The Hilarity Ensues...

Stella is getting to be so smart! She has a bunch of funny tricks. Here are a few of the silly things she does:

What does a snake say? "Ssssssss."
What does a kitty say? "Ooowwww!"
What does a monkey say? "Eee, Eee, Eee!"
What does a puppy say? "Pip!"
What does a clock say? "Ti-tah, ti-tah".
What does Mommy say? *She shakes her finger at us like we are being naughty.

These are Stella's current words: Mama, Dada, hot (which she whispers repeatedly), elbow, ball, hello, sock, show, ear, hi, bye-bye, pup-pup, baby, Me-Me (this is Emily), bottle, and she signs milk, more, eat, and juice. She also sings Twinkle Twinkle with a few correct words here and there...

Stella is not only walking- she runs! She is getting to be really fast and is now very steady on her feet, even in footwear. Her new-found mobility has enhanced her freedom; she has discovered toilet paper and the bathroom garbage, and she can open doors. She knows that cabinets and drawers contain unique and exciting objects, and she assumes a cute little perch on the lower level of our buffet.

Lots To Be Thankful For!

We all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving with lots to be thankful for! Stella and the gang headed up to Grand Aunt Maria's in Wisconsin for some food and festivities. She was very shy at first, and clung to our legs, but eventually opened up.



Stella comes from musical stock, and Grand Uncle John took out his guitar for a children's' song sing-along. Stella danced around and showed off some of her moves.





The little turkey girl wasn't all that interested in eating the Thanksgiving fare; we think that there was just too much going on. She did, however, sit at the table with us for a bit- but as her nap time approached, she decided that she needed a break. She sampled some couscous, ate some of the roll we gave her, and decided that she was done.



Stella got to see her second cousin Arthur, who was visiting from Kansas. He is 8 months and is a cutie pie. Stella loves babies- which is a good thing, because she has a baby brother on the way!

Hauntingly Cute on Halloween!

Halloween was a blast this year, and Stella is finally old enough to participate in the celebration. We had a cute ladybug costume that was a gift from our baby shower, and we came across it just in time (it is hard to remember everything that we got and stowed away). Our little bug looked adorable walking and crawling in her outfit.



Saturday we had a party for Blake's birthday, and Stella ate cake, brownies, cookie, and rice krispie treat. After the sugarfest, we headed to Aunt Jennie's Halloween party and Stella got to visit with Grand-Aunts Elaine and June.

On Halloween, Chris and I attended a wedding for Frankie's mom and dad, while Stella trick-or-treated with Grandma Louise and Uncle David. Once we were home, Chris and I peered into her goodie bag and looked at her loot. It was so cute to think of Stella getting her six little candies from neighbors. We were disappointed that we couldn't take her out, but are glad that she got the opportunity to go nonetheless.