Our little helper. She really liked helping with the tree.

Alex actually likes the tree topper we got a couple years ago. He was chirping at it and trying to get it to preen his head.

Shannon the Storm Trooper.

Shannon found my glasses in my backpack the other day. At least this time I didn't need to pay a visit to Lenscrafters to get them put back in alignment.

Happy second birthday, Shannon!

More pictures from our trip.

A few weeks ago Shannon and I took the train down to visit my parents. We had an early birthday party while we were there. She isn't wearing much because there was a little accident while we were out so we were waiting for her clothes to go through the wash. She had a great time, and thanks Aunt Sarah for letting us invade your house and terrorize the cats.

Look! Shannon can ride Mommy's bike!

Shannon got her new big quilt for her big girl bed today. Nina made it for her and she loves it!

Shannon helped Mom and Dad clean up the yard today. As always, she was concerned about safety and so made sure to have her helmet on before jumping into any leaf piles.

Shannon went Trick or Treating for the first time this year. To add to the fun she went with her friend Sammy. They had a kind of Toy Story theme going. Both of them had a great time. After going to a few houses for candy they spent the rest of the evening handing out candy at Sammy's house.

Shannon loves the train set she got for her birthday. I just wish I could get her to smile for the camera!

Shannon still isn't very excited about helping carve the pumpkin this year. She really liked picking it out but doesn't want to get dirty.

Shannon and Alex shared an apple and nobody got hurt!

Shannon and Daddy being silly for the camera.

Play-Doh is so much fun! Tasty, too.

Shannon likes to swim in the bath now.

Shannon loves finger painting. The only problem is I thought it would be funny to have her paint herself one day. Now she pretty much only paints herself. Here she is with her war paint on.

Shannon started day care last week. Here she is heading out the door with her back pack with her clothes and nap time blanket in it.

Zachary came to play with Shannon the other day. He behaved quite well but Shannon unfortunately had an attack of the "Mine!"s. Here she at least managed to pretend to play nicely but of course, the boat later took a wrong turn and poor Zachary got nailed in the head.

We recently removed the side rail of Shannon's crib to see how she would do in a regular bed. She actually is doing very well and doesn't even get out of bed in the morning - she still waits for us to come get her.

Shannon loves having freezing cold water poured on her head in the pool. She asks us to do this over and over again, gasps and sputters while it happens, and then asks for more. Try to do this in the tub with nice warm water so you can wash her hair though and she screams and screams.

Daddy and Shannon share a drink at Oxbow park, and Shannon and Grandpa play on a bench.

Shannon playing kickball with Galen. Shannon loved running around the yard and Galen loved that he got to run around and bark and didn't get told to be quiet.

Shannon really likes her red tricycle but she gets frustrated because when she tries to push it along her feet keep hitting the bar that holds the front wheels. We saw a couple kids at the race last weekend who had very small 2 wheeled bikes with no pedals and thought maybe she would do better with one of those. So we got her one and so far she seems to like it. She gets a little nervous because it tips over but she is learning fast.

Tired!

Shannon was in her very first bike race last weekend. Of course, she was the only one who had 4 wheels on her bike, but she had a great time.