Continue following along at Shelton4.org

Our new blog for our growing family...shelton4.org

T-Minus 2 Weeks...

And the countdown is officially on!
At this point we are just waiting around for baby and trying to have "normal" days...
whatever that means!
I am 4 cm dilated, and so that's a lot of progress...but nothing official yet!
Julia is excited to be a big sister...and we are all just hanging out getting ready to meet the little one! Fortunately, March is a fabulous time to have a baby, according to Chris, because no matter when we go to the hospital, there will be plenty of basketball on tv!

Chris will be posting on the blog from the hospital or shortly after we arrive home, I'm sure, so stay tuned for updates and info over the next days/weeks (we hope not weeks!)

March Snow!!

We have been enjoying our big snow these past couple of days! We got a total of about 6 inches, which for Greensboro, is A LOT! Julia has enjoyed the snow...well, she has tolerated it at least! She really liked to eat the snow and bat at the icicles hanging from our roof! We also did some sledding with her cousins, Landry and Brooks...lots of fun! I think her favorite thing about the snow was the snow cream that we made!

Julia is a little over 17 months old now...she is into everything, and is a totally dramatic, passionate child! She loves to read, eat and watch Veggie Tales!
Baby #2 should be making an appearance soon, so we are excited for the new addition! Life is good and very full for us...we look forward to sharing little Baby Shelton with you soon!

Current Shelton Family Happenings

Julia is 16 months old now, and is totally into everything! Pregnancy #2 is continuing to go smoothly...and life is just moving right along as normal!
We visited Boone for about 5 days at the beginning of February, and we were able to see some really good snow!
Above, Julia poses with me in the swing and with Uncle Dan'l and Aunt Brenna in the snow!

Baby #2 is growing like crazy...I will not be posting belly pictures...but we will post pictures of Baby Shelton as soon as he/she arrives. The due date is still March 25...so we'll let you know what happens!

Other than that, I am looking forward to consignment shopping...Julia is looking forward making Valentines with her friend, Amelia, on Monday...Chris is looking forward to March Madness (which he will have to watch somewhere else given the fact that we only get like 10 channels)!

Happy New Year!

Well, I am not sure that my blogging consistency is improving that much, but I am at least thinking about it!

Just a quick update from the Shelton family:

• Chris began a new job at the beginning of November with Bravo Signs here in Greensboro. He is a Design Consultant, and is really enjoying what he is doing!
• Julia is currently walking, babbling, and causing chaos all over the place! She had a wonderful Christmas and is just so much fun right now!
• I am currently 28 weeks along in my 2nd pregnancy and things are running smoothly. Baby Shelton #2 is due March 25th, and so my time is being spent organizing the house, eating (and excising quite a bit), and keeping up with our insanely energetic toddler!
• As a family, we have gotten involved with Mosaic Church here in Greensboro, and we are enjoying finding opportunities to serve within that church community.
  
• We had an eventful, challenging, and joyful 2008, and we are hopeful and expectant for all that 2009 will bring - enjoy the holiday photos!
  

I just love this time of year!

Ok, I'll admit it...I'm a TERRIBLE blogger! Well, maybe not terrible...just...SEASONAL! I just don't spend a lot of time at the computer, I guess?! Anyway, kudos to all you others (especially moms) who make time to have these amazing blogs that are constantly updated with cute photos and the latest on your families...in an effort to improve my blogging consistency, here are the latest Shelton family updates:

Julia turned 1 year old on September 25th, and she is just all over the place! No walking yet, but she is crawling like crazy and had started standing by herself which is funny! As soon as she loses her balance, she sits down really fast! She chatters all the time...not a whole lot of "intelligible" words yet, but she is definitely a talker (just like her daddy!) Actually, pretty much everything about her is just like Chris - which is great! She really is a little mini version of him in looks as temperament!

On other notes, we are expecting Shelton Baby #2 in late March, so that has been fun and exciting for all of us! This pregnancy is going very smoothly, as the last one did, with little news to report...other than the fact that I have ceased to feel insanely nauseous constantly - HOORAY! Life really is good!

So, these three (well, four) Shelton's are doing pretty great...we are in the midst of another transition with Chris looking to pursue work outside the "church" for a while. We are uncertain what the future holds at this point, but we are joyful and thankful for God's provision and timing - although, it would be fabulous if He would let us in on "the plan" sometime soon! :)

So all that to say...here are some of our favorite, most recent pictures:
This is the aftermath following one of Julia's birthday cupcakes...mud mask anyone?
Julia picks out her first pumpkin...well, we didn't actually buy this giant one...we opted for a bit smaller, more manageable size! She also picked out several little tiny pumpkins that were just her size! Lots of fun!
And here we are in Boone, enjoying a fabulous mid-October hike near Trout Lake! Yes, it was chilly, but we all just loved it!

Summer time is here! And it is hot!

Julia loves summer time! She loves being outside, playing in the grass, and relaxing in the shade on our back deck! This is Julia sitting in "her" chair out back!
The past couple of months she has been changing and growing so fast! We feel like she is doing something new everyday. She is now a pro at sitting up by herself - a skill she has been working on since about 6 1/2 months. Here, she was enjoying time outside at her cousins' birthday party!
During the month of May our good friends, Klay and Marsha and Jarrett and Lara came to visit. Julia enjoyed playing on the couch with Marsha, Jarrett, and Elmo!
Julia has also learned to feed herself finger foods, and we are loving trying out all kinds of new foods with her. She and Chris like to have the same snack sometimes!
Just this week she has learned to use her sippy cup all by herself (and no, that's not Coke in there...she's drinking mostly water with some prune juice mixed in)! She is really funny when she turns the cup all the way up to drink - she can totally chug her drink!
Around 7 months (late April/early May) Julia started sitting really well and got very interested in her toys. Here she is playing in her room and cheesing for Mommy!
At the beginning of May we celebrated Chris' 31st birthday and had lots of family and friends visiting. Julia loved playing on the table with Aunt Brenna!
In the mornings Julia really loves to watch tv (10 minutes won't kill her)...here she is with Chris...and she has officially taken charge of the remote control! I'm sure they are watching SportsCenter!
Ahh...Julia's favorite time of the day - bathtime! She just loves it!
And finally...one more lounge in her chair - this was a couple of weeks ago - before the temps in Greensboro reached the inferno level! Hope you all enjoy - we are just having a fabulous time with her - she's so funny (and fun) right now!
I will be finished with school in about a week, and I am really looking forward to having time with her again! As far as regular life goes...things are good...Awaken is continuing to move forward, and Chris is in the process of being trained to be a coach for StrengthsFinder (ask us if you want more info on that), and life is just rolling right along! Oh, we did have our first night away from Julia last weekend for our anniversary - all 3 of us had a great time! Julia spent the weekend with her Grandad and Grammy Sammy in Boone while Chris and I took off to Charlotte for some time away! Fabulous!