18 Months!

Our precious Stella Ross is 18 months! Where has the last year and a half gone? She is such a blessing to our family and has such a fun personality that I wish I could just bottle her up so she would stay like this forever. It is so cute to watch her interact with Rafe and try to imitate everything he is doing. (she even has "the monster" down, which was one of his tricks at her age).

• Stella Ross's measurements at 18 months - Weight 28.4 lbs (96%) Height 35 1/2" (off the chart!!!) Dr. DeMoss said he would guess she will end up being between 5'10 and 5'11. Can you say Daddy's girl or what??

• One of my absolute favorite things about Stella Ross is the David Letterman gap between her two front teeth. Since she smiles with her mouth completely wide open it is rare that I actually see her teeth. The best way for me to catch a glimpse is to get her to make a pig sound ...... too cute!!
• SR loves all kinds of music. When she walks into a room she immediately turns on her cd player or her brother's television so she can hear her songs. She is still a big fan of "If you're happy and you know it" and "The itsy bitsy spider", but lately she has developed a strong love for "Two little blue birds". We do this over and over.
• She will ONLY eat breakfast at her own table and chairs on her princess plate. (of course Mickey Mouse's Clubhouse is on the tv!)
• She is a go-with-the-flow kinda' girl with her naps. If we are home she is still taking two naps, but can very easily just take one (or just a cat nap!) She continues to be an excellent sleeper at night, going to bed at 7:30 and getting up at 7:00
• She LOVES LOVES LOVES Barney, Mickey Mouse and lately the Wiggles. This brings back such memories of dancing to the Wiggles with Rafe. He, also, was a big fan!
• She loves to be outside and usually climbing up the play set. NO fear!!
• Her favorite thing to do in her playroom is cook in her kitchen and sit in her tent to read books. This is about the only thing Stella Ross will do for more than 5 minutes. She is always on the go!!

We love you so much Stella Ross!!! Happy half birthday!!

Champions AGAIN!

You can say we are just a LITTLE bit excited at our house this morning. GO GAMECOCKS!!

Breakfast for two!

Stella Ross is OBSESSED with Barney, so you can say Pop was a HUGE hit when he brought this to her. This Barney makes SR a VERY happy little girl. She takes him everywhere we go: out to eat, in the car, grocery shopping, in her bed, etc. She is absolutely adorable with him and nurtures him just like her own baby. Thank you, Pop, for giving Stella Ross her favorite toy EVER!!

Beach Trip #1

Last week Rafe, Stella Ross and I spent a few days at the beach with Gram. We had an absolute blast!! (although we could have used an extra set of hands, or two, on the beach with Miss Stella Ross!!) The weather was absolutely perfect and we did so many fun things. One of the favorites, besides the ocean of course, is riding rides at Broadway at the Beach. Stella Ross is following in her big brother's footsteps with a love for rides. She absolutely pitches a fit when we have to get off!

Both of my children LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being in the water. Stella Ross has NO fear of the ocean. The only thing that would stop her from running out any further would be the wave knocking her down and rolling her. I could not believe this. Rafe got a little too confident for my liking and wanted to keep getting out deeper and deeper. I am not a big ocean fan and will enjoy our next trip to the beach when Cory or Pop will be there to ride the waves with him!

Stella Ross and Rafe did a lot of "performing" for us during the week. Stella Ross decided to start doing her "ballet" moves. It is the funniest thing. She is SO serious. (aren't they supposed to be??)

The tooth fairy FINALLY made her visit to Rafe on our last day at the beach. This 7th!! tooth caused Rafe a great deal of agony during his vacation and we were all so relieved when he finally pulled it. She brought him "SIX $1.00 bills!!" He was so funny about it.

What a great time we all had. Thank you, Gram, for this wonderful treat. We love you!

Happy Birthday, Pop!

We celebrated our wonderful Pop's birthday on Saturday before we left for the beach. We enjoyed a fabulous cookout and a Gamecock baseball victory. What more can you ask for???

Silly Boy!

This fits me, right??

Normally Stella Ross does NOT want to be in her stroller. However, the fact that this is her baby doll stroller makes her want to be in it SO BADLY!!!

Stella Ross's 1st haircut

Today was Stella Ross 1st haircut! (How ironic that both Rafe and Stella Ross had their first haircut at 17 months! SR has LOTS more hair than Rafe did at that age.) Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me because this was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Gram and I took Rafe to get his haircut before we head to the beach next week and Rafe begged us to let Pop cut her hair. He has been asking for quite some time to "PLEASE" get her haircut. "I mean, she has so much hair, Mom." So, before Rafe would get his haircut he wanted Stella Ross to have hers cut. I decided the only way this would happen would be if I held her. (something I have NEVER had to do with Rafe.) Pop is such a trooper, and has extremely fast hands, and was able to work his magic in no time. Now Stella Ross's bangs are no longer in her eyes, Rafe got his wish to see his sister have her haircut, she got her first sucker, AND she looks very cute!! It is such an exciting time to have your child's first haircut but it is even more special to have your dad be their barber. Thank you, Pop, for not only a FABULOUS haircut, but for creating memories that we will all cherish for the rest of our lives.

(Here are the only pictures we were able to get with my phone!! courtesy of Rafe White)

Summer School

Rafe's wonderful kindergarten teacher sent home a calender of activities for the students to do over the summer. Rafe and I have really enjoyed each one. Today we chose an activity that dealt with cleaning coins. We had to clean different coins with ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise. After cleaning and washing all of the coins we concluded that ketchup definitely cleans the best. Maybe it's the vinegar! (Rafe's favorite!!) What a fun way to review coins ..... and clean at the same time!!!

Writing in his journal about the activity

Party for everyone!

Gram and Pop gave Stella Ross a table and chair set for her 1st birthday and we decided to keep it in the box until she was a little bit older. We finally put it together this week and I don't know who likes it more. Stella Ross and Rafe, both, have enjoyed eating and playing on it. Stella Ross thinks she is SO BIG sitting beside her brother eating her meals ... NOT in her booster seat. Our biggest challenge is reminding Stella Ross that the chairs are for "sitting" and not for climbing on in order to stand on the table!!

"More, please!!!"

Yummy Yummy!

I found this picture on Gram's camera and it was just too cute! This was Stella Ross's first experience with her own corn-on-the-cob and she was beyond thrilled!!! I love it!

A Special Treat

Gram and I had been planning for some time to surprise Pop and Rafe with a weekend trip to the mountains to celebrate Rafe's wonderful school year and Pop's birthday. Unfortunately Stella Ross was one sick little girl and I knew we would not be able to go. So, Pop and Gram took Rafe and they had a blast! They went to Dollywood on Saturday and then headed to the motel to cool off in what looked like a fabulous pool. Rafe LOVED it. Sunday Pop and Rafe played putt-putt and Rafe made FOUR holes-in-one! He then went to the arcade and used most of his tickets to buy his sister a special puppy. I think it was just what the doctor ordered!! Thank you, Pop and Gram, for once again filling in to make sure Rafe didn't miss out on a special trip.

Kindergarten End-of-the-Year Party!

Today we celebrated a FANTASTIC Kindergarten school year with some of Rafe's best buds. They are such a sweet group of boys and I am so thankful Rafe has developed such strong friendships with them. Let the summer fun begin!!