Valentines Day Delay...

I need to reset everyone's expectations and make this a monthly blog instead of a weekly thing...that way you will be excited to see one if I get them done more frequently.

Things are great and the family is happy. Tinsley is incredible. She gets bigger and bigger but the thing that amazes us the most is her attitude. She's the most smiling baby I think anyone has seen. All you have to do is make eye contact with her and she gets a huge grin and follows it but an excited snort. It's awesome. I'm really starting to connect with her and be at a point where I can hang out with her and she doesn't have to be next to Anne all the time. This week I bathed her for the first time which was a real treat. I forgot how easy it is to bath the little ones...when they cant squirm and talk back to you! I gave her a bottle and read her to bed. She just looks up at you when you set her in her crib and gives you the happiest little grin as if there's no place in the world she'd rather be than looking at you and going to sleep. Last night (Valentines Night) she woke up crying...which NEVER happens. Anne let me go up and get her out of the crib and give her a bottle and put her back to sleep. It was probably the greatest moment I've had with Tin yet. I really felt like a Dad. It was about 11:00 and I was rocking her and whispering to her about all the wonderful things we have ahead of us together and giving her a bottle. She stopped sucking and I just held her against my chest with her head resting on my shoulder. I was just laughing to myself thinking "I really feel like a Dad today", rocking my little girl to sleep on a Saturday night. It was probably my favorite Valentines Day moment.

Today was a big day for Tinsley. She got her first "real" food. Rice cereal. Anne decided since she's woken up in the middle of the night for 2 consecutive nights that maybe it was that she was hungry. So today started a new page in Tinsley's life. She seemed a bit confused as to how the whole process worked but Anne managed to get a healthy portion of food in her and she's been sawing logs all night long. Anne really knows how to take care of these girls. I couldn't imagine doing it without her!

Tatum is starting to exhibit some of her wonderful 2 year old antics. She jumps and pouts and says "no" a lot and has her list of demands. I creator at everything she says but her Mama doesn't play by those rules. it's funny to watch the two of them negotiate through something...because pretty much neither one of them plans on budging. Anne's great about diverting Tatum's attention to something else but Tatum has the memory of an elephant and seldom lets an issue go without coming back to her main point. Especially when it comes to "chokit" (chocolate). She has a sweet tooth as big as mine. I'm glad Anne watches a little more carefully and keeps her away from it more than I do. I just want to keep buying it for her and letting her enjoy it, though I know it's not a good habit.

I've got a lot more I need to write but it would be too much for one sitting. Here's some pics to bring you up to speed...

A cute profile of Tinsley

Tatum and I made some "chokit" brownies together. She got to lick the bowl...of course.

I'm holding on to this until her wedding day. She found some mesh sack and put it over her head like a veil.

First haircut! Kodak moment! Anne found the greatest place called something like Pigtails and Crewcuts or something. The kids all sit in these model cars or airplanes while they get a trim. Tatum threw a fit at first and I thought we were in for a mess. The stylist said "just wait" and offered Tots a lollipop. She didn't make another sound...she just sat and enjoyed her lollipop. Her hair looked so cute when we left the place...all styled and a little bit of curl in the back.

My 2nd day out with both girls by myself. A few weeks ago I took both of them to the trail and walked 3 miles. Today I took them both to a Valentines Day Party with my ACDC (Austin Cool Dads Club) group. We had a great time and most importantly survived. I love that in this picture Tatum is taking about 7 diapers with her...in case Daddy needs a few extras I suppose!?

Tinsley all decked out for Valentines Day.

Tatum dressed for her Valentines Day party at school. At her party she got a "Bettyboon" (Balloon)...I got it on video when she says it. It's so sweet.

Finally a picture of me smiling with Tinsley! I can't remember what the occasion was here but I'm sure it was an important moment. Every picture I get with TinTin isn't good of me. I'm glad to finally get a good one.

Anne's Grandfather turned 90 last weekend and came to Austin along with all the rest of the family. This is him with all his great-grandchildren. Pretty cool. Tatum's in the middle and Tinsley is in G-Paw's lap on the left.

Anne and Tinsley at Horseshoe Bay getting ready for Sunday brunch.

Tatum discovered fishing! Uncle J. put a pole in her hand and very patiently threw the line out time and time again for her and Natalie. Nobody caught a fish but they sure had a good time. Nettie is excited to see that Tatum took to the fishing pole.

Every now and then a picture really freaks me out because it looks like a picture of me when I was little. This is one of them. She had a great time riding around her little pink car at Pippy and Poppy's house.

I asked her to smile and this is what I got...

A sad week around the Shfilet house. I sold my Ferrari and my truck. We're thinning out what we can so we can make it through what may be some lean months ahead...I really hate selling both of these cars but I feel better knowing we don't have to worry about them. a tear...

You must admit...this truck is a bit too bad ass for me. It made me feel pretty cool though.

Tatum hanging out with one of her BFF's, Gyllian. Gyl is amazing with the girls...we all wish she'd move in with us!

I love this pic too! She looks kind of helpless climbing up the ladder...like there's a whole world to explore and she's going to do it.

I love how she looks like such a carefree little thing here just swinging and enjoying the day.

I'm not sure if she was offering to share her cupcake with me or was asking me to take the paper wrapper off. I'm guessing the later of the 2.

Check this picture out. Those pig tails in the air say it all don't they. Tatum LOVES the bounce houses.

This was a fun moment. Tatum just snuggled up to Tinsley and let me snap away. They were both so calm and happy and I got some great shots of them together.

She loves her Bumbo. She's developing such a strong back and really getting good at sitting up and holding that head up...she's been doing that a while now.

Tatum pulled a flower out of an arrangement I bought. She wanted to give a flower to Mommy. She's a thoughtful little girl.

My Dad is really starting to go crazy for the grandkids. It's so fun to see him interact with the girls. He's a softy and I think is going to be a total pushover....awesome! I'm teaching Tatum to say "m-e-r-c-e-d-e-s." We'll see how much we can get away with. Can you say "college?" He's painting Tatum's fingernails in this picture. Mom said Dad was always good with fingernails because he has hands used to drawing and working with little architecture tools. He did a great job...so Tatum said anyway. I think Anne was glad to have someone help with her maintenance schedule.

Anne pretty much takes a picture of Tinsley every say. She's always making funny crazy faces.

This would be me falling asleep on the job. You can see Tinsley is quite concerned by the fact that I'm not more alert when I'm watching her!

Anne took this picture and I just like it for some reason. Looks like Tatums saying "What's have I got myself in to!?"

Blog Humbug

I've been so buried from the holidays and recovering from everything I've fallen behind. So much to bring you up to speed on.

Christmas was everything I could have asked for. I told you before that I grew up with big Christmases and always liked to see a living room full of goodies. With buying for 16 close relatives it doesn't take much to fill a room. We had a great Christmas Eve starting at Riverbend for a little Christmas Service and some holiday songs, followed by a great dinner at J. and Katy's house and trading some gifts there. I closed the night be reading Twas the Night Before Christmas to the girls. Granted they are both young to understand it, it still means so much to me to read it to them. Tatum sat in my lap and seemed to soak in the whole story but she still doesn't "get" Santa so maybe next year we'll get the full effect. Christmas morning we had a house full of family and really had a good time. Tatum kept saying "I want to see Santa" for several days afterwards. I explained to her that Santa went home to the North Pole and even showed her on the globe where he lives but I'm not sure she's going to understand waiting an entire year for him to come again.

I was so excited about finding this doll house for Tots.  She hasn't really got in to it yet, maybe I was a little early on giving it to her.  

Tinsley Taking a Snooze on PawPaw

Nettie bought Tatum some dress up clothes for Christmas

Anne's birthday was 2 days later and was another great day. Her family came over and made a great brunch and we spent the afternoon all playing together and laughing. That night we rounded up about 20 friends for dinner at Perry's, a new steakhouse in town. It was pretty good...and the atmosphere was awesome. if you haven't been there, give it a try.

New Years we had our annual party and was a great success. I was scared to death because I heard several hundred people were coming...and we bought enough alcohol to serve a small country. Luckily it was more tame than I was prepared for and we had close to 200 people...most good friends. The next day was the Polar Bear Pool Plunge where we jumped in the pool which was 55 degrees. It was a great way to sober up after a hard night. it sounds terrible but it's actually not all that bad. it's always something fun to do on New Years Day.

So we can look back in 20 years and see how we've aged...

If you missed it, hopefully you can tell it was a good time...

Some of the Polar Bear Pool Plunge Participants...

Anne wondering why she's just taken that step!

My idol.  Ben Goodwin goes for the classic cannonball.

Bryan Roquemore belly flops it.  Zing....

Peter Erdell also goes for the cannonball

Proof that Jordan Jaffe really is Jesus.  The man walks on water.  Wait...aren't you Jewish?  I"m completely confused.

This expression captures just how cold it is.

Check out the Versace speedo!  Last call $700 marked down to $30.  What a buy.  Save the comments...it was a joke for Christ's sake.  And yes, I know I'm fat.

All the 2009 Polar Bear Plunge Club...warming up in the hot tub.  Bubba, Jordan, Wiggins, Peter, Bryan, Ben, Ted and Anne.  Cord taking the picture...as always.

That will at least bring you up to speed on the activities since my going to jail. The girls are doing great..and so is Annie. Tinsley gets sweeter by the day it seems. All that little angel knows to do is smile, giggle, gurgle and talk a little when it's time to eat. Our friends hate us because we have the coolest schedule with the girls. Tinsley is now hitting the sack between 7:30 and 8:00 and wakes up around 7 the next morning, feeds for 20 or 30 mins and goes back to sleep for an hour or two. Tatum goes to bed between 8:00 and 8:30 and we have to shake the crib to get her up at 9am the next next morning. We really are blessed and after the stories we hear, we are really really thankful!

Tatum seems to be learning new phrases and words every day. My favorite story of her is about "nuggets." I get yelled at by Anne because when Tatum toots I ask her if she's "making nuggets" and I check her pants to see if she pooped. She kind of giggles and laughs and says "yea, makin' nuggets." Well recently she's found her sweet tooth and always asks for "chalk-it" (chocolate) after dinner. I unwrapped some little chocolate treat and as I was handing it to her I said "oooh...it looks like a little nugget." Tatum stopped all thoughts and just looked at me with horribly confused eyes and said "dat's gross." Anne and I couldn't talk we were both laughing so hard. We've never heard her say the word "gross" but the expression on her face was like "what's what with you, asshole. Why in the would would you compare those 2 things and ruin my dessert?" It was great.

Another fun thing Tatum has started doing is "I run." I'm not sure what prompted it but one day she wasn't eating her beans and she was walking around the kitchen. I convinced her that it was cool to run a little "lap" from out kitchen to the dining room, to the entry and back by the breakfast table. Every time she'd pass me at the table I'd give her a green bean. I called it the "bean run." Well the next night it was potatoes and she did the Tater Trot. Then it was Berries and we did the Berry Blitz and tonight it was carrots and we did the carrot cruise. Every night as she's winding down towards her last bites she says "I run" and wants to do her little jig. It's so funny to watch...she laughs and screams as she slaps her heavy feet on the wood floors rounding the corners. We do our best to get her to swallow her food before she darts off....we don't want her to choke on her run. If she has eating disorders someday it'll probably relate back to the fact that we had her exercising as she was eating.

I love this picture.  Tatum looks like a drummer from the 80's and Tinsley is like "wtf am I doing here?"

Kisses for TinTin

Tatum pushed me away and said "No Daddy!  My TinTin."  

Tinsley is really starting to get fun for me. She's the sweetest girl you could ask for. We thought nobody could be as good and sweet as Tatum but Tinsley is in a league of her own so far. Her expressions are really starting to come out and she's just bursting with enthusiasm. Over the last week she's really responding to me and my voice and makes these shy little smiles at me. We gurgle back and forth and share very deep thoughts with every bubble in our throat. Her head is so strong...it seems like she could hold it up all day. The past few days she and I have sat in our media room while family photos are on the screen. I've got some good sappy lullaby music set to the slide show and I sing to her while it's playing. One day I had my camera recording it and after I listened to it I immediately erased it for fear someone might hear what I sounded like. Yikes! Whenever Anne or I sing to Tatum she'll say "NO Daddy!" or "NO Mommy!" Apparently she knows how bad we are. Tinsley however thinks I have the voice of a symphony...either that or she's laughing at how bad I am. She just sits there smiling and talking. It warms my heart a little. Her favorite song is a Dixie Chick Lullaby...Godspeed. Tatum's Favorite Song is "Ella"....Rianna's Umbrella...she likes the part where she says "ella, ella, ella...." and her and Anne really belt it out in the car apparently. I haven't seen it but I'd love to.

The always happy little girl.

Tatum loves giving TinTin kisses and hugs.  

Check this out.  Is this girl too cool for school or what?  On her way to Buh-lay (Ballet)

Tatum paying tribute to her favorite babysitter Joni.  

Tatum at The Hoppin' House.  If you have kids and haven't been...GO!  It is so much fun.  $5 for as much fun as you can handle.

Well...enough catching up for now. Happy New Year to all of you. I hope our happiness and health continue.