We tried using a cup for Shannon today. She doesn't seem very interested in her bottle anymore and spends more time blowing bubbles than actually drinking. It was a little bit of a fiasco. It took me quite a while to get the straw adjusted and we both got soaked before I managed. On the other hand Shannon did very well with it and even managed to hold the cup and get it to her mouth herself. She blew lots of bubbles.

It was so nice out today Shannon and I went for a walk. I wonder what she thinks of the nice weather - she has never gotten to go outside without being all bundled up before. I put her new hat on her because it was so sunny I was worried about her head getting sunburnt. Of course, I am not sure how much of our walk she actually saw. I kept trying but I think her main view was the inside of the hat.

Hmmm, which dog do I pet first?

Shannon in her Easter dress. OK, it's not Easter yet but it seems a shame not to wear such a cute dress more than once.

Shannon is getting better and better at sitting up. The only problem with this is now she isn't too excited about laying down anymore. Which is only a problem if nobody is around to prop her up. Of course none of us have anything else we might need to be doing...

Shannon has decided that she loves puppies. My mom came to stay with us while Tom is gone and brought her two dogs Eli and Galen and of course we have one as well. Whenever she sees them she just starts laughing and laughing. She even pets them. Today while we were waiting for Tom's airplane to leave she saw another dog and even got to pet it. The only drawback to this is that she tries to pet Alex too now. He is NOT amused.

Tom heard a big crash and when he looked out the window he saw a hawk. It was in pursuit of its dinner (a dove) and hit the side of the house. He followed it around with the camera getting some great pictures. The hawk thought about adding Tom to his dinner menu but settle for hopping over the fence and away instead.

Shannon's daddy left today for Afghanistan. This is the picture that we have on her dresser to look at every morning and tell good night to at bedtime. It is hard to tell in this picture but Shannon's shirt has an airplane on it and she is sitting on the airplane rocker her Grandpa made. She misses her daddy very much and we hope he is safe and comes back to us soon. We love you!

If we position her just right and she leans on her ball, she can actually sit by herself for a little while. She really likes her ball. She gets all excited when it rolls towards her, although she isn't really sure what to do once she gets it.

Check out Shannon's fancy new diapers! They are the latest in baby wash and wear. Hopefully she'll grow into them a little because right now they practically come up to her armpits and some of her pants don't stretch over them very well.