Moving Along...

Things are moving along on the house. I took the pictures below tonight. The inside work has started now, the framers got the deck and roof over the deck on and the garage doors on, the front porch was poured this week. The plumber and heating/cooling guys also started this week. Mike and James started the electrical last Sunday and got all of the outlet and switch boxes in and various other things!

Shelby looking at the trucks on the highway out of her bedroom window SHelby in mommy's new bathtub (can't wait to try it out!) The walkout downstairs The front porch! The back of the house

Wedding

The newlyweds! At the reception

Cousin Eric and Shelby, setting up the reception (or eating m&m's!) Cindy doing Kimberly's hair

Karen, Matt & Malia at the church

The cake!

Auntie Gina & Bala Beth

Bala Beth & Jason

Cassie & Eric

Auntie Gina and Auntie Lori Barbie & Danny

Dad and his nephews, Timmy & Ryan

The druken idiot who thinks he is from Ireland!! haha (sorry couldn't help myself Michael!)

Mindy Doodle & Lori Dori Doo

mom & Ryan during the dollar dance Shelby & Braydon (I wonder what they are thinking; Braydon says, NO this way, Shelby says, NO my way! lol) Shelby & Lori (and Kate is in there too!)

Siblings; Dad, Gina, Steve & Lori

Uncle Mike!

Uncle Mike again, busting a move!

more to come when I get them!

Mini Mike!

Okay, everybody whose knows Mike pretty much agree's that Shelby's is a spitting image of her father! I have heard a million times since she was born, "oh my she looks just like her daddy"! yes i know thank yoU! I have been told recently she is starting to look more like me, although she will probably always strongly resemble her father. I love it when people who don't know Mike or have never seen him, they see Shelby and say how much she looks like me, then they see Mike and are like Oh, okay, yep she looks just like her dad! We are always asked where her blonde hair comes from, Mike and myself both were toe heads. My hair is a dirty blonde now and Mike's is almost black. Just about everyone in my family were blondes (almost white hair) as children as well. So I thought I would scan in some pictures of Mike and myself when we were about Shelby's age, check it out! ALmost scary! This is Mike Mike again And Me (wasn't I such a cute kid!) Shelby makes this face A LOT

House & Easter

We hope that everyone had a good Easter! Would have been nice if the weather would have cooperated but not much you can do about that! I think this was the weirdest Easter I have seen weather wise. It was freezing cold and it SNOWED! No accumalation, thank goodness, but it was so odd, just out of nowhere it would start snowing, huge flakes, and then stop and it was sun shining! Martha and I took Shelby to her church's Easter egg hunt on Good Friday, once we showed her what she was supposed to do she was a pro! She loved it. Then Saturday we wen to the Bethel's pancake breakfast with the easter bunny, lets just say this, Shelby and the Easter bunny are NOT friends! She was absolutely terrifie of him! Then Sunday we went to church and to mamarene's for dinner. Getting ready to start the Easter Egg Hunt! Here are a few extra's of Shelby This is usually what Shelby's hair looks like when she wakes up! Yes that is underwear on my child's head, I couldn't resist this photo op! Silly girl! YES that is Kimberly and Shelby in the playplace at McDonald's! lol Ok now the house! We have WALLS! We are so excited and anxious to see what our house is really going to look like, now it is starting to looking smaller! This is in the basement looking up at the floor joists And this is what it looks like today (Tuesdsay night)!

Leaving Comments

Ok, I have been asked how to leave a comment. So if you don't know, here ya go. Under the post it says the time and date posted and then it says 0 comments or whatever, click on the comments and if you don't have a blog you can click on open user ID or whatever is says, you don't need a username and password. IF that doesn't work then just use anyonymous and put your name in your comment!

2 year checkup

Shelby had her 2 year well baby checkup last Friday. She is 31 pounds and 35.5" tall. She is still in the 95% or higher, which she pretty much has been in the 90's since she was born. It looks like she might be tall and skinny, like I "used" to be! We spoke with our pediatrician for a while about Shelby's speech, or lack thereof. Our problem is, she babbles constantly (which is a good thing), she understands everything we say, she responds to us and follows directions, but she refuses to use real words. She says all kinds of different sounds and uses lots of letters, but does not use them for communication. We know she can say words because she will say a word a few times and then stop. At this point she finds it easier (or so she thinks) to communicate with us by whining, crying or pulling us to where she wants us to go. This of course has been a huge worry for me, I am afraid of her being behind or delayed. We had her evaluated about about 19 months and they considered her around 30% delayed but we chose to wait on speech therapy hoping she would have a verbal explosion. That hasn't happened yet. So we have decided to wait and take her back to the pedi for a checkup at 2 1/2 years old and we will do speech therapy then if she is still not speaking. We are fairly confident that she will need very little therapy. We are also in agreement that she most likely does not have any kind of disorder. Her pedi says that he won't be surprised that if after one or two sessions she isn't speaking (not because of the actual therapy but because she decides to speak after a stranger works with her). So that the scoop on that. Everyone has told us that she is too young for this therapy stuff or just let her be, she is fine, or my son, daughter, granddaughter, or whatever didn't talk until they were 3. Don't get me wrong, Mike and I think SHelby is prefect, but if she needs "help" in this area, all statistics and research shows that it is better to help them earlier rather than later. Our pediatrician's opinion was, he typically tells parents to wait until 2.5 or 3, by the time they are 3, there is more cause for concern as there just may be something else wrong, and/or the later you wait, the more difficult it will be to work with them. It can also take months to get into the program with therapy, so you don't want to wait TOO long. Six months after she turns three she will be going to preschool, so she needs to be talking by then and she also needs to be talking more than she is now, so she will be able to fully learn her ABC's and numbers and other developmental stuff kids her age are doing. Another thing we hear QUITE regularly is, "count your blessings, because once she starts talking she will never shut up". While I COMPLETELY understand this (you all know me, right?!?!), and I try to appreciate it while it lasts, BUT unless you live with a child who only communicates by whining, crying, pulling on you, etc.. you have no clue. We are really trying to get her to say words by asking instead of the whining, etc...sometimes it works, but most of the time is doesn't. I have also had people tell me that she seems fine. ONe thing people don't understand is, that is a large crowd or when Shelby is running around playing with other kids, she seems perfectly fine, and most people don't even notice that she isn't speaking words. But at home, when it is just the three of us, it is beyond frustratingly apparent to us. WHen other kids are coming up to you or their parents and saying mommy or daddy, and clearly asking for things, Shelby doesn't do that, she comes up to us and pulls us or points or whines. When she wants me on the floor with her she will grab my hand and push me down to the floor or point to the floor, when she wants something to eat, she has started pointing to her tongue. It very hard sometimes to know what exactly she wants. A lot of people also tell us "why don't you just make her say the words". Not so easy! Have you ever tried that with a 2 year old? Usually she gives up or she goes on forever. I may be weak in this deparment but I just don't see how getting her upset to the point of gagging is going to make her say anything. So anyways, those are some of my thoughts and feelings on the subject! A few hours after Shelby's checkup she started hacking up a lung! Go figure right, we were just at the doctors so I won't get sick until we leave! Shelby has never had a cough, EVER. SO this is new territory for us. She has no fever, so we are just watching it closely. On the house front, they are hopefully going to be pouring the basement slab on Wednesday and start framing next week! YAY. We also went and ordered all the carpeting for the house and the tile for the bathrooms. That way when it is framed up, they can come and double measure and it is already all picked out and they will deliver it and install it when we want. Now that Shelby turned 2 recently I have been looking back on the past 2 years and what an adventure it has been. I was just talking to a friend about how Shelby was such an easy going and relaxed baby, she was great, and then she turned 1 and that is when the tantrums and her personality and attitude really shined! She is still a great kid of course, but she was an awesome newborn. I just might be in the minority here but I loved those newborn days. Shelby would sit like this for an hour or more, just as happy and content as could be. We were are are very lucky!

Birthday

We had Shelby's birthday party today and it was a success! And she made out like a bandit. We had the party at the Harristown Township Building since our house is so small (but not for long!). SHelby got all kinds of cool things including a 25th Anniversary Cabbage Patch doll, sand table, picnic table, trampoline, cloths, baby bed, stroller and swing, helmet, books, babies and more! Here are some pictures... Cookies Grammy made for me! Also thanks to those that helped clean up, it was much appreciated! Almost this exact time 2 years ago I was getting up out of bed for the first time after a c-section, OUCH!