Santa's Helper Doing Laps

Apparently putting a Santa's hat on Stella encourages her to do laps around the house:

Christmas Card 2012

This year, Mom came up to visit with her new DSLR camera and took pictures of us at the surrounding parks at Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.  We got a ton of good pics (all that can be seen here).  It was difficult to decide between all of the pictures, but we ended up going with the 4 above.  My favorite though is this one (that's in the center of the card):

First Time at the Zoo

Previously, we had gone to Deanna Rose where Stella got to check out some animals, but today we took her to the actual Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita where she was exposed to a much larger variety of animals outside the barnyard persuasion.  She lasted a good few hours and seemed pretty interested in the animals, especially the tunnel in the rain forest where the fish swim right in front and over the top of you (top right).

Not Stella's 1 Year Birthday Party

Our good friends, the Leaches, had a 1 year birthday party for their daughter today.  They are always creative with their get-togethers and had a The Very Hunger Caterpillar themed party from the adult food to the wall decorations to the cupcake display.  We all enjoyed it.  Stella hasn't been around other kids her age as much as we'd like, so this was a great opportunity for her to socialize.  Above is Stella and the birthday girl post smash cake.

First Steps (oh, and Happy Halloween!)

I was expecting Megan to dress up Stella in a princess costume, so I was surprised when she get got her a gnome costume.  There must have been something magical about that gnome costume, because she took her first steps in it.  Right after we got her in the costume on Halloween day, we wanted to have a photo session.  She's been pretty good with standing up on her own, so I tried to pose her in a standing position.  As soon as I did, she took a couple of steps towards us while we were trying to snap a picture of her.  We were definitely taken back when she did this.  I wish I would have got it on video, but at least both of us were there to see it!

First Time at Deanna Rose

We had a lot going on this weekend.  My dad and I went to KU's homecoming game Saturday morning (we almost actually beat Texas), and then Megan and I went to the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert Saturday night.  My brother also came in town with my parents to go to the Chiefs vs. Raiders game on Sunday.  Since we had time to kill on Sunday, we decided to take Stella to Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead.  I'd always wanted to take her and today seemed like a perfect time to.

I know Stella loves animals from our walks that we take to the nearby South Lake Park where she likes to watch the ducks and geese.  I think she has a thing for feathered creatures because she was fascinated by the birds at Deanna Rose too, including the bald eagle, owls, and turkeys there.

I don't think she was as interested when the goats molested me for the handful of food I had:

Mom was happy because she got to take the "fallish" photo with the girls that she wanted:

The last thing we did was check out this barn that had E.T. in it.  I have no idea how E.T. was affiliated with the barn, but I took a picture of Stella with the alien anyways:

We only got to scratch the surface in the ~1.5 hours we were there, but I think we will definitely be returning and spending more time on the stuff we know Stella will like.

1 Year Birthday Party

Today, we had Stella's 1 year birthday part at my parent's home in Derby, KS.  We chose to have it there instead of where we live so we could increase the chances of as much family coming as possible to celebrate this special occasion.  We were fortunate to have a good group of friends of family that made it (with Grandma Judy bearing gifts from others in MO that couldn't make it).

Megan did a great job of planning and getting everything ready for the party.  The party was princess themed complete with tiara topped cupcakes and a crowned smash cake.    We also had plenty of BBQ from  Hog Wild.

It was basically like Christmas for Stella based on all of the great stuff she received from everyone.  Here is the princess herself decked out in a tutu before opening her gifts:

In addition to all of the party pictures, I also have several videos to share from this momentous occasion:

• A photo montage that we played on repeat at her party.  This is only a small special selection of the 1000+ pictures I have taken of her so far
• Opening gifts
• Gingerly getting at her smash cake (despite previous practice with a cupcake)

Hangin' with Nora

Megan had an appointment today that she really couldn't bring Stella to.  So, our friends the Romers graciously offered to watch her.  She also got to spend some time with their newborn daughter, Nora, whom Stella is quite fond of.  Megan has informed me that they have to put their shopping carts side-by-side when the mom's go shopping so that Stella always has Nora in her site.

Molly took the picture above which we thought turned out really well.  Somehow Stella's long wild hair ended up looking like it was professionally styled.

1 Year Pictures

She wasn't quite as smiley or easy to pose compared to her 6 month pictures, but we were still pretty pleased with how Stella's 1 year pictures turned out.

Before I get to my favorites, I have to point out that one of her 1 year pictures was kind of disturbing.  We all know that Stella is super cute, so it's no big deal to poke fun at some of her less cute pictures.  I believe it was Morgan who first compared the following picture to Chucky holding a knife off camera:

Uncanny resemblance, right?  Now, my favorites (all of them are in my picture gallery):

Happy 1st Birthday!!

Stella turned 1 today.  Although cliche, time really has gone so fast, and I can't believe she's already existed for a complete revolution around the sun.  We've enjoyed every minute of it, and there's nothing I'd rather being doing than spending time with her.  I'm so proud of her that she's already managed to become such a cool little person in her short time on this earth.

To prep her for her actual birthday party and smash cake to take place on the 20th, we got her a cupcake.  Below is a video of her getting at it.  She seemed really shy and unsure of this new experience at first, but she became comfortable and messy in no time.

Assisted Walking

When we were in Wichita the last time, we picked up Braedon's old Gobble & Go Hippo to help with Stella learning to walking.  She picked up the concept pretty quickly.  Although kinda bow-legged, you can see her cruising along in the video below.  As a reward, at the end, we put her in the hippo and pushed her back and forth which she loves.

Talkative Climber

Previously, Stella would avoid the stairs as if they didn't exist.  However, she's recently started this new thing where she will try to climb them if Megan or I are at the top of the stairs.  I took a video of it below where you can see her pointing and yelling at us as if she's trying to command us to the bottom of the stairs so she can abandon her accent and get some attention.  I promise that her tumble at the end looks much worse than it actually was!

Mom's 30th Birthday

Today is Megan's 30th birthday.  Being the thoughtful child that she is, Stella got her mom new earrings from Swarovski Crystal and some massage and pedicure/manicure time at the local spa.  Above, Stella is getting a big hug of appreciation while holding the new earrings.

Standing Up

Megan has informed me that Stella has been pulling up to stand against various objects in the house.  I haven't really witnessed it on a major scale until today.  As I've previously mentioned, Stella is a big fan of her reflection in the oven, so I guess it's only proper that some of her first pulling up and standing experiences revolve around this beloved appliance:

Gameday

My parents came up today to visit.  It was KU's first football game of the season so we decided to dress Stella up in her KU cheerleader outfit.  We ended up having a showing at our house so we went to Oak Park Mall during the showing.  Stella and I rode the carousel at the mall (bottom left) and she later passed out in Dad's arms from the excitement (bottom right).  It was a pretty good day and we actually won the football game.

Messy Spaghetti

It seems like everyone has a picture of their first encounter with spaghetti, and I didn't want Stella to be any different.  Megan perfectly timed this occasion right before she went on a girls night out.  Basically, she suggested that Stella could have the leftover spaghetti and meatballs that we had the previous night, heated it up, put the food in front of her, watched her make a mess, and then left the house.  It was quite an endeavor to promptly get Stella in the bath and then cleanup the aftermath, but I think it was worth it.  Next time I'll put down a tarp.

Lovin' the Oven

Stella has loved her own reflection as far back as I can remember.  You put her in front of a mirror and she absolutely lights up.  Apparently, it's a genetic inclination that comes from the Moss side of the family (we sometimes call her Morgan).  Lately, she's found that the oven door shows her reflection so she's been spending a decent amount of time in the kitchen with it:

Great Grandma Jude at the Lake

Megan's Grandmother, Judy, has a really nice condo at the Lake of the Ozarks that's only a couple of hours away from us.  So, we decided to get out of town this weekend and visit Jude.  The pool there was great considering it's a million degrees out.  We went into town and saw the new Batman movie while Jude watched Stella for us (we haven't seen a movie in the theater since she was born).   I also got to go crappie fishing, which I rarely get to do so I was happy, and we ate the catch for dinner (Judy's neighbor caught the bulk of the fish compared to me).  Here are some highlights from the weekend when I remembered to take pictures:

Multitasking

Megan had told me about it, but I had never witnessed the elusive "Stella + holding her squeaky giraffe + crawling" combination until today.  Even better, I was able to get it on video.  It cracks me up every time no matter how many times I watch it.

Giving Ember some Encouragement

I often find Stella on all fours rocking back and forth when she is excited by just about anything.  Today, she seemed to be cheering on Ember until she was done eating her food.  I was able to snap some video of it about half way through.

Also, don't worry, I was very close by in case Ember decided to get aggressive.  She is pretty good about her food (not bones), but I was ready to spring into action if required.

Baby Proofing 2.0

Ever since Stella has been super mobile, I've had some anxiety about the old wrought iron railing that surrounds the stairway to the garage.  She can easily crawl underneath it as well as get her head or other limbs between the railing.  So, I mocked up a cardboard barrier and eventually replaced it with a more attractive clear plastic deployment.  I bought a big sheet of plastic, cut it based on my mock up, drilled holes in the plastic, and attached it to the railing with zip ties.  It was more work than I anticipated, but it was worth the piece of mind and looks a lot better than cardboard.  We also have a baby proofing strap that goes around the latch so she can't even lift up the latch (not pictured here).

Westport Food Truck Festival

Today, we decided to go to the Westport Food Truck Festival.  We met my sister and some other friends and sampled food from the various trucks there.  My favorite item was this burger from Indios Carbonsitos that had pineapple and jalapenos on it.  

Although it was really hot outside, Stella was a trooper.  She ended up in just her diaper and drinking out of a normal water bottle.  Megan (my sister) snapped the picture below while she still had her dress on.

Movie Night

To say that Megan is obsessed with the animated movie Sleeping Beauty would be an understatement.  She can basically recite every line from the movie.  For quite some time, she has been looking forward to watching it with Stella, and she decided tonight was the night.  Stella actually paid really close attention to it for at least 20 minutes which was surprising since she seems constantly unsatisfied and bounces from one activity or toy to another.

Crawling

Unfortunately, I don't have any good pics or video from today when Stella advanced from the commando crawl to a normal crawl where her legs and arms are coordinated in movement.  I just wanted to make sure I captured the date in this post.  From a baby proofing perspective, not much has changed, she can just get places much quicker now.  I'll try to get some video for a future post...

Happy 4th!

For the 4th of July, we decided to stay home, relax, and try to stay cool in our swimming pool that I've previously mentioned.  Here's Stella in the pool in her stunner shades and then later on in her patriotic themed dress that Grandma got for her (Megan was unimpressed with how I did her hair):

Baby Proofing

Stella is becoming more and more mobile everyday.  Since we can no longer just set her where we want her to play, we've started the inevitable process of baby proofing the house.  Our first step has been to keep her wrangled into the parts of the house where we want her to be.  For this, we've deployed two walk-through gates to keep her confined to one of the living rooms and the adjoining kitchen.  So far, the cost seems to be well worth the convenience of having a swinging gate as opposed to stepping over or temporary disarming the gate.  The gate is pictured above with Stella and Ember being depressed due to their recent incarceration.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Every year, for our anniversary (this year is our 3rd), Megan and I try to take a nice vacation.  This year was definitely different though with Stella in the picture.  It was a tough choice, but we decided to go to Mexico and leave Stella in the able bodied hands of our parents.  Megan's parents watched her for the first half and my parents watched her the second half.  We missed her a lot while we were gone, but a beach side vacation was exactly what I needed to recharge my batteries (pics from Mexico).

My mom snapped a bunch of good pictures while they had her.  You can see all of them in my picture gallery, but I've picked out my favorites from each day here: