Ripsnorter

Definition of RIPSNORTER

: something extraordinary : humdinger <the finale was a ripsnorter> 

Cookie Chaos

I had two back-to-back cookie parties last week. One on a Sunday night at a girlfriend's house and one the following Monday at work. I take these puppies very seriously. I am kind of known for home cooking and cooking from scratch so I have some standards to uphold. Well, this year I went on a limb and tried something I had never made before  - The Raspberrie Cookies. It was a recipe I found online here: http://www.iheartnaptime.net/raspberry-cookies/

 They were a hit. So yummy. Instead of "folding" in the berries, I erroneously mixed them in....leaving me with a red, extra juicy batter. I didn't compromise the taste, but definitely the appearance. I can't recall the actaully wording, but essentially I won the award for  my cookies tasting the best, despite looking the worst. Yes, we had actual voting with ballots and all. Hey, I'll take it. Check out the spread (Sunday night party).

The Holiday Season!

Yes, we're in the thick of it and I love it! Tree is illuminated, two cookie parties down, work party complete and the count down to our trip to Texas is now in the single digits. I still have plenty of shopping to do, still need to get a photo of Shelby with Santa and still need to get us family Christmas stockings, but I have faith it will all get done - it always does!

I picked up a cute little "My First Christmas" outfit for Shelby. It's tough to find this stuff in 12 month sizes (for obvious reasons), so I had to scoop up what I could find. We did a sweet little photo shoot in front of our tree. It took her a week or so to really notice the tree, which surprised me, but once she took note, there have been many ooohhhs and ahhhhs since. The holidays really are so much more fun with Shelby - I can't wait for her to meet all her fun little (actually big!) cousins in Texas. Sad I can't be with my side too, but that's just the way it goes.....another excuse for us to all get together down the road.

Here's my little Christmas angel. Seriously, look at those lips!

Her school also celebrated the holidays with a "Christmas Pageant." I was tempted to skip since it started right about the time Shelby normally passes out, but I decided we should go to 1) be involved parents 2) make her teacher happy (she would ask EVERY day if we were coming) and 3) see what the heck they plan to do with a bunch of infants and toddlers on stage. Well - wonder no more. This is what a Christmas performance for a 7.5 month baby looks like. Can you find Shelby?

They tried to put Shelby is one of those little boxes in the ground, but she wanted no part of it. And despite there being way too many people packed in a very small space, she was going to wear her red holiday coat no matter what!

The next morning her teacher sent me this, a photo of Shelby and her classmate TJ "practicing" for their big performance at school. Too funny.

Too Much

....just too much cuteness for words. This is Jack and Shelby on a Saturday morning :)

Mum Mums

So Day Care is not all bad. I often feel guilty because my time with her is limited during the day, but the experience of the ladies who run the nursery does come in handy sometimes.  They have been a huge help with solids and getting her acclimated to eating with a spoon. They have also helped her a great deal with learning to use the bottle and improving her tummy time skills.

Recently Miss Ethel suggested I get her some Mum Mums. Mum Mums? I have never heard of such a thing. Essentially, they are little rice snacks that dissolve in the baby’s mouth. She said Shelby is  really interested in everyone else’s food and these are a nice first step toward eating food. Of course I was a little bit of a chicken and was hesitant to buy them, but finally gave in and bought some. Well – she loves them and they’re perfect  little pastime for her.

Introducing the Mum Mum:

Daddy's Girl

Let's

Go

Cowboys!

7 Months!

Good grief! My baby girl is 7 months old! We are the downhill to her first birthday, it's just amazing.  She has brought of 7 months of joy, smiles, diapers, laughs, milk, mishaps, discoveries, learning, and sleeplessness - or in a nutshell, the best 7 months of my life. Amazing how something, someone so small can pop on into your world and shake it all up!

 Our peanut, affectionately known around here as Shelby Pie, is full of curiosity. Here are some updates....

• ·         She loves all types of foods thus far! We have tried quite a few flavors, fruits, veggies, meats and combos and so far, she has enjoyed them all.
• ·         She sits like a champ and I can see her balance improving almost daily. She used to topple over if she reached for something, but now she can recover
• ·         She chews on everything. Less drool at the moment, but LOTS of chewing
• ·         She makes all kinds of sounds, but Maamamamam, dadada and hi are regulars
• ·         She loves making "raspberries." She often does them on my shoulder, but Jack caught her doing them on her own arm this morning. Hee hee
• ·         She gets very interested in buttons on clothing
• ·         If something has a tag, she finds it - clothes, blankets - you name it, she'll find it.
• ·         She can't keep her eyes off Dad when he enters the room
• ·         She is trying hard to sit up, but can't quite make it there. It is coming soon, I'm sure.
• ·         We have caught her on all fours, but we think she is still a little ways from crawling
• ·         She is still getting the real-deal milk. I have yet to send her to school with anything else, but I have tried Enfamil at home a handful of times. She seems to do fine with it.
• ·         She still goes to bed at 6:30/7 and wakes up 12 hours later at about the same time (with one feeding around 3)

I was a couple of days late in snapping pics and she was still waking up in some of them. We love you Shelby Clare! Here's to the next seven months!

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Sunday morning play time with mom!

The Gift Giving Season

Each fall every PR person with clients who boasts any kind of product/service is busy pitching "gift guide opportunities." What better way to showcase your item for sale than in a gift guide, right?

Well one of my clients, Kidville, sells many wonderful children's gifts, including Sophie le Giraffe - which I have blogged about previously. With that, I reached out to the editor of Las Vegas Woman Magazine, suggested she include this item in her gift guide and included a small thumbnail photo of Shelby and her giraffes in addition to the high resolution photo provided by the toy company. Now, this particular editor I know on a personal basis, otherwise I would never send a personal photo. I did it as proof kids really love it!

Several days later she replied that she loved the idea, but needed a bigger photo. I was so confused. The manufacture image that I sent was HUGE. After exchanging several confusing emails back and forth, I realized that she wanted a bigger version of the photo of Shelby for inclusion in the magazine. Ha! I wasn't even thinking about Shelby being included. Of course I jumped right on it and now, you can find my pumpkin gracing pg 87 of the Las Vegas Woman gift guide issue.

Wa-la!

Picture Day

When you have a four month baby who cannot even sit unassisted and they tell you it is Picture Day at school, you can't help but giggle. Then on top of that, the packages your purchase come with a class photo. How does that work? I am picturing the days of the kids on risers, organized tallest to shortest. How do you pull that off with a bunch of infants - lump them all in a pile? Prop them up with a dozen Boppy pillows? Neither.

Apparently they give you a composite shot. Now Shelby's photos are old news - I got them a month or two ago, but I just got the class photo this week. I was told they were waiting on images of kids who needed re-takes. In any event, behold "Miss Ethel" and "Miss G's" Little Angel class. There have been a couple new faces since this photo and one baby graduated to the next room.

Of course we give Shelby the Cutest Baby award, but the little one in red, in the upper left corner is a super sweetie as well. She has chubby cheeks and an infectious smile too. She also started school about the same time as Shelby and gets picked up nightly at around the same time, so I run into her mom routinely.

School Days for Miss Shelby Pie:

Giving Thanks

Jack and I often say, we are so fortunate. We have a each other, wonderful families & friends, jobs, food and a healthy, happy baby girl. With that,  Thanksgiving is a much-anticipated event in our house. Without fail, I get teary as we toast the glasses before dinner and we 'cheers' to all that we are thankful for.

For the third consecutive year, we celebrated right here in the Pod, aka our house. We were joined by our neighbors, their family and a few friends. The food was ridiculously good. Jack and I each made a turkey - mine baked, his smoked. I think we both produced our best yet! Then we also had our annual tradition of a Honey Baked Ham (compliments of Jack's parents) along with every side you can think of! Our friends prepare most the sides - thank goodness.  In years past I had a brother or two as the left-over clean up crew, but since they all stayed in Placerville, the fridge is stocked!

Admittedly, it was a little more chaotic/stressful for me this year having Shelby. (In)conveniently she decided she had to eat at the same time all the food needed to get to the table and, in true Shelby fashion, she didn't want to skip a  beat and went napless, then stayed up two additional hours. She is on nap # 2 today.....

All in all, it was a perfect day. We both missed our families, but we always enjoy being able to be home and having our own little family tradition.

Jack working his magic on the turkey:

The happy helpers:

Ta-da........

And of course, my favorite - my little turkey at the end of the table with me!

Turkey Time

My Little Miss made her Thanksgiving contribution recently in school - a sweet little turkey. There is nothing better than to find photos of Shelby at school in my email  inbox. Brightens my day each time.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Da-da-da-da-daaaaa

It's hard to say if Shelby is actually trying to say Daddy, but regardless, she is chatty! I swear she has said "Dad" and "hi" on multiple occasions, but who knows if it is just chance or her really trying to talk.

Here is a rather entertaining conversation between Jack and Shelby from today.

 

I'm Baaaaaack!

No, I didn't throw  my hands in the air and say "to heck with my blog." Despite my blogging sabbatical, I have thought about it nearly every day, thinking to myself "man, it has been forever since I have posted something." Well, I am back.

I have been SUPER busy at work. I will stay SUPER busy for the next couple of weeks, but I like to believe that the worst is behind me. Work itself is great - as always, I am grateful to have a job that keeps me busy, but for the last couple weeks I have returned to the computer at night and kept working after Shelby was down and dinner was cleaned up.

Anyhow - let's get to what you all came here to hear about.....Shelby!

She is my sweet girl and now she has TEETH! She has two little teeth that emerged about 10 days ago or so. She has been drooling forever, but apparently the time had some for those pearly whites to shine! Overall, she has taken them like a champ - not overly fussy or anything. She does want to gnaw on everything (yup, including me) and drools so much so that on certain days she almost has a little rash on her chin. She also enjoys raspberries A LOT, adding to the faucet-of-drool effect.

Behold these two little chompers:

In recent weeks she has become MUCH better at sitting up solo. For the most part, I would say she has mastered the sitting part, but she still tumbles over. If there is anything remotely interesting looking within reach, she lurches for it and then, plops over. Regardless, it's pretty cute.  I really have to keep a close eye on here these days though because EVERYTHING goes in the mouth.

My sweet Shelby Pie sitting pretty:

Hoot Hoot!

Happy Halloween!!!

There are just no words! If this doesn't make you smile inside, there is something wrong. I love this picture, I love my owl, I love my Shelby Pie!! I bought a "Groupon" online, specifically for Halloween photos and I couldn't be happier. I got a ton, so chances are, you'll have your very own copy!

Happy Halloween from the Schenk Family!

6 Months!

Goodness. Baby girl is a half a year old! As cliche as it might be - time really does go quickly, especially since returning to work. She is 6 months full of love, giggles, slobber and snuggles.

I would say the biggest update from 5 to 6 months is her food. She is really enjoying (and getting the hang of) eating solids. It has just been in the last 10 or so days that I introduced food other than cereal, and it has been a hit. Thus far she has sampled peas and sweet potatoes. I grabbed some squash and some oatmeal to give a try this week. As for the order....people will tell you call kinds of things. My pedi told me to start with peas and then my mom thought it was a bad idea. I don't know....I am just following Shelby's lead. So far, so good. Consistent with her history, she is a chow hound. At the moment, she's eating jar food. I have intentions of making her food from scratch, but I just haven't been able to get a grove. Plus, I have some questions for her (new) doctor. I'll be taking her in Friday for her 6 month well check. I digress....

• She sucks on her toes whenever possible
• Actually - she sucks on everything whenever possible
• She can *almost* sit up on her own. I recently had some photos taken of her and she managed for a moment or two
• She will likely greet you by grabbing your nose
• She loves watching the Dallas Cowboys on Daddy's lap...normally while mom is at the grocery store
• She loves motoring around in her car/bouncer. She is better at reverse than drive
• She is entertained by anything: colorful, noisey or moving.

These were snapped on 6 months to the day. I love my little pumpkin and yes, I have already started to plan her 1st birthday party :)

If You Want Something...

....you have to go get it! Can you see that bottom pop up in the air? I can't believe crawling will be next!

Fall is Upon Us

The Pumpkin Patch

Where I grew up, fall is just about the most wonderful time of the year. The air is crisp, yet still warm and a local attraction called Apple Hill is in full swing. Apple Hill is a seasonal destination. For lack of a better word, there are a couple dozen family-owned ranches that have all kind of goodies to offer. Obviously apples are the main attraction, but there is other produce, pumpkins, Christmas trees, pony rides, crafts, fishing - all kinds of stuff.

In the middle of the desert here, we are Apple Hill-less, but we did mange to find a cute little autum -inspired destination called McKee Ranch. Full of livestock, pumpkins and photo opps, this is a toddlers' heaven. Shelby was a little young to take in all the fun, but we went with some friends and still had a very nice time!

Shelby and her friend Maddy

One with the pumpkins....and yes, I realize her hands got dirty - whoops

 

All Done!!!!

Yeah! We have a table! All of Jack's hard work has paid off. We finally have a beautiful outdoor table. After being in our house nearly 3 years, we can at last take advantage of our outdoor space!

To celebrate the completion of this fabulous project, we opened a bottle of wine that we've been holding onto for months! This was a special gift from Jack to me from when we had Shelby. Nice time, at a nice table with very nice company. Cheers!

With Just a Click!

With Just a Click!

We're tall. As a result, we have tall counters, tall shower heads, long beds, long pants, cars with extra headroom, etc. Well, we have no reason to believe Shelby won't be tall. She is certainly on the long side, but not outrageously tall and/or off the charts. If you ask me, she's just perfect! Mentally though, I am already thinking that purchases we make for her should accommodate longer/taller kids.

Well, we're in luck. I just found the most amazing car seat. I wish I found it 6 months ago, but we can only look forward, right? I present to you the Graco SnugRide Click Connect40.

Why is this so fabulous you may ask? Well, it's currently the only car seat on the market that goes from newborn to 40 pounds....or by most standards the weight of  2 year old. A typical car seat goes to about 30 pounds  and from there you have to advance your child to a front facing child seat.  That is all fine and dandy, but according to the American Academy of Pediatrics "toddlers are more than five times safer riding rear facing in a car seat." With that, it's fab that this one can go rear facing for the extending period of time. Plus, Shelby will be traveling in first-class comfort, it has EIGHT recline positions for her comfort. I am pretty sure no sitting arrangement available to Jack or I has that many levels of comfort.

And what does this have to do with being tall? Well, obviously with length comes height, but more directly, this thing has a clever base that actually allows you to slide the car seat forward and backwards as the child grows - a major coo for parents with a lanky baby.  But what about those fancy leather seats in my new(ish) car? Greco is a step ahead with a kick plate that you can opt to use once it becomes relevant. Brilliant, uh? And of course, it's convenient. It's called the "Click Connect' because with one simple "click," it'll come right in/out of any Graco compatible product. Bravo!

Finally, our car seat is in Shelby's favorite color "Mena," aka pink! You can find it at my new home-away-from-home Babies R Us. You can see from the below photo that Shelby is already a fan!

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The Graco SnugRide® Click Connect™ 40 – the first and only newborn to two-year infant car seat that actually grows with your baby from four pounds all the way up to 40 pounds. The car seat is designed for a parent on the go. The infant car seat can be easily removed from the base and used as a carrier when the infant is small, providing portability and convenience so you can easily move your infant in and out of the car without disturbing them.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently made the recommendation to keep all children in rear-facing car seats until the age of 2. Graco set out to make this product so parents can keep infants rear facing longer while still keeping them comfortable.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Graco. The opinions and text are all mine.