Minneapolis for a Quealy Visit

Last week Mike, Stella and I flew to Minneapolis to visit Audrey and Dave and to be there for the birth of their 1st baby!  Mike had business meetings Wednesday and Thursday, so Stella and I got a lot of time with Aunt Audrey and Grandma.  We had so much fun seeing them and their new, adorable house.  It was so fun to see Audrey pregnant and to see them all prepared for new baby, they're going to make the best parents.  The baby was due on Friday, Oct. 22, but when we had to leave on Monday morning, there was still no baby.  So, unfortunately we missed it but we had a great time just hanging with family anyway. 

We spent lots of our time walking and playing at the park. 

The weather was awesome and in the fall it's so beautiful there.

Taking a break from playing soccer in the backyard.

Kisses for Aunt Audrey.

Helping Uncle Dave with yard work.

Carving pumpkins.

Hanging out, waiting for baby to arrive.

Oh and of course, little Norah Jane Quealy was born the following day, Tues. Oct. 26th.  She's healthy and adorable, we can't wait to meet her!  Here's a pic.  We're so happy to be an aunt and uncle again!

Pumpkins!

Two weekends ago, we hosted our 3rd Annual Pumpkin Carving Party.  A few of our good friends from my old office get together every year and have a serious carving contest.  This year, was once again awesome, except that my pumpkin's whole face fell in, so I at last minute tried to salvage it and turn it into Minnie Mouse.  It's a mess, I know.  I lost. Haha, but Mike saved the Day family name with his bunny pumpkin (right next to mine).

Last week Stella and I met up with our friends to hit up the pumpkin patch.  The kids had a blast, it was such a cute little farm.  In addition to pumpkins, they had goats and a donkey... Stella loved them so much she didn't want to leave.  There was also an old playground area and the kids were obsessed with the teeter totter.

 Goats.

 Stella on the teeter totter, one handed!

 Stella, Tyler and Emily

Do I really have to share this pumpkin chair?

Meeting Baby Brooklyn

My brother and his family welcomed a new little baby girl on Thursday, Oct. 7.  She is so adorable, nice and chunky with a full head of hair.  She was born at 9.5 lbs!  My mom and dad were in DC visiting for the birth so on Friday morning, Stella and I headed down to DC to meet the baby and spend time with family.  Mike took the train down on Friday after work to join us and we spent the whole weekend there. 

Stella absolutely LOVES her cousins, Hannah and Haydin.  She was also really interested in Brooklyn, but we made sure she kept her distance, especially with her runny nose she was sporting.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

On Sunday, Mike and I headed up to Baltimore to meet our friends Lauren and Mike for the Ravens/Broncos game (Mike is a huge Broncos fan and so is Lauren.) My brother and his wife and my mom were so above and beyond sweet to keep Stella for the day even with the newborn just home.  We can't thank them enough - it's rare we get opportunities to do something like this, so THANK YOU!

15 Months have come and gone.

I know we say this every month, but this literally has been the most amazing month with Stella.  She has such a fun personality, we just can't get enough of her.

Dancing is still big with her - she will walk over to the ipod docking station, point and grunt until we turn music on.  She appreciates all music, but when she's in the mood to dance, only hiphop will do.

She adores accessories.  Hats, purses, bracelets, necklaces, hairbows, headbands, shoes...etc.  And when she's in the right mood, she will wear them all and just continue to cover herself in accessories.

Stella is a talker.  She babbles nonstop.  Sometimes it's English, but typically it's her own language.
She's a crazy runner.  She likes to turn up the speed, but it often results in a serious crash.  She has had more bumps and bruises this month than any other.  Literally one day, she had two big bumps on both sides of her forehead and one giant bruise in the center.

She likes puzzles and books and loves to play ball.  She kicks it, throws it and if it's the soccer ball, she'll even sit on it.

She and Morris have a "special" relationship.  She terrorizes him now and chases him in circles around the house, but he's always so good with her.  She's only trying to get a kiss, but it's definitely the wrong way to go about it. One of her favorite things to do is take Morris on walks.  She has to put on her shoes and walk around and of course, climb up each and every stair.  Our walks went from 10 minutes to 20 or 30.  She likes to hold Morris' leash and loves to give him his treat after.

It's crazy how much she understands now too.  If you ask her to do something or get something, she will.

Words at this point...Ball, Hi, Bye, Hat, Hot, Up, Dada, More (Mo), Milk, Shoes (Gooz), No, no, no (she always repeats it, never says a solid no), This, That, Horse, Dog, Belly Button (belly button)

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