November 30...Day 308

Audrey is 13 months old today!!!

November 29...Day 307

Sorry I didn't post this last night. We got to Joplin late, and after getting settled into our tiny room and getting Audrey to bed, I was too tired to do anything. This is a horrible picture, but it was cold and late as we were driving on campus, so it's as good as it gets this time. It's been five years since I've been back to Joplin...and it's weird because everything feels so familiar, but then things are different too. It's especially weird being on campus at Ozark; I feel very old and out of place. We're going to be here for the next 9 days. This is the longest trip we've taken with Audrey. We're staying in a nice room on campus, but it's pretty small. It may be an interesting week as Audrey and I will have lots of down time while Daddy works!! If anyone in Joplin wants to hang out, let me know!

November 28...Day 306

We are getting ready for a big, long trip to Joplin tomorrow. While we were packing this afternoon, Audrey had a great time playing in the suitcase!

November 27...Day 305

Audrey seemed to be feeling better today; she was fever free all day. So, I don't know what was going on with her yesterday, but hopefully it is done now. We spent the afternoon with my dad and his side of the family. Audrey got to play with Great Grandma Lois and her new toy from Great Aunt Nancy! Grammy Lois was very impressed with how "smart" Audrey is. I don't know that she is any smarter than any other 1 year old, but she is starting to understand things and follow directions, which makes it fun to interact with her. And I think Grammy Lois is pretty proud of her great-grand baby!

November 26...Day 304

I am thankful for this little turkey!! Unfortunately she woke up with a 102 degree fever this morning. Why does she always get sick when we come to my mom's house?? We kept it down with Tylenol today, but it was back at 102 when we put her down tonight. Poor baby!! Despite the fever she was in fairly good spirits all day and was able to enjoy her first Thanksgiving with our family. I just hope that whatever she has is not contagious...I don't want a repeat of this summer where the whole family got sick because of her!

November 25...Day 303

I am thankful for my hometown--Keokuk, Iowa. It's a small little town. There's not much to see or to do...but it's home, and it's always nice to be back for a visit. Maybe on Friday we'll check out the downtown stores advertised on this bag and see what great stuff we can find! It won't take long, as there are only a handful of places to shop!

November 24...Day 302

I'm thankful for this happy little girl. Some days she is just so super happy and cheerful about everything, and today was one of those days (And other days she is not so happy and cheerful, but I'm thankful for those days too...they're just not as fun!).

I should have taken more pictures today because Audrey was in such a good mood. But I only took a couple at Amy's house when we stopped by for a little Lightroom photo editing lesson this afternoon. Audrey did have a good time crawling and walking all over the Miller's house and trying to go up their stairs. It looks like she is staring in awe at something super cool in this picture.

November 23...Day 301

I'm thankful for my new camera strap cover. Because it's cute, and it makes me smile!

November 22...Day 300

I am thankful for Thanksgiving dinner with all of our small group friends. We had a big group with a lot of good food and fun times! Here is Amy enjoying one of Angela's homemade rolls!

November 21...Day 299

Today I am thankful that I got to sleep in until 9:00 this morning! Then I stayed in bed until almost 10 and Daniel brought me Panera. It was wonderful! This was the view from our hotel room balcony when we got up this morning. I think it would have made for some cool pictures of the Arch if I would have taken some while the sun was rising. But I was definitely not awake for the sunrise!

I'm also thankful that Audrey had a good time at Miss Lisa's house while we were gone. She slept A TON, way better than she sleeps at home. So I'm thankful for that, but also a little jealous that she doesn't sleep that well for me! =)

November 20...Day 298

I am thankful for a night out with my husband! Daniel and I are leaving Audrey behind tonight and heading to St. Louis! We're going out to dinner at a nice restaurant, seeing In the Heights at the Fox theatre, and spending the night at the Crowne Plaza in downtown St. Louis. I'm very excited!!

Update: I'm cheating a little because I didn't take this picture (our waiter did). But it's the only picture that I had of the two of us from this weekend, so I wanted it to be my picture for the day. We had a great time on our trip to St. Louis. Go to www.lifewiththesheltons.blogspot.com for more details.

November 19...Day 297

I am thankful for sweet babies who pose perfectly and look straight at the camera...making the most gorgeous photos! I got to babysit baby Elliot today, and I just couldn't resist taking a couple of pictures! I hope Lindsey doesn't mind that I photograph her son every time she brings him over for me to babysit. Lindsey--I promise we spent lots of time playing and having fun and only a short amount of time taking pictures! He's just so stinkin' adorable and photogenic; the camera loves him!

November 18...Day 296

I am thankful for Glee! It's my favorite new show, and it's the highlight of my Wednesday (and sometimes the highlight of my week!!)

November 17...Day 295

I am thankful that this little girl made it through the day without cracking her head open or breaking a bone or something awful like that. Now that she is starting to walk more, she just takes off and goes until she loses her balance and falls splat on the floor. There is no gentle falling with her. She gets going so fast, that when she falls, she falls hard. I try to stick close to her, but I can't always catch her. The falling doesn't seem to affect Audrey too much...she may cry a little, but she is always ready to get back up and go some more. And so far I haven't noticed any bruises or marks on her as a result of her falls. But it bothers me! It looks so painful, and I feel bad for her! Hopefully her balance will improve quickly, because this wobbly stage is going to stress me out!

November 16...Day 294

I am thankful for Amazon and Swagbucks. Really, I'm just thankful for the internet in general. It makes my life as a stay at home mom much more interesting, as I feel like I'm somewhat able to stay connected to the outside world even if I don't leave my house.

Anyway, back to Amazon and Swagbucks...I finished most of my Christmas shopping today on Amazon.com. You can find just about anything that you could possibly want on Amazon, and it's free shipping! Plus I was able to purchase some of those gifts with gift cards that I earned through Swagbucks. I love Christmas shopping online! Sometimes I miss going to the stores and picking things out in person, but at the same time, there is so much more variety online. I think I'm able to take more time looking and find more unique gifts. Plus, I can sit at home in my pj's on the couch and get all my shopping done (which is what I did today!).

(And if you haven't tried Swagbucks yet, you should! I have earned $80 in gift cards so far since I started using Swagbucks in May. Not bad, for just searching the internet! You can sign up here: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/ebshelt)

November 15...Day 293

I am thankful that Audrey is walking!!! (At least, I think I'm thankful...ask me again in a couple of days). She has been taking steps and walking a short distance to us for a while, but just today she really has started to take off on her own and go for longer distances (like from room to room) without any prodding from anyone. And just look at the big grin on her face...she thinks it is so much fun (though she may just be grinning because she is not wearing any clothes, she likes to run around naked)! She is still a bit wobbly, but she goes really fast. When she begins to lose her balance, she starts to go even faster until she eventually falls. It makes me nervous that she is going to fall and get hurt, especially on the hardwood floors, but I suppose that falling is a necessary evil when learning how to walk.

November 14...Day 292

I'm thankful for good friends and fun times playing the game Settlers of Catan. (Though I'm not sure that Catan is always a good game for our friendships...I've heard the words I hate you more tonight than I have in a long time). I'm also thankful for my new strategy I learned tonight at Catan. It tends to be a miserable game unless you are winning. So tonight I decided to make smaller goals for myself (rather than winning) so as to have more fun when I'm losing, which is a lot of the time!

November 13...Day 291

I'm thankful that Audrey is finally done with formula! Milk is so much cheaper and easier...I won't miss this stuff at all!

November 12...Day 290

Today I'm thankful for this balloon! It sounds kind of silly, but my days at home can get a bit monotonous. Sometimes something as small as a free balloon during a quick trip to Wal-mart can make the day a little more interesting! And I think Audrey is also thankful for this balloon today. She likes it a lot!!

November 11...Day 289

I am thankful that Audrey has finally learned how to clap her hands!! It is nice to know that the 6 months I spent clapping and cheering and acting like a crazy woman in my attempts to get her to clap have finally paid off!

Following up with my comments from yesterday, I took this picture this morning, with some nice natural light coming in through the window. And now I'm posting it at 1:45 in the afternoon! I'm on top of things today! I also got a couple of other cute pictures, including one that shows all 3 of Audrey's teeth...so I'll probably post those on the Life with the Shelton's blog soon.

November 10...Day 288

I'm thankful for books!! I am such a dork, but I just love them so much! The library had these two on hold for me, so Audrey and I stopped by and picked them up. Now I just need to find the time to read them (along with the 4 other books that I already have checked out from the library...it's an addiction!)

On a side note, I really need to start thinking about what I am thankful for earlier in the day for a couple of reasons. Reason #1: Options are limited for pictures at 9 pm, because Audrey is in bed and she is the best source for pictures! Reason #2: I am becoming a photography snob and prefer natural light for taking pictures. There is no natural light at night time, so then I have to use antique effects on my pictures and make it look like I was trying to be artistic and purposely using poor light and taking grainy pictures! Reason #3: Tonight I had the idea of taking a picture of my library books, then I looked at Kellie's blog and she posted a picture of her library card. So it looks like I am copying her idea! I'm not...great minds just think alike! =)

November 9...Day 287

I'm thankful for chocolate ice cream!! And I'm thankful that Monday is over! I don't know what it is about Mondays, but I do not like them. Monday always seems to be the longest day, but then once Monday is over, the rest of the week flies by almost too quickly!

November 8...Day 286

I'm thankful for my husband! He's folding laundry right now. He's a good guy...I think I'll keep him around!! =)

November 7...Day 285

Today, I'm thankful for small group friends who were willing to get up early on a Saturday morning to do a service project! And I'm thankful for more GORGEOUS weather! We worked at the Mini O'Beirne Crisis Nursery. We spent most of our time outside, organizing a garage full of stuff...it was a nice treat to have such beautiful weather to work in!

November 6...Day 284

I'm thankful for our book club! We had our first book club meeting tonight, and it was really fun! I have always wanted to be a part of a book club, so I just decided to start one with some of my friends. This time we read The Help by Kathryn Stockett, which was a really good book. I was the hostess this month, and I decided to make 2 desserts based off of the book: chocolate pie and caramel cake. If you've read The Help, don't worry--I didn't use Minny's chocolate pie recipe!! If you haven't read The Help, you should--it's a good book! (and then you'll understand why I didn't use Minny's recipe!)

November 5...Day 283

I am thankful for the beautiful fall weather we have been having lately! Fall is my favorite season, with the cooler weather (but not too cold yet) and the leaves changing. I want to enjoy it as much as possible before heading into my least favorite season: winter!

November 4...Day 282

Time for a new theme! I'm going to post a picture of one thing that I am thankful for each day from now until Thanksgiving!

I received this letter in the mail a few weeks ago. Since you know I'm going with a thankful theme this month, you may think that I am thankful for the opportunity to be a good American citizen and participate in the judicial system of our country. But you would be wrong. There is no part of me that wants to serve on a jury and be responsible for the fate of another human being. Just the idea of that kind of responsibility makes me feel sick to my stomach. No, what I am thankful for is the law that says parents who do not work and who stay at home with their children under the age of 10 can be excused from jury duty! I was supposed to report for duty today, and I was a bit frantic trying to figure out who would watch Audrey if I was to serve on a jury. But then I called the Jury Clerk's office, and she told me that I could be excused completely from my duty! And I am very thankful for that today!

November 3...Day 281

Audrey loves books! This afternoon we read all of these books. She pulled each one off the shelf one by one and handed them to me to read to her. Tonight Audrey and I went to Barnes and Noble. I wish I would have had my camera then. Our little girl was in heaven when I took her back to the children's book section. We walked around and looked at all the books. She was talking and laughing to herself and having so much fun! They say the more books that kids read in their early years the more likely they are to read later in life. I think Audrey is off to a good start!

November 2...Day 280

It was a gorgeous fall day today. We went out to the backyard to play, and Audrey spent some time contemplating the deeper things of her life!

November 1...Day 279

I love this dress that Audrey wore to church today; I just wish I could have gotten a picture of her standing up in it. It's so cute! I had my eyes on it at Target for a while, and last week it went on clearance. I just had to get it before it was gone for good. She's only one year old and she already has a dress with puffed sleeves...Anne Shirley would be jealous!