The Hargett's

Updates Galore!

2011-07-08T22:08:00.000-06:00

It's been quite a while since I've updated, so here's what us Hargett's have been up to in June and the first part of July.

June:
We took a trip to Kansas from June 6-13 to go visit family. It was Stella's first trip to Kansas as well as her first time on an airplane! Stella did so great on the airplane and only got fussy a few times on the way there and on the way home. Here are some highlights from the trip:

Stella went on her first plane ride

We "horsed" around with cousins

We relaxed and took naps

Stella had her first trip to the lake: Council Grove Lake

Stella went swimming for the first time

We played with our cousins: Maddox,

Reese,

Jolie,

and Holden.

We took a trip to Manhatten Kansas to eat frozen yogurt at The Orange Leaf

Did a little fishing in the pond at Frank and Alice's farm

Went camping for two days at Council Grove Lake

Had a family reunion with my mom's side of the family. These are her siblings: Dan, Dwite and Sharon. This is the first time in YEARS that all the siblings have gotten together.

Fed some ducks at the lake

Did a little napping in the hammock

Did some more vising with family. This is my mom's family. Bottom row: Aunt Sharon, Grandma Stella, my mom. Top row: Uncle Dan, Uncle Dwite and Grandpa Dean.

We had LOTS of fun with my cousin Ricci and her family.

We went to Reese and Jolie's swim meet

Visited some more cousins in Wichita Kansas: Aunt Sharon, Cousin Laura, Cousin Beth and my mom

Then we headed home!!!

We had a wonderful trip in Kansas and had a GREAT time vising with lots of family :)

Toward the end of June we went to the Farmer's Market downtown and visited the Children's Museum with our good friends Brittany and Taylor. Brittany brought along her nieces Taylor and Morgan and her nephews Kelby and Owen:

Stella absolutely LOVES the swings

She even had her first ride down the slide

Stella loves playing with Taylor

She especially loves to poke daddy

We had a great time eating lunch on the grass

Stella had a great time exploring the Children's Museum. The kids even gave Stella her own personal chair!

Stella loves to talk to herself in the mirror

We took Stella to the Springville Cemetary to visit her Great Grandma Helen and her Grandpa Jerry for the first time. Great Grandma Helen passed away 2 years ago, we would have loved for Stella to meet her. Grandma Helen was a wonderful person and we miss her so much. Troy's dad Jerry passed away in 1988 so I never was able to meet him. Stella would have LOVED to have met them both!

As for the ending of June...our Stella Baylee turned 10 months old on June 24th!

Stella now has two bottom teeth, she is crawling, can pull herself into a standing positon, says 3 words: bop, dad and uh oh, she does very well at mimicking, we are teaching her sign language and she is starting to understand the sign "more", she can wave bye when we say "bye bye". Some of Stella's "firsts" that happened: flew on an airplane, went to Kansas, swam in the lake, and went camping. Stella is very smart and is learning and growing each day.

July:
It's just the beginning of July, so we haven't done much yet. The one thing we have done is celebrate the 4th of July. We had a great weekend celebration with family and friends. To start off the celbration we had a BBQ at our house on July 2nd. We had yummy hamburgers, pasta salad, my mom's famous potato salad, chips, soda and Aunt Patty's cookies!

On the 4th of July we had a busy day! Troy, unfortunately had to work, but Stella and I still had a great time! We started the day off with the Murray City parade. We joined my friend Marie with her husband Luke and their son Brody. This was Stella's first parade, she had fun watching all the people and seeing the colorful floats.

After the parade we had breakfast at Marie's in-laws and visited there for a while. Marie's sister-in-law took some family pictures of Marie, Luke and Brody and she even took some cute pictures of Stella. I'll get those pictures back this week. After visiting with Marie's family Stella and I headed over to my parents house to visit. Stella and were both exhausted...so we zonked out for a while!

We headed home around 6 to get ready for Brittany, Taylor, Landon and his kids Ashlynn, Avery and Aaron to come over to watch the fireworks from our backyard.

Our neighbors always have a big party with music and fireworks in the street. Stella only lasted until about 9:30 and she was off to bed. She did get to see the fireworks that were lit off in our street. She did great with them, she didn't get scared at all. At 10 we got to see the BIG fireworks from Thanksgiving Point. We get a spectacular view from our backyard. We had a great 4th of July weekend celbration and we are so blessed to live in a wonderful country!

Crawling!!!

2011-06-03T14:55:00.000-06:00

Stella officially started crawling on June 2nd! She did it when I was at work and Troy was watching her. I cried when I saw her do it for the first time :)

Stella: 9 mo Old

2011-05-30T10:36:00.002-06:00

Stella Baylee: 9mo Old

May 24, 2011

My baby girl is officially 3 months away from turning one year old! It's exciting and sad at the same time. Time has just flown by and Stella has made some great milestones. She had her 9 month check up on Saturday May 28th. This time around she didn't have to get shots, I'm sure she would have done well with them if she did have to get them. Our pediatrician says that Stella is perfect and very healthy! Here are her stats:

Weight: 19 lbs 10 oz- 66th Percentile

Length: 28 1/4 inches- 75th Percentile

Head Circumference: 46 cm- 94th Percentile

Doc says that Stella should be crawling at any time. She is already getting into position to crawl. She can pull herself forward and get on all fours, she moves her arms but just can't get her legs to move with her just yet. Doc says that we need to give her more solid foods than formula. She should be drinking at least 24 oz a day of formula. Stella has been eating more "finger" foods like mandarin oranges, chicken, olives, scrambled eggs and bread. She can officially hold her sippy cup all by herself and drink out of it. She is also holding her bottle more and feeding herself. Occasionally she gets lazy and wants mom or dad to hold it for her. She is now eating a whole jar of 2nd stage foods. Depending on her mood she may only eat half of it in one sitting.

Stella now likes to play peek-a-boo with her blankets or our laundry. She'll hold it and lift it over her head and then quickly drop it down. She'll do it over and over and we'll say "Peek-A-Boo!" She loves it! She is babbling a lot now, the babbles she does are "bababa" and "lalala". She also likes to oooo and aahhh at everything. She is going to be quite the talker! Stella still loves to walk more than ever. She can pull herself up with us holding onto her hands and she'll just take off! Grandma and Grandpa have a walker at their house and Stella cruises in it! She loves to clap her hands and every time we clap she'll start clapping along with us. She's also starting to wave, she mainly does it with her whole arm but I think she understands. Stella still loves to play with her toys and bang them on hard surfaces. She really loves her music dog that we got at the D.I. This dog has push buttons on his ear, foot, tummy and hand. The dog will tell you what you pushed, for example if you push the hand the dog will say "hand" and then it plays music. Stella's favorite stuffed animal at Grandma and Grandpa's house is Mr. Snail and Slow Poke. She will give him kisses all day long. It's so cute! Stella LOVES when we read to her. I've made it a habit to read to her every night, I do miss a couple nights a week. She will sit on our lap and listen to the story, she has even turned the pages for us a few times.

Stella can now pull herself up onto her knees. She has done it in her crib and with Grandma and Grandpa's coffee table. She is very strong, she can lift her heavy toys almost over her head. She loves to play with her feet. If she's sitting, she will lean down and try and put them in her mouth. If she's laying down, she'll pull them up to her mouth and stuff them in. It's adorable! Stella loves to imitate everyone, one of her favorite imitations is to smack her lips. One of the new things she is doing is she will scrunch her face and breath hard through her nose. Her little face looks so cute when she does it. Stella is very articulate with her fingers. She does so well at picking up her food with her index finger and thumb-she looks very proper when she does it :) She is also very perceptive. She will look up when you call her name and she reacts to all loud noises. Two particular noises she absolutely hates are the coffee grinder and the blender. Grandma and Grandpa discovered this when they were babysitting her one day. She just bawled...she didn't like it at all. Funnily enough, she doesn't mind the vacuum at all! She will even let me vacuum right next to her when she's sitting on the ground. Stella had her first trip to Hogle Zoo on Saturday May 21st. She loves seeing all the animals and reacted most to the big Gorilla. She lasted 3 1/2 hours before she was ready for a nap. She was very well behaved, didn't fuss once! We were so proud :)

Stella is still sleeping through the nights 5-6 times a week. There are 1 or 2 times that she will wake up. Sometimes she just wants her binky and other times she wants a bottle. She is still wearing 6-9 month clothes and 9 month Carter's clothes. She is even able to fit into some 12 month clothes. Stella officially has her baths in the big bath tub now. She loves to splash and play with her toys. She's not very fond of it when I have to wash her hair. For some reason she just hates it. I have to distract her with funny noises while I do it so she won't cry. Stella absolutely loves to laugh! She likes to be tickled and loves to play with people's faces. She is always smiling and has the most beautiful smile. Our baby girl is one smart cookie, we are excited for her to start crawling and eventually start walking. We know once she gets the balance for walking she will never look back! She has loved walking since she was 3mo old when she first started taking steps with us holding on to her. Stella is our pride and joy and we love her more and more every day. Life wouldn't be the same without her and she is our special blessing. We love you Stella Baylee :)

Hogle Zoo: 5/21/2011

2011-05-21T18:36:00.001-06:00

Today we took a trip up to Hogle Zoo! It was Stella's first time and since she always goes nuts over Bentley we thought she'd love to see the animals. It was so much fun watching Stella react to all of the different animals. We got the best reaction out of her from the big gorilla. We visited the giraffes, elephants, gorillas, snakes, fish, orangetangs, spiders, fox, porcupine, turtles and the list goes on! I was so impressed at how well Stella did at the zoo. The best thing about her getting older is she doesn't take naps every hour ;) We were able to stay 3 1/2 hours before we knew she was ready for a nap. She didn't fuss at all the whole time we were there. We had so much fun and really enjoyed being out as a family. We can't wait to take her again, especially when she gets older!

A few videos of my baby girl!

2011-05-20T23:58:00.001-06:00

Getting ready to crawl!

Somersaults!!!

Dance Performance

2011-05-20T22:37:00.000-06:00

Tonight Kaitlyn had a ballroom dance performace at her school. She did a wonderful job! Troy, myself, Stella, Brittany, Taylor and Grandma Jan were all there to support her. We had a great time out as family and friends. There were some really great dances and some really talented kids. It sure did remind me of my high school dance performances. WAY TO GO KAITLYN...WE LOVE YOU!

Out and About

2011-05-15T10:55:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we went to lunch up Emmigration Canyon to Ruth's Diner. Our friends Laura and Stratton invited us and we thought it would be really fun! We love taking rides up the canyon and Troy and I both have never been to this diner before. Along with Laura and Stratton, our friends Paige and Lexi joined us as well as two other friends of Laura and Stratton's. We ate outside and it was just beautiful. Perfect weather...well almost. It started to rain a little, but luckily it stopped so we were still able to enjoy our meal outside. We definitely want to go there again, the food is amazing!

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-15T10:49:00.000-06:00

My first Mother's Day was absolutely wonderful. We have church at 9am so Troy made me breakfast on Saturday of biscuits and gravy. We had some of our family over for lunch to celebrate: my mom, my sister, Troy's mom, Troy's aunt and her three kids and my friends Brittany and Taylor. We were planning on having a BBQ but of course, it rained. We still had BBQ hamburgers, but just ate inside. We also had my mom's famous potato salad, chips and jello. After lunch we opened presents. We got my mom a couple picture frames: one had pictures of Stella and the other had pictures of our family. We also got her patio dishes. We got Troy's mom picture frames as well: one with a picture of most of her grandkids and then another of pictures of our family. She is renovating her house and so we got her a cute wall hanging. We also got Troy's aunt a present: a picture of her three kids that we took in Park City. I also got my sister a present because she is gonna be a mommy in December. I got her a candle, hand soap from Bath and Body Works and some chocolate. Troy got me a 30 min massage from Massage Envy. I'm so excited to use it! We visited for the rest of the afternoon and everyone left around 5:30pm. Then we just relaxed the rest of the day. It was a very nice first Mother's Day and look forward for the next.

Stella Baylee: 8 months Old

2011-05-06T19:03:00.001-06:00

Stella Baylee- 8 months old: April 24th 2011

My Stella Baylee turned 8 months old on Easter Sunday! I know I say this every month, but I just cannot believe how fast my baby girl is growing up. It seriously brings tears to my eyes just thinking that she is going to be a year old in 4 months. Stella’s first Easter was a lot of fun. Unfortunately Troy had to work, but Stella and I went to church and she wore her beautiful purple Easter dress. She only made it through half of Sacrament before she needed to be changed and then she peed on her dress :) luckily I brought a back up dress, still just as cute! After church we headed up to grandma and grandpa’s house for Easter lunch. We had pork roast, mashed potatoes with brown gravy, broccoli with cheese sauce, deviled eggs, rolls and cottage cheese with pineapple. It was delicious. Stella even had some: she tried rolls and mashed potatoes…YUM! Auntie Ashley and Uncle Cody came over as well and we had a wonderful dinner with visiting. Ashley just found out she’s pregnant…so Stella will have two cousins this year! Auntie Brooke is pregnant with a baby boy and due Sept 21st and Auntie Ashley is due on Dec 14th.

Stella's first Easter basket

All her goodies: bunny rabbit, two books, three learning card games, bunny ears and a wind up chick

Stella's first Easter Sunday dress

Stella's back up Easter dress ;)

Stella has grown so much in the last month, oh where to begin! First, I was trying to think of what nicknames we have been calling Stella and the only one that has really stuck is “Chunky Monkey” or just “Monkey”. Stella has chubby cheeks and chubby legs and is overall a little “chunky” baby and one day I started calling her “My Chunky Monkey” and it just stuck. We really haven’t used any other nicknames.
I have no idea how much she weighs right now, but if I could guess I’d say around 17 lbs…maybe 18?? She weighed 15 lbs 15 oz at her 6mo appt. She can still fit in some of her 3-6mo clothes, but just barely. She can also fit in most of her 6mo clothes from Carters. She does fit perfectly in her 6-9mo clothes and some of her 9mo clothes from Carters are almost too small. I have a big girl but I love her to death!

"Just Do It!"

Stella is eating a whole jar of stage one food and has now branched out to other types. She has tried chicken & veggies, apples & blueberries, apples & prunes, prunes and turkey & veggies. She is still a great eater. She has a fruit mixed with oatmeal in the morning and a vegetable mixed with rice cereal in the evening. Stella has even starting feeding herself. One day she just grabbed the spoon and shoved it in her mouth. She will feed herself about 3-4 bites and then she just wants to play with the spoon. Stella also made her very first sour face and it was with real bananas that were mashed up. I got it on video and it was so funny. She is also still drinking 6 oz of formula about every 3-4 hours. Stella has also tried some other non-baby foods such as: mashed potatoes, rolls, tuna and noodles. I wrote down a list from babycenter.com of the 10 best foods for babies and one of them is mandarin oranges. I bought a couple cans but I haven’t had her try them yet. Stella still loves her puffs and has now mastered picking them up individually with her thumb and index finger and getting them into her mouth. I am so proud! I cheer her on each time :)
Stella is also talking a lot; I would say more than she was last month. She is now saying “BaBaBaBa” it’s so cute! We also started this game where I’ll make a “roaring” sound and then randomly switch to blowing raspberries and she mimics right with me. She loves to make roaring sounds and really gets into it. Overall, she is a big talker and will talk all the time. Stella still loves her binky. We try not to give it to her too much.

Daddy and Stella

Stella and Mommy

She still loves her toys. I would say her favorite toy is her rattle. She loves the sound it makes and she’ll bang it as hard as she can on anything. She loves to play with our cell phones and I just so happened to find a pink play cell phone. She doesn’t like this one as much. I’m thinking because it doesn’t light up. Stella’s favorite thing to play with on Troy is his ear. I have no idea why, but if his ear is anywhere within reach, she’ll just start playing with it! It’s so funny. Stella is waiving her arms about quite a bit now. It almost looks like she’s waiving, but I know she’s not. She is also quite the grinner. She smiles a lot and LOVES to laugh. She will laugh at pretty much anything. Stella loves to be tickled and she just has the cutest laugh. I love to hear it. My favorite thing to do to make her laugh is when I’m changing her diaper I’ll take the wet wipe and wipe it under her chin and under her armpits and she just goes nuts! She is also very ticklish on her inner thighs. She has now learned how to put her foot in her mouth! When she’s lying down she’ll lift up her legs and grab a hold of her foot and try and stuff it in her mouth. It’s so funny!
Stella is still teething, but no teeth yet. I bought her a new teething ring that has ridges on it which she seems to like. She’s not drooling as much but I can tell she’s in pain on some days. The week before she turned 8mo she was really cranky from her teething, but has seemed to settle down now. I wouldn’t be surprised if a tooth popped up in the next month. Stella still loves bath time. She had her first bath in the real bathtub. She didn’t react like I thought she would by splashing. She just kind of sat in there and played with her toys. I’ve only given her a bath in there once, her tub in the sink is just easier right now.

Stella's first time at the park: 5/6/2011

I also gave Stella her first Mohawk! It was just darling, she has a little bit of curl and when you put a headband with a bow on her it just looks even cuter. Stella is starting to stay on her tummy a little bit more than before. We just have to distract her with a toy. She is getting closer and closer to rolling from her back to her tummy, but not yet. We’ve been working with her getting her in crawling position and are hoping that she’ll be crawling in the next month. She loves to stand and we’ll stand her up against stuff that she can hold on to and she has a ball with it. Stella is getting better at lifting herself up when she’s lying down. If she’s somewhat propped up, she can lift herself all the way up into sitting position.
Stella absolutely loves Bentley still. Every time he is around she just lights up and gets the biggest grin on her face. Auntie Ashley has a dog now named Millie and Stella goes nuts around her. Millie is really hyper right now because she is a puppy and when she runs around Stella will just laugh and laugh. Stella is sleeping better, she will still wake up at least once in the middle of the night usually around 4, sometimes it’s around 2 and sometimes if we’re lucking she won’t wake up at all.
Stella has also mastered drinking out of her sippy cup! She can also hold her bottle when she’s lying down. She doesn’t like to most of the time, but when she’s in the mood she will. She is still learning how to hold her sippy cup, she can’t quite do it because she drinks it sitting up and she doesn’t quite know how to lift her arms up in that position. However, she is a strong little girl! She can pick up her thick block pale that’s pretty heavy and she also picks up her wipes box. Anything she can get her hands on, she’ll try and pick it up and sometimes succeeds. Stella is very good at entertaining herself. She can just sit and play with her blocks by herself for maybe 10-15 min and then she’ll notice that no one is there and she’ll want company. She is getting more attached to Troy and I. When we are around groups of people that she doesn’t know and someone else is holding her she’ll start to cry and reach out of us. It’s really cute! Speaking of which, she has started reaching up to get out of her car seat and her jumperoo.
Grandma still watches Stella 2-3 times a week and she just loves it. Stella is definitely attached to my mom, they both have a lot of fun together and my mom just adores Stella. I set two goals to do with Stella every night: read at least one book and to pray. So far I’ve done well. I feel it’s very important to read early in life and I want to make sure I’m doing that. I also want to practice praying with Stella so she’ll learn how to do it early on.
Some of the things Stella doesn’t like are: touching her head a lot. I don’t know why, but if you try and massage her head too much she gets angry. Once Stella has started feeding herself, if you take away the spoon from her she gets mad. She doesn’t like to be in a room alone for too long; she loves to be around people. Those are really the only things I can think of. Stella is just a very happy baby and very easy going. She will still only cry if she’s hungry, tired or needs a diaper change. Along with those, she will also cry if her gums are really bothering her now that she’s teething more.
Troy and I are so very blessed to have Stella in our lives and we feel even more blessed that she is such a good baby. We honestly rarely have any problems with her. She is so happy and loveable and just so fun to be around. I can’t imagine my life without her and I just want to be around her every minute of the day. We love you Stella Baylee!!!

Oh...My Cute Daughter!!!

2011-04-23T22:20:00.000-06:00

Stella loves her Puffs!

Park City-April 2011

2011-04-16T13:51:00.000-06:00

This past week we had the opportunity to go up to Park City and stay in a condo with Troy's family. We left on Wednesday April 13th and came home on Friday April 15th. Troy's mom has a timeshare up there so we stayed in a nice condo called the Sweetwater Condo's. Along with Troy's mom being there, we were joined by Troy's aunt Patti, her three kids: Nathan, Sarah and Steven, Troy's brother Brandon, his wife Brooke and thier three kids: Emma, Maddie and Miki.

We arrived at the condo around 11:30 and had some lunch and got settled and visited for a little bit. We decided to go over to the St. Regis Hotel in Deer Valley to ride the Funicular. The buses are free in Park City, so we all took that. It was Stella's first bus ride, as well as her first vacation in Park City! We had a lot of fun taking pictures of the kids and enjoying each other's company. The kids swimmed most of the time. The condo had a hot tub, heated pool and a sauna. The first day the kids swam for about 10 hours! It was insane! They all ended up with rashes from being in the chlorine for so long...but that didn't stop then, they were in there the next day!

On Wednesday we pretty much relaxed for most of the morning and afternoon. By mid afternoon we decided to go to Main Street and walk around. Of course, I forgot to put the battery in my camera for this, so I don't have any pictures of Main Street. We took the Trolley up and down a few times because Troy's mom has a hard time walking. Then we stopped at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and all the kids got caramel apples, Troy and I got chocolate covered pretzels...yum! After Main Street we headed back and had a yummy dinner of taco salad.

We had a great time up in Park City and hope to go again soon...next time with ALL of the Hargett's!!!

New Milestone for Stella

2011-04-12T22:58:00.000-06:00

Stella is getting closer to holding her own bottle!!! Check it out...

How cute is she!!!???

So Far in April...

2011-04-10T22:49:00.002-06:00

We haven't seen Troy's son Nik in about a month due to his basketball games. He happened to have basketball on the weekends in March that we were supposed to have him. We finally got to see him the first weekend in April and we decided to go out as a family to Thanksgiving Point and have some yummy ice cream and frozen yogurt. They have the best raspberry frozen yogurt, I get that every time we go.

That same weekend was General Conference and it's tradition that I go to Layton and stay with Brittany's family. It was a lot of fun! We had our usual girls night and had quite a few girls there this time. We ate lots of yummy food and visited. After Priesthood was over, we played games. One of the games we played was called In A Pickle and it was about midnight while we were playing and Brittany and I got pretty creative with it and laughed a WHOLE lot!!! It was hilarious. Sunday we watched General Conference and Brittany and Spud made a delicious shredded pork burrito for everyone. Stella sure had a fun time playing with Taylor and Morgan :)

Stella had her first bath in the "big" bathtub this weekend! She didn't react with the water like I'd expected. But she sure had a fun time with the toys! I need to go to Walmart and pick up some more bath toys for her to play with. Stella does an exellent job with sitting up in the bath tub. I think eventually she will splash the water more.

This past Saturday was our ward activity and we had a little luau. For dinner they served slow smoked pork, rolls, salads, green beans and dessert. It was so good! For the entertainment they had Tahitian dancers, it was really awesome! Then they cleared the tables and did dancing, it was like we were in high school again! It was a lot of fun, probably one of the funnest ward activities since we've been in this ward.

Today I tried a new hairstyle for Stella: a mohawk!!! LOL I gave her a quick bath before heading over to my sisters for Sunday dinner and thought it'd be cute/funny to give her a mohawk...I think she looks pretty darn cute!

Here are some other random pics of Stella at 7mo old!! Enjoy :)

Reading time with Grandma

Grandpa and Stella

"This is my little black dress"

Daddy and Stella playing XBox

My 25th Birthday Weekend Celebration

2011-03-28T09:15:00.000-06:00

My "throne"

Today is my 25th birthday, I can hardly believe it! Since my birthday falls on a Monday this year, I decided to celebrate it this weekend with family and friends. Friday I went to dinner with my good friends Laura, Paige, Brittany, Marie, Samantha and my sister Ashley to California Pizza Kitchen. I haven't been there in a really long time and since they just built one in Murray, I wanted to go! I got the BBQ pizza and it sure was delicious. A few of us got pizza's and switched around so we could all taste each other's. After we ate, Brittany told our waiter it was my birthday and he brought a yummy ice cream sundae and the girls all sang Happy Birthday to me. It was sweet!

After dinner everyone had to go, but Brittany and I went next door to Carter's to get some baby clothes! Well, I got baby clothes for Stella and Brittany got some clothes for her neice and nephew whose birthday's are coming up. I found the cutest clothes for Stella, she has enough 6-9mo clothes so all the ones I bought were 12mo or 18mo. I also got her 4th of July outfit...it is so adorable!!!
Saturday Troy and I both had eye doctor appts-we have both needed new contacts for a short time now and have really needed new glasses for a long time! The appt took about 2 hours because we go to the vision center in Troy's store and of course we visit with all his coworkers there and they all want to see Stella. Troy and I both got some really nice frames...I'm excited to get them back. Afterward, we went over to Cafe Rio for lunch, I had a free meal. After we ordered and sat down, it was time to make Stella's bottle-but I had forgotten to put the nipple on her bottle! She hadn't eaten in 4 hours so I new she was starving-so I headed over to Smith's across the street and bought a nipple. I think Heavenly Father knew that my baby was starving and I was in a hurry because when I drove back to find a parking spot at Cafe Rio there was one that just opened at the very front! After lunch we headed over to Carter's in South Jordan because I only needed to spend $20 more bucks to get a $10 outfit for free. So I bought some more clothes for Stella! This girl is going to be stylish! After shopping we headed over to my parents house for my birthday dinner-we arrived earlier than we were supposed to be there and I guess I ruined the surprise they had for me. Whoops! My mom and sister had decorated the house for me and I arrived too soon. It was mostly all decorated and it was gorgeous.

This is the first time in years that someone has done decorations for my birthday-I loved it! We had Chinese Sundae for dinner, played "Spoons", opened presents: I got a gift card to get a pedicure from my sister, a "cafe" candle for my kitchen, note cards and jolly ranchers from my mom and a framed picture of each of my dogs from my dad. Then we had cake: devils food with cream cheese frosting-YUM! Stella helped me blow out the candles ;) It was a great birthday celebration, probably one of my favorites in years. It was very laid back and so fun to be with my family.

Today's agenda: not quite sure yet. I think I might get some lunch at Zupa's and do a little shopping at the South Towne Mall. Samantha got me a gift card to Aeropostale and I want to get some new tops-maybe a new pair of jeans. I'm hesitant because I swore I wouldn't buy new pants until I lost my baby weight. So we'll see.

Stella: 7mo Old

2011-03-26T11:09:00.000-06:00

(more pictures at the end)

My Stella Baylee turned 7mo old on March 24th. I can hardly believe that 7mo ago my beautiful daughter came into this world. She has been such a blessing and is growing up so fast. In the last month Stella has been doing a few more new things: she started eating solid foods after her 6mo appt. Her first food she tried was squash and peaches…she absolutely loved them! My daughter is definitely not a picky eater; she sure loves her veggies…thank goodness. Stella has also had green beans, sweet peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, applesauce, pears and bananas. I’ve also had her try a little of the dinners we’ve had: baked potato and spaghetti sauce. She didn’t mind them either. Stella will even try to feed herself. I give her a little help when she does that so she doesn’t gag herself with the spoon. I also introduced “puffs” to her. They are little puff treats in different flavors that dissolve quickly and teaches babies how to chew. First I had her try the banana flavor, she gave a sour face the first couple times but she has really taken to them. Just the other day I had her try peach-mango and she loved them. It’s so crazy to see my baby start to chew and get ready for those types of food. Stella has also had apple juice and has learned how to suck out of a sippy cup. We are still trying to teach her how to hold on to her bottle and sippy cup. She’d rather just play or stare at her hands. Stella’s favorite thing to do while having a bottle is to mesmerize at her hand. Mom calls it the “Miss America wave”. She’ll just stare at it and slowly move her hand back and forth through her whole feeding. It’s hilarious to watch! Stella is wearing size 6mo clothes from Carters and is almost grown out of her 3-6mo clothes and is wearing 6-9mo clothes-some of the 6-9mo clothes are a tad big. Stella has also grown out of her 1-2 Huggies diapers! She is now wearing size 3…man o’ man. The sizes 3, however, are a little big. I guess my baby girl is just in between sizes in everything! Stella has now learned how to roll from her tummy to her back…I was so excited when she first did it. She is still learning how to roll from her back to her tummy, she is very close though. When she’s on her back she loves to pull her legs up and she just rolls to her side and will then get distracted by the TV or her toys. We’ve been practicing though! We still do a lot of tummy time everyday to give her practice in getting ready to crawl. Stella knows how to straighten her arms all the way out and lift her upper body up and she’ll look around. She is still teething but no teeth yet. My baby girl is a big drooler, some days are worse with the drooling than others. Stella is doing so much better with spitting up…she hardly does it anymore. We had switched from the Wal-Mart brand of Enfamil Lipil to the Gerber Good Start and she didn’t spit up at all. However, we just can’t afford to spend a lot in formula so after Stella turned 6 ½ months, we thought we’d go back to Wal-Mart brand of Enfamil Lipil and see how she did with it…and she’s done great! As long as we don’t press on her tummy or bounce her around a whole lot after she eats, she won’t spit up! Stella is now eating 6 oz of formula every 4 hours and is eating stage one veggies and fruits. She eats half a jar of fruit mixed with 1 TBSP of rice cereal in the morning and half a jar of veggies with a little bit of rice cereal mixed in to thicken it in the evening. I think she’s about ready to eat a whole jar of stage one though. We’ll probably try that soon. My baby girl is such a good eater, its made life a bit easier in that aspect. Stella is a BIG talker, she loves to mimic everyone and babble. She loves to hang upside down in mine and Troy’s lap and if she has enough saliva in the back of her throat she’ll gurgle it. It’s so funny to hear! Stella is such a mommy and daddy’s girl. She loves playing with daddy when he watches her. She especially loves to play with his nose. She’s way into touching everyone’s face. She also likes to play “high five”, she’ll smack anything with a hard surface to hear the sound her hand makes when it hits it. She still loves to play with her toys and eat them, her favorite thing to do is play in her jumperoo. She also likes to watch Sesame Street and Mickey Mouse. We’ve introduced blocks to her and she loves to play with those and tries to put them in her bucket. Sometimes she just likes to play with the bucket and tries to pick it up and eat it; it’s pretty funny to watch. I’m excited for spring to come and when it finally gets warm outside so she can play in the grass. She is also going to be introduced to the swimming pool in a few weeks when we stay up in Park City. Stella absolutely loves her baths. She is still in her tub in the sink and she loves to play with the water. She even lets me spray it in her face a little and she’ll drink it. In the upcoming weeks I’m going to try giving her a bath in the “real” bathtub. I’m sure she’ll love to kick her legs around and splash the water. She doesn’t get to really do that with the tub in the sink. Stella has stopped sleeping through the night unfortunately. She got a nasty cold a month ago and was sick for over two weeks with a bad runny/stuffy nose and mucus cough. So she was waking up 3-4 times a night. We are weaning her back to sleeping through the night. So far she’s slept through the night twice and the other times she’s waking up 1-2, sometimes 3 times. So we’re getting there. Some upcoming things I’m looking forward to are: her learning how to crawl, introducing more solid foods, pulling herself up into a standing position without mommy or daddy’s help and learning how to feed herself. I love this little girl so much and Troy and I are so blessed to call her our daughter. She is our everything and we couldn’t imagine life without her in it.

Stella's first time eating in her new high chair!!

Play date with Shylee :)

2011-03-24T21:57:00.000-06:00

Stella had a play date with her BFF Shylee on Wednesday. She had a lot of fun playing with toys and interacting with Shylee. They get along pretty well and I think Shylee is starting to warm up to Stella. With their first play date Shylee did not want anything to do with Stella. They are gonna be life long friends for sure!!

These girls sure do love to suck their thumbs/fingers!

Stella trying to hold Shylee's hand...how precious

Stella: 6mo Old

2011-03-06T14:38:00.000-07:00

My Stella Baylee turned 6mo old on February 24th. She had her 6mo check up this past Saturday and everything went great. She's had a cold for a little over a week now, but doc says that she looks fine and expects it to go away by next week. So hopefully it will, she's had a fever, bad cough, runny/stuffy nose and a lot of mucus. She sounds a lot better now though, her cough isn't as bad and her runny nose is starting to go away. Stella got her normal immunizations as well as a flu shot. They do it in two doses, so we will go in a month to get her 2nd booster. Doc says she should start crawling in the next month or so-I'm excited and nervous for that. We now get to introduce other solid foods. I went to Wal-Mart on our way home and picked her up some bananas, peaches, pears, peas, green beans, squash, carrots and applesause. Our pediatrician said that we can actually feed her anything we want, with the exception of honey. We just need to make sure and grind or mash it up real well so she doesn't choke on it. Here are her stats:

Length: 27 inches- 90th Percentile

Weight: 15 lbs 15 oz- 51st Percentile

Head Circumference: 17.7 inches- 99th Pecentile

After we got home I decided to start with vegetables and gave her squash and she ate it right up! She loved it, she didn't make a sour face at all. I've also introduced her to juice. After she got a cold she didn't want to eat a whole lot but I wanted to make sure she stayed hydrated. I dilute it with water so she doesn't get too much sugar. Stella has started teething and is drooling a lot. She absolutely hates to get boogers sucked out of her nose. She has now started to scream and squeal and loves to mimic. She loves to grab at things and play in her jumperoo. I think she knows what her bottle is because she gets excited when she sees it and has even grabbed at it. Stella can sit up all on her own now. She almost likes to sit more than lay on her back. She is so close to rolling over-more so from her back to her stomach. She iss starting to grow out of her 3-6 month clothes and can fit in most of her 6-9 month clothes. I have a big girl! I bought her a little boombox for her room and a cd with nursery rhymes-she loves to listen to it. She loves reading time with mom, she will sit in her room on the rocker and she’ll sit in my lap and just look at the book in front of her and even try to turn the pages. Stella loves to talk and babble. Stella adores Bentley and will just stare at him and smile whenever he walks by her and loves to play with his tail. She has the cutest laugh. Her tickle spots are the left side of her neck, her thighs and armpits. She is still obsessed with her binky. Loves to play with her toys, she is now into playing with blocks and we are trying to teach her to drop them in the bucket. Stella absolutely loves her grandpa and gets the biggest smile when she sees him. She loves to play with her feet. She’ll pull her legs up to her face and pull her socks off. Stella enjoys bath time and loves it when I put the sprayer on and she'll try and catch the water with her hand. When I put the water up to her mouth, she'll try and drink it. As of now, Stella has stopped sleeping through the night. Since she got her cold she's woken up at least 3-4 times. Not sure how long this will last, but I hope she'll sleep through the night again soon. My little girl is so much fun to play with and is so interactive. I always look forward to coming home to her when I'm at work. She is my angel baby!

How Cute Are These?!?!

2011-02-26T18:39:00.000-07:00

I got a package in the mail today from my Aunt Carol and she made these for Stella: leggings and a beanie...how adorable!!!!

"Firsts" for Stella!

2011-02-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

First time "wearing" a UofU outfit

First time on the computer with Grandpa

First time sitting in the shopping cart without a carseat

First "girl" friend: Shylee!

First "boy" friend: Brody!

Just another Wednesday with Stella

2011-02-16T18:23:00.001-07:00

I stayed a while at my parents after work today and we just so happened to capture Stella mimicking!

Stella also had a fun outing with grandma, grandpa and Auntie Ashley today...Red Lobster! My parents celebrated Valentine's today since it was my dad's day off so they wanted to take Stella with them since they haven't taken her out in public yet. My sister just happened to get off early from work so she went along as well. They said that Stella had a blast and did very well at the restaurant. They had a lot of fun with her today!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T20:57:00.001-07:00

Today was an enjoyable day spent with my two favorite people: my beautiful baby girl and my hubby! This morning I gave Troy his V-day gift, I got him an XBox game. It's so hard to buy for guys for Valentine's day. Troy got me a new camera...a Cannon Powershot. I wanted a smaller camera to always have in my purse or diaper bag so that I can easily snap a shot of Stella wherever we are. I told him I wanted it for my birthday, so to surprise me, he got it for me for V-day. I was suprised. He also got me the sweetest card and even wrote a little letter with a poem he found. I totally cried! I've found that since I had Stella, I cry so much easier than I used to! After work, Troy, Stella and I went over to Goodwood in Draper. We've never been and so many of my friends have said it's good. So we tried it out...it sure was yummy! Troy got a steak and I got the pulled pork sandwich. After dinner we headed over to Target and Carter's to find some pants for Stella. I got some 2 pack pants at Kohl's yesterday, but I knew I spent to much on them so I wanted to see if Carters was cheaper. And they sure were! I got each pack for $10 bucks...so 4 pairs for $20. And at Kohl's I got the same 4 pairs for buy one get one half off. They were $17 bucks and I got the 2nd for $8.50. So I'm taking those back tomorrow. It was a very enjoyable Valentine's Day spent with my two Loves! Thank you Troy for being the best husband and for always knowing how to make me smile. Thank you Stella for being my daughter and making my life so much more fulfilling :) I love you both more than you'll ever know!

Troy's Valentine's gift

My Valentine's gift

Stella's Valentine's jammies

Valentine's morning

Stella at Goodwood with Mommy and Daddy for their Valentine's dinner

More pictures of Stella at 5mo old:

Stella: 5 Months Old!

2011-01-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

Miss Stella Baylee turned 5 months old on January 24th. I can’t believe how big she is getting. I would say she is close, if not right at, 15 lbs. She can fit into some of her 0-3 months clothes still and her 3-6 months clothes are just a tad bit big…but I still put her in them. She is just a bundle of fun and doing so many new things. This past weekend she started squealing and screaming when she gets either really excited or really mad/tired. It’s so cute! She is still eating rice cereal very well. She has it once a day and it’s hilarious because she always makes her “icky” face with the very first bite. Our pediatrician told us to wait on other solid foods until after her 6 month appt, which will be on March 5th. Not sure why…I guess all docs are different because I have two girlfriends that have started their babies on other solid foods at 4-5 months. Oh well, I trust our doctor. Stella loves to play in her jumperoo, she can finally touch the ground and I don’t have to put a blanket around her anymore. She is able to somewhat stabilize herself in there and she just loves to bounce up and down. She also loves to watch cartoons while sitting in there, she loves to watch shows with bright colors…she just gets enthralled in it. Stella is liking tummy time more and more each day, she can fully hold herself up with her forearms and will just talk to herself. She hasn’t rolled over just yet, but is getting so close. She loves to sit up and can kinda sit up on her own if she’s leaning far enough forward…but then she’ll fall over to either side…it’s funny. She also LOVES to stand up and she already knows how to take steps! I swear this girl is going to walk before she can crawl. Stella isn’t too impressed with her bouncer or swing anymore, I can sometimes get her to stay in her swing…but she’ll usually cry if I put her in there. We are lucky parents because Stella still sleeps through the night in her crib. We have never had a problem with her sleeping through the night since she was 2 weeks old. She also takes all her naps in her crib, Troy and I can even put her in her crib still awake and she’ll put herself to sleep. We just wrap her up in her blanket, stick her binky in and turn on her music and she’s good! Stella loves to play with her toys and her hands, she is drooling a lot and loves to eat her hands. She has just started to swing her arms pretty hard…mainly just one arm at a time. For example, when she plays with her rattle she will hit it against her tummy or leg…pretty hard! One time when my mom was watching her, she was holding her and she gave my dad a kiss and Stella wacked my dad in the face. It was pretty funny! Overall, Stella is a very happy baby, she is always smiling and talking…she loves to blow raspberries and give us kisses. Stella will honestly only get upset if she’s hungry or ready for her nap. Oh and when she gets her boogers sucked out…she will scream bloody murder. She loves to play with the booger sucker, but when I get it even remotely close to her face she will move her head away. She absolutely hates it! She is honestly the best baby and I love her to death! I can’t imagine my life without her and I love her more and more each day…she is my world. Some things I’m looking forward to in the next few months is: introducing other solid foods to her and seeing her roll over for the first time!

Raspberries!!!

2011-01-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

7 Inches Later....

2011-01-18T17:55:00.000-07:00

I decided it was time for a new look. I've had long hair for just about two years now and I was ready for a change. I love it and it's so much easier to manage since I literally don't have a lot of time to do my hair with taking care of Stella and working.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-04T21:57:00.001-07:00

2011 is off to a good start so far. Stella started eating rice cereal and she loves it! Her first day of it she wasn't really sure what to think of it and I don't think she knew how to really keep it in her mouth with her tongue. But she didn't seem to mind it! By the 3rd day (yesterday) she is eating it quite well. I make it a little bit thick and she seems to enjoy it better than when it's runny. I still can't believe my baby girl is at the point to where she is eating solids...man how time flies.

I've also started my "eating healthy" diet. My new year's resolution every year is to get into better shape. I also last for a few weeks and then fall off the wagon. I'm hoping this year I'll actually stick to it since I need to drop this baby weight! I started on Sunday and so far I've done great. I've been eating old fashioned oatmeal with wheat toast and a strawberry banana smoothie (it's my own concoction: 1 banana, a few frozen strawberries, milk and non-fat vanilla yogurt-that's it!) for breakfast, a healthy lunch and dinner. Yesterday for lunch I had tuna fish on triscuits with fat free cottage cheese, green salad and a pear. Today I had a lean cuisine and a green salad. For dinner yesterday and today I had egg whites and wheat toast. As far as exercising, I have yet to start. I wanted to start yesterday but I just can't seem to get my body going. It's quite exhausting working, then taking care of Stella after work along with housework. I'm still feeling sleep deprived, which I'm sure that will last for a long time. I guess I just wanna give myself some time to get into my "eating healthy" routine and then start working out. I think if I rush into it I won't last. So I'm gonna take it slow.
My goals for Stella are to work on rolling over-I'm hoping she'll be able to do it all on her own by 5 1/2 months, if not sooner. I've been working on that everyday and she's getting better each day. I also want to read to her at least once a day. So mainly I want to work on Stella's development everyday.
This New Year's Eve was pretty uneventful. We just stayed home, got some yummy food-Troy had his friend Landon over and they played XBox and I stayed upstairs and played with Stella and watched TV. I was too tired to play XBox and I ended up hitting the sack at 11:30. Troy tried to wake me up right before it hit midnight, but I was out.
I'm excited for the new year and all that is to come of it. :)

Stella Baylee: 4 Months Old

2010-12-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

My baby girl is growing up so fast! Stella turned 4 months old on Christmas Eve and she had her 4 month appt on Dec 23rd. Her appt went so great...I definitely made sure her development was right on track with her having a head injury. Doctor said she is doing wonderful and doing everything a 4 month old should be doing. We even get to start feeding her rice cereal! Yay! I bought some but haven't given any to her yet...I'm going to start that on Saturday. I need to go buy some baby spoons and bowls. Stella got some vaccinations: three shots and an oral. She did so well with the shots, she just cried with each poke but calmed right down! She is such a tough little girl. Here are her stats:

Weight: 13 lbs 7 oz- 47th Percentile

Length: 24.5 inches- 61st Percentile

Head Circumference: 16.5 inches- 78th Percentile

Stella has been developing so much in the last month. She is very active and loves to stand up and sit up. She can now pull herself up-with my help of course-when she holds on to my hands and then she stands up. It's so awesome! She is teething right now-so she's drooling a lot and absolutely loves to eat her hands. Doctor says even though she's teething it doesn't mean she'll cut teeth right away. She puts her hands on her bottle now like she's holding it-still can't quite hold it herself just yet. She is talking a lot now and loves to stare at herself in her mirror and have a conversation with herself. My most favorite thing that Stella does now is she will rub her face on my cheek and give me wet kisses...it's so funny and cute! I just bought her a Jumperoo today off of KSL.com and I put her in it and she went nuts! She can barely touch the ground but she was facinated by it and bounced just a little bit. The Jumperoo is really nice because it has four levels so it will grow with her. I think she'll enjoy it a ton once she can fully touch the ground and bounce herself. Stella is still sleeping through the night-I love it! She is going to bed between 9 and 9:30 and waking up around 5:30 to eat-I give her 5 oz of formula then she falls right back to sleep until about 7:30 when I have to wake her up to get her dressed to take her to my parents house. That is her morning routine when my mom watches her, when Troy is home she will sleep for a little while longer after she eats. Stella is a very happy baby and loves to play with her toys and I hardly have a tough time putting her down for her naps. I love my baby girl so much and am excited to watch her grow!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

Christmas sure did come and go pretty fast! We had a great Christmas celebration. Every year we go to Troy's mom's house for Christmas Eve and spend time with his family. We had chicken enchiladas, green salad and jello for dinner and delicious razelberry and pumpkin pie for dessert. After dinner we always read the nativity story-usually the grandkids act out the parts but I think last year was the final year for that, they are getting older and not into it anymore! Then we opened presents! Stella got a cute headband with a bow-black and white and 12mo pj's from grandma Jan. Troy got a BYU grill cover and I got a bath set-I'm excited for a nice relaxing bath! Then we both got a gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond from his mom. Kaitlyn got pj's from grandma Jan and a pillow pet. Nikolaus got pj's as well and a beanie. After presents we had dessert and just visited with the family. It was really nice to spend time with Troy's family.

Christmas Day was very relaxing. We slept in and my parents came over around 10 am and my sister and her boyfriend arrived shortly after. We made biscuits and gravy for brunch and then opened presents. Stella got a bunch of toys and a cute box for her first tooth and first lock of hair from her auntie Ashley! I got a new address book from Troy, a glass mixing bowl from my parents and then Troy and I both got a gift card from my aunt for Applebees. Troy and Nik got an XBox 360 and Kaitlyn got clothes, a glow dome, decorative pillows for her bed and two cute headbands. We visited for most of the day while the boys played on the XBox and then we had Taco Salad for dinner and cheesecake for dessert. It was a very enjoyable Christmas and I was very blessed to be able to spend it with my family!

Updates, Updates and More Updates!!!

2010-12-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

Holy cow...I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged!! So much has happened in the last month. So here's what's been going on with us Hargett's.

Stella: 3 Months Old and Thanksgiving-
My baby girl turned 3 months old on Thanksgiving. She has been growing up so fast and doing so much. She started cooing a lot more and would talk up a storm to everyone. She started getting facinated with the tv and loved to stare at it. I also started doing tummy time a little bit more. Stella didn't like it at first but now she is getting more used to it. She still has done great with sleeping through the night at 3 months and would be asleep by 10:30 at the latest and right on the dot at 6:45 am she would wake up. It was wonderful! Stella's 4 mo appointment is tomorrow and Stella will be turning 4 months on Christmas Eve!!

Along with Stella turning 3 months old on Thanksgiving, I was especially grateful on this day. Stella had a fall and had to be rushed to Primary Children's. It was my worst nightmare coming true and it was the worst day for me. I think I cried the whole day and a few days after. When Stella had fallen, we called an ambulance because I was too histarical to drive and I had waken Troy up from a dead sleep so he was in shock. That was the first time I'd ever called 911 and the first time I'd ever ridden in an ambulance...and I hope I never have to again! Luckily Stella never blacked out and she instantly cried when she had hit the floor...which was a good sign according to the doctor's. Stella had an x-ray and ct scan and it showed that she had two skull fractures. She had to be admitted to Primary Children's to stay over night, just for observation. Stella did so wonderful throught it all. Her stats never raised a concern with the doctor's. She also had to wear this body brace to support her head, neck and back...just as a precaution. The scans don't show if a person has ligament damage to their neck so they wanted her to wear it in case her neck was injured.
Once we got up to our room Stella had to be hooked up to the monitors to have her heart rate and blood pressure monitored. She also had to have her temperature checked every few hours and had to be awakened every 3 hours during the night to eat. That was something Stella wasn't used to because she sleeps all night. But she did wonderful. The nurses were amazing and definitely made our stay comfortable as it could be under the circumstances. We even got a cafeteria version of Thanksgiving dinner...haha...I was too emotional to eat but my parents and Troy said it was pretty good. The next morning we got a visit from the neurologist and he checked her x-ray and ct scan and said that her injury was very minor, she did have a small amount of bleeding on her right frontal lobe but he said that it was so small that most doctor's would have missed it on the scan. So he wasn't worried about that in the least. He was very happy with how well she did through the night-they watch for seizures, sleeping problems and eating problems which go along with a possible concussion. The doctor said that her fractures will heal in 6-8 weeks and she shouldn't have any long term affects from the injury. Now the test to take off the body brace...for Stella to pass she would have to move her head up, down and side to side on her own and if she didn't fuss then she passed. And she passed! Her neck didn't seem to bother her at all and we were sent home a few hours later.
Stella was very fortunate and I feel so blessed that it wasn't anything major...I still think about that day and wish it never happened. But at the same time, I've learned a lot from that day and feel as though I may be a little bit of a better mother from it. It has definitely made me more aware of Stella and more protective...which isn't always a good thing ;) I sure hope that this will be the one and only horrific incident...but probably not, since life is always unpredictable.
As far as how Stella is doing a month since her accident...she is doing better than I'd ever imagine. It's almost as if the accident never happened. She is doing everything a soon to be 4 month old should be doing. I truly believe that an angel was watching over her that day and protected her from any serious harm.

Dad's 60th Birthday-
My dad turned the big 6-0 on December 6th. It was a great celebration, his sister and two of his brother's and their spouses came out to surprise him. We celebrated his birthday on December 4th but my relatives came a day early so we could all get set up. Two came from California and one came from Georgia. We had the surprise at my house and decorated my basement and each couple had to put together a "duct tape" costume for my dad to model for us all. We called it "Project Duct-Way". My dad, for the longest time, has always fixed stuff with duct tape so it's been on ongoing joke for years and he always gets duct tape presents from family. For example, he has received a duct tape mug one year for Christmas from his sister.
We had everyone hide in our office and my dad came over that morning and he knew that we were having a birthday lunch for him and we told him we were decorating downstairs but wanted to surprise him with it. So when he got here we took him downstairs and showed him and then I told him that I wanted to print something out to hang up but my printer was acting up so I asked if he would go look at it. My dad had absolutely no idea what he was about to open the door to. He opened that door and everyone yelled "surprise!!" and he was shocked. He even shed a little tear...it was sweet.
We had a great time celebrating his 60th birthday and it was so wonderful having some of his siblings here to wish him a happy birthday!

December Activities-
This year we have definitely done a lot more Christmas activies than years prior. We made yummy Christmas cookies...which we haven't done it years!!! The dough, at first, didn't turn out..it was really sticky and we were pretty disappointed. So we let it chill overnight and by the next morning the dough rolled out perfectly! It worked out well because my sister was able to come over and decorate with us. We were also able to take them to our ward Christmas party!

We had a lot of fun at our ward Christmas party that same night. We enjoyed a delicious ham dinner and musical entertainment, Kaitlyn got to participate and was dressed up like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Stella even got to meet Santa Claus for the very first time!!

Ever since we've lived in our home, we have never gone over to Thanksgiving Point to check out the fun activities they have. So last week we took Kaitlyn and Stella over to see the Lights. It was the first time any of us have gone to see them. It was a lot of fun, the only thing that would have made it better is if they had music to go along with it. But we just turned our station to FM 100.3 and listened to Christmas music while we drove through. Stella loved the lights...she stared out the window and even coo'd a few times at them...she was facinated! Afterward, we went over to the ice cream shop and had frozen yogurt...yummy! And then window shopped, had some hot apple cider and saw Santa's reindeer. It was a very fun family outing...the only thing missing was Nik! We are very excited for Christmas this year and even got Stella a few toys to open. I know she won't remember it, but I will and that will be fun to remember. Only 3 days left till' Christmas...and I'll make sure not to wait a month to blog about it!

More Pictures of Stella at 3 Months Old:

Back to Work...

2010-11-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my first day back to work after a long 13 week maternity leave. It's been so great being home with Stella and I'm so sad to leave her tomorrow. I know she is in good hands, but being her with 24/7 it is really hard to leave her. Especially for 11 hours...that is what my work day will be for the next three days. Luckily I do get Thanksgiving and Black Friday off to be with Stella. Next week and the week after I'll be trying out a schedule of getting off at 3:30 Monday through Friday and I'm hoping it will work out for my boss and that will be my permanent schedule. I would love it because I'd get to see my baby girl a lot more everyday and I'd get to see my husband more as well. I am excited to go back to work to see all my friends and to kinda have some me time, but I will surely miss my baby girl!! She is my world and my everything, I can't imagine my life without her!

Love Her

2010-11-18T00:15:00.002-07:00

My Baby Girl :)

2010-11-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

So I have a little over a week left on my maternity leave. I have mixed emotions about going back to work. I've loved being home with my sweet little girl and being able to play with her everyday. It will be nice to get out of the house and see my work friends again, but I'm sure going to miss seeing Stella all day! I think I'm most nervous about leaving her with Troy and my mom when she watches her. Only because I'm so used to taking care of her 24/7 and I know what her cries mean and I know her routine and how to calm her down when she is fussy. I do have faith in them both and I know they will do a wonderful job taking care of her without me, but I still have my worries. I just hope Stella doesn't have one of her "firsts" while I'm at work! I'm gonna have to leave the camera and video camera with whoever is watching her in case she does. I would hate to miss her first laugh.

Stella is smiling a lot now and cooing a lot. She is such a happy baby and I love it! Right now she is not liking breast feeding. She prefers a bottle, which is great when I have to go back to work but I love breastfeeding her. We get to have our bonding time when she eats. I feed her from me for every feeding and then I'll give her formula for the rest, I wanna make sure she is eating enough. I'm unable to pump as much as I could a month ago, so she is getting formula. I do have 5 oz packs in the freezer ready for when I go back to work, but I'm sure Stella will be mostly fed formula. Which sucks cuz it's so expensive and I feel passionate about breastfeeding because it's so good for her immune system. Oh well, Stella will like what she likes!

Stella also loves bath time! I've been giving her baths in our kitchen sink since she was born, but she's getting too big and likes to kick her legs and has been close to bonking her head on our sink. So today I'm off to buy a baby bath tub and I'll start bathing her in that. That will be better anyway cuz then she can kick and splash all she wants and I don't have to worry about her hurting herself. Stella has been doing amazing at night...I feel so blessed. We've been out a lot at night so I'm not exactly sure what time I could get her to fall asleep. I want to try 8 or 9 o'clock starting next week to get ready to go back to work. But for now she's been in bed by 10:30 or 11 and will sleep until 7:30 am the next morning. And the best part...she's sleeping in her bassinet all night!! I don't have to bring her in bed with me anymore. She used to only last in her bassinet till 3 am then I'd have to bring her in bed and she'd sleep the rest of the night. I'm so proud of her! I haven't migrated her to her crib yet...I love having her sleep in our room, especially when Troy is at work since he works the graveyard shift. Stella is also holding her head up...I can't believe it! She is so alert and loves to look around and be facing forward when she's held. She loves to watch tv, I think it's cuz of all the bright light and movement. She is getting so big and I'm enjoying every milestone! I love her so much and can't wait for the next milestone in her life :)

Updates!

2010-10-31T22:56:00.000-06:00

Here's what's been going on with The Hargett's this past month:

California-
The first week of October my mom, Stella and I went to southern California to go visit relatives and have them all meet Stella. We were there for ten days and had a lot of fun! The first weekend we were there my mom went to Carlsbad with her friends to have a girls weekend while Stella and I hung out with my Auntie Bev and Uncle Marty. During that time Stella and I went to my cousin Mario's baby shower. He and his wife are having a baby boy the first part of November. We also went to my little cousin Aiden's hocky game and had a fun birthday dinner for my Uncle Marty at Outback Steakhouse. During the week we went to my grandma and grandpa's house and spent time with them playing card games of Casino and Cribbage. We also went to Carlsbad to go to my Uncle Marty's dad's funeral. It was a beautiful service, it was a Catholic service so I got to experience a Caltholic Mass. Then we stayed at my grandparents the rest of the week, went to Balboa beach and just relaxed from a busy weekend! My family sure enjoyed baby Stella, I think my grandma enjoyed her the best! She loved holding her and spending time with her. We had a great vacation in California, but we are happy to be home.

Stella is two months-
My baby girl turned two months old on October 24th. I can't believe how big she is getting. She had her two month appointment on the 26th and it went great! She now weighs 10 lbs 11.5 oz and is very healthy. She had to get some vaccinations: three shots and an oral vaccination. She screamed with the shots, but calmed down right after. I was proud of her. She has changed so much since she was born: she is smiling a lot now and cooing, she loves to play with her tongue, she's discovered her hands and occasionally will find her thumb with her mouth when she's sleeping. I think she's gonna be a thumb sucker! She loves to try and stand in my lap, she is very alert and loves to sit up and watch everything. I love this little girl more and more everyday. She is definitely a mama's girl, but she sure has her daddy wrapped around her little finger.

Stella's 1st Halloween-
We didn't do too much this Halloween. I decided not to dress her up because we weren't going anywhere for Halloween so I didn't want to spend the money on one. I did get her a cute Halloween outfit though and her Aunt Marie got her another cute Halloween outfit that she wore this month as well. We did go to our Ward Halloween Party this past Friday and then on Saturday we just stayed home and watched Scream and passed out Halloween candy to all the trick-or-treaters. It was a fun and relaxing Halloween!

Stella's Blessing-
Today was Stella's blessing and it went great! I was nervous she was going to cry while Troy was blessing her because she's been kinda a mama's girl the past two weeks and would fuss and cry whenever Troy would hold her. She did wonderful though...it was like she knew she needed to stay calm. Troy blessed her with strength and health and that she would be safe and find righteous friends and a righteous husband to take her to the temple. Troy did so great and I was proud of him. Afterward we had a get together at our house for lunch. We had all our family and friends over and it was a lot of fun!

My Beloved Koda

2010-10-27T11:10:00.000-06:00

My Koda Bean unexpectedly passed away this morning. We aren't sure what was wrong with him. A few weeks ago Koda fell in our window well but he was fine...he was acting completely normal, so we didn't take him the the vet. A week later we noticed a bump on his bum which we assumed was from falling in the window well. Again, he was acting normal and the bump didn't bother him at all. The bump at first was hard, and after a while the bump started going down and getting soft. Since it wasn't bothering him and it seemed to be healing we didn't take him to the vet. Koda also had been having seizures off and on...but they weren't consistent. So we aren't sure if that was what caused him to pass. Yesterday was the only day that Koda started to act abnormally. He started acting sluggish and walking slow with his head down, but he didn't start doing that till later in the day. We don't think he went to the bathroom all day and he didn't want to eat or drink anything. However, before we went to bed Troy was able to get him to stand up and he drank water for about 3 minutes straight...I'm sure he was way thirsty! By the time we thought we should take him to the vet, it was too late and they had already closed. We were going to take him first thing this morning but it was too late by then. Koda started breathing abnormally at 7 am and was just laying in our bathroom. I had to go feed Stella and a few minutes later Troy called me in and said Koda stopped breathing. He was gone and I was devistated. I just started bawling and laid next to him... I was heartbroken! I feel so guilty because I knew we should have taken him to the after hours vet last night, but we didn't think he was this sick to pass away. I just wish we would have taken him to the vet when we noticed the bump on his bum and then maybe the vet would have found whatever made him pass away. I'm trying not to blame myself but it's hard when you feel like you could have done more to save him. At the same time, even if we would have taken him last night it may have been to late to do anything anyway. I guess we'll never know.

I'm going to miss Koda so much. He was the sweetest dog and I know he loved me. He loved to cuddle with me and lay in my lap. He was the best dog anyone could ever ask for and I will always love him. He was a part of our family and will truely be missed.

Goodbye Koda...I love you.

California Baby!

2010-10-13T13:29:00.000-06:00

My mom, baby Stella and I left for sunny California this past Friday and will be gone until Sunday the 17th. We are out here visiting family and for them all to meet Stella. We are having a great time so far, but we sure do miss Troy/daddy. Today we are going to Balboa beach to have dinner and watch the sunset. This will be Stella's first time at the beach and I'm excited to get pictures of her by the water. I'll be posting pics and telling more about our trip when we get home!

6 Week Post Pardum Check-up

2010-10-06T13:55:00.000-06:00

My doctor's appt was today and everything went great! I wasn't too worried about my appt. I've been feeling so much better and I can't wait to start my workout routine. I decided on Mirena IUD birth control and I will have in inserted in two weeks. My doctor likes to have it inserted at 8 weeks post pardum to make sure the uterus is back to normal. I was going back and forth on whether I should do the pill or IUD and I read the brochure and talked to a friend about Mirena and this feels like a great choice for me. I've never been on birth conrol before and I'm nervous about being on the pill cuz I don't do well with remembering to take pills everyday. I forget to take my pre natal pills sometimes. So I'm comfortable with the IUD and not having to do anything!
I'm trying to start a routine now that I can workout. Stella and I have been getting up at 7 am every morning for the past week so my goal now is to feed her when we get up, rock her back to sleep for her morning nap and then workout for 45 minutes. I have a kick boxing bag and I'm planning on using that to help me get into shape. There are also workout videos on our Comcast on depand and I have a yoga ball and 5 lb weights. I just need to come up with a workout routine! I have 16 lbs to lose to get back to my pre pregnancy weight but I'd like to lose an additional 20 lbs. So I have 36 lbs to lose and hopefully I can stick to my workout routine and eating healthy!
In baby news...Stella is doing wonderful! She is so alert and loves looking at everything when she's awake. She is sleeping through the night still and is starting to smile and coo. I love it! She is such a wonderful baby and I love her so much :)

Stella: One Month Old

2010-09-28T00:27:00.002-06:00

I can't even believe it...my baby girl is one month old (5 weeks tomorrow). Time has just flown by and I wish it would just slow down! Stella has grown so much...we are thinking she is almost 10 pounds. A lot of people that meet her think she is 3 months old...luckily she isn't yet! She is very alert and makes the cutest noises, she does a really cute cooing noise. Stella is still sleeping through the night and only waking up once in the middle of the night to eat. She loves her bath time...as soon as she gets in the sink. She cries like crazy before and after, but I know it's because she's cold. She loves the warm water and I enjoy our bath time together. Stella does well when we go on our outings...the car ride puts her to sleep and she sleeps until we get home. Our outings can only last 3-4 hours before she'll wake up and want to eat. Stella is now kicking her legs a lot more and acts like she is ready to stand. She loves to hold her head up and stare at everything. I have really been enjoying my time at home with her and will be really sad when I have to go back to work. Luckily that's not until November 22nd. My mom has been a great help...she comes over quite often which enables me to get housework done. Today I got my Halloween decorations up and got all my laundry done. I've learned quick that when it's just me and Stella at home, it's hard to get stuff done unless she is fast asleep. It's been hard for me as well since Troy has been back to work. Mainly because he works overnight and works 4 days in a row, with that he sleeps during the day and is at work at night...so I get very little help from him during his work days. On the other hand, he does get 4 days off in a row after he works 4 days, so I get a lot of help from him when he's home which is great! We are just enjoying our time with Stella and are watching her grow everyday. I'm excited for her to get older as she learns new things and I'm excited for when she can start playing with toys and really interact with us. At the same time it's sad to know she's growing up and is not a little 7 lb 12 oz baby anymore...I'm just trying to soak in each day and enjoy every minute with my baby girl :)

I love this baby girl!!!!!!!!

Visit from our Kansas Family

2010-09-28T00:04:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago my cousin Ricci, her four kids: Reese, Jolie, Holden & Maddox and my Aunt Mary were fortunate enough to come visit us from Kansas to meet baby Stella. It was a lot of fun to have them here, we see them about once a year. We always have a great time when we are together. While they were here we were able to do a lot of fun activities. Some of our activities consisted of a trip to Silver Lake, Cascade Springs and Sundance. We had so much fun being together has a family and can't wait until we go to Kansas next year to visit them!

Visit from Gma and Gpa Sharp

2010-09-18T20:18:00.000-06:00

We were fortunate enough to get a visit from my grandparents who live in California. My grandma Stella finally got to meet her namsake. She was so excited to meet baby Stella, she kept telling us how happy she was that we named her Stella. We even got a picture with baby Stella and my grandpa...he never holds babies! We had a great time with them and can't wait to visit them in October :)

Stella's Birth Announcements

2010-09-07T19:16:00.000-06:00

Troy and I were fortunate enough to have a friend from my high school make our birth announcements for us...they turned out great!!! Here are some designs she came up with...we love them all. Thanks Jessika!

2 Week Update

2010-09-07T19:09:00.000-06:00

Stella had her two week appointment today and everything went great! I was so relieved...I really needed this appointment to go well, it made me feel so much better knowing that I'm doing everything as best as I can. I had some concerns with a little rash on her bum, gas and her breathing kinda sounds like she has mucus in her lungs or something. Her pediatrician said to try desitin on her bum, she could be gassy because of dairy, nuts or chocolate so to watch those and as far as her breathing...that is completely normal. She also had to get her little foot pricked to do the PKU test. She is such a trooper! She cried a little bit, but I think she didn't scream because she's had her foot pricked 4 other times for her biliruben tests last week. So all in all her appointment couldn't have gone any better...we are so proud of our little girl! Here are her stats:

Weight: 8 lbs 6 oz - 80th Percentile

Length: 20.5 inches - 85th Percentile

Head Circumference: 14.8 inches - 94th Percentile

Her next appointment will be at 2 months where she will get some immunizations...I'm nervous about that. She does well with getting her foot pricked, so we'll see how she does with shots. So far Stella has been a very happy and content baby. She only cries when she is getting her diaper changed, which I think is because of her little rash...I think it hurts her. Also because the wipes are cold and she hates being cold. She also cries when she's hungry or wants to be held and cuddled. We are really lucky because she is sleeping through the night. I've been waking her up every three hours to feed her but as of today I don't have to do that anymore! Yay! Her pediatrician said that because she is feeding so well and her weight is really good she can just sleep and to let her wake me up if she's hungry. That was so good to hear because I haven't had a full nights rest since she was born...I'm so excited! Hopefully she will still sleep through the night for a while. Stella has a really strong grip and a strong neck. She loves to hold her head up when she's awake and look around at things. We love this little girl so much and are so blessed to have her in our lives!!

:2 Weeks Old:

:First Walk in her Stroller:

Stella's First Photo Shoot

2010-09-03T13:46:00.000-06:00

My neighbor Rochelle was kind enough to take Stella's newborn photo's the other day. I absolutely love them and appreciate Rochelle doing this for us. Here are some pics of our Stella Baylee!!

Stella's First Week Home

2010-09-01T11:04:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's already been one week since we brought our beautiful daughter home. We have had so much fun with her and it's definitely been an adjustment. Stella did have some jaundice when we brought her home and so we've been to the doctor every day since we've been home to test her levels. She was at an 11 when we left the hospital on Thursday then at our doctor's appt the next day her levels went up to 14 so we had to have her under the bili lights, which they delivered to our house. Also at our doctor's appt her weight went down to 7 lbs, so she had lost 12 oz and was dehydrated. We had to add 2 oz of formula after every feeding to help her gain weight and get her to have more wet and stool diapers. The doctor's appt was very emotional for me because I felt like it was my fault she wasn't getting enough to eat and learning what jaundice can do if it doesn't get cleared up scared me! I started crying in the doctor's office but she assured me that I wasn't doing anything wrong and her levels weren't dangerous to where she'd have to be admitted to the hospital. We also went to a lactation specialist after our appt and that made me feel much better. My milk came in two days after and Stella has been eating so well ever since. Our last bili check appt was this past Monday and her levels are down to 10...probably lower now, and she weighed 7 lbs 13 oz...1 oz over her birth weight. We were so thrilled! She's had plenty of wet and stool diapers since my milk has come in...I never thought I'd be so excited to see a poopy diaper! LOL

Stella also got her first sponge bath...she hated it! She doesn't like to be naked or cold, which is understandable. Stella is a really good baby, she only cries when she's hungry and gets her diaper changed. She just loves to be bundled up. So far she's been sleeping through the night, I have to wake her up every three hours to feed her...which only ends up being twice in the night. When she is awake she is very content and loves to just look around at everything. She has the most beautiful face and I love kissing her chubby cheeks!

This week has been so great...we just love having her home! It has gone by fast so I'm just trying to take it all in and enjoy every waking moment with her.

Stella Baylee Hargett

2010-08-31T17:08:00.003-06:00

Born August 24, 2010
3:56 am

7 lbs 12 oz

19 1/2 in long

Our baby Stella is here! Originally I was to be induced on August 24th but Stella decided to come on her own. I started getting contractions at 5:30 am on the 23rd, they started out at 8 mins apart and I had to go into work to finish some stuff before I started my maternity leave. By 10 o'clock they were about 16-20 mins apart. I left work at noon and went home and rested and my contractions started getting closer together. By 4:30 pm they were 4-6 min apart and becoming more intense. I called my doctor at 6 and let her know what was going on and she said to go to the hospital and have them check me. So Troy hopped in the shower and got ready and I got in after him but I only had time to wash my body and quickly shave my legs...LOL. I didn't want hairy legs. I had 3 contractions in the shower and they were pretty painful. We headed off to the hospital and my contractions started getting closer to 3 min apart. We got in the elevator and my water broke...all the nurses got a kick out of that. I couldn't really tell if it was my water breaking because I had some leakage throughout the week, but this was a lot more fluid and it went through my pants so I told Troy: "I think my water just broke" sure enough, it was. We got checked in and then they checked me and confirmed that my water broke, I was dilated to 3 and 90% effaced. They set us up in the labor and delivery room and Troy's brother Brandon and his wife Brooke arrived to visit. Brooke wanted to watch me get the epideral. The anisthesiologist was awesome, he explained everything that he was doing and what I would feel. The epideral wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it still hurt. It was totally worth is though cuz those contractions are not pleasant at all! I instantly started getting numb and was very comfortable, I was even able to rest and nap to get strength to push. I got checked again and I was at a 4 and then within 2 hours I was completely dilated to a 10. The nurses said that was the fastest they had ever seen a first time mom dilate completely. We had to wait an hour before pushing because Stella had not decended enough. Stella sure was a stubburn little thing, she did not want to come out...I pushed for almost 2 hours and barely made any progress. My doctor finally came in and decided to use the vacuum on her because she was wedged. Even though I was numb, the pressure was just too much for me to handle. I started crying toward the end but Stella finally made her debute! She was so beautiful and I couldn't believe she was finally here. All the pain was completely worth it and I would do it over again in a heartbeat.

Stella is on her way!

2010-08-19T18:12:00.000-06:00

I had my doctor's appt this afternoon and my blood pressure was still high: 142/91. There was no protein in my urine but my doctor felt it best to get induced...so I'm scheduled to be induced on Tuesday the 24th! We are so excited. I feel better about it because now I can get all my work stuff finished up before I go on maternity and get the house in order and have everything ready to bring Stella home. Unless of course she decides to come on her own before Tuesday...if that's the case then we'll just do what we can! Troy and I are so thrilled and cannot wait to see our baby girl :) I'm definitely more nervous now that I know when it's gonna happen. I'm mostly nervous about Stella, I just want her to be ok and healthy. I am pretty nervous about labor and delivery too, but I know I'll be ok and I just need to stay positive and relaxed and know that my wonderful husband and family will be there to help me and keep me calm. I called the hospital today and got pre-registered so I don't have to do any insurance paperwork when we go in on Tuesday. I do have to call the hospital at 7 am that morning and they will let me know what time we can come in. It's funny because this last week was going so slow not knowing when she was coming. And now that we know I feel like I'm running out of time! LOL But we are excited and can't wait for you all to meet her :)

2 Weeks To Go!

2010-08-18T22:37:00.003-06:00

38 Weeks 1 Day

Doctor's Appt Update

2010-08-16T22:28:00.000-06:00

Today was my 38 week doctor's appointment. Stella's heart rate was 145, she is still head down but needs to drop a little more. I'm dilated 2 cm and 50% effaced. My blood pressure was 140/96 so she had it checked again at the end of my appt it only went down to 138/96. Because it was so high she had me get my blood drawn to check my liver and kidney's and I have to do a 24 hr urine sample. This will check for preeclampsia. Then I will go back on Thursday to get the results for that and have my blood pressure checked again. Depending on those results I might be induced this weekend. If not, then my doctor said she can strip my membranes on Monday to help start labor. My doctor estimated Stella weighs about 7 lbs right now and if I make it to my due date she could be almost 9 lbs. I'm still debating on what I'd like to do if I don't get induced this weekend. So I'm just gonna wait until after Thursday's appointment to decide. So Stella could make her arrival pretty soon!

37 Weeks

2010-08-15T10:26:00.002-06:00

37 Weeks 4 Days

So I'm a little late on posting this since my next appointment is tomorrow...but better late than never right? I had my 37 week appt last Monday and everything went good...except I tested positive for Strep B. But my doctor said there was nothing to worry about. I just have to get an IV of antibiotics during labor and it will clear it right up. There is no harm to me with it, it's a common infection that pregnant women can get during their last month of pregnancy. The baby can catch this bacteria during delivery through the birth canal if it's not treated with antibiotics and could cause the baby to get pneumonia. So it will all get cleared up when I go to the hospital. My blood pressure was 130/96, Stella's heart rate was between 145-150, she is still head down and my doctor said she could feel her head but she still has a ways to drop. I was dilated to 1 1/2 cm which is a half a cm progression from the week before. My doctor forgot to tell me how effaced I was and I forgot to ask...but my last appointment I was at 50%. I'm excited for tomorrow's appointment to see how much I've progressed...if any! I'm trying to stay positive though, I'm definitely ready for Stella to make her big arrival. I'm hoping she has dropped, I feel like she has because I'm feeling a little more pressure around my pelvic bone and it's getting more uncomfortable to walk.

Last night I made my hospital packing list and started to pack my hospital bag. We've picked out three possible outfits to bring her home in. We chose a sleeper, a small newborn outfit and a little bigger newborn outfit. We just don't know how big she's gonna be so I'm afraid we'll take an outfit that's too small or too big for her. So we did a mix of both! I think we've decided on which one we want though...Troy really likes the "I Love Daddy" onesie, so I think we just might go with that one...even if it ends up being too big on her.

Pamper Day

2010-08-15T10:01:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a fun day for my sister and I, we haven't spent a day together in quite a while so we though it would be fun to have a "Sister's Day". We went to Tip Top Nails to get pampered. I got a much needed pedicure and Ashley got her nails done for a wedding she has to go to next weekend. I wanted to get a pedicure before Stella comes: one, because I really wanted a foot/leg massage...and man was it nice; and two, I want cute toes for my delivery. Now I know that sounds funny, but hey...if I can't look cute during my delivery at least my toes will! LOL After getting our nails done we went over to Fashion Place mall so I could go to Motherhood Maternity and find a nursing bra. I didn't end up finding one that fit right, but I did buy two sleeper bras. They are perfect for the hospital and for bed because it just opens up to feed. And they are really comfortable. Then we went over to Cafe Rio and had some lunch and did some girl talk. It was so nice to hang out with my sister and I felt it was important to get some quality time in with her before Stella comes.

36 Weeks

2010-08-05T21:53:00.000-06:00

Well I've hit the 36 week mark! Yay...only 4 weeks to go. I had my doctor's appointment yesterday and got the Strep B test done. Hopefully it comes back negative...I should find out at my next appointment. My blood pressure was good, urine was negative for protein, Stella's heart rate was at 145. I also mentioned to her about my vision again and that I had another Ocular Migraine on Friday. She looked at my blood results and everything was normal. She didn't seem too concerned about it because I told her all that I researched about Ocular Migraines in pregnant women. She just suggested to visit my eye doctor to make sure my eyes are ok. I'm thinking they will go away after Stella is born...so we'll just keep an eye on that. After my strep test my doctor decided to just go ahead and check me and I'm dilated to 1 cm and 50% effaced. She said I'm moving along nicely, but have a little ways to go. I'm pretty sure I won't be going early. I haven't had any pre-term labor signs so I'm thinking she will come right around her due date, if not later. My next appointment is this coming Monday, I'm anxious to see if I've progressed anymore by then!

Maternity Pictures + 35 Week Update

2010-07-31T19:47:00.001-06:00

Today my dad was nice enough to come out and take some maternity pictures for us. We went over to a little park by our house and my dad got some really nice shots. I was debating whether or not to take maternity pictures...but I'm so glad I did! Troy and I had a lot of fun taking these pictures and now we'll have some great pictures to show Stella when she gets older :)
I am also counting this as my 35 week and 4 day picture. My last doc appt was last Monday. Everything was great...blood pressure was good, Stella's heartbeat was at 150 and my favorite...I only gained 2 lbs!!! I've been gaining at least 4+ lbs at every appt. So I was stoked! The only questionable thing that has happened is two weeks ago I started getting, what I think is Ocular Migraines. I looked it up online and it's caused by stress and premenstral changes. I was getting wierd vision in my peripheral vision where it's like if you stare into a light for too long and you just start seeing light spots. It only lasts for 10 mins and then goes away. It's happened 3 times in the last three weeks and I told my OB about it so she had me get my blood drawn on my last appt to make sure everything is normal there. It's so weird because I've never had that happen before. I'm hoping it's nothing serious and it will end completely after I have Stella. I was reading some other comments from other women who have had it and I've had all the same symptoms as they have and I guess there really is no cure, it's just an annoyance and it seems to be caused from pregnancy hormones. And for most women it ends after they have their babies. So I'm not too worried about it, I just hope it goes away because they are quite annoying!
My next appointment is this coming Wednesday where I'll have the Strep B test done and I start my weekly appointments. It's getting closer! In my last appointment my doctor approximated that Stella weighs 6 lbs...I have a feeling she is gonna be a big baby! I'd love it if she were between 7 and 8 lbs though...I really don't want her to be big. But there's nothing I can do about it...the important thing is that she is healthy.
Anyway, that is the update and here are some pics!

Stella's Nursery

2010-07-18T21:14:00.001-06:00

Well, we finally finished Stella's nursery this past weekend! We absolutely love it. The colors for her nursery are several different shades of purple, pink, yellow and green. For a pattern we chose butterflies, flowers and dragonflies. I got all her clothes washed and organized in her dresser and closet. I also organized her closet and picked up most of the stuff we needed to buy. I got my boppy nursing pillow, bottles and baby monitor. All we have left to purchase is extra crib sheets and then stuff for her diaper bag. My dad finished sanding and painting her dresser. This dresser has been in my family since 1940. It belonged to my grandma Stella and her sister Eunice and then in 1947 my grandma bought her sister's half for 5$, LOL. In 1986 my grandma handed it down to me where it was painted a pastel yellow and then in high school I painted it a pastel purple. Now it is being handed down to my baby Stella and we've painted it Lilac purple. I hope Stella will hand it down to her daughter in the future.

We also got our rocker and glider this past week and Troy put it together and it is so comfy...I can't wait to just rock Stella to sleep and read her stories. Now all we need is for Stella to arrive!

Park City Weekend

2010-07-18T20:55:00.001-06:00

Troy and I were able to head up to Park City this weekend for some much needed alone time. We were celebrating our 3 year anniversary and having out "babymoon". We stayed at the Marriott hotel and man did we have a nice room! We arrived at about 5:30 pm on Saturday and checked in then rested for a little bit before we headed out to dinner. We had no idea where we wanted to eat, I was so indecisive. We looked up some places on our navigation and ended up going to three different places until we finally stopped at Squatters. It was really good, Troy got a burbon burger and I got a turkey avacado sandwich. After dinner we stopped at the grocery store to pick up muffins, strawberries, yogurt and orange juice for our breakfast the next morning then went back to the hotel and went swimming for an hour. It was so nice to get in a pool for the first time this summer and just float and take some of the baby weight off! I think Stella liked it because she was kicking like crazy while I was in there.

This morning we slept in until about 10 and we showered and took our time getting ready. We opted for the late check out so we didn't have to leave until 2 pm. We ate our breakfast in bed and watched Hope Floats with Sandra Bullock. We left the hotel at about 12:30 pm and headed over to Burger King for lunch...I was craving a hamburger and fries...as I always do! Then we went to Main Street to walk around and do some shopping. I really wanted to get Stella a Park City onesie...but we found something better! We found her a super cute velor jacket and pants outfit with a onesie and hat, they were all 60% off. It is so cute!

After Main Street we headed to the freeway and decided to stop off at the Olympic Park...Troy and I had never been up there. We went in and looked at the museum and watched some people doing the freestyle skiing into a pool. It was awesome!

We really enjoyed out time together and were glad to just get away from the city, even if it was just for the weekend :)

Visit from Family

2010-07-18T20:31:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we had family from out of town: my aunt from California, my aunt from Georgia and my grandparents from California. They all came out for my shower and were able to spend the weekend with us. We had such a great time with them and when my two aunts and my mom get together you know you're gonna have some big laughs!

Baby Shower for Stella Baylee

2010-07-18T20:23:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday was my baby shower and it was a ton of fun...there were a few mishaps, but overall it was a great shower. We originally were planning on having it outside, but we soon realized it was way too hot. So we re-arranged the furniture in my living room and fit about 25 people in there. It worked out well, but my house got up to about 80 degrees and it just would not cool down...I felt so bad, but everyone said it was ok. We had delicious food of chicken salad sandwiches, fruit, veggies, a trifle, pasta salad and a pudding salad. It was so good! We played one baby shower game where we passed around string and everyone had to guess how big I was...my sister, aunt and my friend from work all tied. It was awesome! My two aunts from out of town surprised me by coming out for my shower...it was a great surprise and I was so glad they came. My grandma from California was also able to come out for my shower. She especially wanted to be there since baby Stella is her namesake! :) I got a lot of great gifts from clothes, homemade headbands, toys, a homemade car seat cover and blankets...I loved it all! I had so much fun organizing it that night! LOL. Thank you to everyone who came and for all the wonderful gifts...I can't wait to use them on Stella when she arrives!

32 Weeks and 2 Days

2010-07-07T22:42:00.000-06:00

Here is another weekly update...well I actually missed my 31 week picture but I figured that was ok. My next appointment isn't until Monday July 12th so I'll be able to update more on Stella then. But I did have to go get an ultrasound on my left leg last Friday. I let my doctor know on my last appointment about how my left foot swells more than my right and I've been getting a wierd numbing feeling in my big toe. She wanted to just make sure I didn't have a blood clot so I had to go to the Granger Medical Clinic in West Valley last Friday to get it checked out...everything was good. No blood clots. I'm assuming Stella is just sitting on a nerve or something. I've been feeling her move around so much lately...it is such an amazing feeling, I love it! It's funny because I'm so ready for her to arrive because I'm getting a little uncomfortable but at the same time I'm gonna miss being pregnant. It's such an amazing experience...but I can't wait to meet our little girl. My shower is coming up in three days and I'm so excited! My two wonderful friends and my mom are throwing it for me and it's going to be a lot of fun. We've finished most of Stella's room this week. Troy hung up picture frames this afternoon and we put up the block letters of her name above her crib tonight. My dad is currently working on her dresser and will hopefully be done before my shower. I want her room to be all ready to show everyone on Saturday. So everything is moving along great!

7 months

2010-06-26T12:00:00.002-06:00

I'm now in my final 10 weeks of pregnancy...I can't even believe it! My last appointment was on Monday June 14th and everything went great. My blood pressure was good, Stella's hearbeat was at 150 and I've gained a total of 24 lbs. I'm down to my two week appointments now and this coming Tuesday I will be 31 weeks along...I'm officially 7 months pregnant, only 2 months to go! My baby shower is coming up on July 10th and I'm very excited! My two best friends: Marie and Brittany are throwing it for me. As far as how I've been feeling: I have been really hot and these 90 degree days are not helping. My feet are swelling a bit, mainly my left foot which is wierd. I've been able to sleep comfortably still...not sure how long that will last. My wedding ring still fits me, which is nice and means that my hands haven't been swelling. I've been feeling Stella kick every day and it's amazing. I can't believe this little miracle is inside me and she will be mine and Troy's forever. We are so excited for her to be born and join our family!

29 Weeks and 4 Days

30 Weeks and 2 Days

May 25, 2010

2010-06-26T11:48:00.000-06:00

Troy and I finally made it to the Temple on May 25th 2010 to be sealed for time and all eternity. Troy really wanted to be sealed before Stella is born and also thought it would be really special to be sealed on his grandma's birthday who passed away last June. It was a very special day and we were surrounded by family and close friends. Our wonderful neighbors who do wedding videography and photography took our photos and gave us a video of our special day and it is amazing! We thank everyone who was able to come and support us...we love you all!

Father's Day 2010

2010-06-26T11:35:00.000-06:00

For Father's Day this year we celebrated a week early because of Troy's work schedule. We decided to have a family BBQ and invited mine and Troy's family over. This was our first big BBQ since we put in our new patio. We had yummy hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, chips jello and Aunt Patti's famous chocolate cookies...yum! We did a lot of visiting and the boys played catch. We ate just in time before it started to rain on us...but we got to see a beautiful rainbow. For gifts this year Nikolaus gave Troy a collage of pictures from his baseball game and Kaitlyn gave him the final Die Hard movie. My sister and I gave my dad a gift card to Olive Garden, a new brown belt and BBQ utinsels for his BBQ. We had a great Father's Day this year and were so glad we were able to spend it with our families!

Bee's Game

2010-06-26T11:25:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago Troy and I were able to go to a Bee's game...complimentary of my work! We were also fortunate enough to get two extra tickets, so we invited my mom and dad. We had a blast! It was so fun to go out and do something different then just dinner and a movie. I haven't been to a Bee's game in years...we even got really good seats too. The Bee's were playing against Las Vegas...and we won!

It's Baseball Season

2010-06-09T22:38:00.001-06:00

Monday was a fun day because we got to go down to Nephi to watch Nikolaus' baseball game. My dad came down with Troy and I and we both took some great pictures of Nik. The game started at 6 but it started raining pretty hard as soon as the game was supposed to start. So we waited in our car for about 15 minutes for the rain to stop. It ended up being really nice and cool outside...not hot like I was expecting, thank goodness! We had a blast watching him play...and he's quite good I might add. Nik's team won...but of course I can't remember the score!

27 Weeks

2010-06-06T19:33:00.001-06:00

Here is yet another weekly picture update...I'm a little late on this one. This picture was taken today and I'm sorry I look like crap, but it's Sunday and I don't feel like getting dressed up! LOL And not to mention that I feel very large and fat...but I guess that comes with the territory...so it's worth it! Some updates on how I'm feeling at this point: hot, hot hot! LOL I'm hot all the time and I know it's only going to get worse since I get the privilage of being due the very last day of the summer. My feet have been swelling just a little bit, that just started a few weeks ago. I'm hungry pretty much all the time, it's been very difficult to eat healthy...but I've been doing much better. I started going on walks last week, I went twice and did laps around my church with my dogs and my wonderful sister joined me. I'm planning on going on a walk 4-5 times a week. I've been doing horrible at excercising and I figured it's better late than never to start. I've also been working out a little bit on my yoga ball to tone up my legs and I've been using my 5 lb weights to tone up my arms. I'm hoping to keep this up until I deliver. I'm also starting to feel a little uncomfortable in my skin...not sure if that makes sense or not, but anything I wear (besides my sweats) I just feel is so tight and I'm being eaten alive by my clothes. My stomach is getting tighter by the week and I feel lucky that I'm carrying high instead of low. As much as I am uncomfortable right now, it's more than worth it. I am so excited for Stella to arrive and to have her in our family forever!

:27 weeks 5 days: