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If you haven't taken a gander at my photo blog in a while, I invite you to do so. I've been busy. ;)

BEFORE A NAP

Stella loves her naps, no doubt about it. She is usually a pretty good baby, but when she needs her rest, she lets us know.

NO MORE PICTURES!!

11 MONTHS AGO

So sad, this is the very last month post for Miss Stella. She is almost a year, for real! Stella is crawling like a professional these days which makes photo shoots with Mom almost impossible. Stella is ever the performer and waves at almost everyone now. When we go to the grocery store it is her time to shine, waving and smiling at everyone we pass. Most people will wave back, but it doesn't phase her when she is ignored...she continues to wave and smile until she sees someone new.

Stella also performs for her parents and will do a trick after hearing a key word:

GIVE KISSES or KISS: Stella will smack her two lips together to make a kissing sound. The first time she did this was after I kissed her "good night" in her crib, and I heard a kiss back. CUTEST SOUND EVER!

BLOW: We are working on her blowing skills so she can blow out her birthday candle. She makes a blowing sound when asked.

SHAKE IT: When she hears this she wiggles her hips and belly and essentially SHAKES IT! It never gets old!

She is usually pretty proud of herself after the tricks and she claps and smiles. We even have a clapping session sometimes during book time after she turns a page. It is all about the clapping at our house. (Well, also the waving. We wave so much that Brent even waved at church once when we were asked to sustain someone.)

Oh Stella, what in the world would we do without you?!

AND SHE'S OFF!

OK, I WILL LOOK AT YOU FOR A SECOND...

TIMES UP!

LOVE ME ANYWAY?

GIGGLES GALORE

Over the weekend was the much anticipated Flight of the Conchords concert at Abravanel Hall. I was expecting it to be fun, but I was totally surprised by how hilarious the show actually was. I also was hoping to be able to finally settle my ongoing debate as to which member of the band deserved to move higher up on my crush list. However, it was a total bust in that regard since I just couldn't decide! They are BOTH too cute and too funny for words! Brent was in charge of getting our tickets and he got them right away, but we were still on the very last row (the show sold out super fast). But that didn't dampen our enjoyment. My only regret is that my mom should have come with me since she loves them. She insisted that she was too old for concerts--I should have insisted otherwise. Maybe sometimes daughter knows best.

Brent was kind enough to stay home and watch Stella for the night, and even though I could tell he was a little sad to have missed it he said: "I wouldn't have traded my night with Stella for any concert." Awwww...so sweet!

These pics are zoomed and super cropped for your enjoyment:

Well pleased:

We also took Bridal pics of Heidi while she was here. I am over the moon about them, and must insist that you take a sec to check them out HERE.

PANTRY LAND

Stella is finding new things to get into each and every day. Her new favorite spot is our pantry. She loves to open and close the tall doors over and over again. Also, the bottom shelf is full of fun stuff for babies to play with, like plastic plates and Ziploc bags. What a tremendous treat!

Today when she came over and started pulling out our printer paper and ruining it, I told her "No!" and took it away. Then she blurted out a pathetic whine. To which I told her: "Go ahead and complain. I don't care--I am bigger than you." Well, I may be bigger, but I am often finding that I am not always faster...I can't believe how fast she can get around, our little Miss Independent.

MOMMY DAY

So today was my first Mother's Day, but it actually started yesterday. When I got home from a long day of two wedding set-ups, Brent called me upstairs to see Stella doing something super cute. I obliged since I hadn't seen her all day. When I walked in, I saw her sitting up in her crib.

"Oh my gosh, how did she do that? We are going to have to lower her mattress, because she is going to crawl right out!" Then Brent told me that wasn't all, and I had to look closer. Stella and her dad had a little surprise.

Sneaky little Stella had a card and present on her lap. Stella had her daddy transcribe her feelings into an adorable card that I just loved. Then as my gift she bought me some dark chocolate covered almonds since...well...let's just say that a few weeks ago some of my almonds mysteriously disappeared because of her curious nature.

Thank you my baby-love for making me a mom almost a year ago. I can't imagine a better baby to show me the ropes. I love you, and love being your mommy!

AVA'S FIRST TRY AT BIRTHDAY GIRL

I am starting to notice that it seems everyone is always saying: "I can't believe it has already been a year." Maybe we should start recognizing a year for what it is--not some long measure of time, but really a very short one. Still, I'm going to say it...I can't believe it has already been a year! My little niece turned one on Thursday, and Ashley planned a totally fun party for everyone last night to celebrate.

Ava is walking, and she does it with such ease that it seems like she has been doing it since birth. She was so cute walking around in her Birthday Girl hat that her Auntie Michelle bought for her. After we devoured the delicious food it was time for gifts. Ava was hilarious as she walked from present to present pulling out tissue paper, and then moving on. She wanted to see each surprise as her mom and dad helped her find her presents. I tried taking pictures, but it was very hard to keep up with her since by the time I had focused, she was on the move to her next conquest.

When we sang Happy Birthday and Ashley helped Ava blow out the candle, she suddenly grabbed the cupcake! We were lucky that she didn't touch the flame. Overall it was a totally fun party and we had a wonderful time celebrating our little bean.

IT APPEARS THAT I CAN'T HELP IT

I feel bad because I seem to be so obsessed with photo shoots that I never just take pictures of Stella being every day cute baby Stella. However, when I do get my camera out to take a picture of Plain Jane Stella, it turns into a full blown shoot anyway.

This one started out innocently enough. Stella was enjoying her current favorite treat, the graham cracker...

Then she started crawling around and I realized I needed some pictures of her on the loose. Her crawl is what a baby book would call "the army crawl." She almost has it, but she can't seem to get her left leg to cooperate. It is still cute though, and she has found herself to be much more mobile. In fact, yesterday she found the dining room. Her face looked so tickled to find another whole room she didn't know we had. Let the adventure begin!

These are only a handful of the pictures produced by this impromptu shoot. I end up having a ton of adorable pictures, and then I can't delete even the bad ones since they are all Stella faces. I guess I shouldn't get too worried. My addictions could be much worse.

THIS IS THE LIFE!

Stella is totally capable of holding her own bottle, but she doesn't. Would you when your mommy and daddy could hold it for you and you could just kick back and relax? I think this picture drives that point home.

TIPTOE THROUGH...

My dearest friend Krisi and I have two favorite things in common: pictures and tulips. So I was thrilled to accompany her to the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival this past Thursday. I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it since my home has been a den of illness all week, but I decided to leave Stella at home with her daddy and have a night with just me, my camera, my favorite flower, and one of my favorite friends.

To see a handful of the hundreds of pictures I took, venture over to the photo blog.