Memphis Wedding

We had a great time this past weekend in Memphis at Matt and Amanda's wedding. Unfortunately, the lighting in the ballroom messed my camera up and I didn't figure out until almost time to go what I needed to do to fix it. I'm sure they'll post some much better ones on their site when they get back from their honeymoon, but here's a sneak peek until then...

And of course when Brad spotted this old Shelby, we had to circle back around so he could take a picture for Adam :o).

The 5:15pm ritual...

"Mom! I think Dad's home! I hear someone coming in the front door! I'll go and see!!!"

Harebrained Ideas...

Kathryn found the tupperware cabinet a long time ago, but she has just recently discovered that she can fit inside it! She still can't figure out why she can't stand up in it, though. She tries and cries, and tries and cries :o).

When we found out #2 was on the way, and we had to give up our office/sewing room, I wasn't too thrilled about the thought of it being in the living room. But now I think it will work out nicely. Another one of Mom's harebrained ideas comes to fruition (thanks to my father-in-law, husband, and Adam's tools!) It's a bookshelf desk!

More Pictures

We just got back from visiting little Claire! She is so, so sweet! They are all doing great, and were able to get some good sleep in the hospital last night. Here are a few more pics, this time including the proud parents...

She's here!!!

Adam and Rosie are the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl! Claire Marie Shumake was born about 3:57 pm today (June 3rd). She weighed in at 7lb 14oz and was 20 1/4" long. She is absolutely perfect. Mom and baby are doing great (and Dad's doing pretty well too, I guess :o). I'm sure there will be many more pictures to come! Please keep them in your prayers as they adjust to life with a little one!

Update on Rosie!!!

FINALLY! Rosie is at the hospital, and it shouldn't be too much longer until she delivers little Claire! We are on our way to the hospital right now. I'll have some pictures to post when I get home!!! Keep Adam and Rosie in your prayers!

What we thought might be "The Last Supper"...

Gramma and Grampa came down to help Brad and me out with with some projects yesterday and today. Adam and Rosie went out to eat with us last night, and we had many hopes that it might be our last little fling before Claire Marie was born, but no such luck. Still no baby!! It will be any time now, though :o)! Just a couple of new pictures to get you through the weekend (for Mom, who says I don't post often enough :).

Story time with Gramma...

Kathryn's Little Steps

A very, very short (and sideways) video of Kathryn walking, for her Nana, who has yet to see it! (Since it is video from our digital camera and not a camcorder, I can't change the direction of it. So sorry! It's not long enough to give you a neck ache, though :o).


Kathryn's Little Steps

Kathryn's Toy Box

Many, many thanks to Adam and Rosie, who found us this treasure at a garage sale on Saturday... Kathryn's new toy box. Unfortunately for her (and fortunately for us) she cannot yet reach inside, but she does love to get inside and play. How much fun would it be to be 11 months old again?

Mommy & Kate on Mother's Day!

No one could have ever told me how wonderful (and tiring :o) being a mother could be.

Playing in/eating the dirt

I think I see now why she wasn't hungry for lunch! Thirty minutes after we came in she spit out two pieces of mulch. Yum, yum!

Both of my babies are sick!!!

...One with strep throat and one with an ear infection. Our house is pathetic right now. Nurse Mommy is working around the clock (with quite a bit of help from Dad...)

It's a Girl!!!

EDIT: My Dad said this picture kind of reminded him of some of the pictures that he saw of Hurricane Katrina a while back :o). I just thought I would clarify: this is a profile shot of the baby's face.

We're going out tonight!

This is a really good depiction of how our day has been today... I think I have five strands of hair left. Any babysitting volunteers?

Kathryn's First Car

We bought Kathryn her first car at the garage sale last Saturday for $2. All she wants to do now is drive. I think she's going to be like her Aunt Hannah, though. She can't make turns very well :o). We are afraid it has helped her a little too much. She actually took her first steps yesterday!!! Four of them! You'll never guess what she was headed for - golf balls! Figures! Brad was so excited about that :). This is just a short video this time...

Kathryn's First Car

Kathryn in the Garden

Just a few more sweet pictures for Gramma and Nana!

Gross Dishwasher Story

Kathryn's favorite thing to do in the kitchen is to play in the dishwasher. She LOVES to pull all of the silverware out of the holder and bang them around on the dishwasher door. When they are dirty, I still let her do this, even realizing the unsanitariness (wd?) of it (mostly because it is a nice, quiet way of getting dinner fixed). Well, this was the last straw. I had left the room for a second, and when I came back, I noticed that she had her head down, drinking the water (and bits of food) from the dirty dishes that I had just partially rinsed off. Being in the state that I'm in, I nearly threw up right then and there. She thought it was absolutely hilarious! The pictures do not even do justice to the look she had on her face when I caught her. The good news is, she is still alive and well...

Rosie's Shower Pics

My only excuse is that this is the third time I have tried to write this post, and each time my computer has shut down and NOT saved all of my hard work. As a result, three weeks later, the story is lost, but here are the pictures that go along with it :o). Mostly I just wanted my Mom and sisters to get to see!!! Enjoy!

Update...

We have been out of town, and that is why it has been so long since I have posted. Right before we left, Kathryn had a doctor's appointment, which went well. More shots :(. Now her top two teeth have popped through. She is going to look so different when those come in! I would post a picture, but they're not big enough to see yet. Soon...

I also finally met with my midwife and got to hear the heartbeat for the first time! Hearing that is such a relief every visit! She said everything sounded great! I haven't been as sick this week, and am really hopeful that morning sickness is finally coming to an end.

Some of our good friends from church, Mark & Rhonda Hudson, finally had their baby boy! He is so precious!! Luckily, Kathryn just happened to have a doctor's appointment right at the hospital the day after he was born, so I was able to see him before we left. He is absolutely perfect!

We went to Louisville to Hannah's inlaw's cabin for the weekend. It was a really great time.

Then we traveled on up north to visit Nana and PawPaw for a day.

We managed to pick up a little virus while we were away, but I'm hopeful that is quickly coming to an end. I'm having Rosie's shower at my house this weekend, so that makes for lots and LOTS of housework and decorating to be done. Any volunteers?

Woohoo!

After nine months of waiting (well, really only 5-6 months of actual "wait" time) Kathryn now officially has two teeth! I was really beginning to think I needed to look into dentures...

Irish Twins

Originally I had heard (from a much less reliable source) that Irish twins were siblings born within two years of each other. Well, sorry to let you guys down. No Irish twins here :o)! Thought this was interesting anyway...

IRISH TWINS
[Q] From Swami Murugananda: “I recently heard the expression, Irish twins. What does it mean and would you cast some light as to its origin?”
[A] What it means is easy enough to explain. It refers to siblings born in the same calendar year, or otherwise less than twelve months apart. It’s clearly a deeply derogatory comment about the stereotypical fecundity (and lack of contraception) of Irish Catholic families. It’s probably twentieth-century, but I can find little evidence that would help to tie it down (it may be relevant that it isn’t listed in the 1984 edition of Eric Partridge’s Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English). So far as I can tell from the places I’ve found it, all online, it’s primarily an American expression; it’s also known in Britain, but it doesn’t often find its way into print, no doubt because it is considered offensive.


So, which is harder to handle: biological twins, Irish twins, or siblings born within 15 months of each other?

A Clean House!!!

Many, many thanks to my wonderful Mother-In-Law who came a couple of days ago and cleaned my nasty house for me. She felt sorry for me and offered to come and help out for a day, and boy I bet she was sorry she did! I really put her to work! For the first time in... well, I won't say how long... all three of my bathrooms are clean! They are never all clean at once! In addition to company on Sunday night and Thursday night, two of my nephews spent the night last night, so for the most part, everything is a mess again, but I do have the joy of knowing that at some point this week, my house was clean. And that is (was) a good feeling :o).

Because I'm the Mom, that's why!

Today for an afternoon snack, I had cookies and milk, and Kathryn had leftover cooked carrots from last night's dinner. I love being the Mom and getting to make decisions like that! If it's any consolation, at least she was able to keep her snack down... Ahhh, the joys of pregnancy!

New Stuff...

Why is it that babies are so skeptical of anything you try to put in their mouths, but yet they will pick up anything from anywhere and put it in their mouth without even looking at it first????? I mean, come on! She won't eat a marshmallow without fully examining it, but she'll eat wads of thread, dirt, flowers, and Cheerios that have been shaken out of the tablecloth onto the patio who knows how long ago!

She is starting to test her balance more and more each day. Today she let go for 19 seconds! That's our record so far! It looks like walking won't be in our too distant future! She's taking over the "big girl" role a little too early for Mom. I told her she still had six months, so just to chill out, but she just looked at me like I was crazy... (Actually, never mind, I am crazy!)

Brad and I ordered a dining room table and chairs that should be in any time now, and I can't wait!!! Yes, after 3 1/2 years of marriage, we are finally getting a table and chairs! We have been using a Goodwill table and the chairs from our card table. I just called the furniture store and they said it would be in within the next couple of days!! The bad news is, that will probably mean I will have to sweet talk Brad into canceling his tee time to go pick it up on Saturday... Hopefully, pictures will soon follow.

Kathryn's Big News

Homesick

I'm always just a little homesick when my Mom and Dad leave. They surprised Brad and me (and mostly Kathryn) and came for the day. Yes, only my Mom and Dad would drive 6 hours for one day, but I'm not complaining! I've learned to appreciate whatever amount of time I can get! And let me say, we made the most of it! As soon as I heard they were coming I started my list of chores! I would show pictures, but since I forgot to take "before" pictures, the "after" pictures would not be near as impressive. Dad cleaned out our outside storage while Mom and I worked on reorganizing the office, and cleaning out some miscellaneous drawers. It is absolutely amazing what you can get done in just one day with a little help staying focused!

It was such a beautiful day today, that Kathryn and I got to spend some time outside. She got to taste a lot of new things: thyme, a piece of a broken terra cotta pot, dried geranium, rock, and dirt to name a few. Mostly she didn't like them, but the thyme I had a very difficult time getting out of her mouth! She can't wait until this summer when she can go to Grandma and Grandpa's and play out at the country and splash in the creek with Pheobe!!!