Sickly Stella at Almost 13 Months

Our little sweet Stella has been one sick little girl ever since we got back from a Father's Day/birthday trip to Hattiesburg. We finally discovered Stella has pink eye, which led to an ear infection (apparently besides being the world's most annoying illness, the pink eye bacteria can also travel to your ear and cause a painful infection. Awesome.). The ear infection has created nasal and chest congestion, which is always a downer in the summer. Little Stella was becoming pretty active and big for her britches until getting sick, practicing crawling (er, um...scooting backwards) and walking (well, really it's standing up while Mommy and Daddy hold her hands/arms and walk her forward by tipping her body to the left and then right - we kind of manipulate it for her but then cheer for her anyway like she actually walked on her own. She loves this:) Whatever, she WAS making progress, I swear! Now she spends most of her day sleeping, which is what she does when she is sick. She sleeps and sleeps, which is what I remember doing as a child. Nothing made me feel better than getting lots of sleep. We hope this antibiotic that she's been on since Monday will give her some relief and clear up the infection soon. Her eye looks great, thanks to the million dollar eye drops that they (of course) only make in name brand form. Her eyes better have turned into solid gold after we finish with the prescription.

Speaking of spending money on Stella, we finally sold our stroller, which i am fairly sad to see go.

 This stroller was wonderful for Stella's first 12 months of life but it doesn't transform into a two-seater, which we will need in 6 months (that still freaks me out!). I'm preparing to ship it out to the lucky Ebay auction winner as soon as the replacement wheel from Mutsy arrives. Yes, of course, I needed another replacement wheel. It magically disappeared on our trip to Atlanta - of course I would lose a wheel at the same time I'm trying to sell it on Ebay. I think we are going with the Baby Jogger City Select stroller http://www.babyjogger.com/city_select_lp.aspx because it goes from a single to a double to a double with a riding board for bigger kids, so when Stella's 4 or 5 and too big for the stroller seat, I can still "push" her on the stroller with 2 other kiddos.

Does anyone out there have this stroller or know any information about it - I've tested it out in person, done research and read reviews, but I would love more input!

As for us, we've just been staying busy with Stella and are getting excited about Devereaux #2! I'm 12 weeks this Friday and he/she is currently the size of a large plum, though I look 5 months pregnant. It's true what they say...you show MUCH sooner with the second bebe! As you know, my sis and BFF is also pregnant and due 2 days later than me, on January 15. We couldn't have planned this if we tried, I swear. We still cannot believe this happened at the same time. I think we've both been pretty tired over the last 8 weeks but hopefully there is a light at the end of the tunnel, which translates to and end to this first trimester...a welcomed change! We are ready to get our energy back and actually look pregnant instead of feeling pregnant (in a bad way). Keep us and our little bebe cousins in your prayers as they continue to grow and develop properly. What a set of blessings from God!

And just for fun, here's a precious pic of Stell Belle, which was taken this past weekend at her new friend Charlotte's first birthday. See, the practice walking she's doing? She's not paralyzed, I promise:)

Stella's First Birthday Celebration!

Finally, here is the post I've been avoiding because I knew it would take a while to edit and upload everything! So, here goes:

 Stella's birthday cake designed after the theme of the party "Oh, the Places You'll Go"

 Cousins Millie and Stella

 Guests enjoying the patio

 Stella's invitation

 Cake table decor

 Daddy, Stella and Mommy

 Mmmm...cake (the smash cake was the frozen top of my cake from my baby shower a year ago)

 Yummy

 That is SOOO funny!

Stella's cousins

 Well, we can't always be perfect - Stella with her first friend, McKenzie

 Story time - Matt took care of the reading of "Oh, the Places You'll Go"

"I LOVE story time!"

 Karla and I, good friends from high school - so glad she's moved to the North shore!

 Our babysitter Molli, with her son, Heitor

 Opening presents...this one was from Che Che - my baby bracelet

 Bumble bee pillow!

 A classic present - Radio Flyer wagon from Poppa and Nana

 Present from Mommy and Daddy - a Smart Trike!

 Us with the Godparents - MC and Dave, with Millie

 The Foggo/Rinehart Clan

 The 4 gennies - since the mid 90s we've been taking a generation photo with all the women in my immediate family on my mother's side

 The Devereaux clan

 Happy Birthday to Stella!

 Themed cookies made by our sweet neighbor, owner of Sugar Mamas

 Porch decor over food table

 Food table decor

 table decor

 table decor

 Pork sandwhiches

 Mae Mae's famous O'Nassis Salad

 food table

 Beverage table

 The only picture we got with Stella in her birthday dress

 All the babies - Stella's friends!

Happiest baby in the world!

Stella's Gonna be a Big Sis!!

It is official...Stella will be a big sister come January 13, 2011! To add to this wonderful news, my sister is also expecting and is due January 15!! What are the odds, right? Contrary to what you are thinking, we didn't plan this, but are so blessed and excited to be giving our girls sibblings at the same time!

So yesterday I was 10 weeks along and had a great check up with my OB. If everything goes as planned, we'll get to hear the heart beat at our next appointment in mid July. We are having another baby...OMG!!!

On Stella news, she is due to have a super blog on her first birthday, but give me a break, I have had lots going on in our household! She will get her blog, I promise:) she had her one year check up Friday as here are her stats:
Height: 29 1/4 inches
Weight: 21 lbs 13 1/2 oz
Head circumference: 18 3/4 inches
She hasn't crawled yet but has made tons of gross motor skill progress over the last week and a half. She has made a habit of rolling over in her crib and sleeping on her stomach and during play time on the mat she has gotten into rocking on her hands and knees. This is a big step for Stella seeing as she didn't roll over until 7 months! She didn't cause her pediatrician much concern because at every check up she was right on target with all developmental skills except for her gross motor skills like rolling over and crawling on time. However, she did suggest pediatric physical therapy just to check Stella out and make sure she was physically developing properly. I was happy that our doctor wanted to be so proactive and I feel lucky we are going to so something about it instead of just giving her time.

So we are all excited to enter Stella's second year and watch this little angel grow and develop into a sweet little toddler. She already flirta with us and teases us by saying Maaa and DaDa. Recently she started saying ball and oh wow and has mastered waving bye bye and clapping her hands on demand. She excels in all developmental areas other than gross motor skills, so after physical therapy I will feel much better.

I've got more to post later, especially about her fabulous birthday party, but I'm off for the night. Pregnancy is hard and tiresome work, especially with a toddler!