We had a fun family get together over at my Uncle David's house in Mesa with all of my local cousins and even Maeser, Savanna and Bailee from Utah were there! We had a lesson from UD and then we got to participate in the McAllister tradition of playing the chimes. I would have some video of this, but I had chime #10 and I was very busy. It was a fun evening, but not nearly enough time with the family.
Christmas Eve Eve we spent with Elliot's family. Adam got the kids to act out the Nativity (Divinity for those of you who might be confused) and I was so lucky to be the mother of Mary and suddenly the mother of the angel as there we a quick cast change. Raymond did a great job as the Narrator, George was a fabulous Joseph, Anabelle and Stella shared their rolls as Angel and Mary, Claire was quite the Wise Man along with the tightly costumed Grandpa and Elliot, Grandma was the Inn Keeper, and Adam was the Shepherd. Quite entertaining. The Narrator and Joseph got into a brawl, but it was fun anyway.
Christmas Eve was spent with my family on the West side (imagine me doing the gang sign) with Lindsay, Keith, Hannah, Natalie, and Ian. Yummm . . . turkey. Elliot kept Stella entertained most of the time and we enjoyed a game of 80's, 90's and Pop Culture Trivial Pursuit.
We headed home to bake some fresh cookies for Santa Clause to enjoy and wrote a letter and drew a picture for him. Stella was very excited about this and made sure the cookies were good by eating one. She went to bed very easily.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Big Barbie Hair
This was back on Halloween after I took her hair out of the tight little twists. She wouldn't stop admiring herself!
Anderson Thanksgiving/Birthday/Reunion 2007
11/22/07 - We all met at the church in Weiser for brunch and getting to know each other again because most of the cousins haven't seen each other for several years . . . at least that was my case. We had such a great turn out, but we still really missed everyone who didn't come.
We played some really fun games. I didn't get to play some of them, but they looked fun. Nat came up with a memory game where everyone had a chance to write as many (minimum of 12) memories about cousins or other family memories. Nat separated all of us as couples (yes, our poor spouses had to participate) and my cousin Kevin would read a memory. If it applied to us or we remembered it, we got to move a few yards across the gym floor. It was really funny!
The Marc Anderson and Bruce Anderson families were in charge of the Thanksgiving dinner and after cooking 11 turkeys, we served the dinner that evening. We were able to fill up the "thankful tree" provided by my cousin's wife Shana.
My Grandpa Lynn Anderson (I'm named after him) turned 90 years old, so we helped him celebrate. I didn't get a video recording of it (but Lindsay did), but I must say that our whole family singing "Happy Birthday" to Grandpa was the most beautiful song I've ever heard. Lindsay worked really hard on the family video. It had old pictures of Grandpa and Grandma and the kids and then old and current pictures of all of my uncles, aunts, and cousins. It was really fun to watch and I think that Grandpa really appreciated it.
11/23/07 - Brunch in the morning and family pictures simultaneously. Have you ever tried to get 120 people to take a picture together? It was difficult, but I think the photographer did it very well. We played some more games, had a fun little talent show, and then began the murder mystery dinner. Here is the cast:
Mrs. Peacock - my cousin Stacy
Professor Plum - Stacy's husband Dustin
Mr. Green - my brother-in-law (Natalie's husband) Ian
Mrs. White - my sister Natalie
Miss Scarlett - my sister Lindsay
Colonel Mustard - my Uncle Bruce
Miss Peach - my Uncle Bruce's wife Aunt Nita
Miss Something (I can't remember) - my cousin Chelsey
Professor Clueso - my cousin Susie's husband Jeff
The Body - my cousin Summer's husband Bill
Narrator (I can't remember her name either) - my cousin Summer
Summer asked me to be Miss Scarlett, but 100% of me is so happy that Lindsay did it instead. Everyone was in character the whole time and it was hilarious. They all had to make up alibi's and answer our questions as we went to each other their rooms as groups. It was a fun activity and the actual murderer seemed surprised that it was her!
11/24/07 - Because of circumstances beyond our control and because of someone making up their own rules about building scheduling (I'm still a little bitter), we were forced to move over to the Payette church building for our last day of activities. There were so many leftovers from the 2 days previous that we didn't even have to cook our planned meal. It was so fun to be able to sit with my cousins that I haven't seen or talked to either since they were 4 years old (now married!) or I probably never talked to because they were the older cousins.
For our final activity, some of the older kids (including Dustin . . . thanks) stayed with the little kids to entertain them while we all went to the Relief Society room to have a sit-down with Grandpa and his kids. I had asked all of my uncles and aunts to make a short list of Weiser memories to get a little jumpstart on this activity. My aunts and Grandpa all complied, but that sure didn't stop my uncles from telling their stories. It was great! I loved Uncle Ned's stories of him being BFF's with my dad and getting into trouble only because he was doing what my dad was doing. Grandpa told a lot of stories too. I had the opportunity to sit with Grandpa a couple of years ago to hear a lot of his stories, but this was a good refresher course. We could have sat there the rest of the day plus some just listening to stories. This was my favorite part of the reunion.
11/25/07 - Elliot got totally sick, but Stella and went to church anyway. It was nice to see a few of my old friends. We had more leftovers at my parents house for family members who were traveling back home. Hum, leftovers for 4 days . . . maybe that's why Elliot was sick. We drove to Boise in the afternoon and flew back home. It was late, but we were happy to be home. I love my family! Success!
We played some really fun games. I didn't get to play some of them, but they looked fun. Nat came up with a memory game where everyone had a chance to write as many (minimum of 12) memories about cousins or other family memories. Nat separated all of us as couples (yes, our poor spouses had to participate) and my cousin Kevin would read a memory. If it applied to us or we remembered it, we got to move a few yards across the gym floor. It was really funny!
The Marc Anderson and Bruce Anderson families were in charge of the Thanksgiving dinner and after cooking 11 turkeys, we served the dinner that evening. We were able to fill up the "thankful tree" provided by my cousin's wife Shana.
My Grandpa Lynn Anderson (I'm named after him) turned 90 years old, so we helped him celebrate. I didn't get a video recording of it (but Lindsay did), but I must say that our whole family singing "Happy Birthday" to Grandpa was the most beautiful song I've ever heard. Lindsay worked really hard on the family video. It had old pictures of Grandpa and Grandma and the kids and then old and current pictures of all of my uncles, aunts, and cousins. It was really fun to watch and I think that Grandpa really appreciated it.
11/23/07 - Brunch in the morning and family pictures simultaneously. Have you ever tried to get 120 people to take a picture together? It was difficult, but I think the photographer did it very well. We played some more games, had a fun little talent show, and then began the murder mystery dinner. Here is the cast:
Mrs. Peacock - my cousin Stacy
Professor Plum - Stacy's husband Dustin
Mr. Green - my brother-in-law (Natalie's husband) Ian
Mrs. White - my sister Natalie
Miss Scarlett - my sister Lindsay
Colonel Mustard - my Uncle Bruce
Miss Peach - my Uncle Bruce's wife Aunt Nita
Miss Something (I can't remember) - my cousin Chelsey
Professor Clueso - my cousin Susie's husband Jeff
The Body - my cousin Summer's husband Bill
Narrator (I can't remember her name either) - my cousin Summer
Summer asked me to be Miss Scarlett, but 100% of me is so happy that Lindsay did it instead. Everyone was in character the whole time and it was hilarious. They all had to make up alibi's and answer our questions as we went to each other their rooms as groups. It was a fun activity and the actual murderer seemed surprised that it was her!
11/24/07 - Because of circumstances beyond our control and because of someone making up their own rules about building scheduling (I'm still a little bitter), we were forced to move over to the Payette church building for our last day of activities. There were so many leftovers from the 2 days previous that we didn't even have to cook our planned meal. It was so fun to be able to sit with my cousins that I haven't seen or talked to either since they were 4 years old (now married!) or I probably never talked to because they were the older cousins.
For our final activity, some of the older kids (including Dustin . . . thanks) stayed with the little kids to entertain them while we all went to the Relief Society room to have a sit-down with Grandpa and his kids. I had asked all of my uncles and aunts to make a short list of Weiser memories to get a little jumpstart on this activity. My aunts and Grandpa all complied, but that sure didn't stop my uncles from telling their stories. It was great! I loved Uncle Ned's stories of him being BFF's with my dad and getting into trouble only because he was doing what my dad was doing. Grandpa told a lot of stories too. I had the opportunity to sit with Grandpa a couple of years ago to hear a lot of his stories, but this was a good refresher course. We could have sat there the rest of the day plus some just listening to stories. This was my favorite part of the reunion.
11/25/07 - Elliot got totally sick, but Stella and went to church anyway. It was nice to see a few of my old friends. We had more leftovers at my parents house for family members who were traveling back home. Hum, leftovers for 4 days . . . maybe that's why Elliot was sick. We drove to Boise in the afternoon and flew back home. It was late, but we were happy to be home. I love my family! Success!
Pre-Thanksgiving
We had such a great Thanksgiving week in my hometown of Weiser, Idaho. Elliot, Stella and I went up a few days early to finish some preparations with my cousins and to finally have some time together as a family!
DAY 1 (11/18/07) - We flew to Boise, rented a dumpy little car, picked up Nat, and headed to Weiser to my parents house.
DAY 2 (11/19/07) - We slept in, Elliot went running in the brisk morning air of the farm, and we kind of relaxed the rest of the day. We had a little planning meeting with my cousins Summer and Stacy to discuss finalizing preparations of the reunion. We went to dinner with my high school BFF Amy Neddo Rodriguez.
DAY 3 (11/20/07) - We drove to Boise to meet Stacy and Summer to finish the food shopping at Costco. We were feeding 120 people for 3 whole days, so the pile of food was large. Summer and Stacy had already purchased quite a bit and were storing at their houses. They did such a great job with the menu! This was Grandpa's actualy birthday, but I forgot to call him.
DAY 4 (11/21/07) - Elliot, Stella and I went for a long walk out in the cold. Stella did pretty well for the first part of the walk, but we carried her the rest of the way home. The landscape picture is actually of Indian Head Mountain. If you look in the distance, you can see the outline of the Indian Chief laying down (head to the left). That crop-duster airplane was the one that I remember flying over us as we weeded the beet fields as kids. We went over to my brother's house and had a little band concert from his kids. Ashley plays the flute (not the same one that my sisters Marci, Natalie and Lindsay played), Cordell plays the trombone (same one that my brothers Adam and Jeff played), and Megan plays the trumpet (same on that my brother Miles and I played). They were actually pretty good. They were more than willing to share their talent with us! We ended the night with a potato-peeling party. I don't remember how many we peeled and chopped, but it was enough to feed 120 people.
DAY 1 (11/18/07) - We flew to Boise, rented a dumpy little car, picked up Nat, and headed to Weiser to my parents house.
DAY 2 (11/19/07) - We slept in, Elliot went running in the brisk morning air of the farm, and we kind of relaxed the rest of the day. We had a little planning meeting with my cousins Summer and Stacy to discuss finalizing preparations of the reunion. We went to dinner with my high school BFF Amy Neddo Rodriguez.
DAY 3 (11/20/07) - We drove to Boise to meet Stacy and Summer to finish the food shopping at Costco. We were feeding 120 people for 3 whole days, so the pile of food was large. Summer and Stacy had already purchased quite a bit and were storing at their houses. They did such a great job with the menu! This was Grandpa's actualy birthday, but I forgot to call him.
DAY 4 (11/21/07) - Elliot, Stella and I went for a long walk out in the cold. Stella did pretty well for the first part of the walk, but we carried her the rest of the way home. The landscape picture is actually of Indian Head Mountain. If you look in the distance, you can see the outline of the Indian Chief laying down (head to the left). That crop-duster airplane was the one that I remember flying over us as we weeded the beet fields as kids. We went over to my brother's house and had a little band concert from his kids. Ashley plays the flute (not the same one that my sisters Marci, Natalie and Lindsay played), Cordell plays the trombone (same one that my brothers Adam and Jeff played), and Megan plays the trumpet (same on that my brother Miles and I played). They were actually pretty good. They were more than willing to share their talent with us! We ended the night with a potato-peeling party. I don't remember how many we peeled and chopped, but it was enough to feed 120 people.
Friday, December 07, 2007
Happy Birthday BFF Emily!
Happy Birthday to my BFF Emily! I sure think you're great and I love you! I don't know if you'll get mad at me for posting a picture of you (even though you're totally cute), so here is a cute picture of your baby girl!
Late Birthdays!
November 29 - I missed my nephew Jayden's #3 birthday! Happy Birthday little guy! I love you!
November 20 - I didn't miss my Grandpa's #90 birthday because I've been planning it all year, but here is a little Happy Birthday to you too Grandpa! I love you!
November 21 - I did miss my Grandmother's #91 birthday and I feel like a wretch. So Happy Birthday to you too Grandmother! I love you!
BFF Classification
I wonder if there is a classification for best friends. Of course Elliot is my #1 BFF, Emily is my BFF because she knows the most about me and still likes me, and let's not forget Matthew Roberts who was my very first BFF because I grew up with him and he's the only friend I remember having over to my house when I was little. But there is no way that I could ever forget my BFF Amy! We kind of have a long history of friendship. Here is a brief run-down of how I remember it:
- 1989: We became friends starting in 6th grade at Park School in Weiser, Idaho after I first stole her best friend Anna Slade. Through all of the boy band crushes, half-grown out perms, pegged pants, green eye shadow, perpetual wedgies, acne, and awkward stages, Amy remained my friend even after Anna dumped both of us for the cooler kids. Amy always made me laugh harder than anyone ever could.
- 1992: Into high school Amy was priceless to me as I continued to be in a never-ending awkward stage and she still remained my friend. She was so funny and so was her family. Amy started the SV club (sophisticated virgins) and she was the President, I was the Vice President, and my cousin Stacy was the Sargeant at Arms. She even made up a song to the tune of the Mary Poppin's song the kids sing during their advertisment. We'd have "SV meetings" which was just spending the night at Amy's house, renting the same movies over and over again, eating Salsa con Queso, a lot of Little Debbie's, and and when Stacy would fall asleep, we'd take a run down the manure pocked road to "Dee & Lixie's" and back to wake her up (only to have her fall asleep immediately upon return . . . after shoving a Little Debbie in her mouth). Amy was definitely my best friend. She was very creative and artistic and so extremely witty. I aspired to be as funny as she was!
- 1996: Ricks College became our grounds for a continued friendship while we still ventured out into our independent worlds. We ate a lot of pizza together and watched some religious game show quite often. We both became busy with school and new friends, roommates, retarded boyfriends, and other silly activities.
- 2000: Moving away from each other takes it's toll on a friendship and we just didn't talk as often. Soon we were just emailing each other, and then Amy went on her mission to the Micronesian Islands and I got married. I think the next time I talked to Amy was the day before her birthday in 2004 (Stella was born 2 days later), a few weeks before she got married.
- 2007: I guess we're both slackers in the communication department, but God bless BLOGS! I had the chance to see Amy and meet her husband Ramir (she lovinging refers to him as "The Asian") while we were in Weiser for Thanksgiving. We went out to dinner with them and Amy is expecting their first baby boy in just a couple of weeks (even though she only looks like she's 4 months pregnant)!
The Original SV Club Members
So here is my official welcome to my blog-stalking links - to my BFF Amy! You're going to love it when I find old pictures of us!
- 1989: We became friends starting in 6th grade at Park School in Weiser, Idaho after I first stole her best friend Anna Slade. Through all of the boy band crushes, half-grown out perms, pegged pants, green eye shadow, perpetual wedgies, acne, and awkward stages, Amy remained my friend even after Anna dumped both of us for the cooler kids. Amy always made me laugh harder than anyone ever could.
- 1992: Into high school Amy was priceless to me as I continued to be in a never-ending awkward stage and she still remained my friend. She was so funny and so was her family. Amy started the SV club (sophisticated virgins) and she was the President, I was the Vice President, and my cousin Stacy was the Sargeant at Arms. She even made up a song to the tune of the Mary Poppin's song the kids sing during their advertisment. We'd have "SV meetings" which was just spending the night at Amy's house, renting the same movies over and over again, eating Salsa con Queso, a lot of Little Debbie's, and and when Stacy would fall asleep, we'd take a run down the manure pocked road to "Dee & Lixie's" and back to wake her up (only to have her fall asleep immediately upon return . . . after shoving a Little Debbie in her mouth). Amy was definitely my best friend. She was very creative and artistic and so extremely witty. I aspired to be as funny as she was!
- 1996: Ricks College became our grounds for a continued friendship while we still ventured out into our independent worlds. We ate a lot of pizza together and watched some religious game show quite often. We both became busy with school and new friends, roommates, retarded boyfriends, and other silly activities.
- 2000: Moving away from each other takes it's toll on a friendship and we just didn't talk as often. Soon we were just emailing each other, and then Amy went on her mission to the Micronesian Islands and I got married. I think the next time I talked to Amy was the day before her birthday in 2004 (Stella was born 2 days later), a few weeks before she got married.
- 2007: I guess we're both slackers in the communication department, but God bless BLOGS! I had the chance to see Amy and meet her husband Ramir (she lovinging refers to him as "The Asian") while we were in Weiser for Thanksgiving. We went out to dinner with them and Amy is expecting their first baby boy in just a couple of weeks (even though she only looks like she's 4 months pregnant)!
The Original SV Club MembersSo here is my official welcome to my blog-stalking links - to my BFF Amy! You're going to love it when I find old pictures of us!
Christmas is Fun
I may have been a little Scrooge-ish for the last couple of years because my holiday decorations are old and I hate putting them up because it just looks like clutter. Well, now that Stella is older and EVERYTHING is beautiful to her, it's been a little more fun to get out some of the decorations (there will be a "burn barrel" party in January).
We got our tree on Monday night and Stella was being such a big helper. She pulled the cart all the way to the truck and then took a little rest on it.
This is her tree pose.
When I was wrapping some presents on the counter, Stella got up on the wrapping paper and said, "Wrap me! I want to be a present!"
Stella is one of the best presents anyone has ever given me!
(and this is her new favorite outfit)
We got our tree on Monday night and Stella was being such a big helper. She pulled the cart all the way to the truck and then took a little rest on it.
This is her tree pose.
When I was wrapping some presents on the counter, Stella got up on the wrapping paper and said, "Wrap me! I want to be a present!"Stella is one of the best presents anyone has ever given me!
(and this is her new favorite outfit)
Santa Clause is Coming to Town!
Stella and I went to the mall with Lindsay and Hannah and Karen on Monday. We didn't go see Santa last year (2006), the year before that Stella hated Santa (2005), . . .
. . . and the year before that Stella was a little baby (2004).
So this year is her first year of sort of understanding what Santa is. Elliot and I haven't quite discussed how to approach the Santa issue yet with our family, but I told Stella a little about what Santa does. I didn't want her to be afraid when we saw him, so we were talking about him all day. I told her that Santa was really nice, like a Grandpa. She was very excited when he came back from his break at the mall. She walked right up to him and sat on his lap and between poses for the pictures, she carried on a long conversation with him. I didn't hear what she was saying, but as she was coached, she asked for a baby sister.
. . . and the year before that Stella was a little baby (2004).
So this year is her first year of sort of understanding what Santa is. Elliot and I haven't quite discussed how to approach the Santa issue yet with our family, but I told Stella a little about what Santa does. I didn't want her to be afraid when we saw him, so we were talking about him all day. I told her that Santa was really nice, like a Grandpa. She was very excited when he came back from his break at the mall. She walked right up to him and sat on his lap and between poses for the pictures, she carried on a long conversation with him. I didn't hear what she was saying, but as she was coached, she asked for a baby sister.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
My Birthday Surprise!
I had a great birthday! Thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate and wished me well in my old age!
I'm almost 94% positive that I didn't complain to anyone, but November 17th also happened to be the night of the Senior Dinner for our Stake. As bishop, Elliot decided that he needed to be there and that we could celebrate my birthday a day early. Once again, 94% sure there was no complaining.
Throughout the day, Elliot gave me a gift to open here and there and we had a fun day hanging out as a family. We got all dressed up for the Senior Dinner that night and drove down to South Tempe to drop Stella off at Grandma's house. On the way back up the road to the Stake Center, Elliot kept apologizing about ruining my birthday and blah, blah, blah . . . he'd been apologizing for a month. At my new stage of maturity, I had already accepted the sharing of my birthday and was actually looking forward to seeing everyone at the activity.
All of the sudden Elliot pulled into the parking lot of John Henry's restaurant (Italian & seafood) - it's a classy place. He's so cute. It always takes me a little while to catch on, so after a second Elliot said, "I'm not going to make you spend your birthday at a Senior Dinner!" Seriously, I just started laughing because he dooped me again! He's getting really good at being a liar, which would have the potential of becoming scary if it didn't always turn out so great!
Dinner was fantastic and my view was even better. Elliot gave me a list of 30 reasons why he loves me in a creative way so that I can read them all the time! After dinner, we drove to Dessert Breeze park and took a little walk around the lake. Elliot had been fidgeting with his coat pocket the whole time (kind of like the night he proposed), and in the perfect little resting area with the moon high in the sky, he gave me the biggest ego boost of my life! He handed me 2 envelopes, one from friends, the other from family. They both added up to over 170 reasons why they all love me . . . and with Elliot's 30 reasons, I don't think I'll ever have to fish for a compliment again!
Some of the comments made me teary, some made me laugh out loud, and some I'm still trying to believe. In any case, I'm so grateful to have friends, family, and especially my ever-lovin' husband who have made me the fabulous 30-year-old I am!
I'm almost 94% positive that I didn't complain to anyone, but November 17th also happened to be the night of the Senior Dinner for our Stake. As bishop, Elliot decided that he needed to be there and that we could celebrate my birthday a day early. Once again, 94% sure there was no complaining.
Throughout the day, Elliot gave me a gift to open here and there and we had a fun day hanging out as a family. We got all dressed up for the Senior Dinner that night and drove down to South Tempe to drop Stella off at Grandma's house. On the way back up the road to the Stake Center, Elliot kept apologizing about ruining my birthday and blah, blah, blah . . . he'd been apologizing for a month. At my new stage of maturity, I had already accepted the sharing of my birthday and was actually looking forward to seeing everyone at the activity.
All of the sudden Elliot pulled into the parking lot of John Henry's restaurant (Italian & seafood) - it's a classy place. He's so cute. It always takes me a little while to catch on, so after a second Elliot said, "I'm not going to make you spend your birthday at a Senior Dinner!" Seriously, I just started laughing because he dooped me again! He's getting really good at being a liar, which would have the potential of becoming scary if it didn't always turn out so great!
Dinner was fantastic and my view was even better. Elliot gave me a list of 30 reasons why he loves me in a creative way so that I can read them all the time! After dinner, we drove to Dessert Breeze park and took a little walk around the lake. Elliot had been fidgeting with his coat pocket the whole time (kind of like the night he proposed), and in the perfect little resting area with the moon high in the sky, he gave me the biggest ego boost of my life! He handed me 2 envelopes, one from friends, the other from family. They both added up to over 170 reasons why they all love me . . . and with Elliot's 30 reasons, I don't think I'll ever have to fish for a compliment again!
Some of the comments made me teary, some made me laugh out loud, and some I'm still trying to believe. In any case, I'm so grateful to have friends, family, and especially my ever-lovin' husband who have made me the fabulous 30-year-old I am!
Random Sampler
Stella went to the doctor for her 3-year-old appointment back in the beginning of October. She weighs 31 pounds (50%) and is 3 feet 1¾ inches tall (75%). We talked a lot about going to the doctor that morning because she hadn’t been since she turned 2. I know that other kids hate going to the doctor and I didn’t want her to be traumatized, so we discussed as much as I could remember happening at the doctor’s office. She was really excited to see Dr. Jones (say it with a Chinese accent like on Indiana Jones and it’s really funny) and even gave her a hug when she came in (Stella has no respect for personal space).
We even talked about getting shots . . . of course, she had no idea what we were really talking about. Several weeks ago when I went to the doctor to get some blood drawn, I just took Stella with me because I knew it would only take 2 seconds and didn’t feel like getting a babysitter. Stella held my hand and when they put the needle in, she was very concerned and said, “But don’t hurt her!”
When the nurse came in to give Stella her Hepatitis and Flu shots, Stella made sure that she asked if it was a pink shot . . . in fact, it was! She was very pleased, but not so pleased when she stuck the needles in her arms. I was prepared with a stick of gum to shove in Stella’s mouth to make her happy and after a minute, it worked. She doesn’t want a pink shot again though. She forgave the nurse very quickly and we were on our way home!
When Docta Jones and I were talking, I asked her several questions about Stella’s eating habits (poor to extremely poor), which she wasn’t concerned about as long as she gets a good breakfast (which she does). I also asked her about Stella’s amazing ability to identify vehicles . . . I seriously thought she was autistic! For the past several months when we’re driving around, Stella will point out any colored Nissan X-Terra and say, “Look, its Nat’s car!” I just figured that the X-Terra was pretty identifiable. But then she started pointing out every Saturn (which was our car at the time). Then one day she said, “Look its Anabelle’s car!” (Honda Odyssey minivan) . . . I was like, what? I don’t even know what they drive, how do you know!? Then came the identification of Clarkie’s minivan (Dodge Caravan) and Grandma’s Durango, and Beth's car (I really have NO IDEA what she drives) . . . she can identify all of these vehicles at any angle she sees it in! Now that we have a new car, she identifies every Honda she sees everywhere! After Docta Jones assured me that she’s perfectly healthy (not autistic), Elliot wants to start putting some airplane books in front of her.
We’ve been so blessed to have our little Stella who, besides a little bout with croup, about 2 colds, and a broken collar bone, she’s been completely healthy her whole life!
Even after the collar-bone break of '05, Stella continues to climb on the kitchen counters. She also refuses to get down even if you tell her to a hundred times. In certain areas of the counter, she doesn't need a chair to climb up, she just uses her monkey-skills. In other areas, she pushes toys or chairs into position to get herself onto the counter. This noise of moving a chair usually gives me enough time to catch her in the act. "You're going to fall me!" Stella yelled at me as I intercepted her on one such attempt.
"What am I supposed to smell like . . . roses?" (I think only Amy will get that one). Anyway, one certain day after a rather vigorous workout at the gym, I was on the floor at home with Stella trying to help her pick out a show to watch while I showered (a short distraction from counter climbing). She scrunched up her face and said, "I smell you."
Several nights ago, Stella had a little itchy-bum going on. She kept saying, "I need ice cream in my bum so I can feel better." Um . . . what? After thinking about it for a while, we realized that she wanted some diaper cream . . . not ice cream.
Stella never slept with a night-light until she decided she was afraid of the dark when she got her big girl bed a little over a year ago. That's when the bedtime turmoil started and nighttime hasn't been the same since. After the bow party/frenzy this week, we somehow misplaced Stella's night-light from her room. We keep "forgetting" to find it because for the last 3 nights she's gone to sleep within the first 4 songs without fighting us. Nice.
Stella hugged the check-out lady at Staples.
Stella gets really mad if I make her wear pants. Another issue is that some of her dresses don't flare out enough so she gets really mad and says, "But I can't dance!"
Stella loves the Christmas lights on the house. She thinks everything is beautiful. With a little help, we let her make up the rules about the Christmas tree, such as 1) We just look at and smell the tree, we don't hug the tree, 2) Mom and Dad get the water the tree, Stella gets to help, 3) We can't hide behind the tree, 4) We can't hide our toys in the tree. And of course she'll probably do something with the tree that we didn't discuss, but she sure loves it. Every time she sees it (50 times a day), she acts like it's the most beautiful thing she's ever seen . . . it doesn't even have lights on it yet.
Everyone is Stella's best friend. Truly.
We even talked about getting shots . . . of course, she had no idea what we were really talking about. Several weeks ago when I went to the doctor to get some blood drawn, I just took Stella with me because I knew it would only take 2 seconds and didn’t feel like getting a babysitter. Stella held my hand and when they put the needle in, she was very concerned and said, “But don’t hurt her!”
When the nurse came in to give Stella her Hepatitis and Flu shots, Stella made sure that she asked if it was a pink shot . . . in fact, it was! She was very pleased, but not so pleased when she stuck the needles in her arms. I was prepared with a stick of gum to shove in Stella’s mouth to make her happy and after a minute, it worked. She doesn’t want a pink shot again though. She forgave the nurse very quickly and we were on our way home!
When Docta Jones and I were talking, I asked her several questions about Stella’s eating habits (poor to extremely poor), which she wasn’t concerned about as long as she gets a good breakfast (which she does). I also asked her about Stella’s amazing ability to identify vehicles . . . I seriously thought she was autistic! For the past several months when we’re driving around, Stella will point out any colored Nissan X-Terra and say, “Look, its Nat’s car!” I just figured that the X-Terra was pretty identifiable. But then she started pointing out every Saturn (which was our car at the time). Then one day she said, “Look its Anabelle’s car!” (Honda Odyssey minivan) . . . I was like, what? I don’t even know what they drive, how do you know!? Then came the identification of Clarkie’s minivan (Dodge Caravan) and Grandma’s Durango, and Beth's car (I really have NO IDEA what she drives) . . . she can identify all of these vehicles at any angle she sees it in! Now that we have a new car, she identifies every Honda she sees everywhere! After Docta Jones assured me that she’s perfectly healthy (not autistic), Elliot wants to start putting some airplane books in front of her.
We’ve been so blessed to have our little Stella who, besides a little bout with croup, about 2 colds, and a broken collar bone, she’s been completely healthy her whole life!
Even after the collar-bone break of '05, Stella continues to climb on the kitchen counters. She also refuses to get down even if you tell her to a hundred times. In certain areas of the counter, she doesn't need a chair to climb up, she just uses her monkey-skills. In other areas, she pushes toys or chairs into position to get herself onto the counter. This noise of moving a chair usually gives me enough time to catch her in the act. "You're going to fall me!" Stella yelled at me as I intercepted her on one such attempt.
"What am I supposed to smell like . . . roses?" (I think only Amy will get that one). Anyway, one certain day after a rather vigorous workout at the gym, I was on the floor at home with Stella trying to help her pick out a show to watch while I showered (a short distraction from counter climbing). She scrunched up her face and said, "I smell you."
Several nights ago, Stella had a little itchy-bum going on. She kept saying, "I need ice cream in my bum so I can feel better." Um . . . what? After thinking about it for a while, we realized that she wanted some diaper cream . . . not ice cream.
Stella never slept with a night-light until she decided she was afraid of the dark when she got her big girl bed a little over a year ago. That's when the bedtime turmoil started and nighttime hasn't been the same since. After the bow party/frenzy this week, we somehow misplaced Stella's night-light from her room. We keep "forgetting" to find it because for the last 3 nights she's gone to sleep within the first 4 songs without fighting us. Nice.
Stella hugged the check-out lady at Staples.
Stella gets really mad if I make her wear pants. Another issue is that some of her dresses don't flare out enough so she gets really mad and says, "But I can't dance!"
Stella loves the Christmas lights on the house. She thinks everything is beautiful. With a little help, we let her make up the rules about the Christmas tree, such as 1) We just look at and smell the tree, we don't hug the tree, 2) Mom and Dad get the water the tree, Stella gets to help, 3) We can't hide behind the tree, 4) We can't hide our toys in the tree. And of course she'll probably do something with the tree that we didn't discuss, but she sure loves it. Every time she sees it (50 times a day), she acts like it's the most beautiful thing she's ever seen . . . it doesn't even have lights on it yet.
Everyone is Stella's best friend. Truly.
Victoria
Stella's friend Victoria came over to play a while ago! They were also playing a silly game of one of them sitting on the couch and the other throwing the ball from behind to hit them on the head. Their giggles are so cute!
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