Happy Valentine's Day...

From Stella!!

We've had such a wonderful first few weeks (minus the week that we got sick) of me staying home with Stella. I absolutely know this is where I'm supposed to be and that is such a reassuring feeling. Don't get me wrong, it's hard in a different way than what a job is and in some ways more physically (and mentally) draining, but it's so rewarding and it's just so special to have this time with my little girl...who won't be little forever.

Gymnastics is going great. There are two other little girls in our class that are close to Stella's age so it's fun to have the social aspect too of letting Stella play and the structure to start learning to follow directions, etc. The class is broken into 10 minute sections where we do the trampoline, stretches, floor exercises, and a foam pit. We also usually dance to a song and we've just enjoyed being able to get out of the house a little and be active.

We've also loved story-time at the library. It's 30 minutes and they sing songs, dance, and read a couple books. It's very low-key (which is what I was hoping for) because I knew that there would be times that  Stella would have a melt down having to be quiet. It's great because there are so many other kids so it's not expected that everyone is going to sit their in silence!

We've had a couple play dates that have been so fun, too. It's nice for me to be able to visit and chit chat with my friends while Stella can also play and be social, too.

We started up our small groups again for this winter semester and we've so enjoyed being involved in that. I love the fellowship with other believers and it helps grow and challenge me in my faith. Plus, the friendships that we've made have just been life-changing and also help Blake and I stay focused and motivated in our devotions. We're studying The Story by Max Lucado. We'll do a 31 week study that will span the whole year (it will be broken up into 3 semester; winter, spring, and fall with a break over the summer). For someone who has grown up in church and heard all the bible stories, I'm actually learning and finding a new appreciation for the overall theme of the Bible - God loves us and the thing he wants MOST is to be in a relationship with us.

Other than that, Stella is such a joy and I'm so proud that I have the job of raising her. She absolutely has her moments of pure attitude and disobedience, but what 20-month old doesn't?! Her new thing is calling everybody "silly." If Blake is doing something funny, she looks at him and says "Dada seely" or if she sees another baby, "Baby seely" - it cracks me up. She's in a huge baby doll stage and it's really sweet seeing her interact with her "baby" - she'll give them kisses and share her paci.  She's also started telling me "come on." She'll come over and grab my finger and tell me "tum on" or "shum on" (depending on how she's pronouncing it) and then she'll lead me to one of two places, either the pantry or her play room! So cute. Potty "training" is still not great. I definitely don't want to ignore it or give up on it, but we've stayed low-key since she's still pretty young. I just take it as it comes and when she's interested and wants to use the potty, we go and if not, then she's wearing pull-ups and that's fine!

In the spirit of Valentine's I just have to say that I am so thankful for my wonderful husband and my precious little girl! She was so sweet playing with the new Valentine's presents from us and my parents.   I am just (again) so thankful to be spending this time with her!