The Adventures of the Shuff Family

Birthday Guests

2009-12-13T14:57:00.000-05:00

We loved celebrating Abigail's birthday with her
Nene & Dadoo!

Happy Birthday to You

2009-12-13T14:26:00.002-05:00

The Happy Birthday song is now one of Abigail's favorites....

TWO!

2009-11-12T14:33:00.000-05:00

To celebrate, we spent the morning at her favorite place!

Blue Eyes

2009-11-11T15:02:00.000-05:00

A Morning with Friends.

2009-11-08T21:39:00.000-05:00

Just Pics

2009-10-18T13:42:00.000-05:00

2 Months

2009-10-17T20:07:00.001-05:00

Wow, we have really been in a whirlwind of activity lately and
it seems I've lost my interest in updating people on our life
via technology! But here it goes...

Since our vacation to Seattle, Craig's been to Boston to participate
in a wedding, sadly we made an unexpected trip home for the
funeral of Craig's grandfather, Craig had an unexpected
opportunity to spend a week in Germany, while Abigail and I
took advantage of the chance to spend time with family in
both KY & TN, we also spent some time in Cocoa with family,
then had a young adult retreat in Ft. Meyers beach and recently
spent a couple more days in Cocoa for some R&R.

Abigail is talking, talking, talking. She's making progress on
saying her A,B,Cs and loves to sing songs. She can tell us who
all her friends are and also says her own name (first & last).
Last month she made the transition to a toddler bed. She's
a delight. I'll try to post more pics soon :)

SEATTLE

2009-08-02T14:19:00.001-05:00

To celebrate our 5th Wedding Anniversary Craig surprised
me with a trip to Seattle. We got to stay with a dear friend of mine
and her precious family for the week. They were our
gracious tour guides. We went to beaches, the mountains,
the big city, some very small cities, a children's museum,
the zoo, up in the Space Needle, to a Mariners game, on
an battle ship and watched some beautiful sunsets. And
all along the way getting to spend it with great friends
and family! It was lovely. Hopefully I'll get more pics
up on Facebook soon.

Abigail listening to her favorite music CD on the
plane. She did amazing considering is was 12 hours
of travel to get there and a three our time change:)

At Hurricane Hill for lunch with our friends.

Touring the USS Turner Joy.

The Pike Place Market.

CUTE.

2009-07-17T13:08:00.000-05:00

New Favorite

2009-06-29T20:42:00.002-05:00

Love this pic & this new dress! Busy month again....VBS, Craig
gone to the SBC, our 5th Anniversary Friday, Craig's Birthday
today, hosting a ladies Sunday School Social tomorrow, and a
going away party Wednesday. Rainy season continues and
we're ready for it to get back to "sun showers." Some cute,
recent Abigail sayings: "hi meow" (greeting her WebKinz cat),
"HIDO" (a new game where we peek at each other behind the
dresser and say hello), "mommy & daddy" (emphasis on the E...
before today we were just mama & dada).

Pig Tails

2009-06-13T18:43:00.000-05:00

Last month was very busy! Visits from family, birthday parties,
wedding shower, baby shower, etc. etc. This month began with a
rush as well, as we had our VBS last week. It was exhaustingly
fun and a great reminder of how God is at work all around us.
For the picnic with all the VBS families last night, I put pig-tails
on Abigail for the first time in quite a while. It makes her look
so much older but was very cute! And most hard to believe, she
actually managed to keep them in almost the whole night. The
second picture is Abby PRAYING with her Fisher Price Little People.
I'm not exactly sure what prompted that, but it is was sooo cute
and I was glad I had my camera :)

Yesterdays Favorites!

2009-05-10T20:34:00.000-05:00

Visit From Steph & Eric

2009-05-10T20:32:00.000-05:00

Craig's brother & sister got to visit last week. We had such a
good time with Stephy & Erc :)

Derby Hat

2009-05-10T20:10:00.000-05:00

Abigail modeling my Derby hat while we watched
the Kentucky Derby last week...

Because She Is SO Cute!

2009-04-28T20:40:00.000-05:00

More Family Time

2009-04-28T20:32:00.000-05:00

Family visits have been coming frequently and we LOVE it!
Mom and Sharon were in town this weekend. They spoiled us
all. We spent time on the beach, at the park, the mall, Flamingo
Gardens. Abigail loved having attention all the time and
learned lots of new words...I think "chips" is her favorite.

The Ritz

2009-04-28T20:26:00.000-05:00

My mom and a family friend were in town this weekend. They
sent Craig and I away for a night on the town. We had dinner
practically on the beach and breakfast overlooking the ocean
and inter-coastal waterway. It was lovely.

Flamingo Gardens

2009-04-21T10:43:00.000-05:00

We found a botanical garden near our home . It's a nice little escape
from concrete. There's some pics below. Abigail's vocabulary has
taken major jump. Just yesterday, she said FOUR new words....
bubble, onion, dinner & home.

Easter Dress

2009-04-12T14:00:00.000-05:00

Family in Town

2009-04-12T13:58:00.000-05:00

A week ago my sister and niece got to come visit
for a few days! We are excited that we have had
and will have lots of family visits over the first
half of the year. Abigail still keeps pointing to
pictures of her Bri & AA.

Funny Days

2009-03-26T10:44:00.001-05:00

Abigail's personality continues to come alive! She loves
to give high fives right now....if you offer it, she can't
resist it. She has also learned her first multi-word
sentance - "there she is." Though it comes out more
like one word missing a few letters :) Every morning
she finds our shoes and brings them to us and insists
on handing them to us whether we're ready for them
or not. She's getting pretty good at animal sounds too.
Her sweet, quick, girly "meow, meow," is my favorite.

Recent Favorites

2009-03-10T13:57:00.000-05:00

Let's Go Fly A Kite

2009-02-15T21:56:00.000-05:00

We found a new park to play at this week. So Daddy gave Abigail
her first kite flying lesson. She loves to be able to roam free in a
nice big open field....this is one advantage to living on our 13 acre
church property. Of course she also LOVES playing with other
children. When she sees other kids she starts to fake laugh really
loud in effort to get their attention.

My Valentines

2009-02-15T21:48:00.000-05:00

Peek-A-Boo

2009-02-04T16:33:00.000-05:00

UofL Cheerleader

2009-01-29T14:39:00.000-05:00

Well I'm finally caught up, these picks were just taken
this week! She wears red well, doesn't she?!

Radio Flyer at the Beach

2009-01-29T14:32:00.000-05:00

Weekend at Key Largo

2009-01-29T14:27:00.003-05:00

For MLK weekend we took a quick trip to Key Largo with
our Pastor and his family. Craig & Pastor went shrimping
while Abigail, myself and our friends hung out at the beach.

Abigail really enjoys playing in the sand. While walking through
the back yard this week, she found a little mound of sand,
plopped down on it and starting digging her fingers through.
I guess that's her way of saying we need to get back to the
beach soon!

Cherokee Park

2009-01-21T16:33:00.000-05:00

This is one of our favorite parks ever! The cold
weather didn't seem to phase Abigail at all. She
just loved the open space to run around.

We Are Family!

2009-01-21T16:27:00.000-05:00

To our family: we loved spending time with you &
Abigail certainly enjoyed being the center of attention!
Can't wait to see you again :)

Friends from the Ville

2009-01-21T16:24:00.000-05:00

A few days after Christmas we were able to take a trip
to Louisville to celebrate with family & friends. It was
such a fun time catching up with everyone.

My sweet Cru friends & their hubbies at O'Charlies. I
think that was my favorite meal of the week!

Two of our 9&O friends at Mark's Feedstore. YUM!

These two guys go WAY back :)

Our trip wouldn't have been complete without
seeing the Clary's....love you.

Post Christmas Fun

2009-01-16T11:24:00.000-05:00

The day after Christmas we hung Abigail's new tree
swing in the front yard. She loves it (for about 5 min
at a time :). Then we went to the park for more
wagon time and lots of open space to run. She now
has 6 teeth with 2 on the way. And she is starting
to speak jibberish all the time...it's sooo cute!

Christmas in Hollywood

2009-01-14T16:34:00.000-05:00

Christmas afternoon we decided to take a quick trip
to Hollywood Beach. We had ice cream and let Abigail try
out her new wagon. We thought we'd be the only ones
spending Christmas at the beach, but it was as full as
we've seen it and we saw atleast 50 cars with a license
from Quebec - who knew. The only flaw we found in the
wagon is that Abby can throw things out without us
knowing :)

Christmas Day

2009-01-14T14:38:00.000-05:00

This year we spent Christmas at our home in Ft. Lauderdale.
Abigail was lavished with gifts from family. She opened and
played with EVERY present! It was very fun watching her
enjoy all her gifts.

Christmas Eve

2009-01-14T14:35:00.000-05:00

After the Living Nativity ended we geared up for the next
church event, which was a lovely Christmas Eve Service.
It was full of beautiful music and the exciting reminder that
Christmas is about our Savior, Jesus Christ. We thank Him
for lavishing us with such wonderful blessings last year.

Living Nativity

2009-01-09T10:40:00.000-05:00

December was quite full. The first weekend I spent in
Louisville for a friends wedding - it was lovely! Then our
church had a Living Nativity. It was two full weekends
of 30 min. looping presentations of the Christmas story
- a well recieved gift to our community.

Christmas Dress Photos

2008-12-10T20:46:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving at the beach...

2008-12-10T20:45:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving at Cocoa Beach

2008-12-10T20:42:00.000-05:00

Random Abigial Pics

2008-12-10T20:39:00.000-05:00

Pic of the Day

2008-11-24T15:21:00.000-05:00

Story Time With Daddy

2008-11-24T15:20:00.000-05:00

Weekend Visitors

2008-11-19T20:20:00.000-05:00

My mom and grandparents came to visit this past weekend. We
took a river cruise, went for an airboat ride & celebrated Abigail's
birthday again (I'm still amazed at how she seems to love each
toy she has recieved). It was a fun time and I'm glad we'll get
to see them again soon!

1st Birthday - Playing

2008-11-12T15:34:00.000-05:00

Happy 1st Birthday to Abigail!

We had a few friends over to celebrate Abigail's first
birthday. Though a little shy from the visitors, she
really enjoyed it. She enjoyed playing with all her new
toys, right down to the spoons. She didn't smile to
much while eating her cake. I could tell she liked it,
but I think she was wondering why we were actually
letting her eat it (especially with her fingers). We can
hardly get over how much she is changing. She chats
with herself all the time now, she mimics things we
say quite often, she is walking so good...she officially
a little girl!

1st Birthday - Cake

2008-11-12T15:26:00.000-05:00

!st Birthday - Opening Presents

2008-11-12T15:25:00.001-05:00

Can you tell which present was her favorite?

Definitely her baby doll! She carries it around
with her everywhere....so sweet!

Pre-Birthday

2008-11-12T15:12:00.000-05:00

Abigail trying on her birthday hat!

Riding on her birthday present from Coney & Tot :)

Birthday Eve Fun

2008-11-10T14:20:00.000-05:00

It's BACON! She grabbed the bacon bits out
of the fridge last night as Craig was putting
away groceries. She thought it was the best
toy.

A hair raising experience! Doesn't every child
have to have one of these pictures?!

Don't Ask Why....

2008-11-05T11:06:00.000-05:00

"I can't put my arms down!"

The Well Retreat - Key Largo, FL

2008-11-05T10:56:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, we went on a retreat to Key Largo
with the college & career students at our church. Our
Wednesday night Bible Study is called The Well, in case
you were wondering about the heading. While they all
went snorkeling, Abigail and I visited some friends from
church and enjoyed time on the beach. It's the first time
I've really just let her play in the sand....she only tried to
eat it twice :) She is getting more and more interested
in being around other children. Her face just lights up
watching other kids play - very fun!

Family Photos

2008-10-26T16:44:00.000-05:00

The Blue Dress

2008-10-26T16:42:00.000-05:00

I've been waiting for her to be able to wear this dress for
a long time. Her eyes just pop with it. So of course I had
to take lots of pictures. Abigail is now standing up on her
own and taking more and more steps each day...what fun!!

Daddy's Little Cheerleader

2008-10-12T13:20:00.000-05:00

Walking Soon??

2008-10-06T20:18:00.000-05:00

We're just waiting for her to take off any day now. She's standing
up on her own, but will only brave a step if mommy, daddy or a
really cool toy is in front of her. Still working in those top two
teeth as well, which appears to be a source of many a
meltdown. What fun days these are though!

Fun with Abigail

2008-09-18T12:58:00.000-05:00

So Abigail makes us laugh everyday, but the funniest
thing she did recently was start trying to lick her
"touch & feel" books. She's just can't resist that
bunny rabbit hair :)

Snapshots

2008-09-17T21:36:00.000-05:00

Ready to Swim!

2008-09-03T13:10:00.001-05:00

We spent Labor Day at Cocoa Beach with friends and
family. Abigail went swimming again, which she
thoroughly enjoys, and also got to sport her new
flip flops!

Around the House

2008-08-26T13:24:00.000-05:00

Krispy Kreme

2008-08-25T13:12:00.000-05:00

We have a tradition of going to get donuts on a lazy morning, but this
morning was extra special because it was our first trip to
Krispy Kreme since we've moved to FL!
Woo Hoo!

Face of the Week

2008-08-25T13:07:00.000-05:00

More From Nashville 2

2008-08-17T12:09:00.000-05:00

More From Nashville

2008-08-17T12:07:00.000-05:00

More Firsts While On Vacation

2008-08-14T14:02:00.000-05:00

1st Ale-8

1st County Fair

1st Carousel Ride

1st Time Playing Piano

Great Grandparents

2008-08-14T13:57:00.000-05:00

While we were in Nashville last week, Abigail got to
spend time with 4 great grandparents! It's so good
to spend time with family!

Changes Every Day

2008-07-30T21:16:00.000-05:00

In the last 3 weeks Abigail has made so many amazing
changes! She is crawling, trying to stand herself up,
babbling, maybe waving, her first 2 teeth have come
in, her hair is growing....it is really incredible. Each
day I think I can't imagine her any different than she
is right now and each day she does something she
didn't do the day before. We are daily blessed by her
presence!

Shuff Travels

2008-07-30T21:08:00.000-05:00

A weekend getaway with the family during my
trip to Louisville.

A chance to visit with some dear friends.

Craig in France. (the only sad part about being
in Louisville for two weeks)

Blue Jeans & Laundry

2008-07-10T13:36:00.001-05:00

Well, Abigail is 8 mo. old today and can finally fit
into these 0-3 mo jeans! She's sitting up so good
and is loving to be moving...she made her first
attempts at crawling last week.

She has taken a liking to the laundry basket recently.
She's thinks its funny to sit underneath of it.

Pics of the Week!

2008-06-22T16:40:00.000-05:00

Sitting Up

2008-06-22T16:30:00.000-05:00

Just in the last week, Abigail has really begun to figure
out how to sit up on her own. For nearly three days
we'd just find a place to sit her (with lots of padding
around) and she was so excited to sit up play...laying
down was not an option. With this new found ability
she is now starting to lunge forward to reach for
things and seems to already be desirous of crawling.
I guess she's just like the rest of us...always looking
forward to the next step in life :)

Father's Day

2008-06-22T16:22:00.000-05:00

I just love these pictures of Abigail and her Daddy! She
smiles alot when she is with him. However, on this
particular day it took a little work to get her to smile for
the camera. For whatever reason, Abigail loved to
watch people sing and dance to the theme song of our
Vacation Bible School - "He's Got the Power." So as
you look at these pictures just imagine me singing,
dancing & flexing my muscles (just like the kids did
at VBS)....amazing the things we do to make our little
girl smile!

Abigail is a Reds Fan!

2008-06-22T16:10:00.000-05:00

Shuff Family

2008-06-22T16:08:00.000-05:00

Here are several pics from the Shuff family visit a
few weeks ago.

Princess Walker

2008-06-20T16:08:00.000-05:00

Craig's parents were in town two weekends and we really
enjoyed their company. They bought Abigail this sweet
little walker. Her feet don't quite hit the ground yet, but
I love having something girly for her to play with. You
can see the curiosity on her face as she explores her
fairytale land.

Sea World Again

2008-06-20T16:04:00.000-05:00

We were able to go to Sea World again. This time our curious
Abigail actually noticed the animals. Of course, we were going
there for me, not her, but it was so fun to see her take an
interest in what was going on. She intently watched the entire
dolphin show. At one point some birds flew out into the
audience and her head spun to watch them swish by...very cute!

Mother's Day

2008-06-20T15:57:00.000-05:00

Once again I'm behind on my updates! Our computer was out
of commission for a while...but that doesn't account for the
whole month :) For Mother's Day Abigail gave me the Mary
Poppins movie...I wonder if she is going to think this movie
is crazy by the time she's old enough to understand it.
It had been a while since I'd seen it and I think it's kinda
wierd...but you just gotta love those songs..."just a spoon full
of sugar helps the medicine go down, medicine go dooown,
medicine go down....."

Faces of Abigail - Part 2

2008-05-17T14:05:00.000-05:00

Happy :)

Bored

Playful

Confused!?!

Faces of Abigail - Part 1

2008-05-17T14:04:00.000-05:00

Excited!

Distracted

Tired

Curious

Louisville

2008-05-06T14:45:00.001-05:00

Abigail and I traveled to Louisville two weeks ago to visit
family and go to a friend's wedding. We had a fun time.
It was quite a lot of stimulation for a little girl with a fairly
quiet life. We both came back with a cold. She had her first
runny nose today. And being first time parents, she has
been to the doctor twice in the last week. But it's really
nothing to worry about, just a simple cold. I'm so glad we
had an extra reason to send us back to Louisville though, it
was great to spend a few days just hanging out with family!

Beach Baby

2008-04-30T13:52:00.000-05:00

This was our first time at the beach in quite a
while. Abigail loves being out doors. It would
have been a great day for swimming...but
we weren't prepared for that. We all enjoyed
the outting though!

Thumbs & Toes

2008-04-30T13:38:00.000-05:00

It was only a matter of time....our Abby Dabby figured out
how to suck on her thumbs & her toes in the same week!

Retreat - Part 2

2008-04-16T15:07:00.000-05:00

Having Abigail just makes everything more fun!

I think this is the first family photo with all of us smiling :)

She really didn't like being strapped down so much this
past weekend, but you sure wouldn't know by this smile.

I was entertaining her in the back seat with this butterfly
and she thought it was great! Everytime I would swoop
it down to her face she would laugh out loud. It's the
first time we've seen her laugh at something other than
us!

Retreat - Part 1

2008-04-16T14:59:00.000-05:00

Craig, Abigail and I went on a retreat with some of the college/
career students this past weekend. We went camping just
north of Orlando. We had a great time enjoying God's
creation and getting to know Him a little better. And no, I
wasn't brave enough to actually "tent" camp with Abigail. I
know myself and her too well for that :) We stayed in a lodge
room on the same property.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game.....

2008-04-06T21:52:00.000-05:00

Growing Baby

2008-04-06T21:42:00.000-05:00

Fun Times

2008-04-06T21:38:00.000-05:00

We had our Sunday School Class over for a cookout a couple
weeks ago and had a great time! We just love our church family!

Happy Easter

2008-04-06T21:34:00.001-05:00

We spent Easter day a little differently than we have in the past.
After our special Resurrection Sunday Service, Craig headed to
the Everglades to camp and fish with our pastor (and the gators).
Above is a jewfish he caught. I went to Key Largo to spend a day
with our pastor's family. It was a fun getaway! Though I did miss
watching all my cousins hunting for eggs.

Time for Solid Food...

2008-03-31T15:46:00.000-05:00

Abigail has done so well with her rice cereal, we thought
she might be ready for solid food. What better place to
start than with a juicy cheeseburger?! Of course I am
just kidding - she's still only eating milk and cereal, but
if you put anything in the general direction of her mouth,
she is trying to eat it :) She is also rolling on her side quite
a bit and has found sleeping on her side to be her favorite
position recently. We did actually find her mostly on her
belly one time, so I expect rolling over to come soon. I
also wouldn't be surprised to see a tooth soon....even
when she is eating, she is trying to chew on her fingers.

Matt Daddy

2008-03-19T13:06:00.000-05:00

Craig's Dad stopped by while on a business trip this week. Abigail
hasn't seen him since Christmas. We went out to a restaurant on
the beach, only to remember is was St. Patricks Day - wasn't
the crowd we were expecting on a monday night, but the food
was still good :)

On a different note, Abigail is eating cereal now. I'm not sure
what she likes more, the food or the rubber spoon, but she is
generally all smiles while she eats.

Just for Craig

2008-03-19T12:52:00.001-05:00

I am the king of the Foreeeeeest!

4 Months!

2008-03-11T13:16:00.000-05:00

In celebration of Abigail's 4 month birthday on Monday,
we played a round of Uno together! Hard to beat a face
like that. She is just under 12 lbs and about 23" long....
a little lady still, we know, but we are still amazed at
how much she has grown.

A Walk In The Park

2008-03-11T13:02:00.001-05:00

We found a new park to venture through this past
weekend. Turned out to be a path only about 1/4
mile long...not quite what we were hoping for. But,
we still enjoyed ourselves and this beautiful weather,
which is a far cry from what we'd be experiencing
if we were still in Louisville.

Feet!

2008-03-06T13:37:00.001-05:00

Left foot
Left foot

Right foot
Right

Feet in the morning
Feet at night

Ok, so she doesn't know the difference between left and
right, but she did find her feet last night. And she has
been entertained with them all morning!

Forgot to mention...

2008-03-04T17:03:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, when we made our family commitment,
we had some friends in town. We haven't seen The Holt's in
quite a while. It was a lot of fun and Abigail has a new
friend!

Family Commitment

2008-02-27T10:05:00.002-05:00

On Sunday, we made this commitment before our church:

We dedicate ourselves to God in order to bring Abigail up in
the discipline and instruction of the Lord. We determine to
model and teach her to love the Lord her God with all her
heart, soul, mind and strength. We purpose to pray and read
the Word of God daily in our home so that she will know and
understand the mind of God in every area of life. We will
pray and do all that will encourage her to experience the
New Birth and live a joyful, godly life. We hereby pledge our
example, our leadership and our lives.

Portraits of Abigail

2008-02-18T20:48:00.000-05:00

Here are some recent shots of our sweet little girl!
She is now 14 weeks old and is learning so fast. She
loves to hold on to things now, to kick things with
her feet, to stand up (while we are holding her of
course), to put things in her mouth, to blow bubbles
with her drool, to make cute noises at us......and
the list goes on. Needless to say she is great fun
and our primary source of entertainment.

Final Destination

2008-02-17T20:17:00.000-05:00

Our last stop on our vacation through Florida was
Cocoa Beach, where we stayed with Craig's grandparents.
We spent several days just visiting and relaxing...it was
such a good way to end our traveling. Notice Abigail
enjoying a book and also a new toy (the floor gym).
This was a gift from her great grandparents and she
loves it. She smiles and talks to the bear nearly
every day!

Shuttle Launch

2008-02-17T19:48:00.000-05:00

After touring through St. Augustine, we headed off to
view a shuttle launch from Kennedy Space Center. We
didn't quite make it to the Center, but we were pretty
close. Despite the traffic, heat, long walk & near melt
down from a hungry baby, it was an enjoyable
adventure (it really was)!

Little Shuffleupagus

2008-02-15T14:06:00.000-05:00

While in St. Augustine, Abigail debued her "Little
Shuffleupas" shirt - a gift from some friends in
Craig's hometown. I think she liked it! I couldn't
resist including the 2nd picture - it was such a
cute sad face :)

Next Stop: St. Augustine

2008-02-14T15:28:00.001-05:00

Part 2 of our vacation was spent in St.Augustine. For
Craig this was a trip down memory lane since he had
visited here during many childhood summer vacations.
We took a short tour then made all our stops:
- Old Jail (made by those who built alcatraz)
- Lighthouse
- Sunset on the boardwalk
- Alligator Farm
- Krystal (this was for Craig)
- Fountain of Youth
- Castillo de San Marcos, an old fort

Are you seeing double yet?

1st Stop: Orlando

2008-02-13T13:21:00.001-05:00

So for the first part of our vacation we went to Orlando
so I could take advantage of my Christmas present - a
season pass to Sea World! While there, we went to
Downtown Disney...I think Abby makes a great
Minnie Mouse impression, don't you?

The first thing we did at Sea World was visit the dolphin
nursery (for all the baby & mama dolphins). Craig and
I were having a leisurely conversation while Abigail sat
in my arms, when WHACK! We were hit with a wall of
water! So after only 10 mintues of being in the park, we
found ourselves soaked from head to toe and heading
straight for the bathroom to change Abigail's clothes
and to stop her from screaming. Even though we were
tasting salt for the next several hours, Abigail did
recover and we had a very fun time together!