Hurry home Daddy!

Shannon's favorite new toy!

Shannon and her friend Abby.

Shannon loves petting her puppies!

Shannon can stand by herself if she is holding onto something. That hand is just to make sure she doesn't fall!

Playing airplane with Mom.

Mmmmmm, rice cereal!

Hey, a bouncer! Okay, so she doesn't quite have the idea down yet but she will. And the best part is that Alex the bird really doesn't like the bouncer so maybe he will stay clear for a while. The other day he flew and landed right next to Shannon and to my horror started climbing over her. I kept yelling at him to get away as I rushed towards her. He didn't bite her or anything and when I got closer I found out why he was still next to her. She had his whole foot gripped tightly in her hand! So Alex was a good bird for a change. I think maybe he will stay away from her now.

She's really starting to interact more with her toys now. Look at her trying to get her shapes sorted properly!

Look at the turtle outfit that Shannon's Nana made her. Isn't it cute? Unfortuanately Shannon has decided that she doesn't like having her picture taken anymore and keeps closing her eyes.

Shannon now has a high chair. We are hoping if she can see us while we eat maybe she won't insist on being held during meals. I wouldn't mind but it is getting increasingly hard to keep my plate where I can reach it but her little fingers can't. Still, I'm not sure she really knows what a high chair is for yet. She was more interested in conducting experiments to see what happens when she drops Dino from the tray.

My dad made a couple of small perches for Alex so that he could have one in Shannon's room (with the idea that maybe he'll sit on it instead of destroying everything he can get his beak on). They reminded me of a Sit and Spin so I though Shannon could try it out. She sat very nicely on it, too.

Gecko Girl and her Grumpa!

The girl giving Shannon her bottle is named Allison. When I was about that age I gave her a bottle or two - when she was Shannon's age! And now she is a junior in high school.

Shannon has graduated from the bath sling to the ring. She still tends to ooze down the side of the tub a little though. And before you ask, Alex is actually sitting on the edge of the tub. It only looks like he is sitting on her head.

We miss you Tom!

Look who is getting an elevated view of the world!

If you look back to Christmastime, we posted a picture of Shannon playing in her activity gym. Here she is again. What a change 3 months can make!

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.

Shannon and her teddy bear.

Alex isn't very excited about Shannon. Really, really not excited. So he has taken to lurking under her dresser and jumping out at anything that moves. He has been acting so erratically that he got a trip to the vet. She prescribed a sun lamp. As you can see, he has found a new object of his adoration!