Photo Frustrations

The first year of Shelby's life I took her to Sears for her baby pictures. It really was not an enjoyable experience for me. The Portrait Innovations studio was new in town when Morgan was born & Shelby turned 2, so we started to go there. I really had not had any problems with them and was pleased with my service...... until last Saturday. It was the first time I seriously thought I really should look into hiring my friend Kimberly to take our pictures. I have thought about it off and on and just haven't pursued it, but after Saturday I really wished I had. That place was so busy you start to feel like you are wasting their time if you stop to unfold the dress hem or fix the hair or whatever. And then when you sit down to review your pictures & purchase, you hardly have time to think! Then I come out of there wondering if I even ordered enough pictures and as I found out I didn't get the right size! And all I can think about is I have to look at the pictures for a year! I did get some ok ones and some of the things I didn't like were my fault (like hair bows, etc.). Here a few of the not so bad ones. Enjoy. (Sorry for the sideways layout. I could not get them corrected).

#5 For Shelby Girl!

Today was Shelby's fifth birthday. It's crazy how fast time flies. I think she has been waiting for this day since her birthday was over last year! She gets so excited. I am glad both of my kids get to celebrate their actual birthday during the school year and not just a 1/2 birthday. The only problem is they have to wait until practically the end of the school year. I think Shelby's was the last birthday that will be celebrated at preschool this year. We started the celebrating yesterday by going to a musical based on the book Pinkalicious. Shelby has that book and it seems right now all she sees is pink. Aunt Ashley came for the weekend to help me with the girls at the musical since Nate had baseball. On Saturday we were walking through Hobby Lobby and Shelby would squeal every time she saw a display full of pink. A. Ashley, who prefers the color black over pink, wondered if she had a radar for anything pink?!? We started the morning off with a pancake breakfast. A few traditions I grew up with in my family was a stack of pancakes with a candle in it. We also tried to successfully smear butter on the birthday kid's nose. I have carried over the candle in the pancakes but not the butter on the nose! After breakfast she opened her presents. Two days in a row she told me I was the greatest mom! WOW!! She loved everything. After presents it was off to school where she walked in with a huge smile on her face. Her teacher that greets at the door knew how much she was looking forward to today so she really made a big deal about it. After school we surprised her with picking up one of her favorite classmates and heading to McD's for Happy Meals. They played at our house for hours and many changes of dress up clothes! And Morgan did her best to keep up with them both. I think she will sleep good tonight and tomorrow will be waking up to the sound of Disney Music on her new castle alarm clock!

Look Alike??

I must admit when Shelby was born, I was a little disappointed to find out she looked more like Nate than me. She has my small nose and dimples (they are there although hard to find in those chubby cheeks she can't seem to loose) but that is about it. So when Morgan came along I had hope that at least 1 of my 2 girls might look like me. It seems she resembles my family so much more than Nate's. So I like to pull out old pictures of me when Morgan has a birthday to see what kind of resemblance there is. I came across one of me from Christmas in 1977 which made me 3 years & 4 mos. And here is one of Morgan taken last week on her 3rd birthday. You decide what you think. I carried this picture of me in my purse for a few days so I could show the next person who asked me where the girls got their light hair I could show them. That seems to be
the most asked question. As you can see my hair was considerably lighter when I was a child. Also, sorry about the picture of me. They were slightly smaller in the 70's and when I scanned it it left that strange black line.

The Tale of the Tied Cat

Since we will never have a pet around here, the girls like to play with their many stuffed animals. Lately, Shelby has been caring for 2 cats. One is a big white cat which I bought a real pink sparkly collar for $1 at Wal-Mart. The other is a little pink kitty that she tied a bright pink hair ribbon around its neck for a leash. And then at bed time, just to be sure the kitty won't get away, she tied the other end to the rocking chair in her room. Somehow she tied that kitty to the chair so tight, that knot was not coming undone without a lot of work. And like most other things procrastinators come up with, she always asked for help at bedtime. I would tell her it had to wait until morning. Well, after several days of this it became Sunday morning. Nate's dad and step mom where here visiting. I was fixing Shelby's hair for church and papa was sitting at the table eating breakfast. This is what she had to say to him, "Papa, are you really strong? I have something for you to do and you need to bring your muscles. It's called the tale of the tied cat." Papa was able to untie the cat using the point of a sharp knife. Pink kitty is free again!

Morgan's Third Birthday!

Hard to believe Morgan turned three today. It is ridiculous how fast time flies! She has been kind of moody here lately which concerns me. As a 2 year old she had such a pleasant overall personality. What I have seen the last 2 weeks makes me wonder what we are in for during the year of 3's with her. I don't expect her to be perfect but when you are not used to the attitude with her it kind of takes you down an unfamiliar road. Now attitude has always been familiar with Shelby as she is either on a major high or major low. And let me tell you today she was way low all day! I don't know how many people realize my due date with Morgan was May 6th. For some reason she decided to make her grand entrance into this world 2 weeks early. And that decision is really causing some problems for her big sis! May 4th seems a lifetime away for the poor girl who got absolutely nothing special today. :( I am pooped trying to make a fun day for Morgan and dealing with the left out sad sister! Here are some pictures from today. I will have a combined party with a real cake sometime in May. More photos to come after that.

Easter

I have just been generally slow about posting things on here lately. I thought I better post some Easter photos before I get to Morgan's birthday. Our day started out searching for Easter baskets and getting ready for church. I hadn't made any plans for lunch because it wasn't until Friday morning that we were certain Nate would not be playing ball on Sunday. So it was Friday afternoon I foolishly tried to get reservations and I gave up after 2 calls. Not something to do at the last minute. I didn't really want to attempt to cook a ham and then it occurred to me I have a nice freezer full of meat. Steaks would make a nice Easter dinner. It was noon when we got out of church and before we could cook on the grill we needed a new gas tank. This would be our first grilling of the season and we ran out at the end of the fall. Shelby made a comment about going to Taco Bell. We do frequently visit Taco Bell on Sundays and it really didn't seem like a bad idea. It would be 2:00 before we could eat by the time we got the gas & a few other things at the store. So I suggested we eat Taco Bell for lunch (even though I felt kind of funny in the drive thru on Easter Sunday!) and eat the steaks for supper after we had the afternoon to prepare. All in all it was a nice family day as Nate probably hasn't been home for church on a Sunday since ball started.

Moments with Morgan

Let's just say Morgan is something. Her daddy even thinks she is funnier than Shelby. If I can ever get a picture of it, she has the perfect imitation of the "crabby Shelby". She did it earlier tonight and it was right on! Which leads me to my first Morgan story.

On Easter Sunday, we are standing in a hallway outside of Shelby's Sunday School room. A couple passes us and the lady stops. It is Mr. and Mrs. Spaulding. They are grandparent age. Mrs. S sees Morgan in the nursery on Wednesday nights and Mr. S teaches in Shelby's Sunday KUC class. Mrs. S stopped to talk to Morgan. She asked her what her sister's name is. Morgan says Shelby. Mrs. S answered several of Morgan's questions like, "Why do you have 2 necklaces on"? Finally, Mrs. S tells Morgan to have a nice Easter and she says, "I will but my sister Shelby is kind of crabby"!

I was doing some picking up around the house and decided to throw Shelby's butterfly wings away. She has worn them out. Morgan also has a pair but hers look like brand new since she doesn't wear them like her sister. I told Shelby I was going to toss them since they were in really bad shape. She was pretty upset with that idea so I told her to put a new pair on her birthday list. She was OK with that idea. Morgan on the other hand, while laying on the floor, stomps her feet and says, "That's not fair. I want a new pair for my birthday". All this while trying to be fake mad and not smile. Another opportunity to make fun of her older sister and imitate one of her reactions.