"Little Swimmer"

On one of your and Daddy's Thursday adventures, you got a little swimming pool. Poppie pumped it up and got it ready for you. Before it could even warm up a little, you had to take a dip. And swim alone? No! Poppie had to get in too. The water was so cold, your teeth were chattering, but there was no telling you it was too cold. You wanted Poppie to go under all the way, but you didn't want to. You "helped" him get his hair wet and go under. We thought you might hold him down for good! Yall splashed and you squealed until you couldn't take the chill any longer. Next time, we'll let the sun warm the eighteen inches of water first!

Somehow your swimsuit "came off." A boy has to keep his pool clean, don't you know!

"Just the Two of Us"

Just about every Thursday, which is the day that Daddy's clinic is closed, you and he go do something special, just the two of you. Daddy leaves it up to you to decide what y'all will do, and you can just about bet that it will include the car wash and getting a new car. I joke and say that I have spent more money on car washes in the last year than I have in my entire life. And I know Daddy can agree. You absolutely love it. And you will take the automatic, brushless ones, but the ones you really like are the ones with brushes and rollers and spraying foamy soap and dryers at the end. You ask almost every day to go to the car wash; and Daddy often obliges.

Today, you and Daddy also went to the duck pond. You love to feed the ducks and chase them into the water. There are always lots of turtles perched on logs there too. This is definitely one of yall's favorite spots. You always have such a great time when it's just the boys.

"Landon Helps Poppie, Poppie Helps Landon"

Today you helped Poppie in the yard. You pushed your lawn mower, while Poppie drove the tractor mower. Shelby had a sunbath; her eyes looked a little on the yellow side again. She loved soaking up the rays. When y'all were done you helped drive the tractor back to the shed and Poppie got out your slip and slide. It shortly turned into a morning of water fun. You washed your jeep and helped Poppie wash the cars. You really needed to burn off some of your bottled up energy, and Poppie helped you out so much with that!

"It's My Party..."

Today was your birthday party, Landon. We are celebrating your arrival 3 years ago! I cannot believe that you are already three years old. You chose to have a Spongebob theme.We invited Connor, Kenna, and Kylie over to JuJu and Poppie's house for a slip and slide/water party. Mush and I filled water balloons and armed y'all with water guns. Daddy and JuJu set up the slip and slide and a sprinkler, and Poppie set up a little pool. You had lots of family come over to celebrate with you too. You were insistent on cutting the cake and opening presents well before I was ready. But it's your party and we'll do what you want to! You wanted the piece of cake with Spongebob's hand on it. You got all kinds of great presents too: a bug vacuum and habitat, a remote control "mote" car, a color changer car set, cool sand toys, and a scooter, just to name a few. You and your friends had to try out all your new stuff. We finished off the party by busting open a Spongebob pinata and loading up on candy. Everyone seemed to have a great time!

"Belly Button Birthday"

Today was your third birthday, Landon. Although we are having a party for you tomorrow, we still had to do some special things on your real birthday, or your belly button birthday, as Nina would call it. So we decided to take you to Chuck E. Cheese. You did your favorite game, car driving, and we got popsicles which you were glad to share. From there we went to have lunch at Posados with DeeDee, Me-Me, JuJu, Shelby, Mush and Kylie. Daddy and Poppie had to work today unfortunately. We had a couple of little presents there for you too. Your favorite: a die cast "mote car." It was so cool; the doors and the hood open! Later that evening, Daddy and DeeDee joined you, me, Mush and Kylie at the Boardwalk where we went to Build-A-Bear. You couldn't have cared less about the actual building of a bear. You spied a little stroller at the entrance and that was all you needed. So after you built a dog decked out in Hornets gear and black rain boots (that's what you wanted!), you strolled that animal all through the store. Kylie made a bunny with a bikini. Then we went to dinner at Saltgrass, where they served you an ice cream sundae for your birthday dessert. I think it was a great birthday precursor to your party tomorrow!

Shelby and I also had a milestone today. We had our first "nurse in public" experience right there at the table at Posado's! Yay us!

There we are! And look: I'm multitasking--eating & nursing!

"Doctor, Doctor"

Today, we had to take you, Shelby, for your first doctor visit. It was time for your one week checkup and we all thought you looked a little like a pumpkin, even though your bilibrubin was fine when we left the hospital. Your weight was up to 6#9oz, three ounces more than your discharge weight, which was good, considering Mommy's milk just came in two days ago. Dr. Parker, the pediatrician, checked you all out and agreed that your color was off. They had to stick your heel to do the labwork, and you did not appreciate that at all. Come to find out, your bilirubin was 15.4, which is way above normal. They ordered you to be under a phototherapy light round the clock. Fortunately you didn't seem to be bothered by it, even though you were tethered to a machine by a thick black cord (which made it a little challenging to nurse you). We will go back on Saturday to get another bilirubin check.

"Splish Splash"

Today was your first at home bath, Shelby. We had all hands on deck too. Landon, of course, had to help, and JuJu, DeeDee and Mommy were all there for the momentous occasion. Bathroom warmed, water drawn, supplies at hand, we were ready. You, however, were not. You cried the whole time. Brother had to mock you with a "WAH WAH WAH WAH" over and over again. You did enjoy getting your hair was getting washed. You really liked the warm water pouring over your hair (the baby nurses told us of this). We quickly got you out and dried you off, then slathered you with my favorite baby lotion, the same one Landon used, lavendar and chamomile. Mmmm.. Love that scent!

So fresh and so clean! Thank goodness it's over.

"Back to the Ho-tale"

Dee Dee and Papa came up to see you and to welcome Shelby into the world. You were so thrilled they were coming and especially thrilled that you could stay at a hotel with them. Wait, that's "ho-tale" to you. The first night was a little rocky, and you said you wanted to be in your crib, but after that, we couldn't keep you here. It was too cool for you to be able to stay up late with Dee Dee and sleep in the big bed with her. There were even reports of chips in bed and Cheeto's for breakfast! You got to do some fun things with them too. Like swim in the pool at the hotel almost every day. And you got pretty good at it too. All rigged up with your foam bodysuit and floaties, you could really motor around! Y'all went to the water park too, where you had a great time meeting friends and rolling cars while playing in the water. Papa got you a very special gift too: your very own pair of cowboy boots. You were hot stuff! You still call any boots rain boots, but whatever. You've been having such a great time getting special attention from your out-of-town guests!

Here are some of DeeDee's artsy shots at the waterpark.

"Coming Home"

Today we are coming home! I was a little shocked that we weren't spending another night, but Mommy and Daddy were glad to get out of that hospital room! I am getting around remarkably well, considering the c-section was performed just 2 days ago, so there was no real reason to hang around. We had to get you all dressed up in your gown and of course take lots of pictures. Once we got you loaded up, we were off! We did have to pull over so I could get in the backseat with you; Daddy was worried your head would flop around, and it was. It is so amazing to me to think that everything from this point forward is a new experience for you. You've never done, seen, heard any of the world yet... a blank slate.. that we hope to fill with nothing but great memories for you.

And we are home! Landon was napping, but as soon as he got up, he was asking, "where's Shelby?" He checked you out and made the sweetest little proud big brother face. He is so amazed with all your little parts. "Look at Shelby's little hands. Look at Shelby's little mouth."

I could just squeeze you, Landon!

You love your little sister so much!

"Shelby's Debut"

Today is the big day for you, Miss Shelby! We didn’t sleep too much last night and have to be at the hospital by 5:00 a.m. We are scheduled to meet you at 7:30.

Mommy was very nervous going into the OR for your C-section. Somehow knowing what to expect wasn’t all that reassuring. Just the thought of having my stomach sliced open to get my precious baby out was a little scary. Daddy was there to comfort me, but I had him in charge of the video camera too. But it went very smoothly, and it was over before I knew it. We heard your little squeaky screaming before you were even all the way out. It was such a great feeling, hearing you cry like that and knowing you were okay. When the nurses carried you over to the warming area where they were checking you out, I saw a head full of black hair. I could not believe it! I don’t know why it was such a shock to me, Daddy does have black hair; you just looked so different from your brother. Once they got you all checked over, Daddy was able to bring you over to see me. You were just beautiful. Our precious little girl was finally here!
One of the baby nurses that was in for our delivery was experiencing her very first C-section. Coinsidentally, her name was Shelby! When we "officially" named you, she was so surprised that her first baby via C-section was her namesake. It was pretty special for her. Daddy was then able to take you out and show you to all of our family. Big brother Landon was so very excited. “Shelby come out!” is what he kept saying. He was so eager to hold you and take pictures.

We had to wait in the recovery room forever before we were given a room, where you could then come in to see us. Finally we were moved and you made your grand entry. All of your family were snapping pictures and taking video; it was like you had your own paparazzi! Mommy was eager to put you to the breast to kick off the nursing and you did pretty good. I was talking to you and explaining to Landon what you were doing (trying to get the milk out) and Landon said, “you can do it, Shelby!” So sweet! He loves you so much.

It feels so great to know that you are here and that you are absolutely perfect. It seems so stupid to me that at one point, I was worried that I wouldn't have enough love for both of my beautiful babies. I love you and Landon so much; words cannot express what you mean to me. Our family is complete now that you are here.

"The Final Countdown"

It is June 4 at 12:45 p.m., and in less than 24 hours, you, Shelby Elizabeth, will be born. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this! Knowing exactly when you will arrive, getting ready, making sure cameras are charged, discs are empty, Big Brother feels special, clothes are packed, ready for you to come home! We have waited so long, and now the moment is upon us. We cannot wait to welcome you!

Tonight, everyone came over to JuJu's house, and we had a big spaghetti dinner. Landon was wound up with excitement. He helped me pack our stuff and even tested out his old carseat and pretended he was the baby. Now we are going to try to get a little sleep before rousing very early to be at the hospital for 5 a.m. So, we'll see you in the morning sweet daughter!