Seven Months!

Well, here we are again. Another month has slipped by. Stella is now seven months, and she is such a joy. We have been struggling with sleep (as in not getting any) so if your baby is sleeping through the night, I pretty much hate you and don't want to hear about it. But, I'm thinking her constant waking lately is mostly due to the whole mess of teeth she is getting. She now has three teeth on the bottom, three poked through on the top and one more starting to poke through on the top. Must be painful! Add a bit of congestion and a cough to it, and we are some tired parents! This to shall pass...

Stella is very mobile now. Crawling/scooting/rolling all over the place, and she requires constant watching because she is quite curious. She started doing this move where she puts her hands on the floor and straightens her back legs and is attempting to pull up on things. It is so fun to watch, and I'm a little nervous about how our lives are about to change!

We don't have an "official" weight or height update, but based on my attempts, her measurements appear to be about the same as last month.

Current weight: 22 lbs.

Current height: 27 inches

We're still practicing Baby Led Weaning, and it's going really well. She doesn't eat a whole lot of solid food, but some of her favorites so far are strawberries, broccoli and English cucumbers. Her favorite part of eating is of course throwing her meal on the floor repeatedly. :)

Stella is also quite a chatty gal. She babbles almost constantly and is now saying "mamma" multiple times a day. She hasn't really caught on to "dada" yet, but I bet it's coming.

Skittle is definitely Stella's favorite. If Skittle is in the room, you can guarantee Stella will try and get to her as quickly as possible and will be completely fixated on her until she leaves again. I wouldn't say the love is unrequited, but Skittle is a bit more apprehensive than Stella but will occasionally treat her to a lick on the nose.

Stella is still a big fan of the Ergo and now prefers to be worn over riding in a shopping cart. This is kind of a bummer because she gets quite heavy! She also loves taking walks, and her stroller proves to be magical for helping her fall asleep. 

To say we are blessed to be this crazy little lady's parents is such an understatement. Although motherhood is by far the most humbling experience I've had thus far, it is amazing and so much fun. Most of the time...like when I'm not seeing every hour on the clock at night. :)

Enjoy a few pictures of our Stelly Bean.

Stella's First Easter

Stella and I just returned from spending a few days with my parents. We had a really nice and relaxing time. As much as I complain about the lack of drive-thrus (there are none) and the fact that the closest Target or Walmart is a half hour away, it is so tranquil there. We enjoyed walking the country dirt road with Stella in her stroller. She saw horses, cats and cattle for the first time. She was less than impressed, but we had a fun time showing her.

My birthday fell on Easter this year so it was slightly overshadowed by the resurrection, but I'm not bitter. I think Easter is actually my favorite holiday now. Unlike Christmas, the true meaning hasn't been nearly as overtaken by materialism. I didn't have to buy anyone stuff they won't like anyway. It is so much less stressful. It falls during a much nicer time of year, and without it, Christianity would most certainly not exist. So, I hereby declare Easter my favorite holiday. You're welcome.

Travis and I shared with our families we were expecting a baby on my birthday last year so it was neat to reflect on how much has changed in one year's time. Speaking of Travis, he returns this evening from his third trip to Haiti. While we were both a little bummed that he'd be gone for Stella's first Easter and my birthday, I am so glad he was in Haiti to celebrate. What an amazing opportunity and privilege. Plus, it's a little hard to be a brat when he's serving and loving on sweet orphans in a third-world country.

I have to admit that I was so distraught about not getting a picture of Stella with the Easter bunny. As you'll recall, my parents live in the country so there aren't any mall bunnies or Bass Pro bunnies nearby. Had I planned things better, we certainly could have made the trek to hunt one down, but I waited too long. So, Stella will have no picture with a scary bunny to commemorate her first Easter. I already lost my Mom of the Year Award when I let her roll off our bed so I guess I'll just keep on disappointing. Ok, I know it's so not a big deal, but it drove me bonkers. Alas, the day was saved when I spotted a perfect basket in my parents' den. After we cleaned out the 1980s National Geographics, a photoshoot commenced!

Here is the result. There are several!

We had Easter dinner at my grandparents' house. My grandma is most definitely one of my favorite people in the world. She is an amazing woman and a fantastic example to me. She has aged so gracefully, and I love her a ton!

Look what I found!

My beautiful momma and my sweet baby girl. I am so fortunate!

This is my very handsome grandpa. I guarantee you have never met a kinder soul.  He is 85 and continues to make very tasty rolls for every family occasion!

I feel like I have to mention what a bargain Stella's Easter dress was. I am a sucker for smocked dresses, but they're expensive. I found this one with tags still on at one of my favorite consignment stores for $5.50! I know I'm biased, but I think she looks absolutely darling in it. Maybe I'll get that award after all. ;)

Epic Snow!

I have been fighting the nap battle with Stella for over an hour now. I thought I had won but just heard another cry. That girl is a fighter let me tell ya! She has got some serious spirit and hates to miss a thing. I'm more exhausted than she is at this point. I implemented the baby straight jacket approach this last time, and it seemed to be pretty effective. We shall see.

Anyway, I wanted to share some pictures we took yesterday during a record snowfall here in the St. Louis area. We got at least a foot of snow at our house. It is so beautiful. Kind of strange to appear on Palm Sunday, but I was thrilled. You see, Travis is always out of town during bad weather, and this time he was home! Yay! I was hoping we'd be snowed in together today as well, but no such luck. I mean, the guy even drives an old-man-gold Corolla, and he still had no trouble getting to work today. Guess the highway crews did a pretty bang-up job on the roads around here.

I have been wanting to get some pictures of Stella in the snow for a while now, but the timing just never seemed to work. During the last snowfall she was battling a yucky cold so it really didn't seem appropriate to take her out in freezing conditions. Is that ever really a wise choice with a baby? In my opinion, yes. These moments must be captured on camera.

It had literally been years since I had played in the snow so I not so patiently waited for Stella to nap so we could get in the backyard. Travis and I suited up with the baby monitor in a plastic baggie and had such a great time! Travis was insistent on building an enormous snowman. So we did just that.

What do you think?

Six Months!

Well, here we are at six months already. I'll spare you all of the "I cannot believe she is already six months." "It goes by so quickly!" "Seems like she was just born yesterday!" statements and just get on with it already.

Stella is pretty much the coolest chick around. You are most likely already aware of that, but she is so much fun! She didn't go to her six-month checkup because we'll be taking care of that closer to seven months based on our pediatrician's recent decision to go into private practice, which is awesome by the way. We basically set everything up online, and the longest I've waited for a response directly from our pediatrician has been four hours, and that wasn't even for something urgent. Feels a bit like old-fashioned medicine, except for the fact that so much of it is done online. Good stuff.

Stella is changing so quickly. She is now mobile. She rolls from point A to point B effortlessly and has started scooted some as well. It won't be long until she is full-on crawling. I'm so excited for her, but I'm also terrified. We're still storing our kitchen knives on the bottom shelf in the kitchen. (Who does that anyway?) Don't worry, I promise I'll move them!

In the last month or so, Stella has experienced several firsts. Her first St. Patrick's Day, her first bites of solid food, her first fall off of a semi-high surface, first playdate and first trip to the zoo, among some others I'm undoubtedly forgetting. Ok, I know you're wondering about the fall. I don't really want to talk about it, but let's just say it happened on my watch and was dumb. Stella is fine, and fortunately every single mom I've mentioned it to has said the very same thing happened to them. Though I still feel stupid about it, that has been comforting to hear. And, let me re-emphasize that Stella was not phased by the incident.

Though we don't have an "official" weight and height update, Travis and I weighed and measured our little sweetheart.

Weight: 22 lbs. (approximately)

Height: 27 inches (approximately)

We are so thankful she's healthy!

She currently loves playing on the floor surrounded by toys and has figured out how to scoot over and pull her books off the shelf. Stella is also a big fan of her big sister. When Skittle is in the room, she is pretty much fixated on her. Thankfully Skittle seems to like Stella and will even let her pet her from time to time. Stella is a pretty happy baby but always wants to be moving. She loves sitting in the shopping cart, riding in the stroller and being toted around in the baby carrier.

Stella is still waking up multiple times per night, but we're getting better about giving her a few minutes to settle before rushing to her side. That means she is falling back asleep some of the time! Her "sleep schedule" is basically nonexistent. She is very unpredictable, and I can't listen to her cry. So sue me. We'll figure it out eventually, but for now, I am just rolling with it and am very thankful to have the flexibility to do so.

Oh, and I should add that while she did say "ma-ma" for the first time the other day, we haven't heard it since. :( Dang.

Below are a few pictures we snapped of Sweet Stella Breann. She is so active and always busy these days. This month, we had to fight to keep the sticker on her onesie. She kept tearing it off and sticking it into her mouth.

Girl loves her feet!

Nom nom nom!

Big girl!

She talks with her hands!

To me, there is nothing cuter than a baby in sunglasses or a swimsuit. We bought Stella two pairs yesterday, and I cannot get enough of them. These are her CeeLo Green shades. The others won't be making their debut until later as the Easter Bunny is bringing them. :)

Thanks for reading about our little gal!

Let's Eat!

Stella is six months old today! I really cannot believe she has been with us for half a year already. And to think it has already been six months since I experienced the most agonizing and rewarding pain of my life is craziness!

To celebrate Stella's six-month birthday, we rewarded her with an introduction to real food yesterday evening. We are attempting the Baby-Led Weaning approach. Last night we introduced avocado, banana, green beans and sweet potato. The avocado and banana went straight to the floor, but she chewed and gnawed on the green beans and sweet potato quite a bit. I'm fairly positive nothing was actually swallowed, but that's okay. She is still getting plenty of nourishment from her mama.

The process has been a little nerve racking, but so far it's going okay. She has gagged some, which is to be expected, but has never choked. Of course she's only had two meals, but so far so good.

Here are some pictures of Stella's first meal!

I'll be back with some six-month photos and an update soon!

More "Firsts" for Stelly Bean

The Hartman family has been having a blast lately. We were blessed with an amazingly warm day last week so Stella and I joined our dear friend, Sara, and her boys for Stella's first trip to the zoo. We had a fantastic time, and Stella was such a good sport. She didn't fuss the entire time until we were almost back to Sara's house. She was ready for her afternoon snack. 

Here we are on the train. Sara graciously offered us some of her passes so we were able to ride the train and visit the Children's Zoo. For some reason, this trip to the zoo felt like my true entrance into motherhood. Pushing a stroller through the zoo's gates made me feel like I had officially reached mommy-dom. And I must say, it was a really great feeling.

The following day was absolutely freezing, but it was also the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in downtown St. Louis. A dear friend of mine's family always has a float in the parade, and for the last three years now, Travis and/or I have participated with them. It is so much fun. I was really unsure of whether or not we would partake this year since the weather was pretty nasty, but at the last minute, we decided to bundle Stella up and go for it! I'm so glad we did. She was warm and cozy enough to nap through much of the festivities, and she absolutely loved looking around. 

She looked so precious all bundled up in her stroller. Everyone kept saying how jealous they were of her cozy getup. 

We got a picture with Fredbird! Notice his sash. It reads, "O'Reilly."  That's the name of my friend's family.

Stella sleeping through her smooch from Fredbird.

Our theme was, "Don't Rain on our Irish Parade." Here we were practicing our "routine."

It's so neat to see St. Louis from the perspective of being in the parade. Such beautiful, historical buildings.

We had a lovely time, and when we returned home, I snapped a few pictures of Stella playing with her toys. Had to show off her cute, green top!

She is so active and fun. And, I must say I was pleasantly surprised with how well she behaved with so much activity the last few days. She is so easy to take out and about and very rarely fusses or cries at all. It is such a relief to have a calm baby. Some of my friends who have been watching her lately may tell a different story, but when we're together, she is typically happy and chill. I just love it!

In other news, Stelly said "ma-ma" last night for the first time. I assumed she would say "da-da" first, but she didn't. Clear as could be after we were practicing with her, she said "ma-ma!" She's almost got "da-da" down, too.

I'll be back soon with some six month photos and an update on how our newest venture, baby-led weaning (or solids as I like to call it) is going. We'll be giving Stella her first tastes of real food later this week! Exciting times at the Hartman House.

Five Months!

Keeping this blog updated is proving to be far more difficult than I anticipated. But, as I mentioned before, I really want to use it to keep a record of Stella's growth and babyhood.

So, even though I'm a week late, Stella turned five months. It's so hard to believe she's already been with us for five whole months, but then again, I have a hard time remembering what life was like before her, too.

We didn't have an official doctor's appointment so I don't really have any updated stats to share. Of course I could get the measuring tape out and put her on our scale at home, but she is such a squirmy wormy these days that I don't think I'll bother. The ache in my shoulders every morning is enough of a reminder that she's growing. :)

So far, I think the most change has occurred between months four and five. Stella is now rolling all over the floor and scooting a little. I place her on one end of her blanket to turn back only a few moments later to see that she's managed to get all the way to the other side facing the opposite direction. It's pretty amazing!

She's now taking baths in the big tub, and bathing her is so much more fun and so much easier now. She loves to splash around in the tub and loves bathtime. She isn't sitting on her own yet, but she can balance in a sitting position for quite a bit longer now. She has two (very sharp!) teeth on the bottom, and I am expecting more to appear on the top any day now.

One of her favorite games is one she plays with Daddy. They go around dropping toys and picking them up. She could do this for hours! And, Daddy is great at making her laugh. I give "peek-a-boo" my all and manage to only get a few chuckles, but when Daddy does it, she just dies laughing. I really need to work on being more animated.

Stella also loves Skittle. She is always reaching for her and just begging Skittle to allow her to pet her. So far Skittle isn't very interested but occasionally she'll let Stella give her a little pat or two.

Much to my relief, Stella loves shopping at Target. I put her in her wrap, and we have such a good time strolling the aisles. She's great at helping me decide which birthday card a friend will like best or which hue of fingernail polish I should select. The only problem is that she sometimes falls asleep when I need her opinion most. Yesterday I was asking for her help in selecting her Aunt Holli's birthday present and as I was talking, I looked down to see she was sound asleep. We'll have to work on that.

We still don't really have a sleep schedule. Her naps are rare and inconsistent despite my best efforts. I'm just learning to roll with it. She still stays up pretty late and wakes a few times each night, but whatever. I've chosen to just go with the flow and have felt a lot of liberation in not planning my day around naptimes that often last only 30 minutes or don't occur at all. Plus, if she takes long, scheduled naps, what excuse will I have when my house is a total wreck?! :)

I love taking her monthly pictures. It will be fun to see how much more difficult they get! By the end of this month's session, she was eating her sticker.

I swear we did not pose Stella this way. She fell into this pose all on her own. Travis and I were dying laughing! 

Stella is getting more and more fun all the time. I really wasn't a big fan of the newborn stage, but I am really soaking her up now. She is so entertaining and sweet. When I fall asleep at night, I honestly look forward to her waking up so I can see her smile! Even when it is at 3 a.m.