Round 3

Joe got another dog, again.  His name is Jett and he is 13 or 14 weeks old. He's a pretty good little pup and Leroy is extremely happy to have a friend again. 

Baby on Blog

CAUTION:  Baby on blog is smaller than appears! 

Some of the pictures I have posted of Stella make her seem huge, but she isn't really that huge.  The camera adds 10 pounds, you know. This picture of her little bubble face is one of the few that doesn't make her seem like a giant.

Little Stella Jo had a week or so where she was not seen without a little patch of bubbles around her mouth (see photo above).  She is finding her thumb A LOT quicker now.  Talking more and more every day.  And she just started laughing out loud today!  She's also becoming more independent every day.  She's been hanging out on her activity mat all night long tonight, all by herself.  She smiled and kicked, then dozed off for a little bit, woke up and started smiling, kicking and chatting away again.

Sami learned to ride a bicycle without training wheels last Thursday, thanks to her wonderful daycare providers!  She is also starting to go to bed on her own again, FINALLY!!

50 Dollars

"Mama, look! I'm helping you clean up so I can have 50 dollars!" 

What Stella thinks of Sami's dance class.
Kate

Two little monkeys sleeping in my bed

Stella slept in her crib from 10pm until 5am, without waking up to eat during that time!  After I fed her at 5am, I just let her lay in bed next to me.  Then at 5:30am, Sami showed up, crawled in and passed out.  I love my little monkeys.

Photo Shoot

Today I attempted to take Sami's 4-year pictures and some pictures of Stella.  Sami was not very cooperative and quickly became crabby, so it didn't go so well.  Here are some of the pictures that I took.  I am not done with my attempt to get good 4-year photos without paying a 'professional', but if I don't post these now, I never will.  Let me know which pix, if any, you like or think would make good hand outs. 

^ This one would be great if it wasn't blurry. :-( 

 ^One of my favorites.  I was trying to take pics of just Stella but Sami had issues with that.

 ^Also a favorite of mine.

A Woman's Work

Sami: "I'm tired...cuz I do EVERYTHING"
Me: "You do everything around here?!"
Sami: "YES, I do."
Kate

Thumb Sucker

Stella has discovered that she likes to suck her thumb, but she hasn't quite gained control of her hands yet. It's a little bit entertaining to watch her try, relentlessly, to get her thumb into her mouth. And I know this isn't a good habit, but I think it is SO CUTE!


On another note: Samantha just jumped in front of Stella and screamed at her. I asked Sami why she has to always harass Stella and her answer was "because she's my best friend".

"So you bug her because she's your best friend?"

"Yep!"

Dancing Queen

More like Dancing Diva. She thinks that serious dancers don't smile when they pose for pictures.

Sami started dancing for Just for Kix last week and she loves it! We aren't allowed to watch them practice, though, so I probably won't have action shots until she has a performance.

Big Day

I'll miss you today my sweet baby night owl.
Kate