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.