Stella's Christening and Her Big Upcoming 4 Month Birthday!!!

Well, in pretty much 12 hours, Stella will turn 4 months old and will be getting some icky shots. I love her birthdays but hate that they are usually commemorated by immunizations:(! It's been SOOOOO crazy around here...I am just barely seeing a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel!

Stella started daycare 2 weeks ago, which has been tough, especially since we've all been sick for at least a week now. We went to the pediatrician this past Saturday to make sure it was just a regular cold and not something terrible like RSV and she checked out fine weighing 13lbs 13.5oz! I can't believe how big my girl is, though I know other babies who are SLAMMIN' on the pounds compared to my little Stella. She's just a petite thing, that's all:) Daycare has been somewhat...interesting. I am lucky because (if I want) I can stalk Stella all day via the daycare's webcam and keep an eye on the teacher. After watching for a few days, I can honestly say that I do trust Stella's teacher and the whole daycare in general...there's just something about having to share your child's sole caregiver with 3 other children...especially after having a perfectly wonderful nanny in house for 8 weeks! Other than the sinusitis I've developed from daycare, Stella seems to be ok with her illness. It's really only nasal congestion and a bit of a scratchy throat, which has all improved over the past week. I've got her mattress propped up one side and a humidifier going constantly in her room because I'm terrified of developing ear infections. Fingers crossed, it seems to be working! We'll see at the doctor's office tomorrow!

This past weekend was Stella's Christening at our church here in Mandeville! Stella wore the slip, gown and cap that has been in our family for 55 years. This was also worn by Stella's cousin Millie, myself and my siblings, all my cousins and my mother and her 2 brothers. The gown was a bit small for Stella - apparently you are supposed to get babies baptized before 3-4 months - oops. But I was merely keeping up tradition because my grandmother jokes that when I was baptized, mom waited so long to do it that the gown had to be draped over me because I was 5 months old! Well, at least I was baptized at all!

After her christening we hosted lunch at our home for 30 of our family members and friends. We are so so happy that we got to spend the weekend with everyone - having each of you there meant more than you'll know. Even though it was hot in our little house, the Saints lost and I ran out of food (I know, right? What a terrible host!), it was such a wonderful occasion for Matt, Stella and I. Here are some pictures of our special weekend:

Saturday, WWII Museum, Warehouse District, NOLA

 The cake, Frangelico Hazelnut Cake with Butter cream Icing by Zoe's Bakery

The grandmothers (Jen Jen and Che Che) dressing Stella in our vintage christening gown

 Parents and Godparents, Aunt Mary Catherine and Uncle David

That paci had to be in her mouth...we didn't feel very good - but at least we looked sweet:)

Mommy and Daddy with baby Stella!

 Mommy and Daddy getting ready for her baptism

 The Devereauxs

Stella's Godmother MCat

 Pops and his kids and grand kids!

 Lauren and Sean left their week and a half old baby girl McKenzie to be there!

 Proud Mommy and Daddy - Stella has her hands in her mouth 23 hours a day

 The 4 gennies - for those of you who don't know why we take pictures like this, one of the last Christmases we had with our Nannie (Mae Mae's mother), they took a silly photo at Christmas with Nannie, Mae Mae, Mom and MCat (4 generations) posing like this, all poking a little fun at Nannie who struck the pose first. Now, we've made it a tradition and we have the exact same photo when Millie was baptized!

The 4 gennies again:)

Pyscho About Stroller!

Yes, it's flying by...Stella is 15 weeks old now!!! Much like anyone else with a growing baby, I still cannot believe it. Here is a pretty sweet picture of a happy waking baby ...

"Good Morning!!!"

Sweet Stells sleeps in her crib all night now (except last night - we have been in Natchez for 5 days and I left the monitor at Mom's and couldn't get comfortable with the idea of her sleeping in her room without her monitor so we snuggled up together last night in her co-sleeper, which she is almost too big for!). She's doing well with her 4 hour schedule and is practicing tummy time more and more each day. We've been traveling more than usual and she's adapted so well, I was amazed! She loved her time with Che Che and Mignon while I worked in the home office. Thanks so much for taking time from both of your busy schedules to help keep Stella! I couldn't have done it without you!!

In other news, I've finally received that replacement wheel for Stella's stroller. Thank God. For those of you who know the back story, you're probably filled with relief for that poor, poor customer service rep at Mutsy, USA. You see, in late July Matt accidentally backed over the million dollar Mutsy Slider stroller and I almost got sick at the thought that the stroller was ruined. I got such a deal on this fab stroller - like, a once in a life time deal. After looking at our squished stroller, we realized only one tire was broken and the structure of the whole stroller was fine. However, I purchased the stroller through one of my many online sale sites and not through the manufacturer, though I did register the product to make sure if any thing like this happened, I could get assistance from the manufacturer. I called Mutsy USA and spoke to a sweet lady who said that although the stroller was discontinued, they would probably be able to get me a replacement wheel at not charge. I was thrilled! We didn't have to buy a new stroller after all!

Well, 2 weeks pass, then 3 and I start to worry that she hasn't found a wheel after all. I call. I email. No one answers. Another week passes and I call. Again. And email. Again. And again. No reply...nothing. So I start to worry. I call other departments at Mutsy USA trying to locate the woman that helped me and no one answers. I find it strange that NO ONE in the company will answer or forward my message to anyone, so I get a little miffed. I search for them on Facebook and hallelujah, they have a page! I see activity so I know someone at Mutsy is running the page and answering questions and updating their status...but, uh oh, I scroll down to see a ranter - someone who has also tried to reach someone in customer service with a problem with no luck. I posted a message to their page in hopes they'll see that no one has responded and of course, I am ignored.

I am livid by this point. It's almost been a month! I start searching for stores across the US who carry this rare brand of stroller and call them to see if anyone has spare wheels. After calling about 20 stores, I find a lady in Sausalito, CA who offers to contact the warehouse and help me locate a wheel. I am also greeted by an email from the original customer service rep I spoke to that promised me a wheel...I read her email and oops...she's been out of the office for 2 weeks due to a death in the family. Errrr, insert foot in mouth. Yikes. She obviously received all my rants via voice mail and email....I wonder how irate I sound looking back. Yeah, I am one of those scary moms...

After apologizing, she informs me that they had to order a wheel from the Netherlands, where the strollers are manufactured. I thanked her, and she sent the wheel! Our stroller is now in working order and I probably have the worst reputation in Mutsy's customer service. Matt said "Caroline, you are truly psycho about that stroller" and I can't argue with that!