There's more than corn in Indiana

We just returned from Indiana yesterday. It was so great to be able to spend time with family and friends again. The leaving part does not get any easier! Stella had a wonderful time with all her cousins and little people she played with. She had two amazing birthday parties. Thank you to everyone! We've had a good time here with new toys and hanging new clothes. Stella did so wonderful on the trip there and back. What a flexible little girl, in that the car ride (with two stops) was 11 hours both ways. She even slept at her regular nap times in the car on the way back. She's now getting over a double ear infection that we discovered on Thursday. Poor girl, though there was little to know that anything was wrong. I think she was having such a good time she forgot that her ears hurt! So we're on the mend and all is well. I am already looking forward to the next trip.

Two parties for the same girl!

"Come on in, welcome to my party! " Stella's second birthday party in Ft. Wayne with the Rupert family. She wore her hat for some time.

Ahh, young love. Here she is getting a hug from a friend of mine's son, Carlin. They are nearly a year apart. It was fun to watch them interact.

At first Stella was not into the cupcake. She tried to give it to her Uncle Chris a couple times.

Once everyone's attention was diverted she dug in and really liked it. She also had a good time eating her neopolitan ice cream off a spoon. Happy Birthday Stella Adeline. I can not believe you are one today! Every moment of this year with you has been beyond wonderful!

Birthday Girl

Stella's first party with the Kruse family in Anderson. The first gift she opened contained a very cute outfit complete with hangers and she carried them around for quit a while!

Her Mimi Kruse got her this tiara to wear. It was a bit too small but we made it work for a short time. What a funny face!!!

She wasn't too sure what to make of the 'stuff' on her hands. She did not really like it and wanted out of her seat.

It was a beautiful day and a great party. It was very nice out so we enjoyed some play time outside. Her Aunt Stacey took this picture and Stella gave her a great smile. Love this picture!

St. Patty's weekend

This Saturday we went to Savannah, GA and stayed a couple days with friends. You can see Gracie and her dad, Jessie, posing with Randy(yes the one in the green afro) and Stella. Savannah hosts a big St. Patty's day/weekend festival. We had a great time in between wiping Stella's runny nose. There were so many people out and there was so much to see. We were able to explore Savannh a little bit better this time too. The downtown area is so cool. Stella was anxious to get out and walk around as we had traveled that day and went directly downtown after the 4 hour trip. She spent a good hour walking up and down the river walk area stopping to say 'Hi' to many friendly strangers! She is so friendly and hands out smiles to most anyone and will talk to them as well. She had a blast, mom was tired! :)

Stella's grandparents visit

Stella's Grandpa and Mimi Kruse came for a visit this weekend. They stopped here on their way back from Fl. We were so very glad to see them and Stella had a great visit with them...showing off all of her new moves. We went downtown again to spend some time. It is such a great place. This time Stella loved walking around and it, in fact, was hard to carry her. You can see in the picture of us in front of that awesome tree...I was really struggling to hold her. She wanted down!
I think the picture of her grandpa and Daddy helping her walk is such a precious moment of time I've captured. She is the apple of her grandpa's eye. No doubt about it!!!

A great weekend

It was a beautiful weekend!! We spent a lot of time outside exploring. We checked out trees, the bark, plants, grass, rocks and the local playground. We went downtown as well. There is a wonderful nature area down ther complete with some waterfalls and a little river.

Stella was not too sure she wanted to walk on all the foreign turf: the grass and mulch. She clung to me to be picked up quite a bit. But I coaxed her into exploring a bit on her own.

looking like a big girl

I just wanted to share this picture. I thought it turned out very beautiful. I also think she's looking so much like a toddler and loosing her 'baby' look. Randy said today that we'll look back and this time will be just a little blip on the radar. And it is so true of life. Today Stella and Millie and her dad spent some time on the balcony. Stella was having a great time walking around, going in and out, and it dawned on me that the last time she'd spent so much time out there, she was only laying/sitting on the blanket and unable to move much off of it. It seems to me that only days have passed since then and now.

Love the girlie stuff

Stella got some new hair accessories in the mail today. They are so darn cute. She wore this one most of the evening and didn't bother with it. Though at this moment she was much more interested in getting at the camera than making a smiley face. Take special notice of Stella's hair sticking straight out from underneath the headband!

My first purse

If Stella can find my purse and it is within her reach, she loves digging in it. I had been letting her do it, but now she's much more into it and will pull out everything. So I've made her a makeshift purse. I filled it with some of her little toys and she loves to carry it around.