My sister, Nicole came out for a week long visit and we had a great time together. I haven't been away from her for that long, but it felt like we hadn't seen each other in forever! She looked so cute with her little pregnant belly. I can't believe my baby sister is going to be a Mommy! I'm soooo glad she came out! I love you Coley!

Buried in the sand!

Here are the pictures of Shayna buried in the sand and sticking her little face in it. She got out and rolled around in it too, but we didn't get any pictures of that!

FIRST DAY AT THE BEACH!

We went to Matagorda beach on Friday. It was Shayna's first day at the beach. She LOVED it. In the Video, it looks like it should have been cold because of the wind and gray skies, but it was actually pretty warm and the water felt good too. I wish I would've got some video of her literally rolling around in the dry sand after she played in the water. She couldn't get enough! It was hilarious. Barbara took some pictures of that. I'll post some of those pictures once I get them from Barb.

Pucker up!

Brad always gives me and Shayna a kiss before he leaves for work. Today Shayna puckered up like she's been doing lately and when Brad leaned in to give her a kiss, she pushed his face to my face so WE could kiss. We all had a good laugh, it was so cute.

TALENT SHOW

You gotta check out my brother's talent routine he did for the scouts. It's pretty cool. Just go to www.theadventuresofgarrett.blogspot.com

Round Rock Express.

We took Shayna to a Round Rock minor league baseball game tonight. Will Farrel was there and did a funny little skit during the top of the sixth inning and then sang "Take me out to the ball game". We had a good time.

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY TO MY BABY GIRL!!

My baby girl turned ONE YEAR OLD yesterday!! I can't BELIEVE it! It honestly feels like I just had her a few months ago. It's unreal. My little Shayna has enriched my life so much. I can't put into words how much I care for and LOVE this little girl. I am so grateful and HAPPY to have the opportunity to be her mother. I can't think of anything more fulfilling and rewarding than being a mother. I love it, love it, LOVE it!!!!! Shayna, thank you for adding so much light and love to my life. I love you little one!

Standing

I forgot to post this picture. I stood Shayna up next to me to fix her dress and could see that she was standing all by herself! I was VERY excited - as you can see in this picture!

Happy Easter!! We are now living in Texas! Brad got a job working as a recreation specialist and absolutely LOVES it. I'm living out my dream as a STAY AT HOME mother and I must say, I LOVE my job too! Here are some pictures of us in a field of Blue Bonnets right around the corner from our house. Then, there are a few pictures of us playing at a park on the shore of one of the lakes just down the road from our house. It is gorgeous here and it's fun to see all the people out and about enjoying the wonderful weather. Shayna's first Easter was nothing TOO extravagant - just dressing up in a cute outfit and taking pictures with "Mimi" (Brad's mother). Next year, we'll add in an Easter Egg hunt since we figure she'll be walking by then!

11 MONTHS OLD!

My little girl is one month shy of being a One-Year-Old! I can't believe she's been in our lives that long already! She finally cut two bottom teeth and is really good at pulling herself up to furniture. She's not walking yet, but has stood on her own for a few seconds at a time and is getting close to making the big step toward walking. She has learned her first word, which is "bye-bye" while waving. She is a happy little girl (except when she's tired or hungry which is why her eyes are red and watery in these photos!). She LOVES her mommy (or, just NEEDS her mommy.) I know that's a little bias since I AM her mommy, but ask anyone... she's a momma's girl through and through!

Another month has FLOWN by and my baby girl is now ten months old! She had her first and hopefully last experience being sick enough to go to the emergency room! She was running a pretty high fever for three days. I did everything the doctor told me to do to help the symptoms and keep fluids in her, but Sunday morning rolled around and she wouldn't keep anything down so we whisked her away to the hospital. The poor little thing had to suffer through three different pokes to find a good place for an IV and to draw blood (one spot they tried was in her head!). Then, they had to get an X-ray of her lungs and she was pinned down in a tube for that. They had to stick tubes up her nose and suck out mucus. She screamed the whole time and I cried. I'm so thankful for modern day technology though. They were able to get fluids pumped back into her and got her feeling good enough to keep some medicine down. I'm sooo glad to say that she is back to her wide-eyed happy little self.

My Little Miss Shayna is NINE MONTHS OLD today!!! She's growing so fast. She's crawling like a champ, can wave "bye-bye", likes to stick out her tongue every time she see's herself in a mirror, likes to scrunch her nose and make sniffing noises when she hears us sniffing and every time she see's her Uncle Cade (she associates that with him for some reason!). She LOVES it when Mommy reads to her. She sits calmly on my lap and turns the pages all by herself. She loves to play with the remote control and our cell phones. She is a GREAT eater. She eats carrots, peas, squash, sweet potatoes, pears, bananas and rice cereal. She is still nursing and that, I would say is her FAVORITE thing to do. I don't know how I'm going to wean her by the time she's a year old, but she certainly can't nurse forever!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this little sweetheart!!

Okay, I'm pretty late with this post, but I have to post a few pictures and just say how WONDERFUL Christmas was this year. Having a little one of my own made it just that much more special. She had no clue what was going on, but it was fun to watch her little face as she tasted SUGAR for the first time and opened up (with help) gifts from her aunt Coley and aunt Katie.

Shayna turned eight months old yesterday! I love you little stinker!

FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH SANTA CLAUSE!

Ooooh.... crunchy noisy toy!
Whoa!! who in the heck is THAT!!!
Mommy!!! Get me outta here!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thanksgiving Day. Watching "Muppets Christmas Carol" after dinner. It's tradition!
Look at all those Yummy desserts! Sugar cookies, Egg Nog Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie and a big huge Custard dish Nicole made.
Gettin' ready to eat!
Brad carving the turkey.
Katie, Garrett and Davis going crazy on the Veggie Tray!

Shayna turned SEVEN months old on the 13th! I can't say enough about how time is just flying by. I love this little rug-rat - she's so much fun.

Shayna was a darling little angel for Halloween. We had a blast at Aunt Coley and Uncle Cade's new house. Nicole and I stayed up to the wee hours of the morning decorating witch cupcakes and making other yummy deserts for the party. Thanks for such a great time guys!!

Family Picture

Shayna is six months old today! I can't believe it!!

We visited Grandma and Grandpa's house this week. Shayna had a good time with her Aunt Katie and Uncle Garrett as you can see in this photo.

This is what happens when Momma's not looking...

We got home from church and I gave Shayna to Brad so I could go to the
bathroom. I took a little TOO long and when I opened the door, this is what I saw.... (She's all dressed up in little boy Texas Longhorn clothes!)

Shayna's five month picture. She turned five months on the 13th!

Coley and Shayna playing at the reunion.

Aunt Coley and Mommy with Shayna at the Edward's Family reunion this past week.

We just got back from a two week stay at my mother's and grandparent's home in St. George. We had a fun time at the reunion during that time. Shayna and her cousin Ryder LOVED playing together. It was Shayna's first airplane ride there and back. She did sooo good. I was so proud of her.