Ralph's World

Shannon enjoying every minute of all the kids, sounds and people!

Aunt Sandi, Sarina, Uncle Rick and Caleb rockin' out!

Now that Shannon is mobile it has opened up a whole new world of places we can take her and things she enjoys.  This time Shannon went to her first concert. I was 18 when I attended my first, it was WHAM!  Yeah, I know, I'm old and they were a terrible band. I liked two songs and thought I was cool. Anyway, Todd had heard of a band called Ralph's World somewhere, we checked it out and listened to a few songs online. Ironically, the lead singer use to play for the Bad Examples, a band I use to go and see with friends during my "bar" days.  My cousin Sandra had also heard of them and her kids knew some of their songs so we decided to take the kids and check it out. The afternoon was fun, very expensive and it was hilarious watching Shannon just walk around and dance without a care as to where we were! She is quite independent and we'll have to keep a close eye on her! 

Easter Day

And... just in case you haven't heard enough or seen enough pics of Shannon at Easter.... here a just a few more.  Since we celebrated with my family the day before we enjoyed a nice Easter Day with Todd's family. Of course she received an Easter basket from Grandma Jan (that's 3 now if you haven't been counting!) with an adorable tea set in it. Such a perfect gift from a grandma who collects children's tea sets.  Shannon will get a "more real" set when she is old enough to understand what it really is. For now, she just "pours" and "stirs" the tea!

This dress was given to Shannon by our friends Eric, Gwen and Colin. I thought it was perfect for the occasion! I love the Mary Jane's with it. 

Thank you for the eggs Uncle Greg.

Enjoying dessert with Adam. Poor kid, he is so sweet to her and really takes to her but Shannon doesn't really warm up to him.  Just wait Adam, she'll come around!

Hunting For Eggs

I had more fun watching Shannon look for eggs than I think I ever did as I kid (or at least I remember!).  She was a hoot! As you can see from the pictures she was very serious, as she is about most things. I think she gets that from me. I've been told I don't smile as much as I should and I totally see that in her! So, in her defense it's because she is just so interested in what she is doing. It's all so new and she is clearly taking in every little thing. We love it! 

Mommy's Birthday

My birthday is close to Easter most years, so this year it worked out well to celebrate the two together with my side of the family.  We went to a local restaurant with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Mike, Aunt Jen, Aunt Anita, Uncle Tommy and great grandma. I had hoped that Shannon would be able to order something of the child's menu by this time, but she really isn't that interested in what we are eating.

After dinner we had dessert at our house and Shannon had fun opening her Easter basket from grandma and grandpa. Aunt Jen read her the new book she and Mike gave as a gift.  

Although this is her 2nd Easter, last year she was too little to know anything.  I remember the day well. Shannon had not been a good sleeper at that point ( we had not figured out that sleeping her on her tummy would allow her to sleep 12+ hours through the night).  We stayed home and Todd and I took turns taking naps!

Food....

.....is really not high on Shannon's priority list. I'm sure when she is 5 I will look back and laugh at how I complained about her eating habits but right now it is a little frustrating for me. She is still eating mainly baby food and not very willing to try too many table foods. As you can see, she does like mac and cheese (that took a while) and she is pretty good using a spoon. So.... I guess I shouldn't complain too much!  

Big Girl Shoes

Up until now Shannon's shoes have been soft sole shoes called Pedipeds.  Now that she is walking, running , and spending more time outdoors, she needed a real pair of  big girl shoes so we headed off to Nordstrom.  I don't usually shop there on a regular basis but it is well known that they make a big deal about first shoes. So, being the fun mommy that I am, we headed out.

I, of course, wanted to buy 10 pair but I settled on 2.  One gym shoe style  and one adorable brown suedy mary jane style to compliment all her outfits.  You can see them on in the picture above.  They gave her a balloon and stuffed animal to mark the occasion!

I think she liked this $85 pair, so I  had be a mean mommy and say "no".