She’s a Maniac…

Maaaaaniac, on the floooor! And she’s rolling like she’s never rolled before!

Baby gates, here we come!

Are We There Yet?

So, this blog was originally started to keep a record of my life with my husband and (at that point, future) kids. It IS called the Shankland Family Blog, right? However, the only thing I seem to write about is our sweet baby girl. She does take up pretty much all our time, and we do love her more than anything, but I thought it might be time for something a little more grown-up around here! Not to worry though, I’ll have plenty of adorable pictures and poopy diaper stories for you shortly. :)

So then, who wants to talk about money?! Yep, that’s the other thing that’s been taking up our time lately. Balancing a home that’s 300 miles away with a (not exactly cheap) apartment is getting tougher every month. And now that it’s getting colder and we have to do things like turn the heat on and cook with something other than the BBQ grill, we have less of that precious green commodity than ever. We can’t sell the house because we’re upside down (like the rest of the home-owning population I’m sure) and we can’t live in it because the people with the paychecks want us here. Rock, meet hard place.

Rob is doing really well at his job, and we’re extremely blessed that he got hired by such a good company when he did. It’s nice for him to have time to come home for lunch now and then! We love Seattle, and we’re finally getting settled in and making friends (YAY!) and I think it’s safe to say we’re happy here! Except for that whole house thing, life is good.

I guess I don’t have much of a point here and I’m sort of just venting. I’m tired of wondering what will happen with the house and hoping the market improves enough for us to sell it, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. So, what do we do? Can’t we just pick up the house and move it over here? People do that, right? There’s an entire TV show devoted to it! Anyone have a really big truck?

I know things will all fall into place one way or the other, they always do. I’m just not so good at that whole waiting thing.

But, just to make it all a little better, guess what?

65 DAYS LEFT UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!

Wait, is that better? Or worse??? Yikes.

Sweet Potatoes

Are not my favorite.

Rainy Day Photo Shoot!

What do you do when it’s raining out, and there’s a baby with lots of smiles and nothing to do? YOU TAKE PICTURES!

(These are from a week or so ago, but still cute!!)

 

More Traveling!

Last weekend our very good friends Andy and Alex were married in VA, and Rob was asked to be the best man! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make the trip over with the little one, but I hear it was a fantastic time!

Congrats again you two, we are so happy for you!

While Rob was running all over the state of Virginia helping out Andy (by keeping him out of Alex’s way) and eating great food, I went to Spokane to spend a week at Grandpa’s house with Emily. We had a great time, too!

We were lucky enough to get a chance to see Tara and Karter and baby Kennedi while we were there, too! Tara and I figured out that we’ve been friends for 20 years! WOW! It’s great that our girls are only a few months apart in age!

The girls and the kiddos.

Grandma and Emmie!

Giggles for Grandpa.

Tara, Karter, and Em.

Sweet baby Ryan. He’s getting so big!

Tummy time with Grandpa.

They became very good friends this trip!

Hanging with Uncle Zach.

Grandpa and his boys!

Silly, silly.

We had lots of fun, and now that Emily is getting bigger, she does a lot better with trips like this. We were lucky enough to find a portable swing at a second-hand shop, and she LOVED it, so we actually got her to nap a little bit. That made the trip MUCH more enjoyable. But as much as we love to travel and see family, we were SO GLAD to be home! A week away from Daddy makes Emmie quite the cranky-pants!

The next big thing on our list is Thanksgiving, also in Spokane. And then comes Emily’s first plane ride to Denver for Christmas! Anyone with tips on flying with an infant, please share! I’m more than a little nervous about that so any advice would be much appreciated.

P.S. Apparently bananas are very tasty but not so good on the tummy. This solid food business is tough!

6 Month Update!

HAPPY HALF-BIRTHDAY EMILY!!!

Was it really 6 months ago that you came into the world? That your daddy and I first held you in our arms? That we first looked at your beautiful face? It seems like it was so much more recent than that.

Usually.

Other times, i.e. 3 am, it seems like you’ve been here much longer.  :)

But we love you more than you know, Little Punkin! You’re growing so fast and changing every single day! I find it hard to remember a time when you weren’t here. You’re such a precious girl! You’re our Sunshine.

At six months, Emily:

…weighs 15 lbs 5 oz and is 25.5 inches long. (As a side note, apparently the nurse that measured Emily last time did it wrong-the doc said it happens a lot-so her measurements from last month are incorrect. She DID grow more than half an inch this month!)

…still doesn’t have any teeth! She’s drooling like crazy though and her little cheeks are constantly bright pink. I don’t think we have too much longer to wait for them to appear.

…is starting to get the hang of solid foods! When we tried oatmeal and peas a few weeks back, it was pretty clear that she just wasn’t ready for them. Now though she’s eating like a pro! She likes the oatmeal the best so far, and bananas are a close second. Sweet potatoes, however, are still a big N-O. I’m making her baby food myself so we’ll have lots of fun things to try in the coming weeks! Next up is avocado. Yum!

…still only rolls from her back to her tummy. She’s starting to pull her knees up under her though, and can really push up high on her arms! Everyone says she’ll be mobile shortly. I don’t know if I’m ready for that!

…is sitting up all by herself now! Occasionally I’ll put the Boppy pillow down behind her, but she has great balance and usually doesn’t need it. She can reach for toys in front of her and grab them, then sit back up straight. She’s so big!

…is taking baths in the big tub now and not the sink anymore! She’s completely fearless, and tries to get her hands and face right in the water while it’s running. She’d stay in there all day if we let her! And now that she’s sitting up, baths are SO MUCH EASIER. ON EVERYONE.

…loves to be carried in the Ergo carrier. Sometimes she falls asleep, but mostly she’s just happy to be up high so she can see what’s going on. She is very observant and loves to just watch and listen to what’s happening around her.

…has (finally!) been sleeping better. She still doesn’t sleep through the night, but only wakes to eat once or twice instead of17 thousand times like she had been. And putting her down has become much easier now that we’ve established the bath routine and earlier bedtime. We’re on our way to great sleep, I can tell!

Emily Marie can drive us batty and make us unbelievably happy, all in the same five minutes. She’s quite a kid, this one, and I can’t wait for the next 6 months! It just seems like time is passing faster than it ever has before, and I want to capture and treasure these days so we’ll always remember just how much fun this is. We love her so much! Happy half-birthday, Emmie, and here’s to many more!