Vote for me!!

You can vote....

HERE !!!

Papa took a picture of me, and Mommy entered it in a contest. If we win, I get a photoshoot!! Yay, camera on me!!

Please vote for me - I'm photo #5!!

Eight months - time to reflect

Easter


Hangin' with Nonno.


Fine, one more!!


My alter ego, Chiara Deveraux. At rehab.

So, here I am. Eight months already. I have my check-up next week, so unfortunately I don't have my official stats yet, but I am long and Mama is sure I weigh at least 25 pounds!! I am FINALLY crawling - it's an army crawl, but boy, between that and rolling, I get around quickly!!

AND my top right tooth is popping out! It was a long and terrible time with this one, but I'm doing a lot better now that I'm cutting that tooth. And it appears that its next-door neighbor is not far behind. I'm eating more solids each week, and I've experimented with lots of finger foods, too - chicken, avocado, teething biscuits, and puffs. I LOVE puffs.

Mama had a great time talking to her friends at Papa's rugby game last weekend: one who is ready to have her baby boy any day now, and one who has a daughter about my age. These meetings brought on some very interesting feelings in Mama's head: the nostalgia for pregnancy, that happy stretched belly that first occasionally and finally often moved and kicked, before my arrival; and enthusiasm about getting into a routine that makes time for both mom and daughter, including exercise!! The gym is a place that does not get used very often lately, and this has to change. Maybe it will be swimming with me at the pool, or leaving me at daycare a little bit longer, but Mama started exercising a bit before school in the morning, and gee, she is more energetic all day now!! Time to get back in that groove!!

Mama is also really excited to get back into photography. It's been hard, trying to work, care for me, and use that camera! But with a new lens and some steady, consistent photo sessions with me of course, she is starting to fall in love with her DSLR all over again!!

--Stella

Seven month update

I can sit all by myself - without falling over!I laugh hysterically at Mama!


I sit around naked in the living room!

Did I mention that I'm seven months old??

Two months gone by... here's some pics for you

Mommy's been REALLY busy with work and all, but click my pictures for a look at my last two months. Lots of stuff in the past couple months, including Christmas, my baptism, and my two bottom teeth! (Oh, and Mom wants me to add that she barely has any time to upload photos anymore, let alone edit them, so these are not as pretty as she would like!)

Baby + sick = not so hot.

Yes, I got the flu shot. Yes, I even got the H1N1 shot. Yes, I have hand santizer EVERYWHERE I go at school, and use it often, along with washing my hands every time I see a sink, because elementary children don't realize they just sneezed and then touched your stuff.

And I still got sick. Not just a cold, but a bug.

Now, I don't get sick often. Maybe a little cold here and there, usually sinus infections in the winter. Headaches. THIS is my worst nightmare.

And then you add a baby to the mix.

Yes folks, it gets doubly harder when you have a little one to care for on top of yourself. I should have had a clue last night when I went upstairs to feed Stella and I was shivering in a 70-degree room. (Yeah, I know it was 70 because we have the temperature-telling monitor; I had a huge fear of either her cooking to death, or freezing to death.)

I woke up feeling. like. poo. I was shivering all. day.long - up until I woke up from a major nap with a fever and now I can't stop sweating. All I have eaten today are 2 scrambled eggs (probably a bad idea, but earlier I thought I was just dehydrated and hungry, since I ate dinner early and didn't drink a ton of water in the evening), a cup of broth, a couple small glasses of OJ, a couple sips of water, and a couple glasses of bubble-less ginger ale.

I am currently eating a big cup of homemade chicken soup that my husband threw together for me. He. Is. Awesome. Hands down. He didn't tell me to suck it up, he totally took care of me all day. He let me nap; if I was awake and Stella was hungry, he brought her to me so I could feed her, and somewhere in there he found time to chope wood and keep the fire burning AND make chicken soup out of leftover cacciatore and a handful of pantry items (end of the week = nothing to eat until I go to the store tomorrow or Monday). He even took it upon himself to decide when Stella was tired and even put her to sleep for the night.

Honey, I LOVE YOU!!

Here's hoping I feel better tomorrow. Let's pray it was a short-term bug.

Merry Christmas!!

Four months old!!

Here I am again!! I have been having a hard time sleeping through the night again - I am starting to roll and I think I wake myself up! I started rice cereal this week, too - I had a hard time eating with a spoon at first, but I really like it now!

I can bear weight on my legs, hold my head steady; I smile, laugh, and coo; I can also grasp my toys for a short time. AND I can almost roll over from my back to tummy!! Watch out, Mom and Dad!!