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!