3 weeks later!

Things have been very busy around the house the last few weeks! Shelby is 3 weeks old today- time really flies... (I recently bought the new CD by Darius Rucker because of the song- It won't be like this for long. How true it is!)

Anyhow- we've had a few visitors- which Trey really loves. When people come over he takes them by the hand and insists on playing "toys, toys"- here is Matt playing Toys with Trey!

My parents also came down from PA for a few days to meet Shelby and play with Trey! We had a good time and mostly just hung around the house and relaxed (oh and of course watched the Dukes- see the TV behind my mom- that's Daisy! LOL!)While my folks were here we opened some Christmas presents- Trey got a really cool drum set. As soon as it was set up he took the sticks and began to play like he'd done it before. After a few minutes he ran to our bedroom trying to bring out Chip's guitar so Chip could play that! Trey has also become a "climber"... (which makes me thankful he's not in a crib anymore) here he is on his horse... And look at what a difference 10 weeks makes! This is Charlie (Emily's new baby boy) - he is 10 weeks older than Shelby! Here is a picture of Shleby last week. Trey opened the box of goldfish crackers last week and decided they belonged in the ziplock bag... one of those moments all I could do was laugh and grab the camera! And the big news - Trey and Shelby have a cousin!!! Kevin and Suzanne had baby girl Gaby (Gabriella Faith) last week. Gaby and Shelby are 15 days apart. We all can't wait to meet her (and get more pictures!!) very soon!

"Been in trouble with the law since the day they were born"

Things here are going well! Shelby is such a sweet quiet baby and sleeps ALOT. Trey is being a great big brother and really has enjoyed helping. A few days ago I heard Trey saying "hello, hello, hello" I walked into Shelby's room and he was standing on a stool looking into her crib telling her hello! What a site!
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Each morning when I am getting ready Trey sits in his chair in the bathroom and I set up the portable DVD player and he watches Baby Einstien or the Veggie Tales. Well this one particular morning all of his DVD's were in the car. So I searched our DVD's for something appropriate for him to watch... The Dukes of Hazzard!!
Growing up I loved the Dukes- every Friday night I got to watch. Chip was the same way as a kid. The two of us still love the show.
At our wedding- the grooms cake was themed with the Dukes. We almost bought a General Lee... yes- really (we then found out we were pregnant with Trey and thought better of it) but maybe one day when the kids are grown... We've gotten to meet John Schnieder- Bo Duke and We even attended Dukes Fest over the summer!
We have all but season 6 of the show and couldn't wait for Trey to watch them....
Turns out Trey is a HUGE fan! Each morning when he gets up he asks to watch it telling us "Dukes, Dukes". When its on he grabs his General Lee and even says "yee-haw" during the jumps and chases. Its really funny and cute. I guess it all sounds kinda redneck- I guess its a southern thing (at least that's my excuse)

Trey and I last December (2007) in Gatlinburg at "Cooters Garage"

Chip & I in June (2008) at Dukes Fest... Chip and I (2006) with Bo Duke The Grooms cake at our wedding (2004)And here is Trey watching the Dukes!

Shelby Nicole- WELCOME!

We welcomed Shelby Nicole Monday, December 8th at 12:57pm... What a blessing! These pictures are in no particular order- can't wait for everyone to meet her!

The Gov's house!

This is the second year we've visited the Governor's mansion for the annual Christmas Tree lighting. We live just a few miles away and the event is free- so how can you say no?! Plus you get a tour of the mansion and refreshments afterwards. We met Karen and Tanna along with Kate... and one of Karen's friends Knoxville. We enjoyed the evening- even if it was freezing!

Here are some pictures:

Outside in front of the tree-

Trey LOVED the wooden reindeer!Group shot!We missed Governor Sonny Purdue this year- but we did see the First lady of Georgia- Mary Purdue and she was nice enough to pose for a picture!Here is a picture from last year with the Governor:

Well... tomorrow is the day. Shelby will be here! I am scheduled to be at the hospital at 7:15am to be induced. I will update with pictures when we arrive home! We are so thankful to the Lord for the new life we will meet tomorrow!

Thanksgiving and more!

Chip was off this year for Thanksgiving- another reason to give thanks! We drove up to Habersham (North GA) that evening for a HUGE get together with Chip's family. We enjoyed all the favorite foods- including my favorite- Cheesecake Factory's pumpkin cheesecake! YUM! Anyhow- Trey really enjoyed himself and all the fun toys to play with. Here are some pictures:Here is Trey with his 2nd cousin- Kate:The day after Thanksgiving Chip and I actually went shopping - at ToysRUs (Trey stayed with his Grammy)! I was expecting the worst- but it wasn't bad. It was packed and you had to wait to get a shopping cart and it was hard to move through the store. But most everyone was friendly and there were no fights and rudeness (that I saw). We were in and out and complete with all of Trey's Christmas shopping within an hour! Then we headed to Longhorn for a nice lunch date.

That afternoon we took Trey to a park since it was so warm- it was in the 60's! (A far cry from today where we have not hit 40 yet- brrrrrr!!) The park backed up to Lake Lanier- which is still suffering from the drought. Here are some pictures:

Where I was standing to take this picture - is normally in the lake:

If the lake were at full pool Trey & I would be at least 15 feet under water where we are standing! (The lake is 20 feet down right now...)Sunday we went to Church of the Apostles for service (this is where I worked prior to Trey being born)... Gov. Mike Huckabee was giving the sermon! While I didn't hear all of it- I really enjoyed what I did hear. Chip really was impressed with his sermon. It was such a nice service with a wonderful guest musician as well. Afterwards we grabbed lunch at McDonalds! After Trey took a nap we went over to Lenox mall (ugh- I hate this mall!) to see Santa and ride the Pink Pig! The Pink Pig is certainly an Atlanta tradition- Chip and I rode the Pink Pig when we were kids- so of course we had to take Trey!

One was a bust and one was a hit! Check it out!

In line waiting to see Santa: The 2008 Santa picture!This is last years' picture with Santa (2007)
Pink Pig! THEN.... we took Trey to ChuckECheese! Sounded like a good idea... Trey LOVED it but Chip and I ... all I know is I will NEVER go back on a weekend. I don't mind kids being kids and having fun- but I can't stand kids who are unruly and undisciplined! We stayed for an hour letting Trey ride the "things" and then we were outta there! What a place! Oh and Trey had his first Krispey Kreme doughnut last week- it was chocolate covered... Well- there are only 11 days until my due date... Trey was born 9 days early and the doc said they will decide tomorrow if they will go ahead and schedule an induction for the end of this week (she said since I've had a healthy pregnancy it would allow me to have a "plan" since I have Trey and Chip's work schedule is crazy). So I should know more tomorrow but hopefully Shelby will be here by the end of the week!

A Stone Mountain Christmas!

Last night we went to my favorite place- Stone Mountain Park! My Dad always took me when I was a little girl and I even had my first summer job there when I was 16. I've always loved going... so I was so excited to bring Trey for the first time.

First thing we did was feed the ducks. My Dad and I fed the ducks each week- and Trey loved it just as much as I did... Here are the pictures: (the ducks did show up- mostly geese at first)

After feeding the ducks we headed to the new village that the park has built. They have a special Christmas event- complete with falling snow! There are many shops and the best place to eat (which we ate at- yum!!) but most of the time we were there we spent at the train station. Turns out Trey loves trains. He would even get very upset when the train would leave the station to make the trip around the mountain. We eventually took him on the train. That was the best part of the entire night! The train makes a stop about half way for train riders to enjoy a Christmas show... and I couldn't believe my ears when I realized this was no politically correct Christmas show. They were simply telling the Christmas Story! They even shared the gift of Salvation. It brought tears to my eyes. I loved that Stone Mountain had decided not to do some "happy holidays" thing and forget Jesus like most places this time of year. Thank you Stone Mountain for a wonderful night (but maybe the $20 admission fee could be a little lower!).

On the train with Dad

Trey watching the train leave the station!