Sniffles & Sneezes

Despite having a runny nose and sore throat, Stella has been in good spirits this past week. Her latest trick is stretching her neck back and looking up at the ceiling, often overbalancing in the process. Since she has been moving from place to place via hands and knees, rolling had gone off the menu until today. Nana piled all her soft toys into the middle of the room so she could flop into the middle of them, pull one out and roll over and over across the room with a big grin on her face. She is confidently cruising the furniture, sometimes taking her hands off to have a clap or play with something and manages to stay upright, but no steps yet. Bets will be taken as to whether she'll walk before her 1st birthday!

Visitors from LA

Stella's Poppa and Grandma Cindy came over from LA for a visit last week, Poppa hadn't seen her since she was a few weeks old so he noticed a big difference since the last time her saw her! Stella was a little wary at first but Poppa soon won her heart by reading lots of books (current faves are My Dad and Peter Rabbit's Colours). They also had lots of fun playing with the blocks that Dad made for me and Katherine when we were little. If you can figure out what tickles Stella's funny bone in the 1/2 hour leading up to her sleep time, you invariably get slightly hysterical laughter which is great fun as she's not one to dish out laughs willy nilly. Managed to capture this on camera one morning. Again the sound is slightly delayed but should bring a smile to your face. We had some lovely outings, including lunch with Stella's Great Gran. Stella was spoiled by Poppa and Grandma with some lovely clothes as well as a plush Minnie Mouse from Disneyland. Unfortunately Minnie has had to make a trip back to Disneyland as the security tag hadn't been taken off her ear and we didn't want to ruin her by breaking it and having ink go everywhere, it will be a nice surprise when she turns up on the doorstep again sometime soon.

Happy Birthday Jack!

On Sunday we went to Jack's 2nd birthday party. Stella got dressed up in her coolest outfit (trendy top courtesy of Aunty Kath) and had a great time with the other kids. The weather was perfect for hanging out on the deck enjoying the delicious food and bubbles served up to us. Jack's cousin Kate took a shine to Stella, smothering her with kisses and cuddles and helping me feed her lunch, she even gave Stella her mini gingerbread man (once she had nibbled off the M&M buttons and a leg or two!) Jack's little brother Charlie chilled out in the bouncer watching the action go by with lots of smiles. You can see Stella in the background body slamming her lion Alex, it seems to make her more relaxed to have a toy she recognises when we go out so as Alex is one of the current faves, he is enjoying getting out and about on various family outings.

Good Friday

It was a beautiful day yesterday and everyone was in a great mood at the thought of four long days off work even though there is a list of chores to do a mile long. Stella enjoyed playing with her digger inside her little tent before breakfast. Up from her morning sleep and off down to Milford Beach for lunch, we are very fortunate to have such a lovely beach so close to home. After a good swing - lots of children to stare at so no interest in looking at the camera - we gave her lunch on the beach then made the most of her good mood and had a walk. She doesn't like her proper buggy sunshade, maybe it feels too closed in, so a sarong does the trick which she raises up and down in peekaboo fashion as we walk along depending on where the sun is. Her top two teeth have finally broken through but still aren't that visible, I think she'll look quite different once you can see them.

Morning Playtime

Stella is usually full of beans after breakfast, this morning I took a video of her blowing raspberries at her reflection in the sliding door glass. As soon as she sees the camera (or any gadget such as mobile phone, remote etc) she stops whatever she is doing and crawls over to investigate, often gabbling to herself along the way.