Tolerance

We consciously tried to hold back this Christmas season as far as gifts went. Stella is pretty much totally unaware of wanting anything new and we're increasingly aware of our desire to resist the whole consumerism trap with kids. We considered our trip to Costa Rica our true holiday gift as a family and felt really good about celebrating with an experience rather than things.

Of course, we did want Stella to open a few small gifts on Christmas morning, so we wrapped up a few packs of stickers and crayons and (what turned out to be her favorite gift) a child's electric toothbrush. She was totally psyched to open it all and then promptly moved on to reading her books and chasing Vinnie.

However, in addition to her new found love of tooth brushing, Stella adores her new rinky-dink stroller. She walks around the entire house, strolling everything she can find. And yes, we mean everything.

Or should we say everyone?

Two points:

A) Vinnie needs his own blog.

B) He is tolerance personified. (Or is it felinified?)

Merry Merry

We enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing Christmas this year with the Bressler family. Obviously, Stella doesn't really grasp the whole holiday thing just yet, but she handled it all with great panache. Starting the day off with stories in bed, strutting her stuff in front of the fam, learning how to unwrap a present, playing the piano and showing Aunt Mandy her special toy cabinet at Grandma and Grandpa's - Stella loved it all.

May everyone's New Year's celebrations be filled with love and laughter.

World Traveler

After narrowly escaping the chaotic pandemonium of traveling this stormy holiday season, we made it home yesterday afternoon from our first trip to Costa Rica. While it's wonderful to sleep in our own bed (and crib!), and it's obvious Stella is enjoying the comforting familiarity of home, we are already talking about how we can make it back to such a beautiful, peaceful and relaxing country.

Before we get to the photos, I have to share that Stella was a total trooper on our trip. I mean a seriously accomplished world traveller. Sure, she had a few moments of trepidation - sand completely freaked her out when we first arrived at the beach - and she relied on the binky a bit more than we like. But overall, Stella handled the chaos of traveling and the discomfort of new surroundings with a calm finesse that had us floored. We are so proud of our wee Scout for her bravery and adventurousness. What a pro.

Okay, enough bragging. Now for the photos...

(We shot over 1200 photos while traveling. But rest easy, I've paired it down to a few of the best. I'm sure I'll find more as we edit and reminisce, so I may add more later.

On Stella's first morning at Playa Grande, she enjoyed some delicious pancakes on the porch. She was still a bit apprehensive about her new digs but was obviously pleased about bumping fists with Uncle Bob and being able to run around with bare feet. We were tickled to see Stella's curls emerge in the heat.

Love.

After recuperating from our long day of travel, we headed to Mount Arenal with Uncle Chris, Aunt Lisa and big girl cousins Eva Maria and Olivia. Surprisingly, we got pretty socked in by rains and couldn't ever see the famous volcano, but we made the best of it by hiking around in the jungles and exploring the Lake Arenal area.

Stella unearthed a passion for sickly sweet yogurt drinks while touring. Quick caloric intake is a good thing while on the road.

After our three day field trip into the Arenal region, we returned to Playa Grande to meet up with the rest of the family. Stella was thrilled to play with her cousins and to meet the fabulously entertaining and ridiculously adorable second cousin, James. (Note Brian happily fulfilling the role of Pied Piper.)

Did I mention James was cute? Here he is showing off his balloon muscles. (About an hour after I took this photo, I walked by James totally conked out in his Mama's arms with his muscles still on. Goofball.)

Stella had an amazing time bonding with Olivia and Eva Maria. Both girls were unbelievably wonderful with our babe, helping her feel safe and comfortable and showing her how to handle the waves. Thank you, Olivia and Eva Maria. You rock!

Okay stop laughing. I know this is a goofy shot, but we had to do it. Stella was very tolerant during our trip as Mama learned how to surf. For a few days, Stella kept calling all surfers "Mama."

One of the few problems we encountered on our trip were Stella's total and complete meltdowns when we removed her from the pool. For a girl who literally screamed in agony when we first put her in the sand and who nervously eyed the pool with suspicion, she quickly caught the water bug...

Hmmmm. I wonder why?

The gang. I have to thank my brother Bob, and his girlfriend, Cindie, for initiating this trip. As veterans travelers of Costa Rica, it was unbelievably gracious and thoughtful of you to invite all of us to such a beautiful and peaceful place. We had a fantastic time and are already looking forward to our next visit. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

This is my favorite photo from the whole trip. I will hold this image in my head forever. My tiny girl heading toward the surf.

And a big ol' chilly P.S. ...

We've gone from surf boards to sleds in the Burnsler family. Stella is reacting to the snow the same way she initially reacted to sand. We figure we have another day of her being scared and then we'll have a little snow monster on our hands. (We feel very thankful to have made it home safely and relatively quickly and wish all our family members trekking home right now luck and safe passage. We love you!)

Richard Dreyfus Would Be Proud

We're very aware that these aren't exactly proper table manners. But really, we couldn't resist giggling through our meal as Stella figured out a way to show her twice baked spud who's boss. I mean, why use a spoon when you can simply dive in?

Total satisfaction.

We'll be out of commission here in blog land for awhile as we're headed to Costa Rica for two weeks. We're so excited to see Stella's reaction to monkeys, volcanoes and all that sand. Prepare yourselves for an obnoxious onslaught of photos upon our return. We will toast you all as we enjoy the warmth.

Gobble Gobble

Gobble Gobble, Y'all!

Stella celebrated her second Thanksgiving with the Burns family in Seattle. We had a wonderfully relaxed time visiting with family, gorging on all things tasty and watching Stella have a ball with all her big girl cousins.

And what would any holiday - or day for that matter - be without coloring. Stella was in heaven drawing with her cousins and camping out in the hallway with a big tin of crayons.

The day after Thanksgiving, the Burnslers and McIntosh clans headed down to Grandma's showroom to help her do a final pack and clean before she officially retires on Monday. (Congratulations, Grandma! Cheers to twenty three years of Country Charm. Now it's time to play!) Despite feeling pretty darn whooped from all the Turkey Day festivities, Stella was a trooper, helping to sweep and ride the cart with Hannah and Amelia.

I can tell we're getting used to having Stella around these days. We're taking a lot fewer photos in general. We looked back at last Thanksgiving's photo file, and it was ridiculously enormous. Totally ridiculous. This year, we snapped a few shots (not enough, really) and continued enjoying ourselves. I'm actually sort of pleased by this development. It means we're back to enjoying ourselves in the moment. (It also means Stella keeps us much busier these days and we have little time to grab the camera.)

Stella's New Do

Stella had her first haircut this weekend. While we love her curls, she was seriously starting to look like Shaggy from Scooby Doo. Plus, she detests any sort of barrette or pony tail at the moment, so we needed some serious hair management. It's strange to see her look like such a big kid, but she took the whole experience in stride. She keeps touching her new do and smiling.

This picture cracks me up. Stella is telling Aimee to keep a little length in the front but let her neck breathe. (Or, she could be showing us all where her shoulders are.... either way, she's pretty happy.)

Oh, our baby.

Watch out, world. Our baby girl has some style goin' on.

Check out Mama's blog for some cute shots of Stella reading in her basket. Yup, in her basket.

Family Dinner

It's dinner time in the Burnsler home, and we're all enjoying a nice bowl of pasta. (Or as Stella says, "padda.") All is good...

... until Stella becomes aware of a presence... a persistent, dedicated presence.

Sir Vinnie. Vincenzo. Vinnie Barbarino. The Orange King is wantin' him some marinara grub.

Stella wouldn't have it any other way.

That Girl Has Style

A Stella original.

Where's My Beret?

Stella is in love. She has discovered crayons and can't get enough.

I recently picked up some great toddler-friendly rock crayons that are easy on the earth as well as a kid's tummy. (I'm a hybrid - an idealist and a realist.) We spend about forty minutes each morning "coloring." She's slowly starting to understand the relationship between crayon and paper, but she's frankly more interested in how each crayon feels and smells. She's also super interested in sorting these days. So taking the crayons out of her special crayon tin and then putting them back causes sheer delight.

Stella has focused most of her energy over the last fifteen months on her physical development, but her language skills are starting to emerge. While she has her slowly expanding list of words - Mama, hot (pronounced "dot"), door, meow, woof woof, choo choo, Isaac (I know, crazy, huh?), Da Da (used for Papa and for telling Vinnie to get off the counter) and no - she's starting to play with sounds in a new way. I've really noticed that when we color, she talks more. She focuses on the crayons and just starts gabbing. I know, I know. Every parent thinks their kid's sounds are adorable. We're no different.

This picture kills me. She's "talking" like crazy here. I suspect she's telling me something really important, but I can't help but giggle behind my cup of tea as I see such earnest and fervent babbling. I love it.

Is it me or does Stella look old here? It's so strange to watch her grow. Sometimes, she seems to grow in leaps and bounds, and sometimes she stops to rest awhile and stays the same. Of course, she's constantly changing these days, and it's obvious to us she's absolutely and thoroughly finished the baby stage. She's plowing through the toddler stage with great velocity, keeping us amused and amazed.

Hope Prevails

We're elated and thrilled. Most of all, we're proud. This is the first time Brian and I have felt proud to be Americans. And we are so proud to show Stella that this country is capable of unity, hope and true democracy. I look forward to watching her grow in the next eight years with a leader who not only inspires us to be our best selves, but leads with integrity and intelligence.

Oh, happy day. Hope prevails.

Stella couldn't wait to bump it for Obama.

(Thanks to Lauren and Chris who hosted a wonderful Obama victory party. For those of us without television, it was a true treat seeing joyous crowds all over the world and to share that with good friends. Cheers to great neighbors, near and far.)

For all the O Stella followers, do you remember these pictures? When Stella was just six months old, Grandma Carol and I took her to her first political rally (fifteen thousand people!) where she got to actually see and hear Barack Obama speak. These pictures crack me up because she's so darn little and so darn cute, but they tickle me most because I have to believe Obama saw Stella for a split second as I held her above my head in that ridiculously loud red snow suit. Yup, that's what I'll tell her when she grows up - Barack Obama looked upon you. Good stuff.

Looking toward change.

It's All About the Accessories

Lately, Stella is really enjoying all the fall leaves, crunching and crackling underfoot, as we take our morning walks. Each day, she asks for a leaf (and sticks or rocks...) to hold and is happily entertained as we walk around the neighborhood or do some shopping (hence the Trader Joe's balloon). Recently, she's started asking to wear her wooden bead necklace as we bundle up. It cracks us up that she is aware of accessorizing at this point.

This sweet face is here to remind y'all to vote tomorrow if you haven't already. Vote, Vote, Vote!

Wild Kingdom

Happy (belated) Halloween!

Stella enjoyed her second Halloween with her good buddies, Isaac (aka Sir Dragon) and Scarlet (Madame Elephant), and had a rip-roaring time as a monkey (or is she a mouse?).

It was great to see Stella enjoy herself with all her company after a long week of battling her first ear infection. She's been a trooper though, and our small Halloween gathering seemed to perk up all our spirits.

The best part of the day was that she got to visit with both sets of grandparents. Lucky, lucky monkey.

Scarlet faced the biggest apparel challenge as an elephant. Despite the cumbersome costume, she was intrigued by all the festivities.

All of the adults were thoroughly amused by how the kids, for the most part, seemed oblivious of their costumes. Business as usual for a busy monkey, a giggling dragon and a curious elephant.

See, all the animals do get along.

I have to comment here that it's amazing to us that we're already rounding the corner on seconds for Stella. This is her second Halloween, and it's a trip to realize that we've already made it fifteen months with this wee sprite. A year ago, we were just emerging from that intense and exhausting newborn phase. Now we're busy chasing a very spirited and precocious monkey as she enters a whole new daredevil stage, climbing everything in sight and testing her boundaries at every turn. We're experiencing a new form of exhaustion, but we're also fascinated by how much she surprises us everyday.

We love you, little monkey.