That'll Work!

The other day, Stella asked me, "Mom, can I have a chip?" I told her 'sure' and headed to the pantry. I opened the door, only to find we were all out of tortilla chips. "We don't have anymore chips. How about a couple of pretzles?" "That'll work!" Stella hollered back. Yeah, I guess that'll work.

Often Stella will ask a question and when she hasn't received the desired response, she will ask again. This time, she will speak more loudly, and draw out certain syllables. For example:
S: "Mom, can I have a treat?"
Me: "No, you don't need a treat".
S: "No, I said Caaaaaan I have a treat!"
Me: "I said noooooooo, you cannot have have a treat right now. Treats are special and we don't eat them every day."
S: "No, I said can I haaaaave a treat?"
Maybe I should either pretend not to hear, or simply respond with the word 'no' in a different language, every time Stella re-states the question.

One last thought. Why is it that when we decide to nick name someone, we always come up with something much longer than the original name? For instance, Glenn's nickname for Stella is 'Cutie-tootie-fresh-and-fruity'. Now, we've gone from two syllables to eight. Not sure where it came from, but is sure is fun to say.

Sleeping Beauty

Stella's excitement at wearing her Halloween costume got her just plain tuckered out. When was the last time you saw this much pink?

Favorite Things

I love it when kids pick out their own outfits. Too cute. Whaddya think of Punky Brewster?

P.S. This is what Stella dubbed her 'Soccer Outfit'.

Catching up-Stella's First Day of Preschool

The excitement had been building all summer. It was all Stella asked about, "When do I get to go to school?" When does school start?" "I'm going to school tomorrow, right?"

Stella did great. She loves school. She attends her preschool Tuesdays and Thursdays. Whenever Stella is not at school, she is asking when she gets to go back to school. She always wants to talk about her teachers (which really just consists of naming them two or three times), "Mom, let's talk about my teachers." I asked her once what her teachers likes were, going through all three of her teachers (there are 22 kiddos in her class) one by one.

Me: "Can you tell me what Teacher Jean likes to do?"

Stella: "Umm... She likes to wear glasses!"

Me: "OK, how about Teacher Leslie?"

Stella: "Umm... She likes to wear nail polish!"

Me: "And how about Teacher Margaret?"

Stella: [long pause] "Ummmmmmmm... Teacher Margaret likes jackets!"

OK. Sounds good.

Then Stella wants to talk about 'her kids'. That's what she calls the kids in her class. Stella only knows the names of two kids in her class. Because I don't typically drop off or pick up Stella from school, those are the only two names I know as well. Usually, the conversation lasts about 90 seconds and then we're on to something else.

Below are a few pics from Stella's first day of preschool:

More Stella...

The other morning, I was sitting on the couch folding laundry. Stella was picking through her freshly folded pile of clothes trying to decide what to wear for the day. When I suggested something light and cool, she pulls her favorite pair of bottoms out of her pile and says, "Mom, I think I want to wear these bad boys today".
Later on that day, she was sitting on the potty singing, and twirling her hair, when I came in and started a bath for her. A minute or so after I left, she called me back in there and said, "Mom, can you turn off that bad boy? I don't want to take a bath today."
I guess we know which of our slang is rubbing off on the girl. Pretty cute.

Last weekend, we went to AT&T park to watch Il Trovatore (sp?). As we were getting the stroller and bag out of the back of the car, Glenn called Stella over in a very concerned voice. "What is it, Dad? Are you OK?" Glenn pointed to a leg sticking out of the trunk of the car parked next to us. Stella's eyes got real big and she slowly backed away from it to hide behind my legs. Of course Glenn tried to take it a little further by walking over, grabbing the bare foot and asking Stella if she would like to tickle it. This only frightened Stella more. I asked Glenn to calm her fears while I went to grab my jacket out of our car. I don't know what Glenn said to Stella but when I got back to where the leg was, Stella was kicking it and giggling. Though Glenn and I LOVED the music, the fake leg was the highlight for Stella.

P.S. Stella's eyes close when she laughs. I love that.

Stella

Some things I love about Stella right now (in no particular order):

1. The way she 'Whistles'. She tries so hard.
2. Every day she tells me I smell like chicken (better than beef-vegetable soup, I guess). Even when I've just gotten out of the shower.
3. Her summer tan lines
4. When I ask her to hold my hand, she always holds just my pinky finger with all of her fingers wrapped around it.
4. The way she sings that one song from Mulan, making up her own words in place of those she doesn't know.
5. She is three and still loves to snuggle
6. She loves to look at wedding dresses and talks constantly about getting married in the temple.

Night-Night

The past couple of weeks or so, we have been slowly getting Stella back into a routine. She starts pre-school next week, so we thought it was time to finally let go of the summer 'schedule'.
Typically, Stella goes to bed around 9:30. I don't get home from work until about 6pm, and that is the first time I get to see Stella for the day, so I like to get in a few hours with the little babe, before bed. She has been so great about baths and staying in bed, once we've said our prayers and good night.
The other night, Stella was furiously rubbing her eyes, and crying because she was so uncomfortable. This had been going on for about an hour. We had already given her some allergy medicine (a nightly ritual as her allergies have been so bad), so I went and got a cool washcloth to put on her eyes, hoping to at least soothe them long enough for her to calm down. It wasn't working. Finally I suggested we say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to help her eyes feel better. Stella nodded her head in agreement. After we said our little prayer, Stella and I looked at each other for a long minute. Finally, I asked if her eyes were feeling any better. She nodded. I told her that Heavenly Father loves her so much, that he wants her eyes to feel better, and sometimes all we have to do is ask Him. She seemed to understand. After another few seconds, she looked back up at me and just started sobbing. This crying was different. This was the cry of someone whose burden had finally been lifted off their shoulders. Hard to describe, but that is the best I can do at the moment. I got to hold that sensitive little soul a few more minutes, until she finally drifted off to sleep.
Last night was a different story. Stella took a good long nap in the afternoon. This must have contributed to an energy burst that seemed like it would never end. 11:30 was when we finally got the little one to calm down long enough to stay in bed. Glenn and I went to bed, minutes later, to the sound of Stella singing Disney songs. As we lay in bed, listening to Stella, it slowly got quiet. About a minute or two later, we figured she had finally fallen asleep. Wrong. Stella suddenly busted out with 'I Love You Baltimore' (word for word), from Hairspray. And loudly, too. Oi.

Going Private

Shoot me an email, if you'd like to still keep up with us...

Happy 4th!

As you can see, I am trying to catch up our blog. It has been too long since I last updated it.

For the Fourth, we got to see a parade (Stella got bored once the Harleys had passed by), swim and BBQ with our dear friends, and, of course, catch the fireworks at College Park. Love traditions, sometimes.

I can never get a decent picture of these two (Grandpa came with us to the parade)

Stella went into the petting zoo, but wouldn't touch anything except the bunny, which was too fast for her.

For watching Mom toss her beanbags for her (Stella begged and begged to do the beanbag toss, but wouldn't do anything once it got to be her turn), Stella got a whirley whistle and a snowcone. Yeah!

Beach Day

A couple weeks ago, we headed to the beach with some great friends. Stella and Miss Hayley became fast friends.

Enjoying some BBQ, beach style!

Of course the girls talked (and snapped pictures) while the guys ate

And the very professional family shot

ZZzzzzzz......

Stella was soooo tired:

LOVE This Face!

Don't Interrupt the Artist

This Is What A Bowl of Watermelon Looks Like After Stella Has Been Left Alone With It...

Yummy...

Cheaters, Cheaters!

Last weekend Glenn and I had the rare opportunity to go to a Giants game, just the two of us. In the days building up to our date, Glenn and I felt just a tad guilty about not telling Stella where we would be going. Finally, Glenn announced to me, the day before the game, that he felt a little like we were cheating on Stella, by not taking her, knowing what a fan she is. I asked him if he would rather bring Little Miss, but he insisted that he was looking forward to our date. That night, we had to sneak out of the house. Stella, the Giants Fan, only knew that we were going on a date. Glenn even waited to put on his Giants gear until we were at the BART station. We went and got to sit for the entire game. It was so nice to not miss a single play. Don't get me wrong, we love taking Stella to the games, and watching her enthusiasm grow, as she begins to understand the very basics of baseball. But I hadn't been to a game with just Glenn since Stella joined our little family. To top if off, the Giants won that night, so we headed home on a little post-win high.

As we walked in the door, Stella was hanging out with Grammie and Grandpa. The moment she saw us, she points at us and asks "Did you go to a Giants game?" Busted. She quickly recovered, however, when I assured her that we brought her back a little present and that she would get to go to the next game with us. As you can see, she was a pretty good sport.

Stella was so happy, she even harrassed Grandpa a little...

Let's Go Gi-ants!

This year, Glenn was able to buy a share of some season tickets for the SF Giants. Sixteen games in all. We have already been to quite a few. Stella is hooked - she keeps asking when we get to go to another game. One night, Stella had fallen asleep on the couch. Glenn and I were talking, and, out of nowhere, Stella pulls her head up, still asleep, eyes closed, and chants "Let's go Gi-ants!" Then immediately lays back down and continues her soft snoring. It was the funniest thing we had seen in a while. She is officially a fan.

Hide and Seek

FOUND: One Sony cybershot 6.0 mp digital camera, in a black, hard, nylon case.

Whew! We have to hide the camera from Stella, because she likes so much to look at pictures of herself, that we have a hard time getting the camera back from her. We finally found our little camera (MIA for the last month or so) tucked behind some books on one of our bookshelves. The only reason I found it was because I emptied the shelves, so I could move them around and paint the walls in our living room (a gorgeous shade of green, by the way!). Anyway, we are back in business! I will post some pics here soon!

Happy 7th, Love!

First, a little nostalgia:

Remember how tired we were of taking engagement photos, so it became increasingly more difficult to look the part?

Aaawww... back when we looked more innocent:

I think we had these expressions for the first few years we were married:

Wow. Seven lucky years. Seven very blessed years. Seven unpredictable, silly, and very fun years. Seven years of learning. Seven years of wonderful, never forget, unbelievably happy moments of my life. Remember how we used to see who could get home from work first, so we could scare the pants off the other as they walked through the door? I love our spur of the moment road trips, and playing chess in the park. I love our ongoing game of Uno, and how each of us would talk such trash, no matter how bad we were losing. I love whispered conversations at two in the morning, as we lie in bed, even before we had Stella (why did we need to whisper back then?). I love your bed head and scruffy face that always accompany those beautiful sleepy eyes every morning. Thank you, Babe, for always making me feel like the luckiest girl around because I have you to come home to. Thank you for blessing me with the sweetest little girl a mom could ask for, and thank you for making me feel like I can conquer the world and accomplish anything I dream of, knowing you will support me every step of the way.

I love you with every piece of my heart. Xoxxx.

Love you baby.....

When Tammy started this blog she urged me to make some posts when ever I feel. writing blogs are not really my thing, but I do have couple that I keep an eye on so that I can keep up with friends. This is going to be a bit of a surprise to Tam. I don't think she knows I keep up with this one very much.
Here we are babe, on the eve of our 7 year anniversary. Never did I think we would still be living on Virginia hills Dr, or going to the same church building that we did when we first made our eternal commitment. But here we are.... a little older, greyer, maybe even a "a bit more to love", but at least one thing remains the same. It's hard at times to see it, but I'm still crazy about you.
You asked me last night as we were walking to the theater to go see a movie, "if you knew then what you know now, would you change anything?" I replied , "yes, I would change something.... I would have tried harder to get you to marry my sooner". I mean that with all my heart. If I knew how much fun you would be to live with, I would have tried harder. If I knew how much happier I would be to wake up every morning to see your face, I would have tried harder. If I knew really just how perfect you are for me, I would have tried harder.
I have many friends who I have kept in touch with most of my life. Friends from all walks of life. Great friends all over the world. All of them are great people, but none of them are as lucky as me. They don't have you.
Thank you so much honey for EVERYTHING you have done for me. Thank you for being my backbone when I seem to have miss placed mine. Thank for being my brain when I can't think straight. Thank you for being the worlds sweetest mommy to our darling little girl. Most of all, thank you for saying, "yes, I'll marry you" on that cold night on top of Treasure Island. I sure love Stella, but YOU really are EVERYTHING to me, and for that I'm am forever grateful.
yours forever,
Glenn

Getting a Little Caught Up

Some recent fun times:

Bubble baths
Running through sprinklers
Watermelon and sticky faces
Monsters and Aliens in 3D (those glasses sure are fun)
BART Rides just for the fun of it
Lots of family snuggling in some new bedding
Riding trikes with friends every evening
Roasting marshmallows in the back yard
Scaling cliffs with babes to get to secret bonfires
Creating an ‘Art Wall’ for Stella
Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles

And we're all FINALLY better from the bug that had us for almost three weeks. Yay for doctors!

Baby Girl...

Poor Stella woke up this morning to vomiting and a pretty high fever. She hasn't quite quite been herself the last couple of days; quiet car rides, moodiness, exhaustion, no appetite, and a severe lack of silliness. I have missed our little one, this week.
Fast forward a few more days - Our Silly Stella is back on her feet, and spunkier than ever. This week, her favorite things to do are: playing catch with Mom and Dad, kicking any ball that is on the ground, riding the pink trike (she finally got the pedaling and steering down - yay!!), taping her artwork up on the wall, and adding a little to every picture each day, eating 'purple' yogurt, disagreeing with Mom about every. single. thing.

Man, I love this little one.

Thunder and Lightning

It appears that Stella is afraid of thunder and lightning. We really don't get much of either in the Bay Area. Earlier today, Glenn was getting her ready to head out, searching the apartment for her raincoat, when all of a sudden there was a loud clap of thunder. Stella's eyes got huge as she shot him a questioning look, like, "What was THAT?". Not more than a few seconds later some lightning flashed through the front window. Just after Glenn instructed her to listen for some more thunder, it sounded again, as she ran across the room, into Glenn's lap and buried her head in his chest. Thank goodness for brave, strong Daddies.

Stella-Ism

I was talking to Glenn on the phone this morning, and overheard Stella telling Glenn, "I I I going to be a pink pony when I'm all growed up."
She and Jake will make a cute couple, as he plans to be a police dog when he grows up.
Too cute.

Muir Beach

It was perfect weather to head to the coast. One of our favorite spots is Muir beach. Not too crowded, not too big, clean, and plenty of tidepools to investigate when the time is right.

We spent the entire day running from waves, chasing crabs, playing in the sand, and touching sea stars;

Miscellaneous Pictures For Your Enjoyment

Stella was helping put away laundry until she got distracted by dad's shiny tie.

Helping with dishes

Some recent artwork

Making pancakes for breakfast

Gearing up for baseball season. Really, we are Giants fans, but Boston is daddy's second favorite.

This is Stella's game face

Long day. Time for a nap.