HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY SHELBY!

Wow!!!
I can’t believe my little baby is 2! TWO!! Time flies so fast….I remember cuddling with her during night time feedings just like it was yesterday.

Shelby has become a very independent little girl. She definitely has a mind of her own and she has definitely started the TERRIBLE TWO’s!!!

I will post Shelby’s physical stats after her doctor appointment on Friday, but she is a very healthy 2 year old.

I think this may be a random rambling post as I am not sure where to start.

PERSONALITY:
She is very stubborn, loves to play, and has an infectious laugh. When she gets her mind set on something, there is no changing it….this makes life very frustrating some times for Mommy & Daddy and we are learning to pick our battles (yesterday she put on purple socks with her red outfit….I took this as a “win” for me as she started out having a lime green sock on one foot and a purple one on the other). She is obsessed with Mickey Mouse and we had to switch diapers to Huggies (instead of Pampers) because they have Mickey Mouse on them. How does she know this? I bought her OVERNITES as she was waking up in the morning with a brick in her pj’s! Anyway, the overnites had Mickey on them. Once she saw them, she wouldn’t let me put the pampers on her anymore. Well, the overnites are more expensive, so I ended up switching brands all together!!! I think you can see who is boss in our house!!!However, all of this makes it worth it when she gives you that big hug and kiss. She is a very affectionate girl and if she knows you are not feeling good, she will give you a big kiss and hug.

SLEEP:
Shelby has challenged us this year in the sleep category. It is always one thing…if she consistently sleeps in, then she is difficult to get down at night…if she goes to bed easy, then she wakes up 4 times…you get the picture….we do get 3-4 week stretches where all planets align and she goes down relatively easy, sleeps through the night and doesn’t wake up before 6:00…we went through a stretch at about the 15 month mark where she was up before 6:00 every day. She still doesn’t nap well for us on the weekends…this has been a consistent struggle. This is frustrating since she is such a good napper at daycare. She sleeps 2-2 ½ hours there!! No issues….well, weekends are a different story. From about 12-15 months, we could get her to take a nap on Daddy while watching NASCAR on TV, but then we struggled with letting her cry it out, nap on the couch, etc. etc. When the weather got nicer, we would take her for walks in her stroller where she would fall asleep and then we would wheel her inside and she'd sleep in her stroller. Lately, the only way to get her to nap (without letting her cry for an hour) is to lay down with her in our bed...she screws around for about 20 min but she does finally fall asleep and will sleep for at least an hour....I'm not really complaining because that means Mommy gets a nap too!!

EATING:
Shelby has always been a pretty good eater. She loves pizza, avocados, green beans, cheese, ice cream, M&M's (although she doesn't get these much). She LOVES all fruit and will always eat with no problem (although sometimes those "fruit" diapers aren't pleasant!). She is pretty good with utensils although we are still trying to teach her NOT to drink from her bowl (no matter what is in there) and to not dump her plate.

PLAYING:
Shelby loves playing with her dolls, pushing her stroller, playing with her kitchen, cars, legos, coloring, and also terrorizing Schooner. She loves reading books and having books read to her. She loves watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...she actually is obsessed with it!! She watches it in the morning with Daddy while Mom is getting ready and right after her bath before bed. She loves playing with her cousins....she loves Lance & Layla and is constantly asking for them. It is so cute and I just know that she will be a great big sister!!

DEVELOPMENT:
Shelby is a little behind in the speech category. She knows about 35 words, but her communication skills are really good. She always lets us know what she wants somehow....it amazes me though, I can be having a conversation with someone with her in another room, she hears one word and comes running in for that word even if it isn't in the same context, so I KNOW she understands everything....people keep telling me to relax, that she will speak when she wants...and probably won't shut up!!!!

All in all, it has been a GREAT year. Shelby is so much fun and challenging, all in the same breath!!!!!!!

She is the light of our lives and I cannot believe I can love someone as much as I love her.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!!