The Johnsons

At Your Request....

2011-04-26T18:22:00.002-05:00

So, we went to the valley this weekend and the question I was asked the most was when was I going to update the blog. So, here goes....

Surprise (sarcasm), we're pregnant....quick run down....due November 6th according to the ultrasound....how did I tell Ross - I had Shelby tell him she wanted to tell him a secret. This usually means she is going to stick her tongue in his ear (you know who taught her that, so beware if she wants to tell you a secret). I told her to tell him she was going to be a big sister. She instead said, "I'm going to be your big sister". He still got it and shot me a look. It was somewhere between shock and shock and are you serious. This baby was not a surprise for us but not exactly planned out either. The Johnson extended family are notoriously fertile and we are no different. I've been sick, really really sick. I am feeling a lot better but still feel like the world is spinning fast and really the only thing that helps is laying flat. I am basically worthless so a big "You're Amazing" goes out to Ross. I go back to the Dr. tomorrow.

Easter was a blast and Shelby had so much fun seeing everyone and playing with her cousins. There were lots of Easter egg hunts and she still has one more round of egg hunting to go. She is doing well at school and only has a month left. She will be going to "summer school" one week out of every month this summer. Most of her little friends will be in her class and then she starts again in the fall. Her schedule for next year is T, W, Th 9-2. She has learned a lot and I am very thankful we put her in preschool. Swim lessons are still going great. She still enjoys her teacher, Ms. Tracy, and does not leave her lesson without giving her a hug.

Ross enjoyed his time in the valley and went fishing, golfing and revisited his childhood and played some video games with his brother. They were laughing so hard that Sarah and I just laughed and rolled our eyes. They are such little kids when they get together, it's great. Ross' company sent out letters notifying 650 people out of the 1500 at the plant that they would be losing their jobs in mid June. Thankfully, Ross dodged the third round of layoffs and did not get a letter. They sent them out so that people got them over the weekend so today is the first day that Ross has been back at work since they were notified. Probably not a great atmosphere at the moment. Ross is still taking his Tuesday night class at work (that is where he is now). His last class is the first week of June. He takes his 4th test this Friday and then will take his final test once the class is over. He has done so well at it and it will be huge on his resume, when the time comes to update it.

As for me, real estate stinks. It is slow and I am not enjoying it at all at the moment. I am trying to do as much in the little time that I have left before the baby gets here but I seem to be going around in circles. I know someone needs a million dollar ranch out there, I just know it :).

What else??? Yeah we are boring so pretty much nothing. Oh yes, my sister, Kristen, is getting married (9/10/11) and I am the matron of honor and Shelby is a flower girl (as I cringe). The last time she was a flower girl did not go well and was very stressful so I am hoping the year and a half will make a difference and she will walk down the aisle to stand with mommy.

Jacked Up!

2011-02-23T21:21:00.002-06:00

Probably the most interesting part about having a three year old is the funny stuff that they come up with or repeat. Tonight Shelby had my ear bud headphones and they were tangled in a knot. She brought them to Ross and said, "Daddy can you fix these they are all jacked up". Ross and I died laughing. And then she said, "Mommy jacked them up". Tonight after Shelby read me a story. Yes, she pretty much knew it word for word! I was saying goodnight and closing her door when she said, "Mommy can I tell you something (I said yes), can you clean my playroom, I don't want Granny to see it". Heaven help me I live with 2 clean freaks!

Zoo Time

2011-02-22T09:58:00.005-06:00

Last Friday Shelby, Granny Bananny, and I headed out to the zoo. Mom wanted to do a trip with Shelby and what we had originally planned ended up not working out so we headed to the zoo. It was a great time and the perfect day to go. Shelby had a blast and loved all the animals. She loved the squirrels and the "free" birds just as much :). Since it was such a beautiful day the animals were out and curious. The huge oraguntan sat about 2 inches infront of the glass and just stared at all the little kids including Shelby. I tried to get a picture of this but was not successful. I would have to say that he looked like he was Shelby's cousin with his crazy hair. The lions were all sitting right infront of the glass too and I got a picture of the girl lions with Shelby. Shelby loved all the little monkeys and decided they were "so cute, and so sweet". We ate lunch at a restaurant and got to eat infront of the rhinos. Shelby thought she could call them so she kept saying, "here Rhino". Probably the most fun that she had was going into the petting zoo and playing with the goats. The zoo provides brushes for the kids to use to brush the goats and Shelby took full advantage and brushed one of the goats. On our way out we hopped aboard the train that goes around Hermann park. It was a nice ride and Shelby loved it and the train whistle that she got. Needlesss to say, we did not make it very far out of the parking lot when I heard the smaking of Shelby sucking her thumb....she was out! Thanks to Granny for a fun trip!

To Uncle Wayne - flat Stanley went to the zoo with us....I will send you the pics.

Swim lesson update....Grandma and Grandpa Johnson got to go to Shelby's makeup lesson on Saturday. Sadly, it was not Ms. Tracy teaching so the teacher did not know that Shelby could float well and held her most of the time and they didn't get to do any of the fun stuff. She has never had a lesson where they didn't dive for rings at the end, put the ring on their head and sing their goodbye song. It was kind of a bust but today was TOTALLY different. They put little flippers on the kids. The other little girls did their swimming to Ms. Tracy and it didn't make a difference. Shelby went for her first turn and she did really well. In fact, the next two times Shelby went, Ms. Tracy backed up to the middle of the pool. Shelby swam all the way to her and then rolled over on her back and floated. Ms. Tracy was SO excited and gave Shelby lots of hugs and high fives. I wouldn't have believed it if I had not seen it for myself. I guess she has her daddy's tree trunks and has some power in them. So proud of you Shelby!

Surprise!

2011-02-15T19:25:00.003-06:00

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. I am actually blogging. There is no way to go back and tell you everything. Way too much has gone on and I haven't had time to do this.

Shelby is staying busy with school 2 days a week and swim lessons 2 days a week. She has turned into a regular fish or as she and her daddy say, "a crocodile". She is doing great at it and they can throw her in the water and she pops up, flips on her back and floats, and floats, and floats. She goes down the slide into the pool and pops up and gets on a mat in the pool and jumps off the jungle gym (the castle) in the middle of the pool and pops up onto a mat. She floats to the side of the pool and when her head touches she grabs the side of the pool and turns over. Needless to say we feel a little better about her water safety skills. A three year old little girl drowned this week in Katy in her neighbor's pool so it hits home that she needs these skills.

Shelby is also enjoying her school. They do the most fun of activities and the teachers are very creative. Who knew you could freeze paint in ice cube trays and hold them in your hand and paint? I think she has decided that home is boring, which it is. Although, she can be a homebody and often we will be out and she will say, "mommy, let's go home and rest". She has lots of little friends (mostly boys) in her class and they have a blast and are very sweet to each other. The moms are great too and there is one mom that I have a great time planning their holiday parties, etc. with. Her little boy is only a week younger than Shelby and is super tall and blonde. We already have them married off and Ross told her he was going to try and intimidate him when they start dating. Shelby will be going to school Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday next year. She LOVES it!

Shelby still loves to walk down the sidewalk to Chapman's house and play with him. Chapman is now talking, so we will be getting out of the car and hear, "SHELBY, KIM" and here comes Chapman running across the grass. He is so cute and gives me lots of loving. Shelby and Chapman play so well together and are like brother and sister. Well, if Shelby had a red headed brother. Rumor is that Chapman will be moving to Oklahoma some time in the next year. Wonder how long it will take his parents to realize that Shelby and I have snatched him?

Ross is doing well and has been busy. One, we remodeled a house to flip. That was weeks of work on Ross' part. The house turned out great and is showing well and getting great feedback. We have had three people want the house but when push came to shove they couldn't get a mortgage. The days of everyone getting a mortgage are certainly gone. Two, he has been hunting a lot. Actually, if he doesn't get to hunt at least every other week he pouts. I have to give him, "most people don't get to hunt every weekend like you do". He is still taking his APICS certification class and he takes his first exam next month. There are 5 or 6 tests (I can't remember which) and he has to get an A on each to get his certification. He can take each test as many times as needed. The good thing is BAE pays for it all and once he gets his certification it is very valuable on a resume. His company is still up in the air as to whether they are going to make it. They have work thru September and then we don't know. Funny thing is neither one of us are worried. Should the plant shut down we know God will provide. I was at my parents house tonight and told mom that we could be moving in, in the fall. They have two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a gameroom upstairs that hasn't been used since my sister left for college. I told mom I would make dinner every night and Ross would do the dishes....she wanted to know when we wanted to move in. By the way, I am just joking about moving in with my parents so no one get excited because my dad said he would rent us a house before he let us move in. I think it has something to do with the fact that Ross is a clean freak! Just kidding, we will make it as always. My mom and dad said they don't ever worry about us because they said I'm just like my grandfather and that I can make money out of a bucket of dirt. My high school volleyball coach referred to that as being "scrappy".

Speaking of the wonderful economy....I continue to list foreclosures for banks. Most of my houses are owned by Bank of America. I am presently prepping two for market. It is sad to meet the locksmith at a house and when the locksmith gets the door open you see all of these items that the family left behind. I went out to meet the locksmith on a house today and there was lots of toys, a big screen tv, clothes, shoes.....very sad. The other one that I am prepping is not vacant. I have squatters living in it. The funny thing is it is 2 doors down from my grandparents and when I called to tell my grandmother that BofA now owned the house and I was taking over she was very excited. Lots of illegal activity, etc. has been going on at that house since it was sold to the people that lost it. I am working on getting the squatters out of the house so we can get it on the market and get rid of it.

And speaking of houses....my little sister, Kristen, is buying her first house. She closes on the 25th and is very excited. My grandmother has been her real estate broker. Shelby and I drove by the house with my mom but we did not go in. Mom told us where the bedrooms are and Shelby picked hers out. Aunt Keke - Shelby would like her room painted pink please. I think my parents are excited to get there cabin back. I guess they are getting rid of their squatter too. LOL - love you Kristen! Kristen did not take that well, I promise.

Gotta go eat some dinner! I know there is no pictures. I will post some soon.

Pictures

2010-08-09T16:43:00.008-05:00

Here are some pictures (the grandparents are rejoicing). The pics are newest to oldest. Stay tuned for pictures from Karyn Kayle Photography. No pressure or rush Karyn! Check out her blog and website www.karynkaylephotography.com she is pretty much amazing!

P.S. I am having an mri done on Friday morning to find out what damage volleyball has done in the past on my shoulder. I am in a lot of pain and having problems lifting my arm above my shoulder. Any prayers would be greatly appreciated. I really don't want to have surgery, yuck!!!

Either that is a Gig'em or you just missed the "Shelby wink".

Her daddy took this picture and told her to make the cutest face she could.

mid flippie

Yeah, I didn't tell her to do this.

I've never whined or thrown a fit a day in my life! P.S. Did you know I am a supermodel?

Making blueberry pancakes one Saturday morning in her fleece jammies (we keep it cold in our house) and yes she picked out the wisk to my mixer all by herself.

Gotta love that hair!

Shelby was hanging out the window calling a cow. She would do the standard cattle call (if you don't know what that is I can't explain it) and then she would say, "come here cow, I have some money for you". She has never been bribed with money before.........okay maybe once......

Shelby's daddy and grandpa working cows.

Papa and Shelby on Magnolia beach in Port Lavaca. We pulled onto the beach and shelby said, "Where is my bathing suit?" She got to go in her diaper since she spilled something on her pants. We couldn't stay long but she loved it.

Ross' cousin Kayla and Shelby playing the piano.

Here We Go Again.......

2010-06-17T14:24:00.008-05:00

For our third trip to the E.R. Shelby decided to bust her head open and she needed a staple. Most of you know that I don't have very good nerves. I can't handle a lot of stress, it's no secret. Shelby was on top of my desk and I told her to get off and I was on my way over to get her down. Her toes were only an inch from the floor when she slipped and feel backwards and hit her head on the filing cabinet. Of course, I snatched her up quickly and was consoling her. I had almost made it to the living room when I started feeling something dripping on my arm. I remember thinking for a brief second, oh please God don't let that be blood. It was and it was everywhere. I grabbed my phone and called my mom. She didn't answer and she always answers. I called my dad and he was not in the office. I begin to dial 911 (the ems director had told my dad to always call the ambulance because you get bumped up in line at the er) when mom beeped in. There was enough blood where I was panicking but trying hard not to, at the same time. Mom said I will meet you at the ER and I threw clothes on and headed out (I hadn't even brushed my teeth yet). Shelby had calmed down but repeatedly said, "I need to see the doctor". Luckily the emergency room is 2 miles away. I shook the whole way. I called Ross and I told him I didn't know how bad it was because of the blood but she wasn't crying when we got to the E.R. and seemed fine.

Luckily, there was no one in the E.R. so we got in right away. The staff was great, this time, and gave her a stuff animal and probably 15 stickers. They cleaned it up to reveal that the cut was approximately a half of an inch long. They put some cream on it to deaden it and put one staple in. She was a real trooper. We were there for maybe an hour (it takes awhile for the cream to deaden the area, etc.) and her daddy got there not long after us. She was so happy the whole time we were there especially when her daddy showed up. She let the nurses do whatever and told the doctor he was a nice doctor, without us prompting. She did feel the staple though and cried for a little bit. Her Granny and Papa met us at the house with lunch. Her daddy gave her a bath and got the rest of the blood out of hair and now she is asleep. Before she took a bath, I told Granny, I really need a margarita and Shelby turned around on her bike and shook her head and said, "yeah, you need a rita".

Tomorrow......it is Friday.......I shall have that rita and Shelby shall have a coke.....

Freak me out!!!!!! There was blood on the floor, blood on my foot, blood all over my arms and shirt, blood all over Shelby's arms. I left so quickly we didn't bring Shelby's shoes. Here she is about to wrap up her green giraffe from the hospital (Ross says thanks to BAE for paying for the giraffe).

TWINKIES! If these two are this happy at the E.R., imagine them at Disney World!

Just looking for my daddy and waiting for him to come. I know you all love her stylish headband. For you horse people, that is just common vet wrap that you wrap their ankles with. Shelby makes it look good.

P.S. I forgot to mention the doctor gave us a staple remover to remove her staple in 10 days. I promptly handed that off to Granny and said that's your job. I've had enough!

Dirtiest Jobs Tryouts....

2010-06-16T20:42:00.005-05:00

Shelby and I are battling the stomach virus. I feel like any time now the guy from "Dirtiest Jobs" is going to walk thru the door with a camera crew. Needless to say Shelby has gotten quite used to being taken to the side of the house and literally hosed down with water. Don't worry grandparents I make sure all of the hot water is out of the hose before I squirt her down. She thinks it is great and treats it like she is in the sprinkler. Cleaning up diarrhea has got to qualify me for tryouts. Other than the explosive diarrhea Shelby has had for two days, she is fine and you would never know she was sick. Unfortunately baby Chapman and Ms. Brande were here yesterday to witness a hosing down. This was before we knew she was sick. I really hope we have not passed this sickness to them! As for me....my stomach is cramping and in knots and well the rest I will spare you. I have thankfully not needed to venture to the water hose :).

I will be posting some videos of Shelby tomorrow doing some funny things. Some funny sayings from her this week.........Shelby from the backseat of the car, "momma, I really need to go home and check my email". Shelby driving around in her plastic car when I asked her if she was going shopping. Shelby's answer "no, I going to China".

This One is for Cody!

2010-06-07T16:45:00.002-05:00

Warning, Grandparents, there are no pictures on this post!!!

Well, just like any other kid, Shelby comes up with some crazy stuff. She cracks us up on a daily basis and we never know where she gets her sayings from. A couple of weeks ago Ross went with the guys to New Braunfels to float the river for his cousin Cody's bachelor party. After being gone for some time Shelby asked where her daddy was and instead of saying working or hog hunting I told her he was with Cody. She replied in the cutest voice, "Oh, I love Cody". Just a couple of nights ago Shelby was being silly and her daddy told her she was a mess. She quickly shot him a "I know where you sleep at night" look and said "no daddy, I not a mess, I'm Cody's flower girl". I am laughing uncontrollably now just typing it. She is right, she is a flower girl in Cody and Brittany's wedding and Ross is a groomsmen. The wedding is this weekend and we can't wait!!!

Today her funny moment came at my expense. Ross bought a desk, a bookcase, and a filing cabinet from a charity silent auction at work. This meant I had to clean out the office and move out the desk that was in there, etc. After that was over I started to vacuum the room and Shelby ran in and yelled at me, "what the heck is going on". I guess I don't vacuum enough, LOL!

A Fish and A Shark

2010-05-21T22:05:00.004-05:00

I love my Dora the Explorer life jacket. This is heading back to the boat and we have now graduated to floaties.

The Shark scrubbing the pool and the fish.

It has begun.......pool season!!! It is no secret that we LOVE our pool. Let's face it, I live with two polar bears that have been swimming for some time now, but I braved the pool last night and it was warm.

By the end of last summer, Shelby was quite comfortable in the pool. The start of this summer we had to get her used to it again and get her over her fears all over again. Last night we finally got off her off the steps and when she figured out that she could float with her life jacket on and then swim with it on by kicking her feet she was making laps. She would get to the wall and turn around and "svim" to the steps. She did this over and over and over again and would not stop to play with us. I can't tell you how many laps she made but I kept thinking she is going to be sore tomorrow. We then put on her floaties and she did the same thing with those on. She would pretend she was a fish and her daddy was a shark and he was going to get her. Of course, her daddy always got her and would take a "bite" out of her thighs.

Daddy does not always play fair in the pool (I know ya'll are surprised to hear that). He likes to splash Shelby and I. Shelby was getting pretty ticked with her Daddy last night and gave him some real Leyendecker attitude and told him to knock it off and it wasn't nice. Then somehow they both decided to gang up on me and both of them started to splash me and Shelby kept saying splash mama. I started to take up for myself and splashed daddy and then I heard him say, "oh, you want to play". Needless to say I was constantly having to watch my back with these two. I guess mama is just an easy target.

For those of you that have not heard Shelby has inherited her daddy's clean freak ways. I can't tell you how many times this week Shelby has told me I made a mess. I think that is a little backwards. The child is always picking up after me, lol!!! When we were in the pool last night she grabbed a brush and started scrubbing and said, "I clean, I make daddy happy". Her daddy gave her a thumbs up and she gave him one back along with "the Shelby wink". If you have not witnessed "the Shelby wink" you are certainly missing out. I am surprised we haven't heard from a commercial producer as of yet. The child is certainly special.

Since Ross is out of town for a Johnson bachelor party, Shelby and I plan on being in the pool all weekend. Anyone that wants to partake in swim time and popsicles.............you know where to find us!

Pictures.....What you really want.

2010-05-13T22:04:00.009-05:00

These pictures are old and they are not in order, but enjoy anyway.

I had to stop for gas on our way home from G.G.'s birthday lunch and belated Easter Egg Hunt. They played too hard!

Shelby headed back to G.G.'s house from the garden. G.G. and Papa Muske had to buy her a new wagon. That thought the one that I rode around in with my sister and cousins was too rusty and old.

Granny counting Easter eggs to make sure we found them all.

Her loot!

Obsessed with sunglasses.

Some loot waiting for her in G.G.'s old garden.

The Easter bunny was here.

Smiles!

My college roommate, Carrie, and her daughter, Morgann (Shelby's college roommate).

Swinging with her "eyes closed" or in our household that is known as "smiling".

Happy Easter

2010-04-02T22:31:00.003-05:00

Well, surprise surprise.......we have been busy. This post is going to be short and sweet. We went to the zoo this week with Ms. Brande (baby mama) and Mr. Chapman (Chappy) and had a great time. We rode the carousel, we rode the train around Herman Park, we pretty much saw and did it all at the zoo. It was a pretty day and the kids had a great time.

Shelby loves her Chappy!!!

Today at lunch Shelby's daddy, papa and great grandpa left to go turkey hunting or as Shelby says toekey hunting. I hope the guys have a great weekend, they deserve a break! Before her daddy left this morning he was nice enough to give Shelby a duck call and teach her how to use it. She blew that thing all morning and said it was her new favorite toy. Daddy smiled at me and said, "have a great weekend". Shelby also jokingly called her daddy a toot this morning. Shelby certainly got that right!!!! What a stinker!!! Enjoy the video of Ross packing and Shelby playing with her favorite toy!

This Mess is For You!!!!

2010-03-11T14:52:00.002-06:00

Sorry grandparents but this post has no pictures!

Half of them went onto other things and will not continue reading, but that is okay.

One day this week Shelby had her Easter basket full of plastic food and was walking around with it. She got mad at me about something. I wouldn't let her have a cookie for breakfast, or something like that, when she decided that in anger she would dump out all of her plastic food all over the kitchen floor. She looked at me and with her "Vanna White arms" said, "this mess is for you". I couldn't believe the attitude but I couldn't help but laugh. I couldn't hold it in, I just busted out laughing. Unfortunately, since I laughed, I see this same scenario playing out quite often. Just wait, those of you that have read this far. One day soon Shelby will be at your house too!!!

Just a Swingin.....

2010-03-07T21:16:00.004-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, Shelby's Granny and Papa took care of Shelby for the day so that Ross and I could go to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo BBQ cookoff with some friends. They took her to see her great grandparents on my side and while at Gigi's house (mom's mom) she discovered the swingset. Granny and Papa told us that night that she was in love with Gigi's swingset so they were going to get her one. Granny and Papa bought Shelby her swingset on Saturday and daddy put it together. The "putting together" was a disaster and most parts Ross had to do more than once. I have never seen such pathetic instructions. I called Granny and said that we decided that we would have rather paid for it and have Papa put it together :). Shelby woke up from her nap and immediately asked to go play at her "park". I said okay. Ross was about 3/4 of the way thru. Shelby went outside turned the corner and was beyond excited. She was in love! She kept asking us, "this is for me, this is Shelby's???" She couldn't believe it! Now every time she has woken up in the morning and from her nap she immediately wants to play with her "park". I was telling her that I loved her when I was tucking her in tonight and she told me that she loved me. Then she said, "and I love my park, tell Granny and Papa I love my park and tell daddy thank you for putting together, I love my park".

On a really sad side note while we were outside putting the swingset together we heard a bunch of sirens and found out that the toddler directly across the street from us drowned in their pool. If you have a pool you must get a child safety fence! So sad!!!

Now to lift your spirits back up, pictures!!!

Which Way to Aggieland

2010-03-04T22:44:00.004-06:00

Little Miss Shelby had fun going thru one of the closets upstairs. It was that closet that everyone has that is full of old memories. This closet mainly houses old college memories and Shelby loved going thru all of her daddy's photo albums. She was looking thru the albums and seeing daddy in his skinnier days (his words not mine) and pointed to daddy and said Cody (Ross' cousin). Ross corrected her and said no that is daddy and she quickly said no, that is Cody. They went back and forth and she never gave in. I never really thought that Cody and Ross looked alike but I guess Shelby does!

One of the things she found was our photo album from our wedding and she went on and on about how much she loved my pretty dress. Such a sweet heart!

And another thing she found was Ross "pot" (helmet) from bonfire. She loved to put it on.

In other news, potty training, it basically not happening. I bought Shelby panties thinking that it would help and she asks to put a diaper on because she knows she can go potty in them instead of her panties. She told me the other night when I was reading her a story before bed that she really needed a tv in her room. I told her Granny Leyendecker that and Granny told her that she would buy her one if she started to use the potty. That didn't even help! She will be ready one day!

The cutest thing to ever wear a "pot".

Do you see Ross? I sure do!

It was one of those, let's wear comfortable nonmatching clothes and be lazy because it's freezing outside type of days but Shelby had to put all her bling on.

I know exactly where she gets this from but I am not naming any names.

Showing off her first pair of panties.

Catching a showing of "The Fox and the Hound" at the drive in. Notice the plates and the cup in the "backseat". She inherited the Leyendecker messy car syndrome.

Give Me a Wink

2010-02-26T19:38:00.002-06:00

This child cracks me up!!! The other day she just started randomly winking. It is the funniest thing because it is so exaggerated and we ask her to do it all the time now. It is bad quality video from my phone but I think you get the idea.

Ta Da.....We are Back

2010-02-11T19:29:00.003-06:00

Yeah, I haven't blogged in forever. Trust me I have heard that from everyone.

There is no way that I can let you all in on what all has been going on since I blogged. Each day is an adventure in this house and we are going to just have to call that lost time and move forward.

Shelby is getting bigger and smarter by the second. She is talking our ears off and has a hilarious sense of humor and makes me laugh every day.

We had a great Christmas in the Valley and then back here in Katy. The only thing could have been better is we were all a little under the weather, but who wasn't this Christmas.

I finished the year with my last closing on December 31st. I had a really great year in real estate and am thankful for the clients that came may way. I had set a goal for myself for the year and ended up doing 350% more business than my goal. At one point one of our neighbors that I grew up with asked if everything was okay with Ross and I because he never saw our trucks there at the same time. LOL......the answer to that is yes, for a couple of months there, he would get home from work and I would meet him in the driveway with Shelby so that I could go to work. It is amazing how God works things out.....after the costs of getting my license etc. I made almost to the penny what Ross took in a paycut. Praise God we survived 2009!!!! Thanks to Granny Leyendecker, Papa Leyendecker, and Great Grandma Doris for all of the help babysitting when Ross couldn't be here. I would have not been able to do it without ya'll!!!!

On that note, Ross received a promotion last week!!!! Less than a year after starting with the company and he already is bossing someone else around, besides me! Congrats to Ross, Shelby and I are very very proud of you. Ross will have to tell you what he does because I don't exactly know, except he got promoted to where he is over the guys that do what he used to do. Just call him Bossy Rossy!!!

Okay, so back to who you really want to know about......lil miss thang herself....known in this house as monkey, crazy hair, shelbs, chunky monkey, tooty booty.......you get the idea. She has a fake laugh that cracks us up, she keeps spare change under the gas cap of her plastic car, if you can't find her she is hiding to go the bathroom (we are working on potty training), everything right now is "I do it myself", she takes about a 3 1/2 hour nap every afternoon, she loves the church nursery and runs to her class, she goes nuts when her daddy comes home and asks where he is every morning when I go into her room, she loves to take a bath (on her way with daddy to take one right now), she loves to play with her kitchen and will "maka you a hot dog or a faffle (waffle)" when you come to see her, got a haircut this weekend from Grandma Johnson and no longer has a mullet, said out loud in hobby lobby this week that she tooted and had everyone around us laughing, likes to go and visit our neighbor baby Chapman and his mama Brande (Shelby calls them Mista Chaman and baby mama), she talks on the phone everyday, carries a purse with her to where ever we go, hates to wear blue jeans and will throw a fit if I try and put them on her, wears 3t clothes (yes she is destined to be tall), freaked out when she was to take a picture with Santa Claus and told me later that night that she was scared of him, tells me she is scared of monsters, recites lines from the lion king "they call me Mr. Pig", keeps a banana plantation in business, huffs, puffs, throws her head and crosses her arms when she is mad, ironically her daddy can impersonate the fit quite well and sometimes they do it together, in a fit of anger one day she yelled at me that I was a "tooty booty kitty", loves animals, was dancing in her carseat this week and as I was about to pull forward sang "go mama, it's my mama's birthday", we drove past a horse with his head stuck out of the window of the horse trailer and she told me she saw a horse in the backseat, gives us hugs and kisses every day, tells us she loves us everyday, I got my haircut and when I got home she told me that she "loved my haircut, missed me, and was proud of me", calls ice cream "ums comes"........she is just the best and we love her!!!

Here are some pictures from tonight of Shelby enjoying a cupcake!

It is just so good when it hits my tongue.

Mmmmm.....Yummy Cookies

2009-10-30T20:59:00.003-05:00

Well, we were hanging out waiting for Granny and Aunt Kristen to come over so we could go out to dinner. I got my phone out to video Shelby saying all of her aunt's, uncle's, and cousin's names. For whatever reason when you tell her to say Kristen she says, "Mmmm, yummy cookies" and usually proceeds to tell you that the cookies are hot???? I could take a guess as to why..... I wanted to get this on tape and well you will see how it goes.

Needless to say both papas are also in trouble.....I'm not sure which one so I have to be mad at both. I am pretty sure both are guilty of giving the child sugar.

Okay, so the video will not load. All the grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles and cousins - she says your name, except Aunt Kristen and Papa.......which is "mmmm, yummy cookies".

For All of You Who Have Been Complaining.....

2009-10-09T15:46:00.005-05:00

Yes, I am a bad blogger!!! Shelby and I have been super busy real estate ladies lately so we have neglected the blog. Here goes.....

This is Shelby fast asleep. This is how she sleeps with her little pillow over her head.

This is Shelby cooking dinner in her pjs and crazy hair. She is trying to cut a peeled potato with a butter knife. She kept after it for a long time and kept saying, "I cut mommy".

Here is Shelby getting her first manicure. She totally loved it and she picked out a really bright pink but the lady decided she needed to do a soft pink instead. She did tell Shelby that next time she could have bright pink. There is a long story behind this manicure, of which, I don't have enough time to tell but the summary is: Shelby and I went to get my eyebrows waxed and this young girl was at the salon by herself and she was being harassed by a drunk man that was confused as to where he was. When we walked in, he realized that he was not at an "Asian massage parlor" and left. Shelby saved the day and got a free manicure!!! It is never boring with Shelby and I. Always some drama!!!

I will post video from inflatable zone next and tell you about Shelby's little boyfriend!!!

Bossy Is My Name

2009-09-10T16:17:00.002-05:00

Here is a video of Shelby when we were waiting in a drive thru. This is what I get sitting in line at the bank, at a red light, etc. First, Shelby is talking about pictures of her cousin Callie eating her toes and then she shows her true character. She gets her backseat driving from her daddy. All of you that have experienced Ross' backseat driving, please leave a comment. Can you tell I am tired of Ross denying he does it :)?

This One's for Callie

2009-09-10T15:39:00.002-05:00

Shelby loves to look at pictures of babies and more specifically of her cousin, Callie. She goes to my computer and points to it and says baby. This means pull up Callie's blog, I need to see pictures of her. After viewing the pictures of Callie eating her toes, Shelby felt inspired. So, Callie, this one is for you!!!

Here Kitty Kitty

2009-09-08T21:33:00.002-05:00

I have a friend, named Ashley, who is a great photographer who is gracious enough to take pictures of my listings for basically nothing. She happens to live in my subdivision and has a daughter, named Avery, a few months older than Shelby. Shelby and I met Ashley and Avery at a new listing to take pictures of the house. The sellers have a sweet kitty that the girls played with while Ashley did her thing. Here is a picture of the girls after they chased the cat behind the couch.

Shelby LOVES kitties! Thanks for such a great pic Ashley!

http://www.ashleyallenphoto.net/

Imagination Movers

2009-08-10T22:08:00.002-05:00

Here is Shelby listening and dancing to her favorite song. The Imagination Movers theme song. The Imagination Movers are going on tour this fall and if they come to Houston, I guess we will have to take Shelby.

Shake it baby! For those of you that know Ross' dancing skills, he has passed them on.......

Kiss of Death

2009-08-10T21:49:00.002-05:00

So, I guess this little video is going to force me to tell the truth. Shelby's father is in fact Hulk Hogan. See for yourself. I call this the kiss of death because she kisses you before she kills you. This is usually her and her daddy but he has an earache at the moment. Papa got body slammed out of no where this weekend. She got him pretty good.

I'm Just Like My Daddy

2009-07-28T16:15:00.003-05:00

I like to sleep:

I had to take a picture, because besides the obvious reason of her being so cute, she slept an extra two hours the morning that I took this pic. thanks to it being dark and stormy outside.

And I like to clean, just like daddy:

Shelby brings me her baby wipes, no not to have her diaper changed, but she wants me to give her one so she can clean. She is actually really good at it and it is not just play. She gets this 100% from her daddy. I am sure Ross will have a comment to add to this.

Here she is cleaning between the rungs on the stairs.

The Bad Blogger

2009-07-07T20:50:00.003-05:00

Yeah, that is me, the bad blogger. We have been really busy, hence, the lack of blogging. Shelby is talking more and becoming more and more of such a sweet little girl. I will blog more when I get some time. Real Estate has been keeping me really busy. Enjoy the pictures.

Maybe if I....

eat mama's blackberry she won't talk on it so much!!!

Always a ham!

No pictures today, mama. I'm having a bad hair day.

Shelby reviewing paperwork in one of mama's files. I'm training her early.

I Got a Tude

2009-05-28T17:55:00.004-05:00

Yes, precious little Shelby has an attitude. I know all of you grandmas, aunts, etc. out in internet land can not believe it, but it is true. I was trying to get her attention on this video so that she could talk for you all. I will be honest, I can't compete with Cinderella.

On another note, Shelby now says the word no. Oh joy. Her Great Grandma Doris was the first to get to hear it. She watched Shelby yesterday while I showed properties. Thanks Grandma!!!

Happy Memorial Day!!!

2009-05-26T13:47:00.003-05:00

Here is a video of how Shelby spent her Memorial Day. It is poor quality video since I took it on my phone but you get the idea. She has figured out her swimsweater with built in innertube and doggie paddles her way to whatever she wants. She is a regular little fish!!!

The Sickies

2009-05-23T22:08:00.002-05:00

Shelby as well as everyone else in my family has been dealing with really bad allergies. I have to admit that we are thru the worst of it. Papa Leyendecker is the last recovering. Papa came over for lunch one day while Shelby was sick and after lunch they watched part of the Little Mermaid together. Between Papa's comfortable shoulder, the Little Mermaid, and the Benadryl, Shelby was knocked out. I went to pick her up to put her in bed and Papa told me to leave her for a little while. He loves his Shelby!!!

Shelby's grandparents are getting to know the Disney movies really well. Ross and I went to a party last week and Grandma and Grandpa Leyendecker watched Shelby. When we got home, Papa told us that he watched Cinderella twice. I wonder if they ever catch themselves singing the songs like I do? Shelby sings the song from the little mermaid, you know the one...ahhhahhhahhhhahhhhahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, part of your world....she just sings the ahhhh part. Aunt Kristen decided that, that song needed to be our ring tone so every time I call Aunt Kristen her employees, friends, whoever, get to hear Ariel sing.

Ross is enjoying Shelby liking the Disney movies he bought her. As soon as we found out that we were pregnant that was Ross' first purchase, lots of Disney movies. They are good movie watching buddies.....Ross with the remote and Shelby with her thumb.

So sweet!

Peace Out!!!

2009-05-17T20:33:00.000-05:00

This was long overdue:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/fortbend/news/6427460.html

No Peeing in the Pool....

2009-05-09T16:32:00.005-05:00

Well, the Johnson pool officially opened this morning and Shelby was really really excited. She has two new bathing suits to sport this summer and is SO cute in them. She enjoyed the water and really enjoyed the beach entry where she could walk in on her own. She would walk out, walk around the pool for awhile and walk back in and clap. She was very proud of herself. I think that we will all have a good tan by the end of the summer, but right now, not so much.

P.S. We had to wake Shelby up 4 hours into her nap this afternoon. I guess the swimming just took it out of her.

Here she is ready to go. She has her swimsweater in hand that has a built in innertube.
Come on mom!!!

Okay, I'm doing a cute picture, can we please go now?

I'm looking for a way in.

Waiting by the gate!

No fair, daddy is in!

Shelby in her swimsweater the sun was too bright for her to look up.

Sitting on the floatie with daddy and splashing in the water between daddy's legs.

Here I am!

I'm Ready For Some Sun

2009-05-08T14:11:00.002-05:00

Shelby is quite into her sunglasses that she got in her dairy queen kid's meal.

She thinks she is pretty cool.

Shelby and I are both sick at the moment with severe allergies, so when I have the time and energy I will blog more. Just thought you might want to see little Ms. in her glasses.

I KNOW I'm Cute

2009-04-22T21:03:00.006-05:00

Just some fun pictures, enjoy!

This is what happens when you tell Shelby that something is stinky.

So stinky!

Peacefully watching elmo.

Annoyed with mama wanting to take pictures. The same look mama gets when she interrupts daddy's shows.

I told Shelby to give me a silly face.

More of the silly face.

I told Shelby to give me a mad face.

She says Cheese and I am not sure where she picked up on that.

I always want the camera.

I laugh on cue or when you point the camera at me.

A thumb smile.

Pajamas and crocs, we are lazy girls.

I love my thumb and my pajamas..

Chinese eyes.

I am a happy girl!

I crack myself up!

They Grow Up So Fast

2009-04-20T13:06:00.001-05:00

NO COMMENT!!!

No Longer the Baby

2009-04-08T12:46:00.003-05:00

We are so proud to announce that Callie Dianne Stocker, our new little niece and Shelby's little cousin has made her entrance into the world. Shelby is no longer the baby on the Johnson side of the family and I am sure that Bailey, Shelby and Callie will be great girl cousins and spend lots of time playing dress up and baby dolls.

Congrats Charlie and Kelsey. Enjoy her they grow up so fast!

Check out the Stocker's blog for pictures!

Back to Work

2009-03-28T20:42:00.003-05:00

Well, sadly Ross' extended vacation has come to an end. I am so thankful that he found a job in miracle speed but I have to say that Shelby and I have been spoiled having him home. I think Shelby has completely forgotten that she used to wake up and have to watch daddy leave in the mornings or wake up and he already be gone. Ross will be leaving at 6:15, or so, every morning so Shelby and I will definitely still be asleep.

If you ask Ross about his layoff now he will tell you that it has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. So many people told him that it would turn out to be so but it wasn't until about a week or two ago that he had this realization for himself. Shelby is so much fun right now and so full of personality and Ross was blessed to get to be at home for a month or so and get to be with her all while not having to worry about construction and still being paid and under health benefits via his severance package. It was a great time for us to be together. Now there was times when Ross was off playing too. He went fishing twice, went turkey hunting (he came back with 2), and went hog hunting twice. Oh by the way I was informed this morning on the way back from hog hunting that he shot such a "beautiful, ugly hog" that he is having it mounted, tusks and all. So much for my decorating ideas. How do you decorate around wild pig??? Thankfully, Ross is getting in with a company that is about as stable and as in demand as possible and leaving the most unstable environment behind. We still pray that our friends in home building make it thru this or jump ship.

Ross is still not sure of exactly what he will be doing but he is excited just the same. I pray that Monday will go smooth for him and he will really enjoy his new job and make the most of the opportunity he has been given. Keep him in your thoughts on Monday. Oh and Shelby and I too because we will be sad.

As for a Shelby update. Personality with a capital P. One of her latest tricks is that if you tell her to laugh she kicks her head back and fake laughs. Aunt Kelsey was the first to experience us getting her to laugh on cue. Of course that was via telephone and Shelby did the same for Grandma Johnson today. Too cute.... We have been spending a tremendous amount of time outside. Well, up until a couple of days ago when it got cold and rainy. Shelby loves to be outside. As for food, she is very into chocolate right now. She knows where the chocolate is kept in this house and she tries her best to get everyone to give her chocolate. Grandma Leyendecker watched her one day last weekend for me and when I left I said so today is going to be chocolate and coke, right??? Grandma said of course. We discovered since Ross had been laid off that Shelby really loves to eat at the rainforest cafe with all the animatronic animals. We ate there 3 times this month. It is about the only place we can get her to sit thru a whole meal because she is watching the animals. I am thinking about buying stock in rainforest cafe.

As for our p90x update we just finished our 2nd week of 90 days. We both feel better and I can already tell the difference on Ross and he says he can on me. The main thing is that we feel better.

And for the real estate update. Many of you know that I and another agent in my grandmother's office have been showing properties for a couple of months to a cardiologist and his wife as a weekend retreat. Looks like this is the winner http://www.txls.com/detail.asp?PropID=47553 It is far more beautiful in person and is across a dirt road from a massive and very expensive horse farm. I just pray the inspection goes well. I also have some listings. I have some lots listed in Sheridan, Texas and this home in our neighborhood http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?mlnum=25174543&backButton=Y . And I have a couple of other people I have been showing properties too, etc. I've been busy to say the least and now Ross is going back to work!

Family update....Ross' sister Kelsey is due with baby Callie April 7th. She is measuring a week early so I wanted to post this just in case. We are so excited to be having another niece. The girls will be Bailey, Shelby, and Callie.....the eeeees. We will be thinking about you Charlie and Kelsey and just remember Kelsey take the drugs and I hope you are in a drug induced sleep thru labor like I was!!!

Shelby's coming out with a Yoga Video

2009-03-19T17:43:00.006-05:00

So, as most of you know Ross and I, as of Sunday, started the P90x workout program. Talk about a workout!!! The best and simple description I could give it is an all around boot camp type of workout in 12 dvds. It is super hard and Ross and I have been sweating our booties off. Or at least that is what we are hoping we are doing. Shelby decided she would get in on the act. One of the videos is Yoga and it is 90 minutes long and it is KILLER!!! We did it last night while Shelby was asleep but somehow she figured out yoga on her own. We have really enjoyed it, well sort of, and recommend it to everyone reading that is in good health. Look for Shelby's yoga video out in stores near you!

I'm bending over trying to get a good stretch in my hamstrings. People do not follow what Shelby is doing. She is a strict professional in the flexibility department. Always do yoga barefoot and not in fake crocs like Shelby.

Feel the burn as your hamstrings stretch. If you follow my dvd your booty might look as cute as mine. Just remember the extra padding you are looking at is my diaper, unlike the extra padding the rest of you are carrying around.

In yoga this is called the child's pose.

Okay, I sit on the floor and bring one foot in and keep watching the dvd to see what I do next. (Actually, she is watching Elmo.)

Reach forward and touch your toes.

Shelbo

2009-03-16T15:29:00.002-05:00

We made a quick trip down to Harlingen so Ross could go fishing and we could see the family in Harlingen. It was good to see everyone and Shelby did very well in the car considering it is a 5+ hour drive.

Here is a picture with Ross, his dad and their fish. Ross had a blast fishing.

Shelby and Grandpa Johnson coloring.

The other day Shelby and I were looking at pictures of Shelby on the blog and I kept pointing to them and saying Shelby and she finally pointed to one and said Shelbo. I guess she just gave herself a nickname. She is starting to attempt to say more words.

Shelby is loving having her daddy at home during the day. Although, this was over the weekend.

What a bunch of bums!!!

18 Months

2009-03-09T20:18:00.003-05:00

Shelby is now 1 1/2 years old. I can't believe it!!! We went to the doctor today and Ross had to go into BAE to sign some paperwork so once again Shelby and I went to the doctor without him. Oh, how I wish he would have been there. Shelby has a tremendous memory and as soon as we walked through the door at the pediatrician's office she was not happy and it went down hill from there. She totally freaked out when we tried to sit her on the scale and she screamed the whole time we were there. And by the way, there were no shots. The doctor was getting mad at me because I was having a hard time holding her down. She was crying and screaming so much she was gagging herself!!!

The only issue that Shelby is having is that she does not like milk. I have been giving her these gummy bears that are a calcium supplement and they will continue. The doctor told me today that Shelby needs eggs every morning for the protein, calcium, and fat and a multivitamin. So I guess scrambled eggs are on the menu from now on.

The nurse that did the weighing and measuring today gave me ranges for her percentiles in growth; so, here they are:

Height - 33 1/2 in. - 90-97th percentile

Weight - 23 lb. 8 oz. - 25-50th percentile

Just call her string bean.....

After the meltdown at the Drs. office we went to papa's office and answered the phones while his secretary was out. Shelby grabbed papa's coke off of his desk and drank half of it. I passed down my obsession of coca cola to Shelby that I inherited from papa. Mmmm....it's so good....

Papa, just try and take this back. Two words........Drs. office.......

We are so Blessed!!!

2009-03-06T16:56:00.002-06:00

Well, we have great news. This past Wednesday, Ross got a job offer with BAE systems. Ross' new title is Planner. I can't really tell you exactly what he will be doing other than this company builds army vehicles and thus is a government contractor. He will be involved in the planning of inventory and materials for the building of these vehicles. He is fairly excited because he will work 7-5, Monday thru Thursday, Friday 7-4 and every other Friday off. They have a stocked detention pond on the property for the employees to fish in (wonder what time he will be coming home at night), unbelievable benefits and lots of holidays.

Ironically, his new boss lives 2 doors down. And no, that is not how Ross got the job. We had heard about the job thru someone else and it was strictly coincidence that the guy hiring was our neighbor. Anyway, Ross starts March 30th once his government background and drug test come back. So we are enjoying our time together at home and working hard on getting our yard in good shape. Thanks to all of you that were praying for us!!! I know the prayers helped!!!

Life's a Picnic

2009-03-02T15:34:00.003-06:00

Here are some pictures of Shelby's new little picnic table. She LOVES it!!!

Shelby and Aunt Kristen drawing on the picnic table. And papa in the background watching the weather channel.

Notice how Aunt Kristen can hold a pose. The picnic table has a cute wooden heart on the other side. Granny and Aunt Kristen just had to buy it.

Refuses to smile at the moment. She likes to stare people down.

Give me the camera Aunt Kristen so I can teach you how to take pictures.

What a Way to Wake Up!

2009-02-26T07:45:00.003-06:00

Tuesday morning Ross and I were woke up by his phone ringing. This happens all the time and it is always some subcontractor with a question or a problem or even security guards who have something to report on Ross' houses. Not this time. I could tell by the way Ross answered the phone. All he said was okay and hung up the phone. He looked at me and said I just got called into the corporate office with the big dogs first thing this morning. We both knew it was over.

Ross was in fact laid off along with other people. They told Ross it wasn't personal. Let me just go ahead and roll my eyes at that. Obviously, they have never been laid off before. How else are you supposed to take that??? Ross did get a tremendous amount of calls from his coworkers and subcontractors and everyone just seemed to be in shock. The lady that owns Ross' cleaning company called crying. Ross' boss' wife was crying. Ross came home and had about 30 minutes where he was angry. He got over that really quickly and I had about 30 minutes last night where I was angry. I guess emotions are to be expected. Shelby has not been angry though. She has enjoyed the last day or so with daddy at home. Wooohooo...someone else other than mom!!! Ross got a good severance package, thankfully. He signed a contract that he would not talk about it though. Let me just go ahead and roll my eyes at that one too! Luckily we have savings and I have been super busy at real estate and should hopefully have 2 good closings in the next 4 or 5 weeks. I have to be honest. I do feel a little responsible for all of this. More than once last week, I caught myself thinking how am I going to keep on this pace with real estate and be able to be at home with Shelby. Maybe God decided to go ahead and answer that question. Ross would be ecstatic to be at home with Shelby everyday. He would be the best stay at home dad. But, that is not the plan right now. Ross has already been networking and we have had so many calls from friends and family saying call this guy at this company or this company is hiring. Ross is headed out this morning to go and talk to a couple of companies. Say a little prayer for Ross, please!

As for Shelby.....she is all about giving kisses right now and kissing owies or bobos whatever you call them. She has been dancing more and more lately. Whenever you get in the car she lets you know she wants the radio on. As soon as you turn it on she just starts shaking it in her car seat. I guess dance lessons are not too far away. I can just see her in a tutu!!! We have been spending more and more time outside and Shelby loves it!!! She plays in the sandbox that daddy built her and grandma and aunt Kristen bought her a little picnic table that she LOVES! She eats a lot of her meals there. I think we will get in another zoo trip before Ross goes back to work. The weather is just so nice!

Well, I am going to end this by saying that a prayer is greatly appreciated. Don't worry about us though, we were prepared and we are scrappy :). They are a lot of families dealing with this right now that are in far worse shape and that is where my prayers are directed. Hopefully my next post is tell you about Ross' new job.

A couple of pics

2009-02-17T20:13:00.001-06:00

Shelby on her Great-Grandpa Muske's saddle.

Ready to rope some goats.

We went out to take pics of a house. Shelby fell asleep on the job.

It's Over

2009-02-12T14:43:00.008-06:00

It has been two years since charges were filed against the mayor of Fulshear. And you are probably wondering why in the world I care. Unfortunately, I like so many innocent people got drug in the middle of this. Lets go back 2 years....I was pregnant with Shelby working for my father's engineering and surveying company. My father's company represents many small towns as their engineer and surveyor including the City of Fulshear. The mayor of Fulshear started cleaning up a piece of property near city hall that was trashed. The owner, METRO, gave him permission. He cleaned it up and a citizen claimed that some old junky carports on the property were his and the City stole them and he was filing a lawsuit. Enter my father who was asked by his client, the City of Fulshear, to survey the property to prove the buildings were on metro property and therefore they had the right (there were no fences)]. Keep in mind that the person claiming they were his carports did not own the neighboring property anymore and did not for some time. It had been foreclosed on. He had leased the metro property for ingress and egress purposes but had not paid on the lease in some time and had been repeatedly asked by metro for their money and to clean up the property. Also, keep in mind that the person claiming they were his carports has a massive criminal record, well I saw it, it was in a 4-inch binder and included trying to have his ex-wife killed.

Needless to say, this was all political. The Assistant District attorney is wrapped up in the politics and went after the mayor personally instead of after the city. Where do I fit into this.....I wish I could say I don't. A couple of months after this all started, my parents finally got to take their dream trip to Alaska. They flew out Monday morning and Monday evening the Texas Ranger came into the office. The Ranger was super professional and reminded me a lot of my dad. I didn't know what he was coming in about but he told me he needed a couple of copies of a survey, a copy of an invoice, and a copy of the cancelled check that paid for the invoice. I proceeded to give him the same speech I give everyone looking for a copy of an old survey. Thirty years worth of surveys and no real exact way to file them may make it hard, but I will try. He proceeded to tell me that this was a subpoena and that he had to have it. He handed over a partial survey and I recognized it as this survey for the City and since it had been done just prior to this I thought we could find it easy. I called another employee over to find the copies and I proceeded to tell the Ranger that we had not been paid for the invoice as of yet. We had just sent the invoice out the week before. He told me he had to make a call and walked out the front door and was on the porch on his cell phone. I printed out the invoice so that I could at least give him this and realized that the invoice was not for the survey but previous work done on behalf of our client. I went out the front door, excused myself for interrupting, and proceeded to tell the Ranger that I was mistaken and that the survey had not been invoiced as of yet. I went back in the office and the Ranger came in after a little while and was finishing up his conversation. He said, in front of me, to whomever he was on the phone with, "do you want to tell her". He handed the phone to me and said the District Attorney would like to speak to you. He introduced himself as Mike Elliott and I proceeded to tell him that we had not invoiced this survey as of yet because it was a tiny job and we invoice those all together every 6 months and therefore we were not due to invoice for another 2 months. He proceeded to tell me that was fine and to call the Texas Ranger when I had the cancelled check and the Ranger would pick it all up. I then told him that I was 6 months pregnant and by the time the invoice is sent out and makes it thru all of the approval channels including city council I would not be working anymore and that he needed to talk to David (my dad) about this. He said that we would cross that road when we got there and that I had been subpoenaed and could not tell anyone about this or I would go to jail. I then asked him do you realize that David, the owner of this company, is my father? He said no. I said, "so you are telling me that I can not tell my father about this"? He said yes, no, and kept fumbling. I said again, "you are telling me that I can't tell my father"? He kept fumbling again so I very sternly said, "sir I need to know if I can tell my father". Mind you the Texas Ranger is standing in front of me listening to all of this. The District Attorney proceeded to tell me in a very ugly voice, "no you can not tell him or you will go to jail, if this gets out, you are going to jail. Do you understand me, you tell anyone and you will be put in jail". I said, "sir, that's all I needed to know". The Texas Ranger left. It was after 5 at this point so I started cutting off lights, computers, and locking doors. Before I got out of the building the stress started in and I started having contractions. I drove home with contractions, went home, tried to relax and stop my mind from running a million miles a minute. I knew what this D.A. was trying to do. He was trying to say that the mayor was using City funds (the City paying for the survey) for his defense. I felt like I was being used and had the weight of all this on my shoulders. I laid there and went over the whole thing in my mind, probably 100 times. Two things did not sit well with me. First, the ranger would not say what Elliott wanted him to say. And it took me three times of asking Elliott if I could tell my father before I got a straight answer. I decided that the next day I was calling our attorney. The next morning I called our attorney. His wife, who works for him, answered and I asked if I could come speak to him. She said that they were headed off to court but she would call me tomorrow and squeeze me in. Our office is about 4 blocks from theirs so I told her I could run over whenever they had a moment. The next day I went over to talk to our attorney. I was so scared of saying something I shouldn't that I started the conversation by saying if someone, hypothetically, were subpoenaed and told that they could not speak of it or they would go to jail, could they talk to their attorney. He, of course, said yes. I proceeded to tell him the whole thing, pulled out my file folder with the subpoena, etc. I told him all I really need to know is if I can tell my father. He told me yes, the subpoena was in the name of the company and not me personally and my father was a principal of the company and I should tell him as well as his business partner. Note: I have since found out that I could have told ANYONE about this and any of the matters it regarded. The D.A. flat out lied to me, threatened me, and used me. I went back to the office told my dad's business partner and I told him I was not going to tell dad until he got back. Dad called in that night and was telling me about Alaska and proceeded to ask me if everyone was okay. Most of you know I am a major daddy's girl. I busted into tears and told him the whole thing, including about my contractions. I told dad I don't want this D.A. to know that I have told you even though I legally can. I googled him and had read enough to know how crooked he was and I was scared. I didn't want to have Shelby in jail. The day the Ranger came in was in mid May and the last of many phone conversations was August 28, 2007, the day a copy of the City's check was faxed to him. Just 10 days before Shelby was born. In fact, I was already at home and having to deal with him from home. My previous thoughts were correct and the mayor was charged with more charges stemming from the city paying for this survey. The trial just ended after a week of hearing witnesses and my father was on the stand for roughly 5 hours. The mayor was found innocent in 15 minutes by the jury. The jury even apologized to the mayor, after the trial that he had to go thru this. It was very obvious that there was nothing there to begin with.

I thought I was going to have to testify and did go in to meet with the mayor's attorney, Rusty Hardin. I told him what happened and told him I would testify. I did not have to testify, thank goodness. I'm just glad that this is all over with. If you all are bored you should google: Mike Elliott, District Attorney. It is pretty scary with what you will come across. I was not the only person he threatened in this case. You can also read a lot of articles on him at www.fbherald.com . The Fort Bend Herald is always writing articles and opinions about him. Here is just a couple:

http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2009/01/30/opinion/doc498368de7d35b473018663.txt

http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2009/02/06/opinion/doc498c98bf8937d215792115.txt

http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2009/02/05/news/doc498b709ec416b009507840.txt

Don't Feed the Animals

2009-01-25T19:22:00.009-06:00

Yes, you read the title right and no we didn't listen.

We woke up Friday and headed out to the zoo first thing in the morning to make it by 9am. We were joined by Travis, Tyler, and Cooper. Three adults, three kids under 3, definitely manageable. It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day to go to the zoo and it was not crowded which made it even more fantastic. We saw lots of different animals and probably Shelby's favorite part of the day was going into the petting zoo, which was all goats. The goats looked beyond disgusted about being constantly petted and one goat was lucky enough to get a kiss from Shelby. Oh and yes, Shelby had to reach down and pick up a handful of goat poop. Thank goodness for the hand washing station at the entrance to the petting zoo. She also really liked the sea lions. They would jump out of the water and make a big splash and she thought it was great. We also had a hard time getting her away from where the elephants were getting a bath. It was behind glass so Shelby got a great view. I think Tyler's favorite part of the zoo was asking me if we could go see another animal. I lost count of how many times he asked me that :). And Cooper liked to tell each set of animals bye and wave. I did see Tyler slip one of the monkeys a goldfish cracker. The monkey really enjoyed it. We also had a squirrel beg for some goldfish so we fed him too. We ended the zoo trip with lunch and the rest of the afternoon everyone was wiped out. These pictures are a little out of order, but I'm super tired and this is the best I have tonight!!!

The best view!

All three monkeys checking out the sea otters.

Hopefully lazy and hairy is not her type. She was trying extra hard to plant that kiss just right. She also pawed in the dirt just like the goat.

I love me some goats!!!

Here little goat....

Is this goat night night?

Papas if you all are reading this, I would like one of these please.

This is what was on the glass on the monkey enclosure where Tyler slipped a goldfish cracker thru the separation in the crack.

Cooper feeding Mr. squirrel.

Ross feeding the squirrel.

Travis was the first to feed the squirrel.

This one is for Sarah.

I've doubted evolution all along, but the resemblance is a little scary.

Checking out the animals.

Sweet Tyler giving his little cousin Shelby a hug.

Shelby was fascinated by lots of the animals.

The stay at home moms at the zoo.....they only wish!

Hills and Valleys

2009-01-20T20:26:00.003-06:00

The last week or so has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. First, I have been following the health of my former high school volleyball coach via mass emails that her sons have been sending out. She has been battling cancer and sadly passed away this week. There is a memorial service on Saturday in Katy for her. I plan on attending. She was a really sweet woman and an awesome volleyball coach. She was the kind that you played your heart out for because you didn't want to disappoint her. She retired to lake LBJ before I graduated and would come back, track me down in the hall and give me some words of encouragement. The coach that replaced her was TERRIBLE and Coach Beck knew that I struggled for motivation to play for such a coach. She even, on one trip to Katy, stopped at my dad's office and dropped off an inspirational card for me. She was the best!!! She was at Katy High for over 35 years and has a junior high named after her and her husband who was a counselor.

Then for a hill....I cover weekends occasionally for my grandparents real estate company and this weekend, specifically Sunday was extremely busy. I showed two different tracts of property to, ironically, two couples from old Katy. And I have written my first offer. I had to seriously bite my tongue as we walked all over the 69 acres. The man wants to venture into having cattle of his own. If I wasn't the agent I would have run down the list of why this is not a good idea and what to expect when you have cattle. I have said many times that hamburger is just too cheap at the grocery store! (Linda, I know you got a chuckle out of that) We are hashing out legal issues with the minerals, royalties, etc. Hopefully, we make it thru closing!!!

Now for another valley.....A couple of weeks ago my father and grandfather went hunting. They ended up coming home early because my grandfather had a terrible cold. The cold was pretty bad so he went on into the emergency room. The doctor let him know that he had bronchitis. There has been a lot of this going around. I'm not sure if it was at the er or a follow up visit, but at some point they drew blood and discovered that something was not right. He ended up having bone marrow taken and tested. Grandpa was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic syndrome, which is also known as pre leukemia. He is undergoing shots right now that have a 30% chance of completely correcting this and keeping the syndrome from turning into leukemia. He will also be undergoing chemotherapy. The doctors told him that there is an unusually high amount of cases in his area. I am sure there is some sort of chemical exposure to blame. I ask that you keep him in your prayers.

On a happier note, Ross is taking off Friday and we are headed to the zoo. I can't wait to see Shelby's crazy reactions to all the animals!!! I will post pictures!!!

Going Back to Christmas

2009-01-14T21:21:00.005-06:00

Christmas, round 5, was spent with Ross' family. The whole family was together from the Stockers from California to the Hortons from Florida. The Hortons came into town to surprise Ross' parents. We don't get to see them very often so it was a nice surprise. The kids had a great time and of course got a ton of stuff. I think Grandma Johnson just can't help herself. While they were here Ross and I went to a New Year's eve party and Shelby stayed with Grandma and Grandpa at Uncle Travis' and Aunt Sarah's house. It was nice to get out and even nicer to sleep in. We were told that Shelby was a good girl!

The same weekend Ross' aunt Sherry, cousin Katie, and myself threw Kelsey a baby shower. Our niece, Callie Dianne Stocker, is due in early April. After the festivities and everyone heading home in 4 different directions I thought I would be getting some rest!! It had all been a blur since Thanksgiving! Ross and Shelby had another round of colds after everyone left. I still have not gotten my rest.....

Real Estate has been keeping me super busy. I have been doing mini appraisals for banks. Most of them are on properties that are about to be foreclosed on. I have to take a picture of the front of the property. Shelby, obviously comes along, as I don't even have to get out of the car to take the picture and the rest I do from my computer. I do this while Shelby takes her nap and after she goes to bed. I thought maybe I would get to do one every once and awhile....I was wrong. Last week alone I did seven. At least one of these I will be listing once it is foreclosed and the present owners move out. It feels pretty nice to be contributing financially to the family once again.

As for Ross, he just got back from hunting with his family. Since we were out of venison Ross shot a doe and made a gourmet venison dinner for us last night. If I have not told you all already, Ross is an excellent cook!!! Ross is still busy building houses and amid all the builders laying off and going out of business he is still hanging in there. He is still waiting on his day to be a stay at home dad.

And little Shelby is growing smarter and funnier by the day. She obviously gets her goofiness from her daddy. She is really into kicking up her leg right now. She stands in front of my dressing mirror and does it. She was sitting on the stairs today and kicked her leg up and kicked herself in the head. To be so flexible.... She has grown quite attached to her stuffed kitty, whose name is "kitty kitty". She sleeps with it. Ross told us when she opened it at grandma's that it was a snow leopard and ironically we turned on the discovery channel last night to a show about snow leopards. I now can confirm that Kitty Kitty is in fact a snow leopard.

I am uploading some pictures but I still need to get some from aunt Kristen from all the Christmas celebrations.

Shelby opening Kitty Kitty with Aunt Kristen.

Playing with Kitty Kitty.

Shelby checking out all the animals on Noah's ark.

Shelby showing off her unwrapping skills.

Shelby getting on her new tricycle that looks like a little bike with training wheels.

Speed mama!!!

Aunt Kristen and Shelby on the carousel inside Katy Mills Mall. Shelby LOVED it and did not want to get off.

Shelby checking herself out in her first hoodie. She loves this mirror and is quite vain. She can stare, talk, and dance with herself for a long time.

Yup, I look goooood.

Ah, busted....I didn't know you were back there.

Christmas!

2008-12-29T20:58:00.003-06:00

I will post the pictures shortly.............

Where to begin? Christmas has been chaos as usual. We have had 4 rounds and the 5th will be January 1st with the Johnson side of the family. I feel like all I have done is eat for a month and I can assure you we have wiped out a small flock of turkeys in our family.

So lets start....we started off the weekend before Christmas at my dad's mother's house. We ate and ate and opened presents. One turkey down......Shelby got some cute little miniature pans and a spatula that are actually real from my grandma. She is a typical child in that she likes to play with pot and pans. The big hit of that Christmas, for Shelby, was my cousin's stuffed bob cat that was at grandma's house. She hugged it, petted it, showed us where the nose is, etc.

Ross' parents had come up to eat with part of the extended Johnson family that were flying out to Kansas City for Christmas. Ross' cousin Karyn and her husband Steve recently moved there from DC. Karyn is due in June with a little girl. We got to eat with Ross' grandparents, and quite a few aunts, uncles, and cousins. No turkeys were harmed in that gathering.

The next round was Christmas eve at my dad's father's house. Shelby chased the barn cats around and did hold one for a little while. After that, she would walk up to them and stick her arms out as if she was saying jump in my arms. Aunt Kristen took her to see grandpa's turkeys and taught her to gobble. Now she gobbles at us. It's pretty cute! Shelby got some dvds, money for her college fund, and her step great grandmother's rocking chair that belonged to her as a child. We enjoyed a Christmas bonfire but had to leave to get Shelby to bed. One more turkey sacrificed for our consumption.

Christmas night we went to my parent's house. Shelby had a lot of fun hanging out with everyone including her cousin Tink. Tink and Shelby played all night and Shelby loved to get kisses from Tink! She even learned how to throw Tink's toys so that Tink would get them and bring them back. Shelby got more things than I remember....lots of clothes, cute Aggie sandals, a stuffed kitty that looks like a bob cat (although Ross tells us it is a snow leopard), a tricycle, dvds, etc. It's good to be the first grandchild :). She opened the presents from us as well. We got her a kitty (or in Shelby's words "itty") purse, some dvds, a plastic giraffe that you ride on, and a noah's ark toy. It was a white meat free night.....

This past weekend we went to my mom's parent's house. Shelby enjoyed being with everybody including Tink again. She spent some of the day outside and did her version of skipping in the leaves. The only way I can explain her skipping is she goes up on her tippy toes instead of getting her feet off the ground. It is pretty cute and grandma Leyendecker got a big kick out of it. Shelby got some more clothes, a couple of toys, and some money for college. We supported the turkey farmers once again.

And now I know why I am exhausted..............

48 HRS

2008-12-15T21:42:00.003-06:00

Ross just came back from West Texas without a deer. He saw some bucks but didn't get to shoot any. While Ross was gone we were going to have time to Christmas shop, etc. Shelby decided otherwise. The morning that Ross left Shelby was sneezing and I knew what was coming. Ross had been terribly sick and lovingly passed it to Shelby. Lovingly because I am sure it had to do with the millions of kisses that he can't help but give her. Well, she got full blown, miserable sick as I posted last time and thankfully Grandma Leyendecker came to help us. For 48 hours Shelby was just absolutely miserable. She is much better now and just a little snotty. Before I post some pictures I do have to tell a little side story. It is a little off color so if you get offended easily stop here and just scroll down to the pictures. So the story goes that we were eating dinner tonight and Ross decided that he needed to burp (I know it's disgusting but it happens) and it was pretty loud. Immediately after it was over Shelby looked right at him and did her best impression of the burp she just heard. It was hilarious, at least I thought so. Enjoy the pictures.

This is sick Shelby. This is actually the second day of being sick and she was doing much better at this point. She is camped out on the playroom floor watching Elmo with her sippy cup of Dr. Pepper laced with Tylenol. Am I a bad mom? And then the day after that.....

She is back to climbing the walls or her horsey.

And yes she stands straight up and lets go with her hands. Trick riding must be from Ross' side of the family. My balance is not that good.

Our Bean Pole

2008-12-12T09:20:00.002-06:00

Shelby had a checkup this week. She was 32 1/2 inches long (95th percentile) and 22 lbs. 3 ozs. (45th percentile). I told the dr. she eats all the time and he told me to continue feeding her as she is hungry because she is needing the calories to grow. He then looked at her chart and said she is on target for being 5'10. He did say +/- 3 inches but his best estimate was 5'10. She had two shots and was a trooper.

Ross has been terribly sick but decided to go to West Texas hunting anyways and left yesterday morning. I don't understand guys!!! This morning Shelby woke up with the same crude that Ross has and she is MISERABLE. She was crying and head butting me and just plain feeling bad! I called the nurse (aka Grandma Leyendecker) and she said to give her something cold and recommended coke. I gave Shelby some Dr. Pepper and she smiled thru her snot and nodded her head. She just started nodding her head yes and no this week.

Going Backwards....

2008-12-06T22:29:00.004-06:00

Oh, where to begin....the last two weeks, they have been a whirlwind. I am going to start with the most recent and go backwards. We just returned from Port Lavaca. Usually this is to just visit with the Hahn side of Ross' family. This time it was not so laid back and fun. Ross' grandpa Hahn passed away on Sunday. We were 30 minutes from being home from Thanksgiving when we got the call. We unpacked the truck, did 7 loads of laundry, and repacked. Tuesday morning we picked up Ross' sisters from the airport. Kelsey flew in from San Diego and Kristi from Jacksonville. It was good to see them but we wish it was under better circumstances. The viewing and funeral went as to be expected. Lots of tears and hugs. The consensus is that Grandpa Hahn is either fishing or flying right now in Heaven.

The memory that sticks out the most for me of Grandpa Hahn is this.....Ross' Uncle David brought Ross' Grandpa up to Columbus a couple of years ago to go fishing. Ross and his grandpa fished and fished and fished. My dad kept telling me, tell Grandpa Hahn he can come in and take a nap in the cabin and I've never seen anyone enjoy fishing so much, especially at his age. Grandpa Hahn was probably 83 or 84 at this time. The memory that sticks with me is Uncle David, my dad, my mom and myself were standing on the hill looking at them fish. Ross and his Grandpa were in one of those plastic paddle boats that we all love to ride in as kids. You know the kind where you feel like you are peddling a bike. They were facing away from us and I pointed out how the boat was really leaning Ross' way. Now you could take that the wrong way and think that I was making a comment about Ross size. Well I was. It dawned on me when I saw this, how cute it was to see Ross peddling his little Grandpa around the pond. It made me feel like even though it was obvious that Ross was not a kid anymore he still got joy out of simply going fishing with his grandpa. I wonder what the fishing is like in heaven?

Ross is now terribly sick. I'm sure it is due to the lack of sleep and stress.

Thanksgiving we headed to the ranch that Ross' grandma Hahn grew up on in Oakville. There were lots of family, food, and tents. Shelby decided that she would revisit the first week of her life and not sleep very well the first night. We were sleeping on the porch of the house and at 3am we moved into the tent with Ross. At this point she had already been up 5 times. I think she was cold. Needless to say, Sarah, Cooper, Shelby, Grandma Johnson, and myself spent the rest of the nights in the hotel. The guys enjoyed hunting and the girls enjoyed being with the kids.

We were at Oakville from Wednesday thru Sunday and these are the only pictures I took. Shelby decided that she would walk over, plop herself down by her daddy's truck and play in the dirt.

This is good quality dirt. See how easily it moves thru my fingers.

Come on mom, there is room for you down here.

Before we left for Thanksgiving, Grandma Leyendecker, Aunt Kristen, Shelby and I decided to go watch the tree lighting in downtown Katy. The parks department provided the snow. Shelby loved the snow and we couldn't get her away from it. We finally took her over to where they were going to light the tree and she made a mad dash back to the snow. I guess we will have to take her to New Mexico sledding when she gets a little older. Aunt Kristen and I enjoyed that as kids.

Taking Aunt Kristen for a walk in the snow.

Touching snow for the first time. Notice the short sleeves. It was really warm.

Ross and I experienced a first a couple of weeks ago. We went to a Quincenera. For those of you that do not know what this is the fifteenth birthday party for a girl in the Mexican culture. They are very extravagant and often cost more than their weddings. We had a good time and it was an experience to say the least. Out of the 300 or so people there, we and the couple that came with us were the only white people there. The birthday girl is the daughter of one of Ross' contractors. They were extremely nice to us and treated us like we were special. We have to give a shout out to Aunt Sherry for watching Shelby. We really appreciate it.

And back to two weeks ago. Ross took a couple of days off of work and we went to the North Zulch area to see Ross' sister Kelsey and husband Charlie. They were in from San Diego to go to a wedding and stayed over at Charlie's family's ranch for a couple extra days. We had a lot of fun with them riding four wheelers, playing speed scrabble, and watching elmo. Yes we watched elmo over and over again. Thanks to the Stockers for allowing us to come and crash the party.

Uncle Charlie and his motorcycle mama.

Aunt Kelsey, I can do this up and down the stairs stuff all day long. Kelsey is due in April with baby Callie. We can't wait!

Do we look alike?

Shelby loved the four wheelers. Now when our neighbors fire up their motorcycles Shelby starts whining to go along.

Shelby's very first four wheeler ride. It was freezing so we bundled her up.

Luv Me Sum Pickles!

2008-11-16T11:38:00.002-06:00

I love pickles just like my daddy. Mommy has to buy them in a gallon jar for us!

I gnaw and suck all the juice without making a face.

And scrape the inside out with my four teeth.

I love to let the juice run down my arm. Can you see the juice about to drop off of my elbow?

Rubbing the juice in.

I know, I know

2008-11-05T15:41:00.006-06:00

Yeah, I have not blogged lately, I am fully aware of this. There is no way to update you all on the last couple of weeks so I will hit some high notes. First of all, Shelby is growing so much and getting smarter by the day. This last week has seen her sleeping thru the night! woohoo.....and she is no longer nursing during the day...wooohoo....too much info, I know. Momma is getting back some of her sanity and a little freedom. Pretty soon she will be shipped off to one of the grandmas for the weekend (she has 7).

I passed my real estate exam. Another, woohoo and now that I am not taking classes and preparing for exams I am much less stressed.

Ross is busy at work, thank goodness. He closed another 5 houses in October. I am not sure how he is doing it other than working long days. In six years of building he had his worse homeowners, a couple from Russia, and their house was one of the 5 that closed in October. He is glad to be rid of them. He did come home with some cranberry bread that she had made so she must of at least liked Ross but also liked to be a royal pain. Ross is looking forward to hunting season and it looks like he will be making a trip to Sierra Blanca and maybe Sonora if he can fit it in.

Well back to Shelby, she now gives kisses. This is a huge accomplishment because usually when you say kiss she runs in the other direction. Of course, who gets kisses, mostly daddy and Aunt Kristen. Mommy is a LITTLE jealous. Usually, the only way I get a kiss from her is if I kiss Ross in front of her and then she HAS to give a kiss to both of us right away. You should see her pucker up, she has some lips!

She is obsessed with my purse and has to have it if she sees it. She throws it over her shoulder, gets my keys and cell phone, waves bye bye to me, and then goes and tries to unlock the front door with the keys. Smarty pants....

We had a removable safety fence put up around the pool so Shelby can play in the yard and Ross is working on a sandbox this week for her. She likes digging in the dirt, which is fine with me.

She is also trying to say more things and most of the time she just wants to say daddy.....which is more like deedee. He eats it up!!!

Below is some pictures for your enjoyment. We finally got to see my roommate from college Carrie, her husband Leslie and their new daughter Morgann. We had a good time seeing them and she seems to be a really good baby.

Ross and Shelby's future college roommate, Morgann Lutz.

If Morgann thinks she is coming into my house and taking my daddy, she's wrong!!!!

Another Chinese eyes picture.

Who's the coolest mom?

This is where Shelby waits for Ross to come home, or if I tell her someone is coming over. At the moment she is just watching the guys mow the yard. Truly a Leyendecker and that she is easily entertained!!!

Ross and I went to our friend's house for a Halloween party. Thanks Niesners it was a lot of fun!!! Ross had fun playing Pancho Roscoe and I was a flapper. The dress was not very flattering and made me look 3 feet wide but it was fun just the same. I came home before Ross to take care of Shelby (who was not sleeping thru the night as of yet) and I found her still awake. She had a party too with Grandma Leyendecker and Aunt Kristen. Thanks for watching her!

Here is Shelby in her Snow White costume. She picked it out herself. There was a wall of costumes and she reached out and had to have this one. She was getting over being sick so we didn't trick or treat but we went to eat dinner with her great Aunt Sherry, Great Grandparents Johnson, and Ross' cousin Katie and fiance Jason. She had a blast! Thanks for dinner it was SO GOOD! If you have the Johnson cookbook you gotta make the stuffed shrimp!

Always, wants a closeup.

The new safety fence.

The Addition of Another Blog

2008-10-27T15:27:00.002-05:00

I have added another blog to our lists that I look at. This is Allison's Cake Business Blog. I went to high school with Allison and love looking at her cakes. The next time I need one I know who I am calling. Check it out!

http://www.thekatycakelady.blogspot.com/

Happy Belated Birthday!

2008-10-11T22:16:00.003-05:00

I am getting so bad with these birthdays!! I'm sorry guys.....

Happy Birthday to Shelby's cousin Cade. Cade is a whole 7 years old!!! We hope you enjoyed the day Cade and enjoy playing your new wii.

Cade playing with one of his 500 swords at Christmas. You just think I am exaggerating!

It's Been Interesting Around Here

2008-09-26T13:25:00.002-05:00

It has been some time since I last posted but it has been a blur the last couple of weeks. Since the hurricane Shelby has had a bad cold, she is teething (getting her top two teeth), and has a bad case of poison ivy. I've wanted to jump head first off the roof to say the least!!!!!!!!!!!!

I took Shelby to the doctor with her poison ivy and they gave me two prescriptions for ointments to put on it. I dropped it off at the pharmacy along with my insurance info and before I had even gotten home they gave me a call to let me know that it was going to be $420....WHAT???....I can't believe I didn't get in a wreck!!! Luckily that was before insurance and it turned out to be $230.....oh what a relief (sarcastic of course). Whatever is in the stuff, I'm assuming crushed up diamonds, has done the trick. It is much better. We don't know where she got it and for the most part it was just on one arm. She is back to her happy smiley self and mommy is feeling less like she wants to walk the plank (that was for you Cade).

Shelby has learned a couple of new things. She has learned how to wipe her own nose. I guess the positive side to having a cold. She has learned where her nose is, of course.

Shelby did go to her first bar. Okay, it is also a restaurant. We went with her grandparents and Aunt Kristen to the Thirsty Parrot. As you can tell from the name it is a really classy place. I promise it has good food. They have a jukebox that plays all the time and they have bands at night. Shelby got in the middle of the dance floor and danced to the jukebox for everyone. She is quite entertaining!!! Some man told Ross that he is going to have his hands full. Uhhhohhh.....

Ross has been super busy at work. He has been putting in 12 and 13 hour days. Cinco Ranch keeps selling like crazy, thank goodness!!!! He comes home exhausted but Shelby makes all the difference......

I have finished my 5 real estate classes and mailed everything into the state today. I have to wait for them to review everything before I can go take my test and have my fingerprints taken and run thru the FBI......oh no, they are going to find out about this one time at band camp, hahaha I crack myself up. If you didn't get that, don't bother, it really was not that funny. I'm just easily amused.

I promise I will take and post some pictures of Shelby soon....she is getting so big and smart.....

Happy Belated Birthday!!!

2008-09-23T22:30:00.002-05:00

Happy Belated Birthday to Shelby's Great-Grandma Doris. We hope you have a great day!!!

How It Went Down

2008-09-15T21:15:00.002-05:00

Well, Hurricane Ike was quite an experience. We prepared early and I baked and cooked all day before the storm. We knew that if we lost power we would still be able to cook on our cook top since it is gas and that we would still have water because of the generators at the Katy water plants. I bought groceries to cook on the stove, loaded up both freezers and coolers with bags of ice, etc. We discussed having Shelby and I leave. But we did not know how far or to where we should go? The predictions for the storm were all over the place. We decided to stay put. Friday afternoon when Shelby woke up from her nap she was burning up and had a terribly snotty nose. The child had not been sick since January and she picked the day of a hurricane to get sick?? Grandma checked her out and said she had a cold. Once again Ross and I discussed Shelby and I leaving but we were only a few hours from the storm coming in. I was afraid that without a/c Shelby would get worse. It was a little late at that point so we stayed put. About 7 that night our lights went out. It was not really even blowing yet?? We went next door to a hurricane party and I called over to grandma and grandpa's and they still had power. We decided that Shelby and I should head over to grandma and grandpa's and Ross wanted to stay and look after the house. I called Ross around 9pm to see what he was up to with no power. He said he was making macaroni and cheese. I bought it just for the storm. I knew he would be excited! The power came on about that time.

Shelby had as much fun as could be expected at grandma's house. She got to play with her cousin Tink (the dog) also known as Tink the Stink. She really loved Tink and by the end of the hurricane they were walking around the house together. Shelby would chase Tink and then Tink would chase Shelby.

Shelby and I slept with grandma and Shelby had a rough night since she was sick. She woke up around midnight crying and what did she want....Tink. She finally went back to bed and woke up at 4 and wanted to play. I think she woke up because I was laying in bed texting back and forth to Ross about how bad the storm was and this is about the time the power went off. We let Shelby play in bed and we had a flash light on so she could see. Grandma pulled the sheet over her head and pulled it off real quick and to our amazement Shelby said, "Peekaboo". I am glad Grandma was there to witness it so Ross doesn't think I'm crazy by myself. She said it clear as day!!!! She ended up playing for 2 hours in bed. We put her bag on the bed and she is really great at unpacking. She was throwing diapers and clothes all over the place.

If Shelby would have slept I would have slept right thru Ike. First of all, I can sleep thru anything. I know the Johnson's know about Ross' snoring. Second, grandma and grandpa's house is cinder blocks and concrete so you really couldn't hear much.

We woke up to a disaster zone. There were leaves, branches and trees everywhere. I think they lost 6 trees over 15 acres. One tree was lodged in the front gate and Ross and dad cut it out and moved it so we could get out. Grandpa started the generator in the morning and we watched the news report on Galveston and grandpa hooked up some sort of small blower thing that felt like an a/c. We were doing pretty good. We walked out on to the porch and walked around the side of the house and noticed that one of the a/cs was running. The lights had come on!!!!!!!

Shelby was sad to leave grandma, grandpa, and Tink but she was happy to see her Daddy. We went home to a disgusting pool and one small limb down. The five miles between our house and grandma's was covered with down trees and fences. It was a lot of damage. A little cleaning and some chemicals and our pool was crystal clear the next day. We ended up getting 6 inches of rain Saturday morning after the storm.

We were very lucky, the people in Galveston, not so much! What would possess anyone to stay on an island that is about to take a direct hit from a hurricane??? That is another blog in itself.

Well, Shelby still has her snotty cold but I think she is slowly getting better and now grandma is REALLY sick. Sorry grandma!!! Grandma keeps saying it wasn't Shelby but we know better.

Our other house fared well also. Just a small limb down. The renters cleaned it up before we could even get over to look at the other house and they helped all the neighbors clean up. They seem like great people and the neighbors seem to like them.

Thanks Ike!!!!!!

2008-09-13T16:26:00.003-05:00

Post hurricane party at our house, bring your swim ear.

In all seriousness, we are all okay. We were only without power for less than 7 hrs (3:30 am - 10am). We had the a/c so cranked down the hottest it got was 74. Grandma and Grandpa Leyendecker lost quite a few trees. One was over their electric gate and we had to cut our way out. Shelby and I spent the night at Grandma's and Grandpa's because Shelby woke up late yesterday afternoon with a fever and a runny nose. It is good to have a grandma near by that is a nurse. Thanks for taking us in!!!

We're Getting Company This Weekend

2008-09-11T17:07:00.002-05:00

Yes, Ike is on his way and he will prove to be a terrible house guest. As of right now, we are staying put. The roads are already getting jammed. Shelby and I have been baking and cooking all day. You would think that the army is going to be staying with us. We will come out of this storm much heavier than when we went into it. We have not decided if we are staying at our house or Grandma and Grandpa's. We live in the city limits and the City of Katy has generators on their water plants so if we lose power we will still have running water. I do enjoy my toilet flushing!!! But, Grandma and Grandpa's house is made of cinder blocks and they have a generator. We will see. Say a little prayer for the gulf coast and if any of our family in Port Lavaca reads this please be safe.

Shelby's first hurricane.....this is a first I'm NOT excited about!

Stay tuned....

Down to One

2008-09-10T11:08:00.002-05:00

We do have some good news about our old house. We have leased it out to what seems like good tenants. We had been negotiating a contract to sell our house for the last week and it did not happen. All along these people as well as others had filled out the application and intended to lease our house. The couple is in their late 40s with no kids or pets and the lady's family is local and well known. The man works for a custom home builder so we hope this means they know how to take care of the granite and the hard wood floors. They will be leasing it for a year and then we will see.

I guess this is a good time to divulge what I have been busy with. I have been taking classes online to get my real estate license. I am in my 4th of five classes and I hope to be licensed by the end of October. I try and get online, when I can, to work on it. This is a huge part of why I have not been good at blogging. I will work under my grandmother's broker's license and basically will work from home so that I can stay with Shelby. I decided to do this because I've worked with about every part of real estate except the actual selling and I enjoy it. We will see what the future holds.

Pictures

2008-09-08T18:54:00.003-05:00

Here are some of the latest pictures of Shelby.

Shelby loves to brush her teeth. We had to break down and admit to daddy that she uses daddy's toothbrush while mommy brushes her teeth. Shelby does have her own toothbrush and toothpaste for her tooth and a half.

My very own cake!

Where to begin?

Grandma, I will share with you.

Grandma, I was saving that icing for later.

I love to squish it between my fingers.

Bananas, a natural moisturizer and hair gel!

I'm watching you!!!!

The Birthday Girls!

2008-09-08T10:30:00.004-05:00

Yes, Shelby and I are a whole year older. Thanks to everyone for the calls, cards, presents, and text messages. We really appreciate them!

My birthday was Saturday followed by Shelby's on Sunday. It was a pretty relaxed weekend. Ross and my father went to Sonora to help my grandfather put in a septic tank so they would be ready for deer season. Of course, Ross and my dad did not pick the weekend. Grandma stayed with us at night (my sleep walking gets a little crazy when Ross is gone) and most of the weekend.

Some things I would like to remember about Shelby at a year old.

1) Expressions - she has a million of them and flashes them all day long. They each have a meaning. There is....I just heard the puppy next door bark, I tooted, I'm surprised, you just told me daddy is on his way home, I'm mad at you, you told me no, basically she cracks us up all the time.

2) She LOVES to dance. If you have some good dancing music on, Shelby is shaking something. On Saturday we were alone and I was feeling kind of down that we were by ourselves for our birthday so I turned the radio on loud and Shelby and I danced in the living room (thank goodness for mini blinds). About every three days Shelby does her crazy dancing. She runs around and dances at the same time. She stops to laugh and then you laugh and she starts up again. She goes CRAZY to the point that she will fall down and she will start shaking on her hands and knees. It is a riot and Grandma and Grandpa Johnson got to witness this the last time they were here. I think they were a little surprised!!!

4) She loves her baby doll that she picked out for her birthday. She carries it around and hugs and kisses it and wants you to do the same.

5)She does not like the church nursery. We have been told by so many people that they have never heard Shelby cry. Feel free to come to church with us Sunday morning and you will witness the crying wrath of Shelby. Taking Shelby to the nursery is probably the most stressful thing I have ever done.

6) She is running all over the house and getting into everything. She loves to climb and stand on top of things. She must have her dad's balance.

7) She understands "bye, bye" and waves and blows kisses. She understands tickling and loves to tickle her daddy.

I'm sure there is more that I should add to this list. But this is a good start. I will upload pictures of Shelby's 2nd round of birthday cake shortly.

Let's Eat Cake

2008-09-02T13:08:00.005-05:00

We had a princess party this weekend and no it was not for Ross' birthday.....little Miss Shelby is turning one on the 7th. The theme was little princess and in true diva spirit Shelby decided to take a nap 10 minutes before the party started. When she woke up her house was full of family and friends and she had a BLAST!!! We had lots of food and good weather so I would say the party was a success! We really appreciate everyone that came and celebrated and those that celebrated from afar. Shelby received many fun toys, cute clothes, and money that we are putting away for college. To say the least she is well loved and maybe a little spoiled??? I have to say thank you to my parents, Ross' parents, and Ashley Niesner for all of the help getting the party together.

The part that we were looking forward to was the infamous eating of the birthday cake. She was not quite sure at first but then she was double fisting it - eating icing from one hand and then cake from the other. Or was that me??? No that was Shelby. Ross has video so I will try and talk him into putting it onto the blog. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

I'm really a princess.

Grandma Johnson and the birthday girl.

Grandma Leyendecker and the birthday girl.

I love my balloon!!!

It's my party and I'll scowl if I want to!!

I think I've got this down.

Daddy showing me the Disney princess legos he bought me. Daddy builds, I tear down.

Shelby and her first kisses dolly that she picked out. I took Shelby to Babies R Us to try and find something for her birthday when she made a sound and stuck out her arm to get this doll. I gave her the doll and she kissed it on the forehead. I pushed the doll's tummy and it started to speak Spanish. I did find the English version and she was very happy to see it again at her party. Shelby is like her mama and daddy and likes to pick out her own birthday presents.

The cake I made Shelby. Okay, so the cake Sam's made Shelby. All the Disney princesses....Bailey, I hope we made you proud.

This stuff is good. Mama told me it would be good but I didn't believe her.

Mmmmm.....cake.

Weight watchers here I come!!!!

More from Karyn

2008-08-06T19:21:00.010-05:00

I know I have been more than terrible about blogging. I have an excuse I promise and I will blog about that soon. But today in the mail came something wonderful and that was the cd of pictures from Karyn. There were so many more on the cd that I loved that I had to share. Karyn these are just SO great! We love them and we are so appreciative of the time you spent taking and editing them.

Please enjoy the pictures!

Yes, Shelby is at that stage when everything goes in her mouth. This was part of the flower. We got it out....no worries.

This is the face you get when you tell Shelby no or take something away from her.

This is how she gives kisses. Your whole face has slobber on it when she is finished.

One of my favorites!!!!

The Cutest Kid Ever!!!

2008-08-01T11:59:00.002-05:00

Check out Karyn's blog and the pictures of Shelby. Thanks Karyn they are wonderful!!!!

http://www.karynkaylephotography.blogspot.com/

Happy Belated Birthday!

2008-07-30T13:54:00.001-05:00

Happy Belated Birthday to Shelby's Grandma Johnson!!! We had fun seeing you and the rest of the gang over the past week.

Picture to be added when I get home from work :).

Update on the Update!

2008-07-24T15:40:00.003-05:00

We heard from Ross' mom. Her phone has been charging in the car so they now have a way to call out. They have not left the valley or made their minds up on what they are going to do.

I talked to Grandma Leyendecker and she told me that Shelby is getting rambunctious. This is grandma's nice way of saying she is getting an "attitude". She said she wants what she is not supposed to have and gets mad when you take it away. Yup. And she said she was on the second stair before she knew it. Aunt Kristen fessed up and told grandma that she taught her how to climb the stairs. She said Shelby is fast. Yup. I have to admit it is pretty peaceful here at the moment. Thanks grandma!

Update!!!

2008-07-24T14:21:00.003-05:00

As many of you know Ross is originally from Harlingen. And yes, Harlingen pretty much took a direct hit from hurricane Dolly. We have received so many phone calls from our family and friends checking up on them and we appreciate everyone keeping them in your prayers. As of late this morning we have no contact with Ross' parents, sister, niece and nephew. Kristi, Cade, and Bailey were down in the valley visiting for the next week. The last we spoke to them was earlier today and it sounded like they would be heading our way if they could get out with all the flooding. They got some water in their house from between the windows and such from the rain but the house did not get flood waters. They lost at least one avocado tree and have some branches that have cracked away from others. One pretty significant branch is resting on their house and they were hoping there was no significant damage from that. Also, they have a Spanish tile roof and they lost some of their tiles. The worse thing is not having any electricity; therefore, no a/c!!! Yuck! There cell phones are now dead and there land line is down. They did say that they got electricity for 10 mins this morning and then a limb took out the electrical line from the pole to their house so they do not expect to get electricity anytime soon. I guess we will see if they show up tonight. Hopefully they can stop and buy a car charger or stop and call and let us know if they were able to get out.

As for the rest of Ross' family in the valley they fared about the same. Loss trees, a small building blew down, some barn doors flew down, no electricity, some water damage. The worse was probably Ross' Uncle Lynn's cows were standing in deep water and had no dry ground. They are working on getting them out. We have had to swim cattle out of the river bottoms when the river floods many times before, so I know how frustrating that is. No word yet on the cotton crop but I fear that it was lost.

Anyways, the best that could come out of this situation is that Shelby will get to spend time with her grandparents, aunt, and cousins. For the next week+ I am back at work while the lady that replaced me is becoming a grandma. Shelby is with her grandma Leyendecker this afternoon but we will be putting her on the payroll next week at Clay & Leyendecker, Inc. if need be. Her job title "Entertainer". As for a mini Shelby update the child practically runs now. She follows us all around the house and has developed an "attitude". She is quite headstrong, actually that doesn't even scratch the surface. She got mad at me the other day and started slapping me in the face. Aunt Kristen witnessed it and I think was a little shocked! Ross' cousin Karyn came by with Aunt Ann and Aunt Sherry and took some pictures of Shelby. I will share some when we get them. I saw a couple after she took them and they were really cute.

Keep the Johnsons in your prayers......

Happy Belated Birthday!

2008-07-24T14:19:00.001-05:00

Happy Belated Birthday to Shelby's Great-Grandpa Hahn!!! This is a belated wish because we were in Port Lavaca celebrating with Grandpa and the family and I did not have access to a computer to blog about it! It was great to see everyone in Port Lavaca and we hope to see you all again soon!

We Rock!!!

2008-07-17T11:20:00.003-05:00

Travis (Ross' brother), Sarah and the boys came over on Saturday for a little while to see our new house and hang out. We had a lot of fun playing Rock Band for wii.

Travis sings, Ross plays the drums, Sarah plays the guitar, Shelby is the drummer's groupie, I'm the audience and the boys are sleeping.

Uncle Travis is a good singer. Must have been his time in choir that made the difference!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

2008-07-17T10:35:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday to Shelby's cousin Cooper!!! Cooper turns a whole one year old today!!! Have fun eating cake Cooper!!!

Shelby and Cooper

Quick Question

2008-07-14T12:05:00.004-05:00

How many of you out there can sleep like this????

I put Shelby in her crib to take a nap and she kept talking and talking and finally she was quiet for some time so I thought I would make sure she was covered. I went up stairs and this is what I found. Shelby was asleep sitting up and hunched over with her head on the bumper pad and the thumb in her mouth!!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

2008-07-11T12:38:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to Shelby's Great-Grandpa Johnson! We hope you have a great birthday and that we get to see you soon!

I didn't have a picture of Great-Grandpa on my computer, so, here is a picture Kelsey took of four generations of Johnson farmers! Great-Grandpa is the good looking one on the right!

10 Months!

2008-07-09T11:43:00.003-05:00

Well, the last 4 months out of the 10 have flown by!!! I can't believe that I am starting to plan Shelby's birthday party! The last month she has really taken on such a cute little personality and she has become quite headstrong. I have no idea where she could have gotten that from? Ross, but don't tell him I said that. She is now walking. Eight steps in a row without holding on or falling is her current record. She is getting into everything. Her favorite is electronic cords. She army crawls now too. She looks like she is paralyzed from the waist down and drags her little legs. She is quite fast at it. We installed a baby gate upstairs where we can gate her into her playroom. This morning I was downstairs for about 5 minutes. When I came back up she was trying to get out of the gate! She loves to crawl all over you and one of her favorites is if you are laying down on your back she will come over and belly flop on you. She loves it!!! And if you are laying on your stomach near her she comes and crawls on your back and bounces up and down like she is riding a horse. Needless to say she is rough!!! She is now in a regular routine of eating. That frustration is finally over! She loves her rice cereal with a baby food mixture of plum, banana, and grapes. And she loves baby food lasagna, spaghetti, and chicken and vegetables. She is also sleeping better and most nights she only gets up once!!! She has also started to babble dada. But we don't think she quite puts it together. Probably the thing I am most excited about is that she loves to go to her daddy more and more. It is not just mommy all the time anymore. They have a lot of fun together and Ross keeps hinting at the fact that he would be a good stay at home daddy!!! Here are some new pictures....I finally found my camera cord from the move.

Helping mama pack.

Isn't this fun mom?

Shelby enjoying her new toy. For the first couple of days, she did nothing but make laps around it.

The child does have eyes, I promise.

I make spaghetti look gooood.

Dessert!!!

Karyn is Coming!!!

2008-07-08T12:49:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I have to let everyone know that Ross' cousin Karyn is coming in less than 2 weeks. I am very excited to have her come to town for one, we have not seen her in a long time and she has never met Shelby. She just moved from DC to Kansas City. Karyn's husband works for the government. If I told you more than that...I would have to kill you, so I will spare you. And two, she is an AWESOME photographer and is going to come and take pictures of Shelby!!! She is booking sessions for her trip to Houston right now. Go to her website and check out her awesome work http://www.karynkaylephotography.com/ and also her blog, which has more up to date pictures http://www.karynkaylephotography.blogspot.com/. If anyone is interested in booking a session while she is in town contact her or me. I think she only has 2 spots left for the week! I look forward to sharing those pictures with you. Stayed tuned for Shelby's 10 month update.....

It Happened!

2008-07-04T09:53:00.002-05:00

July 3rd, 2008....We knew this day was coming soon.....Shelby took her first step without holding on or falling!!!!!! And where was she going???? She was trying to get to her Daddy! She has taken more since last night. Bring on the baby gates!!!

Cute Pics!

2008-07-04T09:46:00.003-05:00

While we were in the valley Shelby's Aunt Kelsey took some really cute pictures that I wanted to share. I am sorry they are small I don't know how to blow them up. Go to the Stocker's blog to see more and the full size version.

We are Back!!!!!

2008-06-26T20:56:00.002-05:00

I'm back to blogging now that our internet got hooked up tonight. Moving has been extremely laborious. I still have a ton to do so this will be short. We moved in and our a/c wasn't working right, cha ching cha ching, the money has been flying out of the account left and right. Shelby got a cold. We still have the garage, the pictures on the walls, and the storage building to move. Oh and a room full of stuff at my parents house including our china and crystal. This will be the first time we actually have that in our possession. The other house continues to show quite a bit and we are still getting great feed back but nothing "in writing". Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Leyendecker for taking Shelby for the weekend so we could move!!!

Happy Early Birthday!!!

2008-06-20T16:44:00.004-05:00

Happy early 30th birthday to Shelby's Uncle Travis. We are moving tomorrow so I didn't want to forget to blog about your birthday in the chaos. I know you want to spend your birthday helping your little brother move, right?

Uncle Travis the snake killer!!!! I couldn't find a picture on my computer of Travis so I stole this one from Travis and Sarah's blog.

Oh No!!!

2008-06-19T17:54:00.001-05:00

I just witnessed the future. Shelby just stood up on her own. She doesn't need anything to pull up on anymore. Walking here we come!

Quick Update

2008-06-18T14:12:00.002-05:00

Okay, so this is going to be short and to the point. I am running really short on time! Grandma Johnson came on our anniversary and stayed with us for a couple of days and she made curtains, helped us to start packing, and played with Shelby. She also let us go out for our anniversary! Thanks to Grandma! Charlie and Kelsey (Ross' little sis) stayed with us one night and the next drove down to the valley with Grandma Johnson. Ross decided that he really needed a break from work and we went to the valley for a couple of days, along with Travis (Ross' brother), Sarah, and their boys. It was a quick trip but a lot of fun. Ross ended up catching a 31" trout on a guided fishing trip. I'm told this is a fish of a lifetime! I would post a picture but you can see it hanging on the study wall shortly!!!! Thanks to Mr. Stocker (Charlie's dad) for the fishing trip! For those of you in the valley that we did not see. We are sorry but it was last minute and a short trip! Since getting back I'm in full packing mode. We were supposed to move last Saturday but put it back a week to go to the valley. Thank goodness, because I would not have been ready! Packing has been interesting with a 9 month old and the house showing. Saturday morning is going to be here before I am ready for it.

Shelby update: While Grandma Johnson was in town Shelby had her 9 month check up. She weighed 20 lbs. 1 oz. (75th percentile) and was 29 1/2 inches (97th percentile). She has started to dance; which, we do have on video and I need to post. It is really adorable and extremely exaggerated and at times it seems a little provocative. Everyone in the valley was asking where she was learning this???? She pulls up now on everything, stands without holding on, walks around on things while holding on, and her latest trick, jumping. She just started this yesterday. She literally jumps in place. She doesn't hold onto anything and literally clears the floor and somehow keeps from falling. Good balance and a vertical? She can't be my daughter!!!

Gotta go pack some more while my helper is napping!

Happy Birthday!!!

2008-06-12T17:56:00.002-05:00

Today is Shelby's Grandpa Leyendecker's birthday!!! Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Anniversary!

2008-06-05T12:39:00.003-05:00

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband!!! You've put up with me for four years. You deserve an award! I love you very much.

I have seen on other blogs that people tell how they met on their anniversary. Well, Ross and I had a class together our last semester at A&M. Crazy Dr. Siebert's senior seminar!!! We had assigned seats and Ross and I sat at opposite ends of the room. Ross did sit by our mutual friend, Alyssa. It was a Monday night and Alyssa and I had our last honor society meeting. Only at A&M are your honor society meetings at a bar. It was at the Fox & Hound and a bunch of us decided to go out after the meeting. The semester was over for the seniors. By the time the meeting was over only Alyssa and I were up for going out. We almost didn't go!!! We decided since it was a Monday night we would go to a place called the tap. They had NFL bingo and that was really the only thing going on in CS on Monday nights. Eric Heitmann, who I graduated high school with, was playing for the 49ers that night and it was one of his first games and I wanted to watch him play. Alyssa and I walked into a jam packed tap and walked around the whole place and couldn't find any one that we knew or any place to sit. We walked back to the front to decide what we wanted to do when Ross walked up. Turns out that he was there with his cousin (Keith) and some friends and they had room for us to sit. And the rest is history. Thanks to Alyssa for talking me into going out! And thanks to Eric for helping us decide where to go! I didn't watch a play of the game.....

Yummy!

2008-06-03T12:33:00.004-05:00

Shelby is still struggling with cereal and baby food. It looks like she might be one of those that just goes straight for table food. She will like baby food one day and then hate it for the next five. Last night Ross was eating a pickle and you could tell Shelby really wanted some so we let her have it. We assumed she would make a funny face and then not want anymore. Wrong! She loved it and slobbered all over her daddy's snack.

Taking Steps

2008-06-02T12:33:00.004-05:00

Well, everybody in this Johnson household is working on taking steps. I know you are a little confused at the moment so surprise, surprise I will elaborate. Ross and I took a big step, in my eyes, this weekend. Okay, so it was more me but the story goes that I have been delaying Shelby going into the church nursery. Shelby freaks out with strangers and family members too. Shelby's Great Aunt Sherry and Great Grandma Johnson got to witness this a couple of weekends ago. She cries so that it seems like she is hyperventilating at times. So I tried to weasel out of it again on Sunday and it didn't work. Ross told me I don't care what you say she is going into the nursery. Ughhh...... We checked Shelby into her class and she was the BIGGEST kid in her class. That was no shock. In fact, one of the teachers said maybe she needs to be bumped up to an older class. Shelby is already skipping grades. What can I say? We walked out of the nursery with a beeper that vibrates. When we got into church I was trying to figure out where I would put the beeper to make sure that I could feel it. Ross eventually took it from me and stuck it in his pocket. I will admit that for the first 15 minutes I had tears in my eyes. I just knew she was freaking out and wondering where we were. I hid them pretty well and I am pretty sure Ross didn't know. Church was great and the message really hit home. Basically, I need to stop obsessing over Shelby and letting her run my life. After church I wanted to take off in a full sprint to the nursery. We got back to the room and Shelby was almost asleep in a swing. When the lady picked her up she started to cry. They said she did really well. I hope this helps her people anxiety.

As for Shelby's steps she is pulling up on her own and getting more and more brave. Still no crawling. Here are some pics....

She has calf muscles, so they have to be her dad's tree trunks.

Sometimes she ends up like this but she thinks it is funny when she falls down. She just gets right back up.

Happy Birthday!!!

2008-05-31T13:17:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to Shelby's Aunt Kristi!!!

We are so excited that ya'll are moving back to Texas!

It has been too long....

2008-05-30T17:16:00.006-05:00

I've been hearing that I am falling down on the job. My grandma told me today to let Shelby out of her crib already (referring to the last post) so I am posting new pictures. A lot has happened since the last time I posted. Ross' parents, grandparents, and Aunt Ann came up and we spent time with them. We have closed and began remodeling our new house. All is going well but we have been super busy with picking out everything, buying and scheduling. Of course we have been swimming also!!!

The house has started to show a lot more this last week. Supposedly we have an interested brother (he lives down our street) and sister (my senior English teacher) that want to buy it for their mom. Mom still has to come down and see it before they go forward. We are crossing our fingers but not holding our breath!!! We did have some people that called our realtor and told her to draw up a contract they wanted to buy the house. They said they wanted to build a chicken house and raise chickens in the backyard! That's against City Ordinances so that deal fell thru. Ross and I had seen these people drive up in their red lexus the day before. I am pretty sure that they had never left the "big city" before and thought they were in the country! What in the world they wanted with chickens is beyond me! Green acres....this is not!

The movers come June 14th so I will begin the tedious job of packing soon.....I am SO excited about that!

Shelby chillin' in her new boat the "Aqua".

I swear Shelby has seen the sun before!

Here are some wii pictures. Wii is a video game where you do the action on the screen. Here is Shelby's Aunt and Granny playing MarioKart (racing cars). Looks like they are in a turn.

Shelby's Grandma Johnson and I boxing each other. We each won a round but Cheryl knocked me out a lot faster!!

I will admit that I broke a sweat boxing Cheryl! It was quite late at night because Shelby had gone to bed. I think Grandma and Grandpa Johnson enjoyed the wii.

Get Me Out of Here

2008-05-19T14:35:00.003-05:00

Shelby is trying to pull up on everything. Here she is in her crib today.

I've got my eye on you!

She always thinks I'm so funny. She's the only one!

The "Squenchy Nose Laugh".

More of the "Squenchy Nose Performance".

Truly a monkey in a cage.

The Weekend

2008-05-19T14:19:00.003-05:00

Our weekend started out by going to a wedding on Friday night. Grandma and Aunt Kristen babysat till after midnight so a big Thank You goes out to them. The groom (Ryan) works with Ross so the Highland crowd was there. These people are a blast to hang out with and we always have a good time when they are around. They are wanting to see more of Ross' dance moves. I think he did a good job entertaining them. If you have never seen Ross dance you have truly been missing out!

Saturday we went and picked out and purchased our selections for the new house, at least some of them. Most of the day went fine. We picked out some Travertine tile for the kitchen countertops and the store we were at did not have enough so we bought it and had to go to another branch of that store to pick it up. When we got there (45 mins away) they had sold our tile. Shelby and I were waiting in the truck for them to load it when I saw Ross come out of the store and he looked really angry and his face was a dark shade of red. I knew what had happened. Needless to say we got some other travertine for the price we had paid and I think the Asst. Mgr. was EXTREMELY scared of Ross. I think they got an ear full from Ross before he had come out to get us! I told Ross to calm down and he reminded me that this is what he deals with on a daily basis! Yuck!!!

We shopped till they dropped!!!

Welcome Home!!!

2008-05-16T15:29:00.003-05:00

Rumor has it that Uncle Charlie gets into California tonight. We just wanted to say welcome home to Uncle Charlie. We are so proud of him and happy to hear that he is safe and sound on U.S. soil. We wish we could be there to greet him when he gets off the bus! We know Aunt Kelsey is probably watching the clock! Welcome home and we can't wait for ya'll to be in Texas in a couple of weeks. Your niece has grown tremendously since you last saw her and is quite the little stinker!!!

Shelby sends an extra slobbery kiss!!!

Lil Bit of Everything

2008-05-12T11:41:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I know I have not blogged in some time so I am going to throw a bunch together. Two weekends ago, Ross' parents came up to help Travis (Ross' brother) babysit his two boys while Sarah went on a girls' weekend trip. We went to Spring to see them and play.

Shelby and I have been going to the park more lately. A park right down the street has a good size lake and lots of ducks. She loves to go see the ducks and be outside. We go to the park when our house shows. The house has been showing more during the week and we have been getting good feedback from the "lookers" so we are pleased and crossing our fingers. The best time it could sell for us would be next weekend. This would give us enough time to remodel the other house before we have to move.

We went to a crawfish boil on Saturday. Some of Ross' subcontractors were putting it on and expected around 600 people. They made 1200 lbs of crawfish!!! It went pretty fast. Ross had quite a few and had some "war" stains on his shirt. I think he really enjoyed them. It was fun to hang out with the Highland crowd. The boil was from 2pm-2am but we left a little earlier than that! There were 3 bands and bouncy things for the kids. It was quite a production.

Sunday was officially my first Mother's Day. Ross got me breakfast from my favorite place to eat breakfast. Shelby got me a card about how I do not get as much sleep anymore and a pair of pearl earrings. Ross got me the matching necklace and a card about how he snores at night. Needless to say, good long sleep is a thing of the past. I feel very blessed to have the both of them!!!

Mother's Day afternoon my family worked cattle. Ross had fun chasing cows with his four wheeler. Shelby put on a pair of wrangler's bloomers and joined the festivities. We rode in the truck with her great-grandma and hung on for dear life as we chased cows!!! Ross was on a 4 wheeler, Shelby's Grandpa was on a 4 wheeler (at one point he went over the handle bars and landed on his back holding onto one of the handlebars with one hand, thankfully he is okay), Shelby's aunt and Grandma were in a truck, we were in a truck with Great-Grandma, and Great-Grandpa was in a big tractor. It was organized chaos! If you have not been around my family I'll just let you know that they are WORKAHOLICS. Weekends are more busy than the weekdays and we will have to celebrate mother's day with grandma during the week. Mother's day ended last night at almost 11 for us with an explosive diaper!!! Happy Belated Mother's Day!!!

I know what you really want to hear is about what Shelby has been doing lately. Well, she is trying to pull up on everything. It frightens me to say the least! She is not into crawling. She just does not like to be on her tummy. We still battle everyday to try and get her to eat. She has been doing a little better lately. But she still does not finish a jar of baby food. I have finally resorted to blowing on her face, which makes her open her mouth, and shoving the food in! She seems to be doing better with strangers, but still has her moments, especially if Uncle Travis is around (sorry Travis I can't control her).

Here is a few pictures.

Grandma Johnson and 3 of her 5 grandkids.

Grandma Johnson pushing the "cousinmobile" with Cooper and Shelby taking a ride.

The "thinker" and the "ham".

Shelby enjoying Cooper's swing.

I don't think this is cute at all mom.

Splish Splash

2008-05-02T09:22:00.002-05:00

It is no secret that Shelby loves to take a bath. Whenever she hears the water running she squeals and becomes very excited. It doesn't have to be her bath water either it could just be us doing the dishes. Here are some of the monkey in the bath tub.

Just soaking in my stylish blue soaking tub.

I had to get a picture with soap in her hair. Can you tell she is a ham?

She is trying to pull up in the bath tub. It makes it easy to wash her backside :) .

Eating the bath tub and almost standing. Sorry for the plumber's crack!

DJ Kim

2008-04-29T19:12:00.003-05:00

Everyone that knows Kim and I, knows that we tease each other alot. It doesn't stop, even when no one else is there to laugh. I don't know if anyone else will think this is funny, but if I know Kelsey, I ought to get a couple of minutes out of her. For everyone else, if you don't find it funny, you only wasted two minutes of your life.

Tonight, I was holding Shelby and she was fussing so I started beat boxing (Not great but at least in rhythm) and making Shelby dance/jump to the beat. She thought it was hilarious. Once again Shelby outlasted me and I passed her off to Kim to entertain for a little while. She started fussing again and so I told Kim to beat box. She adamantly refused because her rhythm is as white as her legs are and she knows it. I kept teasing her and telling her to do it, but she wouldn't. After a little pause she said "I'm beat boxing in my head and it is terrible". Even while writing this, I haven't stopped laughing completely, and Kim hasn't either. It is pretty said when you can't even imagine yourself with rhythm.

Classic Kim moment. I love those.

For Sale

2008-04-28T11:58:00.007-05:00

Here are the pictures of our house from our listing. I know some of you never got to see it. We have already had our first showing and we are hoping for more now that the pictures are up today. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Ross has decided that when we get in the next house we are going to immediately list it on the market so that the house will stay clean. Hahahahaha....!

Happy Birthday!!!

2008-04-28T08:40:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to Shelby's Aunt Sarah! Here is a picture I stole from Aunt Sarah's blog. This is Sarah with her nephew, Luke. We hope you have a wonderful day!

Laughter, The Best Medicine

2008-04-25T21:07:00.004-05:00

Hello all. It has been a long time since I have done any blogging. I do get hired out whenever we have to put up a video. Kim and Shelby decided to put on a show this evening. Shelby was in a really good mood while in her jumperoo this evening and all it took was a little peak-a-boo to put her over the top. Shelby somehow still finds ways to melt our hearts on a daily basis.

Gig'em

2008-04-23T08:53:00.005-05:00

Okay, so this post does not seem very "Aggie like" so I had to title it Gig'em.

No this is not Bevo this is Jake and he belongs to Shelby's Great Grandpa Leyendecker. Shelby did not seem to mind riding Jake. When Grandpa Leyendecker put Shelby on Jake's back Jake started to walk sideways and it did not phase her. Ross ran around the other side to make him stop. Jake is ride able if anybody is interested!!!

This picture was taken at a family reunion. It was a typical family reunion in that I did not know 95% of the people there. We spent most of the evening talking to Bobby and Rosanne Schmidt. Bobby is my father's cousin but he grew up with Ross' family in Lyford. His wife also grew up in the valley and knew Ross' family. It is a small world. The Schmidts' said to tell everyone in the valley hello!!!

This is right after Jake was walking sideways. Do you see the concern in my eyes???

Here is Shelby's closeup.

She's Still Here

2008-04-22T08:51:00.006-05:00

I have not blogged about Shelby or put any pictures up lately so I will give you an update. The last week she has started doing some new things. She now loves to eat her toes. Yummy!!!! She sucks on her toes so hard that she slurps. She will be nursing and stop to suck on her toes and then start nursing again. Also, she has been talking lately. Babababa....that's what she says. She has also started to feed herself baby puff cereal. It melts in their mouth but she gums it to mush. This is nice because we can put her in her highchair and we can actually eat dinner together in peace. Baby food and warm cereal is still a huge struggle and most of the time it does not happen. She still has her rolls so I think she is getting what she needs! And the scariest of them all is that she has started to try and pull up on things. She is getting so big! Her "Chinese eyes" smile now includes her nose squenched up and her breathing thru her nose making a snorting like sound. It cracks us up.

In other news, the other house is a go so we are busily trying to get our house on the market. Looks like it will be on Thursday. It is bittersweet and I don't think our neighbors are too excited about it. They are all worried about who will be moving in. I'll post the pictures of the listing when we get them. I know not everyone that checks the blog got to see our first house.

Ross is still really busy at work and is still doing lots of hog hunting. I can't remember if it was 6 or 7 that they killed this weekend. They butchered them and Ross gave some of them to guys at work. We are hoping to get some homemade tamales!

Here is her new snorting smile/laugh. This does not do it justice. I will have to get video.

Happy Birthday!

2008-04-19T21:11:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to Shelby's Great Grandma Muske (GG)!!!!

Casa de Johnson

2008-04-16T08:23:00.008-05:00

So the word has gotten out that Ross and I are in the process of purchasing a new home. We have put in offers on a couple of homes over the last year and come close a couple of times. Well, we finally got one. We have not had our inspections on the new home as of yet. So if they go terrible we may not go thru with the deal, but I am optimistic. Hey, I'm married to a builder so if something does not work he probably can have it fixed for cheap or fix it himself. Ross has picked up a lot of skills on the job site! He is quite a good tile layer, plumber, and has some electrical skills! I have been asked to share pictures of the new home. Keep in mind that Ross has a list of things that he wants to do to the house before we move in. We will be tiling in the bathrooms, the living room (the carpet is destroyed here), the kitchen, and dining. The whole house will be painted. The people before smoked in the house so between the paint and having the carpets cleaned we hope that it will get rid of the smell. If the funds allow we are planning on ripping out the entire kitchen and starting over. Pickled pink cabinets are just not our favorite :) ! They will be installed in the garage for storage. We have been busy working to get this house and now that the bank (it is a foreclosure) has accepted our offer we are working to get our house on the market. We have a busy weekend ahead of us! Here are some pictures of the house we are purchasing. These pictures are from the last time it sold, October 2006. The people that were foreclosed on did not even live there a year and a half.

These pictures are in a random order.

The house. It sits in an L-shaped cul de sac. 4 bedrooms 2 1/2 baths 2500 sq. ft.

The entry with a study to the left and the dining to the right.

The gameroom. Finally the toys will be scattered somewhere other than the middle of the living room.

The pool. For all of you that are freaking out right now that we have a pool with a baby rest assured that I have already checked into what we need to do to kid proof it and for water baby lessons for Shelby. How I would have loved to have this last summer when I was huge and pregnant. I would have been quite buoyant! The backyard is really big and you can not see the large green area to the right where Shelby's swing seat will go. And yes that is the football stadium in the background. It will give a whole new meaning to "Friday Night Lights". I would be concerned except until I was 14 I lived in the house closest to the West side of the stadium. It never bothered us.

The living room from upstairs. There are some big orange stains in the carpet here. My guess is koolaid.

Part of the master bath. I am excited to have two sinks and finally have a tub in the master bathroom...woohoo....

The dining room. Much smaller than we have now. I hope our table will fit.

The pink kitchen. I am not sure what happened but the stove is no longer there. Just an empty space. One of the things I am most excited about in the new house is having a PANTRY!!

The breakfast room. Ross already has a light fixture to replace this one.

The living room.

The master bedroom.