Knit Knit Knit

I made a little hat over the holidays for Mia. This one is called the neopolitan...with cherries on top! It was a fun project, but there's so much more I want to learn. I've got to steal my friend Trish for a day so I can learn all her secrets - she's been selling her hats by the dozens! I'll post more with our photos from Christmas a little later. For now, it's late and it's time to go 'night night' as Mia would say.

All I want for Christmas...

Is a signed painting from Greg Olsen! If you don't know who he is, you may have seen him at Costco during the holidays (both in SLC and Boise) where he hand signs and personalizes his paintings. Thanks to Trish, I fell in love with his art and decided that it's all I want for Christmas this year. We followed his schedule and as soon as he returned from Boise, we caught up with him locally and had him sign a painting for Mia. Look at the two of them - Mia loved him!
9 days before Christmas! Ready or not...here comes Santa. :)
HO HO HO!

Only 10 days until Christmas!

The holidays have been really fun with Mia this year. She's already got a big stash of presents even though we're trying not to go overboard. The nice thing about buying for toddlers is that even the smallest, most inexpensive thing could provide so many hours of enjoyment! (I'm sure that will change as time goes on) It makes me wonder what next year will be like since she already loves going down the toy aisle. She NEEDS to touch and hold everything, especially the stuffed animals she calls "baby".

We're just about done with our shopping and plan to be home for the holidays. My brother will come stay with us, but other than that, it should be quite peaceful. Three weeks to go on the sabbatical and then it will be time to pry myself from home and get back to work. We're still not talking about it yet.

Hope you're enjoying the holidays as much as we are! Here are some photos...one showing Proof of the Tooth and one of of our Big Smoocher- she loves to make fish lips to give you a kiss. TO DIE FOR!

Sabbaticals are Grrrrreat!

Wow - 2 whole weeks have come and gone and YES, it does go by fast. But we've enjoyed every single minute of it and we're getting quite attached to the little one. What will it be like trying to go back to work? Don't make me think about it.

The tree is up, cards have been sent and now we're just planning for a few Christmas parties. We've really taken some time this year to enjoy the holiday spirit. We've already been downtown to see the lights, but sadly, there's no snow! Travis and I have already mentioned a couple times that it just doesn't feel like Christmas yet.

And in case if I forgot to mention it before, here's a photo we took while out with some of our good friends/neighbors on Travis' Birthday weekend. We even got to sing to him, which he thoroughly enjoyed. It was especially neat that he was serenaded by a Japanese lady who didn't really speak English. My favorite part was her tambourine. ;)

Coldplay

Although I don't have any photos from the concert (I don't want to talk about it), Coldplay was amazing! We've seen them once before in Austin, but when they decided to come to Salt Lake, our good friend Kristen flew up from Austin to stay with us! We haven't seen a concert like that in a long time. They were such a fun band to watch and they had risers that went out to the floor allowing for many closeup views. At one point, they blocked off an entire staircase and played in the stands just 10 rows up from us...it was like our own personal concert! Highly recommended. :)

Later in the weekend, we visited Temple Square. Can't wait to see what the lights look like this year! We are missing Kristen already. :( She's off to Lubbock for the Texas Tech game this weekend.

Home At Last!

We've been waiting for Thanksgiving to come, at least I have. Starting this week, I've had a sabbatical planned that goes through the new year (no work and all play)! It's a great benefit from my company after you have worked for 5 years. It's been nice to finally get things done (around the house, with my mom)..some of the things on my list have been there for years! (I won't bore you with "The List")

We went up the canyon today to take some snapshots - here are a couple to share. The best news in the whole world to report is that Mia finally broke through with her very first tooth! It's a bottom, front tooth and we are celebrating by taking her to the Jazz game. :)

Aloha!

We had a fabulous time in Kauai and most of all, we were very lucky that Grandma Nina could come stay with Mia while we were gone. After much debate (should we take her, should we not??), I think we made the right decision. We didn't have to worry about a thing and I think that's what made the trip so enjoyable.

The island is one to go to if you just want to relax in a beautiful setting with some occasional sight seeing. After several recommendations, we took the helicopter ride and it was to die for (thanks, JJ!). The island is filled with secret beaches and waterfalls on all sides. After the helicopter ride, we were able to rent a car one day and drive to the areas we knew we wanted to go see. Our room was on the waterfront so every night we left the sliding door open so we could hear the waves. Most memorable were the wild roosters everywhere and just how green everything is. Can you imagine living here and seeing this every day? I have to admit, even the pool area at the Beach Club was hard to leave.

From heaven to 12 inches of snow, we arrived home during a blizzard! Now, it's all just a memory!

Above is the view from our room at sunrise (yes, we were up every morning BEFORE the sun came up - the joys of a 4 hour time change). Below are all aerial photos on the helicopter ride.

The photo above is of the waterfalls in the TV Show, "Fantasy Island." We took these photos form the air, below are the falls up close when we drove to them.

Here's a couple photos from our day trip around the island. :)

Get to work!

Holy cow - where did she get that tongue?! Mia has been real "busy" lately. Seems like I can't get a thing done with my new cleaning partner. :)

Grandma's Scarves

I didn't realize what a hit Grandma's scarves would be! Mia is all about playing Peekaboo, singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and having you hold her hands while she tries to walk. She's getting closer, but not quite there yet. She stands on her own, but hasn't quite figured out how to take a step just yet.

Nikol was here from NYC so it was great to see her and Amy this past week. We're also getting ready for a vacation of our own (Hawaii) and lucky for Mia, her Grandma Nina will be able to stay with her! It's been a little nuts lately trying to keep up with everything and having a 1 year old makes it very interesting for us. We're definitely still trying to get used to it all, but seeing Mia grow, give kisses and hugs and start to talk is very fun. In case if you were wondering, still no teeth...not even one.

Go Phillies and Jamie Moyer!

Nemo the Clownfish

Travis brought home a pumpkin that we decorated and donated to the Shriners Childrens Hospital. You can't carve the pumpkin, but can only decorate it. Then, the children get to judge all the pumpkins and pick a winner. We thought we nailed it when we decided to create Nemo, but were just as happy when we found out our friend Amy won with her entry as the monster from the book, "Where the Wild Things Are." So cute and such a fun contest! Reminds of the "Gourd Off" we used to have at work. Remember the Gourdfather? I miss that contest!

Say It Ain't So!

"What?! Did the Cubbies lose the playoffs?" exclaims, Mia. She was really hoping there wouldn't be a sweep and now look at her... she's very sad.

Red to Sweet Georgia Brown

Back at it! We've been making some changes around the house lately. It's been over 6 years since we moved to Utah and we've already got the itch to update a few things. The red walls are changing to sienna brown and the biggest project continues to be the basement! For my entire life, only one side was finished and the other side has been filled with boxes and storage. We cleaned it out and got it framed last weekend and with the rainy weather this weekend, I'm sure we'll continue on our projects indoors.

This Mama Loves Obama

Something horrible happened today. Our yard was violated with a giant McCain / Palin sign! Who would have done such a horrible thing to our yard and misrepresented the Shields home with a McCain sign for an entire afternoon!? Travis came driving up the hill and made a comment I can NOT repeat. Whoever you are...I know you're out there and most likely reading this blog! We will find out who you are and by November 4th you will be an Obama supporter like us! ;)

As for the fate of the McCain / Palin sign...dial 1-800-SLC-Dump.

Mia Does Lagoon

I never thought we would take Mia to Lagoon so soon...been there, done that! It was for a company party and I didn't think we would have as much fun as we did. I mean, come on, the last time I was at Lagoon it was 118 degrees in the shade and we were surrounded by what seemed like millions of random people. I know YOU know what I'm talking about.

Come to find out, Mia loved the train and the carousel and Travis & I would trade off so we could get a couple rides in ourselves. It is a little odd standing in the Colossus rollercoaster line as a "single" rider with a slew of teenagers, but it was still fun. In reference to the train photo above, every time Mia sees an animal (camel or bunny), she points and yells, "Doggie!"

Birthday Treats

Here are the birthday photos I promised. Sorry it's taken a few weeks to post! We had lots of fun decorating ladybug cupcakes and cakes made from a cherry chip mix. As you can see, Mia also celebrated with her 1 year old buddies, Christian & Lucy. ;) Her favorite toy was a lion that she could sit and scoot around on. However, we've already had to change it to the walking position because she's figured it out! She just smiles and smiles as she walks with her lion. She's still a little wobbly and the lion rolls a little faster than she can walk, but you can tell that she feels like such a big girl.

It's official...she's 1 year old

Mia had her 1 year checkup today and of course, that came with another round of shots. OWIE! The doc was quite impressed with her abilities and as we left the office she blurted out her form of thank you, "Tank ooo" as she waved bye-bye to the nurses. :) It was hilarious. I have to take a double take when she does things like that to see if she really means it and of course, that's exactly what she meant.

I will post some photos of Mia celebrating her first birthday. We had a couple small celebrations with family and one with her buddies Lucy and Christian. All of them were born within the same 3 month timeframe so they all recently turned one. There were ladybug cupcakes everywhere!

As for the Labor Day holiday, we're just planning on staying in town and cleaning out the basement. Our goal is to finish it out by November and hopefully have a game room set up by the holidays! Travis already has his eye on a pool table. I think we'll end up hiring some of it out this time. I'm sorry, but I don't think I can handle one more remodeling project! Other updates, Jeanette got married on July 31st and it was such a fun time to spend with her, we took Mia to Lagoon last weekend (oh you heard me) and she love, love, loved the train, and it feels like FALL (our favorite time of the year). Hope you are all doing well!

1 is Wonderful!

One moment with her and

she'll steal your heart.

What a blessing she's been right from the start.