Shutterfly Christmas Cards!

Ok, I know what you are thinking.... it's not even Halloween yet and this girl is posting about Christmas already? Well, it certainly isn't too early to book your favorite photographer for this year's family Christmas photos so it shouldn't be too soon to pick out your favorite Christmas card. I think it is actually a great idea to pick out the best card first and then coordinate location and outfits to match!

Shutterfly has beautiful high-quality photo Christmas cards this year. Here are some of my favorites from the 2012 Holiday Collection!

Aren't these so cute?! Shutterfly would like for me to also mention they have several other products you should check out including photo books, calendars and canvas prints. Check out their special offers page where you can save up to 40% on photo books and score free shipping on orders $30+!

Shutterfly has also given me the opportunity to offer a giveaway!! (I have always wanted to do that) If you would like to receive a promo code for $50 off your total order then leave a comment with the name of your favorite Christmas card from Shutterfly. A winner will be chosen by Oct 29th. Please note offer does not include shipping & cannot be combined with any other promos. Good Luck!!

Much Needed Update

Well, when people said that life gets much busier once you have a kid they certainly weren't kidding! Little did I realize that blogging would get shoved to the bottom of the "to do" list. Even jewelry making got pushed aside. But let me tell you it's been so worth it! Rider has been such a joy to us over the past 9 months. (can you believe it's been 9 months?!) Time flies when you are having fun! Even in the really hard times it is hard to remember what life was like without our little angel.

So where to begin.....

I was fortunate to get 12 weeks maternity leave and I sure enjoyed all that time with Rider. It was a blur of trying to figure out an eating and sleeping schedule, changing a thousand diapers a day and being amazed at how active Rider could be. Events such as just leaving the house seemed like such an ordeal. It has been fun seeing his personality develop and the wonder and excitement he has for life.

Then throw building a house into the mix! Yep, we decided to move closer to family. And by closer I mean moving in with the In-laws! All before I went back to work we sold our townhouse, moved in with Justin's parents and started building a house in the same neighborhood where they live. Our house should be done mid December. It actually couldn't have all happened at a better time. See, my wonderful mother-in-law keeps Rider while I work so I don't even have to drop him off or pick him up from anywhere. How convenient is that? It made the transition of going back to work so much easier for me. Now I'm afraid I am spoiled with all the help I have at home and will have to adjust again when moving out.

Here is a month-by-month update of what Rider has been up to:

1-2 Months Old
6 lb 8 oz - 9lb 1 oz
Now in newborn size diapers
Went to church for the first time and out to Guatalejara
Slept 6 hours straight
Rolled from tummy to back
First smiled at Mommy



















2-3 Months Old
9 lb 4oz - 11lb 1 oz
In size 1 diapers
Had lots of poop explosions
Rolling from tummy to back well
Sleeping 7-8 hours at night
Went to a wedding near Corpus Christi



















3-4 Months Old
11-12 lbs
Mommy went back to work
Moved in with Mimi & Pawpaw
Got a bad rash - diagnosed with Infantigo
Slept 11.5 hours one night
First trip to the lake house
Grabbing at objects
Discovered hands and feet















4-5 Months Old
12 lbs - 13 lb 6 oz
Likes to squeal, drools a lot, chews on hands
Addicted to pacifier
First deep belly laugh
Rolls from back to tummy
2 more trips to the Lake


5-6 Months Old
In size 2 diapers
Visited Grandmommy & Granddaddy in Round Rock
and went to Mommy's 10 yr high school reunion
Can sit with assistance
Coughs for attention
Sticks out tongue when smiling


6-7 Months Old
14 lb 12 oz
Started eating rice cereal, oatmeal, peas, carrots, squash, green beans
Likes food and eats well
Fell off bed and went to E.R.
Makes spitting noises
Learned how to sit up
Army crawls





















7-8 Months Old
Drinking water from a sippy cup
Can get from sitting position to crawling position and back to sitting
In size 3 diapers
Started saying Da-da


8-9 Months Old
Pulling up
Says ma-ma
Can feed self puffs, mum-mums and little crunchies
Dressed as a monkey for Halloween
Can walk down the length of the coffee table
Learned to drink from a straw




























9 Months Old
First bottom tooth poking through
Can walk behind walking toy

Hopefully there will be more updates soon!

Introducing Rider Eli

Rider Eli Sheffield

Feb 15th, 2011

6:58am

4lb 5oz 17in

(at 2 weeks old)

The Birth Story

Rider was born about 5 weeks early. I had been measuring small for a while but at 32 weeks pregnant I started measuring several weeks too small so the Dr ordered an ultrasound. Baby was 31st percentile for weight and amniotic fluid was a little low at 9 (Dr wanted it higher than 10). Not too bad but Dr. wanted to keep monitoring me so I had another ultrasound 2 weeks later at 34 weeks. Baby was now 9th percentile for weight and amniotic fluid dropped to 7. Dr. was now getting concerned and ordered a higher level ultrasound 2 days later along with an S/D ratio. Baby lost weight and was now in the 5th percentile, amniotic fluid now 6 and the S/D ratio was elevated indicating Intrauterine Growth Retardation due to an insufficient placenta. Dr told me to pack a bag and check into the hospital for 24hr IV fluids to try to get the amniotic fluid up. At this point he told me there was a 50% chance that he would induce me the following week! I was freaking out! We weren't ready to have a baby yet, we didn't even have a car seat yet! Dr. assured me that everything would be fine and we would have plenty of time to purchase the things that we need because the baby would be in the NICU for a week or two. Wait - what?! It was a lot to process. I prayed in the car on the way home that if Rider needs to come early that He would give me peace about it and that I would trust in His perfect timing.

I spent Thursday night in the hospital on IV fluids and continuous monitoring and had an ultrasound Friday morning fully expecting to be discharged that afternoon. I was really wanting to be at home over the weekend to finish getting the nursery ready, purchase last minute items and get a million other things done. Baby's heart rate was fine but fluid was still at a 6 and S/D ratio had increased. Dr. wanted me to stay in the hospital through the weekend for fetal monitoring and would induce on Monday. Wow, I was really nervous but super excited about seeing my baby at this same time. I sent Justin to the house to grab extra clothes, the baby book and all that stuff you are supposed to pack for delivery. I also sent him to Babies 'R' Us to to buy a car seat, breast pump, breast pads, etc... haha can you imagine him wandering around the store picking that stuff out? :) I have to tell you that my husband was a wonderful encouragement through all of this. He would pray with me when I felt really anxious and he stayed the night with me on the pullout sofa the entire week I was in the hospital. I am so thankful for him.

The weekend seemed to drag on forever in the anticipation of induction on Monday. I tried to at least taste the hospital food tray at each meal so that I could tell my patients that yes, I have tasted this food that they complain about and perhaps make some suggestions on what they should order.

Pitocin was started Monday morning and I wondered if I might have a Valentine's Day baby. Not even close. Pitocin ended up being turned off at 4pm due to a few dips in the baby's heart rate. I was having contractions but they weren't painful. I was 1 cm dilated and 70% effaced. At 8pm that evening, Dr. gave me Cervadil to soften the cervix and told me we would restart Pitocin in the morning. Dr ordered me an Ambien and encouraged me to take it to ensure a good night of sleep before laboring in the morning. Taking it ended up not being the best idea but I things happen for a reason.

In the middle of the night I started having contractions that were getting more and more painful and I was feeling nauseated. I don't remember many events that happened throughout the night due to being sleepy and loopy from taking Ambien and pain meds. The following details were told to me by the nurse later. Apparently the nurse checked me a few time during the night and I only remember being checked once! Around 5am I finally asked for something for pain. I was only dilated 2 cm so my Dr went back to sleep after the nurse called him for an order. My water broke 30 minutes later. I remember feeling that I needed to pee really bad (I guess that was the baby descending) and the next thing I remember is the nurse telling me that I was completely dilated! This was at 6:09 - I went from 2cm to 10cm in about an hour! She thought she hadn't checked me right and had the charge nurse on duty check me to make sure! No time for an epidural and I started pushing as soon as the Dr got there. Now at this time I was extremely tired from all the drugs in me and was sleeping between pushes! On the positive side, I don't remember being in much pain and I think the drugs relaxed me causing my labor to accelerate. I pushed for about 30 mins and Dr threatened me with an episiotomy if I didn't push hard enough. Fortunately I didn't need one.

Rider Eli was born at 6:58am. I got to see him for a brief moment before he was whisked away to the NICU. He had to be under the oxygen hood and was in the NICU for 9 days before we brought him home. The week he was in the hospital was a whirlwind of running errands, getting the house ready for his homecoming, pumping breast milk and visits to the NICU. Even though the sleepless nights were hard after he came home it felt nice to stay home and not have to always be on the go. The last 6 weeks since I was admitted to the hospital have flown by and Rider has already grown and changed so much! We praise God that he is so healthy and we look forward to watching him grown up! Thank you so much for your many prayers and words of encouragement. This has been such an exciting time in our lives.

3 weeks old

4 weeks old

Oh how I love baby showers!

Especially when you are the one receiving the gifts am I right? :)

Sorry I have been so behind on blogging! Things have been hectic around here... I want to start with Rider's birth story but I feel I need to be chronological so this post will be about my baby showers and pics of the nursery. My next post will be the birth story so stay tuned!

My sister Emily and best friend Kendall threw me a baby shower on January 22nd and boy did they go all out on this one! Thanks for all your hard work toward making the shower such a special memory for me! Kendall made the super cute diaper cake. Guests played "baby gift bingo" as I opened gifts and guessed Justin's reaction to our pregnancy experience in the "don't forget daddy" game.Emily made this "family tree" by hanging baby pictures of Justin and I from the branches. What an awesome idea!Isn't the cake so cute!? It matches Rider's puppy dog themed nursery!Michelle, Emily, Lexi, Brittany and AndreaBelly Pic! It's getting a little difficult for Kendall and I to hug!The loot! I'd say we made out pretty good!

32 weeks pregnant
I also had a baby shower on January 29th thrown by friends of my mother-in-law, Prissy. It was also a very nice shower and greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, I don't have any digital pics of this shower :(

Rider's nursery is all decked out in puppy dogs! I am so pleased with how it turned out. And I love how so many people went along with the puppy theme and gave puppy related clothes, blankets and toys.

Eat This, Not That

Of course eating fast food is usually not the healthiest option, but some menu items are better for you than others (or at least the lesser of two evils). Here is a fun game all about fast food choices from the Men's Health website.

Click HERE to play the "Eat This, Not That" game. You will go through a breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drink/snack portion where you try to guess which menu item is the healthier of the two choices.

Post what your score was. Was there anything that surprised you? Good luck!

$25 Shutterfly Gift Certificate

If you have recently created a project on Shutterfly.com you can post the project on your blog to receive a discount code for $25 off your next order! I received one a discount code for the Christmas card I posted and used it on thank you cards. I'll be getting another from posting the thank you card to use on more thank you cards! Exp Jan 31st. Use code SHIPCARDS for free shipping.

1. Login to Shutterfly

2. Click on “My Shutterfly” in the top menu

3. Click on “View all projects” under “My Projects”

4. Select a photo card project by clicking on the circle above the project title that you want to share

5. Click on “Share Project” in the righthand menu

6. Type in “Title” and “Description” for your project (does not get included if you just embed the widget code)

7. Go to the “Next” step

8. Now you’ll see all the details of this promo, including the email address to send your blog post link to in order to get your $25 gift certificate.

9. Pick your embed method: Blogger or Widget Code (I got the widget code to use on my WordPress blog)

10. Don’t forget to email Shutterfly after you post your project! shareproject@shutterfly.com

Rider Thank You Card

Sweet Boy Thank You Card

Click here to browse hundreds of thank you card designs.

View the entire collection of cards.