Being Shelby Anderson's Mother

Being Shelby Anderson's mother means knowing that when she tugs at her ear, she's getting tired, and a nap is in our near future.

Being Shelby Anderson's mother means that whenever I sit down to eat and am within her line of vision, a scream will follow. Because of course, Shelby needs to eat if Mom is eating.

Being Shelby Anderson's mother means knowing that Aden & Anais swaddling blankets are her favorite blankets. Nothing beats the smile and look she gives me when that blanket falls like a soft cloud over her in her crib.

Being Shelby Anderson's mother means that if there's any type of charging cord around, it will end up in her mouth. "No's" and "don't touch" are worthless. They must be unplugged and removed from sight.

Being Shelby's mother means that Happy Baby puffs and yogurt drops must be kept in large quantities when out and about at all times. Because of course, one must scream like a pterodactyl in public places if food is not in ones mouth.

Being Shelby Anderson's mother means that inanimate objects become "friends" when with Dad. Her friend, "Mr. Blue screen" (aka, the thermostat) gets it's own shout out on the way into the house every day. And don't dare walk past "him" without stopping so Shelby can say hello.

Being Shelby Andersons mother means that in the bath, crab and frog are the favorite bath toys of choice. I on the other hand tend to favor octopus, but my preference has no significance during bath time.

Being Shelby Anderson's mother means that if we put off naptime until she's deliriously tired, we can squeeze a 3 hour nap out of her. Which is happened today.

Being Shelby Anderson's mother includes coming to terms with the fact that I have less hair now, and most likely due to the fact that her teeny hands are constantly pulling it out.

But lastly, being Shelby Anderson's mother has been one of the greatest blessing of my life! I'm grateful for all that it brings and wouldn't change a thing.

And if anyone is a reader of Nat the Fat Rat (like me) then you'll notice that my post was kindly adapted from hers. Because imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, isn't it?

iPhone photo update

There are more photos on my phone than there are on our camera. Phones are just so easy to capture memories with! So here's a peek into what's been going on around here. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

Easter basket goodness

Easter this year was fun on a new level, and obviously because of a certain little someone. We dashed off to church after a small Mommy fail. I returned her original Easter dress because it was too big, only to find another one that was like 75% off at Baby Gap, so I got that one. Onlyproblem was I never tried it on her, and it ended up hanging dangerously low in the front, completely baby inappropriate. (she was showing a little too much baby chest). So I scrapped dress #2, and just grabbed something from her closet.

Church, or at least sacrament, was very nice. It'll be SO nice when we can make it all 3 hours! We napped, and then let Shelby have at her Easter basket. It was fun to see her reaction to new things, and just hold them and not want to pick up the next one because then she'd have to let go of the other one. So naturally, the only photos we snapped were of her. And one bad, take it yourself photo of our family. Next year I'll be more with it!

{9 months}

Ah, the good old monthly update. More for me than you, I'm sure, but fun to recap none the less! If I thought last month brought about changes, this stage is blowing everything else out of the water! Daily Shelby is changing, and even between starting this draft two days ago, there are more milestones to add! Being will Shelbs is so much fun. We have a grand ole time together. She sits like a big girl in shopping carts, we play, we cuddle, we laugh and sometimes she sings along in the car. Kinda.

• We have teeth! Two bottom ones to be exact. Vegas weekend they popped through, and I've since watched (and felt...OUCH) them grow.
•   Your love for the melt in your mouth puff went from so-so, to full fledged I actually try to chew it with my gums. That happened last night to be exact.
• You started crawling last week. You went from rolling, to scooting to crawling in what seemed like a day!
• When you get tired of scooting around, you lean on your right arm, with it stretched underneath you, and pose. Adorable.
• Who still wears size 0-3mo. Shoes? This girl.
•  You finally say MaMaMaMa. For which I thank you :)
• You have an obsession with cords. Especially apple product ones. iPad, iPhone, you find it.
• Sometimes you get showy Mac hold your bottle with just one hand.
• You sat on the Easter Bunnys lap, and didn't cry.
• Twice this week you have "waved" at the gym employees as we leave. Tonight you waved at Grandma, she was happy :)
•  We had to lower your crib. When I came into your room to be met by you propped up, babbling and slapping the railings, I knew it was time.
• If there's a shoe on the floor, you will find it and suck on it.

My forever 'Good Friday'

Good Friday has a special meaning to me. Not for any of the reasons it may hold for others though. Good Friday will forever be the day Dave proposed. It truly was a 'good Friday' for me! Now I'm not one to remember any anniversaries besides our wedding, but this one's kinda easy, and it's a good story :)

Let me recap the proposal, in case any of you have not had the pleasure of hearing it.
It was a typical date night. I went to Dave's parents in Orange where we met and were going to go to Ruby's on the HB Pier. The day wasn't a date of any special kind. Ruby's bore no important significance to our relationship, in fact, quite the opposite, we had never been to that location together before. He didn't pick me up. I wasn't dressed up for a fancy night on the town. He hadn't washed his car (big Dave deal). We were going to look at rings (again) the next day. This night, according to Dave, was supposed to appear so "typical" that I wouldn't have the slightest idea of what was coming.
Except for two things.
1. He was wearing new shoes. For Dave, that was just a tad odd. He hated new shoes.
2. He wore cologne. I could smell it when we hugged. He never wears cologne.

We went to Rubys. He ordered a burger, plain, fries, and a coke. I wanted an appetizer, so I ordered mozzarella sticks. The rest of the meal I don't recall. I do recall that Dave went upstairs to use the restroom, and was gone for what seemed awhile. He paid, we left. We walked back down the pier, heading to the car.

We didn't have any special plans, nothing to do after, nowhere to go. As we reached the end of the pier, Dave paused and we looked at the waves. It was dark, so we couldn't see much, so I turned to keep walking. Dave paused again, and said something that came out really cheesy and not like Dave, saying we should stay a minute longer and look at the pretty ocean. I looked at him, laughed, and said "let's go". Then he just stopped, and stared. He didn't do anything, just stood there looking at me, in a weird way, with a weird smirk. Finally, I think I said, this is weird, can we go now?! Not yet, he said, and started to pull a little box out of his pocket. I think I had known it was coming, but got so freaked out that it was happening. He pulled the box out of his pocket, reached towards me, and suddenly he fumbled the ring, and I watched it fall, as in slow motion, over the pier and land on a tiny ledge beyond the railing. My eyes went wide, and he went to carefully grab it. Except, his foot quickly slid near it, and nudged it over the edge and into the dark. I watched the box, open, fall into the night, and I could see the ring sparkle as it fell. Dave stood there, saying nothing. I took one look at him, and declared that this wasn't funny, and that I wanted to go home.

He started nervously laughing and said "Wait, I have the real one right here". He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a white box, and opened it up. Inside was the exact ring we had looked at the week before, the exact ring I had said I liked, and how I would turn it from a diamond band into a wedding ring. He had been tricky, he had been sneaky, he had been simple (and he had apparently thrown up when he went to the bathroom) all in an attempt to fool me, and it almost worked :) There was no one kneed proposal, and I don't remember anything after those moments other than saying yes (that, and that it was Good Friday). And that's pretty much all that matters.

Because I can't find our "freshly engaged" photo, this will have to do. Circa May 2007.

Vegas (with) Baby!

This weekend we packed up our little family and headed to Vegas for our 6th Annual Anderson Monster Jam trip. Obviously this was not our first time, and it's become quite the tradition for us! Every year we add newcomers to the mix, some repeat, some come when they can, skipping years due to plans, births, small babies and more. But each year we've been able to count on Daves cousin Josh and wife Jenn. It's our thing. This year the Jackmans made a strong presence, with Katie, Randy, Matt, Rachel, Amber & Jasper. We loved having them there, and I always enjoy having my bestie (Katie) around.

Saturday, because of our dear friend Johns efforts, we were able to go on a behind the scenes tour at Shark Reef. We truly missed John & Darby, but because of a tragic family event, they were unable to attend. We enjoyed our tour in his honor!

Highlights of the weekend included-
Cafe Rio (Katies first experience!)
Neilsens Frozen Custard (my first experience!)
Monster Jam
Expensive buffets
Shelby cutting her FIRST TOOTH!
Becoming new iPad owners
Shelby sleeping thru the night every night!! (double exclamation needed)
scoring some steals at the Quicksilver outlet
Neilsens. Again.
And making it home in 3 hours!

Now who's in for year #7?!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

{8 months}

Well, another month, another blog post! In having some conversations with fellow mommies, we got to talking about how at the end of the day, only yourself and your husband can agree about how adorable/cute/irresistible/funny/kissable/ or delectable(Katie's words) your child is. Such a true statement! So my apologies to those of you who may roll your eyes at my progress post. Well, not so much apologies, just a warning, lots of love to be had for this little girl!

8 month Shelby:

• Still no teeth. A few false alarms that turned out to just be fussy days.
• Rolling has turned into a push-up and backwards scoot.
• The sippy cup made it's debut. Even though you haven't grasped the "suck" concept in entirety, it can hold your attention for a while.
• You are completely weaned. The bottle is your only source of hydration. Makes things much easier on both of us.
• Morning walks with Gunner are a fun time for you. He licks your toes/face/hands, you giggle, and then fall asleep by the time we're home.
• We took our first ride on a swing. You LOVED it!
• Dr. Johnson mentioned your pincer grasp coming into play this month. It has, you pick up the puffs and put them to your mouth. Too bad they all fall out after that.
• Six-o-clock Shelby isn't too bad anymore. We've learned to tame the beast.
• You sit up all by yourself in the shopping cart now. Plus side, you are more occupied. Downside, you have an amazing ability to reach for things on shelves and grab stuff from the cart and drop it on the floor.
• The bald patch on the back of your head is finally growing in!
• "Dadada" and "babababa" are your favorite sounds. (Dad is so proud, thinking your calling him, not me).
• An ear piercing scream has emerged. It's really loud. Not my favorite sound.
• You have found the fun that is balloons. Pulling on their strings brings you much joy.

Happy 8 months!