Shelby's 1st Birthday

Shelby turned 1 on July 25th, 2011. We had an awsome birthday party for her at our house. I bought this pool from Wal-mart on clearance for only $25 and it was a hit. We also got a keg of Sassparilla from the Brewery because we love it! We had a great turn out and Shelby got tons of awsome gifts! She is spoiled and i'm sure the party was more for me than it was for her! She didn't really enjoy the pool as much as the other kids but maybe next summer she will like it!



 Shelby did not like the water as much as the other kids

 Yes, I made the ice cream cake!!! (thanks for the recipe Amy!)

 Shelby loved to eat the cake and cupcakes

 Eventually the kids decided that jumping from the retaining wall was much more fun

 Yes, that is Matt (Adam's brother). He always has to do the fun things that the kids get to do so he started jumping in the KID pool too. He was trying to make Sam fly off the other side of the pool. But this is taken right when Matt popped the slide on the pool. Thank goodness for patches! What's funny is that Adam's dad was even encouraging Matt to jump off the wall into the pool. Yes, we have a good time!

 "It's not a true party without a keg! We love to get sassy". -words from Adam

 Shelby says "just let me open my presents please".

Shelby got 2 of the same things at her party so i took one of them back and got her this handy dandy vacuum. She loves it and uses it everytime I vacuum too!



more pictures

 Having a play day with the slip-in-slide

 Shelby and Henry in the hammock

Getting off of the Skycoaster

 Long day at Lagoon

 Playing at Lava

 Playing at the Museum of Idaho

June and July

Shelby loves to stand on everything. She is 100% wild. She has figured out she can get anything she wants by standing on things to reach higher!

June and July were 2 months of fun and craziness in the Sorensen house. My little sister Sariah and my niece Aurora were here with us most of the time. I can tell you that Adam and I are a little nervous for Shelby's teenage years! We had such a fun summer though. We swam at Ross Park and Lava many times. For Adam's birthday (June 30), we all went to Lagoon and had a great time. Thanks to Grandma Gay for watching Shelby! Adam, Aurora, and Sariah rode the Skycoaster. I have rode the thing 3 times in my life so far and it was 2 times too many so I just took the pictures! We also put in a sprinkler system. It was not the most fun but I am so glad to have it. Adam's brother Josh was so kind to come and help Adam pull in all of the pipe while Aurora, Sariah, and I dug hole after hole. (it's how Aurora and Sariah earned their way to Lagoon) Then there was the 4th of July. We went to our friend's grandparents' house that live right across from the Pocatello Fairgrounds and had a BBQ and then watched the fireworks. It was great fun! Thanks Ace and Jyl. Shelby actually enjoyed the fireworks. She would clap after the big ones and it was the cutest thing. Then came July 11th. This was the day I took my NCLEX exam to see if I could get my nursing license. I had to take it in Draper, Utah so I took Aurora and Sariah down to Utah with me because Sariah left to go back to Alabama on the 12th. I had to stay in a hotel all by myself that night of the 10th because I had to be at the testing center at 730. I am saying this because I hate to stay by myself and I have only done it maybe 3 times in my life! So I didn't sleep very good because I forgot the Tylenol PM. It was the worst test I have ever taken. I was sure I had failed and poor Aurora had to listen to me worry the WHOLE drive back to Idaho. I kept repeating myself, "I just failed that test!". So after waiting a long 48 hours, I found out I PASSED!!! So that means I got my nursing license. I am so grateful to everyone who made it possible for me to make it through school and get my license. Adam was a great support. Also, I owe thanks to my Father in Heaven for the strength and comfort He gave to me. I prayed at least 30 times while I was taking my 3 1/2 hour test! I have a stronger testimony of prayers and Priesthood blessings from this experience. So after my nerves from the NCLEX settled down, we were ready to get back to some summer fun! Aurora and I went to the Bodies Exhibit in Idaho Falls. We really enjoyed it. We liked the fetal exhibit the best. It was so amazing to see how small some of the babies were and to think that we were that little at one point. Towards the end of July, we had a Gunter family reunion. It was great to spend time with some of my siblings and my dad. Adam was able to go on a dirt bike ride with my brothers Jamie, Lex, and Damien. They did this the first summer we got married (2007) and Adam loved it so much and so he was excited to finally do it again! Adam loves to ride dirt bikes. The first 3 years we were married, Adam got a new bike each summer! We had a great summer! I love the warm weather and will sure miss it when the snow comes.

 Sariah and Aurora fell asleep on the couches until 4PM the day they got home from Girl's Camp.

Yes, I love to make messes. I like to open cans with my teeth.

 I had to take a picture just to make sure it actually said "pass"

 Alexis's baby blessing

 This is what Shelby's hair looks like when Grandma Gay babysits

Fun little Home Depot apron from the craft station at Chubbock Days 

Crazy girl

Shelby is just getting SOOOO big. She is 10 months old now and getting into everything! She still loves to put everything in her mouth and tries to climb on everything. She loves to open up cabnets and take everything out of them. While taking each and every thing out of the cabnets, she has to put each thing in her mouth first. Just yesterday, she decided to take out the oatmeal box. Well with 6 teeth, she can get the oatmeal packets open and successfully opened 4 packs of brown sugar and maple oatmeal and happily got them all over the kitchen floor! I could have gotten upset but it was actually fun to watch her go crazy with it and try to eat the uncooked (probably didn't taste too good) oatmeal. The joys of being a parent. Then tonight, we go to dinner with Adam's parents and Adam's dad was setting ice on the table for Shelby to eat. Most people would just pick the ice up with their hands and then put it in their mouth, but not our little Shelby, She just tries to pick it up off the table with her mouth. I guess she figures it is a quicker way to get it in her mouth rather than putting it into her hands first?! But we are extremely blessed with what a good little girl Shelby is (I think so we will have another kid some day!). Shelby sleeps 12 hours at night without waking up and it is wonderful. I guess if I get my sleep, I can't ask for much else! I am loving not having to go to school and worry about papers, tests, presentations, etc. and just being able to spend time with Shelby. Shelby loves to play outside (whenever it's warm), go to the park and swing, take baths, help mommy with laundry, read books with mommy, eat, climb any stairs in sight, and loves to clap her hands!

 This was taken around Halloween when Shelby was 3 months. How could you not love that cat??

Graduation

Can I just say that I waited for this day for many, many, many years. Did I say years? I graduated with a Bachelors of Science, Nursing degree. It feels so great to have an education and to be able to be apart of a profession that saves peoples' lives. On Friday, May 6th our school had our pinning ceremony. A nurses' pin is a big deal for us! Even though I will probably never wear it, it is nice to have. Then May 7th was the actual graduation where I walked across the stage to receive my diploma cover. It was 3 hours long, which is really long to sit there and wait to get your 1 minute of fame. It was pretty cool that we had the Jakob Dillian guy from the Wallflowers band there to play us a song! But it was a great weekend. It was great to have Annette and George come out from Alabama to take apart of all of my gradation activities. Something funny from the weekend: During graduation, I was sitting down on the football field and I could hear Shelby crying all the way up in the bleachers. I was thinking, yep she got the Gunter genes crying and screaming that loud!! We only brought her to the graduation because our good friend Kim babysat for us during the pinning ceremony. I'm sure my mom is so proud that her daughter graduated nursing school just like she did. I have her picture from when she graduated from nursing school and I want to make a big picture of both of our graduation pictures together. It will be nice to move on to the next chapter of our lives, but it will be a huge change not going back to school in August because that is what I have always known my whole life. I would just like to give a huge thanks to Adam for all of his support and encouragement through this whole process. He was always there to encourage me even when I would drive him crazy worrying about tests and papers! He endured the great journey with me every step of the way, considering we met within my first month of my college career! crazy huh! He is the most wonderful husband and I am so lucky to have him. Also, thanks to my little Shelby for being such a great little girl and making it easy on her mom to finish school. Luckily, she only had 1 cold and that was the only time she got sick. She also slept all through the night the fall semester and only woke up once during the night while I was in my last semester. What a blessing! Thanks to all the other wonderful people in my life who helped me make it through school, I love you all. So Cheers to the next chapter in the Adam and Gayleen Sorensen Journal........

(about to walk across the stage to get my pin)

                                                                            getting my pin

                                              my wonderful, supportive, and good-looking husband

              Annette and George were so kind to come all the way from Alabama to be apart of my graduation

                                                                              Adam's mom

                                        Some of my good friends I went through nursing school with

Easter

I know it is a little late, but Shelby had her first Easter and it was great! We went to church and then had my cousin Tressa and her husband John and their two little girls, Shay and Roxy, over for lunch. We then took a much needed nap and then went to Blackfoot for dinner with Adam's family. Isn't Shelby just beautiful! We sure do love her!

Random things

Shelby hates to be strapped in to her car seat. This picture was taken while we were at Stake Conference. We had to leave the chapel and take Shelby to the Primary room where there wern't as many people because Shelby wanted to crawl around. Adam set her in the car seat to carry her to the primary room and this is how she was when we got there just a minute later. Yes she is wild and thinks her car seat is a play toy rather than a safety device!

Swimming at the Blackfoot pool with the Sorensens

This was taken at Crome-in-the-Dome at ISU. Adam had to get a picture of Shelby in front of the Shelby!!!

She says, "arn't I just so stinkin cute??"

little Miss Red Ridin Hood

Adam made this creative little "buggie" to have Shelby ride in as he took her around the house. All you need is an empty water case and a hanger! I love Adam and his creativity. He is such a great dad!

Any time the diaper bag is in site, Shelby loves to take out everything in it! And this little thing that she has is a medicine dropper bottle thing. Poor girl had a double ear infection and so she had to take antibiotics. You just put the medicine in the thing and they suck it out like they would a bottle. But rather than take medicine out of it, Shelby thought it was a play toy! But it was so cute when she actually did suck on it like a bottle!

Adam and I celebrated our 4th anniversary on April 10th. These are the beautiful flowers he got me! how sweet of him!

Shelby is all ready to spend her daddy's money. She got a hold of his walet and got his credit card!! She is ready to go with her slippers! The slippers came with the book Goodnight Moon. How cute!! Thanks Annette!

Shelby is in to everything! As you can see she has learned how to get things out of drawers. We are in serious trouble!!

Shelby passed out on the floor when Adam was watching her! how cute is this?

Shelby's first time on the grass! She was helping her mama rake sticks and leaves. I thought she would stay on the blanket but she didn't! She is one adventurous girl.