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!

julia loves springtime!

We just returned from a blustery springtime trip to the Windy City! We had a fabulous time with some friends (the Shupings), and learned that traveling with a little one can be a challenge at times (but totally adveturous and worth every second)!

This was the highlight of Chris' time in Chicago. We went to see the United Center where the Chicago Bulls play - as well as the arena that Michael Jordan called home for a while. We had no idea that the United Center was so far outside the city - gotta love public transportation!
Julia really enjoyed getting baths at night at the hotel. Since we only had one fancy glass shower, she got her baths in the equally fancy sink! The hotel was super nice, but sharing a room with a 6 month old at night is not the greatest fun in the world! Julia is a very loud sleeper!
Chicago trip aside, Julia just loves being outside now that the weather is getting warmer! We had so much fun at Easter this year - Julia is beginning to get the hang of sitting up (with some assistance) and she is fascinated by grass! Good thing Daddy makes the lawn look so gorgeous for her! She pulled up some of his grass - don't tell! Just this week Julia had her 6 month checkup with her perdiatrician, and she's doing great! She officially weighs in at 16 lbs. and 6 oz. and is 27 inches long (apparently she's pretty tall because she's in the 90th percentile for height!) She did, however, have to suffer through three shots (which is better than 4) that made her face turn as red as our kitchen - not her favorite thing!
Julia loves to eat, and we are busy trying new varieties of solid foods. So far her favorites are prunes and peas - what a little old lady! She does not particularly care for green beans, although I can't blame her for disliking something that looks like chunky green slime - yuck!

I didn't make my 'monthly' deadline, but I am impressed with myself that I got this posted before the summer! Enjoy!

a month of firsts

The past month has been so much fun around the Shelton home (other than all 3 of us being sick for a couple of weeks!) Julia is starting to do a lot of new things, including sitting up by herself (with a little support from Boppy), and trying "solid" foods for the first time! And as far as food is concerned so far, the girl can't get enough! She loves to eat!

She also really loves to play in the floor and read. Her favorite books right now are Harold and the Purple Crayon and Where the Wild Things Are. Although I think she likes to chew on the pages more than she likes to actually look at the book! But she does love to listen to both of us read! She'll sit for a while with us when we have story time.

Chris and I are continuing to adjust to being parents, and have even managed to squeeze a "date night" into our weekly schedule! Hope you enjoy the new pictures!

Happy New Year!

Julia is currently 3 months and 3 weeks old! We can't believe it! She is becoming so much fun for us!

We enjoyed a wonderful holiday season surrounded by many family and friends who got to meet her for the first time - including the Kransteubers (Vermont), Kristi Pegg (Colorado), Uncle Jim & Aunt Blair (Texas), and the McKethan clan (Washington, D.C.).



Julia is growing like crazy and is becoming quite a little chatterbox! She continues to love bathtime, getting a 'fresh bottom', having her milk, and reading stories together.

Some of her newest 'skills' that she is trying out include laughing - which she did for the first time with her Grammy Sammy in Boone - holding her head up when she's on her tummy, and starting to learn how to roll over!

Molly will be returning to work for the remainder of the school year on January 23rd, so Julia will be getting some extra love from Daddy, Caroline, and Granny!

Oh, and the Shelton 3 apologize for the delay in updating our blog - we've been a bit preoccupied this past month or so! We will try from now on to make monthly updates as well as add new pictures to the blog and to our Shutterfly page.

merry (early) christmas!

Julia will turn 10 weeks old tomorrow...wow! I can't believe we have a 2 month old already!

She had her 2 month shots last week - and yes, it was traumatic for all parties involved! At least she will have no recollection of the event, but Chris and I sure will! So sad! Other than that, she is doing wonderfully...sleeping all night and just a lot of fun during the day (although, I must confess that currently she is wailing in her crib and it's supposed to be naptime)!

Julia is starting to smile and laugh and coo a lot! She is quite a little talker! She might be long-winded like her daddy!

Life is settling into a normal pattern for all 3 of us, and we are learning to love being a family and doing things together. We've had fun decorating our home for the holidays, and warming up together by enjoying lots of Starbucks! We are looking forward to Christmas parties, light-looking, and starting our own traditions with our little family.

seven weeks

Well, the Shelton's are doing well as we reach the seven week mark! This past week Julia shared her first smile with us, and she also slept through the night (just one night, but that was one wonderful night!)

Here, Julia is enjoying bathtime! She currently weighs in at a whopping 10 lbs. 3 oz. and is around 23 inches long! Oh, and according to Chris, her wingspan is about 20 inches!! We might have the makings of a pretty good volleyball player (or basketball as long as she's a little tougher than her mommy!)

She is such a joy for us, and we have enjoyed sharing her with each of you! We are looking forward to sharing the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays with her, and beginning new traditions of our own this year!