Merry Christmas from the Sheldon's

We have somehow managed to survive the artic blast of 2008 at the Sheldon house. As beautiful as the snow is we are anxiously awaiting it's departure as our cabin fever has become unbearable. We have gotten out for several walks and enjoyed some serious down time, but alas, we are ready to do something away from home! We are looking forward to some time with friends and family over the next two weeks of Christmas vacation. We have planned trips to Lebanon and then over to Central Oregon. So we hope you and your families all enjoy a wonderful Christmas with safe travels, good food, and fellowship in this season of joy and remembrance of Christ's birth. So a Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Love,

Amy, Sydney, David and Toby

Unto us a child is born....

Go Ducks! What a game.......Yes, Sydney's bow is almost as big as her head. Thanks Malaika!!!

Brian, your special apprearances in our photo was less than amusing!! Thank goodness for cropping!

Sydney showed real promise with the Christmas lights!!! Her dad needed lots of help fixing all of the burnt out bulbs!!!

Tongues were made for sticking out!!!

Round Two: Technology 1 point - Amy 1 point

Enjoy some of Sydney's Squawks!!!

November has been a busy month for Sydney. She is now rolling over, standing up (with a little help) and talking up a storm!!! She loves sucking on her hands and is producing enough drool to keep Oregon from facing a drought this year. She is so interested in the world around her and wants to be up and going!!! I am not sure how I will get anything done once she is mobile!!! Better start looking for a good housekeeper now.....

We had a great Thanksgiving. David got a much needed break from school and wrestleing and we were able to get some good family time in, oh and we ate a ton too!!! We have the tree and the lights up on the house and I am working on the inside Christmas decorations. As Sydney experiences her first Christmas we are struck with how important it is to teach her the true meaning of this holiday. We have a whole new perspective on the joy and wonder of childbirth and hope to share with her the true SPIRIT of the season!!!

Look for more posts soon. Sydneys weighs in next week, and we have some Christmas pictures that I will load!!!

The Sheldons

Trick or Treat

Only a couple more years and Sydney will be old enough to hit the streets for candy!! I am going to be one of those moms who confiscates "questionable" candy and then eats it all when she goes to school. Hopefully pants with elastic waists make a come back!!!! Sydney and I visited David at school today so his students could see her in costume. We are headed to our churches harvest party tonight, after we hand out some candy!!! David and Toby would be happier if we just stayed home, but I have a hard time giving out candy to 16 year olds without costumes. Toby grew out of this costume and his new one has arms, which look totally ridiculous. The little kids love seeing him, and we give out licks in addition to a handful of candy!!!

Oh almost forgot Sydney now weighs 11 lbs 3 oz and is 23 1/2 inches long.......

I've done it......

I probably take at least one or two video clips of Sydney every day in hopes of capturing a smile or a coo, and nothing. Well today I hit the jackpot!!!

Aunt Jen thought she might be ready to sit in the Bumbo chair yesterday!!! I pulled it out of the closet and thought "No way is her cute little behind going to fill up this chair"........

"Her neck is prettys strong, but it can't be ready for this!!!" Well she is ready!!! She turned her little head from side to side taking things in from a whole new perspective. Toby is excitied because he dosen't have to bend over so far to give her a good lick!!! It is both exciting and sad to see our little girl growing up so fast!!!

I bet you're wondering where the stinkin video is...... Well I tried loading it 5 times for over 30 minutes each, and nothing. All of my work was in vain!! Guess you will have to settle for the cute picture and I will keep trying to get the video to load!!!

October update

Sydney's one month photos

Dolled up for F-Day
I could not make this face the right direction, but I love this picture

October has been a busy month at the Sheldons.

David is back at work and gearing up for wrestling practices next week. He is realizing how precious his time with Sydney is and can't wait to get home from work each day. There have been Duck football games to attend, several of which he would like to forget, and lots of time shared with family and friends. We had our annual F-day the first weekend of October. Thanks to the Johnstons and the Schriebers for saving it from being a total bust!!! Last weekend we spent with our dear friends the Sumners in Black Butte. There is no better place to soak up the beauty of fall than on our long walks around the ranch.

Our little girl will be 3 months old this week. She is talking up a storm, which we can still never manage to capture on video. She loves looking at her stuffed animals and has discovered that her reflection in the mirror is fun to admire. It gets even cuter when mom's face is next to hers!!! She can now roll over from her tummy onto her back, but she should be wearing a helmet because sometimes her head takes the brunt of the fall. She had her first shot this month and somehow I managed to keep it together. I did however feel like she deserved a new outfit for her bravery!!! We will get her new stats next week at her doctors appointment so I won't be able to slack off for another month before updating the blog. I know that she is growing, but there is something about an actual weight and height that makes it so concrete.

For some reason I have seriously underestimated how busy a stay-at-home mom can be!!! Oct has flown by, with fewer days actually staying at home than I would like. I am realizing that it is not necessary to pack an entire day with to-do's, and have made an effort to slow down to enjoy cuddling on the couch and a nap or two. I am proud to announce that I am in the race for wife of the year for 2008. I love having dinner ready for David when he gets home and taking care of things around the house so he has more time to relax and enjoy Sydney. I have even taken over the budget, which to anyone familiar with my spending habits, is a scary thought. Stay-tuned for my campaign commercials and live debates!!! I promise to be more amusing than Sarah Palin.

Hope this finds you all enjoying these beautiful fall days!!

The Sheldons

Caught in the act

One strong little neck

Our Little Pumkin
Not quite as big as a football......
Just another photo op


Here are a couple more photos of the babe, since I am sure you were all disappointed to see so few of her in my other post.

6 WEEKS AND COUNTING

So I feel like I have to apologize for my poor blogging behavior. Nearly a month has past since my last update. Father Forgive Me.... I am getting harassed by several of you to see new pictures!!! Clearly the standards were set way to high!!!! I do have to warn you that there is much to cover, so hold onto your hats this is going to be a long blog.... Sorry for those of you with short attention spans.....


SEPTEMBER.... Honestly I have been so caught up in enjoying each day with Sydney... and David, watching her change that this month has flown by.... Sydney is 6 weeks old as of yesterday, and weighing in around 10 lbs, without a full diaper. She has become so much more alert and we are enjoying lots of smiles and her little noises..... She continues to stretch her little arms like crazy and kick her legs, which has me thinking that Mia Hamm might just get a run for her money. The other day while I was trying to capture some of her coo's, she rolled over on the bed. David is sure that my weight beside her, gave her a little assistance. I am pretty sure that had nothing to do with it.

September got off to a crazy start with a visit to Lebanon, where Sydney was introduced to all 3 sets of Great Grandparents!!! She is so lucky to have them around to spoil and adore her. David headed to Eugene for the first Duck game, and Sydney somehow slept through the win with her mom cheering at the T.V. The next morning, going on too little sleep we headed back up to Portland to meet up with our friends Greg, Chelsea, and their one year old little girl Addi, to head on a road trip to Sun Valley. Both girls were troopers in the car as we climbed some serious elevation.... Sun Valley is beautiful and we literally stayed at the base of the mountain, in walking distance to the chair lift. No snow in September though!!!! We quickly learned that vacationing with kids was going to be a change.... We managed to get Sydney to the pool for her first swim, and take her on a hike in the sawtooth mountain range at almost 10,000 ft. We weren't really sure if a 3 week old was ready for all of this, but she didn't seem to mind!!! It was great to spend the week with Greg, Chels, and Addi and we are very blessed to have them as friends.The only souvenirs I brought back from our trip were a cold, and a lot of laundry. We spent the next week recovering.

David heads back to work the last week in September, so we have just been enjoying our time with him. I am not sure that he is ready to return after an extended summer off, but someone has to pay the bills. His horrible headaches have returned so we are navigating around those, and trying to enjoy these early days of fall with lots of walks. We already have over 20 pumpkins around the house and all of our beloved decorations up!!! I am annoyed because no one is selling my ornamental gourds and pumpkins yet so my decorations are not complete. Just one of the daily struggles I face as a stay-at-home mom.... I wouldn't trade it for the world!!!
Alright that doesn't even being to cover all that has gone on in a month, but I can tell you are getting bored, and blogs are only supposed to provide a snap shot right?? Not a short novel about the Sheldon's life that most people stop reading after the second paragraph.

God Bless
The Sheldons

Breast Pumps and Wet Wipes!!!

Newly aquired Mom Skills:

Night Vision- Very important for navigating the dark hallway to the nursery, and trying not to step on Toby who has decided that he should sleep right under Sydney's cradle. I think he may feel slighted because we had to relocate his bed to the other side of the room.

The Sway- The constant rocking motion that I involuntarily do 24 hrs a day. It's a lot like being on a boat, only I haven't experienced motion sickness. I have dramamine on hand in case this becomes an issue

Taskmaster- I am constantly thinking of all of the things that I need to get done in a day, and rarely getting around to any of them. Apparently nesting phase is far from over.....

Swadler Extrodinare- Thanks Jen for an amazing swaddle technique. Our little Houdini sometimes manages to break an arm free, but I have no idea how!!!

Photographer - We had hoped to find a way to attach a camera to Sydney, kind of like a pacifer to capture all of the firsts, but still haven't quite figured out how to do it. We definitely won't be sticking it in her diaper as she fills it constantly.
We each have a quota of 14 photos a day that we have to meet

Numbchuck Enthusiast

- Brent and Jen and Kym please it is my "last pregnant wish" that you watch Napoleon Dynamite!!! Let it be said that David had to humor several "last pregnant wishes".

Here are some more photo's of our beautiful little girl! Hope you all are well and surviving this little heat wave!!!

God Bless
The Sheldon's

Home again Home again..... Jiggity Jig

The Sheldons have sucessfully survived the first 6 days of parenthood. The return policy for Miss Sydney ran up at 5 so I guess we'll keep her!!! It is amazing how much one little person can shake up your world. David and I are totally smitten with our little girl, and can't imagine a day without her!!!
It was great to get home after a couple days at St. V's!! Thanks for all of the visits... although most of them mysteriously came as I was just laying down to take a nap.... I am learning that functioning on little sleep is possible and am thankful for the naps that I have stock piled thus far. Sydney decided to really show us the meaning of sleepless last night with hourly feedings and one fussy baby. We had an appt this morning with a lactaction specialist at 9:00 and I am going on about 3 hours of sleep right now. David, Toby and Sydney are all cuddled in their beds and I can't get my mind to shut off to join them. This was never a problem before.

The good news is Sydney is very healthy!! She has already gained 9 oz and is above her birth weight!!! It usually takes about 10 days for babies to make it back to their birth weight! While she packs on the pounds I am hoping to shed some, although we have already been spoiled with some meals from friends and definitely took advantage of all of the milkshakes and the "night owl" menu at St. V's!!!! It was a lot like a stay at a "fine hotel", minus the "fine" and throw in some vicodine and an epideral. By the way praise the Lord for Epiderals!!!

Well I am hoping that the cupcake I just ate is enough to send me into a slumber so that's all for now.
Thanks again for all your prayers and support. We feel very blessed to have so many special people in our lives to share this with.

Lot's of Love
David, Amy, Sydney and Toby

( David is thinking about adding a y to the end of his name, because he is feeling a little left out)

Sydney's Here!

I'll let Amy give all the details, but the basics are:
Born on 8-9-08
Weighed 7lbs 11oz
20 1/4 inches long

Just a few pics here, waaaaaaaaay more to follow!

Good Intentions

Alright,So I had really good intentions of updating this blog more frequently, but between bowls of ice cream and naps its been pretty busy around our house!!! We are now only 4 days away from D-day, and no sign of Sydney!!! I wish I could say that we were totally at peace with waiting for her, but we are getting pretty anxious!!!

Here are a couple recent photos of the work on the nursery. Still a few finishing touches to be made, much to David's dismay!!! I have definitely had my fare share of nesting in the form of hours spent decking out Sydney's room and then changing my mind about what I just did!!! Also a picture of us in front of our garden!! I am sad to say that this has become my new staple outfit!! Davids drawer full of white tee shirts has really come in handy as I attempt to stay comfortable and cool. I have even had to go so far as to borrow a pair of his shoes, but mostly in an effort to maintain a good pedicure!!

Hope this finds you all enjoying the summer months and I look forward to posting baby pictures soon and of course all of the video of the delivery..... You know I am kidding right!!!

Take Care
The Sheldon's

One Big Belly

Things are about to get a whole lot more exciting in both the Sheldon's blog and the Sheldon's life. Up until now we have really only posted Europe and occasional updates from David, but with the addtion to our family you can expect us to take blogging to the next level. I can sense your excitement!!!!

We are dangerously close to the 3rd trimester and as you can see by the shots of my belly I am starting to pop out. This seems to mean that any women I come into contact with, from the restroom to the checkout line feel the need to talk to me about pregnancy.... If I wasn't always in a hurry to make it to the restroom this really wouldn't be a problem. David and I are still battling it out in the search for a meaningful name, that prepares our daughter for a very happy and successful future. No pressure.... He has already nixed my favorite name and I haven't been so fond of several of his choices... At least we have several more months to hash it out. We did get all of the baby furniture put together and thanks to a couple good friends have a closet and multiple drawers full of clothes for the little one. I can't wait to get some paint on the walls and finish decorating!!!
I am still feeling great and counting down the days until her arrival!!! David is busy coaching baseball, and loves practicing in this cold and rainy weather. He gets by thinking of how nice the hot tub is going to feel when he gets home!!!

Well I don't want to overwhelm anybody just yet. I will save that for my daily posts after our little girl arrives. Hope this finds everyone happy and healthy
God Bless
The Sheldons

It's a girl!

So, we have high-speed internet now and a new computer, so we should be able to post more updates. With that said, we went in for the ultra-sound last Thursday and found out we are having a little girl. The technician said not to quote him on it, because you never really know until you're holding the baby in your hands, but it is most likely a little girl.

So now the name game begins. We haven't really had much chance to discuss it because Amy flew to Arizona for the weekend with a bunch of her Bible-study friends. I'm sure when she returns that we'll start bouncing some ideas around. The big question is do we tell anyone? The baby names books seem to say that we shouldn't just because people seem to feel free to criticize...I think that's a bunch of bologna! So we'll probably let everyone know.

Attached is a picture of us with our friends Rob and Blake making a big 'ol snowman. By the way, if there are any of my students reading this, be sure to let me know how you're doing. Take care everyone, Dave

Baby, Wrestling, and a New Year

Hello everyone- Well the cat is out of the bag...Yup, Amy and I are going to finally cross that bridge into parenthood. Pretty exciting and scarry. Everyone keeps asking me if I'm ready or saying stupid things like, "Oh, you're life's gonna change now." Thanks, I didn't know that and besides, my life has already changed as Amy has unofficially joined the secret sorority of mom's. This sisterhood feels like it is appropriate to induct new members by sharing intimate details of their own pregnancy(ies). Things such as: pinched veins, constipation, moodiness, and tearing...ummmmm yeah, I have an active imagination and so when I hear that I can see it and that pretty much sums up how my life has already changed...thanks so much for finding out my wife is pregnant and then sharing with her (while I'm standing there...really appreciate my 'honory' membership though association) your 'tearing.' Super.

On a different note, Wrestling is finally over. This is two years in a row that we got clobbered. I am feeling pretty discouraged by it right now. There is an article that from the Oregonian from early in the year that reads "Woodburn, Oregon's soccer city." Pretty much sums it up. A follow up article could read "Woodburn, do other sports exist there?" That's how I feel sometimes. We just get beat up and I continually have to remind the kids that they are wrestling very athletic kids with a history of wrestling...but who's reminding me? Sometimes all I see is my coaching getting pounded on. It's hard to not internalize your teams performance as a reflection of yourself. Anyway, it's over for another year. Time to lick the wounds and move on.

Well, the New Year is year and so much lies ahead. I will post some more pics of backdated stuff just so you can peruse some of what happened in 2007. Take care, Dave