My little girl...growing up so fast!

Shelby is going to turn 1 year old this Friday Oct. 5th. It is crazy because I can't remember not having her, but at the same time it doesn't seem like she has been around that long. I have learned a ton in the past year about myself, my husband, and life in general. So I have decided to pass along my vast knowledge to the all of you and make a list of the top ten things I have learned in the past year.

1. Poop happens! That's right it does and it always seems to happen in the most inopportune times, such as the bath or when you are out of diapers. It has been on more than one occasion that either myself or Jon has been taking a bath with Shelby, having a wonderful time with all the toys and Shelby has little bubbles come up from under her and her face starts to turn red. EVACUATE!!!!! Another one of my favorites is when we are out and about and I change her diaper and a few minutes later she decides that she wasn't done. Especially happens when I just used the last diaper in my purse.

2. Gifts to Grow. I just barely found this out and it would have been valuable information about 1 year ago. If any of you use Pampers diapers or wipes then you need to read this!! There is a code on each product that I have never noticed until my good friend Kelly told me about it. Well if you go to Pampers.com and enter the codes then you get points for each item, the code lets them know what it was that you purchased and they give you points accordingly. Well anyway they have gifts that you can choose from and you get them for free when you use your points towards them. I really want the trike that Kallie has and it is 400 points. If I would have known about this then for Shelby's 1 b-day I could have gotten that for her (for free!) If you use pampers you should sign up.

3. Clean clothes are overrated! Right? Since having Shelby my clothes are pretty much never clean. There is either snot, slobber, spit up, or mystery gunk on me at all times. There is no use in changing because then you are sure to get extra dirty as soon as she notices that you have a clean shirt on. I have decided to embrace the dirt and wear it proudly. It took me so long to get Shelby here so I will relish my dirty clothes and only hope that one day I will be blessed with another snot, slobber, spit up, and mystery gunk maker.

4. Sleep is priceless. I would never complain about waking up in the middle of the night or early in the morning, because Shelby is totally worth it, but I never realized how much I love my sleep. I have been so lucky because Jon has been the biggest help in the whole world with this situation. Every Sat. and Sun. Jon wakes up with Shelby and feeds her, gets her dressed, and plays with her. They usually go wash the cars or some kind of daddy-daughter activity on Sat. It is so nice because I can wake up and go straight to the shower and actually be ready for the day before 9am. In the beginning I probably looked like a zombie half of the time, but I have been told that I was one HOT zombie!

5. Shopping is now just for her. I used to love to go shopping a get new purses, shoes, clothes or whatever else I felt so inclined to get. Now I find myself wanting to look at kids books, toys, or kids clothes. I even have caught myself a time or two going to the store just to look at bibs, exersaucers, car seats, or other paraphernalia for my little girl. I almost never want to look at things for me because it is way more fun to see her react to a new toys or book. It is awesome to hear her giggle and squil with glee. I love it!

6. Friends are mandatory. I have been SO lucky to have so many friends that have young kids to hang out with. I have my dental school friends, ward friends, bunco friends, and high school friends which is such a blessing. It has been so nice to bounce ideas around on how to parent and even just have some company. The kids really enjoy one anothers company too. I truely love each and every friend that I have and I hope that I can be there for all of them just like they have all been there for me throughout the years.

7. Creative Chores = Completed Chores. I don't know if anyone else has a child that likes to do EVERYTHING that mom does, but Shelby is my little shadow. So I have had to become quite the creative chorester. Laundry in our house is like the indy car 500 race with the laundry basket. Shelby loves to go for rides! Cooking has a speacial BANG to it. Shelby loves to get into the tupperware and wooden spoons. Drums definately suit her. Taking out the trash has become a large detour around the parking lot (songs included). In fact there seems to be a plethera of songs that I have created for each chore and some even have a sassy jig to go along with it. (at least Shelby likes my singing & dancing). Even making the beds seems to take longer since I have a monkey that has to jump and jump until I make her "fall off and bonk her head". Yes, I get extremely creative so that I can still have the clean house that is so important to me.

8. My meals are her meals. Each and everytime that I sit down to enjoy a wonderful meal or snack Shelby seems to come out from nowhere and sit right at my feet. She works up the biggest mooch face that she can with the pouty eyes and open mouth (just like a bird). It seems that no matter when the last time that she ate was, there is always room for Mommy's food. Sometimes she even eats so much that I am still hungry after "MY" meal. Resturants are the same way except then she points at Jon and I to make sure we are not confused with what it is that she really wants.

9. Grandparents are a necessity. It has been so nice to have 2 sets of grandparents that are so helpful and loving. Both my mom and mother-in-law came and stayed with us during the first few weeks of Shelby's life. Both of them would get up in the middle of the night and feed squirt (I had frozen milk). They cleaned and cooked and kept me sane during my more emotional times. I love getting the books, toys, and presents in the mail for Shelby. My mom comes down every once in awhile and just SPOILS us rotten, Shelby and I love it. Jon's mom made the most amazing blessing dress that I have ever seen for Shelby's blessing. It was beautiful!!! Grandpa's are great too. My dad worked with Shelby all the time to get her to crawl (didn't happen until 11 months old). He also just takes her for walks around the house or watches sports center with her. Both dad's are really good at giving Shelby "snacks" like whipped cream or red cabbage. Jon's dad reads books and walks around showing Shelby tons of new cool things. Needless to say we LOVE grandparents, you can never have too many people love your child.

10. Love has no end. Jon and I both never realized that you can love someone so much. We would do absolutely anything for our little peanut, she is so speacial to us. She has filled an empty hole in our hearts and we are so greatful to have her in our lives. It is amazing how each and every little thing that she does is so cute to us. We could just watch her forever. When she is sick it breaks our hearts and we would do anything to just take the pain away. We both would do anything for her, no matter what lengths we would have to go to. I know that if we are blessed to have another child that our love would grow again. We love you Shelby!!!