Baby Claire. A few more pics...

Welcome Baby Claire

Last Thursday (October 8th) we welcomed our new little Claire into our family. She is beautiful and sweet and soft and cuddly - and still sleepy - yea. :) The labor and delivery went really well - as far as things like that go :) It took a little while to get things started, but once she came, it was fast. (She ended up being delivered by a Dr. who just happened to be walking by in the hall!) The other kids are really excited. We have to set the timer to alleviate problems of fighting over who gets to hold her. Parker has become much more vocal and demanding, but that will hopefully mellow a little bit as time goes on. We are so grateful for the miracle of her new life, for her good health, and for the profound blessing of family.
Here are a few pics!

Tagged

I have been SO bad at blogging. I think it might have to do with my recent obsession with craigslist and bedroom furniture/decor in conjunction with the NESTING PHASE. Anyway, my adorable sister-in-law tagged me back in August and I am finally following through. Here goes...

Three names I go by:
1. Shel
2. Mishelle
3. Mooooooommmmmmm!

Three jobs I have had in my life: (these are very impressive)
1. Subway Sandwich Artist :)
2. Basketball Referee
3. Secretary/Receptionist

Three places I have lived:
1. Woodburn, OR
2. Fountain Valley, CA
3. Anchorage, AK

Three favorite drinks:
1. water (is really my favorite, honestly)
2. raspberry lemonade
3. hot chocolate

Three t.v. shows that I watch:
1. Designed to Sell
2. 20/20
3. Hannah Montana (not on purpose)

Three top places I have been:
1. Canon Beach, OR
2. North Shore in Hawaii
3. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Three of my favorite restaurants: (not too sophisticated...)
1. Carrabas
2. Cafe Rio
3. Let's face it - I love to eat out. Anytime I don't have to cook I am happy (except for McDonalds)

Three things I'm looking forward to:
1. NOT BEING PREGNANT
2. General Conference. Really. I love all day, home together, comfy clothes, great talks, NO MEETINGS :)
3. Another cruise with Chad some day

VACATION!

"At Bear Lake, Bear Lake there's no cake at Bear Lake. BEAR LAKE!"
Only family members will get this. Everyone else will think we are completely wacko. Actually... we are :)



We had a lot of fun miniature golfing. At one of our games Abbey got 3 holes in one!!!

She is also learning to dive. Nice!

A lost tooth - literally

This picture has nothing to do with a lost tooth, but I thought it was a cute one of her. So, Abbey lost a tooth last week. It has been loose FOREVER and it finally came out. (Bryson actually tried several times to pay her to let him pull it out, and even attempted a hostile takeover/extraction at one point! I think keeping it gave her a sense of power and control...) ANYWAY, once it finally came out, she was trying to wash it off and it went down the drain! I actually took the drain apart - which felt pretty handyman-ish to me - but couldn't find it. Luckily she really was ok with just giving the toothfairy a note. Abbey is pretty sentimental and "attached" and I was expecting a disaster, but was really grateful that things seemed to turn out just fine ...Whew.

A new look...

If you have seen Parker lately, you would know that he has been wearing pajamas for 4 months straight. Although this phase has not completely passed, we are entering in on a new look. Let me explain...
I thought it would be a brilliant idea to get Parker fully potty trained before we had another one in diapers. So I bought him some underwear and here is the problem: I have not set aside the time/effort to do a good, thorough potty training session. BUT, Parker really loves wearing the underwear. AND he actually does pretty well as long as he is not wearing pants too. So, he is spending a lot of time lately looking like he does in these pictures. Too much information, you say? I agree. And yet, isn't this the life of a toddler's Mom? It's mine.