Pause Button

Sometimes I just want to hit a pause button in life.....however, when I think I want to, the next day Stella always does something sillier :)

Stella has been doing great (so far) in her big girl room/bed. I know there will be day when the crawling out will begin....but for now, she's doing good. We change her diaper and instead of us putting her in bed she says, "Me do it." She climbs up from the end and crawls under the cover. Then she looks over and says, "Bye, bye mama/dada." Wait, what? Really? Um, no.....I need a kiss, and a hug, and don't you want to sing a song?

We moved lots of her toys upstairs to her playroom and have started playing up there more in the evenings. She goes up there on her own here and there, but not for very long....until this week. I am on spring break this week. I got her up from her nap and she said, "Bye, bye mama. Me play." I shut the doors upstairs to prevent her from going into the bathrooms, etc. and close the gate. She yells, "Me done" when she is all done and I go get her. Today she played up there for quite awhile! I went up to play with her just because I missed being with her.....although it did allow me to unload the dishwasher, and get some other stuff done.

And when I did go up and play....it was almost like we both needed the little bit of alone time because we had so much fun! She had so many deep belly laughs and was acting so silly. I love this spring break time together! It is the perfect amount of time. And I know she misses her little friends because everyday she talks about them :)

Today we went to the library to a little toddler class and she checked out some books for this week. I think she would have checked out the whole library if I would have let her! Then we ended our outing with a little lunch at Burger King.

So maybe I don't want to hit a pause button....each day brings something new that I wouldn't want to miss out on :)

Growing Up!

I can hardly believe that this was Stella's third St. Pat's Day! We brought her home from the hospital on this very day....a day to forever celebrate! She was very excited when she woke up to wear her new Irish shirt (thanks to Aunt Micki)! She ran into her babysitters yelling, "Happy Irish!" to Monica and all her little friends. She also greeted Brian at the door when he got home with another big, "Happy Irish!"

This was a big weekend....moving into her big girl room. We spent Friday night putting together the bed rail and moving everything into her new room. She was very excited. She was running back and forth emptying her drawers faster than I could put her clothes away! But in no time at all we got everything moved: all of her clothes, pillow, and diapers are now in "Stella's room" while all the baby stuff remains in the "Baby's room". Bedtime came and she was very ready to be tucked in. Sang a few songs. Said good night. And she out. Not a peep all night! We went in to get her in the morning and she was just sitting their waiting. We opened the door and she yelled, "Me up!" The nap went just as well....we hope it continues!

We had a big "To Do" list this weekend. It seems that the weather gets nice and I get more motivated. We woke up Saturday. At the top of my list was a pedicure...it was fabulous! I love that sandal season is here!! Brian watched Stella and it was amazing what I got done Saturday morning without having to load and unload a toddler at every stop. Since we were actually home this weekend without too much going on, we decided to do some bulk cooking of some sauces to freeze and have ready. So we got busy....and we were very successful in a fairly short amount of time: spaghetti sauce, hot dog coney sauce, sloppy joe, and taco meat.

Then it was nap time for me and time to relax and watch some basketball for Brian. Overall, a pretty fun and relaxing Saturday :)

Birthday Weekend!

We are so blessed. There is no way to even list the blessings we have been blessed with.We have an amazing little girl who was born with a heart condition and if you didn't know her, you would never know it. Born with a heart condition and we have had two wonderful years with her with many more to come! Stella has three great grandparents who love her so much. Great Grandpa and Grandma are pictured above while Great Grandma Everett sent her love from Florida :)

We celebrated her second birthday with one of her favorites....Elmo. What a great cake!

Stella practicing her walk in her fancy shoes....

So excited for her new picnic table from Grandpa and Grandma Butcher...

Stella has been loving dress up lately. The first thing Sunday morning Stella had to try on all her new dress up clothes....the butterfly outfit from Amanda....

The bunny outfit from Grandma and Grandpa Ringger along with the sunglasses from Aunt Micki...

And finally the flapper dress from Grandma and Grandpa Ringger....

We had a great party and were so lucky to celebrate it with great friends and family! Thank you to everyone!!

Happy 2nd Birthday!!

Today was Stella's birthday. When we woke her up this morning from a deep sleep, I asked her whose birthday it was and on cue as if she were awake for hours she yells, "Me birthday!" She was very excited to wear her birthday shirt and to bring cookies to her friends at Monica's. The kids greeted us at the door so excited it was Stella's birthday!

I picked her up after work and headed home. As we waited for Brian we decided to play a little dress up in mommy's robe.


We had chicken and french fries for supper....her favorite....and then headed upstairs for her to open her presents. She loved her new kitchen set (pans, oven mitt, and wooden spoons) and all the new food to go with it. We had to open it right away and run into the playroom to put it into use. She filled her pans and put them on the stove top, in the oven, and in the microwave and they were all followed by, "Beep, beep, beeps..." letting us know they were all done cooking :)

She wanted to play a little peek-a-boo with the camera....


We had such a fun evening. It is amazing how quickly they grow and develop their own personality. She is very excited for her Elmo birthday cake this weekend.

Busy Month

March is a busy month for birthdays!! Happy birthday to Lacey and Stella this week!!

More Winter Fun

This was the extent of Stella's sledding adventure. Although, I think she will soon be ready for more because she kept saying, "Faster, faster!" as Brian was running through the yard.

This was Caden and Eli's sledding adventure as Grandpa hooked them up the 4 wheeler and took off. By the look on their faces you can tell they loved it!

Grandpa and two of his girls getting ready for a 4 wheel ride. Millie wasn't so interested, but Stella loved it.

We were hitting snowballs with sticks from the yard. I told Eli to go into the woods and find another stick. Notice the "stick" he was trying to bring back. Lol....this boy cracks me up!

We spent the weekend down with the Adams' family. We always have so much fun. Stella keeps up with those boys with no problems. She runs around, plays their DS, and tries to boss. They are always so sweet and share their toys with her....they are definitely all boy, but they most definitely have soft hearts :)

Eli shared his new circus toy and DS with her all weekend....those are coveted possessions of Eli! I went down to check on them in the playroom at one point. I opened the door and it looked like a nightclub in there....lights off with blue lights lighting up the room and drums being played very LOUD. He and Stella were banging away and head bobbing......he said, "We're okay. We are just rocking out in here."

Below are the three little girls of the weekend....we missed our older two girlies! They were all so good all weekend. Maddie definitely had Stella's attention while Millie wasn't quite sure what to think...

Must be watching something good!!

I am ready for spring pictures on this blog!! Hopefully it comes soon!