Fun Times

Over my spring break Stella and I visited the library and checked out some new books. She loved this Thomas the Train book and had us read it to her several times a night. I love the way she crawled up next to Brian to read this book. She looks so grown up.

We have been having several tea parties. She loves to line up all her babies on the stairs and make sure each has a cup and/or cookie.

Grandpa Ringger released the minnows into his pond and we had to be there to watch it. Cousin Eli helped Stella by giving her a fish and Stella wasn't scared one bit. She held it and then continued to help Eli grab them and throw them in the pond. I think we have a little fishergirl on our hands!

Aunt Emily got crafty on us and came prepared with an Easter egg project. The kids loved it and Grandma Ringger's kitchen will forever be sparkled!

Stella rocking with her cousin Carlie. She loves her cousins so much :)

The nice weather is here and the time for flip flops is here as well....one can't wear flip flops without a little polish on her toes :)

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!

Busy, Busy, Busy

During this snow we have had lately, Stella has loved watching Brian snow blow out the front window. The other day I found her watching Brian with her hat and mittens on. She was so ready to go out and help!

We got our new license plates!! Since we have gotten our new plates I have really noticed how many other vehicles have Riley's plates! It is amazing how many families they have helped. How lucky we are to have them so close by.

Stella got her first haircut....trim, I guess. She did so good! She had to have her boots outside the apron though...didn't like them covered up.

The DVD player and Praise Baby helped in a big time way :)

All done....with a little sparkle and all!

New Bill

A new bill has finally made it to the Healthy Care Committee. CHD Awareness week is coming up and several organizations have asked for Hoosiers to send letters to Indiana Senators. I am not one to usually partake in this. I usually sit by the sidelines and watch and see what happens. However, I felt like I should do this. If it didn't get passed and I didn't do anything, then I would feel guilty forever. It is a bill to make the pulse ox test a routine part of the newborn screening. It is that little red light that Stella had on her toe during surgery and while she was in the NICU.


It tests the oxygen level to make sure oxygen is being pumped throughout the body and the heart is working properly. It can't detect all heart defects, but it can defect those that are life threatening. Babies have left the hospital and died days later at home because of these CHDs going undetected. I cannot imagine this happening. So I did it. I wrote a letter to an Indiana Senator and hopes she takes the time to read it.

Dear Senator Becker,
I'm writing today to ask you to support House Bill 552 currently in front of the Senate Health and Provider Committee. I live in Allen County, Indiana. We had our first child in March 2009. We were thrilled. She came out screaming and kicking, so she had to healthy, right? Wrong. We soon found out she had a CHD. One of the most common birth defects of a newborn. Luckily, they found this in the hospital while she spent time in the NICU for other complications. Had she not spent this time in the NICU I'm not sure they would have caught it because she had not other symptoms early on. If I would have been like some other women I have heard about and taken my "healthy" baby home only to lose her in a few days because of an undetected heart defect I would have been devastated followed by feelings of anger. I have learned more than I ever thought possible about CHD's (not by choice) and was shocked to find out that something as simple as a pulse ox test is not mandatory in the hospital. I would not have known to ask for one of these. After spending time in the NICU and Riley's Children's Hospital and seeing how simple the pulse ox is to administer...I was even more shocked. It is simply taping a little light to the baby's toe! That's it! The equipment is already in every hospital. Up to 30% of babies with a CHD might leave the nursery undiagnosed. And to think this simple test could save some of these lives. It seems like a very simple answer to me. I know to ask for it with my next baby, but is it really fair to those women who don't know? Shouldn't every woman and every family have an equal chance to bring home a baby fully aware of his or her health conditions?

Thank you for considering this bill. Your decision to support this bill would save the lives of so many. With this bill in place, no baby in Indiana will ever go home with an undetected heart defect...and that is something to be proud of.

Blizzard 2011

Thanks to the Level One Emergency Allen County called, Brian got to spend a day at home with Stella and I! It was a dream come true. I have been battling yet another head cold, and this one is getting the better of me. I have been sleeping on the couch all week and needed a break....and Brian provided the break I needed. He took care of Stella most of the day and allowed me to catch up on the sleep I have been missing out on at night! In the afternoon, we got Stella dressed so Brian could take her out in snow a little bit. She is so little she barely broke through the snow when we put her in the drift in the above picture. I want to get a picture with her out front where Brian snow blowed the sidewalk. I think the drift would be as tall as her!

Sliding just wasn't the same with a big pile of snow at the bottom. If we would have had all the ice like they did further south it would have been a different story...(see the Adams' Farm blog for an example!)

And of course she can't go outside without swinging....especially now that she is getting good on the big girl swing.

Daddy and Stella attempting to make some snow angels...

Stella was so excited to show me the "popsicle" she found outside...

Hot chocolate anyone? We love it. She hated it.