Shelby's 1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Shelby's 1st birthday a few days early on January 16th 2010. Those in attendance were as follows:
Gary, Angela, Ben, Allison and Daniel S.
Jim and Cecilia S.
Tom S.
Monica, Sara, Emily, and Hannah H.
Becky R.
Meredith H.

Sara and Shelby playing. I just love how lady-like Shelby is sitting in her party dress!

Emily having a great time!

Little Hannah munchin' on a cracker.

Shelby's cake - a 3 tier white cake with strawberry icing.

Emily and "her baby". :)

Shelby playing with the Wii remote.

Mrs. Raymond and Shelby

Allison, Meredith, and Ben eating lunch.

Speaking of lunch....here is what was on the menu:
Homemade chili using the Carol Shelby's chili mix.
Topping for chili - Fritos, avocado, purple onion, cilantro, sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese
Homemade tortillas
Chips and Velveeta cheese dip
Venison summer sausage and cheese cubes with crackers
Hot dogs with your choice of wheat or white buns

And for dessert:
Birthday cake of course!
Blue Bell vanilla ice cream

Opening Gifts

Sara and Emily helped Shelby unwrap her gifts.

These outfits were from the Halsey family and the Tom Schmidtke family.

The striped shirt my Mom is unwrapping was from my Mom and Dad.

Sara is opening a gift that Momo sent.

Emily is checking out the Christmas Iguana that Mr. Bishop sent. It sings Feliz Navidad! Ha ha. Shelby was a little scared of it at first but now she likes it.

Mom opening the Tinker Bell couch Jason and I got Shelby.

She didn't want to stay put and sit on it for the picture.

Attitude!

Finally a laugh! :)

Cousins chillin' out.


Playing with her Panda Beanie Baby from Momo. When I was a little girl I had a big panda stuffed animal that I named "Mr. Gulick Bear" and he was my favorite stuffed animal for a long time.

See the silver coin bank to the left of the pictures on the coffee table? That's what Meredith gave Shelby. It's a very beautiful keepsake.

Shelby with her fawn from her Uncle Buck (aka: Ben).

Finally it was time to sing Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to Shelby.....and then her cousin's, Sara and Emily, helped her blow out the candle.

Time to dig into the smash cake!

She was a little dainty and did not just grab a handful...she started with just a finger of icing.

Wait....two hands now!

Lick those fingers :)

I just love that sweet face!

Shelby had a wonderful 1st birthday and made lots of memories.

Speaking of memories I wanted to share with you the activities that I planned for her party. Some were just for fun and some were for more sentimental reasons.

1. I had the idea to create a slide show of my favorite pictures of Shelby. Jason liked to idea and wanted to make it. I love how it turned out! The slide show played on the TV during her party. I think the party guests enjoyed seeing the pictures.
2. I took a cute pink baby bottle and filled it with Cheerios. Guests were asked to guess how many Cheerios there were. Jim won with his guess of 262.
3. A sweet pink and white striped paper pad was provided for guests to write notes to Shelby. Here is the instruction I left next to it: "As our little Shelby turns one we want to let her know how much she is loved. Please take some time to write a message to our little one. Let her know how much she means to you, how she has touched your life, your hopes and dreams for her....or anything on your heart. Then place your message in her keepsake box and when she is older she will be presented her box and can rad and ponder all the sweet words and cherish them in her heart."
4. Lastly, I chose some poems online about baby's first birthday that were meaningful to me. I asked Allison if she would print them off on pink paper and decorate the poems. Of course she said she would. The poems were displayed on the cake table. Here are the poems I chose:

   A One-year-old child is so many things --
   A tiny discoverer of butterfly wings,
   A hugger of Teddies,
   A sweet sleepyhead,
   And someone to dream for in bright years ahead...

   You're as cute as a bug
   So precious to hug
   A darling child
   Who's nice to be near.
   So.. hope turning one
   Is happy and fun
   And takes you along
   To a second great year

   It's your very first birthday, baby,
   One candle on your cake;
   Proud parents stare in wonder
   At each new move you make.

   We join in celebration,
   As this special date arrives,
   For baby has brought pleasure
   Into all our lives.

   We look forward now to seeing
   How you progress and grow,
   From the cute and tiny infant
   You were one year ago.

   So dig into your icing;
   Enjoy your presents, too.
   The reason for this day
   Is a special person--you!

   Covered in cake and icing,
   Your smile stretched ear to ear.
   A single candle celebrates,
   The joy of your first year.
   
   We sing Happy Birthday,
   You play midst wrap and bows.
   We marvel at how you touched our lives,
   Just one year ago.
   
   I remember the first time I held you,
   Kissed your head, whispered your name.
   You've changed our lives forever,
   Our hearts will never be the same.
   
   As a child you'll love this day,
   For all the sweets and presents too.
   As parents we'll love your day,
   For the gift we got was you.
   
   Each year we'll add another candle,
   So proud to see you grow.
   But always with the memory,
   Of your first day long ago.

   Teddy bears and seas of blue
   Smiling in honor of you
   An infant, not long ago
   Now, one candle is aglow
   You are growing up so fast
   How quickly a year has passed
   You are special, sweet, and wise
   A present before our eyes.

   For a year, I’ve watched you shine
   An angel I can call mine
   Sent from Heaven, just for me
   Filled with hope and dignity
   A blessing, now and always
   You brighten all of my days
   Precious child, I love you so
   More than anyone could know.

   Baby’s breath and sun-filled skies
   Ladybugs and lullabies
   Starry nights and bright moonbeams
   Tender hearts and lasting dreams
   Each, a gift within your view
   During this time, made for you
   May only good things come your way
   On this, your very first birthday.

   
   

   A year's gone by,
   How time has flown,
   We can't believe
   

   How Shelby's grown! She's such a joy
   

   And so much fun,
   Oh my! Our baby's
   Turning One!

   
   

November 2009

Here are some pictures from November 2009.

Shelby was helping me with the laundry.

Allison playing with Shelby

Ben, Allison, and Blake taking a break after helping to unload the moving truck.

The following pictures were taken at the 2009 Randolph Air Show. Jason, Shelby, Allison, Dan and myself all went together. It was a hot, sticky day and we all got a little sunburned because I completely forgot to take sunscreen, oh well, but it was a very fun experience.

They flew right over our heads!

Shelby was so good all afternoon. I had to keep covering her ears because the planes were SO loud but she never seemed to get scared.

Look how low the planes were flying. Some of them took off right in front of us. So cool!

The two above pictures are of the "Tora! Tora! Tora! Pearl Harbor Reenactment".

The Budweiser Clydesdale's were there too! I can't believe they were so calm and planes didn't scare them.

I'm back...again...for good... I hope!

Hello everyone, even with the slow internet I have decided to start up my blog again (I miss it!) and try to post on a regular basis. Yes, I know I have said this before. ;)

Let's begin way back when I stopped......in October. My last posting was about Boo at the Zoo. Shortly after our fun at the zoo we moved to the little town of New Berlin near San Antonio. In Abilene, Jason was employed by Boeing. At the beginning of October 2009 they had a round of layoffs due to the fact they lost some major Air Force contracts. Jason was one of the unlucky ones to receive a 2 weeks notice pink slip. We were somewhat shocked at how quick it all happened and the fact that in a few short weeks Jason would be out of work. Jason began searching for work right away; especially looking in the San Antonio area so we could be close to family. He was really beginning to feel the seriousness of this terrible job market when he was turned away at jobs he was overqualified for. Things weren't moving very fast and we were becoming discouraged when all of a sudden he was offered a job with Aerotec Scientific Inc. in San Antonio, Texas! We were thrilled! Jason knows so many other ACU grads that have not been able to find work for months after their graduation so we were so relieved and thankful God provided once again.
In one short week we were packed up and living in New Berlin. We are so grateful to my Grandmother's husband, Jim. You see, New Berlin is less that 30 miles from Aerotec and the location of Jim's 4 bedroom home on 10 acres. My Grandmother and Jim have been married over a year now but have yet to be able to sell Jim's home. When they heard where Jason's job was located they were quick to offer us the house to rent and we gladly accepted their kind offer.
Now Jason is working, I am still staying at home with Shelby but also working part time 3 nights a week at a local cafe just up the road from us. I have really been enjoying my job. It's a chance to get out of the house and meet some nice folks. It is also some extra income which is always nice! We have been thoroughly enjoying living closer to family. All in all, the move was a good one and we are so happy.
Ok, now back to the post and some pictures!

The very same weekend we moved we learned of the local Fall Festival. Jason and I thought it would be a good opportunity to meet some people in the community and relax a little from our stressful week. So we dressed Shelby in her lady bug costume once again and headed out.

Shelby and her Great Grandmother

Shelby and Jason

Great Grandpa Jim and Shelby doing the cake walk.

When we arrived we saw that they were hosting a costume contest and thought "Why not!". So we signed Shelby up. If you recall she didn't even place in the Boo at the Zoo costume contest and she wanted a second chance!

Here is Great Grandpa Jim showing off his little ladybug to the judges.

Some of the stiff competition.

She won 1st place in her age group!!!

The little competitor needed a break to munch on a some Cheetos.

Jason holding Shelby as they walked through the haunted house....errr barn. :)

I hope you enjoyed this post but I'm not caught up yet so there's more to come!

Boo at the Zoo

Yesterday, October 17th at 2pm, we took Shelby to her first ever Boo at the Zoo. I figured since we spent ten bucks on a Halloween costume for Shelby that she should at least get 2 uses out of it! Oh yea, and have some fun too! :)
So after her nap I got her all dressed up and we headed out. She was a pink lady bug with hearts instead of spots! AHW!

First they had to pose for a picture.

We entered Shelby in the costume contest for ages 0-4 in hopes that she would whip all the other kids hineys! What? I'm not competitive. ;)
See the little girl dressed as Ragitty Ann? She ended up winning second. I am not sure who won first. Shelby didn't place. :(

Posing for the judges.

Don't cha just love her antennas!

By this time she was hot and ready to go. So she was in kick back mode.