We just took Mimi and Aunt Kylle to the airport. Such a great weekend! Here are some photos of our time together.

6 month pediatrician visit and general updates

I know it's been a while since I posted anything other than photos/videos. Sorry!! Stella's awake a lot more during the day and I no longer have all of that leisure time I used to take for granted. :)

We're all doing really well. Stella's right on track - she enjoyed solid food, as you could see, and is babbling constantly and showing lots more personality. She's even taking music classes. Today she made up a game where she sucked Mommy's face for a while, then pulled back and squealed with delight. I thought it was hilarious as well until I looked in the mirror and saw a big old hickey on my cheek!

She had her 6-month pediatrician visit on Monday. Rob was off and he joined us. She hadn't gained any weight since last month (hard to believe so it's probably a clothing difference) and still weighed in at 17lbs 14oz (80%ile). She's 26" long (65%ile) and her head is 17.25" in circumference (90%tile). No teeth yet but we're keeping an eye out for one any day now.

In other big news - she's sitting up on her own really well now, so we were able to go to our first playdate on Tuesday. She was a little overwhelmed a cried a few times, but it's good for her to get used to other kids so we'll keep going when I can find the time.

The house is still a major work in progress. I finally decided on a sofa for the den and plan to order it tomorrow. Next up- painting, more window treatments, and then maybe we'll get around to hanging something on the walls. It could very well take us a year to get settled in here at the rate I'm going. The wrist injury hasn't helped matters but it seems to be getting a bit better with the brace and the cortisone shot last week.

That's the news from 479. If you're still reading, you must be related to me!

Video: First solid food!

Happy 6-month birthday, Stella. Mama made you some southern sweet potatoes - baked and then pureed. Yum. Enjoy!

Video: shakeshakeshake

The park

Stella and I went to the park yesterday to watch the big kids play, and one of the moms recommended I put Stella in the swing. Shocker...she loved it! Can't believe I hadn't thought of that before. Swinging and being outdoors are her two favorite things. Combine them and she was downright cackling! I took these on my phone:

Hawks/Thunder

Rob and I went to the Hawks game on MLK day. Big Thanks to Aunt Jess for babysitting! She was a star - no tears the whole time. (It helped that Stella slept for 3/4 hours we were gone!)

It was fun to see an NBA game up close - and be on national TV. Kissing. :) That was for you, Casey. As you can see, we were pretty close to the action!

Just Ducky

Girls day out

Melissa visited this weekend from San Francisco (how surprised was she to find snow on the ground?!) and Stella and I took her to Lenox mall to escape the cold.

Photos: New Year's Sandiford Get-together

Photos: Baby's First Christmas!

It was a great Christmas! Not only did I get to open presents for two people (:)) but Stella provided pretty much constant entertainment for the family in Tennessee, only to break for the occasional nap. Here are some photos of the week - these are Mom's and mine combined.

Thank you to everyone for their generosity this year - we really racked up!

Stella sits up...for a second.

Stella's new 'thing'

Another pedi visit and some photos

I can't believe it...Stella had her second round of shots yesterday (polio and DTaP) and would you know she didn't even flinch! No tears, no crankiness later - even when the bandaids came off. What a champ!

She weighed in at a whooping 17 pounds, which puts her in the 95th %ile for weight, 95th %ile for head circumference, and 50th %ile for height. I attribute her high weight-to-height ratio to her large brain. ;)

I took a few photos of her in front of our Christmas tree. Check out the shoes she's wearing. Those were once mine and now fit her perfectly. I love them.

Jumparoo

Stella's Christmas present from Mimi arrived yesterday. This afternoon I put Stella in it for the first time and videotaped her response. I think it's fair to say that it's a hit! Thanks Mimi!!

Here is the video and some stills from today. After the jumparoo we wound down with some 'books' Aunt Kylle got her.

Photos and video: Bathtime giggles

Safe Christmas shopping for Stella

I think it's safe to assume that the most frequent readers of our little blog here are Stella's grandmothers and aunts (both biological and honorary). ;) Since this audience is also the most likely to buy Stella toys for Christmas, I thought I'd share some news on dangerous toys still on shelves. Scary, but I'm not at all surprised. I know it's hard to do, but if you guys could avoid buying toys that are made in China and anything that does not say BPA and phthalates-free, that would go a long way towards keeping Stella safe. Since I don't have time to research every toy, helping me out on that front would be great. Just in writing this post, I looked at the latest most unsafe toy list and guess what I found...Stella's favorite book - the cloth one! It contains dangerous levels of lead according to the U.S.PIRG’s 2009 Toy Safety Report, Trouble In Toyland.

http://www.babycenter.com/204_dangerous-toys-still-on-store-shelves-report-finds_10325127.bc?scid=momsbaby_20091201:2&pe=2UwpAwD

Here's an article on the environmental safety of toys:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_going-green-the-environmental-safety-of-toys_3651139.bc

And here are some websites that I check before buying myself or her body products. My pediatrician even gave me a handout from them:
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/browse.php?maincat=babycare

Another resource (with toy ratings): http://www.goodguide.com/

Unsafe toy list - this one is specifically designed for mobile phone use: http://toysafety.mobi/unsafetoylist.html

Photos: Thanksgiving in Andes

We had a great time in Andes for Thanksgiving, with the biggest crowd yet for dinner (12!). Thanks mostly to Aunt Kylle - who is so gorgeous pregnant, by the way - we have lots of great photos from the weekend.

Our new home

We've been in the new house since Friday and LOVE it! Stella and the cats seem to approve as well. I'll post more pictures once it's less of a disaster zone, but here's one I took on my phone on moving day and another Rob took from the street last month. Can't wait to see the Dogwoods bloom in the spring!

Them are some strong genes!

Stella and I went to have BLTs with my Grandma Bates today. I've been telling her lately how much Stella looks like her to me, so she dug up some baby pictures of herself at 4 months old to compare. WOW.

Sitting up like a big girl