Memorial Day Photos

We had a very busy Memorial Day. We attended the parade downtown, stopped at my friend Crystal's so she and her friends could see the kids, and made our way to the cookout at the Boldens. As you can see Diana and Madison had a blast playing in the "kid-friendly" cupboard and Davis loved posing with the ladies. Thanks to the Boldens for cooking all the fabulous food!!

Memorial Day Parade 2008

Every year we attend the Memorial Day Parade to see Michael's sister Gwen.  Gwen is a Major in the Airforce and we are so proud of her service for our country.  Between Gwen and her father Samuel they have served in 7 wars.   I was looking back on the pictures from last years parade and decided to post them to show how much the kids have grown.  I know I'm way too sentimental but Diana was just such a beautiful baby.  She was 3.5 months old in these photos.  Davis my little man was 19 months.  Where have his cheeks gone?

Memorial Day Parade 2009

Here are the photos from the parade this year. The kids were both ecstatic to see Gwen in the parade. This year she could wave and yell because she wasn't in uniform. You could hear "Davis" and "baby girl" loud and clear!!  

Mya's Birthday Party!

We had two "two-year old" birthday parties last Saturday at Family Funland and Monkey Joes. The kids partied from 1pm - 6:30pm with no nap and did pretty well. Davis & Diana were happy to see some of their friends from Miss Tasha's and had tons of pizza and cake. We got home and they both passed out!!

Mya, the beautiful birthday girl. Mya is such a cutie and she is bilingual. It's fun to hear her talk with her Dad.



Photo#2: Diana eating her pizza with the big kids.



Photo#3: Davis trying to shake Monkey Joe's hand.



Photo#4: Diana wasn't afraid of the big bouncy house. She wasn't old enough to go in but she was determined to play with the big kids. If Davis can do it, Diana can too : -)



Photo#5: Mr. Davis enjoying himself to the fullest.

CJ's Birthday Party!

Here are photos of CJ's birthday party at Funland.

Davis thought he could help blow out the candles. He now makes "birthday cakes" out of whatever he eats at home and blows out a "pretend candle" before nearly every meal.


Diana making her way through the ropes course.


Elmo birthday cake which was actually cupcakes. We really loved this cake!


Diana with CJ's mom Angie. I think Diana could pass for being Angie's. This is such a cute photo.



The boys playing Guitar Hero. Daddy played too. He is still trying to persuade me to buy Rockband. Thanks Sherman : -)

Spelling words!

Davis loves to line up his letters and try to make words. He yelled "Mommy I make word, I make hot". I walked in and here's what I saw lined along the window. Funny this was probably one of the first words he learned how to say too. He showcased his word by telling me "look Mommy - Haaa Ahhhh Taaaaa". After that it was back to being rough with his motorcycle and car toys. One word and he was on to more exciting boy things.

The ZOO Train

Diana had her first ride on the zoo train last week. She held her hands over her face and kept saying "oh" and "wow" for the entire ride. Davis kept telling her "be careful Dia". Makai and Charlene came with us & Makai had his first ride on the zoo train too. I couldn't help but look at the first picture of Davis and think how big he is getting. He is 2.5 but is starting to look much older than that to me. He was so excited to go to the zoo and wear his dinosaur shirt. He was on the lookout for dinos all day.
Davis kept asking when the animals were going to get on the train with us. I'm sure this has something to do with that. He & Diana sing this all the time.....

Potty training update

Davis went both #1 and #2 yesterday on his own. He told me he was going to the bathroom, did his business and then came and got me to show me his work : -) This is a big improvement from telling me he wants to wear diapers like his sister so hopefully this continues. I asked him after dinner if he wanted to go again and he said "no mommy I have my diaper" I yi yi!

I caught up on posting last night so make sure to scroll down for the Danny Gokey day montage!

Michael's 28th Birthday!

Michael celebrated his birthday this week so we met him for lunch at Olive Garden to celebrate. Davis &  I made Daddy a cake for when he got home. Davis sang a great rendition of Happy Birthday and helped Daddy blow out his candles. You will see in the photo that Diana wasn't so happy that she didn't get to help too. She was happy again once she got her cake. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!!! I can only imagine what you will have accomplished by 40!! Can't wait : -)

Our trip to see GRANDPA BEAR

We went to see Michael's dad "Grandpa Bear" who lives just outside of St. Louis this past weekend. Michael's sisters Gwen and Virda made the trip too. Grandpa Samuel had not seen Diana since she was 1 month old so he was amazed to see her walking and running around. As you can see the kids are in love with him : -) WE HOPE YOU ARE FEELING BETTER SOON GRANDPA BEAR!!!

Davis decided to use Grandpa's cane as a microphone to show everyone some "Danny Gokey" moves:

Precious Moments

I love these moments as every Mom does and as the kids get older it is rare for them to fall asleep on me. I'm usually the one behind the camera so I appreciate Michael capturing these moments. And oh yes my hair is usually that messy by the end of everyday. My kids love to brush, pull, fix and as Davis says "play with mommy hair". Mom (Grammy) you will know what I mean by this...I am so glad they don't "twirl" the hair : -)

MY MOTHERS DAY AWARD

I made a comment to Michael that although I love being home with the kids I do miss the "recognition" that comes along with working outside of the home. Michael receives numerous rankings & awards and participates in many competitions at work so I thought I should have an award too. I figured he wasn't even listening to me as I was going on about how moms aren't recognized as we should be. I was very surprised on Mother's Day to have my very own plaque with certificate hanging up in the living room . I was so proud that he came up with this idea himself. I told him next year we can sell these (haha:-)




The award states:
This certifies that Melissa A. Sheppard through the hardest work, selfless commitment, endless time, compassionate giving, patience in teaching, "cinderellanes" in cleaning, & authority in discipline has done more than required to be unanimously selected MOTHER OF THE YEAR.

Your job is worth so much to us. While words cannot describe your value, we hope this award signifies our appreciation. You are truly an example of what it takes to be an exceptional mother.

Recipients of your blessings: Michael, Davis & Diana

DANNY GOKEY DAY!

Danny Gokey Day in Milwauke was awesome! I drove past the AT&T store where he was making an appearance in the morning and decided I would stop with the kids. I didn't plan very well so I didn't have the stroller. 2 year old plus 1 year old plus 1 parent and no stroller in a crowded place = mass chaos!! I kept saying I hope I run into someone I know and crazy enough an old high school friend and her husband were parked right next to me. I haven't seen Kristy in years but was glad she and Matt were there to help me out with the kids. Later in the afternoon we met Daddy downtown and headed over to the Summerfest Grounds for the FREE Danny Gokey concert. Davis was screaming and clapping at the top of his lungs. It was a great experience! We are sad Danny didn't win Idol but hope he still makes an album for us to buy : -) Check out Danny's foundation he started in honor of his wife: http://www.sophiasheart.org/ Also make sure to click the "HQ" button when you watch the video.

Thank you Chuka & Heather!

Thank you Chuka for watching Davis while Diana & I were at the Bridal Shop with Heather. There aren't too many guys out there that aren't afraid of a potential dirty diaper and a two year old at that. Thank you so much for being so good to Davis - it is much appreciated.




Thank you Heather for stopping to visit the kids before taking Mommy out for a much needed margarita. Davis and Diana were mesmerized by your dance moves and Davis has been talking about you ever since you left. It was a fun night!

New posts...I'm behind!!

Whew!!  So I did 8 new posts tonight - I am a little behind.  We still have to post about Danny Gokey day so stay tuned for more details....we can't wait for Idol tomorrow night!  Vote for Danny!!!!!!

Diana's first time at a Bridal Shop

Diana and I went to meet my friend Heather last week and got a "sneak peak" of her wedding dress at her fitting. We were careful not to show any pictures of Heather! Diana got to go without Davis which is always special for her. Here she is posing and checking out some photos of very pretty dresses.



Here is Diana checking the calendar of the woman who was fitting Heather. She enjoyed flipping through the pages.



Checking out some very gorgeous shoes...


Look at my ruler! I can help measure too!



Checking out the dressing rooms....