It Takes a Village (People)...

HEATH HAMILTON

Stylist/Friend Heath Hamilton of Coif Salon convinced Mama Mary that Stella J. should come to his salon Saturday night to get a taste of the fashion forward (and I mean FORWARD), decadence on high, annual drag queen extravaganza.

No, we did not attend the show-- just the pre-show. These pictures say it all. Jason was a good sport about it and Stella, well, she was a bit confused, frightened, mesmerized by it all. It wasn't until the last 5 minutes of our 20 minute stay that she broke out in Stage 5 clinger crying. Good times.

What's Round & Orange & Impossible?!

Why, that would be a pumpkin. Auntie Taryn came over to help Stella and Mommy whomp up some fabulous jack-o-lanterns. The end result? Sheer perfection. Well, almost.

Honestly, I don't remember dealing with so much pumpkin gunk in Halloween's past. We had enough pumpkin innards to make a dozen pies. After the scraping and gutting was done, creativity set in and our masterpieces came to life. Sure, we may have had some casualties along the way (ie. pumpkin cowgirl turned transvestite), but we had fun getting all Halloweeny and festive. The pictures say it all. As you can see, Stella was downright ... well, bored.

Grammy Josephine Turns 49!!!

Grammy Josephine celebrated her 49th birthday in style at Biba's Italian Restaurant. Biba herself presented Grammy with her surprise trip to Italy in June 2007. Stella comes, too! Viva Italia!

"The Hawk" Ain't Just a Bird...

So, Stella is really quite the jet setter these days. We left for Chicago, Illinois on Sunday morning and finished our trip in Bloomington, Indiana on Thursday morning. Stella slept on the flight and barely made a peep. One woman actually asked me how much I had drugged her. Proud to say, no Benadryl here ;) Although, we did stop and buy some before the trip (just in case)!

Chi town was phenomenal... when I say phenomenal, I mean the shopping was comparable to a day of gallavanting in Los Angeles or New York City sans the traffic and weather (or just kidding-- Chicago has both of those). We all know how a day of good shopping and a deep dish pizza can put a smile on Stella's (okay, Mommy's) face. I guess the only difference between Chicago and Mommy's other favorite metropolitan shopping districts is its geographic positioning-- ie. lake, no ocean-- and what Chicagoans like to refer to as "the hawk." Read: a wind chill that could bite your nose off. Not really sure how a hawk has anything to do with record breaking wind, but we'll go with it. "The hawk" only reared its ugly head toward the end of our day and just in time for our 7 block walk back to the W Hotel. 17 shopping bags and no umbrella makes for what Mommy likes to say, "good times." All in all, Stella did farely well in the windy city. Okay, she made out like a bandit-- seven outfits, to be exact.

Our trip to Indiana was great. Stella got to spend time with Mama Vi, Baba, Aunt Kristina, Uncle Jason & Cousin Evan. Everyone was in good spirits and lucky for us the weather was bright and cheery and even warmer than home-- yay for Fall foliage! I think we all agree Mommy does better in warmer climates ;) We walked the IU campus and ate at Laughing Planet (healthy burritos on crack) and Jiffy Treat (0 calorie yogurt with hot dogs and french fries).

Miei Piedi Sono Delicioso!

Little Miss Manners.

Only an infant gets away with this sort of behavior.

Woman's Best Friend

Stella and Coco, our two babies are finally interacting (well, sort of...). Mary decided to let the girls spend some quality time together yesterday. Coco was quite anxious to get a sniff of the baby that dominates our life now. Stella laughed as Coco licked her hand. That laugh quickly turned into a nervous giggle/panic attack at which point, Mama came to the rescue. Coco just sat there thinking, "give me a break, kid. you weigh more than i do!"... ah, sisterly love ;)

Life's a Beach

Mommy & Daddy resort to putting me in a suitcase. This is pathetic, people.

Well, we are back from our 9-day Maui excursion. It was beyond phenomenal. A great two year anniversary trip for Jason and I and a dazzling first vaca for the little gal. Stella took the nearly six hour flight like a champ- demanding only 6 bottles of breast milk (Mommy's tapped dry!) and ne'er a complaint to be cried. The Whaler Condominium was spectacular (thanks Uncle Ant and Aunt Ev!) and Grammy Jo and Grampy Dave were a much needed babysitting duo for the latter half of the trip. Stella loved the pool and was a bit weary of the ocean, but she told me she'd like to make this an annual trip. She went from the porcelain white beauty that she is to a lovely shade of beige (as Grammy Jo would say). The only glitch, we arrived and realized we had nothing in which our babe could slumber... our solution (and genius, I might add)?? A well-padded suitcase. Go ahead and mock us now, you know you'll give it a whirl next time you have a small infant in tow. The move was so brilliant, we stuffed Grampy in our carry-on when his snoring got unbearable.