So Sweet

This is by far one of my favorite pictures since Katleyn's birth. Shelby is doing such a great job being a big sister. She adores her baby sister, and this picture definitely shows that.

Splish, Splash, I was takin' a bath...

Katelyn got to take her first real bath today. She loved it, even though the picture doesn't exactly look like it. Shelby helped me rinse the soap off. What a great helper!

Shelby's Stuffed Animals

Shelby has a ton of stuffed animals! It was getting pretty out of hand, so we decided to put most of them in a storage tub, letting her keep out 7 stuffed animals and 10 Beanie Babies at a time. She switches them out every Saturday after breakfast. It's turned out to be a wonderful idea!

Katelyn's First Sunday

Today was Katelyn's first Sunday at Downtown. We made it to early service right on time. Katelyn slept through most of the service. Channing took her out a little early to feed her. She was with us during class as well, and slept through that as well. Shelby had a ball showing off her baby sister!

For this little photo shoot, Shelby got to sit on our dining room table. She of course never gets to do that, so Daddy got quite a confused look when he told Shelby to get up on the table. She had fun sitting up there, and promises she won't try it by herself some day. We'll see...

New Wheels

Yesterday we got a new car! We are now a mini-van family. The Nissan Quest was the only one Channing and I both liked. We love our new wheels!! Shelby LOVES it, and has named it Daisy. Since Channing came home with it yesterday evening, we've had some people come by to see Katelyn. Shelby has taken everyone out to the garage to see Daisy. I'm actually surprised she didn't ask to sleep in it, especially since she didn't want to get out of it after our little drive before supper.

In February we sold Channing's Saturn Ion, and had been a one-car family ever since. That sure wasn't easy! I am so glad to have a car to drive all the time again!

Katelyn's Curls

Shelby had curly hair, but no way was it this curly! Here's Katelyn after a sponge bath. We are amazed at how curly her hair is!

Katelyn's First Week

Shelby can't believe how much Katelyn sleeps!

Big Sister Presents

Many people have been so kind to give Shelby a big sister gift when they give Katelyn a baby gift. My parents brought a couple of things for Shelby when they came yesterday. They brought her a cute big sister doll and bed to go with her doll house. They also got Shelby a cradle for her baby dolls. She is very excited about that, and loves playing with it!

Katelyn meets Papa and Nona

Deidre's parents are here for a few days. Shelby was so excited to introduce her baby sister to Nona and Papa! We are looking forward to visiting with them, and eating some of Judy's delicious cooking! Nona and Papa are excited to spend these next few days with their precious granddaughters.

Family of Four

Here is our first picture as a family, taken right before leaving the hospital.

Big Sister

Shelby LOVES her new baby sister! At the hospital, she asked everyone who came into my room, "Isn't my baby sister adorable?!"

To celebrate Shelby's becoming a big sister, we got her a t-shirt and two books about having a new baby in the family.

Holding Katelyn for the First Time

Holding one's baby for the first time is special to all parents. Getting to hold Katelyn for the first time immediately after she was born was extra special to me. When Shelby was born, she had respiratory trouble. Channing got to hold her, show her to me, and carry her down to the nursery. Shelby never returned to our room, and we weren't able to hold her until a week later, after she was taken off the respirator. So, when the doctor put Katelyn in my arms, I was tickled pink!

Katelyn Grace

She's here! Katelyn arrived at 7:00 a.m. on Friday, May 15. She weighed 7 lbs, 13 oz, and was 21 inches long.

Baby Showers

We have been blessed to have two baby showers in the last week. Some friends of mine from church threw a restocking shower for me on the third. I also had one thrown by a friend attended by the teen girls at church, their mothers, and other youth workers. Channing's company gave us a new Pac-N-Play last month. We received a lot of diapers, baby wipes, clothes, and other items at the showers this month. We sure have been blessed!


Here I am with the hostesses of my church restocking shower. (Kimberly, Lara, and Becky)


These are the teen girls in my CORE group who attended my other restocking shower.


We played a fun game where the attendees had to guess how big my belly was. One of the girls' moms won.