Swinging to Sleep

Shelby enjoys the swings at school so much (especially for napping) that we decided to pick one up.   As you can see it's well worth the $50 and batteries.    I edited the clips in iMovie 09.

Recession

The poor economy has hit us at Anheuser-Busch. In the past two weeks, 7 people have gotten laid off. One person in my department. We were already down a person. Now, 4 people will (permanently) being doing the work of 6. I know that is the case all over the country in many, many companies. My "development plan" for 2009 included cross-training in materials & shipment planning. Now, it will be a necessity! My training has been ramped up, and I'll take over some of those duties in the next couple weeks! I'd better learn fast! Yikes!

Adjustment Period

Shelby seems to have turned the corner with adjusting to daycare. Everyday this week I picked her up, the teachers comment that she did really well. They even suggested bringing in another bottle each day because she's taking almost all of the 3-5oz bottles we send in! They can't get over how much she loves sucking her thumb! And, in a huge development, she took a nap in her crib at school!! I think this is the first documented nap-in-a-crib in her life! We brought the mobile in from her "home bed," and they tell us she enjoys looking at it.

Her homework for the weekend is working on playing on the floor. She isn't that excited about it at school, apparently. Tummy time is still detested, but she is holding her head up longer than last weekend!

Tummy Time - Trials and Tribulations

Try as she might, Shelby just isn't taking to tummy time as we hope.  Today however, we made some progress!   Her neck has been getting stronger and she was able to hold her head up for a minute or two.    An exciting milestone.  And then she resorted to burying her face in the mat and screaming, and screaming.

It was interesting though tonight as we visited Shelby's friend Harry.  He's just a week or so younger but they have such different skills and personalities.  Shelby sleeps through the night, Harry, not so much.  Shelby sucks her thumb while Harry likes the pacifier.  Harry is rather content on his tummy and has a lot more strength in his neck.  But it appears that Shelby has a little sharper visual acuity.  

First Week of School

Well, Pumpkin/Sweet Pea/The Princess (whatever you'd like to call her) survived her first week of school! She spends most of her time in a swing or bouncy chair. Ms. Karen asked Scott if she napped in her crib at home. Scott said, "Uhhh....no." They've gone through a set of batteries for the swings that she and her friend Mason spend their time in.

She seems to be getting acclimated to taking bottles. She'll do 3 bottles - finishing them mostly. She even takes two 1-hour to 2-hour naps during the day!

The rest of the children in her class are all 6+ months old (crawling or walking). It's amazing to see what Shelby will be doing in only a couple more months!! The teachers have been great in keeping us informed and helping get Shelby comfortable at school.

It wasn't as hard to be at work without her as I thought it would be. It is hard when I go to pick her up and she's fussy. Then I'm sad that I had to leave her there all day. But, it is nice that I have a job that keeps me busy enough that I don't worry about her all day.

First Day

Shelby made it through her first day at 'school' today.  I dropped her off around 7:30 and Bonnie picked her up.  All reports indicate she did ok.    Each day Shelby will get a daily report. It's actually a better record than we keep. 

Naps:

1. 9:20 - 11:40 (yeah, we're not so sure about that either)  Shelby has never slept that long during the day.   So I'll double check tomorrow.
2. 12:15 - 12:35
3. 3:05 - 3:30

Bottles:

1. 9:00
2. 10:45
3. 2:30

Diapers: I'll spare you those details.

It was tough to leave her.  But we know she's in very good hands!

New Style...

Look who got a new haircut!

Anniversary

Tuesday was our two-year wedding anniversary! It's so hard to believe how much has changed in such a short amount of time! We celebrated with a very yummy fillet. Shelby behaved herself and let us have a nice dinner. She was planted on my lap during the meal at eye level with the steak.....that Scott had to cut up since I was eating one-armed. Yes, how things have changed!

We didn't exchange presents. You might say Shelby is a gift in herself (Awwww.....) :). Our combined Christmas/Anniversary present was the fancy, new refrigerator. But, in case you were wondering, the traditional 2nd anniversary gift is cotton (the modern gift is china).

Smiley Shelby

Shelby is now smiling quite often! She likes her chin tickled and any of Dad's funny faces! Even in the evening (the fussiness witching hours), we can get a few smiles!

You can see her tricks, too!

Holidays

We had such a great Christmas and New Years! All the Benjamins and Lawrences were able to make it in for a couple days of holiday fun!

Jamie and Mike took over the kitchen and whipped up some great meals for 8! I felt bad that I didn't help more. But, I was awesome at finding the needed kitchen utensil!

New Year's Eve consisted of Scott, Mike, Dave, Nancy, and I...and, of course, Shelby! Nancy and Shelby turned in early. Scott and Mike played Wii. And, at 11, we watched CNN for the awkward Times Square coverage of Anderson Cooper and Kathie Griffin. Kathie was really excited to be with Anderson. Every time Kathie caught Anderson off guard (which was often), Anderson would giggle like a girl. It was hysterical!!