Meet Elephant

 Or, as I would like to call him, the most essential toddler invention of all time. Jack picked up this little gem at the drugstore a while back and it has been the best few bucks he's ever spent! "Mr Elephant" as we call him around here is simply an exciting way for Shelby to take liquid medicine....a task that pre- elephant, was almost impossible. You simply put the syringe in the trunk and administer as usual. Now, thanks to this parent must-have, Shelby does not mind at all and when she sees it, often says "Get you!" Future Moms of America: arm yourself with Mr Elephant!

(Un)Happy St Patrick's Day


This "Happy St Paddy's Day" photo should have been my fist indicator that today was not going to be a great day:

About 1:30pm I got a call that Miss Shelby Pie was running a fever and was just not acting herself. Of course, I rush to the school, where I find her sleeping on her sweet little mat. She finally awoke and I could tell instantly that she felt horrible. She was trembling and had a bright red face. They took her armpit temp and it read 102. Poor baby. When she has a fever, my first thought is ear infection, so I head to the doctor.

 I get out of the car, go to get her out of her seat and it is thrown up city...just horrible. Unfortunately, I do not have a change of clothes, so I put her in my fleece and bring a towel into the office. Lemons ---> Lemonade.

 

Daddy comes to the rescue with some comfy clothes and Annomol (the older, does-not-go-into-the-bed) Annimol. Good thinking Dad. From there, the three of us wait a little more comfortably.

 

Once we get called back, they take her temp and it's at a sizzling 103. Poor baby. We get some Motrin in her, however and that goes down quickly and by the time we leave - she's a whole new gal. The Doctor came to see us and confirmed an ear infection. I feel like she gets these rather frequently, but he assured me that they are very common in young kids, espeically under 2.

So there is the story of our (Un)Happy St Patty's Day. She is sleeping peacefully now, so we'll have to wait and see how the night/tomorrow goes. The ironic part: she had an ear infection last year on St Paddy's Day!

Here's to 2015!

Schenk Olympians

Well, kind of. This past weekend one of our friends celebrated his 40th birthday and in his honor, his wife coordinated the Matt Birthday Olympics. With a Red-White-Blue, retro theme, dozens of families showed up to celebrate in the park, enjoy the nice weather and take part in some good old fashioned competition.  We joined another family and took home 3rd place. I am afraid to say, we probably could have finished second, but I gave Jack a sub-par toss during the water baloon event. Sorry honey :)

These Two

Pretty much any time these two get together it's just instant cuteness. Now that Shelby is steady on her feet, we spend a lot more time in our backyard. It doesn't take too long on the weekends before Shelby is demanding, "outside! outside!"

Shelby is doing GREAT with her language and even speaks in full sentences on occasion. He favorite sentence: Thank you my Daddy.

Name, Name, Name

Shelby practices writing her name a lot at school, I can tell. She regularly begs for a pen and paper and when she gets it, she wants to practice her name. She'll say "name, name" and then she hands me the pen, wanting me to write her name, and then I hand it back to her and she'll try it. Of course she cannot create anything that resembles a letter, but I'm tickled just the same. When she is doodling she often talks to herself  and I hear hear say "S", "Y", "H." Adorable. Her other favorite thing to draw is an oval. It cracks me up...she will hand me the pen and say, "Mama Oval," and she points to where she wants me to draw and oval - over and over and over. This little game can last up to 10 minutes, which is Shelby-time, is a LONG time!  She is certainly soaking in the world around her. I think of all the toys I have ever bought her, the $20 Magnadoodle has been the best purchase; she loves that thing too.

TV!

Yes, that is right. I added an exclaimation point and I am excited about our new TV! Something I never thought would come from my mouth. After five years of being a single TV household, we finally have a TV upstairs in our room....and not any old TV, a nice one that Jack did a flawless job installing. He routed all the cable and wires so it is mess free - always a major success in my book!!

It was just time. We sometimes need a distraction for Shelby in the morning - I miss watching the morning news each day - Jack and I prefer different shows and go to bed on different schedules; it was just time.

Shelby Vision

One of my favorite things to do when Shelby goes to bed is well.....watch her sleep on our baby monitor.  Or should I say watch her entertaining performance before she falls asleep. I would say about half the time Shelby will wiggle around, adjust her blanket and animal and then fall peacefully asleep, like babies do in the movies. The other half of the time, is less conventional and far more comical.

The proof is the in pudding...the second video is actually of her waking up. And don't worry, this first one does not have sound, so it's not your computer :)

And a cute photo from last year of my "sleeping" beauty.