Something is missing.

Shannon has recently figured out how to remove her diaper. Last week, she took it off in her crib after she filled it!! Luckily, it was Kyle's morning to get her, so he did clean up!

Today, I was called to the kitchen and this is what I found...

she had been putting the diaper in the cupboard...



check out the thighs!! :)

First Birthday Party!

To celebrate, we had some family over for Shannon's First Birthday party. Of course, at one year, she was not that into the whole thing, so we had help opening the presents. The hit of the party was a giant stuffed elephant from her aunt kim and uncle mark! Shannon loves it!!


In my family, it is tradition to give the baby a whole cake on their birthday. Because of her love of doggies, I made her a nice huskey cake.... with doggie cupcakes for the rest of us.


Shannon was not sure it was food or what to do with it.

I had to coax her into touching it, but she was way more interested in the cupcakes the other girls were eating. She even stepped in her cake to get to the cupcakes. So, we gave in and let her have a cupcake instead.



Then, of course, the other girls grabbed a fork and jumped into Shannon's cake.. and guess who wanted some now!! yep, with fork in hand, she enjoyed her cake!!

Shannon is 1 year old!!

Today our little girl turns 1!!! Happy Birthday Shannon!

She is such a funny lil thing. She can walk around, in that adorable new walker waddle.... You cant help but smile as she walks toward you. She still only has 2 bottom teeth, but four more are just about to break through on the top.




Like her big sister, she loves to be outside, especially playing with the dogs or riding on the bikes.



She loves to play with stuffed animals, especially doggies. She can even say doggie, dog dog, mama, dada, and, of course, allie (doggie and allie are her favorite words, I am sure).

At her one year check up, she weighed in at a whopping 22 pounds, 30.5 inches long... she falls in the 60% for weight (not as high as she looks, eh?) and the 80th for length (she gets her height from her mom.. hahahah).

It is always amazing to see how fast they grow and change. And, with the second child, she seems to pick up things much earlier, with the help of her big sister !!!

Can we go camping?

Allie has been asking daily to go camping, so we actually had a couple days off and decided to head out with the trailer and girls. After a quick question to Allie, it was decided that we would head to the beach for our little excursion. In an attempt to be adventurous (I tend to go where I always go), we decided to head to a new place that all our local friends rave about. Pacific City, here we come.




Allie loved playing in the sand, and Shannon found it just as enjoyable, though not too tasty!!


When your a new walker, it is not that easy to walk in sand, but Shannon did it pretty well on her lil (or not so lil) legs!!


Allie and daddy decided to go play in the water... leaving Shannon up on the sand with me. She was not too pleased with this, and began her treck down to join them!


almost there...
ah ha. made it!

After playing in the water, we went over to the sand dune/hill area, and Allie climbed up, then ran full speed down!


daddys girls. love this.

It was a fantastic couple days!! Can't wait to go back!

City Fair

McMinnville had a City Fair on Saturday, so I took the girls down to the park to check it out. We enjoyed checking out the fire trucks, police car and police dogs, and eating ice cream! But the hit of the day, was the hot air balloon rides. Allie went up with our friends for a quick ride... and loved it.

Cousins!!

We were blessed to have Brett, uncle Mark and aunt Kim over for a night this weekend. Allie and Shannon were enamored with Baby Brett... Shannon was pretty funny, poking his nose, mouth, etc.. then even dragging him closer to her by his feet. She thought he was another doll to play with.

See, I am just looking...
Oh, wait... maybe he is cold!!

Allie enjoyed holding him....

And reading to him.


It was great to see him...I mean, THEM!!! We get to see them again in two weeks.... right?????

I AM ORANGE

OSU Beaver football has begun, and Allie was a huge fan!! Due to rainy conditions, we were unable to tailgate before the game, so after a quick breakfast in a dry Shari's, we headed to the game. Allie loved it!! She watched and asked a lot of questions... why are there guys in black/white stripes? why are the guys falling down? where is the ball? when are they going to get a touchdown?

The whole family enjoyed the day, even Shannon who slept for all of 2nd quarter and half time!!


And after the game, we headed for a quick visit and dinner with papa and nana who were staying at a nearby RV park. On the way home, our girls were crashed out. What a busy day.. or week, it has been.

We love the State Fair!!

September in Oregon means many things. Back to school. Rainy days come back. Football season begins. And, of course, the Oregon State Fair! I have always, always loved the state fair. I remember going every year with my family, entering the pie eating contest, three legged race, and the greased money pole climb. There were the rides, outdoor concernts, the booths.. not to mention the FAIR FOOD.

It has been quite a while since we went to the State Fair. Today we made it there. Allie was super excited, which got Shannon in a mood.



Allie was excited to get her face painted and insisted on a lady bug. what a cute bug!!
then it was time to ride. her first ride was the tram thing that goes across the fairgrounds.
It goes slowly, but they get up high and enjoy the view.
then it was to the petting zoo and to see all the animals in the barns.
Shannon loved the animals.
Shannon is thrilled to be at the fair, can't you tell?
Allie couldn't wait to ride the "fairousel". She could not say it right. I think she was so excited to be at the fair, she combined that word with carousel. Oh, well, we both knew exactly what she was talking about!!
then it was off to ride the "balloons", nice man let her on even though she didnt quite hit the height requirement.
and the final ride was a indiana jones playhouse thing that ended with a slide.

All in all, it was a great day at the fair... and both girls were fast asleep on the ride home!!