So Much Has Taken Place

Here is a quick update. I know I have not been very good about this!

• Ms. Madisyn has cut 2 tooth, not big, but through the gums. She has also with the cutting of the teeth developed a bilateral ear infection. We will finish first round of antibiotics Wednesday. She has begun officially crawling. She is very fast at it and you have to keep your eyes on her at all times. She also thinks she has to do everything her big sister does and hence she has begun pulling herself up on EVERYTHING. She is even able to walk around coffee table and along the couch. She loves to play with any toy that her sister has. We have had to pull her off solid foods and I am starting over with 1 food per week until we figure out what is causing this constipation issue. Right now we know rice cereal is okay, applesauce is okay, and we are trying bananas again. She has an UGI on Wednesday to make sure anatomy is correct. She turned 7 months on Friday, I can't believe it. Time flies.
  
• Ms. McKenzie is busily growing too. She is excelling in school although she is bummed that Ms. Wanda her old teacher is not here anymore. She has a new teacher, Ms. Tracy, who seems really nice. She had a lot of fun around Thanksgiving making fun crafts involving turkeys and feathers, etc. She constantly is expanding her vocabulary and sometimes sounds WAY to big for 3. She is one month away from turning four, which seems completely foreign to me.
• Joe and I just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary this weekend. Wow. That just seems like yesterday. Joe is doing wonderful at cutting weight and has developed a new zest for losing it. He even went to the gym on his own over the holiday weekend. He has 6% body fat left to lose. He has lost 7 % since we got here in March. I had an MRI and EMG this past week for my back. I see the Ortho doc tomorrow to review results and determine treatment plan. We are praying for the best, hopefully an epidural steriod injection since it worked so well last time.

Well I better run. Madisyn is getting fussy...hopefully she will take a nap longer than 45 minutes this time. Love you all!

LONG update

Forever posing for a picture.

Kenzie at the Pumpkin Patch 2009

Her PreHalloween bucket of treats.
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Kenzie leaving school today.


Kenzie and her little friend Christian.

It has been a while since I last updated and I am SOO sorry. Life has become quite busy and it is hard to keep up! Here are some new adventures going on in the Shook House...

Madisyn turns 6 months old tomorrow! She goes for her 6 month check up on Wednesday. I will update you all on height/weight stats.

Madisyn has begun rolling all around the floor, getting up on all fours, and pushing herself around backwards. Every once in a great while she will launch herself forward if she really wants something. She also has learned to sit unassisted, but it generally usually lasts only a minute or two because her belly hangs over the diaper. I guess it is not very comfortable. She loves to sit in the bathtub when she is naked.

McKenzie is still LOVING school. She learning about nursery rhymes this month. Last month she learned to play soccer and daddy says she has a strong kick. LOL.

McKenzie went to see the Allergy doctor today and they are going to do skin testing next Wednesday. They don't do the subdermal shots like in adults, but they do scratchings on her back. I am sure it won't be pleasant. Thoughts and prayers will be appreciated.

Joe spent a fun filled day at Colfax. A town about an hour from here where they have some private property that a family lets people go mudding on for a price. This week the military contacted them and his unit took 9 humvees, 2 5 tons, and a wrecker out and went mudding for "training". The ended up with 13 very muddy vehicles, some very muddy personal, 1 water-logged engine, and 1 water-logged starter. He has his work cut out for him this week mechanically.

Joe goes to see the Ortho on Friday about his leg. It is still bothering him and since there is a difference of opinion between the PT and the PA regarding the same MRI report, they will let the Ortho decide the course of treatment.

Joe received information today that his unit will no longer exist by October 15, 201o. This means by that date next year we will be PCSing somewhere else if we have not already reenlisted by that point, which hopefully we will have. Also please continue to pray for Joe. His company wide weigh in is Wednesday. He has to pass tape before he can be promoted and/or reenlist.

As for me, I am same ole, same ole. I have increased my work capacity and am now working between 2-3 hours a day 5 days a week and making on average $25/hour. I am so blessed to be able to work for a company where I make good money, have flexible hours, and get to stay home and raise my daughters. I could not be more blessed right now (well except if we got transferred to KY). LOL.

Well that is about it from this side of the Mason-Dixon. I will attach some photos of the girls in this post and then probably some separately tomorrow. Love you all.

New Pictures

Here are some new pictures of the little ones.

Kenzie reading to Madi

My girls

Madi saying hi

Holding hands

See, I can reach my toes.

Styling in my new crocs.

Being a big girl in a restaurant highchair.

OHHHH

I love oatmeal

HMMMM

I love this stuff.

Happy girl in the highchair.

Daddy doing dinner for the first time.



All done and pretty clean!

Our welder!

Looking sassy, my cowgirl.


Our rainbow playdoh creation.

AHHHH

Popeye

Little Angel

Singing going on a bear hunt at school.

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!