Heat Wave

Well, summer has finally arrived in Washington State. It was quite hot this weekend, so we took to the shade and donned our sunglasses as any cool kid would.

At Nate and Remy's birthday party, Stella sat mesmerized (or slightly disturbed) as the clown performed some "magic." Balloons are now the coolest thing in the world.

While Mama and Papa took turns working in the new backyard, Stella splashed around in her new pool. While she's not ready for laps any time soon, she enjoyed walking in the water and playing with her beach toys.

Sleepy Girl

I just popped up to check on Stella. Perfection.

Kisses

As the mother of an incredibly active eleven month old, I feel like all I ever say is "I turned around for just ten seconds and..."

Stella's favorite new activity is kissing. She wants to kiss Mama. She wants to kiss Papa. She wants to kiss her stuffed lamby. She wants to kiss her buddy Isaac. She wants to kiss characters in her books. But most of all, she wants to kiss the object of her affection, obsession and fascination - Vinnie. Stella essentially spends a good part of her days following Vinnie around the house, laughing at him, enticing him to a game of chase-the-ball and just loving him (aka "mauling").

Yesterday, I turned around for that classic ten seconds, heard Stella make her kissing sound ("Ahhhhhhhh") and saw her kissing Vinnie as he napped. Yup, her Vinnie kisses have now evolved into ear sucking. Yum.

I've been wondering why I've found Vinnie with soggy ears for the last few days. Mystery solved.

The Comfy Chair

Stella loves her new comfy chair! Papa picked it up from Grandma and Grandma's house this week, and Stella didn't even let Papa take his shoes off before climbing on. She now enjoys pouring through her books upstairs in her new reading nook. We love that this piece of Buhman history is part of Stella's life. Thank you so much, Great Grandpa Paul!

You Say Tomato

Ooooooooooh..........

Don't mind if I do.

What would Wonder Woman do?

Crunch.

Pop Rocks

Happy Father's Day, Y'all! Stella and her Papa started off the day by dancing to their favorite punk rock and giggling like crazy. They read stories, cuddled and followed Vinnie in hopes for a kitty kiss. It's sheer bliss watching these two buddies.

We then headed to Grandpa Harte and Grandma Jannie's to celebrate some more. Stella got to see several deer, many ducks and countless hummingbirds. As you can see, she's totally enchanted (and distracted!) by all the beautiful trees and wildlife.

Oooh, Grandma and Grandpa have cool toys! Stella really enjoyed lounging in the comfy kid chair that her Great Grandpa Paul made long ago for her Great Uncle Doug. What fun.

Happy Father's Day to all the amazing Papas out there - especially Grandpa Harte, Poppy and Great Grandpa Paul. We love you!

Stella's Flat

While we try to minimize the completely obnoxious plastic toys in our newly kid-friendly house, we also know when to give in and make our babe happy. Stella loves her hand-me-down "kitchen/garden." Brian calls it her own little flat. As we cook and enjoy tea, Stella checks for surprises in her mailbox, plays with the flowers and opens up her door for visitors. Martha Stewart, watch out!

(Check out Stella's toddling shiners! What a brute!)

Bruiser Burnsler

Stella is walking! For the last two weeks, Brian and I have been a bit busier than normal, chasing after our toddling Scout. About two days before she turned ten months, Stella decided to let go of the walls and couch and go for it alone. She's hilariously determined and is already starting to zoom faster and faster. (She sort of walks sideways when she really picks up speed.) Unfortunately - and inevitably - she's already taken some wicked tumbles and is covered in bruises. But, in true Stella style, she seems completely unfazed by such roadblocks. (Mind you, we're a fretful wreck.) From the beginning, we knew we had an independent mover and a shaker on our hands, but we had no idea how fun it would all be to watch her explore so vigorously.

Where's Stella?

Endless fun.

Chillin' with Chi-hui

Stella Scout got to spend time with Chi-hui this last weekend at the Farmers' Market when he was up visiting from San Francisco. This picture cracks me up. Stella seemed to develop a bit of a 'tude when her Papa dared to photograph her with the sun in her eyes and carrots on her face. Yeesh.