Welcome Home Luis!

Finally! Christine & Luis have returned back home yesterday after a month in Germany. Stella had been asking for him by saying "Where go Lulul"...meaning "where did Luis go?". After much waiting and anticipation, the two unite and dance to celebrate their reunion.

Here's a bit of how it went.

P.S. I had my first German tea and enjoyed it immensely. Robert, Christine & Luis brought over a bunch of sweets and with coffee, it made for a pleasant catch up. It will be very sad to see them go :(

Snow Day

It was a winter wonderland. Mom decided to go to the gym...I mean, what else would she have done with her girl who is eternally antsy to go out? It took about 20 minutes to get her in her ski gear and about 5 minutes in the snow. Stella wasn't sure how she felt about it but this day taught her the word 'snow'...

We got to the gym's daycare and not surprisingly, there were not a lot of kids to play with. Luckily for Stella, Lina (one of the caretakers) brought her son Max in as his school was closed for the day. Stella could not be more enamored with this wonderful little 8 year old who was so good with her. See the way she looks at him. She seems to like older men!

Swimmin in the Bath

1) Dad teaches Stella about personal hygiene and her the abc's by spelling out her name.

2) After infinite visits to the pool, and even more baths, Stella finally swims IN the bath.

Reading Time

As a great Dad who knows that reading is fundamental, Scott started a routine of reading to Stella before she goes to bed. He does this while she sits on her little personalized bench chair that he got for her. She enjoys this so much so that even when Dad is not around, she sits in her chair to read a book on her own.

So far, she prefers to point at a picture & tell us what it is vs. us reading to her. But ever so slowly, as she is understanding more words, she is showing more patience when we do read to her.

Watch Your Words

I was on the phone with a friend in the living room while Stella was in her room when I slipped and said the word 'sh*t'. A few seconds later, I realize that Stella is not only not in her room, but in the living room standing directly behind me. I know this because a few seconds after I said the word, I heard a clearly discernible, slightly lispy version of it. She not only heard me but decided to mimick me. Sh*t. I looked at her but gave her no reaction for fear that she would use that word and that word only for the rest of our existence. Thankfully or hopefully, she forgot. Lesson learned.

Naked Stella

After a great bath with daddy tonight, we were brushing Stella's teeth when well...she peed herself. So, instead of putting her back in the tub, mom decided to put her in the sink. It was fun to see she still fit in there although not for much longer.

Presidents' Day Weekend Feat

Scott accomplished a great feat. Stella actually wears a hat AND gloves. How he managed it is beyond a mother's comprehension as I've pleaded, tried to bribe and flat out force her but to no avail. On a day-to-day, it's usually Mommy that gets her to do things, but there are those awesome moments when Dad swoops in and manages the near impossible. Well done.

Our Hungry Little Wolf

Can you tell Stella is our first born? I mean really, can you? So we make a video for practically every waking moment of her life...that's pretty normal, isn't it? How else are Nana, Bampi, family and friends from afar supposed to see the milestones she's constantly crossing and how she changes by the day? How else are we going to have footage to embarrass her on dates?

Well there are no excuses for our obsession, just a reason...she is our one and only daughter. P.S. if and when we do have number 2, please don't tell him/her about this blog. We're not sure we can keep up!

Stella has been self-feeding for a while but she has really begun to master it recently. It especially helps when she loves what she's eating, which in this case is mac & cheese (& carrots, & spinach - gotta get the veggies in there anyway we can :). The one thing we have to teach her is that she is not in race to finish chewing before her next spoonful reaches her mouth. Stella doesn't yet realize that she can control her spooning by her readiness for the next bite.

Here's to healthy eating & the 80s.

Red Letter Date in Stella's History

From about 4 months to 18 months of Stella's existence, we were lucky in regard to her sleeping habit. it was great for nearly a year. down at 830. up at 730am. straight through. then came the elusive "sleep regression" (we read about this on the information super highway).

She woke up in the middle of the night at least once, usually 2, 3 even 4 times for months straight. to the point that our bodies just got used to 2 hours of sleep intervals. she would go down at 9pm. up at midnight, 2am, 4am, 6am for the day. it was not easy. however, we acclamated and it became part of life. in fact, it got so bad for awhile that she could not go to sleep without one of us remaining in her room until she fell asleep. I would read a chapter or two of my book (slam, by nick hornby) and then quietly sneak out.... sometimes to no avail because she has some type of sick sixth sense.... we think it is separation anxiety to the max and /or reaching a level of consciousness that she is more aware of dreams and nightmares

(i always hated that she may be having nightmares. how does a parent prevent and/ or fix infant nightmares? what could she possibly be scared of? maybe all the swings at the park are occupied? i guess that's scary.)

i digress.

So, after almost 4 months of relative sleepless nights, Stella has once again slept through the night. and the following night for that matter. What a relief. I don't expect it every night, but i think from here it continues to get better and better.

That makes all 3 of us happy : )

Stella's Progression in Talking

It's been a week or so since Stella started putting 2-3 words together that is coherent. Most of the time, she says "Hi _____", or "Bye bye ______". So for example, she says "Hi daddy", "Hi choo choo". Also pronounciation improves by the day, she's expanding her her ability to pronounce more than two syllable words (e.g. bicycle), and mimicking a lot of words we say even if she may not know what the word means. It's amazing.

I read somewhere that at this point (about age 20-21 months), toddlers are learning/comprehending up to 10 new words a day - they may not necessary say them but they comprehend them. Cool. It's fun seeing the beginnings of sentences and phrases.

These things keep happening in a flash. And when it happens, you realize that you just left a little more of the baby-dom behind. We love seeing our little girl grow up but it is all happening in a blink of an eye.

Hat Girl

Still can't get Stella to wear a hat no matter how cold it gets, no matter what we bribe her with, no matter who else is wearing it, etc. Nonetheless, she says the word hat; pronounciation "kat". She brings one over once it a while to put it on and there it stays for about 10 seconds if we're lucky. We've tried everything but glue it on. Hoods she doesn't mind which is perplexing.

She looks adorable in them so hopefully next year!

Rockin Out w/ Daddy-O

There have been so many moments of pride for Scott as a dad watching Stella cross numerous milestones and flourish into this fun individual. Of those moments, and I dare say even future ones, I am hard pressed to think of one that has or will surpass the one captured in this video.

Master, meet your apprentice. Apprentice, your master.