Shayne: 9 months

Shayne had her 9 month appointment today and here are her stats:
Height: 26.5 inches- 13%
Weight: 17.25 pounds- 18%
Head: 17.7 inches- 75%

Now it all makes sense as to why we call her "the shrimp!"

Also my MD made several comments such as: "she is so calm," "do you get the sense that she is really smart," "she is so clued in socially," "how do you not just eat her up," "she is just something else!" All I have to say is--does he know his target audience or what!!

Along healthcare lines, we have been trying to keep Shayne away from large crowds, especially of kids lately. My MD said he thinks that the peak of the swine flu will probably pass in the next few weeks, but then of course you just get into other viruses like RSV season in December. I have to just call into my MD's office to see when he will get flu shots and swine flu vaccines in for the under 2 population. So, we are spending a lot of time together and at home. I thought I was done with this once she passed the 3 month mark-- oh well!

Adventures of Shayne

Night in Park City. It's always fun to explore new places especially when you are crawling everywhere and standing up on everything you can.
I couldn't help myself when I saw this hat in a store. And I couldn't help myself when I put it on her and took pictures several times, and I can't help but post one here.

She loves crawling all around the house. . . . especially naked.

Attacking Ally is also another favorite. Especially when she gets her fingers right in her eyes. Ally just sits there and takes it. What a good dog!

Grandparents

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to take Shayne with me and go help out my grandparents in Price. My grandma just loved Shayne to death. It's so interesting to get to know your grandparents as an adult. Same with your parents I think. You see them in a different way since you have created your own adult life and ways of doing things. I also think your relationship changes from always being the one being taken care of to taking care of them more and more. I love all my grandparents and it's hard to see them getting older. There are not very many people in your life who have known you since you were born and who love you for just being you. Here are some memories of my grandparents:

'J' grandparents: Climbing the mountains in their backyard, playing dress-up in the basement and fighting over the high heels with my sisters, the scary hallway leading to the bathroom in the basement that I would always run through (I honestly still wanted to do this a couple of weeks ago when I was there), eating Smurffle Berry cereal at their house, going to the wave pool, all the great books my grandpa gave me, riding in the Corvette, lotion and socks from grandma at Christmas, Sunday dinners during college, grandma's magic medicine (oh that stuff would sting!)

Grandma Jo: the stars on her ceiling (really glitter on her popcorn ceilings), going to church history sites, her potato salad, how she once told me she thought Charles Barkley was 'sexy'- I was shocked to say the least, Avon for Christmas, how she loves to hold and play with Shayne, how scared I was of her cat Patches, how she wouldn't miss a graduation if it killed her

Grandpa Arlo: hearing about his growing up years on a ranch, his relatives, and when he was in the mortuary business, how he reminds me of Santa Claus, his ingenuity, when he gave me my flute, he came to visit one time and liked our miniature schnauzer and playing Nintendo so much that when he went home he bought a Nintendo and a dog just like ours

I will miss them when they are gone.

Goals

So lately I have taken up a few projects with some goals in mind. Now of course I am not putting timelines on myself here or else I would be destined for failure as I have never been very good with timelines. Here are a few:
1. Learning to Cook: I have decided that I really don't know how to cook. I know how to follow a few recipes, but I don't know much about techniques, spices, things like yeast, how to use a knife, etc. I saw that movie "Julie & Julia" and it started me thinking along these lines. I realized- I just need to start doing it and learning along the way. Here are some things I have learned so far: you really do need to sift when a recipe calls for it or you will get chunks of salty baking soda in a cake, cooking a pizza on the grill is DIVINE, mangos are not ripe when they are white on the inside and have the consistency of plywood, I like more other stuff than actual salad in my salad, and onion salt/ garlic salt is not the same thing as onion powder/ garlic powder. Live and learn, huh?!
2. Exercise: I have been running a couple of days a week trying to get rid of baby weight. I have realized that I have hit some sort of wall with my body. 30 is around the corner and MAN I feel like it. I think exercise will be painful and not-very-fun for the rest of my life. But I do feel good afterwards, or is it 'less guilty' when I eat something chocolate later that day.
3. Book of Mormon: Lately I have been hearing some religious discussions at work and it had got me thinking that I need to read the Book of Mormon again. But I know myself and I know I start with the best of intentions and then die out without even getting through 1st Nephi. Seriously! Anyone have any great ways they get through their scripture reading? Study guides? This one is going to take some work.