Stella

It is remarkably difficult to write a post about this little one. I find myself just writing over and over how sweet and beautiful she is. I really could just leave it at that, but someday she just might want know about the milestones! These pictures were taken at 7 months. It's hard to believe so much has changed since then. She is almost 9 months and somehow we love her more all the time.

   I have been the worst at recording milestones, but we'll estimate :) At 6 months this little lady started sitting up by herself. She thought about it before then, but she took her sweet time. She also started saying "mama." She was not just babbling as Hayley suspected. She only said it when she was sad or needed something, and she just said "mama" not "mamamama". So it was legit. A few weeks later she started saying "dada" too! However, that's where the progress stopped, because she learned that she could really get things to happen if she yelled at us. So that's what she's stinking with.
   She started crawling at about 7 and a half months and is picking up steam all the time. The way she crawls is hysterical. She only uses her arms and just drags the rest of her body along. She looks like a well-dressed inchworm, until she starts to cry. Then, she looks like a wounded soldier or worse because she appears to be immobile from the chest down. She loves to get to the tile or hardwood floor, because she can really zip around picking up miniscule crumbs and brother's toys.

  Stella is still the most content and pleasant baby I think I've ever seen. She plays for hours without needing attention. She sleeps with her blankie over her face and only sucks on binkies when she's sleeping. She loves to eat solid foods, but not to touch them. She is a little prissy about touching anything messy. She also adores drinking water out of a cup. When she sees it coming she bounces and waves her arms. She also loves taking baths. Charlie and Stella are taking baths together now and it is hysterical. Stella sits at the back of the tub and Charlie at the front. She has figured out how to propel herself to the toys by kicking her legs just right. She slides right up to the Charlie and the fun toys. If you push her to the back, she just does it again.

 Charlie and Stella really love each other. They share a room, which can be a blessing and a curse. They have a tendency to keep each other awake at bedtime, but sleep through each others screams during the night. Last night I thought they were both falling asleep, when I noticed the light on in their room. I opened the door to find Charlie playing basketball and Stella the cheerleader smiling like crazy with her legs and arms waving through the bars of the crib. Charlie loves to sneak the door closed and entertain his sister. This morning when they woke up, I could hear Charlie saying "brrrr" because he was cold. Then Stella would imitate him. I finally peeked in to watch. It went on forever. The two of them with their just-woke-up hair and matching blankies, trying to make the other laugh. Best wake up call ever.
  For the most part Charlie is very loving with Stella. He likes to take care of her-or at least encourage her to stop crying with very shrill screams. This is most unpleasant in the car. She crawls to find him wherever he goes and thinks he's pretty funny. He wrestles with her and rolls her around the ground, they get each other laughing so hard. We have our moments of jealousy, but it is wonderful to be at this stage where they are starting to really have fun together. He loves to introduce her as, "my siser, Sella Grace King."

   Cam calls Stella "puppy" because she makes you feel so good. When she sees you, she gets an enormous grin, waves her arms, bounces and kicks her chubby legs. It's like she can't contain her joy. This is especially true for her Daddy. This girl adores her dad. She loves to play with him. They do tricks and he makes her laugh like nobody else can. I think she would always choose him over me (except at bedtime). I love love love watching them together. There's something very sweet about a daddy with his girl. When he picks her up, especially after a nap, she'll just lay her head against his face forever without moving. He's so tender and sweet with her.

   Basically, we all adore her. She is just a dream baby. She's fun to dress up because those chunky arms and legs look incredible in everything. She accessorizes well and leaves bows in her hair. I just can't help keeping a bow in at all times. It just kicks up the cute factor another notch. She loves her tongue and it is ALWAYS sticking out of her mouth (another inspiration for the puppy nickname). We love her babbling and her giggle and her gummy smile. She's getting her top four teeth right now, though so it won't be the same smile for much longer! She wrinkles her nose when she smiles and snuggles. Snuggling is one of her best traits :) I've yet to meet someone who could resist her charms. At church or the grocery store, she smiles at everyone and willingly sits on other laps. The kids in our Sunday school class are all smitten. Sometimes I look around and not one person is listening to me, they are all watching baby girl. Who could blame them?