BATH TIME

Stella has been taking a bath in her inflatable bath tub while sitting up for a while now, and I keep meaning to take some pictures of the development. Yet, usually by the end of the day I have already posted pictures of something, and I feel like it is just too much. I know, it is hard to believe that I would ever think I have taken TOO many pictures of our daughter. But I got over it tonight when I had the prospect of using my new lens coupled with Stella leaning back and putting her feet up on the side of her mini bathtub. Who could resist such adorableness! I dare you to try!

Things Stella loves to do in the bath:

• She just learned to splash.
• She makes her toy animals bounce in the water and then scoops them up and tries to eat off their heads.
• Before she met the toys, she was obsessed with chomping on and sucking up all the water from her daily washcloth. She would almost hyperventilate when she first saw me go to give her the cloth.
  

MAMA'S GOT A NEW LENS

I know I said my next purchase would be a new flash, but really I have wanted a single focal length lens for a lot longer. So I finally just went and got myself a 50 mm lens. It is a portrait lens, and since that is what I am taking most of the time, it seemed like a good idea to have one. I had to try it out so I tortured Stella by putting her out in the snow.

After the shoot, I played with my favorites pictures in Photoshop. I don't even know how I came out with the final images. I just kept clicking buttons until I liked them. I have NEVER wanted to learn Photoshop since I think it is unnatural to manipulate your pictures. However, that is what most customers want, so I am trying to learn how to use it. FINE, I'll admit it...I think these turned out fun...and sometimes better than the original.

It should be noted that Brent does not approve of these results. (I admit some are drastic and are just for fun.) He even doesn't care for the black and white one since he says he only likes black and white when it comes from film. Maybe he can figure out how to make my digital camera take black and white film.

THE ROCK-N-ROLL

Stella made her first attempt at rolling over all the way back in November. And she has done it from time to time since. But overall she has NOT seemed very interested in the whole rolling over bit. In fact, she often gets almost rolled over...and then...stops. I wasn't too worried since I figured she would eventually do it when she wanted to. Today I was playing with her and then, bam...she was on her tummy. In fact, it was so fast, I almost didn't see her do it.

Of course I wanted to first, take pictures, and then second, make a clip for the blog. I almost couldn't get either though, because as soon as I put her on her back again...she would make an annoyed grunt at me and then POP up and over she would go.

Here are some videos and pictures for you to be impressed by:

MY FIRST BOOK REVIEW

By Stella Sallay

My book is called Yellow, Red, Blue by Sami. This book is a rare gem in the world of baby literature. It is the delightful tale of a baby that changes its hair, hat, and costumes to yellow, red, and blue. Each page has a cut-out so it is really easy to grab and flip the pages for a beginning reader. It is also made of foam so it is light and easy to pick up. Another plus is that the pages taste super great. I have loved this book for my whole life, and am on the edge of my seat each time I read this exciting adventure....but you don't have to take my word for it!

TOES VS. FINGERS: THE GREAT BABY DEBATE

Stella has been doing that baby thing of grabbing her toes for a while now. But I realized the other night that to my surprise I had yet to exploit this adorable trick with photographs. Stella was being especially jolly about her feet when I took these pictures.

STELLA, THE INCREDIBLE DANCING BABY

So this is my first attempt at putting a video on the blog. I have wanted to stay true to only sharing photos, but Stella has been doing something so cute lately. She now starts rocking side to side when she hears music--she can even been seen dancing at church to the hymns. Last night when we were watching 30 Rock she got really into dancing to the theme song, and we caught a tremendous video of it. However, it was on an old, non-digital camera. I tried to relive the moment today. Of course her dancing wasn't as wild, but it was still cute enough to share. I hope you like it.

MY MUSE

I am taking a lot of random pictures of Stella while I am playing with the new camera. Naturally they are all adorable since she is the most photogenic child, but these were too sweet not to post and share with everyone.

GRAMPS HAS A BIRTHDAY

Yesterday was my dad's birthday. We went over to my parents' house and had dinner. I made lasagna. I took a lot of really sub-par pictures as I am trying to figure out my new camera and play with all of my flash options. I hate using a flash, but it is necessary so much of the time. My next camera purchase will be a decent flash to add to my camera. However, the flash on my new camera is significantly less offensive to me than my old one, and that thrills me.

You may notice a second appearance by the large pointed birthday hat. Mom and I think it is a tremendous idea to make everyone wear this hat on their birthday this year. Dad was feeling under the weather so he was quarantined to the dining area away from the babies. He had gone skiing that day and was a little out of it. Mom went into hysterics when I put the birthday hat on my dad like he was an invalid sitting in a chair with his blanket. Poor Daddy!

SEVEN MONTHS AGO

Happy seventh month birthday, Miss Stella Sallay!

Yikes, my little one is getting bigger by the day. Stella is the happiest seven monther that I have ever met, and being her mom is totally awesome. This past month has been Stella's busiest yet. She:

• tried her first non-bottle food
• had a bath sitting up
• experienced her first Christmas and New Year's
• wore her first cardigan sweater
• reached one of her New Year's resolutions by rolling over more than two times
• gave her first high five to her Uncle Tyler

If you are a devoted follower of this blog then you already know this, but Stella is the most terrific baby that has ever lived! Thanks Stella for the most delightful seven months any mommy or daddy could hope for!

Note: This is the first post with pictures taken by my new camera, a Nikon D300. It is quite a fancy little thing, and it is going to take me a few days to truly figure it out. But so far I think these pictures turned out just lovely.

PEAS, PEAS, PEAS LET ME EAT WHAT I WANT

It has been officially a month since Stella has tried something other than cereal. She was sick for a while and I wanted to wait until she was well to try a new food. So today I, the domestic goddess that I am, made Stella some peas. She ate them, but I am not sure if she liked them or not. I guess my first attempt at making homemade baby food was a success. Thanks Ashley for your help!

SUNDANCE 09

When Keith from Project Runway had his photo shoot at my shop, he invited us to his little fashion event that he was having up in Park City during Sundance. Of course, Heidi and Ashley were totally on board. So we made the trip up this afternoon. It couldn't have been a more beautiful day! The sun was shining, it was 45 degrees, and there was magic in the air. (Oh, and a few celebrity sightings.)

The show was in a tiny little gallery and we didn't stay long. But we did have a super fun time walking Main Street and checking out the action. I have been up to Sundance to see movies before, and I have never had more fun. It was a riot. We took tons of pictures, so please, enjoy our hotness.