AZ Trip & Chopsticks

So I am starting to realize that we don't take pictures of ourselves anymore. They all seem to be of one specific person. I think we need to work on getting in photos so she know we were actually around at the time.

Anyway, we recently went to Arizona and had a great time. We saw friends and family, ate some good Mexican food- I really miss that, and took a dip in the pool. Shayne didn't seem to mind the water, but she wasn't quite as enthusiastic as she is in the tub. She just kept staring at the water.

Here she is in a swing my mom got for her. Roar!

The other day we tried some rice cereal for the first time. Um. . . . she didn't really get the whole concept. Mostly is just fell out of her mouth with a lot of drool. But we will keep trying to get her used to the idea.
This picture looks like she is voraciously going for the spoon, but really I am pouring it into her mouth and she is making that face due to the taste.

And this is just so stinkin' cute:

Mystery Solved.....Problem soon-to-be Solved

So lately we kept hearing this loud banging noise in our house all throughout the day. It seemed to me that it was coming from the fireplace, but Danny thought it was probably pipes in the wall. We kept trying to keep track of what was going on when the noise happened, but nothing really made sense. So Danny set up a plumber to come check it out. But the night before, we were sitting outside and heard the noise and looked up on top of our house and saw this:

A Woodpecker!!! Apparently he's been working on our house for some time because all the shiny, metal vents on the top of the house are dented up. Danny immediately called a friend to get a pellet gun and set up a vigil on the back lawn. I made him make sure there wasn't a nest up there with babies before I gave him my blessing. So now it's a waiting game-- who will win, Danny or the woodpecker. . . . .

Blessing Day

This last Sunday we finally blessed Shayne in church. Danny did such a great job. We had a brunch before with some of our aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, grandparents. and our parents. It really was so fun. And Shayne did so great! Not a peep out of her during the blessing. In the testimony meeting that followed, everyone seemed to focus on mothers and motherhood. I feel so grateful to be a mom to such a beautiful, sweet girl. It is really exactly what I want to be doing with my life right now. I realize I am truly blessed.

Recent Events

So mostly we have just been hanging around home these days. Shayne goes to bed at night between 5:30-6:30! So we don't get out much. But here are some recent happenings:

We sold the green machine. It was a good car, but was getting pretty heavy on miles. I drove it for 9 years and Danny drove it for 4 months before he decided that it was just too unsafe in the snow. Figure that one out!

Shayne discovered her left foot one day:
And then her right!

We attempted the jumper, but it was a better chew toy than a leg work-out:

And she has started grabbing anything within her reach- her binkie, toy rings, clothes, my hair- and it all goes right into the mouth.

Later this month we are taking our first plane trip to Arizona and I'm flying there by myself. Hope everything goes Ok!

Daddy-Daughter Days

So I started working again at the hospital although it is really, really part-time (every other weekend). I actually liked working more than I thought I would. Although I missed the shrimp, it's nice to have a little break and for daddy to take care of her.

On Easter, I came home and Shayne was dressed in a darling pink and green Easter outfit with neon orange camouflage print socks on. Lovely. Another day I worked, I came home and she was still in her pajamas and Danny said, "We had pajama day!"

But fashion aside, he is taking such great care of her. She is well fed, well rested, and they have fun together. Here are some pictures of their adventures:

I think he is trying to get Ally and Shayne to be friends, but Ally doesn't seem too interested right now. If she can't fetch her, chew on her, or chase her- she's not all that fun in Ally's eyes.
Maybe she can chew on her?! Or at least get a good sniff of a dirty diaper.

Off to the park in the front pack:

Playing Hooky

So Shayne was not napping well today and after 40 minutes of trying to get her to go back to sleep, I decided to bag it. Instead, I thought we'd have some good times in her Bumbo chair and get a good trunk and neck work-out. Here's how it went:

For the first 2 mintues, we were having a good time:

During the next 2 minutes, storm clouds started to appear:

And 2 minutes later the fun was over and it was naptime again:

Luckily, she is back to sleep right now but you never know for how long. . . .

Look who's Talking!

OK-I use 'talking' in a very general sense as in constantly cooing, gurgling, and doing raspberries. Shayne is such a chatterbox these days. She also has rolled from her stomach to her back three times on her own, is holding her head up during tummy time, and occasionally laughs when smiling. She is such a joy in our lives right now. She has a really good eating, awake, nap cycle right now during the day, although we are still working on the night time routine. A six hour stretch is about the maximum she goes at night right now.

So I got another book to try to get the 'sleeping through the night' thing going and the first page I read said this, " Warning: If your child does not sleep well, he may become an incurable insomniac, chronically disabled from sleepiness and dependent on sleeping pills." WOW! Just what every parent needs to hear! Although initially turned off, I am going to remain open minded as I read it.

So my littlest sister, Jamie, came for a visit. She was great- she helped me out with Shayne, kept me company, and made me laugh a lot. We loved having her live with us last year and it made me miss her even more when she left.

Last bit of news, I joined a gym to get my pre-baby body back- here's hoping! The coolest thing about this gym is that they have two classes during the week where you get to bring your baby (those who are not old enough to go into the child care center they have) while you work out! Of course our first time Shayne was the only baby to cry during class and she pooped up the back of her outfit, which I didn't see until we got home. But the class totally rocked my body- I've got a long way to go!

Here are some more recent pictures of the bambino (not sure why these pictures are turned the wrong way-I'll have to work on it):