Our Saturdays at Gymboree

There are simply no words for how much I enjoy my hour each Saturday with Shelby at Gymboree. Jack normally comes too, but he had a scheduling conflict this week, so it was just me and my baby girl. It's our special time, our fun, our special treat.

Shelby has been in the Play & Learn class for just over a month and it is now really getting fun to watch her participate, interact with others and motor around the various obstacles. When we started the class she was just learning to crawl, but she has now mastered that skill and is weeks away from walking (and running!) all over the place. Like most babies, Shelby thrives on routine, so this class is perfect - there are quite a few re-occurring elements, but the teachers also do a fantastic job of mixing things up to challenge the kiddos and work on a specific aspect of their physical growth. This week's focus was lower body strength. Once she hits the mats, she takes off - she knows those rainbow plush mats mean freedom!

Today was so fun, for the first time, she was able to go through several of the obstacles "properly" and participated in Gymboree's signature "Air Log Push." Imagine a giant air-filled tube, rolling along the floor, powered by tiny hands and feet. Adorable. Because I was solo, I could not snap a photo, but I was one proud mama, today was the first time Shelby could actually walk along and push the air log. Hooray Shelby Pie!

The class typically concludes with Busy Boxes (for fine motor skills), Bubbles, Parachute Time, an appearance by Gymbo the clown and then finally some closing songs. Again, today was a turning point, she LOVED the bubbles and leaped out of my lap to attack the teacher holding Gymbo....a little clown, stuffed in a cone that pops up and down to the lyrics of the song. Hands down, Shelby's favorite.

Shelby on a mission to attack Gymbo!

Fortunately, they have a cute little retail space in the reception area so I can buy a Gymbo for the house too! My dad said we grew up with a similar clown in our house called "Woofy Goofy," who knew?

Brotherly Love

This past weekend, my brothers Alex, Brent and Brent's girlfriend Carli came to visit. It has been a long time since Brent & Carli had seen the house and November was the last time either of them saw Shelby.

We had a really nice time. We stayed close to home for the most part, but we did make it out to the Bocce ball courts, to the dam and to Mexican food. Shelby wasn't feeling her best and Alex has a major work project to complete, but we made the most of it. We even hosted our own St Patty's Day party with the 6 :)

Here are a few photos from the weekend, enjoy!

Uncle Moose:

 Thanks for my early birthday present!

 Bocce fun in the sun:

Observing from the sidelines:

Happy St Patty's Day!

Swingin' Good Time

1st Shoes

I have put Shelby in "shoes' here and there over the months, but always as an accessory rather than an actual functional shoe. Last week her teacher requested that I bring her to school in shoes....like real shoes! Of course that is a task that must be saved for the weekend as it requires Shelby to be present so we carved out some time on Saturday and headed to Stride Rite. The weather has been really nice out for the last couple of weeks, so Shelby's class is spending more time outside. Additionally she is a week or two from walking (tear), so some real shoes make sense for her.

It came as no surprise that Shelby's feet are big for her age, 5.5 Medium width. We left with some nice, soft soled shoes and some some soft soled sandals, a half-size bigger. So far, so good. They don't seem to bother her much. I tell ya, it was so so cute watching her get fitted, "shopping" and trying on her new kicks.

Getting Measured:

 

Sticker for being a sweet girl:

Shoe tasting, I mean shopping...

Trying on her new kicks...

The Fish Swim in the Water

In the last couple of weeks, Shelby has really taken notice of our fish tank in the living room, especially when the light is on. Although it actually houses three sharks (Lebron, Bud and Dingle), I still tell Shelby they are fish. We talk a lot about the fish on the weekends and she points, oooohs and ahhhhs. I always repeat "The fish swim in the water" to her - thinking that one day fish, swimming and water will all be concepts she'll be able to put together.

I love this photo. She is stretching on those little toes with all her tiny, baby might!

I can't even imagine what goes through their little minds when they see stuff like this. Baby wonder at its finest.

Toddler Life

I still think of Shelby as my little baby, but in the school world, they are transitioning her to the toddler room/program. Having her use a sippy cup, eat finger foods, telling me to buy her shoes (tear).  With that though, they post pictures from time to time on our internal website so I can see what they are up to. I love it. The photo of the half banana cracked me up....please tell me someone cuts that up for her??

Here is a look at a day in the life of Shelby Clare.

This photo is so cute, it deserve a stand alone shot too:

Daddy Bunny

Meet Daddy Bunny. An adorable plush Hallmark product that allows you to record a personalized message that can later be played back when you give the tummy a squeeze.

Daddy Bunny is part of our nightly bedtime routine around here. Because Jack often works nights, I am putting Shelby to bed about six nights a week. Of course Jack feels bad about that, so we have Daddy Bunny play a little message from Dad to Shelby each night before she goes to bed. It is the last thing we do before we turn off all the lights and drink our milk. She loves it.