Shaina Turns One!

It's hard to believe it's been a year since our little girl came into our lives. This past year has been one of blissful happiness as we watched Shaina grow. She makes us laugh and smile on a daily basis continuing to fill our hearts with joy. Sorry to gush so much, but have you met our daughter?

On Saturday, Nov 23, 2013, we had a small birthday party at our house for Shaina. Thanks to everyone who was able to join us as we celebrated this momentous occasion. We are grateful for all of your love and support over this past year. Below are a smattering of pictures from her birthday party. Turning one is fun!

A Berry Happy Halloween!

Tonight was Shaina's first Halloween, and she was the cutest strawberry in town!

Since she was too young to go trick-or-treating, we decided to take her to a parade over at her favorite playmate Brendan's neighborhood. As you can see from the photos below, the two of them were adorable in their Halloween outfits.

Happy Halloween!

11 Months

Whoever coined the phrase "time flies when you are having fun" clearly must have been a parent.  Shaina is a really happy and easy baby - she sleeps approximately 12 hours a night, she loves to try new foods (from hamburger and french fries to barbecue chicken to pizza to squash and strawberries), and she loves to explore the world from the perspective of an infant.  And Shaina also loves to verbalize, whether by growling at the dog, asking for her "baba" (bottle), or saying mama/dada (to no one in particular, but that is beside the point).

Walking still seems a ways away, but Shaina is not afraid to hold on with one hand or to "scoot" along the couch, a table, or even our wall of cabinets in the basement.

This next month will be a bonus, as Shaina already has brought us more than a year's worth of joy!

Little Crawler

Shaina has become a particularly adept crawler, mobiling around with ease.  This video demonstrates both her crawling prowess and her apparent early disdain for the paparazzi.

Shaina Goes to the Pumpkin Patch

Sounds like the title of a children's book, right?

Today we took a short trip over to Homestead Farm to pick out the perfect pumpkins for our porch. This was Shaina's first trip to the pumpkin patch, and she had a blast. She especially enjoyed playing in the hay.

Shaina is Ten Months!

It's hard to believe how fast the time flies, but our little girl is now ten months old.

She is such a happy-go-lucky baby. She loves reading books (or looking at the pictures) and playing with any form of electronics, particularly phones.

She is enjoying new foods, and she especially loves cheese! Shaina also has become an expert crawler and can crawl across a room in a blink of an eye. She has also started "cruising", where she holds on to an object and moves around it.

We look forward to the next step, but we certainly are not wishing away the time.

Summer Loving..Having a Blast

We know it's been awhile since our last post, but that's because we've been busy enjoying our first summer with Shaina.

This summer has brought many firsts for Shaina as you will see from the pictures below. She had her first trip to the grocery store, first baseball game (for Father's Day), first wedding (her Aunt Cheryl's) first 4th of July, first trip to the beach (Bethany on the Eastern Shore of MD), first time on the swings, and many more.

Shaina is now crawling all over the place, pulling herself up, eating lots of new foods, and talking in her own little language. We are loving every minute of watching her grow, and we hope you enjoy seeing these updated photos and videos.