Oh Happy Day

A momentous occasion in any child's life is the first time they get to eat McDonalds. I am a huge lover of McDonalds and was so excited to give Shelby her first Happy Meal yesterday. I selected the cheeseburger and fries with apple juice. She really liked it! I didn't get a picture of her eating her cheeseburger because we were in the car while she ate that, but she ate almost half of it, plus a large number of fries. Also, this is the first time she has ever tried drinking through a straw and she sucked down the juice like it was going out of style.

Here she is working on some more fries. The best part was that I got to eat all the food that she didn't want - that is what I call a win win situation.
She is now the proud owner of a my little pony with a butterfly comb. At least, she will be once I go back to my parents and get the half of the comb that I dropped in the driveway as I was leaving! She quite enjoyed the food and the toy. I am so glad that I don't have to make dinner anymore. There is a McDonalds not too far from our house.

Chocolate Chip Sunday

We now have church at 9 am. This works so much better for Shelby and I because it doesn't really interrupt her napping or eating schedule. The only down side to being up and ready to got that early is that the day tends to be long. Sunday was a particularly trying day for us and I was really wanting to make some chocolate chip cookies. I had a new recipe I wanted to try and felt I deserved a treat. I thought maybe I shouldn't make cookies just for me, so I decided I could make it without. I glanced at the clock to see how much time before I could put Shelby to bed. Only 15 minutes until it was time to get ready for bed! I needed to change Shelby's diaper, so I picked her up and as we were heading for the stairs, I glanced at the microwave clock only to realize that I should have checked the hour hand as well. We still had an hour and 15 minutes. Decision made: we would make the cookies.
Anytime I am in the kitchen, Shelby is right there "helping" me. She mostly plays with that yellow strainer, but sometimes she really gets into everything. She is always very curious about what is going on. She loves to look through the window in the oven and see things in there. I am excited for when she is a little more capable of helping (I am thinking I would like having a sous chef). She is already a really big help at eating things - I had to cut her off on the cookies after she ate a whole cookie. She kept asking for more, but enough is enough. If I let her keep eating there wouldn't be as many for me Ü

I'm Crazy Busy

So, Shelby finally had her 1 year visit at the doctor. When your birthday is at Christmas time, you really get a raw deal a lot of the time. Everyone seems to think that taking time off for holiday and family celebrations is more important than you!
This girl has been learning so many new things lately I can barely keep up. She has decided that she no longer wants to eat Gerber oatmeal for breakfast. While the preparation of a bowl of Cheerios and a sippy cup of milk is super easy, it takes an eternity for her to eat breakfast. I am thinking of setting her up with the food and then taking a nap, showering, drying my hair, getting dressed, eating my own breakfast and then hurrying her along to finish before lunch starts. She does have a good time, so I guess it is okay. I will just have to occupy myself with something constructive like cleaning the kitchen.
She is spending a lot of time standing up and she is mostly using my leg to do that. Also, the picture below is to demonstrate that she has a surplus of curly hair. It is really cute when I first do it in the morning, but then she rubs her head all over stuff and it just looks like mine. I guess it was inevitable.

Current Stats:
9 months length 27 1/2 inches 50th percentile
12 months length 29 1/4 inches 48th percentile

9 months weight 18 lbs 1 oz 25th percentile
12 months weight 20 lbs 1 oz 28th percentile

9 months head circ 42.75 cm 10th percentile

12 months head circ 43.9 cm 15th percentile

Shelby is growing like crazy and she can't stop sprouting teeth! She is working on some right now and she has 7 through. I sometimes like to sit and imagine what it might be like to not be teething, but I guess it is good to get it all over with. Due to all of those teeth, she has really taken to eating regular food. She really likes pizza, jello, ham, chicken cordon bleu, macaroni and cheese, goldfish crackers (or anything else that she can make a giant mess with), and jello pudding. Even though she is a bit fussy some days, she is a lot of fun. She LOVES books. She could sit and flip through books all day. She used to really like to watch TV, but not so much anymore. She does like to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while they sing the songs, but other than that she has a fulltime hobby of getting into stuff she shouldn't. She can make animal sounds for dog, cow, sheep, monkey, and lion. She is a chatterbox and imitates the sounds of whatever I say. The best thing is to hear her when she gets laughing! I can't wait to see what she will do next.

Hidden Treasure

Shelby now has a fantastic new toy box. I just got so sick of having the toys all over the place all the time, so we headed to IKEA to find something to hold them. I had no idea we would find something so fun! This treasure chest folds flat when not in use and holds a lot of toys. Plus - it locks!!! Okay, the lock closes with velcro, but it sure keeps Shelby out.

Also, it is the perfect height for Shelby. She has to get up on her knees to get in and get stuff, so she is motivated to work on her mobility. I am positive that one day she will end up inside with the toys, but isn't that the fun of learning??? I am sure it will just go with the rest of the bumps and bruises on her head.
This toy box has been great and I love having all the toys cleaned up at the end of the day. We are still working on her doing more of the picking up than I do, but for know it is a small price to pay for a clean floor.

Christmas

Here is a picture of Shelby on Christmas day, wearing her crown from our Crackerz! For those of you (like me) who don't know what Crackerz are, let me explain. They are a holiday tradition in England and there is one in the background of the bottom picture. They look like a giant tootsie roll made out of cardboard. You pull both ends and they make a sound and there is a little surprise inside. Mine had a 4 pack of golf pencils that were silver. They all have a crown in them and a little piece of paper with a puzzle, a joke (think Laffy Taffy, but British), and a fortune. All our Crackerz had an extra special prize inside from the Gibbons family with some exciting news.

This is Grandma's sled that goes under the tree. Generally the dog rides the sled, but today (the day after Christmas) Shelby rode the sled. I know what you are thinking - it is the day after Christmas and there is still a tree up at Grandma's??!!! I know, I know - she didn't even take it down until the following day. She almost broke out in hives having it up so long, but I think it helped having Shelby around to distract her. Shelby and I spent Christmas up at my parents house and had a great time. She loves playing with Grandma and Grandpa and learning all sorts of new things.

When packing for our trip, I packed well for Shelby, but I failed to pack anything that was Church appropriate for myself. I put Shelby down for a nap and was able to go shopping for myself and by myself. It was really weird. Also, I haven't really bought myself new Sunday clothes in at least 2 years, so I guess I was due. I had to get some new shoes also because I didn't think my Skechers would go to well with my fancy new clothes. I had to post this picture because it is so rare that I have someone else there to take a picture of the both of us together. Let's face it, the self-timer is great, but it works much better when not involving children who like to grab things.

I think next year it is going to take Santa's whole team of reindeer to get me out of the house on Christmas. Last year, I spent Christmas day in the hospital, this year was much more enjoyable, but not being able to have Kelly there was no good. Here's to next year!