Stella is 2!

Sweet Stella Bella is 2 now.

She opened presents, she ate pumpkin cupcakes, and she enjoyed all the extra love and attention on her birthday.

Stella is....in a few words.... determined, affectionate, hardy....and full of life. She is high-spirited and strong-willed. You can't hurt this girl. But she can hurt you.

She is the cuddliest of all of my kids. Even more so than Cora. She loves to hug, snuggle, and kiss. But only on her terms. If you ask for it, forget about it.

She has a mind of her own. She knows she is a princess. Most of the time, we all concede to Stella. She gets her way far too often.

She is happy to tag along and join in with whatever everyone else is doing. She is clueless most of the time, as to what we are doing or where we are going. But she just jumps in her car seat and comes along for the ride.

She is still a mama's girl at heart. She always has been. No one can make her happy the way mama can.

Surprisingly, Stella has become a very loving and sweet big sister. Honestly, I was most worried about her transitioning into not being the baby anymore. It never worried me with the other girls, but it did with Stella. But she LOVES Cora. Adores her. Wants to kiss her and hold her every chance she can get. She carries her bathroom stool around so she can watch while I feed and change Cora.

And inevitably, this happened the other day...

Lucy and Annie did it too. And I was waiting for it to happen with Stella. She loves her baby doll but she isn't quite as....nurturing...or gentle as the other two girls were at her age. She hits her baby dolls on the head on purpose and slings them around when she gets mad. So I guess it took her a little longer to decide she wanted to breastfeed.

Eventually she made the choice though. She's in.

I can't believe this girl is two. She is my baby and I still treat her like it.

Happy Birthday Stella.