Happy Father's Day!

It is so fun to watch Shelby as she gets older and enjoys doing pretty much everything that Daddy does: from getting ready to go shooting, to hoeing weeds, to going potty, to taking out the trash ... to working out...

Here Shelby is doing flutter kicks and she breathes just like Daddy does. :)

Shelby and Daddy are doing push-ups.

Over the last week we have been in charge of a friend's garden and chickens. The first day Shelby was very scared of the chickens, as they rush the gate when we arrive. But now she runs to the gate and asks them "chickens, yum yum?" which means, are you ready to eat? Notice she still holds on tightly to Daddy's hand.

In addition to gathering the yummy produce (tomatoes and yellow squash) we always check the garden for anything that has gone bad so that Shelby can throw those items to the chickens. Shelby thinks that anything is good for the chickens, so often times as soon as she would find a ripe tomato she would grab it and run to throw it to the chickens.

See, there is a perfectly good tomato going to the chickens. Oh well. We have plenty of other good tomatoes to eat.

Shelby also did very well gathering the eggs the first few days. After that she was much more interested in feeding the chickens or just watching them eat. It really was amazing to see how comfortable she got by the end of the week! The last day she would even kick at the chickens who were in her way, just like Daddy. Too cute!

You are a wonderful Daddy, Josh! And it is fun to see your excitement as we anticipate the arrival of our second child. Thank you for being such a wonderful role model for Shelby. You are a great husband and daddy! We love you!!!

Dance

Shelby had ice cream and brownies for her birthday, so we have been finishing up that treat the last few days. Last night she was so excited for ice cream she just kept doing this little jig.

And this is one of Shelby's favorite places to sit.

She's 2!

Today Shelby turned two and we had a fun day together as a family. When Shelby woke up we gave her lots of balloons to play with and she loved it!

Then we went to the track where Daddy ran and Shelby played with her new big ball. Next was pancakes for breakfast, then showers, then presents! (See Picasa for more pictures and videos.)

For lunch we had Shelby's (current) favorite - "roni n cheese". After nap time we had chicken nuggets and fetticine alfredo for dinner, which she practically inhaled. We were excited that she ate meat! I think it may have been the Chick-Fil-A sauce that encouraged her. :) And we had brownies and ice cream for dessert.

It was a very fun day! Thank you to those who sent cards and gifts. Shelby is enjoying them all. We love you!

"Daddy schook gun?"

For a few nights in a row Josh went shooting when he got home from work. Shelby got used to this and whenever Daddy wasn't home she would ask "Daddy schook (shoot) gun?" Then each evening when Josh got ready to go shooting Shelby was a little afraid of the ear muffs, until the second night. Once she was used to them she didn't want to take them off.

She can say...

her name!

Just last Thursday we sounded her name out with her "Sh"-"el"-"by" and then "Shel"-"by" and then she said "Shelby!" It was so sweet. (She used to just say "bee" or "ee" for her name.)

Now we are working on her age. When we ask her how old she is she insisted that the answer be "Shelby." Soon she'll catch on. :)

Shelby must not have known that I was videoing, as she got all ready for a picture and said Cheese! :)

Fredericksburg!

Over Mother's Day weekend we went to Fredericksburg, TX with some friends of ours from Sanderson: the Baethge's. Lorin and Royce Anne Baethge (Randy's parents) live on a ranch just outside of Fredericksburg and we stayed with them. Their grandkids call them PipPop and Mimi to which Shelby caught right on. Mimi was her favorite person all weekend.

Friday we went to the Nimitz museum and walked Main street. The museum is amazing! (Grandpa and Grandmother Klatt would really enjoy it!) For breakfast we ate at a yummy bakery and for lunch we ate at a great burger place. We headed back to the ranch for dinner where Randy made fajitas - delicious! The kids played outside anytime we were at the ranch.

Saturday we hiked up Enchanted Rock - quite a hike and there was a beautiful view from the top. Randy carried Luke, Josh carried Shelby, Danielle carried Samuel, Max carried a stuffed animal, and I carried a very light backpack. :) Max did such a good job and had the most energy of us all! We had a little picnic at the bottom of the rock and that afternoon the kids were wiped out. We let them take naps while we drove around Fredericksburg to see some sights. Randy's grandfather came over for supper and spent some time talking about the history of the area and his time flying around the border areas of West Texas and Mexico. We really enjoyed hearing all his stories. Saturday evening we drove around the ranch in an old pickup. The cows know the sound of that pickup and they came running for their food. Shelby loved the cows running after us and mooing really loud. We also fed the horse and the goats and the fish.

Sunday we had a nice morning at the ranch eating cinnamon rolls and relaxing. Then we headed into San Antonio to eat lunch at Mamacita's and do some shopping. Mamacita's makes their own tortillas - so flippin' good! Everyone enjoyed their lunch. We went shopping at The Rim and had a great time. The kids slept in the van for 1 hour of that time, which was good because they were so tired! Sunday evening we ate leftovers and fed the fish again. Once the kids were in bed the adults stayed up and watched 127 Hours.

Monday morning we packed up and headed to Kerrville for groceries. Josh and Randy took the kids to a park so that Danielle and I could do the shopping quickly. It worked very well! Then we grabbed lunch and headed home.

It was such a fun weekend! The kids got along great and loved being at the ranch. I think Shelby's favorite things were: the cows, horses, goats; feeding the fish; and most of all - Mimi! I have pictures posted in Picasa: Fun in Fredericksburg!

Can you tell I am pregnant? I think I told you about all the food we ate at every meal. hahaha. :) We definitely over-ate this weekend. It was all so yummy! Friday will start my 2nd trimester and I am hoping this "yucky all day" feeling will go away.

Thanks Randy and Danielle for a great weekend! We'll have to do it again!

Happy Easter!

This morning we went to an Easter egg hunt at the courthouse lawn here in Sanderson. Unfortunately we were 5 minutes late and all the eggs had been hunted. But there were several sweet friends who gave Shelby some of their eggs and even a prize! This is Shelby eating a snack just before we left for the egg hunt.

After the hunt we picked up our mail and we each got a card! We also got the Jesse Griffin family newsletter and Shelby "read" the whole thing out loud, each sentence ending with "Anna." That was after we reminded her that Anna's name is Anna and not Laila - her newest name fetish. Laila is a neighbor girl, about 2 1/2, that Shelby loves to play with! Anyway, here is Shelby reading her Easter card out loud from Grandpa & Grandma (GGG). This was ended with "Anna" at the end of each sentence until we told her it was from GGG, then each sentence ended with however she says Grandpa & Grandma, "ampa and ama."

We took two really cute videos of Shelby this morning and they won't load. :( One is of her reading her Easter card, the other is of her running from the hopping chic that Grandma Mary sent her. Oh well. Thank you, familia, for the cards and gifts!

Happy Easter to all! One of my favorite Easter songs has always been: Was It A Morning Like This? Enjoy! We love you and hope that you enjoy celebrating our Savior's resurrection!