Stella turns ONE!

Our favorite one and only niece, little Stella Moon, turned one this month. We all enjoyed her birthday celebration at the McGuires!

Happy Birthday to one of the happiest, cutest, and silliest little girls around.

Three Months.

I'm 3 Months Old!

• I love cuddling with Momma, and being in the Baby Bjorn carrier.
• I have such a doll face. Most people's first reaction to me is that I look just like a porcelain doll.
• I stare at the television intently.
• I play with objects hanging in front of my face.
• I kick my legs and watch them move.
• I chew on my hand.
• I drink roughly every 3 hours, about 4 ounces at each feeding, and alternate between breast feeding and formula.
• I say a little coo from time to time.
• I stick my tongue out.
• This month I have turned into such a happy, playful, smiley little girl.
• I smile at my sister.
• I resist any type of nap schedule.
• At night I sleep from about 8 pm until 2 am. It varies, but I get a good 5-6 hour chunk of sleep in and than wake up briefly.

Sisters, Month by Month

Three months of being sisters! 

Rest In Peace, Grandpa.

This week, Heaven welcomed William "Grandpa" Cuffey. 

Just last weekend, Grandpa attended Stella's 1st birthday party, and I was able to capture these precious moments of him giving his great grand daughters rides on his walker. They really enjoyed it, and he did as well. I will be forever grateful that my girls got to meet him. 

Two and a Half

On March 1st, Mackenna turned 2 1/2. You are my child in every way. You are headstrong, independent, and particular. You're also your father's daughter in every way. Headstrong (notice that is both of us) smart, and a hands-on learner. You and your Dad have a lot of special things you do together, like drive his truck down the camp road and the driveway, fills your sippy cup with a splash of coffee on the weekends, always shares his cereal with you, get the pellets from the basement for the stove, and you love to help him sweep the garage. 

Your comfort item is a blanket. You haven't gotten attached to any stuffed animals, and although you love all blankets, there is a special "purple blanky" you love the most. (Its pink but you call it purple.) You also love to grab your little sisters blankets and state to us that "Baby Toa share with me!" 

You are picky. You like certain cups, certain spoons, and certain pajamas. There is little negotiating with you once you have your mind set on what you want. 
Your memory is like no other. You remember the smallest things from weeks ago that I thought you passed by without noticing. You know just where something is that belongs to you. 
You are a creature of habit. You fall apart when a routine comes unraveled. Every morning you wake up and get dressed, have a snack, than have a snack in the truck on the way to preschool, than promptly need a snack when you arrive in your classroom. If there is any deviation to this plan, you aren't having it.
Your strong will for what you want can often lead to a temper. 
You are outgoing. You are the opposite of shy. You love to be the center of attention. You are friendly to whomever you meet, and willing to socialize with or without mom and dad around.
You are a helper. Clean the house with mom, do the dishes, help mom and dad get ready for work. 
You are a great eater. You don't eat everything, but do love variety. Olives, pork, chicken, egg, turkey, sandwiches. You try anything even, and prefer to snack all day rather than eat meals.
You are independent. For a few months now, you have been potty trained, sleeping in your own bed, and able to dress yourself. We always hear you say "No, ME do it!" or "I do it all me-self!"
You are smart. You can sing your ABC's, and count all numbers 1-20, well, mostly. Sometimes you skip from 11 to 16. 
You are neat. You take your boots off when you come in the door. You put your bowl in the sink after you are done with your cereal. If you spill any milk on your table, you go right to the towel drawer in the kitchen and wipe it.
You are a great big sister. You share, you hug and kiss, and you love to tickle your little sister who you called "Baby Toa."  If she's not in the first room you see when you wake up or get home from school, you immediately ask where she is. You always say "baby Toa is funny!" 

Dakota's Nursery

A month after Dakota was born, we finished her nursery. We refer to this as "second child problems" here in our house, given that Mackenna's nursery was ready months before her arrival. We kept the same room for her nursery as Mackenna was in from 0- 2 years old. We also kept the major furniture items like the bookcase, dresser and crib. However, we re-purposed the dresser into a changing table, painted the room, and moved the furniture around. It really is a completely new and refreshed space. For the decor, I chose three colors: Red, golden yellow and robins egg blue. Here is the tour!

This Pottery Barn glitter wire letter was the perfect personalized touch.

Dresser turned into changing table. 

I based the room colors off of this quilted wall hanging that I was given, and love.

Re-purposing spice racks from IKEA, her nursery holds books on either side of her crib in these wall shelves.

These frames sit atop her bookshelf, a reminder of her noisy (but sweet) sister down the hall...

Prints I made and framed, from my favorite Dr Seuss book.

I love having a girl, if not only for the baby shoes and clothes.

Happy Birthday Sis!