Shelby's Big Adventure at 51 Weeks

We were still in Nebraska until Saturday of this past week. We had a lot of fun and celebrated Gran Gran's birthday, went to the Lincoln Children's Museum and went storm chasing unwillingly.  The storm that hit and killed 4 boys

 at the poor Boy Scout camp in Iowa was the same storm we encountered.  We happen to be eating with Aunt Kelli, the boys, Nana, and 3 of Nana's friends at Cracker Barrell when the storm hit and we were told we would most likely be going to the freezer if something were to come about.  When the sirens went off they were too busy talking over their liabilities, so Kelli and I frantically threw the kids in the car and tried to go Gran Gran's neighbors because they had a basement.  Kelli couldn't see where she was going because it began to rain so far so we got lost in the neighborhood with sirens blaring.  I was freaking out, but Kelli found her way and Mom and her friends did as well.  Everything turned out fine and everyone got a few laughs at my expense.  Shelby really enjoyed the Children's Museum, more than the Houston one.  She also got to go to the famous Valentino's for the first time.  She really enjoyed her whole trip and also began eating a lot more table food than before, I think Garrett may have been an inspiration.  One of her new favorites is mandarin oranges.

Shelby wearing Gran Gran's birthday gift from Mrs. Theresa.

Shelby driving the truck at the museum with 

Garrett holding on in the back.

Shelby and Garrett's first trip to Valentino's.

Shelby also celebrated her first Father's Day with her Daddy this past week.  We celebrated by going to church that morning, and afterwards attended the car show and barbeque that the church was putting on for the Dad's.  

Shelby with a Shelby.

Shelby on Father's Day in front of the church baptism fountain.  

Shelby enjoying her early birthday present.

The BIG 5-0!

I cannot believe how close to being a year old Shelby is.  It seems like just yesterday she joined our family.  Well thank goodness this was my last week of school.  I am so glad it is over and next year I will not be working full time only every other day so that I get to spend time with my baby girl.  I am so excited.  Shelby even got to go to school with me on Friday for our workday.  She was spoiled rotten by everyone.  She is continuing to eat more and more table food like a champ.  She is also still loving to walk but only while holding onto your hand.  She has taken one or two steps, but it was while she was diving for Chad or my arms.  We also left for our trip to Nebraska this past Saturday.  We went with Aunt Kelli, Cousins Drew and Garrett, as well as Nana.  It was quite the adventure.  It only took us 20 hours to get there, but the kids were really good and Shelby finally got to meet her Uncle Scott and Aunt Janine.  She also got to visit the Lincoln Zoo where she had a butterfly land on her head.  

Too Cool at 49 Weeks

Summer is getting close and Shelbs is getting ready.  This week has been really crazy as I am packing my classroom to move and getting ready for our big adventure to Nebraska.  Shelby got to go to her first annual Reddell family party. She enjoyed swimming with her cousins for a few hours and got to eat fried catfish and hush puppies for the first time.  She was too cute.  She is also getting better at walking while holding onto your hand, it is just a matter of time before she takes off. I also took Shelby's pictures for her 1st birthday invitations, they turned out too cute.  My poor baby girl also got another ear infection this past week, and since she was not feeling good I took a day off and stayed home with her.  She discovered the tissues that day and thought she need every single one in the box to wipe her nose.  It was funny.

11 Months at 48 Weeks

My little gorgeous girl is becoming quite the little monkey.  She has started climbing on top of everything.  She climbs on top of her rocking toy and stands up, her Daddy says she is getting ready for her dirtbike.  She also enjoys climbing on top of her push toy.  She has also learned the new trick of flicking her lips with her fingers to make a buh buh buh noise, it is really cute.  My baby girl has also started eating a lot more table food these days and she has really been enjoying some Gerber meat sticks and Raviollis.  Shelby also enjoyed a visit with her Nana this week as well as her Great Aunt Sandy.  

On Saturday Mimi and Popa came and visited as well.  The Gorman girls, their Mimi and I all hung out on Saturday while the boys went to buy dirt bikes for Josh and Mike, this of course took all day.  On Sunday Shelby and I went swimming with Aunt Paola while Daddy of course went riding.  I was off on Memorial Day, thank goodness, and so Shelby and I went to an End of the Year Party for my school, where we swam and played.  Chad of course was riding again.

Fish Face at 47 Weeks

Shelby is full of funny faces these days.  This week she started making this hilarious fish face that makes everyone laugh.  She has also started shaking her head "yes".  Most kids seem to start off by saying no, but not my funny little girl.  

She had a lot of fun this week as always with her girl cousins.  The girls come over and stay with us on Wednesday night because Josh and Angie are hosting a bible study and they all just have so much fun.  This week they all got to take a bath together for the first time.  They all enjoyed splashing me of course.  This past weekend Shelby and I had a girls night and went out with my friend Melissa and her two kids.  Chad had left to go to a race in Austin, so we got to spend some time together.  Shelby missed him so much on Friday night that on Saturday she did not want to go to sleep and ended up fighting me to go to sleep from 9-midnight.  On Sunday after recovering from a long night before she got to go swimming again, but did not want to let me go because the water was a little on the cool side. She still enjoyed it though.

Loving Her Mommy at 46 Weeks

What an eventful weekend my baby girl had!  We had a regular week of going and going followed by our crazy weekend.  On Saturday we were all up bright and early to enjoy time together with Derek and Jenny at the YMCA Trail Run.  Chad and Jenny ran the 5k and Derek and I walked the 3k.  We had borrowed a back pack from Uncle Josh for Derek to carry Shelby in, but she ended up not liking it at all and I got to carry Shelby for the entire 3k walk.  On Sunday morning I got to celebrate Mother's Day by having Shelby dedicated at church.  She was so good up until they put us in the back row about half way through the service and then she lost it and screamed the rest of the time.  It was funny.  You can see it online at www.fotw.org and click on Baby Dedications Sunday 9:30 service.  Pastor Kerry even made a comment about a future music minister.  After lunch with the Gorman's and Pawpaw and long nap, we went swimming for the first time this year.  Shelby really enjoys the 1 and a 1/2ft. deep pool in the neighborhood, she can even touch the bottom.

Team Gorman @ 45 weeks

Go Daddy Go!!! Shelby cheered her Daddy on Saturday as he ran in another triathlon. She and I were at the park for the event at 6:30 in the morning to cheer him on. Shelby squeezed into her Team Gorman onesie once again to show her support for him. She was too cute, at the finish line she was clapping and saying Dadada over and over. Unfortunately that was the one leg of the race we missed him on. Later that morning we attended her cousin Ansley's 3rd birthday party. Shelby got to visit with Nanny, Grandma, and the rest of the Gorman clan. She also got to play with a few of the babies that were there. Saturday was definately busy because we also got to redo our back flowerbeds that had been worn down from Dixie and Dudley running the same paths over and over. Shelby got to enjoy the beautiful weather as we worked. It must be nice. Shelby also got to spend a lot of time with her Nana this past week. My mom came up to keep her on Wednesday and Thursday. They had a lot of fun together and my Mom always tells me how Shelby reminds her of me as a child because of how active she is. She is a ball of energy these days, so much so that I cannot put snap up PJ's on her anymore because it is too much of a battle, but we enjoy all the energy she has to give.

Shaking her booty at 44 Weeks!

Shelby is a definitely a mover and a shaker now. She has learned to dance, it is so sweet. You tell her to dance and she will start rocking back and forth shaking her bottom. She has also really started playing Peek a Boo. She has figured out how to put the blanket over her face and pull it down while she smile and giggles. I pulled out the last of Shelby's Christmas presents that I had left in the attic, because she had received so many we have slowly pulled them out. She got a new toy that she can steer and rock on and then another that she can push behind. She loves the push toy. She pushes the toy and walks pretty steady behind the toy until she runs into something and then she fusses for you to turn her around and she goes again. It is the cutest thing. She also had an adventurous weekend. We went to Deer Park to visit family and Derek and Jenny Purvis, even though I think Chad really just went to see Derek's new drag racing car. Shelby and I visited with Nana and Paw paw and of course did a little shopping. We then returned home and got to visit more with Mimi and Popa who spent the weekend in Spring helping Aunt Paola and Uncle Bryan get ready for their new addition. It was another week of fun for my baby girl!

Mama @ 43 weeks!

She did it!!! She finally said Mama, of course I cannot get her to do it again though. That is alright because I finally heard her say it. She is at such a fun age that everyone is really enjoying her. She is such a happy and busy busy girl that she cannot sit still for anything. Mimi came up and kept her and her cousins on Friday. She had a lot of fun and then we got to go to a fancy restaurant Uncle Bryan suggested, but Shelby was very well behaved. Shelby and I are so glad Tax Season is finally over! We are really enjoying getting to spend more time with Chad and more time as a family. He has been able to see Shelby now before she goes to bed at night and even play with her and help with feeding her and bathing her at night. She has really started to eat a lot more table foods as well even though she still really enjoys her baby food. She tried spaghetti on Monday and really liked to eat the noodles and some of the meat sauce. She sucked all of the sauce from around the meat pieces and then spit them back out. It was funny. She also got to where she will really eat those Biter Biscuits that make such a mess. Uncle Bryan also bought himself a new toy this week that Chad is so jealous of, a dirt bike. Shelby sat on it and got really excited and acted like she was riding it. I think Chad was more excited that she was excited about it and is now planning her dirt bike fund. Pray for me.

Time Flies at 42 Weeks

I cannot believe how fast time has flown by. Shelby is growing into quite a beautiful girl. Chad always jokes that he is going to have to get a gun for when she starts dating, which of course will not happen until she is 25. Her favorite word continues to be uh-oh, but she says it more like "uhuhuhuhuh-oh." She is still crawling around and getting faster and faster everyday. She also pulls up on everything, especially the coffee table. Her favorite thing is to pull all the magazines off of it and then sit on the floor and chew on them. She especially likes her Daddy's bicycle magazine.

Uh-oh 41 Weeks

My baby has now quickly grown to be 41 weeks. I was just noticing this past week how she is so long when she was streched out in her crib. I am afraid she will out grow it before she is ready for a big girl bed.

She has been a lot of fun as always this past week. Her Nana came and stayed with us until Friday, so they were able to do lots of playing together. We all went for walks and got to play at the park. Shelby really likes the park near our house because it has these chimes she can hit and make noise. She continues to fuss at the dogs when she sees them chasing each other and she is even getting the "Eheh" noise from us when she goes for things like the dogs water bowl. It is funny we will make the noise and she will jump back because she knows what she is doing. She also began saying "Uh oh". It is really cute because sometimes the "oh" part is a little delayed. She also started to eat more table foods, though she is a very picky eater, she now enjoys the big Cheese Nip crackers and french fries.

This past weekend we also enjoyed attending 2 birthday parties, Lukas' and Drew's. She partied all day Saturday. She got to play with both Garrett and Sofie at Drew's party and I caught Sofie having a kandid moment. I also did something I swore I would never do to my child, I made her take pictures sitting among all the bluebonnets. I always hated it, but could not resist the gorgeous patches of them near Aunt Kelli's house.

Starting Monday Shelby ran a temperature of 102 and was not feeling well, but like always she has been a trooper and has not let a little fever slow her down. Her Mimi came on Monday to watch her and stayed until Tuesday afternoon to take care of her. She is still full of smiles and fun even though she is sick.

Copy Cat at 40 Weeks/9 Months!

My baby girl is 9 months old I cannot believe it.  She is growing so fast.  She has become quite the copy cat.  She imitates us fussing at

 the dogs by going  "eheh" every time they start play fighting. She is cruising around now and is just the happiest giggly little thing.  She has begun to try and attack the dogs, but they are so good and just let her.  We also went to the doctor for her 9 month check up and she is now weighing in at 18lbs. 4 oz. and is 28 inches tall.  She is in the 90% for height and 50% still for her weight.  The doctor says she needs to eat more because in 2 weeks she only gained 2 oz.  She is definately taking after her mommy and daddy when it comes to being active, she is quick and

 we are taking bets on when she is going to go out the dog

 door.  Shelby also lost her roomie this past week.  Josh and Angie and the girls moved out this past weekend.  It was a bittersweet move and we miss seeing them as much.  Shelby misses her little cousins.  This weekend we also attended a memorial service at Burke Rd. Church of Christ on Sunday afternoon and we then got to visit with Great Grandparents, Nana and Pawpaw, Mikey and Carol and their crew.

Pearly Whites at 39 Weeks

Thank goodness for Spring Break! Shelby and I had too much fun together this past week since I was off. We went shopping with the Gorman Girls, had a lunch date with an old friend, and celebrated 2 holidays. First we had St. Patricks day and then Easter this past Sunday where Miss Shelby had her first tooth break through. YEAH!!!!




We enjoyed sunday morning at home with all of the Gorman Girls diving into their Easter baskets follwed by an egg hunt at the house. The Gormans and Hazelbarths all joined us later in the afternoon for the church egg hunt followed by the 5:00 Easter service and dinner at our house. It was a fun, but crazy day. Earlier in the week Shelby and I joined my old friend Taylar for lunch at Kim-Sons where she threw an enourmous fit and I still do not know why, butI am guessing her teeth had something to do with it. She did play for a few minutes with her little girl Izzey that is 3 weeks younger to the day.
That afternoon and in much better spirits, we joind Nana, Babs, Ty, Sylvia and baby Sofie on a trip to Thc Children's Museum. The girls had a really good time.

On Monday I got to take her to the park for the first time. She got to slide, crawl through the tunnel and play with the musical chimes. Shelby and I had too much fun together, but now I am back at work counting the days till school is out so I can spend more time with her again.

On Saturday I took Shelby to have her Easter pictures taken at Babies R Us, they turned out awesome!