Smart boy

Silas looked at the ketchup bottle tonight that has a picture of a tomato on it and said "do you crush up tomatoes and then have ketchup?" Jake and I were a little surprised and I asked him where he learned that. He responded, "I just think about it."  I thought that was pretty amazing...so smart for 3 and looking, acting, and sounding more and more like a 4 year old every day! 

Whining

I have to whine! "I don't wanna go back to work!!!!" My Stella snuggles are so precious - almost daily we nap together. I sleep a good part of it, but then spend the rest of the time she sleeps just staring at her and taking pictures of her sleeping. You think I post a lot if pictures? You should see all of them on my phone! 

I'm so worried she won't get to snuggle during the day, which she loves to do. No one will kiss her as much to let her know how loved she is. No one will appreciate the intoxicating scent of her delicious baby breath like I do. They won't admire and appreciate her long, delicate eyelashes the way her Mama does. They won't pick off the straggly nail or dry flake of skin so she looks "just perfect". No one will tell her as many times as her Mama does just how beautiful she is. They won't stare at her and realize which features look like someone in the family. They won't appreciate her arm rolls and chubby, squishy thighs like her Mama does. And they certainly won't plant as many kisses on those big, delicious, rosy cheeks like her Mama does. 

My heart strings are being tugged. So I take pictures. And capture my precious babe sleeping while in my arms. 

And look at these two together. Ridiculous the amount of cuteness they exude! 

Nursing

Nursing is so hard for me at first - up every 2-3 hours, getting the hang of things, latching issues, soreness...blah blah blah. But my favorite is when they reach the age where they can make eye contact with you while nursing and sometimes smile. It melts my heart every time!! Stella is doing that now and I LOVE it!

Maternity leave

I can't believe my maternity leave is almost over. Stella will be 10 weeks on Thursday and I go back to work next Monday. I don't have nearly the feeling of "dread" that I had with Silas, probably because I know two of Stella's teachers at the daycare center and she's going to be in the same building as Silas. 

I remember in a way being somewhat excited to go back to being "normal" after Silas and looking forward to adult interaction and being back doing what I love, despite the tears and feelings of dread. With Stella though, I have no desire what-so-ever to go back. Maybe because I've gotten together with friends every week...or that Jake keeps telling me this is our last baby. Or maybe because she is just such a great baby and snuggler...whatever it is, I don't want to go. 

Stella is so interactive right now, especially with me. She coos, sometimes almost squeals, and is full of smiles. She is generally happy when awake (except when we're trying to keep her awake before bedtime), and loves, loves, LOVES to snuggle on my shoulder or chest. This girl could sleep for hours in my arms...and sometimes she does. :) She loves her baths and enjoys her bouncy seat. Sometimes when she's fussy, I just lay her down and she'll calm down, almost as if she just needed to stretch out. 

Mom, Kellee and I went Black Friday shopping yesterday and took Stella, who was a trooper! Such a good little shopper. We were there for 8 hours and I stopped to feed her twice. She spent most of her time in the Baby Bjorn against me and was perfectly content there. 

I'll leave you with some pictures:

And here's my little tool man, all set to go to Papa's house for 5 days and "do work with my work boots".