endless possibilities just opened up

Shelby has decided that it is "OK" to wear sleepers! This opens up like a million new outfit options.

Montessori in action

Pouring to a line.. and funneling

matching bottle rings to nipples

sweet girls!

baby washing

home SWEET home

On Shelby's 15th day of life we got to bring her home. Now the fun is truly beginning. We LOVE seeing people we LOVE fall in LOVE with Shelby. Here is one of my most special pictures to share. Eden and Alice came to meet Shelby. They love her so much already. We have had a wonderful welcome home so far with even more excitement planned for the weekend. Oh- and, believe it or not, Shelby is FINALLY getting to go to get her newborn photos made tomorrow! Whatever will she wear????

Shelb-a-licious

Here are some more things I can tell you about Shelby Kate.

* She HATES sleepers. I have tried putting her in a sleeper three different time and it has ended in screaming and tears all three time. She love gowns.

* She also loves the swaddle pod.

* I suspect her cord stem will fall off before anyone we know even gets to see her.

* She enjoys hanging out with her Daddy!

* She drinks Similac Advance. She likes room temperature or warm bottles but NOT cold. She is up to 3oz at a time.

* If she had her way about it she would spend every minute in the Baby K'tan. She loves to snuggle!

* She is very easy going but when she wants something you will definitely be informed- very

loudly!

* She (like her Mommy) LOVES the Westin Heavenly Bed. She sleeps most contently on it.

*Before anyone freaks out- this is NOT her sleeping arrangement. We were in the bed. She was resting, I was watching TV.

* She has had her newborn photos rescheduled 3 times. We are now hopeful for Wednesday.

* She got to meet my class yesterday. They all love her. It was good for me because in addition to being homesick, I have been missing my kids! Skype is amazing!

* We are still in Texas awaiting approval to leave. We have hit a few tangles in the paperwork but are hopeful for clearance soon.

Thursday 13: Thirteen scenes from life at the hotel

As you know we have adopted a precious little girl. We adopted her from the great state of Texas and are waiting for clearance to head back to Alabama. Here are some scenes from how we are "making do" and enjoying our stay at the 4 star resort.

1) We Skype... A LOT. It's great!!

2) We give Shelby "baths" best we can at the age she is. She is going to absolutely LOVE it when she gets her first bath.

3) We play amateur photographers.
4) We spend a lot of time in the Baby K'tan and LOVE it!!
5) We lounge by the pool.
6) We figure things out- like she needed covers for her car seat straps to make her happy!
7) We address birth announcements!
8) We wash and dry lots of blankets.

9) We wash, dry and sterilize lots of bottles!

10) We play dress up

11) We change lots of diapers!
12) We sleep... a lot of the time!
13) We spend hours strolling around looking at this beautiful scenery! She loves her stroller and we do too!

me and my girl

Things about Shelby ....

SHE.....

.... likes Huggies better than Pampers but will pee in either.

.... eats on demand and can be very demanding about eating

.... tells us "no" with her head when she doesn't want something. (like we give her a paci and she wants a bottle, or we give her one bottle but she prefers a different one)

.... likes to snuggle and loves the Baby K'tan

.... looks better in blue, green, purple and black than she does in pink due to her pink skin tones.

.... love to have her picture made

.... likes to have her hands near her face all of the time

.... is a hot natured child

.... enjoys strolling around in her stroller and riding in the car

.... loves to Skype! She Skypes more than Oprah!

.... went to the Dr. yesterday and is in the 92nd percentile for height and 57th for weight

.... loves for her Daddy to sing to her

.... loves to watch tv

.... is simply incredible!!

Shelby

Mr. D. ....

.... never ceases to amaze me in his abilities as a photographer.

guess what?

Sorry it has been all quite on the blog front. Well.... here is why....

It became official today that we have adopted this sweet little lady. Her name is Shelby. She was born on Wednesday. We have been at the hospital loving on her and rooming in with her. This afternoon was the magic time when she became ours officially. We are THRILLED and are so BLESSED!!!! More on all of this later! But here is a sneak peak!

probably the funniest picture I have ever seen of Eden and Alice

Kindle

I have wanted a Kindle for years. Recently I discovered I could download an app that turns my phone into a Kindle. Problem solved! I have almost finished my first book. Actually, I would be finished but I am trying to drag it out. I am now taking recommendations for good books that you think I would like to read.

what's going on in the garden....

......... Well..... things are not going very well. Even with my great "home remedy" for the chipmunk, I still have had 9 tomatoes disappear this week. My okra is growing well. One tomato plant and all of my squash and zucchini plants have been wiped out. My mother told me what had got to them, but I can't remember what.... a worm or bug or something. I have tiny baby cucumbers. My peas didn't make it in the heat. I still have hopes for a eggplant and more tomatoes at some point. The green beans and potatoes are holding their own. My watermelons have vined like crazy, but there are no melons on the vine yet. The pumpkins are progressing nicely.

SURPRISE!!!

I got a super fun surprise visit from CHARLIE!!

It seems the little miss has outgrown her baby girl car seat so she came to BabiesRUs to get a new one. We had dinner together!!! Here is a cute pic of the little miss in her big girl car seat!!!