Mommy and Daddy got Shannon a bike helmet and a bike of her own. She figured out how to ride it right away!

Christmas time!

Daddy made Shannon a cave to play in. What fun!

Tom's guard unit had a holiday party last weekend. The kids had a chance to sit on Santa's lap. Except for Shannon, who burst into tears when she was still about 10 feet away from him. Strange reaction from a kid who practically tries to go home with random strangers at the grocery store.

They had a big table covered in stuffed animals for the kids after they sat with Santa. We call Shannon's new teddy bear John (as in Jaundice). It has to be the ugliest teddy bear I have ever seen but she insisted on that awful yellow color.

Time for driving lessons already?

Shannon got a balloon from a restaurant the other day. She loved it!

One night while I was at work, Tom decided to give Shannon a haircut. Here is the result. I still haven't quite recovered from it yet.

Shannon got to go outside and play in the snow. Since it is almost as deep as she is tall, she didn't get very adventurous.

More pictures of Shannon walking. Isn't her hair a mess? She has really bad bed hair in the morning these days, and you can imagine how much she likes having it combed. This outfit was made by Nana.

About a week ago we got Shannon her first pair of shoes. She celebrated by immediately standing by herself in the shoe store, which she had never done before. She then proceeded to walk all over the mall just hanging onto my sleeve. Within a week, she was walking. Yesterday on her birthday she mastered standing up by herself without holding on to anything. Currently she can walk 20-30 feet without falling over and she even tried running today. I'm kind of sad - I will miss the way she just puts her head down and crawls as fast as she can to something interesting. Still, it will be fun going for real walks and playing on more than just the swings at the playground.

So here she is. For some reason she walks better if she is holding something in her hands. Yesterday she carried a saucepan all the way into her room.

A few more birthday pictures. Shannon loved the lasagna and ate 2 huge bowls. Nana made her an apple cake with a dog on it, 2 of her favorite things, but by the time the cake came out she was pretty over-excited and just threw the icing around. The rest of us thought it was pretty tasty.

We had Shannon's first birthday party a little early. Grandpa Penney wasn't feeling well so we missed him and Grandma Penney, but her other grandparents and her Aunt Sarah were there (even though she had to drive all the way from Illinois and back in 1 day!). Here are a few highlights. She didn't get too excited about unwrapping the presents, but she had a great time playing with them!

Tom came home from Germany last weekend. Shannon wore her uniform to go pick him up. Aren't they cute?

One of Shannon's new hobbies is sitting on her airplane and reading a book. Thanks again Grandpa Penney for the great plane!

I know little girls are supposed to be something cute for Halloween, but since Tom is off on guard duty right now, I thought maybe dressing up like Daddy would be fun. This is Shannon's Halloween costume, (sewed by Nana). I don't think her hair is in regs though. Surprise, Daddy!

Ahhh, there's nothing better than a nice soft dog to cuddle up with at bedtime. Eli didn't even try to get away from her.

It's so much fun to get into the pots and pans and tupperware. Unfortuanately Shannon hasn't quite grasped the concept of moving her fingers out of the way before closing to doors. I think we are going to have to have Tom put latches on these doors too when he gets back.

Here she is helping me make some bread.

I thought Shannon would want to help me scoop out the pumpkin guts, but she really didn't get into it much. I guess at least she wasn't too messy when we were done!

Shannon has learned how to pull on a dog toy with my mom's dogs. She thinks it is so funny!

Hi Daddy! We miss you and hope you aren't having too much fun without us!

Shannon loves her swimming lessons! And before you ask, no she isn't wearing a top. I left her good swimsuit at class the previous week and the instructor was kind enough to take it home and wash it but she left it at her house. That morning we went for the emergency back up suit and of course couldn't find the top anywhere. I am sure she didn't notice.

Look who can climb stairs now. Time for another baby gate, I guess!

Playing with my bibs is just so much fun! Besides, I love watching Mom and Dad pick them up again.

What do you suppose these two are up to?

Bathtime is never boring with Daddy around. Tonight, it is bathtime on the high seas (or at least high ducks)!

Little Miss Helpful, sorting the socks (and pulling all her bibs out of her highchair).

We where luck with this one. One stormy night our neighbor’s tree fell in to our yard, it missed the house by fifteen feet or so.

Shannon and her friend Megan went to an apple orchard. They rode on a tractor, walked through a corn maze, looked at some farm animals, and watched their parents eat caramel apples. We think they had a great time!

The baby book says that by now I should be getting Shannon used to eating off of a plate or bowl. Normally we just put food directly on the tray of her high chair because it doesn't really take much foresight to realize that a bowl or plate will just turn into a gravity testing device with extra ammunition. Still, I don't want her to be the only one in pre-school who still eats directly off the table, so against my better judgement I bought one of those bowls with a suction cup that will stick to her high chair. As you can see, the suction lasted approximately 30 seconds.

After some experimentation she discovered that the suction bottom actually comes off the bowl, providing a back-up gravity testing device.

Soon thereafter came the classic "what happens when I upend this over my head" manuever, which fortuanately resulted only in one small piece of chicken in her hair, since the mashed potatoes kept the remainder of the chicken and the broccoli safely inside the bowl. Needless to say, I don't think we will be repeating this experiment any time soon.

The National Museum of the Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH is second only to the Smithsonian for its display of aircraft from the Wright brothers through modern experimental aircraft. Shannon thought that the F-15 cockpit was the most fun. Tom like the XB-70, the precursor to the B-1 (the aircraft he worked on when he was active duty), and I liked the SR-71 Blackbird. The first picture is of Tacit Blue, an early stealth lifting body aircraft. The museum guide even opened up the entry and let us look inside at the cockpit.