.....For Glammey!

Skyler is excited to announce the very special birthday of her Glammey. We hope you have a fabulous day today. We love you so very much. Happy Birthday, Glammey! From your #1 cheering fan......

Also, our Sweet Pea turns 18 months today, so I get to enjoy two wonderful celebrations!

Gobble-Gobble II

I'm hoping you all were surrounded by many blessings this Thanksgiving. Glammey & Papa joined us for the festivities. The weather was lovely and our day was filled with love. Now with this being Skyler's second Turkey Day, I just have to jump into my archives and grab a 2009 picture to compare. Skyler wore a gorgeous Macy's dress given to her at birth from Sally Rae & Jerry, a dear family friend since the 1970's! My, how she has grown from an infant to a pretty little girl.......

Now 2010 (above)

Then 2009 (below)

While Papa & Daddy golfed, Glammey, Skyler & I enjoyed watching the Macy's Parade. No matter the year, it has been a common thread in my Thanksgiving mornings, so I was delighted to share it with my daughter.

After a wonderful meal, we all got cozy and enjoyed an evening of football.

The day was not complete without Skyler looking at her home made holiday card from her sweet Idaho friend, Ron. She has been saying the word turkey for about a month now, so she gets pretty excited when she sees one! Hope you all had a little excitement in your day.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for the blessings given to us. As we stop today and count our blessings, the Short Family would like to take this opportunity to thank the Lord:

• for our Salvation
• for our Church
• for our Country
• for our wonderful family & true friends
• for eyes to see the beauty of Your creation
• for ears to hear the birds sing & Skyler's laugh
• for hands to work & feet to get us where we need to go
• for providing for our needs

May the Blessings of God rest upon you & yours today!

A Bubblin' Good Time

Glammey introduced Skyler to liquid bubbles recently and it became an all day hit! She had fun chasing the bubbles as Glammey kept blowing them out. Too cute and certainly tons of fun!

Speaking of bubbles, we all know that Skyler is no stranger to water and is an avid lover of the wet stuff. We decided to turn the jacuzzi into a mini pool for Sweet Pea, after reducing the heat from 104 degrees to a warm 92. After her first time, she quickly learned were the button was to make the bubbles.

She enjoys it every evening with Daddy and it has definitely become part of her favorite routine. Check out all the fun below.....And yes, she opted for her pretties instead of a bathing suit!

Cuts & Curls

Just before celebrating her 18 month Birthday, Skyler finally received her very first hair cut! On Thursday evening, the 18th, my dear, special friend Denise Gross, trimmed up those beautiful blonde curls. Denise has been cutting my hair for over 25 years, so I was quite relaxed knowing we were in good, steady hands!

Skyler just loves mirrors & enjoys brushing her hair, so she felt right at home!

Next came the drape and then the fun began. Skyler was perfect. No fussing, no crying. Just big smiles in every mirror! Daddy did a great job capturing all the action shots. Enjoy!

Within 5 minutes, her first hair cut was over. We had decided earlier to only do a slight trim so her gorgeous blonde locks can make it's way into pigtails. Thank you, Denise for a fun night!

Giving Back

I am constantly remembering the many blessings from our Saviour, (my amazing family, loving marriage and the birth of my daughter), so we decided to spend the weekend (quite thankfully) by just giving back. Skyler & I started our Saturday morning volunteering with my local Kiwanis Club for our annual Big Brothers/Big Sisters picnic at the beautiful 800 acre Willow Ranch.

It was such a wonderful sunny day. We grilled & served hamburgers & hot dogs, then played games with the children and their "Bigs". Skyler attends my Thursday morning Kiwanis meetings, so she felt right at home with 15 of my dedicated Kiwanians! Here we are relaxing after serving over 75 "Bigs & Littles".

After some fellowship with some of my club members, it was off to play games. Our little cutie is a football lover and quickly jumped in the action with the other children.

The Ranch had a petting area full of friendly goats, pigs, bunnies, chickens and even a small calf. Skyler took part in feeding carrots to the goats. She took a fondness to the white one...maybe because her dog Laney is white! lol...

Her attention was quickly diverted when she spotted the horses. Below is our Sweet Pea in pure excitement after seeing a horse. Perhaps she felt like she was at Auntie Cheryl & Uncle Charles' all over again!

She looked like a pro as she rode a horse for the very first time!

Before heading home, we said our last goodbyes to her favorite white goat and after buckling her up in her car seat, she fell asleep within 5 minutes.

After a nice long nap, we grabbed our purses and headed to Target to get started on Operation Christmas Child. Our Church is involved in this annual Samaritan's Purse project were you fill up a shoe box full of toys & fun activities. Their mission is to demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local churches wordwide, they hope to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Skyler and I had two shoe boxes to pack. One for a girl and one for a boy. We bought writing pads, coloring books, crayons, stickers, play dooh, balls, jump ropes, small dolls & cars, miniature etch-a- sketch and even a few hygiene items. It was such a delight to drop off the boxes at our church yesterday, since it's National Collection Week. Take a peek at the fun goodies we purchased. The program even lets you track your package!

What a wonderful family tradition we just started. Here's to the spirit of giving!

Monkey See....Monkey Do!

It was only a matter of time before our curious little monkey would be going out the doggie door to explore the back yard on her own. Skyler has kept a watchful eye on Laney during her in & out travels and decided today (Friday) was that day to join in & give it a try!

She succeeded without my help. As many of you know, my office desk is up against the window over looking the back yard. While I was typing away on my key board, Skyler was playing on the porch. I just happened to glance up a few minutes later and saw a super cute, smiling blondie running past my window. Imagine my surprise! Yep, she figured it out. All those weeks watching Laney paid off! I often say life at The Shorts' is never dull!