Alligators

Lily is now at that fun age where she has imaginary friends and apparently there is an alligator living in our house. During the day, when I need to shower, I lock the doors and go through the whole routine with Lily about how she can't answer the door or the phone without me, blah, blah, blah. A few weeks ago, after my routine, I jumped in the shower. Usually Lily will wonder into the bathroom a few minutes later looking for something to do. I kept waiting, but no Lily. I got out, dried off and started to dress, no Lily. This is not like her. I grabbed Harrison out of the bassinet and headed downstairs briefly scanning the rooms upstairs to see where she was. Downstairs located in the middle of the living room floor surrounded by toy bins, Lily was sitting in a self made fortress looking a little nervous. I proceeded to ask her what she was doing and was completely surprised by her response.
Lily - The alligator is trying to get me
Me - We have an alligator?
Lily - Yes, he is trying to get me. I threw the ball at his head!
Me - You threw the ball at the alligators head?
Lily - Yep, it broke his head. (then she acted out the scene)
Me - Ohhh . . . . well, where is the alligator now?
Lily - He's under the floor.

So, yes, beware of the alligator that lives under our floor! He tends to surface occasionally. Lily is very good about warning me when he is out and about :)

My blue eyed babies!

Harrison has Lily's eyes and I love it! My dad has the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen and I have always been so jealous of them. Don't get me wrong, I love my poo brown eyes very much! Tag's dad also has really pretty blue eyes. Well, I thought we were just plain lucky that Lily got them, but now Harrison has them too. I really hope they stay blue. Thanks to Tag's dad and my dad for passing on the blue eyes gene.

Ice Skating

We took Lily ice skating tonight for the first time. She loved it and didn't want to stop. It was pretty cold out, so we had her bundled up. Tag was given horrible skates that hurt his feet really bad so he only went once around the rink then decided that was enough. He walked Harrison around to see all of the Christmas lights. My mom and I took turns skating with Lily. She thinks ice skating is so much fun, I guess we'll have to do it more often.

BUSTED!

A few nights ago I found Tag and Lily sitting by the Christmas tree. She was telling him what all of his Christmas presents are and he was just laughing and listening, but of course not stopping her! I have a feeling he put her up to it!

Harrison Laughing!

We were being silly tonight and listening to John Denver and the Muppets Christmas CD. Harrison thought it was very funny! You only have to watch the first part of the video to see him laughing. The video is kind of long. I love that he has started to giggle now.

Water and decorate your tree . . .What??

So, apparently you are supposed to water your Christmas tree or it will die. Oh, and they look better when you decorate them with more than one box of ornaments. I guess it also helps to buy lights that actually work and maybe more than one strand would look good. Our tree is dead. It's pretty bare too. I guess we can try again next year . . . .

I did know that we needed to water it, we even bought "special tree food", I just totally forgot. I'm not going to plug the lights in because I don't want our house to burn down. Merry Christmas!

Lily loves to make silly faces and hold Harrison, which makes for a great picture! I can't believe Harrison is almost 3 months old!

Christmas is here!

Today my mom and I took Lily and Harrison to see Santa. Lily wrote Santa a letter and was very excited to see him. However, she was a little disappointed that we weren't going all the way to Mistletoe Mountain in The North Pole (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse). On the drive home she kept saying, "Mom, I forgot to give Santa a hug!" Unfortunately, we waited over 2 hours to see Santa and there was no way I was waiting in that line again. We had a great time and we got some great pictures of the kids today. I think Harrison looks like a chunky little elf! He smiles all the time now (except in most pictures, of course) and he has started to laugh!

He Smiles!

For a few weeks now, Harrison has been smiling. I have had a tough time getting a good picture of it. He was smiling today in his swing so I ran to take a picture and he closed his eyes. Go figure. Lily wanted me to take a picture of her with her baby doll by the swing and the last picture is of her after church on Sunday standing by our undecorated Christmas tree. I'm finally getting to that task today!

Reading & Sleeping

The other night I was reading a book with Harrison on my lap. When Lily gets out of bed at night we usually send her back to sleep, but on this rare occasion I let her curl up on my lap and sleep while I read. I probably enjoyed it more than they did.

Straight No Chaser

I'm posting this video again this year because I think it's awesome.  The next video is about how they got a record deal with Atlantic Records and the Christmas album they just came out with.  

Beware of the Dog House

I empathize with the men in this video, because I am truly horrible at buying presents.  Just ask Tracy.  Poor gal...

Going Green!

That's right, Harrison is going green. We have started using the new gDiapers. I have been using them off and on for the last month. Yes, there are a few extra steps now in changing his diaper, but honestly it doesn't take that much longer. For those of you who don't know what the gDiaper is, it is a flushable diaper. 50 million disposable diapers enter the landfill EVERY DAY. Each one takes up to 500 years to biodegrade. These new diapers have an outer pant and you put the liner inside. When your baby goes to the bathroom you just take the dirty liner out and flush it down the toilet and put a new liner in the cute little outer pant thing that comes in lots of fun colors. If you aren't in a place where you can flush the diaper, that's okay because you can just throw it away and it will break down in 50 - 150 days or you can use it as compost. I plan on keeping a stash of regular diapers around for babysitters or for times when I'm being really lazy. Even though there are a few extra steps, it makes me feel good that we are doing something to help take care of our planet. I'll be honest, I'm not one of those people who always is thinking about how to take care of our planet, but for awhile now I've been wanting to do something to at least help. I feel like this is a good start. There are so many easy ways to help. I don't know how long we will be able to do the gDiapers because they do cost more than regular diapers, so when the time comes that we go back to regular diapers I will then try to find another way to do my part in cleaning up this place :) My mom is a huge supporter of the gDiaper and is the reason we are able to do it. Thanks Mom!

Harrison's Blessing

Harrison had his baby blessing at church today and we are so glad that we had family here to share his day with us. Today Harrison wore the same blessing outfit Tag was blessed in almost 30 years ago. Grandma & Grandpa Hadd were here for Thanksgiving and for the blessing, along with Uncle Tom and Aunt Season. We had such a wonderful time with family and getting to know the newest member, Season. We watched movies, cooked, went to see Twilight and James Bond, and unfortunately we spent most of Saturday sick. I believe I had a bad case of food poisoning, Season has had a cold for almost a month now and we still don't know what Tag and Lily had. Tom stayed up until about 4:30 am determined to finish a LOST puzzle he and Season started last night. Lily was up most of the night not feeling well, so I would check in to see his progress throughout the night, occasionally helping with a puzzle piece or two. All in all we had a great Thanksgiving weekend.

A Sunday Afternoon

We are all about sleeping and resting on Sundays. It didn't take Harrison very long to figure out that we enjoy a long Sunday afternoon nap.

Cute Feet, Cute Hands!

I was taking some pictures for a photo book I put together (thanks Oprah and Snapfish for the free book) and I thought these were really cute. Cute feet, cute hands! One day I want to get a good camera because I believe the camera makes all the difference. I love taking pictures, especially when Lily and Harrison are the subjects.

Great Kids!

I just wanted to say that I have the best kids! It wasn't until after we got home from church that I realized I had dressed them alike. When you suffer from sleep deprivation you tend to not be as observant. Harrison is so easy going and well, Lily has always been a good kid. We feel very blessed.

Updates

Harrison wore his very first suit yesterday. He's a little scrunched in the picture, but he looked really cute! Good news, the last few nights Harrison has been starting to sleep 6+ hours. However, last night he was up frequently wanting to eat. At about 4 am Tag pointed out his pajamas to me, yep, if he doesn't eat, nobody sleeps! We converted our basement into a play room/ place for me to work on preschool activities with Lily. Painting has been one of her favorite things to do recently. Here is a picture of Lily creating another masterpiece.

10 Pounds!

Harrison spits up a lot, so the pediatrician wanted to weigh him just to make sure he's gaining enough weight. I took him in yesterday and he weighs a whooping 10 pounds! Lily didn't weigh 10 pounds until she was around 6 months. I love my big chunky baby boy. The large amounts of spitting up doesn't bother me, especially now that I know it hasn't effected his weight. I am excited that he started out at 6lbs 13 oz and by 6 weeks old weighs 10 lbs. Way to go Harrison! When I was taking this picture of him, Lily walked in the room drinking her PediaSure, very appropriate :)

Happy Birthday!!!

233 years ago on November 10, 1775, delegates from the Continental Congress met in a bar called Tun Tavern in Philadelphia.  After, I'm sure, several pints, followed by numerous alcohol induced brawls, they decided to form what is now known as the United States Marine Corps.  Marines have been brawling in bars around the world ever since.

You would be hard pressed to find an organization with more camaraderie and pride in their traditions that the Marines.  Every year, each Marine Unit organizes their own Birthday Ball. There is a ceremonial cake cutting where the youngest and oldest Marines present are recognized.  This represents the passing on of knowledge and tradition to the younger generation.  There is usually a guest speaker, and of course dinner and dancing.  It's a great time to get together and celebrate the honor of being a Marine.  Incidentally, I've spent most of my Marine Corps Balls organizing the rides for the inebriated Marines.

Marines are known by several names:  Devil Dog (given to us by the Germans from the word "Teufel Hunden"), Leatherneck (Marines wore a leather strap around their necks during the Revelutionary War to protect from sword wounds), and jarhead (used the describe the high and tight cut that most Marines sport.

Evolution of Marine recruiting posters.

                                                                                        

 

 

The biggest question that I get from people is "Why did you join the Marines instead of one of the other services?"  I've spent a lot of time pondering this question and have come to one conclusion.   Have you SEEN our commercials?  They are, by FAR, the coolest of all the services.  We get to battle dragons and still look the best in our uniforms.  Needless to say, I never even saw a dragon during my tenure let alone had the chance to slay one.  I did look good in my uniform though ('DID' being the operative word).  In all seriousness, I joined the Marines because if I was ever going to be sent into combat, I wanted to go with the best.

So, if you know a Marine, make a point to wish him or her "Happy Birthday" every November 10th.   You will make their day.

If this doesn't make you want to join up, I don't know what will.

Here's the Dragon one.  Well... it was cool in the 90's.

 And the Best!!!

Christmas is coming . . .

With Christmas just around the corner I thought it would be fun to host a Pampered Chef party. I don't sell pampered chef, but I love their stuff. I'm kind of a kitchen product snob, my favorite store is Williams - Sonoma. I have been pleasantly surprised by how much I like Pampered Chef. Everything that has been given to me as a gift or that I have bought, I have LOVED!!! I am really excited about their Christmas dishes this year, very cute! Please take a look at the catalog and see if there is anything that you want or that you want to buy someone as a Christmas gift. You need to have your order in by December 4th for me to get the credit and that way you will also get it in plenty of time for Christmas. Here is what you do: go to www.pamperedchef.biz/shannsshow and click on 'order products' (bottom left) and then it will ask if you have been invited to a show, you type in my name (very important!!!) and then you will be able to order. Thanks and have fun shopping!

A Tribute To The Grandmothers

Lily and Harrison are very lucky to have such incredible grandmothers. Both of them are so involved and so much fun. They read and sing and play and do so many other fun things. It's a huge blessing that we have both of them in our lives. The kids will grow up feeling very loved :) Thanks Nona and Grandma Hadd, you guys are the best!

The Tall Gene!

Many people probably don't know that almost everyone in my family is tall, well everyone except me. Seriously, I am probably the shortest person in the family. Here is a picture of me with a few of my cousins, Matt, Chris & Shane. I guess I missed out on the tall gene.

Las Vegas!!!

Tag's brother got married in Las Vegas yesterday so we made the trip out. We had a great time! The kids were awesome on the drive. They both travel really well! I have family that lives near Vegas so we spent a little time with them as well. I didn't take a ton of pictures with my camera, I'm waiting to get the good pictures from everyone else. On Thursday Tag and I thought it would be fun to walk down the strip since it was about 80 degrees, a beautiful day. We stopped for lunch at the New York New York Hotel and then headed over to M&M World with Tom. On Halloween Lily went trick or treating in my family's neighborhood. Then we had wedding events all day Saturday. Here are a few pictures I got.