Sock hording

Stella has a fascination with socks. Everytime I'm folding laundry she gathers up all the socks she can and carries them around. No prefence, mine, her Dad's or her own...she loves them all equally.

Dress up

Playing with one of my old hats. It bacame a very fun and giggly game.

What's in here?

So, she's a Kruse alright. She's already raiding the refrigerator. Any time we open that door and she sees, Stella makes a bee line straight for it.

Stella's walking well

Look at her go...

Dancin machine

"I'm a dancin, dancin, dancin machine; watch me get down, watch me get down"

Big Girl

Stella's doing a good job of walking around. Though sometimes when she means to go forward she might go to the side or backwards. We are really impressed with her. She's getting so big and I can't believe her first birthday is in the near future!

be mine

We had a great Valentine's day. Stella was very happy to clap most of the day. This is her new trick and she is so pleased that Mom and Dad can do it with her too. We went out to dinner and Stella was very good. She really loves to watch all the people and was even leaning back in her high chair to peer over at the couple in the next booth and give them some smiles. She knows no stranger.

Victorious

Stella was really glad to have gotten her hands on the camera case the other night. She loves to look at and take possession of anything new. Camera case, wallet, calculator, spoon etc. She also loves to stand at the patio door.

On a side note, we went to a Baby signs class last week. Stella is a very vocal little girl and she typically talks with a scream. Well she decided she wanted to 'talk' to a younger boy there and she scared him! He cried for quite a while. We think maybe she's a good candidate for using sign language to let us know what she wants.

Apple

Stella was really interested in the apple I was eating. She managed to get a few good bites on her own. It was very messy, but very cute.

Too busy for this space

It's official; we need more room. Stella is really getting the hang of this toy of hers but is running into things before she even gets going.

Stella and Gracie

This is Stella and her friend Gracie Jane Payne. Gracie lives in Savannah, GA. Her mother and I were sorority sisters and great friends in college. Gracie's Mom, Mandy, was one of the first girls I met at ISU. So it is very wonderful that we remain close and can go visit them. Stella is one month older than Gracie. And while Gracie embodies 'grace' and snuggling and soft, quiet time....Stella is quit the opposite and was really wanting to get a hold of Gracie.

Daddy's little girl

Daddy let her hair dry in a mohawk-do. Though her hair doesn't need much sculpting to go upwards! We tried to capture it here, but she wasn't cooperating with the camera. You can see though she loves her daddy. She lights up whenver she sees him. I have a feeling this is someday how she'll get whatever she wants.

Standing Alone

This is a very common occurance these days. Stella loves to stand on her own while playing with something. She'll quite often squat down to pick up something and stand back up to play with it. Several times a day now she's been taking a few wobbly steps forward before reverting to a crawl to get where she wants to go. We are practicing walking. She's so strong and is now 10 months old.

What have you got Mom?

Stella loves the camera, phone, remote etc. Anything that is NOT in her toy box and is shiny. Most of the time she crawls up me to try to get her hands on whatever mommie has, as you can see here. Look at all thos teeth! This was taken in January...9 months old.

Stella loves Millie

Stella and Millie are best buds. At least Stella seems to think so. She loves to crawl on her any chance she gets. Millie has caught on to the phrase 'out of sight out of mind' as she will get up and hide herself from Stella as Stella approaches.

Millie does a wonderful job with her though and puts up with a lot.