Even my parents are reaping the benefits of having this little girl in their lives, and they have to be the two cutest grandparents you ever did see!  I think we're all feeling pretty lucky to have her in our lives.  Here is Miss Stells "sitting" for her monthly picture:

August 28, 2012

Stella's 9th Month

This last month has really been all about Stella learning more about what she can do.  It's amazing to see and hear her test herself to see what happens when she tries something new.  We've been busily trying to complete final projects in the new house and enjoy the summer, and she's also been very much part of everything we do.  It's hard to find ourselves free to work on our projects because Stella wants to see what we are doing and try to help.  But, we ended June feeling one step closer to finally having our big projects out of the way.


 

 





As we started July, we were all very excited for Stella to have her first 4th of July!  The 4th of the July is one of our favorite holidays, and it is also the anniversary of when Steve and I started dating.  We didn't have big plans per say, but we were definitely looking forward to barbeque, sunshine, and fireworks.  Unfortunately, Stella started to act a bit odd a few days prior to the holiday.  Our little happy lady was moody and not quite herself; she didn't even want to play!  We checked her temperature and it was clear that someone had a bit of a fever.  She has only ever had a cold, but this was definitely something new.  The night before the 4th her temperature spiked at 102, and she didn't sleep more than a few hours.  With all of us running on little sleep and Stells still maintaining a fever, we decided to spend the holiday in a pillow fort on Mom and Dad's bed.  It was so sad to see our happy little baby so upset and uncomfortable, but thankfully her fever broke and she was as good as new the next morning.  We still aren't sure exactly what she had, but her pediatrician said is was some kind of virus that she obviously overcame.  As long as he wasn't worried, we weren't going to dwell on it either.  

With Stella recovering from her fever, her appetite also recovered!  She went from small meals to putting food down like a bottomless pit!  She was eating with gusto and always wanting more.  The cutest new thing that she started doing was with her bottles.  She no longer wanted to be held while drinking; she wanted to stand and drink.  It was like watching Napoleon Dynamite chug Gatorade!  On the other hand, she also started a new thing with her eating that we are not huge fans of- yelling.  She does not want to wait and be patient for her food, so she will yell at you to put more food on her tray.  We've been trying to teach her that we won't react to being yelled at, but trying to teach an infant is interesting.  Imagine telling a puppy not to bark and you'd understand where we're at.  She's starting to understand that yelling doesn't get her attention, so our meals are going back to happy eating sounds instead of the sound of Stella testing the range of her vocals. 

 Stella had been feeling well for weeks and the weather was lovely, so we decided that it was time to finally get her into a pool!  I had been reading that you could teach a baby to swim as early as six months, so I thought we should get her into a pool to see what she thought.  It was such a fun day (probably most fun for Mommy and Nonna) and I was so proud of how Stella did in the water!  She would turn into a little motor when you told her to kick, and she would splash around and laugh at the water.  We now go to the pool every week, and she gets a little bit braver every visit.  Our latest visit had her going under water!  

We also had the pleasure of having another photo session with Kendall this month.  We didn't really have too many ideas for this shoot, but we thought it would be a great idea to get her first time on a swing in photos.  We did a few shots here at the house, a few outside in the flowers, and then we walked over to the park for the big event.  To say the least, Stella LOVED swinging!  She was laughing and smiling, and we were lucky enough to have Kendall there to capture the whole thing.  With so many parks in our neighborhood, I have a feeling that visits to the swings may become a regular thing.

Right after the photo shoot, we had a rather significant event looming.  I had not left Stella since the day she was born; in fact, I had not left the Reno/Tahoe area since I moved here last summer!  In addition to this, Steve had never been alone with Stella.  After much planning and preparing, I would be taking my first trip and leaving Stella with Steve.  The plan was to go visit my sister in LA for her birthday for an overnight visit.  I was extremely nervous, but I knew that Steve could handle it.  Even when my flight was cancelled and I stayed an extra night, Steve had everything covered.  It was nice to have a weekend to enjoy my sister and help her celebrate her birthday.

Steve did very well with Stella, but I think that he might have had a little help.  Gwen has always been interested and protective with Stella, but now the two of them have become best buddies.  Gwen comes into Stella's room every morning and gives her kisses through her crib.  Stella gets up after every nap and crawls over to Gwen's bed to pet her.  But, I think that Gwen really loves Stella because she knows that Stella is her meal ticket.  Gwen will prop herself under Stella's highchair and wait patiently.  Of course, an infant will drop food on the floor by accident, but Stella will now bend over and share her food with Gwen.  She thinks it's hilarious and laughs when she watches Gwen eat.  So now, when we eat, we ALL eat! 

After months of doing it once in a while, Stella finally started to clap regularly.  She always liked it when we clapped for her, but she started to want to clap for herself.  Every time we would clap for her, she would start clapping too!  She now claps all the time at just about anything.  I'll find her sitting at the back door or in the kitchen just clapping at nothing.  She even put it together with standing, and she will stand and clap!  She loves to stand up and dance to music; well, dance is a strong word.  But, she will stand and bop out to music, then clap for herself.  I think she's proud of her mad dancing skills :).   

We had been seeing Stella stand for months now, and we have anxiously been waiting for her to walk.  She continued to crawl at a lightening quick pace, and she even climbed the stairs!  We have two levels of steps, and she will go up both without pausing.  But, in the last few days, she finally took her first few steps!!!  Steve and I will sit a few feet apart and clap and cheer for her, and she will walk to us!  It started with a few short steps, but now she has taken almost ten steps to get to us.  She still won't walk on her own without encouragement, but we're still pretty amazed to see her walk towards us with a big smile on her face.





Nine months- where does the time go?  Stella continues to change and learn things that blow us away.  She is so curious and wants to do things for herself, so we are trying to stand back and let her discover.  It's incredible to hear her sweet little voice and watch her walk; two things that I think all parents look forward to.  The summer is getting closer to ending for us, but we are relishing every day that we get to spend watching Stella grow.  So, here's the little peanut who is not so little anymore:

July 28, 2012