Stella's Baptism- Aug 1, 2009

We had a wonderful family weekend. Uncle Bo and Aunt Kimberly, Uncle Chuck and Bryan all came in town for Stella's Baptism. She did really well in the service and didn't cry at all. She especially love hanging out with cousins Grey and Landry.

Stella Reese is 8 months old

Here is a picture of Stella and Daddy playing. She loves to laugh, babble and play. She is constantly talking in her own baby language. She has a new army crawl that she does to get a toy or to help get where she needs to go. She pushes up on all fours and rocks a lot but still hasn't done a full on crawl. The girl would just rather roll, scratch and army crawl to wherever she needs to go.

The Rolanders come to visit

My childhood friend, Susan came into town and made a special trip over to meet Stella. Susan and I were in club gymnastics and diving together for most of our lives. It was so fun to catch up!

Swimming with Stella

June has been an eventful month for baby Stella. David and I have been to weddings on back to back weekends and went to Arkansas for "One Particular Harbor". In Arkansas Stella got to meet some of my dear friends from college .We went to Mellow Mushroom which was delicious. We also got to spend quality time with my family. Stella swam for the first time at my Aunt and Uncle's house. We made sure that the pool was plenty warm since she is such a princess:) She really loved it at first but got a little overwhelmed when daddy started teaching her the backstroke. She's no Michael Phelps yet...but she's got potential.

She has developed so much over the last month. She sits up really well now and has almost outgrown her infant car seat.

She started eating veggies at 6 months and loves it all. So far she has eaten green beans, squash, sweet potatoes,peas and carrots. We are starting the stage one fruits tommorow.

She really loves being on her tummy and has been trying to crawl for weeks now. David and I are going to child proof the house this weekend and lower her bed to a lower setting.

I must say that the last 6 months have been so amazing for us. We love STELLA so much and have enjoyed every minute watching her grow up.

Future Tri Delta

Stella was very interested in my empty wine bottle on the airplane to North Carolina. For now we are just sticking with Milk but David and I sure got a good laugh at these pics.

Mikey may have liked it but...

Stella's first cereal feeding was a success in the fact that Brittney and I both put cereal in her mouth...Stella actually eating it, well, that's another story. Brittney and I both got a good laugh out of Stella's displeasure with cereal and our spoon feeding techniques. Take a look at the video...

Opposite Day

I headed to a Baby Shower for Brunch this morning and left Stella to have a little one on one daddy time. They went to farmers market to get spices, the lawn store and just ran all kinds of errands all around Kansas City. Meanwhile, I enjoyed a great Bruch with good friends to celebrate the arrival of Lilly Angelica Lund.

When I returned home from the brunch, I was so proud that David had picked out a cute outfit for Stella to wear for the day.If you look a little closer at these pictures you will notice that her outfit is backwards. Didn't seem to cramp their style any...

Order Up~ Cereal time

Fruit Loops, Golden Grahams, Lucky Charms....I don't discriminate when it comes to eating cereal! But then there comes baby cereal. WOW! The only time I have ever seen such a thing is when I was watching a special on food for outer space.

Serving Stella her first bowl of baby cereal was a big event in the Henderson Household last night. It's the only thing that Stella has ever put in her mouth besides milk/formula and the occasional hand to gnaw on. It was pretty darn cute. She was so confused by the taste and texture, that probably only 1% of what was served went down the hatch. David and I had a good laugh just watching her try to figure it all out....

Sick and Tired of being Sick and Tired

So far, daycare has been great for Stella. Every day when I drop her off she laughs and seems excited for a day with friends. However, RSV hit the daycare hard a couple of weeks ago. We pulled Stella out a couple of days just to be safe so she wouldn't get sick....but it was inevitable. She got RSV from daycare. She was conjested for a couple of days and had a cough but it didn't seem to get her spirits down at all. She was still smiling and playing the entire time! She has been back in daycare for over a week now and is her charming little self. She did get extra cuddles from Mom and Dad during that time though....

It's my B-day and I cry if I want too...you would cry to if you had to get 3 shots!!

Friday was a big day for Stella Reese. She turned 4 months old. Thankfully, Grandma Henderson made Stella a cake for her 4 month birthday. Stella got all dressed up for the big day...decked out in her tutu. She loves wearing different fabrics because she is into touching everything right now. Here are some pics of her stylin and profile on her 4 month b-day

We also had Stella's 4 month check up on Friday. Dr. Olson said that she looked really good. She now weights 14. 11 pounds and is 24 1/4 inches tall. She has been sleeping through the night for over a month now which is really nice for Mommy and Daddy. She ussually sleeps 9-11 hours a night. Dr. Olson said that was awesome. We were glad that she got a good report card because being new parents you really don't know what to expect other then what your read in books. Unfortunately, we had to get some more shots. This is the hardest part for me to watch...Stella cried for a minute and then after being comforted, really handled the whole situation as a pro.

Growth Spirt for the Squirt

Stella really enjoys going to her in home daycare everyday. Mrs. Diane takes good care of her and everyday when I drop Stella off she has a big smile on her face. It makes David and I happy that she seems to enjoy it. Stella is such a morning person and is in the best mood smiling and playing the entire time we get ready for school. Last week we were going through her normal routine and I started dressing her....BUT, nothing fit! It's like she grew a foot overnight! Thank goodness, Uncle Chuck organized Stella's closet by size so I was able to move to the next size up seemlessly. She ended up looking adorable in her Brown/Pink outfit that Aunt Kimberly and Uncle Bo got her!

Saint Patty's Pics

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY

Stella had so much fun on Saint Patricks Day. David and I were so excited to take her outside for her first walk around the block since the weather is so nice. When we got home, Stella couldn't get enough of her Bumbo seat. She loves to watch Baby Einstein DVD's in her bumbo seat.

Stella Gets Her Groove On in Florida!

Brittney, Stella and I just got back from a great trip to Key West and Miami Beach. Aside from going topless at both a bar and a beach where they didn't allow that stuff Stella was an angel the entire trip. She did well on both flights and was a great sport to go along with her wild mom and dad to all the festivities that surrounded Kim and Jason's wedding weekend. I've attached some pictures below to document the trip. A HUGE thank you to Tug and Gigi (Grandma and Grandpa Barrett) and all the other wonderful folks we were with down in Florida for helping us take care of Stella and helping us have a great time in Florida!

Stella's first flight.

Stella and Gigi at the beach in Key West.

Stella and family at the southern most point in the continental US.

Taken from my seat at Jason and Kim's wedding - pretty nice background for the wedding ceremony!
Stella LOVED waking up in South Miami Beach!

Dad and Stella on the beach in South Beach
Henderson family pic on South Beach...that wave in the background came and got us all 3 wet immediately after this picture was taken!

AND WE'RE BACK!!

Well, hello there. Needless to say, it's been a busy month! I wanted to share some pics and brief narrative of what we've been doing for the last month while I've taken a brief hiatus from blog updating. Amidst frequent visits from Grandpa Henderson, visits to Grandma Henderson's and visits from Grandma (Gigi) and Grandpa (Tug) Barrett Stella celebrated her first Christmas here in Kansas City. Stella was able to celebrate with all of her grandparents and also had an opportunity to meet Uncle Bo and Aunt Kim Barrett, Cousin Grey, Cousin Landry and The Gibson Clan (Donnie, Carol Lynn, Derek, Jennifer, Dylan and Brookelyn. At about that time she also celebrated her 1-month birthday. Grandma Henderson has baked a cake for every week birthday, month birthday and every significant holiday (and insignificant holiday - Happy late Santa Lucia Day by the way!).

When we first met Dr. Olson, (see Oct 20th post below) he told us that since Stella would be born during flu season that we should not take her "out" until she is 6 weeks old. At our 1-month meeting with Dr. Olson he revised that to 1 month. After 1 month cooped up in the house, Brittney and I jumped at the news and have taken advantage of that and taken Stella out to eat with us a bunch since then! She seems to love the crowd noise at the restaurants we've visited on Friday and Saturday nights and sleeps the entire time. We were out last night with a good friend from Cerner (on a Tuesday) and the restaurant was dead (and quiet)...Stella was up the entire time fidgeting and crying - go figure. Since the last post Stella also was able to celebrate New Year's Eve at Paul and Missy's. There may have been more babies at the party than grown ups...boy how the times have changed! Most recently, Stella met Uncle Chuck last weekend when he was here visiting from Los Angeles.


Stella has been lucky to have had lots of visitors come by in the last month including Brandy, Mike, Brenda, Matt, Julie, Ben, Amanda, Brian , Janice, Ernie, Christine, Erica, Jane, Ryan and I'm probably missing others. Thanks!

See the pics below for a pictoral review of the past month!

The Month in Pictures...

Thanks Uncle Mark (Morton) for taking these first 4 shots!!

The older men in Stella's life - Grandpa (Tug) Barrett and Grandpa (Ralph) Henderson

Gigi, Mom and Stella holding up one of Stella's favorite gifts (thanks Paul)

Stella's first meal out - Gert's Grille. Yes, that's a Coors Light neon sign in the picture...so, yes, we brought our baby to a bar :)
Stella and her big cousin Greyson Barrett enjoy a moment together at Christmas

Too many Egg Nogs...

"I said I was giving up sweets...you make me eat one of these cakes every week for my weekly birthday. Tell Grandma Henderson that I can't keep up with all these cakes!!!"

Grandma Henderson and Dad with Stella celebrating Christmas
Stella and Dad by the Christmas Tree.

Stella chillin' on the couch. So many appearances, clothing changes, 8 meals a day...being a baby is tough work. Sometimes you've just got to kick back...
Grandpa Henderson with Stella celebrating Christmas
Mom, Dad and Stella celebrating New Year's (and a KU Insight Bowl win)
Uncle Chuck and Matt Coday and Stella

Excited about her sign and birthday cake from Grandma Henderson for her 6 week birthday