6 Years and 15 Months

Six years ago today, Jeremy and I were sealed together for time and all eternity in the Baton Rouge, LA temple. I am so thankful for the Gospel and the knowledge we have of eternal families. I am thankful for my hard-working, intelligent, loyal, loving, worthy husband. I can't imagine a better person to spend eternity with.

Today is also Shelby's 15 month birthday. Yes, another month has passed by, and my Shelby is growing at an alarming rate. She is talking more and more, copying, or at least mimicking the sounds, of everything we say. She is very inquisitive, and asks, "What's this?" about a hundred times a day. She loves grown-up food. Tonight I made stir-fry for dinner, so I made a separate thing of Alfredo Mac and Cheese for Shelby to eat, thinking she wouldn't eat the stir-fry. Well, she got a little impatient waiting for the Alfredo to cool, so I gave her a bite of the stir-fry. She loved it. She kept wanting more, broccoli and all. She is also very into dipping things right now. She loves queso, salsa, ketchup, etc. She has been walking now for 3 months, but she is still a tad wobbly, however she can get up to a pretty good pace- fast enough to where I have to run after her.



As far as stats go, I'll have to post them after her appointment- which reminds me...I need to make that. I do know that she is pretty tall for her age, and dwarfs even some of the 2 year olds in nursery. The last time I put her on my scale here at home she weighed about 23-24 pounds. Her cute rolls are now slimming down, but darn it if this girl doesn't have the cutest baby J. Lo badonkadonk ever!

Two Tags

I was tagged by Lexi. I generally do not participate in tags because I usually find that I am not as funny or interesting as I would like to be, but for the sake of keeping it going, I figured I would at least make an attempt:

I am: a daughter of two, sister to eight, and mother of one.
I think: it's about time Jim and Pam got engaged!
I know: Shelby's tongue is going to hurt tomorrow since she bit a hole in it tonight.
I want: to be out of this house and in my own!
I have: a wonderful, hard-working, loving husband.
I dislike: diet sodas. Gross.
I miss: the feeling of air flowing through my nostrils.
I fear: that I will not become the mother I want to be.
I feel: tired from the medicine I took.
I hear: Roxy walking around the living room.
I smell: nothing because I am sick.
I crave: hot showers. I could sit in the shower all day long and be happy.
I cry: when I think about sweet Abby.
I usually: go to Jeremy's games on Thursdays, but tonight they don't play until 9:45.
I search: Sugardoodle.net for ideas for the Nursery.
I wonder: what the world will be like when Shelby has grown up.
I regret: signing a 12 month lease.
I wish: it were Friday already so we could go to the Texas State Fair.
I love: my family.
I care: too much about a lot of things that don't matter.
I always: wear my retainer when sleeping.
I worry: about our country's future.
I am not: a pet person, but we have a dog.
I remember: "running through the wet grass. Falling a step behind..." (Sorry, just a little Better Than Ezra)
I believe: Heavenly Father has a plan for us.
I sing: only around those I know REALLY well. I am tone deaf.
I don't always: agree with my family, but I love them anyway.
I argue: over silly things.
I write: on my blog, but I need to write in a journal more.
I win: Some.
I lose: Some.
I listen: to lots of different kinds of music.
I don't understand: some people sometimes.
I can usually be found: here at the house during the day.
I need: more sleep.
I forget: names. I am usually too focused on the next part of the conversation that new names go in one ear and out the other.
I am happy: when I find a good deal, hear Shelby laugh, eat yummy food, and spend time with my family.

Now, for the tag I have been meaning to get to for a while (Sorry, Hillary!):

4 places I go over and over...
1. Kroger
2. Target
3. Church
4. Work (via home office!)

4 places I'd rather be right now...
1. Mahahual
2. Tanning bed- because it is 20 minutes of uninterrupted bliss.
3. A new house
4. On a cruise ship

4 people I talk to on a regular basis...
1. Shelby
2. Jeremy
3. Family (I know that is cheating, but if one of them didn't make the list they might get mad.)
4. Stephanie

4 places I love to eat...
1. Taco Cabana
2. Taco Bueno
3. Abuelo's
4. Mariano's (Do you sense a theme here?)

I am not going to tag anyone in particular, but if you read this, and feel so inclined, answer back and let us all know your answers!

Just Like Daddy

Jeremy recently joined a softball league, so Shelby and I have been going to his games to cheer him on. Shelby loves watching the games, so when I saw these cute pink gloves and bats on sale, I couldn't pass them by, even if Shelby is a bit young for them. She brought her glove and ball to the game the other night and carried them around. I think she wanted to get out on the field with the team. It was so cute.

Caving In To Peer Pressure

As I was getting Shelby dressed today I realized that I needed to go shopping. It is starting to get cooler here, and though it's not cold enough for Shelby to start wearing all her winter clothes, it is time to start pulling out some in-between, more Fall appropriate clothes. (I guess I was so used to living in LA, I had forgotten there even was such a season.) She has a few pairs of pants, but she needed some other staples- just like some solid color onesies, a few long sleeve shirts, and maybe a few more pairs of shoes, because she outgrows them so quickly. So when Jeremy got home, we headed over to Target, because I figured I could find the staples for her wardrobe there for pretty cheap. While there, Jeremy offered to push Shelby around so I could get down to shopping. At one point, he made his way back to me and said, "Of course. I was just meandering down the aisles, and I happen to look over, and I see two Wii's. Of course they have one!"

Jeremy has been B-E-G-G-I-N-G for a Wii since they came out. I happen to pretty much despise all gaming systems. I just think they are dumb. (Except for the original Nintendo, only if used to play the Mario Bros. games. Then it's ok.) I kept getting really mad at Jeremy every time he would bring them up, because I'm thinking, "Ok, I wake up, get Shelby, take care of her all day long- while I'm working a full time job- do all the chores (except mow the lawn and take out the garbage, those are boy chores), put Shelby to bed, then I stay up til 3 or 4 in the morning doing any work I couldn't get done during the day. How the heck do YOU have time to play a Wii?" So, I told Jeremy that IF he ever got one that he would only be allowed to play it if all the chores were done.

ANYWHO, we ended up leaving Target because I hadn't found what I was looking for, and walked down to Ross. I got a few things for Shelby and as we were walking out I said, "Well, now that I have found some things for her, I am going to go back into Target and get some leggings so she can slip them on under this if it gets cold." Jeremy played it perfectly and said he was going to go ahead and put everything in the car and pull it up. Shelby and I quickly ran into Target and asked the guy in electronics if those in fact WERE two Wii's sitting there, or if they were empty boxes. He gave me a puzzled look and said he would check. Sure enough, they had JUST gotten them in. So I grabbed one, and checked out. When Shelby and I walked out, Jeremy was pulling the car up so he couldn't see the bag. I set it down next to the car and strapped Shelby in. Then I told Jeremy to back it up, cause I was driving. As soon as he got in the back, I handed him the bag and said, "Happy Father's Day!!" (For Father's Day, I originally got Jeremy tickets to see his favorite musician ever, but he ended up having to cancel part of his tour. I had yet to replace his gift.)

He was so shocked and surprised. I am happy I got to surprise him like that and got to give him something he's wanted for a really long time. Just wish it didn't have to be a Wii. Ugh....I'm sure I will play it too...as long as he downloads Mario Bros. And I should have a pretty clean house.

Another Point Scored for the Big Girl

Just so I don't leave my blog in a bad mood today, cause that's not the point of my blog, I just wanted to share a quick note about my big girl. Before her bath today I decided to put her on the potty. I don't know why I haven't before, because it seems inevitable that as soon as I take her diaper off and put her in the bath tub she is going to pee. Anyway, it's funny how those cute, squishy cheeks look a lot smaller on top of the big toilet. When I first put her on, she just sort of looked at me like, "What the heck, Mom?". Then I turned the water on, and sure enough, she went! I started clapping, she started clapping. It was a glorious moment. So, I guess that will become a daily ritual before her bath- just the first step toward potty training. Oh, to not have to change diapers anymore.

Biased?

Gee, do you think the writers of SNL are biased? I mean, it's not that I am JUST now coming to realize it. The past eight years all they have done is Bush-bash. A lot of talk radio hosts have been talking about the bias in the news lately. Well, I am sick of it leaking into my shows. I would like to be able to sit down and watch a show, take a break from the 24 hour, non-stop election talk, but I can't, because there it is in the shows. Ok, yeah, they might have poked a bit of fun at Hillary as well, but they just made her out to be a strong, smart woman, whereas they made Palin out to be some dumb hick, who only got to where she is based on her looks. I just think it's ridiculous that the writers of SNL are so lacking in talent that all they have to write about is politics, and at that, they can't even be fair about it, they just force their own opinions on everyone else.

Another example, the 2008 MTV VMAs. Russell Brand's entire opening monologue was spent bashing Bush and telling everyone to vote for Obama. First of all, he is from England, so he shouldn't have any right to say anything. Second, what did any of that have to do with Best Video of the Year? So stupid.

I just think that they should leave politics out of our entertainment shows and leave it for the news (even if that is biased).

Baseball, Bastrop, and Babies

We have been pretty busy over the past week. I almost feel guilty writing about the fun things that we have gotten to do, since so many of our friends' posts have been their evacuation stories.

Friday night we were lucky enough to get to go to the Rangers/Red Sox game. The last time we went to a baseball game, Shelby wasn't walking yet, so she stayed in my lap the whole time and everything was fine. Now, of course, she is walking, so I was a little curious as to how this was going to work out. She actually did really well and was actually interested in the game!








I love going to baseball games, especially for the food. I love Chicago Dogs!



And just for my brothers, here are some pics of the players:








After the game we came home and packed. We woke up early Saturday morning and drove to Bastrop, LA (close to Monroe) to visit Jeremy's dad and grandparents. It is always fun seeing them and we are happy to be able to drive over there any chance we get.

When we first got there Shelby was a little tired, so she decided to take a nap with Mamaw.



Shelby had a lot of fun playing with Daddypaw and Mamaw...and Ruth!





On our way home from Bastrop I got a call from a lady from church saying they were looking for some volunteers to help babysit the grandson of a woman in need. I was a little nervous about how I would balance a 3 month old, a 14 month old, AND work, but I couldn't say no. Baby Evan was SO cute, however I don't think Shelby is ready to be a big sister just yet. She thought he was cute when they dropped him off, but when she realized he was staying...that was another story. She didn't understand why I was holding HIM all the time. She got mad at me for feeding him his bottle instead of her baby's play bottle. She tried to feed him a Cheez-It (which I can't be too mad at her for, she was just trying to share). Of course, I know if we did have another baby, it would be different, she would have time to adjust, but it was a crazy 5 hours!