and a few more.

i love them all, sami! thank you thank you :)

{photos by samantha stanton}

birthday photoshoot.

i'm loving this shot that sami posted on her blog! can't wait to see the rest!!!

serena's party.

serena was pretty much in heaven with her family all around and the many MANY new toys! she was pretty dainty with her cake at first, but after awhile she really made a mess.

20+ people is a lot for our house, but we had fun and we're so glad all of serena's family came to celebrate!

serena is ONE!

serena's first birthday was yesterday. can you believe it? i can't! she is getting so grown up {and getting to be quite the ham for the camera!}.

at twelve months, serena:

loves to stand up and attempt to climb everything.
climbs the stairs with ease... but hasn't mastered going down yet.
has switched to whole milk {no problem}.
never stops moving.
senses when the bathroom door is open and heads straight for the toilet.
dances whenever music is playing.
jabbers like crazy.
says "dada" ALL THE TIME.
points to everything.
loves elephants {because i make the elephant noise for her when she finds one in a book}.
still takes two naps and sleeps 10 hrs at night.
likes to open drawers and cupboards and pull out all of their contents.
waves her hand in front of her nose when she has a messy diaper. i taught her that one :)
is getting pretty good balance {when standing}.
wears size 24 months/ 2T.
has 4 goofy teeth on top and 2 on bottom.

she is so funny and has us laughing all the time :) love this little girl!

{more birthday stuff to come.}

eleven.

{not the best pictures... but she won't sit still long enough to have a decent picture taken...}

at eleven months, serena:

loves dancing and "singing".
copies everything we do.
crawls and "cruises" all over the place.
has 4 teeth on top and 2 on bottom.
wears size 24 months.
has a george mcfly laugh.
is finally starting to feed herself {she rarely puts anything in her mouth, so doing it with food was a hard concept}.
she has almost mastered the sippy cup.
waves "hi" and "bye bye".
understands "no" but doesn't necessarily obey.
shakes her head "no" and nods "yes".
STILL throws fits EVERY TIME she has to get dressed/undressed/diaper changed. {you would think she would realize by now that it's just a part of life...}
loves to push buttons.
holds everything to her ear and pretends it's a phone.
crawls up the stairs {finally had to put the gate up}.
loves the imagination movers, mickey mouse, and charlie & lola.
sits facing front in the car. {best thing ever!}
likes to eat applesauce, bananas, oatmeal, waffles, noodles, peas, asparagus, and whatever is on our plates.
brushes her hair if we give her a comb or brush {tries to, anyway!}.

i say this every month, but i really can't believe how quickly she is growing up! this month has been so fun with all of the new things she's learning. i love that she is understanding more and copying us. she is a little sweetheart and we're excited to celebrate her first birthday pretty soon!

{pictures later}

ten.

serena is ten months old! what!? she's almost ONE, which makes me sad! she's so big and growing up way too quickly.

here's a little about serena at ten months:

she likes eating grown up food. in other words, anything on MY plate.
she still takes 2 naps and sleeps about 10 hours at night.
she jabbers on and on and is starting to imitate our inflection, but not necessarily our words.
she has two bottom teeth.
she can sort of crawl, but not really. she gets about 2 steps and then goes flat on her belly.
she loves splashing in the bath tub {thanks for teaching her, SEAN!}. i end up peeking through a crack in the shower curtain while she makes tidal waves.
she sits up in her crib and plays when she wakes up or if she doesn't want to go to sleep.
she is tall and heavy!
she likes climbing on her parents.
she loves watching kids, especially her cousins!
she struggles at church.
she "sings" herself to sleep.
she hates getting dressed.
she loves the imagination movers... and i must admit that i don't hate it as much as i used to.
she loves going for walks in the stroller.
she is finally starting to like reading books with me.
she doesn't like to be alone and screams if i'm not in her line of sight.
she likes to stand up {with help} and practice her balance.
she likes to give us trouble when we're changing her diaper {sit up, roll over, kick, etc.}
she is a happy, smiley girl.

nine.

i can't believe serena has been part of the world for as long as i was pregnant with her! crazy. she is growing and learning so quickly.

at nine months, serena:
loves spitting everywhere and blowing spit bubbles.
wiggles like crazy when we try to change her diaper or dress her.
pulls her socks & shoes off all the time.
splashes all over in the bathtub.
wears size 12-18 months clothes.
scrunches her nose when she smiles.
is close to crawling. {she moves around by scooting & rolling.}
already has a fondness for pulling all decorations off of low shelves.
is eating more solid foods. she especially loves cheese and whatever is on my plate.
likes to sample our ice cream.
likes music.
is a very patient girl, as my mom says. she is totally relaxed about running errands with me, getting in & out of the carseat, etc.
takes a morning & afternoon nap.
goes right to sleep without a fight.
gets so excited when her daddy comes home from work.
has one bottom tooth and another coming. possibly some top teeth too, but she won't let me look at them.

one month closer to a year :( and she keeps getting bigger and smarter!

{photo by melissa}

eight months.

at eight months, serena:

looooves naptime and bedtime. she is so happy when we lay her down in her crib to sleep.
loves pears, bananas & oatmeal.
hates vegetables & anything with texture!
likes to "sing" and "dance" when music is playing.
still loves mickey mouse.
rolls all over the place.
has no teeth.
doesn't want to crawl.
loves her tummy to be tickled.
has her daddy's hairline.
loves her grandmas! {and i'm not just saying that. she gets so excited to see them!}
likes to pull on hair.
loves sucking on her mom's jewelry.
says mama... hehe ok no she doesn't, but i like to pretened when she's saying "mammamamamamammahahah" that she is talking to me :)
eats 3 meals a day.
wears size 12-18 months clothing.
has learned to blow spit bubbles.
babbles all the time. especially when it's quiet in church.

she cracks us up all the time! she's such a pleasant, content little girl, and so full of funny sounds and faces. we ♥ her to pieces!

{sorry the pictures aren't the best. we didn't have time for a photoshoot this week!}

seven.

{thanks for the fancy dress, grandma!!}

at seven months, serena:

has decided to only eat pears, applesauce, and cereal. she refuses all vegetables and most fruits. {any suggestions would be appreciated! we have tried mixing 1 tsp of veggies with 1/4 cup cereal and she refuses that too!}

sits up by herself. hooray! she will play on the floor for quite a long time.... until she gets herself in some random position that she doesn't like.

loves playing with boxes, bags, ribbon, cell phones, shoes, tupperware, measuring cups & spoons, etc. basically anything that isn't a toy.

goes to bed at 8pm and wakes up around 7am.

has the cutest giggle ever. too bad she doesn't do it very often! mostly she does her panting thing when she's happy or excited.

HATES it when you put her arms through her sleeves, or when you take her shirt off, or when you have to move her arms to put her in the carseat.

claps when we say "yaaaaay!" or when she sees someone else clapping.

makes all kinds of noises. smacks her lips. if she has a toy, she'll hold it in her mouth and shake her head to do the "ba ba ba ba ba ba" noises. she tries to sing when i do. she just makes a long "ahhhhh" sound until i stop. i love it!

still shows no signs of crawling or even interest in being on her tummy EVER. i think she'll be a scooter.

kicks her socks and shoes off the instant we put them on her.

seriously LOVES mickey mouse. she gets so so excited when mickey mouse clubhouse starts. and she's beginning to love charlie and lola {woohoo!}. she mostly loves the song at the beginning and the way lola giggles.

loves playing with her cousins {or letting them entertain her!}.

likes to grab your face, ears, nose or hair and pull your face right up next to hers and attempt to eat it. she's bitten my nose a couple of times. it hurts!

makes us laugh and smile all the time. we love her like crazy.

serena at six months.

loves eating rice cereal and all kinds of fruits & veggies. particularly pears and sweet potatoes.
hates getting dressed.
likes being nakey.
loves rolling all over the place.
pants and shakes her head back and forth when she's excited.
loves cuddling.
loves it when daddy comes home.
loves to play with daddy's scruffy face.
sleeps on her side.
likes her high chair.
has the chubbiest legs and cheeks ever.
can sit up unsupported, but sometimes tips.
loves the mickey mouse clubhouse.
wears size 3 diapers.
wears size 9-12 months clothing.
loves to feel everything with her chubber sausage fingers.
loves all of the non-toys we can find {wrappers. bags. cell phones. all under our supervision, of course}

we ♥ this silly girl.

five months.

here's a little about serena breanne at five months:

she rolls over {when she feels like it}.

she'll smile for pretty much anyone.

she likes pulling her mama's hair and feeling her daddy's beard.

she won't take a binky anymore.... which is nice most of the time... except for when we're at church and we need to plug her up :)

she wears mostly size 9 months clothing.

she likes licking things. not so much sucking on them, just licking them. especially the tags on her toys.

she eats rice cereal every day and loves to get it all over hands and then all over her eyes & hair, which is a joy to clean up. {i know, i know... it will only get worse.}

she still sleeps a solid 10 hours at night.

she LOVES going for rides in the stroller.

she laughs when she's sleepy. i guess she gets the late-night sillies from her mom?

she's still into the excersaucer... and she plays with the toys on it a lot more. she likes to get her face right up to the mirror and lick it :)

she loves to be out and about. she's usually only cranky at home when her mom needs to do chores!

she doesn't hate tummy time as much as she used to.

she watches the mickey mouse clubhouse every morning while i get ready, and she seems mildly interested in it.

she likes rolling around on the floor, playing with toys.

she likes to have her face smashed up against the side of her crib while she sleeps.

she loves to feel everything and is always scratching her nails on fabric, which kind of drives me crazy! {kess, you would die!}

she hates wearing socks and somehow always finds a way to get them off.

and some names we call her:
serena bee, baby girl, sweetness, missy, missy may, chubber, chubber girl, chubber legs, chubber cheeks, lover, girly, serenie, serenie bo beenie, s, baby s, puke face gremlin, whiney face gremlin, stinky face gremlin, drool face gremlin {basically whatever she happens to be doing + face gremlin... don't ask}, stinker bum, girlfriend, blue eyes, and the list goes on . . .

four months.

miss serena at four months:

she loves to stand up all the time {with help, of course}.

she does this new funny thing where she covers her eyes while she's eating {see above}.

her hair is getting lighter and redder all the time.

she has a fat roll in her left leg, and not in her right.

she has giggled twice {about 2 weeks ago} and we haven't heard it again since!

she loves going for walks outside in her stroller.

she sleeps for about 10 hours straight at night.

she's outgrowing her 3 month clothes, and is not big enough for 6 month clothes yet.

she loves looking at herself in the mirror.

she gets mad when we eat in front of her {time for some real food??}.

she's getting MUCH better at tummy time.

she can hold herself up with her arms for a minute or so before getting tired.

she's almost rolling from back to front.

she talks all the time.

she is still a little cuddle bug.

she's getting so big i can hardly stand it!!!

her 4 month appointment is next week so i'll post the stats soon.

three months.

serena at three months:

she is smiling and cooing a lot more.

she spits up a lot more often {and my wardrobe is showing it}.

she loves her play mat from fraunt tiffany. {one of those mats with dangly toys overhead}

she is most definitely a mama's girl... for now, at least.

she is beginning to suck her thumb.

her favorite pastime is kicking her legs like crazy. especially in the bathtub.

she haaaaaates getting out of the bath.

she is huuuuge! it kills me to put away clothing that she doesn't fit into anymore!

she sleeps in her crib now and is usually up only once a night.

she hates tummy time.

she loves it when we sing to her. instant smiles!

she likes to look around at everything with a very curious expression on her face :)

she likes moving her tongue all over, licking or sucking on everything, and drooling everywhere.

she is great at cuddling and looking cute.

two months.

somehow serena turned two months old today. i don't know how it happened, but it did. she's getting so big and cuter and cuter by the second! here's a little bit about serena at two months:

she has discovered her tongue and makes funny faces all the time.
she likes sucking on her hands.
she has the most sensitive skin.
she sleeps pretty well at night {sometimes}.
she hates being swaddled.
she looooves to sit up {with help} and look around. no more cradling unless she's super tired.
she has the chubbiest cheeks ever :)
she smiles like crazy!
she loooooooooves the swing.
she loves being in her car seat.
she loves her "soothie" from the hospital and won't take any other binky.
she talks and squeals and even does a short little laugh once in a while.

we love our baby s. she keeps us smiling and laughing and makes my heart grow bigger and bigger every day. what a sweet girl!

beautiful day.

yesterday was a wonderful/exhausting day. sean gave serena a beautiful blessing. i hope that between myself, my mom & my mother in law, we got all of it written down! it was so fun to have family and friends there. this little girl is loved by a lot of people :) here are a few pictures: