Michael Alton Shafer

He is gorgeous. And we are in love. Danny is in heaven. He adores his baby brother.
Michael was born April 30th at 5:41pm. He weighed in at 7lbs 11oz and 21 inches.

This post is so overdue it's embarrassing. I haven't had time to write long entries, so I haven't written any. Now, I will just make a better effort to come out here daily and jot something down.

Two boys is so much fun. Michael is an excellent sleeper. He sleeps from 10pm to 8am and usually only wakes once to be fed.

His witching hours are from about 5pm until he crashes around 10pm. During that time he's fussy and just wants to be held. The bjorn is my best friend :)

In lieu of picking a few pictures, here is a link to two albums from when Michael was born. These are all of them...the good, the bad and the UNFLATTERING. So be kind, and enjoy :)

Album #1


Album #2

Child of My Heart

This photo is from the 2010 Child of My Heart Walk.

Sometimes when I look at him, his perfect little face and beautiful eyes, I can hardly believe he is mine. God love him.

Bedtime Boogers

Tonight, I was following Danny's pediatricians advice on helping Danny get to bed (he's in a new BIG BOY bed). He recommended that I sit in a chair instead next to the bed instead of laying with him. And if he tries to engage me or socialize with me, I am to ignore him.


So, I am doing that. And then he told me that he has a "booger". So I helped him pick it, because he has a cold. Two minutes later, he says he has "another booger", and he picks it. And then he says he is going to go throw it out. I'm still ignoring him. Then he says, "nope, I eat it." And boom, just like that, my kid ate his booger. GROSS!

Our Third Blessing :)

This post is so completely long overdue, it's kind of sad. And not because I haven't wanted to write it a bazillion times, but for a long time we were just not really "broadcasting" the announcement online.

I am just over 23-weeks pregnant, and we are having another boy. We are so very excited. I found out on Thursday, August 26th, and waited two days before I told David. I was so shocked myself, that I had to get through that before I was able to tell him. And let me tell you, he was even more shocked! I probably would have held off longer if he hadn't invited his sister and her family over to celebrate a made up "Tequila Holiday" to enjoy margarita's and shots. That's when it was time..."Um, honey, Danny has to show you something". "What?" pause....as he looks at positive pregnancy test, and then the response, "You're Pregnant?". To put it nicely, David is not good with first reactions to big news. This is a part of his character that you just have to know and love, because if you didn't know that about him, you might just want to punch him in the face :) While he was saying "you're pregnant?", you could see his face glaze over and his mind race a million miles a minute with "HOLY $HIT!...two kids....etc." But then he has to process some additional stress, and that takes us back to Angela. And we have to think about testing, and when to tell our families and ultrasounds, and all of that. So, I get it.

So when did we tell our families? We told them on Friday, OCTOBER 22nd. We were just a few days shy of being 13-weeks along. That's when we got the good news, that as far as preliminary testing could go, we were having a healthy baby. Danny was going to have a baby brother. I had felt like we were having another boy, but David had been convinced we were having a girl. We won the lottery either way. We were just happy beyond words. Relieved. And Grateful. So very grateful. And we cried. And I tear up now just thinking about it.

I love being pregnant. Absolutely love it. I am lucky. I have had comfortable pregnancies. But, our first experience, that cuts like a knife. And sometimes, you've gotta "fake it till you make it" to convince yourself that it's ok. And everything will be alright. And to relax. But those last few days of the two-week waiting period for the test results. That's when doubt starts to creep in, and you begin to panic. And start calling the doctors office daily for updates. So that news, the good test results, it is like the weight of the world has been lifted. It doesn't guarantee anything, but it's enough to get you past a giant hurdle.

And when we told Danny, he wanted to name his brother "Spiderman" or "Nemo" or "Halloween".

Our little man is due on David's birthday, May 1st. :) That day, it's just special. Obviously, it's David's birthday. When we were pregnant with Danny, that was the date of his big ultrasound. And now, this little boy is due on May 1st.

I am so excited. So so very excited. And nervous. I know the transition to two will be difficult. But, it's something we'll have to go through to understand, and we welcome the chaos. Part of me is so excited to see Danny in a new role. And I know he may get jealous. And I know it will be so different for him, because he has our undivided attention now. But he will be such a loving big brother, and that just makes me melt. I love to hear him say, "baby brother".

So that's the big update. I'll post more soon, and not let so much time lapse between. This year the holidays were so much fun because Danny loved every minute of them, and that is what lit up our world.

Happy New Year!

Hold My Hand

Danny is going through a bit of a Mommy phase. And how can I turn away from all of the extra hugs and kisses and snuggle time, even if it means cooking dinner while holding him, changing clothes while holding him, and doing many other things, all while holding him.

One of the sweetest things he has done the last two days is ask (or demand) to hold his hand while I'm driving him to daycare. This means that my left hand is on the wheel, and my right arm is hyper extended to the back seat so that I can hold his hand. Usually, my arm is shaking by the time we get to school. But his warm little hands just hold on for all that they've got, and it melts me.

I continue to be amazed at his warm little personality. His hugs. His kisses. His everything. At night, when we say our prayers, we pray for our families and friends, and then I always say "who else should we pray for Danny?" and he names all of his little daycare friends and daycare teachers.

I love holding his hand. And I love that we are finally in that place where he wants to sit on my lap, or snuggle next to me when we are watching one of his videos. And even more sweet is to watch him just sit and play with his toys. He has trucks that he rolls around the fireplace hearth. A Melissa and Doug pizza set that he serves to David and I all of the time, and little animal figures that he can name and imitate. I always think that each phase is the best, but it seems to continue to get better...I just wish it would slow down.

Super lazy

Man, I have been horrible at updating my blog. HORRIBLE with a capital H. The last post is from August. Over two months ago. Wow. SLACKER.

Life is good. We've been having so much fun, that at the end of the day, when I should be making time to journal all of the great things we've done, I end up checking facebook or reading some of my celebrity gossip websites (people, usmagazine, etc.). Worthless time sucks, but oh so fun...and sometimes addicting!

Danny turned two...ALMOST A MONTH AGO. Holy wowzer. I have a 2-year old. And boy, is he such a happy guy. I'm so in love with him. I know that sounds ridiculous, but truly, he brings so much magic to our lives. He's so happy. SO HAPPY. How did we ever get so lucky.

Here are just a few things I won't want to forget.

1. He's absolutely obsessed with football. Carries his football all around. Sleeps with it. Takes it to the Kirtland football games. Holds it in the car. Obsessed. The only problem is that he calls it his "golf ball". This confused me for a while. One night, last week, Danny was picking up his football to go to bed, and Dave said, "that's friggin' awesome". Dave's in heaven. I worry that someday I'm actually going to have to learn about football if he plays. Oy vey.
2. Everything he wants to do again is "one more time". Except "one more time", isn't really one more time. It's 8,000,000 more times.
3. I think he will be a fighter pilot or a sharp shooter. His vision is amazing. At least as far as I can tell. He can spot an airplane or helicopter before I can even begin to hear it. This is really funny considering how hyper paranoid (ok, beyond paranoid) I was when he was an infant and even at his 1-year appointment that he was cross-eyed, and I was terrified if we didn't correct it, he would have horrible vision. This entailed two visits to a pediatric eye specialist at UH Rainbows. Yes, I was nuts (and that was $$$$). But it was worth every penny to know that in fact, he has great vision. And now that he is verbal, we are reaping the benefits!
4. He is off the bottle. I kind of sucked at this. Like a lot of other things, I let this go on longer then it should have. And to think I thought I would be more by the book. My sister always said "you pick your battles". Well, his bedtime bottle wasn't kicked until (I $hit you not), one week before his second birthday. We had him at the doctors to check his ear for what seemed like the millionth ear infection (of course he did not have one at this appointment). And the doctor we were seeing (not Danny's regular) made a point to say how "since he doesn't drink from a bottle anymore"...blah blah blah something about fluid in his ears. Dave and I just looked at each other and didn't say a peep. The next night we went cold turkey, and we survived.
5. His latest movie obsession is Toy Story, and Toy Story 2. We are getting Toy Story 3 soon, or I'm going to go NUTS. "Woody Buzz, Woody Buzz, Woody Buzz". That's what we hear each night while he drinks his milk (IN A SIPPY CUP THANK YOU) and eats his "O's" before bedtime.
6. I received an awesome collection of books at his baby shower. And all of "the books" say to read to your baby from what seems like the moment you conceive. Well, this didn't really happen. Ever. He wasn't interested. Until a few months ago. And I remember being nervous that he wasn't going to be a reader. Sherman's are readers! Now, he's obsessed. I mean, it's a minimum of three books a night. And he sleeps with them. And some of them talk. So he plays with them in bed, and we laugh. We hear him chattering away, playing with his books, and the Thomas the Tank horn going "Beeep" (or however it sounds). Thank GOD he likes books.

Ok. I'll try to get better at this!

Twice Off the Low Diving Board!

Today, at Danny's last swim lesson...he went off the low diving board TWICE at the Mayfield Village Pool! I couldn't believe it :) Last week, our instructors/12-year old life guards...(ok, they just look 12), finally caught the hint that the little ones in the class were not quite ready for Michael Phelps training, and decided to let them play. They turned on all the water toys and the slide. Danny LOVED the water slide. We probably went down 5 or 6 times! Today, they took the same approach...but then invited the kids to go off the diving boards. Dave and I hesitated even taking Danny over, because he doesn't like to get his face wet (really, it's his eyes). But, after seeing another little girl do it, he wanted to. So, Dave walked the plank with him, and I was in the deep water waiting. On the count of three, Dave helped him "jump". He went under but bounced right back up (they tie a noodle under their arms). He was confused, but once he saw us smiling, he smiled...and wanted to do it again. The second time, he jumped on his own (with Dave behind him!). I am so hoping that next year, he will do it again.

Swimming "lessons" at this age might seem silly to some....but I really want him to be comfortable in a pool. I won't even write what one of my worst fears is, but I'm sure you can guess...which is why learning how to swim and being comfortable in a pool means a lot to me.