STELLA SALLAY: GOLD MEMBER

If you go on more than one cruise with Royal Caribbean you are at Gold level status (I am of course Platinum and my parents are Diamond), which means that Stella is now a Gold member of Royal Caribbean's Frequent Cruisers Club. Anyone who was anyone could tell that Stella was one experienced cruiser. She had the whole thing down. The most luxurious thing about a cruise is getting to eat something you didn't have to make, and late at night at that (well, late to a one year old). I would say to Stella: "Hey, let's go and get a cookie." "Cookie!" she would yell, and then she would run to the door, knowing exactly where to get the cookies. We had such a fun Mommy and daughter bonding time on this cruise since everyone went but Brent, but despite missing him, I would have to say that we had a perfect vacation.

The sail away is always the BEST part of your cruise. Sailing out of Miami is especially lovely since we got to sail past South Beach and Star Island (where Diddy, and other people not as important as Diddy but still famous, have homes).

Each night was pretty low key. Stella wouldn't go down to sleep until I did. On the last cruise, I would really try to get her to fall asleep before me, and it always took forever. So this time I just let her stay up with me, and I think it helped that she was a little older too. So every night we would hang out, grab some cookies, and then Aunt Ashley would come over for a sleepover. Stella loved to snuggle with her Auntie and would usually try and mimic the way she was laying down in the bed.

The next morning after we got back from breakfast we found robes in our room. Stella found wearing one more annoying than luxurious, but I still managed to get a picture of us wearing our robes. That day we were at sea so we just hung out on the ship. We sat out for some sun, Stella and Ava played in Papa's cabin and made a mess, and I took Stella to the Royal Tots Play Group, which was basically just some toys in a room and like two other kids...lame.

That night I dressed Stella up in the only semi-formal outfit I brought. She did get a million compliments though on both the skirt and shoes while we walked around the ship that night. When we got back to our cabin we found our first towel animal and I managed to convince Stella to give it a kiss. Then as we relaxed together, Stella started furiously demanding more juice, so I took her over to my parents' room to have them watch her while I went all the way to the Windjammer to get some juice. By the time I got back my parents had snuggled Stella into a deep sleep--it was pretty cute. Stella had not had a nap that day and it really WAS a busy day at sea!

Sidenote: I thought it was always so adorable that when I would knock on a cabin door, Stella would always follow me with a very cute light knock on the door as well.

Our second day promised a much anticipated trip to Royal Caribbean's private island Labadee, and that morning I could NOT get Stella to wake up. She was already so tired from her super fun cruise. I am not a real fan of the beach, but I was really excited to take Stella there for the first time. I was concerned that she would react to the sand on her toes like her mother did (as a baby, I HATED the beach) but she loved it. Every time a wave came up she would giggle like crazy, and she loved bouncing in the ocean with Nana and Papa. There was a lot of shell hunting to be had, and Tyler spent most of his time hunting for shells. Stella was so absolutely tuckered out by her beach fun that she popped her sand-encrusted thumb right in her mouth without her blankie. She almost fell asleep, but we headed back to the ship before she could, and when we got to the room she was out in a flash. The beach was very beautiful, and combined with my obsession with Stella's tiny toes in the sand the result was A LOT of pictures at the beach.

I like to travel with Starbursts because they are the perfect thing when my blood sugar drops. I had a huge bag with us, and I would let Stella in on the Starburst fun from time to time. She got really good at opening the wrappers all by herself. Proof that where there is a will, there is a way:

Our next port was Jamaica. Stella and I slept in this morning and we missed everyone else in the family getting off of the ship and hiking "The Falls" in port. But I always love when the ship is quiet and empty because everyone else has left. We just walked around and Stella insisted at this point and for the rest of the cruise that she HAD to push her cousin in her stroller with no help from Mom or Grandma of course. It was a little tedious at times, but it kept both girls happy.

Stella loved wearing my Marc Jacobs sunglasses during the cruise. I would put them on her and say "Lookin' good, Stella!" And you know what? She did look sassy!

Our last day was at sea, and that morning I took my camera into the Windjammer to get a picture of how cute Stella looked when I put the napkin around her neck. She insists on feeding herself most of the time now, so she had to stay protected from all of that falling yogurt!

On our last day we did absolutely nothing, which is my favorite kind of day. We did get to watch the beautiful sunset from our balcony though. Stella was more interested in seeing Cousin in the balcony next door, but she still loved it.

That night we all went to dinner together at the Windjammer.

On our last cruise, my mom got it in her head that she wanted to take jumping pictures. So she insisted that we do it again. [Editor's Note: This is precisely why I didn't go on the cruise this time.] The girls LOVED being on the windy deck and counting "1, 2!" and then jumping. Here are some of our hilarious results:

Then we took a few family snaps:

If you don't already know, I go crazy for magicians. I love magic shows, and love to pretend that I am not watching illusions, but real magic. That night for the farewell show they said they were having a magician, so Dad, Tyler and I went. The magician was more of a bad comedian than a good illusionist. It is pretty bad when I could tell you how he did all of his tricks. Then to add insult to injury they had the the whole crew sing the WORST farewell song. So many people were taking pictures of the show, so I had to get in on the action since I always have to do what other people do. This picture of Tyler makes me laugh!

Me: "Stella, did you have fun on your cruise?"

Stella: "Yes Mommy, I loved it. Can I have a cookie?"
Me: "Sure baby, it is bedtime after all. The perfect time for you to have a cookie."

And that is all, folks. All that is left are two long flights home to Utah and Brenty. A special thanks to Tyler who was an awesome travel companion and was always helpful and good for a laugh. He even held sleeping Stella while I had to run to the bathroom while on the plane.

Please feel free to contact Stella anytime for cruise tips. She is certainly a great source for the secrets of cruising. Like mother, like daughter.

SCENES BY MICHELLE

We only had one family picture taken by the cruise photography professionals while we were on the cruise, and that was the welcome aboard picture. When we found the picture in the photo gallery we discovered that the photographer (if you can call him that) cut both Ava and Stella in their strollers out of the picture. I guess some photography schools don't teach any lessons about getting everyone in the picture--it is a shame. But maybe they don't think that it is a lesson worth being taught.

Anyway, I still have a hard time calling myself a photographer because I can't imagine being any good at something I love so much, but the photographer in me still can't help taking a few shots here and there of things I find scenic. On our last cruise I made a special post with some of the scenic pictures I had taken while out to sea. I thought I would keep up the tradition here.

DADDY'S BIG DAY

My dad turned 55 yesterday. Experiencing a birthday not long after you have almost died seems pretty significant to me, and yesterday was a very reflective day for me. I was just so glad that today was a happy day and not a sad day, and that we were celebrating my dad's birthday with his recovery moving along. He has actually started going to the shop a couple of days a week and life gets more and more normal each day.

For the party, we kept it low key. Ashley made lasagna and I made my devilish chocolate cake. When it was time to sing Happy Birthday my mom and I put a "sparkler" candle in the mix. It didn't sparkle, but it did fall over and almost start a small fire on the cake. Stella and I bought my dad a balloon and cards. It was totally cute when we realized that Stella and Ava picked out the same exact card for their grandpa. I let Stella sign the card herself and also add some squiggly embellishments.

We had a great time, and the cake was enjoyed by all. My dad called me this afternoon: "Michelle, I have some serious news." Me: "What?!" Dad: "We are out of cake."

STELLA SKILLS

Stella does so many adorable things and I try to document most of them. Lately, she has two new skills that are totally amazing me.

First off, she is all about feeding herself with utensils. I think I first noticed this when we were at a restaurant and she was making whining sounds while reaching out for something. I realized that what she wanted was a fork. Suddenly, the simple task of using her fingers was not sufficient and she wanted to use her fork. With her skills of obtaining food with the fork being about as good as mine are with chopsticks (i.e. not good) it made it a lot harder for me to eat my food because I was constantly being interrupted with Stella's pathetic whines for help getting food on her fork. She is getting better fast though, and today when I took these pictures I didn't help her once getting the banana bread on her fork.

Stella's next act of genius seems more advanced, and that is how she holds a pen or pencil in the correct way. No one ever tried to teach her this. She just started picking up pens and then paper and then she would pretend to write on the paper while holding her pen just like her mom. It was my mom that started helping her write letters on paper, and now when she wants to do it, she brings me the necessary tools and says "A B," referring of course to her ABCs. I keep trying to remind her that we only draw on paper and not anything else. Do you think she is listening?

Some words that Stella is saying now are:

• Apple
• Shoes
• Juice (which sounds the same as shoes)
• Milk (which means she wants juice)
• Cold
• Mmmm Good.
• Cookie (referring to an actual cookie, and also that she is a "smart" cookie)
  
• Mote (referring to the TV remote--I don't know how proud I should be of this one.)

THE DIVINE TANTRUM

So my dear friend Bree has written a book, and I have been to a couple of The Dark Divine events and taken pictures. Each time I have not taken Stella, but I thought it would be a fun idea to take her to a signing and have her get her own copy signed by the author.

And it was fun...at first. Ashley and I took the girls to lunch, and then headed over to Barnes and Noble. Both Stella and Ava were in love with their own copies of the book. This was fine until I got the feeling that Stella was going to accidentally rip it. So I had to take it away which was the beginning of a mini meltdown until I gave her another book. I thought that the crisis was averted and so we went to hear Bree speak. I got one picture taken and BAM, off went Stella with her stroller. Ashley and I decided to leave the store and then when I wouldn't let Stella drive her stroller she threw an absolutely HUGE tantrum. My main objective was to get her away from the reading, but the crying just got louder. So I thought if I just let her walk on her own she would stop, but NO, she ran away from me in total tantrum mode and I had to chase her down WITH the stroller AND my camera AND the diaper bag AND our coats. Once I grabbed her and drug her through the store, I had to wait in line to buy the book since Bree had already signed the copy for us. Did Stella stop screaming in line? Of course not. It was humiliating at the time, but I am already laughing as I write down what a wicked child Stella was being. It really is so unlike her and I certainly was not prepared to handle the scene we created.

So, moral of the story? When the sequel comes out, I am buying the book online and having Bree sign it at her house. Or I will be leaving the little one at home, and attending the signings solo.

To see the other posts I have done about The Dark Divine you can head over to the photo blog HERE and HERE.

I actually give this book two thumbs up, but I had to use my other thumb to hold the book and keep it away from Stella.

TYLER DOESN'T GET TO PICK THE RESTAURANT 2010

Tonight was Tyler's birthday and we all met up at The Red Lobster for a fancy dinner. Stella was in absolutely no mood for a dinner out. She was totally irritable on the drive to the restaurant and while we waited for a table. BUT then suddenly she saw AVA and everything that was wrong and irritating with the world vanished into Ava's blue eyes.

I freaking love irritating my brother with pictures--it is one of the great joys of my life. I always look forward with great anticipation to special days like his birthday when I can make him the spectacle of my flash. Dinner was really fun even though we were the wild group in the dining room.

The craziest part of the night though was seeing my dad walk into the restaurant. It was so weird seeing him like our life was normal again, and here he was walking in for dinner with his little cane. It was kind of surreal and made me appreciate our dinner together even more. I hope that me really appreciating family time lasts forever.

Brent thought he was hilarious...or rather WAS hilarious when he wrapped the DVD he got Tyler with the tie that I had bought for him.

My mom really wanted me to get a picture of Tyler and Ava's Vans. It totally annoyed Tyler so I was all over it.

I don't know if I have ever known two babies that like each other more than Stella and Ava. It is so freaking adorable.

ILLUSION

My mom got me these potted tulips as a congrats for being published in Utah Bride and Groom. They were just green stems when she gave them to me and suddenly they are adorably bright yellow tulips.

Everyone knows I adore spring and hate winter, so I just had to take a picture of my kitchen window with the illusion of spring.

To read about my big published moment, click HERE.

NEWS MAGNET

My dad has been on the news/TV more than anyone I know. I guess his shenanigans are often newsworthy, and I think this is actually the fourth blog post about Dad being in the spotlight.

This segment was for Fox 13. They interviewed my dad about his experiences with the H1N1 virus and his recovery. They filmed him at his rehab center asking him questions about how the last few months have been for him. He encouraged everyone to go out and get their shots. Then they got some footage of him working out in the rehab center's pool that has a treadmill on the floor. I got some pictures of him working out, and I have to say that he is looking better every day.

The segment will air on Tuesday I think.

STELLA WENT TO WAR...

...AGAINST A JAMBA JUICE!

After we left the rehab center and my dad was still working out, we went shopping with my mom. On our way back to pick up my dad we grabbed some Jamba Juice. They make these baby cups that you can pay a little more for and then they put some of your smoothie in the small cup. Stella loves them, but I picked a red smoothie this time and it ended in disaster. When I got her out of the car I discovered smoothie everywhere. In these pictures her cup is covering the worst of it. I had to laugh or I would cry.

HAPPY

Last year I had Stella wear this headband to ring in 2009 and she could barely sit up, but I still wanted her to sit up in the pictures. At one point, she toppled over and banged her head on the floor and Brent was not happy. "Was that worth it? To let Stella get hurt for a picture?" Thanks to an infant's short term memory loss, she was over it in no time, and we were still able to enjoy 2009.

I don't think 2009 has been that awesome, but I have to say that I don't really have anything bad to say about it. I mostly seem to remember all of the happy memories, and the times Stella made me laugh more than the times she made me crazy. My dad is alive and getting better, and we all have a new perspective on family and life. The world is only going to get sadder and more disgusting, but it will be our attitudes and understanding of the Gospel that will help us remember the good stuff year after year. Sometimes this is easier said than done, but if we are really going to be like Jesus than we had better see the good in our lives, and move past the sorrows and disappointments. I am of course saying this more to myself than anyone else, because I never want to forget how many blessings I enjoy in this life that I need to be thankful for each year.

To see how Stella wore this headband last year, you can click HERE.