Stella 6 months

Stella- You really are one of the happiest and most alert babies I know. You love, love your big sisters something huge and watch everything they do very closely. You love that Lucy holds your hand and sings to you in the car and really missed her the week we rented a van and you were in the middle row alone. You're getting so much better at sitting and can stay up independently without toppling over for a few short minutes. You've even started to catch yourself when you fall to one side or another. You roll back to front and front to back consistently and have started to rotate your body like a little clock, turning all the way around while playing on your back. You've also started bridges or "butt bumping" as we called it when Lucy was a baby. You are wearing mostly 6 month clothing but aren't huge. Your weight is similar to your sisters at only 12.9, but your head is in the 83rd percentile! You've recently changed up your napping routine and only nap about twice a day, maybe three times. Your naps are longer, but it's much more exhausting with you up all the time and harder to predict when you will sleep. You babble "dadadada" all day long but haven't figured out the lip closure for the mama sound. It's all about that little tongue of yours! You're getting a little better with the drooling and open mouth posture and I think food has helped a lot. You have no idea what to do with a pureed food, but anything with a little texture gets munched right up. You've tried sweet potato, acorn squash, pinto beans, zucchini cakes, and puffs. You still have fluid in your ears but will hopefully get tubes placed soon. You light up and smile when you see me or your sisters and you're generally very friendly with strangers. You got baptized in an April snow storm. Getting there was crazy stressful and then the priest was having balance issues and nearly dropped you. I'm so glad you were okay. You're still not a great sleeper and never want to miss a thing. Getting you to fall asleep is often a challenge, and you're really not going any super long stretches at night. You're generally up 1-2 times a night to eat. This month you took your first plane ride and felt the sand in your toes for the first time. You really are a joyful and wonderful baby and I can't imagine our family without you. 

St Patrick's Day 

Looking down from the top of the stairs. Such a cute little face!

We are ready for a mini van!

Eating some mum mum crackers. 

Trying out our bathing suits. 

Fri-yay!!!

No one cried! 

A new hat from Grandma Becky!

Hanging with Togie. 

We had to stop swaddling with muslin blankets are start using this. Muslin was getting too tough. 

Easter Sunday. 

This! This is why we need a van. To keep the baby safe from eating things like napkins in the car. 

Piggy back from Lucy. 

Baptism

Love this photo.