Morris House Christmas

Marc, Bryon, Molly, Conrad, Jeff, Carly, Linda, Shelby, and Monica

Matching baby blues! Hopefully Shelby will keep her eye color to match Monty's (Gramps, Peeps, Peepaw...whatever!). We had a wonderful Christmas in Big Spring. Shelby's cousin, Carly, was a soldier in The Nutcracker, so we all met in West Texas to see her performance. She was BY FAR the best soldier out of the bunch!

Instead of the traditional Christmas dinner, Molly made brisket, and we tried to duplicate Ivey's "fajitas". They turned out even better! Mom and Jeff, Dad and Christy, Molly and Marc, and Bryon and I had a great time playing wii, decorating ornaments, chasing Shelby, Conrad, and Carly, and opening tons of gifts. Thanks to all for everything!

With all her new toys, all this little angel wants is the cord to the lights. This looks safe to me! She is a little stubborn once she sets her mind to something i.e. playing with cords and outlets. "No" means nothing at this point!

Oh Christmas Palm!

The Pfaff household always has to do things a little differently, so we have a Christmas Palm instead of a tree. Easy to assemble, easy to clean up, and easy to store make for the perfect tree! Shelby loves pulling on the ribbons on the gifts and staring at the lights. We are all looking forward to a little time off next week and traveling to Big Spring and Albuquerque. Merry Christmas, Ya'll!

Beware of Baby Crack!

Parents, be on the lookout for a new fad all the babies are getting addicted to, Baby Crack. This highly addicting form of entertainment is causing babies everywhere to go into a trance and may even induce earlier-than-normal learning patterns. Baby Crack takes on many names, including "Baby Einstein Signing" and "Baby Mozart". Any DVD has the potential to cause the following:

Watch me try to crawl!

Shelby's almost got it. She will be up and down the stairs before we know it!

Her six month doctor's appointment went well yesterday. We are so fortunate to have such a healthy and happy baby.

Family Time

Here's mom and baby enjoying ICE! exhibit at the Gaylord. It is this huge series of ice sculptures kept at 9 degrees. The hotel makes you wear these funny parkas for warmth. Shelby was TOTALLY confused by it all, but I loved it.

This is one of those photos you think will turn out great at the time, but then you get home and realize you can't see anyone's face. UGH! Molly, Carly, Conrad, Jeff, Linda, Shelby and I are all in there somewhere...Bryon and Marc stayed home. Turkeys!

Here we are with Bryon's family for Thanksgiving. Juanita and Aaron, in front, are expecting a baby girl in February. Shelby is excited to have a cousin her age! Bryon and I were able to run to Santa Fe last night for our Maria's margarita fix and to catch up with Bryon's friend Dom. We love having grandparents that babysit!

News Commentary

Bryon and I get such a kick out of the weathermen around here. Being a weatherman in Dallas has to be one of the easiest jobs, but we've decided it must get really boring after years of "sunny and humid" forecasts.

With all that spare time, they tend to come up with some pretty "informing" graphics. The other night, Bryon and I got a huge laugh out of this one. You would have thought the sky was falling except for the headline across the top stating, "Overall risk SLIGHT!" Is there anything else Fox 4 could have added to this one?

Cookie Time

You would have thought it was her birthday the way Shelby reacted to the toddler cookie she got yesterday! She loved gumming it to pieces and had mush everywhere. And, yes, she is wearing a Halloween bib in November. It was the first one I pulled out of the stash!

A Little Shaky

It's official! Miss Priss is sitting on her own. It's a little shaky, but she is getting better and better every day. Also, as seen in the picture, she is an expert at drooling! Those teeth can come in any day now...

Comments

I just LOVE getting comments on my blog. So, in an effort to see your thoughts, I've changed the settings to allow anyone to comment. Keep in mind it will show as "anonymous" if you don't sign in, so be sure to leave your name if you want!

I'm thinking of posting a Question of the Month just to see who is reading about our boring life and maybe learn something new about your boring life. So...for November, what is your favorite holiday guilty pleasure? Mine would have to be my mom's dinner rolls with lots of butter!

Giggles

Bryon gets lots of giggles from Miss Shelby when he holds her in front of the dogs. With any little movement from Winsor, she is in stitches. Hearing her laugh is the greatest thing in our lives!

For the grandparents out there, I've posted a link to Shelby's Wishlist on Amazon if you are looking for Christmas gift ideas! Like most babies, I get the feeling she will like the paper and boxes just as much as toys...

Halloween Fashion Act IV

Apparently being naked in a pumpkin is more fun than it sounds. Shelby had a blast and got a bath right after I pulled her out!

Halloween Fashion Act III

Happy Halloween! Our little budding flower is ready to go trick-or-treating.

Fun Picture from September

This was a fun picture I've been meaning to post. The bracelet was a gift from Janice. It helps protect babies from bad spirits and germs that come near her. I just like the way Shelby is posing with her jewelry!

Halloween Fashion Act II

Every girl needs an outfit like this with her name in rhinestones! This embellished creation is another custom piece from the Wendy Lee collection. Trick or treat!

Meow

Noëlle, our fabulous babysitter, surprised Shelby with a new Halloween outfit on Friday. How cute is she as a kitty cat? One of these days, Noëlle will let me post a picture of her!

Shelby's toes are her new favorite toy. She and Mimi shared lots of laughs today playing with toes and doing lots of rolling over. Mimi even got a few giggles!

Shelby's First Friends

Here's Shelby with her new friends, Rebel and Zoë, our babysitter's kids. Zoë gave Shelby a purple duck that she loves to kiss and hold, and Rebel keeps her entertained with singing and playing. Shelby just loves them!

On another note, Shelby had her four month check-up with the doctor yesterday. She now weighs 14 pounds, twice her birth weight. Everything looked good, and she only cried for a second with her shots. The doctor gave us the all clear to start cereal and food, so we tried some sweet peas last night. She seemed to enjoy the nasty green mush!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

Look what trick Shelby just learned to do!

Lazy Sunday

A recent picture of my friend Rita's baby, Paige, inspired me to try to get a good tummy time picture. Shelby HATES tummy time, but I did manage to get her to smile for a split second.

We've had a lazy weekend, just hanging out watching all the videos Gwen brought over. Thanks, Haden and Harris, for donating your library to Miss Shelby!

Attempt at Video

Here's my first attempt at a video...it's pathetic! Shelby enjoys trying to figure out her kicking mat that Grandma Janice got while she was here. Notice the chubby legs!

Videos may be few and far between. It is taking forever to "process"!

The Queen in her Throne

Isn't she adorable? Queen Shelby is getting so big! You can't really tell her ankles from her thighs since they are so chunky. Mom's milk is healthy...

She still enjoys her Bumbo for about 15 minutes, just enough time for me to clean the kitchen. I gave her a stir rod to play with today and decided it looked like a sceptor. I guess it's never too early to learn how mix drinks and rule over your kingdom at the same time!

Duck Girl

This little baby loves her ducks! My sister Molly's little girl, Carly, had a blanket that went EVERYWHERE with her for several years. I gave it to her, and she named it "Kiki". So, Molly wanted to return the "favor" and give Shelby a blanket she couldn't live without. It looks like Shelby's "duckie" will be attached at her hip for awhile!

Noëlle, our AWESOME babysitter, kept Shelby for the first official time yesterday. I'm still in disbelief that we found someone so perfect! She is one of my Target customers, and the whole thing just kind of fell in our laps. She even brought Shelby up to work yesterday so I could feed her during my lunch time. We love her!

Back to the Grindstone

It's been an exciting week at the Pfaff house. I went back to work on Tuesday while Bryon stayed home to keep Shelby for the day. Then, on Wednesday, Bryon's mom, Janice, came to visit and keep the baby for awhile. We've had TONS of fun taking pictures of the two of them. Janice has been a great babysitter, and I wish we could keep her here until Shelby starts kindergarten. It sure does make it easier to go to work knowing she is in good hands.
Janice and I have had a great time dressing Miss Priss up in lots of her outfits. This is her tutu from Wendy's marvelous collection. She is just a doll!

New Toy!

We decided it was time for Johnny Jump-Up since Shelby loves to stand on her legs. She seemed to really like it but was a little confused with it all.

The other picture is from our fun Labor Day weekend with the Morris and Rowland families. Cousin Carly and Shelby were both taken with each other. Shelby would watch Carly wherever she went, and Carly thought Shelby was the cutest thing EVER! It was all very sweet.

Our Daily Photo Shoot

Just some quick photos from this morning. These were a tribute to three family members~the animal quilt was Walt's when he was a baby, the socks that look like shoes were a gift from my cousin Meredith, and the outfit was a tribute to my nephew Conrad, who was OBSESSED with octopus at one time.

Also, we will be having another "first" tonight. I'm going to work for 3 hours, so Bryon will be in charge of the nightly feeding, entertaining, and bathing. He and Shelby should have lots of fun! I, on the other hand, will be trying to get back in the swing of things at the Big Bullseye Pharmacy.

Road Trip

The Pfaff family took our first road trip with our new addition last weekend. We went to Austin to visit my dad. I give Shelby a C+ in citizenship, as she cried from Waco to Austin and wailed every time we tried to put her in the Pack 'N Play. Bryon elected her Queen Shelby since she got to sleep in the bed with us.

She did manage to give a few smiles here and there, especially with her great-grandma Susie. In general, she will smile and quit crying as long as she is being held. Great news for my back!

A Girl's Second Bestfriend

While diamonds may be a girl's bestfriend, shoes come in a close second! My friend Dianne (NN) in OKC sent Shelby these adorable "boots". They are WAY too big right now, but I just had to see her in them. It cracks me up, and Shelby seems to get a kick out of her new shoes also!

A Full Eight Hours

Big news in my little world! Our little angel slept from 10 pm to 6 am, a full 8 hours. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be a pattern!

New Toy

Shelby loves her new swing! Thanks to Daddy for putting it together.

New Trick

Shelby shows Daddy how she can bear her weight on her legs. She will be standing before she can crawl!

Ouch!

Not the greatest picture, but I really wanted to get Shelby screaming during her first round of immunizations. The nurse got a kick out of me trying to take the picture and hold Shelby's hands out of the way at the same time.

Her two month check-up went well. The doctor said she looked great and seemed to be a very inquisitive baby. The worst part for me was pulling the bandaids off later that night!





Since she was worn out from throwing a fit during her four shots, I used the opportunity to run to Mom and Jeff's house for lunch. Their dog, Chuck, LOVES Shelby, especially when he licks her toes. He would give her a tongue bath if we let him! Anyway, we enjoyed spending time at the Rowland house for the afternoon. Jeff did a good job posing for the camera!

She Found Her Fingers

Shelby likes to suck on her fingers now more than her pacifier...but she has such a hard time finding them and gets SO upset when she can't make it work!

Highlights of a Great Weekend

For all of you wanting a picture of Shelby, sorry to disappoint you! Since this blog is about the whole family, I thought I might document the highlights of our weekend. After moving out to the suburbs 6 years ago, we discovered that the closest Taco Cabana was over 15 minutes away. How sad! We might not have moved to Valley Ranch had we known that. Anyway, this week, a new Taco Cabana opened right by our house. YIPEE!! We ate there on Saturday and got about half way through the meal before Shelby lost it. I knew the day was coming where she wouldn't be the perfect angel in a restaurant. At least it was fast food and not somewhere fancy.

On Sunday, we decided to venture out again. Bryon had eaten at a California Pizza Kitchen while he was in Newport Beach a couple of weeks ago. He wanted me to try the Waldorf Salad from there, so we drove all the way to Grapevine to try it out. YUM! It was the big highlight of my weekend. And, good news to all of our New Mexico friends. The company will be opening a location in Albuquerque Uptown soon. Shelby actually slept the whole time, while a three month old baby next to us threw a fit. I was relieved not to have to be the one having to care for a crying baby for once!

One other Shelby note...she has found her thumb! I'm hoping to get a picture of her sucking it soon. She sticks it in her mouth with her other four fingers spread over her whole face. I'm thinking the thumb will replace her pacifier soon.

A Face Only a Mother Could Love

Although it is WAY too soon, I could swear Shelby has started teething. She cried all afternoon, was munching on anything she could shove in her mouth, and drooled all over. Has anyone else has a baby start teething at 2 months? Anyway, her little cries were just too cute not to capture on camera...okay, so they were only cute for about 5 minutes! I tried to get a shot of her bottom lip sticking out, but my camera wasn't fast enough. I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities today!

Bumbo the Wonder Chair

Although she can't quite sit up on her own yet, we decided to put Shelby in the Bumbo chair today. I think I am going to LOVE it! She seemed content to be cradled in blue foam rubber while we did chores all around her. Hopefully she will continue to enjoy it so I can get some relief from carrying her around all day.

Shelby had another first this week, swimming in the pool. Bryon and I didn't have the heart to put her completely under just yet. Soon enough she will turn into a little fish! She did enjoy the water, floating on her back and staring at the banana trees.

It finally dawned on me who her hair reminds me of: Albert Einstein! Let's hope she has a similar IQ also.

Yo, Ho! Yo, Ho!

Bryon is really anxious to get Shelby out on the boat, so we decided we would take her out this weekend. I thought it might be a good idea to try her life jacket on before going out to Lake Grapevine. It was hilarious! She was so confused by it all. In the end, I decided she looked a little like Blue Spongebob. Needless to say, we are going to have to wait until she gets a little bigger before we take her to the lake!