Stella's First Year

On Tuesday, September 22, 2009 at 4:18 p.m., God blessed us with the most perfect, beautiful, precious baby girl in the whole wide world.  When the doctor placed Stella on my chest and I looked at Kyle there was a sense of completion, a sense of happiness and love that I've never felt before.

We both cried tears of joy as we looked at this beautiful gift we had been given.  I knew that she was so special but I had no idea that she would enrich our lives so much in her one year of life.  What an amazing year it has been!

She has learned so many things from rolling over...

to sitting up...

to crawling...

to walking (holding on to furniture, of course!)...

and everything in between.  She has now taken 2 steps or so at a time on her own so we know that the walking/running/toddling stage is just around the corner.

She has 9 - count them, NINE - teeth and is "growing" more on a daily basis.  I'm sure that's what's been making her feel a lil poopy the past few days - however, her feeling poopy is nothing compared to the horror stories I've heard friends tell me about their babies that are teething.  We are DEF blessed in that department!!  She pretty much sleeps through the night but this teething thing has been affecting her sleep schedule a little bit.  She always wakes up in the best mood, though - she's such a happy baby!!

Stella is eating real food and for the most part she likes what she's tried.  She doesn't like grits and I've told her we have to work on that...a true southern girl LOVES grits so I'm sure she will get used to it soon.  She's not very fond of spaghetti and with the "Italian" in her blood, she better get used to it, too.  Maybe it's just b/c she hasn't tried Grandpa D's spaghetti yet! ;)

Stella is now weighing in at a whopping 17 lbs. 12 oz. and is 27 1/2 inches long.  She's still a tiny lil peanut but she's proportionate - 5th percentile for her height, 10th percentile for weight, and 5th percentile for her noggin.  Even though she's tiny, she's 100% healthy and that's all we can ask and pray for.

Like I said before, this past year has been amazing and more than we could have ever imagined.  We love our little princess and we can't wait to celebrate many, many more wonderful milestones to come!

Princess Stella's 1st Royal Birthday Celebration

On Wednesday, September 22nd our sweet lil peanut turned 1!  WOW - the year flew by, but what an amazing year it was!  Kyle came home Wednesday with Princess cupcakes to celebrate the our lil princesses birthday.  Boy were they delish!  Stella definitely enjoyed her first cupcake!

Saturday was the 1st ever Royal Celebration!  I have been preparing for this day for many, many months now and I couldn't wait for it to arrive!  I wanted to make the decor for the party myself instead of buying everything.  I love "arts and crafts time" so this was so much fun for me.  Check out the DiEduardo Castle - all ready for Princess Stella's guests.

Entry way to the DiEduardo Castle.

Birthday banner and photos of Stella from birth to 1 year.

Party favors - for the boys (Prince Charmings) and for the girls (Princesses).

More banners in the dining room.

Pom poms hanging from the ceiling.

Bathroom decor - "Mirror, Mirror On the Wall, Who is the Fairest of them All?"

Cupcakes and Princess Peanut smash cake.

{I definitely couldn't have pulled all of this off w/out the help of my mom and my aunt, Sandra.  They came up Friday and helped prep, decorate, clean, cut sandwiches into princess crowns and SO much more.  Also thanks to my mother-in-law, Kyle's aunt, Lynn, my Aunt Joan and  my dad's wife, Joan who helped clean up after the party.  I had to give a HUGE shout out to all of these amazing women for helping me pull this party together!!  Thank you!!}

Princess Stella had many fellow princesses and prince charmings at her Royal Celebration.  

The Princess & King Daddy

 Opening her gifts and wearing her Princess Crown.  (It only lasted about 5 seconds - but it was cute while it lasted!)

Wow - look at all of these gifts!  

A) she has so many amazing friends and family - what a blessed girl! 

B) where are we gonna put all of this?!?  LOL

{BTW, can you see Bella trying to get in the pic too?! LOL}

 

Cake Time!

Loving her smash cake!
She also loved the bounce house too!

 Having fun in the bounce house!

Jumpin' w/ Jack and Christopher

We were surrounded by so many wonderful family and friends and all I can say is Stella is one loved and blessed little girl.  Many thanks to everyone who made this day special for our little peanut, princess, Stella Lou!

Ahhh, what a perfect ending to a perfect day!

USC...GO COCKS!

It's football season, folks!  And in the DiEduardo household that means it's GAMECOCK season!  I grew up loving Carolina football and still do to this day.  When Kyle and I got married he quickly learned he was a Gamecock fan too.  And now, our little Stella is wearing her garnet and black Carolina jersey (thanks to her Uncle Hal) with pride.  Even if you're not a Gamecock fan, you have to admit, she looks adorable!

Stella's worn her jersey for 2 weeks in a row now and we've had 2 big wins!  Looks like she's their lucky charm!  Here's hoping for a great football season for the Gamecocks.  Hopefully we'll be able to get to at least one game this season but if not, we'll be wearing our jerseys and watching all the games on tv.

Go Gamecocks!!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Work Kyle Goes

So many of my friends have posted on Facebook photos of their little ones and their first day of school so I thought it was only fitting that I take a few pics of Kyle's "First Day" at his new job.  He has passed both his Series 7 and Series 66 Exams and starting this past Tuesday, he's now allowed to go out and start "meeting potential clients" or in his terms "prospecting".

Wow - what a handsome guy!  I'd definitely open my door for him and listen to what he had to say!

He's doing an awesome job and I'm SO proud of my hubby!  Bring home the bacon, babe!

An Old Memory

Growing up I always remember eating goldfish and cheez-its with my grandmother.  Today, Stella and I shared a snack together - yummy goldfish - and it brought back so many memories of my childhood and eating goldfish w/ my Granma.  Guess every time we eat this snack I'll always think of her.

It's wonderful how we get to relive all of these special memories of our loved ones daily!  I sure do miss my Granma and wish SO badly that she could have met the most precious, beautiful, smart little girl.  She would be in love just like the rest of us!

Pork, It's What's for Dinner

A friend of mine had a delicious recipe that she shared w/ me that involved a rump roast and I told the hubby about it and he definitely thought we should make it...soon.  So this week's grocery list included purchasing the roast.  However, I bought the wrong kind!!  I bought pork instead of beef.  I guess that should tell you how coo coo I've been these days. LOL Must be lack of sleep!

Anywho, we made Crockpot Pulled Pork for dinner tonight and it was pretty darn good if I do say so myself.  Mimi even stayed and enjoyed it too!  I think it would have been better w/ a vinegar-type of BBQ though but I thought I'd share in case anyone's interested.  Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork (spice rub from Cooks Illustrated)

Spice Rub:
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons table salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground white pepper

1 (6-8 pound) bone-in pork shoulder
½ teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
2 cups barbecue sauce

1. Mix all spice rub ingredients in small bowl.

2. Massage spice rub into meat. Wrap tightly in double layer of plastic wrap; refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (For stronger flavor, the roast can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

3. Unwrap roast and place it in slow cooker liner. Add liquid smoke, if using, and ¼ cup water. Turn slow cooker to low and cook for 8-10 hours, until meat is fork-tender.

4. Transfer roast to cutting board; discard liquid in liner. “Pull” by tearing meat into thin shreds with two forks or your fingers. Discard fat.

5. Place shredded meat back in slow cooker liner; toss with 1 cup barbecue sauce, and heat on low for 30-60 minutes, until hot. Serve with additional barbecue sauce.

Lots to Brag...I mean BLOG...About

We've had a very busy week this past week.  Kyle was out of town at the Edward Jones Headquarters at an Educational Conference so Stella and I were home alone - for a whole week!!  It definitely made me step back and realize how much he actually helps me with and all I can say is I'm one lucky and blessed girl!

After a few sleepless nights during the week, Stella must have felt sorry for me because on Wednesday she finally said the words I've been longing to hear...yep, she said "MAMA"!!!!!!!  Talk about being the happiest girl alive!!  Those words were like music to my ear.  Of course I called Kyle as soon as she started saying it and...he didn't answer.  So then, I called my mom...and she didn't answer.  No one was going to believe that she actually said it!!  From then I knew that I had to go nuts clapping and screaming w/ excitement so she would know that she had done something wonderful.  {Not that I wasn't already acting like a complete crazy lady that just won the lottery or something!}  So from that day on we practiced saying "MAMA" all day long.  Sure enough, when Mimi came to stay w/ us on Thursday, she heard the words "MAMA" too so I was even more excited!  

Stella has also learned to say "BAY-BEEE" and that is one of the sweetest things I've heard her say too.  She loves her baby dolls and we're constantly calling them by name...Baby Lexi, Baby Molly, etc.  Also I read to her every night and lately they've been books about a mama and a baby so I guess it finally clicked!

Another cool thing that happened this week was Stella learned how to "Give Me 5"!  One day while I was feeding Stella lunch I thought...wouldn't it be cool if she could "Give Me 5"!!  So I thought I'd try it out.  She pretty much caught on right away.  So awesome!  I'm telling ya - she's a genius!

Needless to say when we picked Kyle/Daddy up from the airport yesterday we had lots to catch him up on.  He was TOTALLY blown away by all that she had learned while he was gone.



We are both so proud of our sweet, adorable, little girl that amazes us every single day by all that she's learning and doing.  

BTW, these pics are from Stella's friend, Jack's 3rd Birthday Party today!  We had a blast!  Happy Birthday Jack!

Rock Like a Princess

The other day Stella and I were shopping at Target for the necessities...formula, diapers, the occasional bargain on sale, etc....when I thought "ya know, Stella really hasn't gotten a 'new toy' in while, maybe I'll pick her up something fun and inexpensive!"  So I found this adorable little guitar that plays music and I thought - perfect b/c she loves music and likes to dance when she hears music.  Needless to say it was a hit!!  She's had the best time w/ this lil guitar and I've enjoyed dancing around and acting silly w/ her just to see this adorable face...

Stella has a shirt that says "Rock Like a Princess" so I thought it would only be appropriate to put her in that while she's playing her guitar.  What a rock star!!

I've had such a fun day w/ my girls today!  Bella went to the groomer and came back looking all pretty and we've had a fun day playing, relaxing and making memories!