Happy Half A Year!

Sweet 6 Months!

Can you believe it? Our sweet, smiling Skyler turned a half a year old today! My precious daughter is just growing rapidly before my very own eyes. I'm constantly being told by my friends to treasure these months and I promise you all that I soak up every ounce of her. Funny how my lipstick never stays on very long! Thought I'd reminisce and have you all walk down Memory Lane with me. Here's our heart stealer, Skyler, just minutes after she was born..........

Skyler's motor skills are fine tuned. As you all know, she started holding her own bottle months ago and is now grasping her spoon. She'll scoot across the floor, can entertain herself, mimic actions from others (especially clapping) and now she has started to demonstrate strong feelings of affection. Talk about melting your heart. The next few pictures show her scooting, playing and gripping her spoon.

These past four days off from work have been wonderful! It's been great giving Skyler an extra abundance amount of attention over this Thanksgiving holiday. We have played gobs of games....her favorite being peek-a-boo and also her activity blocks. She truly shows tons of enthusiasm. I do feel fortunate that we can provide her with a rich, stimulating environment. This little girl stays happy!

Tomorrow, we have an appointment with her pediatrician, Dr. Eanett, for her six month check up. Shots are definitely included, along with her weight and height measurements. She's certainly grown. For a 6 month old baby, she's wearing 9 month old pants.....long legs indeed! I want to share these next two pictures demonstrating her long reach. Auntie Cheryl & Uncle Charles bought this musical swing and it gets used daily. This is the first time Miss Sunshine could actually touch the mobile........

Our weekend could never be complete without mentioning Dreadnaught Football! Skyler and I bundled up and braved the cold weather to join 4500 fans at Bryant Stadium this past Friday night.

Lakeland dominated and defeated the Kissimmee Osceola Kowboys 30-14 and will travel to Orange Park next week for a Class 5A regional final. Although it was 51 degrees, Skyler did quite well for her first time experiencing chilly weather. We had a fun night and Skyler stayed cozy warm with extra help from Miss Helen. (below)

Gobble-Gobble

Thanksgiving Day is such a great American holiday. I give thanks with a huge, grateful heart for the beautiful life I share with my husband, daughter, family and dear friends! I thank God for his infinite blessings and for the memories of those special family holidays that are heirlooms of our lives. How fortunate I am to be able to share those warm holiday stories to my daughter, as we begin to create new traditions at the "Short" household!

This is OUR first Thanksgiving as a family, but unfortunately, all our siblings left the state of Florida for the holiday or they just don't reside here. Auntie Nicola & Uncle Bogie live in Idaho and Auntie Cheryl & Uncle Charles call Tennessee home. Glammey & Papa are cruising the high seas. Auntie Kevie & Uncle Larry traveled to California along with cousin Jared and Jodi to share Thanksgiving with cousin Nikki. Sooooo, because it was just the 3 of us, we opted for a no fuss-no mess dinner and made reservations at the Red Rose in Plant City.

Once our friends, Amber & Jason Butler, heard about our plans, they quickly invited us to spend the holiday with their family. We felt so honored and quickly canceled that 3pm reservation and drove a few miles to feast in fantastic food and have fun with friends. Jason is a defensive football coach at LHS and has known Tom for 13 years. His wife, Amber and their son Durrah, sit close to us at the games.

Jason, Amber & Skyler

Although we missed our wonderful family, it really was a lovely day and Skyler looked like a little princess in her special dress with pink tights! As you can tell in the pictures, she felt very proud to be able to stand up all by herself. Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours.

As we all pause from our many activities today, let's give thanks to almighty God for our bountiful harvests and daily abundant freedom.

Family Fun

Skyler got a wonderful surprise from her two cousins, Jodi and Jared last weekend. They traveled from Orlando with their sweethearts, Dustin and Jordan, to attend Lakeland Dreadnaughts' first playoff football game with us! As you all know, Skyler enjoys football, but she also loves hanging out with the girls. Pictured above is LHS's #1 fan enjoying the game with Jordan & cousin Jodi and, of course, it's never a completed Friday night without hugs and kisses from Miss Helen, below. As you can see in the picture, Skyler is holding a balloon. Obviously, she was too young to remember all the balloons welcoming her into this world at Lakeland Regional Hospital, but as soon as she saw those orange & black inflatable decorations, she became fascinated. We untied one from the bleachers and gave it to her. She was so enticed by it. Skyler just hung on to that string, determined not to let go!

The Dreadnaughts blew out the Winter Spring Bears 41-8 in front of 3500 fans at Bryant Stadium and will advance to the second round, playing district rival, Kissimmee Osceola this Friday night. Skyler had so much fun and enjoyed all the attention and excitement. In fact, by the middle of the 2nd quarter, she was quite exhausted and took a nap on cousin Jodi's lap. Guess she felt comfortable with the 27-0 lead....even as she slept, she wouldn't let go of that balloon!

By half time, Skyler was awake and back in top cheerleading form! Daddy came down from the coaching booth and joined us since the team decided to rest their top players and substitute them with the second string squad.

It was definitely a fun family night! Once we got home, we enjoyed hot pizza and sat around the outdoor fireplace. Skyler and I did expire early and called it a night. She was tired and I had been fighting a cold all week. The following morning, I made two breakfast casseroles while Skyler played and abosorbed all the love from her family! She is certainly a blessed little girl.

Dustin, Jodi, Skyler, Jordan & Jared relaxing after breakfast.

Copy Cat

Skyler is definitely showing signs of an outgoing personality. She tries to interact with every object that she sees. One of her favorite games to play is "Copy Cat" and boy is it hilarious. She's in this stage of imitating all our facial expressions and even recreating the physical fun. Example... I love to make the 'mmmmm' sound as I slowly move toward her and nibble on her cheek. After a few playful hungry moves, she'll open her mouth and try to gobble up my cheek. Just way too cute!

Hard to believe she's 25 weeks today! Because of her independence, Skyler is able to enjoy her toys a lot more. She can transfer objects from one hand to another, while sitting upright without any help. Skyler has been crawling for a month now and seems to be getting quicker each day. She can even hold her own spoon and enjoys many fruits and vegetables....pears and sweet corn casserole are her favorite!

We gave Skyler a new toy this week and showed her how to push on the frog's head to make the inside balls spin. After a couple of lessons, she was pumping the frog's head up and down......Miss Copy Cat! Below are pictures capturing her fun. She is wearing the most adorable, personalized ladybug onesie made by her cousin Nikki.

Final Game

Daddy & Skyler relaxing at home before the game. I made her shirt. Aint it cute?

Over TEN THOUSAND football fans last night! Yes, make no mistake......I'm talking about high school!! Lakeland Dreadnaught Football that is!

Skyler and I caravand with our great friends, The Knowles', to be apart of the largest crowd ever at Bryant Stadium. Last game of the season...Huge rivalry...Dreadnaughts vs the Kathleen Red Devils. How ironic to be playing them on Friday the 13th!

We arrived an hour early and Skyler quickly found her way into the loving and warm arms of Miss Helen.

Once the game started, Skyler became edgy and uncomfortable. By the end of the 3rd quarter, I just had to take her to the car and get her settled. She quickly passed out in my lap as I listened to the game on the radio. She never napped that Friday afternoon, so I'm sure that played apart in her demeanor, along with the massive crowd. Or perhaps, Friday the 13th? lol.. Skyler has been such a champ at these football games. Guess it just wasn't her night.

With less then 60 seconds to play, the game was tied 21-21. Our running back raced 68 yards on a screen play for the winning touchdown. The crowd went crazy as I could hear the jubilation from the parking lot. Game over 28-21! *whew* Undefeated season! 10-0. Playoffs, here we come!

Blessed

I count my husband and the birth of my daughter as two of the most amazing and indescribable blessings in my life. It is so beautiful to share Skyler with our family & friends. Tom & I are just drenched in love and support because of you all! I just wish I could sum up my blessings in a few paragraphs that has been percolating in my heart & brain.

I'd like to share a special gift that my Mum and Dad bought Skyler while vacationing in Cancun. This has got to be the prettiest baptism gown, organza, bonnet and matching booties that I have ever laid my eyes upon and I would feel deeply selfish if I didn't share it with you all.

Pure & Precious

During their Cancun trip, my parents would attend Church with their dear friends, Andy & Carol Lopreato. On one certain Sunday, my Mum & Carol decided to visit the Church's gift shop and that's when they found the beautiful christening gown for Skyler. How true when they say blessings are those gifts that give us a glimpse into what heaven might possibly be like!

Carol & my Mum, aka, Glammey

Golden Girl

Skyler's social skill's have blossomed and she does not sit still very often. She likes to grab, touch & even taste anything in her sight, yet when it comes to books, she'll sit in my lap and enjoy the different emotions and expressions of my voice. She loves to focus on the images. Bright objects, contrasting patterns and books with mirrors are her favorites! She even helps me turn the pages and once were done reading, Skyler likes to hold the book and, of course, try to stick the corner in her mouth!

Recently, Skyler received a very special package from Betty Lou & Ron Hebert. (Uncle Bogie's Mom and brother) Inside was a very large collection of 21 Classic Golden Books. The books belonged to Ron and he enjoyed them so much that he began collecting these classics at the age of 4. Ron will be 45 this December and has chosen to pass them along to Skyler. What a true expression of love! Betty Lou & Ron have yet to meet our daughter, but you would never know it. They send her the most creative home-made cards that just pierce your heart and have become such loyal followers to this blog. Thank you, Ron and Betty Lou! We will cherish these books and I'm certain our Golden Girl will enjoy reading them.

Below are pictures of Skyler and her very first collection of Golden Books from her dear friend, Ron.

Clearly, Skyler can not understand what I'm saying when I'm reading these books to her, but it's a wonderful shared activity and an important form of stimulation. Research proves that it helps build listening, memory, and vocabulary skills. Looks like we'll have a little reader on our hands by the way she responds to books. But after all, the name Skyler does mean Scholar!

Sooo Sweet

Skyler's mobility continues to increase by leaps & bounds------or I should say------twists & turns! She arches her back and can sit up by herself! All conquered well before her 6th month point.

She has become increasingly assertive and makes her presence felt with each passing day. For the past week, Skyler has been waking up around 5:15 each morning to sing. After exercising her lungs for a good 15 minutes, she falls back asleep until I wake her an hour later. It's definitely sweet music to my ears and just starts my day off so perfectly. Being a Mummy has brought me more delight and smiles than I could of ever imagined. Speaking of smiles, Skyler's facial expressions continue to amuse us! Below are a bunch of pictures capturing her adorable personality.

Skyler is crawling a bit quicker and has picked up a silly, yet cute emotion. When she gets very excited, she starts to huff/pant in loud, quick spurts. We can't help but laugh and in turn, she laughs back. Below is a photo of her on the living room floor just relaxing. Notice how her left hand is resting up her face. I'll just say it again, I'm a sucker for her cute actions! And we all agree that she'll be sporting some pretty long legs.

Now, I just had to sneak this picture in of my two Lovies napping on a Saturday afternoon.