What's Stella Doing?

Stella had her 6 month appointment where she weighed in at 16lbs (60%) and height wise she is a little bit of a shorty only coming in in the 18%. She can sit up on her own now and her babbling and laughing is taking off. She loves sitting up and playing with her toys, her favorites are her dolly and her lipstick rattle - a girlie girl already :) As you can see by the pictures she now has enough hair for a ponytail! Stella's proven to be a much more challenging baby to get on a routine than her brother was, but she finally seems to be sleeping better and for longer stretches at night. Hopefully that will continue now that we're getting back to some normalcy in our lives with the holidays and the move behind us. Stella is a morning person and gives us the biggest smiles when we go to her crib in the morning & she's always got smiles for Jack, she just adores him! She also loves bath time and playing peek-a-boo, and any time I carry her around in the baby bjorn she's in heaven. She's been enjoying rice and oatmeal cereal and has tried a few cheerios and puffs and absolutely loves them! There's no doubt Stella has a mind of her own already, it will be fun to watch her spirited personality develop more over the years.

What's Jack Up To?

Jack is a fun-loving and caring 2 1/2 year old. He really is such a sweet little boy and warms our hearts daily. He also has a great sense of humor and likes to joke around. Jack still loves playing cars and trains (I don't think that will change any time soon!) He loves playing outside in the snow, coloring and singing his ABC's. Jack has become much more independent and insists on doing most things for himself. He also wants to help us with whatever we're doing around the house, and unlike the "help" he provided us with a year ago, he's actually surprisingly helpful lately. Jack helps me make dinner most nights, he particularly likes things that involve stirring and sprinkling. Jack got a new tool bench for Christmas so he can oftentimes be found helping Daddy fix things around the house. He also helps me with the laundry by carrying laundry into the wash machine and matching the clean socks. He's a great big brother too, he talks to Stella and finds her nuk for her when she's fussing. Jack's vocabulary has really expanded in the past 6 months and the little sentences he comes up with are so darn cute, his latest is prefacing what he's going to say with: "Momma, I need to ask you question." Along with his vocabulary his imagination has also come alive, it's so entertaining to listen to him acting things out and talking to himself as he plays. Jack is very excited to be in the new house where he has a fun new bedroom and plenty of space to run around and play!

Christmas Day 2010

Here are the final pictures from the holiday. There were many gifts opened during the season of giving, but the best gift of all is the memories made and time spent together with loved ones.......our four hour drive home from Manitowoc with two peacefully sleeping kiddos and no stops was a pretty good gift too :) Happy 2011 everyone - here's to a new year in a new house, where many new memories will be made over the years!

Christmas Eve 2010

All decked out for Christmas Eve mass - the kids were troopers sitting in church for two hours! We went to church as a family where we sang silent night by candlelight - one of my favorite Christmas moments every year :) and then we spend Christmas Eve at Grandma & Grandpa Mott's where Jack had a blast playing with his second cousins Abby & Gracie.


Just look at Stella's cheeks in the picture - how precious!!

More Holiday Fun

We spent Christmas in Manitowoc this year and were able to make it a little longer trip, which was nice and allowed for more time to hang out with the family. Here are some of the little moments we had together in between all the Christmas celebrations. (and of course there will be more pictures to come from Christmas Eve & Day too, so stay tuned!)

Christmas at Home

Sibling love

Stella got a toy house!

Jack got Thomas train tracks & a Tool bench!

Cuddle time


We opened our gifts for one another and enjoyed a delicious dinner of Italian take out, a little wine, some Christmas music and my wonderful family, what a great way to celebrate Christmas.

The Churness Christmas

The weekend before Christmas we headed up to Durand to celebrate an early Christmas with my family. Jack had a blast baking cookies (as well as eating them), playing outside with Grandma & Grandpa and of course playing with the trains at their house. Stella had the most fun being entertained by everyone & playing with the wrapping paper. It was a fun and relaxing weekend together.