New Pictures

Hi, Everyone! I just wanted to share some new pictures of Stella that we had taken a little over a month ago...for her first birthday. We finally got them back and I thought you'd like to see some of them...these are all of the ones of her by herself (all the rest have us in them too). There are a few more too that are really cute - but I'll have to send them in a later post because the blogger site is down right now and won't let me upload any more pictures...So - stay tuned! :)

She's doing great, by the way...walking like crazy and talking a lot too. She's such a special little girl. We feel so blessed to have her in our lives. We hope you are all doing well.

13 and 14 Months!

Stella has had a great summer. She is growing and learning new things every day, it seems. She is just the cutest little thing we've ever seen.
No - she's still not quite walking efficiently yet - but she is taking a few steps at a time and while a bit wobbly, she is finally starting to get it! More than walking, though, she is really starting to talk. It's the cutest thing. She can now mimick just about anything you say to her and is saying a lot of things on her own too. Her favorite being "What's That?" or "Who's that?". She calls our dog by name now and can say Elmo! She loves her grandma and grandpa and says their names quite often! She is also saying the names of her cousins and can identify them by name in pictures.

She loves to swim and is learning to 'blow bubbles' in the water and kick her legs. I think by next summer she'll be really ready to learn to swim!

We went on two vacations this summer - one to Lake Tahoe, California and one to Seal Beach, California where we stayed in a beach house. She had a great time with her cousins on the beach and is finally old enough to actually play and dig in the sand...and boy, did she ever! :) There are some pictures below of the vacations and just some other random ones that have been taken over the past couple months.

She is, as always, still small for her age. But, she is starting to fit into some of her 12 - 18 month size clothes and is wearing some of her size 3 shoes! So - she is growing - if slowly! We love that she is petite - it's so cute.

We hope you all are doing well and are staying cooler than we are! :) Now that we're done with our summer vacations - we are looking forward to the fall!

Stella with mom and dad in Lake Tahoe.

Stella at Seal Beach the first night we were there. She was still becoming accustomed to the sand!

After a few days on the beach she was having a ball rolling in the sand and digging away...not to mention trying to eat the sand!

Stella playing with her cousins Grace and Hannah. She thinks she is a big-girl when she plays with them.

Getting brave down by the waves!

Reading her favorite book at the dinner table in California! She was much more interested in that than in her food.

We thought this was such a funny picture of her. We all had a good laugh when we saw it! Happy little baby!

So dirty! A bath was definitely in order after this particular afternoon on the beach!

Cameron with all his ladies! This is Stella, Hannah and Grace, our nieces.

This picture is a funny one - Stella with her little cousin (the only one younger than her right now). She is always messing with him and trying to give him his binky, etc. Here I caught her in action poking him right in the eye! Silly girl.