Ten Months

Shelby has taken some big steps this month. She is trying so hard to walk, it's really cute. Her personality keeps on coming through too. She laughs almost all the time and loves to play chase with Jeremy and Gabe. She has 4 teeth coming in right now but hasn't really complained much. Climbing has become a new hobby for her and I have found her at the top of the stairs or in Gabe's room several times in the past few weeks. She also loves to climb on the toy box and sit in her pool float. Shelby's hair has really grown and I love putting it up in a barrette, she looks so girly. We are also giving her all table food now and trying to make the transition from formula to regular milk. And we are trying to get rid of the bottle. I'd like a little time without any newborn tools before we have to break them out again.

Sugar Land, TX

We went with Jeremy last week to Sugar Land. It's right outside of Houston. The drive was about 3 hours and the kids did pretty well. We had a good time while we were there and the kids and I had plenty to do. We visited the Natural History Museum, The Houston Zoo and the Children's Museum. I actually got to order room service one morning, which I haven't done since our honeymoon. It was a good trip, but I was exhausted at the end of each day. This pregnancy is tiring and having two kids does not allow for much down time at all. Here are some photos from the trip.

E.T. Phone Home

Gabe loves E.T.. We were using it for a while as a reward for potty training, but then had to back off. Last week he received a huge surprise in the mail from Rick-E.T.. Gabe went completely nuts when he saw it and has not left it alone since. We had to take him to church with us and he "took a nap" in the van while we went inside. E.T. also lays with Gabe during his quiet time and hangs out with him in his room. Jeremy and I were afraid that Gabe would be scared of him since he has been having trouble with nightmares, but he is not afraid at all. He actually tells E.T. that he will protect him. Aah, the imagination of a 3-year-old, gotta love it.

First Baby Appt

The whole family went to our first appointment today. Jeremy and I chose two midwives that are in practice together. Joi and Stacy are amazing women and have been working together for 5 years. They have delivered babies in third world countries and are both highly qualified. Today we just went over paperwork and figured out my due date which is March 27, 2009. So I am seven weeks along. All of the appts. are at Joi's house and I get to have an ultrasound every time. We were able to see the baby today and clearly make out the heartbeat. Thankfully, one of the apprentices there had zofran on hand and gave me several. I have been extremely nauseous this past week and have lost 4 pounds. Although, you would never be able to tell since I cannot even zip up my regular pants. I actually pulled out a pair of maternity shorts this morning and put them on. Hopefully the sickness will only last through 12 weeks (I am keeping my fingers crossed).

Mr. Incredible

Last Friday, the kids and I went to a play place called Fiddlesticks. Gabe had a great time dressing up in the costumes. His favorite was Mr. Incredible. Once he put on the costume he would not take it off. i think he had it on for almost an hour. It was a little big on him and when he would run around, the muscles built into the chest of the costume would hit him in the chin. He kept saying, "Ta da, I am Msr. Incedible." He doesn't look very happy in the photo below, but he was so excited to be the super hero.

9 Months

Shelby is still crawling away. She is super fast now and follows us around everywhere. She is also getting to the extreme attachment phase with me. When I leave her in another room, she usually cries hard and then cries as she's crawling. It's kind of funny. She is also eating more adult food, we shared a piece of pizza the other night. No other teeth have come in yet, but she is constantly moving her tongue along her top gum and drooling. Shelby's also eating bananas, turkey, mashed potatoes, and broccoli. But her favorite is yogurt and the pizza. We bought her a walk n' ride toy that she has been using a lot since arriving home from TN. She will pull herself and walk behind it for a few minutes then get on her knees and play with all the gadgets on the front. She is really attached to Gabe too, and he can get her giggling when Jeremy and I can't even get a grin out of her. And along with her glow worm that she sleeps with every night, Mom got her a Gund Comfy Cozie Bear. It is so soft and Shelby loves to cuddle with it. She has had a runny nose lately but besides that, she is a happy, healthy 9-month-old baby.

Just Checking

I know this may sound silly, but I took another pregnancy test just to be sure. I am still so surprised by this news. And yes, I am still pregnant. I feel sad and disappointed in myself that I wasn't more careful (although I am not sure how much more careful I could have been). I feel so complete with my two children and Jeremy, that I never even imagined we would have another baby. I don't want those sleepless nights again, the never-ending bottle feedings, my belly growing huge, and one of my most selfish fears-3 kids in diapers. I pray Gabe has this poop issue worked out by March. I know I may sound like a whiny baby when you read this, but I am just being honest. This pregnancy is a real life change and I am glad it will be 9 months before it becomes a reality. I know that when I see this baby I will be excited and happy but right now I feel a bit lost and overwhelmed. And as a result of this news, we are trying to get a more family friendly vehicle, maybe move into a house and figure out how to save even more money. We are so thankful that Jeremy has an amazing job and we are in a good position financially. But who doesn't worry about money when you have kids? taking it one day at a time is best, but what pregnant woman can really do that when hormones are changing everyday? Okay, enough complaining from me.

Nightmares

Poor Gabe. He has been having nightmares for the past several nights now. There are some characters from a few movies he seen lately that really scare him. He's been waking up at 3 in the morning and not really going back to sleep. I have been getting up with him, but Jeremy deicided to just sleep in his room last night. So Gabe slept on the blow up mattress (that's just where he crashed) and Jeremy slept in Gabe's bed. Now Mom had told us before that Gabe talks in his sleep. But last night Jeremy said Gabe kept sitting up in the bed, whininh and talking. Then he yelled for Jeremy and went right back to sleep. I know the nightmares happen to almost every kid, and I went through it a lot when I was younger. But I just feel so bad for my baby. He comes into our room crying and shaking and will not go back in his room without us. Jeremy is planning on sleeping in his room for a few more nights to see what happens. Hopefully taking the movies out of the equation and putting his bed right on the floor, Gabe won't be so scared. We'll just see how long he remembers these characters.

Friends.

While we were in Murfreesboro, we got to spend a lot of time with Kara, Karlee and Cooper. Gabe and Karlee are 9 months apart while Cooper and Shelby are 3 and 1/2 months apart. The kids all played really well together. the babies crawled around everywhere together and the two older kids played outside. The house was a little chaotic and when all the kids were down for naps, I felt exhausted. I didn't get any pictures fo the kids with family this time, but I did get plenty of all the kids.

Kung Fu Panda

Gabe has Kung Fu Panda on the brain 24/7. Bebe took him to see it when it first came out and the child has been hooked ever since. He loves to pretend his the "bad tiger" or the "tiger lady". Bebe and Kay got Gabe all the toys that were available at McDonald's on their Out West Vacation. And then he and Bebe went and saw the movie again while we were in TN. The lateest addition to Gabe's Kung Fu Panda assets is a set of pj's I found at Wal-Mart. When he opened the bag and saw the outfit, he started jumping up and down. We had to put them on right away and he didn't want to take them off.

Surprise

Well, there has been a slight change in the Culbertson household-I am pregnant. Yep, our third baby is due March 22nd or 25th. Of course this is a huge shock to us and was definitely not planned. We are very careful about these things, but I guess God has another plan for us. I have very mixed feelings about the situation but Jeremy is very happy and feels Janet had something to do with all of this. I am very excited to say that I will be going to a midwife and deliver at home or a birthing center. I feel my last two experiences were very stressful and want to see it done the other way. We have interviews with three midwives set up over the next month, so we hope to have chosen someone by the end of the first trimester. I am really praying that this pregnancy is easier than the other two but I guess either way, the end result is worth it.

Shelby's First Steps

Shelby has been pulling up on the furniture for a while, but not really taking any steps. Yesterday, Mom found Shelby pushing the stool around the kitchen. Thankfully, she cooperated with us and I was able to get it on tape.

Gabe's Birthday Pages

Boo

Shelby is getting to such a fun age. Lately, she has started to crinkle her nose just like Gabe used to do. But she adds a little snort and giggle into it.

Busy Busy

Since the beginning of June I feel like our lives have been on the go. With my mom visiting, Jeremy's mom passing away, my sister coming and then mom and Kay stopping back by, it has been a busy month. Then we have had many play dates, a try at Mother's Day Out (unfortunately, that didn't work because Gabe is not all the way potty trained) and done lots of family stuff with Jeremy. Last week was Jeremy's first trip to Kansas City to visit his two projects currently under way. He came back very excited about the progress and will now travel there every other week on Monday evening and come back Tuesday night. It was very strange for me to have him gone and I really did not sleep well at all Monday night. Then every one of us came down with colds-not fun. But things seem to be calming down just a bit. I am thinking of joining a YMCA so I have some time to myself while the kids stay in the Child Watch area. And if we join, we will probably put Gabe in the soccer or t-ball league for 3-4 year olds in the fall and Jeremy is thinking of volunteering his time to coach. It will only be one practice during the week and then one game on the weekend. It's so strange thinking Gabe is ready to play sports-my baby is growing up so fast.We will be going to TN in a few weeks, so we'll be busy there too. Here are a few pictures from Mom and Jessie's visits. And I will post some others of the kids soon

8 Months Old

Shelby is really growing and changing everyday. She is picking up things and studying them for long periods of time. The TV and DVD player are constant attractions for her and the word no is quickly becoming common in our conversations with her. As we shake our heads at her, she smiles and does the same. Little Shelby is in 9 month clothes, although most of the outfits are still a bit big. She is pulling up on the furniture and us with total ease. Those little feet always seem to be working. Today she let go of me and just stood there for a few seconds before she plopped right down on her behind. Shelby seems to be teething again and this time is a bit worse than before. She is really fussy and has a runny nose to go along with the top front teeth breaking through. Shelby also goes after Gabe with a vengeance now. She tries to keep up with him, but can't really even come close. They roll around on the floor together and laugh, but Shelby usually ends up crying. I guess that is the life of the younger sibling. Shelby really loves the pool and I think we will have a little swimmer on our hands next year with the floaties.

Family Photo Shoot

We had our annual shoot taken a few weeks ago and I am so please with the results. Here are some of my favorites.

Okay, I Know I Keep Switching

Well, I love the Shutterfly site, but I do not like the fact that I have to use U Tube for the video and how I cannot put the pictures in the actual journal part. So, I am going to continue using this blog for our stories and just update the Shutterfly site with all our pictures. That way if anyone wants to order old or new photos, they are there.

New Blog

Here is the link to our new blog: http://theculbertsonfamily.site.shutterfly.com/. It includes all the photos we take, videos and family stories. I am still working on it, but it's mostly done. check it out.

Birthday Party

This weekend we went to a birthday party for a little girl in our play group. There was a face painter there and at first Gabe was a little intimidated. But once he saw that there was a Spiderman face, he was all for it.

And Shelby and I actually posed for a photo, TOGETHER. I am sorry to say we don't get many opportunities like that.