12 Months

Stella is finally sitting up unassisted. Yay! My goal was for her to accomplish this by the time she was 1 and she beat the goal by a week. Now she just has to figure out how to gracefully get in and out of sitting. I think things are moving right along with her development. She has better control of her body now, finds things more quickly and is exploring and manipulating toys more thoroughly.

Stella is still teeny tiny, not even on the growth chart anymore. She breastfeeds many times a day, but doesn't eat a whole lot of food. She has 8 teeth, so she is perfectly capable. She does best when we put small chunks of food on her tray, giving her a chance to explore the food and then feed herself. The only problem is, she doesn't eat much quantity. I am going to focus more on feeding this coming month. We gave her cow milk for the first time today. First we tried cold milk and she spit it out, but once I warmed it up she chugged it.


Stella makes all sorts of sounds, including dada, and blowing bubbles, but I don't think she says any real words yet. Michael, of course, wants to claim Dada, while I like to think Mmmiii means milk.

Stella still loves her swing and her exersaucer, and any type of fabric. She is playing with blocks a bit, and rings, and still loves rattles and anything musical. She is taking a Kindermusik class, which she mostly enjoys. Sometimes I think she gets overwhelmed. We went to a fair the weekend of July 4 and took her on her first ride on a ferris wheel. She loved it! Stella also enjoys being read to. She grabs the book and wants to chew on the corners, but she has also started exploring the pages with her hands. She finds the dots on the braille books and likes to feel textures on other books.

Sebastian is so eager for Stella to talk, and walk, and play with him. He is usually very sweet and gentle with her, but they do both enjoy rolling around on the floor together. Sebastian is a big help in the car. He will hand her a toy, or her pacifier, but sometimes he hits her just to get a reaction. Sigh. Part of the joy of parenting siblings. Sebastian loves to push Stella in the stroller, or in a swing. It's fun to watch them together.