September Update

Here are our new family pics. I will be sending out copies with our Christmas cards this year.

It has been a little while since I updated everyone so I will give you all a peek into the Shook household.

*McKenzie has been in school for a whole month now and she LOVES it! She is learning so much and her new expanded vocabulary cracks me up. She is one of only two children in her class that can sing the whole "ABC" song by herself. I am so proud!

*Madisyn turned 5 months old yesterday. I can't believe how fast these last five months have gone. On Saturday she decided that she wanted to become mobile so now she rolls across the floor back to belly and belly to back until she gets where she wants to go. It is hilarious. I will upload picture of the first flip from back to belly later.

*Both girls have been sick with a cold for the last week. It has been pretty miserable. They are both congested and McKenzie has a nasty cough. I was hoping that it would be gone by this week, but we are still fighting it.

*I am back to work at full capacity, which for me is still just about 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. Does not seem like much, but when you add in my mommy and wife duties I feel like I am running sun up to sun down!

*Joe finally passed his PT test! He needed 40 pushups, 50 situps, and a 2 1/2 mile walk in 34:36 and he passed with flying colors: 42, 53, and 31:53. I am so proud of him. He still needs to lose about 6% body fat, but he is making great progress as he was 14% over when we got here in March. Pray for his continued success so that he can reenlist in March and hopefully relocate to Fort Knox, KY.

*Fort Polk is having their semi-annual post wide garage sale this week. I am going to sell a few things that we don't use anymore so that we won't have to move them next Aprilish. I hate moving stuff that you never use or furthermore that you forget you have until you move!

*One more thing. I forgot to mention that Ms. Kenzie is going to see the pediatrician on October 7th so we can decide what to do next with her allergies. She is miserable down here having to take Singulair and Zyrtec and still having breakthrough symptoms. Pray that the answer is moving closer to home, where she was much less symptomatic. LOL. Either way please pray that we can find an answer for her.

We miss you all so much! Here are some general pictures of the girls over the past couple of weeks.

Good Pictures of McKenzie

Here are some good general pictures of McKenzie and a couple of her and her sister. She really loves being a big sister!

Good Pictures of Madisyn

Here are some general pictures we have taken over the last few weeks of Madisyn.

Kenzie's First Day of School

She is ready to go in.

Leaving, the sun is in her eyes

I got there a little early to pick her up and they were singing and dancing on the rug.

Well my big girl went to school for the first time Wednesday, Sept 2. She loved it! Her teacher is Ms. Wanda and she is very energetic and interacts well with the kids. Kenzie is very blessed in that right now there are only 10 kids in the class. Enrollment is open year round because of movement of troops in and out, but she should get some wonderful interaction and learning time with the smaller class size. She would not stop talking about her school when she got back in the car afterwards. Then this morning when Joe woke her up for breakfast she started to get dressed and asked if what she was wearing was okay for school. Joe had to explain that she goes to school only every other day, not every day and that she could go back tomorrow. This weekend will be interesting...No school on Monday for the holiday! Hope you enjoy the pictures. Love and miss you all.

Madi Eating Cereal for the 1st Time

When she was all done. I think we stayed relatively clean!

First bite, not so sure.

Getting ready, sitting pretty in her highchair

Madisyn turned four months on August 27th. We started her on Rice cereal that morning and she seems to like it. She has now advanced to a mixture of rice and oatmeal which she seems to enjoy as well. She sits really well in her highchair.

She also went to her four month well baby checkup. She weighed exactly 14 pounds and was 24 inches. Unfortunately her big Shook head has crossed two growth lines on the growth scale in two months and her soft spot is rather small. Doctors are not incredibly concerned because she is developing normally and in fact is a little a head of the curve. She will be having a sedated head CT scan sometime in the next couple of weeks. We are waiting for radiology to schedule the procedure. Please pray for a safe sedation and for normal results.

Trip to Indiana

Aunt Sandy and one of her girls.


Ashley and her Kenzie

Kenzie at Mooreland Fair riding rides with the Reeds.



Madisyn Shook and Madisyn Reed


Kenzie found this sign and put Ashley's "mini" house for sale.
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First time in the big bathtub. We forgot our little one, but she loved to splash!

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At Baker Pool. IT WAS FREEZING!




Picking up Emma to head back to LA.

Looking at pigs at State Fair.

Watching the fish at DNR building at State Fair.

Madi styling the new hat at State Fair.


Emily and Madi chilling watching TV.

Taking their babies for walk down 400 S.

Ashley and her girls. Can't you tell she is so proud!

Madi with her feet in the grass. First time because the grass down here is pokey.

Here are some pictures from our trip to Indiana. We had a phenomenal time and really loved getting to see all our family and friends. We miss you all already. A special thanks to Ashley, Sandy, and Emily Reed for putting us during our stay. It was wonderful having all the stuff available for the girls without having to bring it all with us! Also thank you to my mom and dad who hosted a wonderful party for us at their beautiful farm.

Can't wait to see you all again. Keep Joe's weight loss in your prayers because if he passes PT test and fat tape test by March he can start the reenlistment process and we have a 1SGT at Fort Knox, KY who wants Joe as a mechanic. Fort Knox is 3 hours from home!! So let's keep Joe in your thoughts and prayers for the next 6 months!

PS - Ashley if you are reading this, I spared you the embarrassment of the "cat" pictures. I will keep those between the two of us! Love ya.