Can't post the lil girl without posting a new pic of Shane!

Here is an 18 month pic of our handsome little man! Everyone was watching him during his photo-shoot... when will the cuteness end?!! I hope NEVER. :)
xo

Baby Girl :)

The ultrasound place (Insight 3D/4D Ultrasound) called yesterday and asked if we'd be willing to come in and be 'practice patients' for their interns. We got free pics and a DVD out of it, and got to see our lil girl up close and personal again! There is more to her now but she still needs to gain weight, obviously. To me, she looks a little like Shane, a little like herself, and a little like those weird Virgin Mary images that people claim to 'see' in their grilled cheese sandwiches or chips.... Anyway... Here she is... so darn adorable!!! Shane was staring up at the screen, even waved to his lil baby sister! My cup runneth over...

Love to you all,
Starlet xo

Our Baby Girl - 26 weeks

I had another ultrasound today. All is well, heart rate is good and strong. She is 2.3 lbs, just a little peanut still, but apparently a bit more then average for her 'age.' She moves a LOT. Her little foot was up to her forehead at one point. Then she made a muscle for the 'camera', or so it appeared. LOL From the side profile, she totally looks like Shane. (i think) :)

3 months to go. Can't wait to meet her and hold her! But time will go quickly enough, so I'm not rushing it.

Thanks for reading!

Starlet xo

cute short video of Shane! (almost 18 months old)

Shane's 1st Trip to Disneyland!

We 'were' going to wait until Shane was older to take him to Disneyland, but we just couldn't! Eric and I usually go every year around Christmas so we figured it was a great first-time experience for Shane. The decorations and lights are so beautiful all around the park. Shane is still too small for a lot of the rides, not to mention he would have been scared, so we only went on the It's A Small World and Winnie the Pooh rides. Shane was more interested in walking all around Toon Town & seeing the characters. He was shy and not so sure about them at first but really liked seeing them up close, smiled, and waved to them - even touched Goofy, Pooh, and Tigger! He MET Mickey! Saw Minnie, Pluto, Chip and Dale, Woody & Jessie from Toy Story, & Eeyore. Shane took a much-needed nap during the Christmas parade so we shopped for Mickey ears for Shane & got his name stitched on it, and got something to eat. When he woke up, we went back to Toon Town for another stroll, got him a balloon on Main Street, and spent some of Shane's Disney Dollars at one of the stores. He got a really cool Mickey/Pirate hooded sweatshirt and pants. My mom-in-law picked up a stuffed Minnie Mouse in a pink blanket for our baby girl. We didn't make it until the fireworks show, it was getting too chilly for Shane (since he refuses to wear a hat or gloves, pulls them off every time!) and we were all ready to go after 10 hours. It really was such a great day and Eric & I already can't wait to take Shane back! :)

Shane with Santa!

I know it's terrible, but I just couldn't stop laughing when I saw this picture.....

Side note: The employee (young teenager complaining that she's been on her feet all day and is 'sooooo tired'..... LOL..... yeah, felt like saying, wait til REAL life gets ya sweety, stop your bitching) ... anyway, the employee said to me as I'm paying for our photo "this isn't our regular Santa, so if you want to come back tomorrow, the good Santa will be here. THIS Santa is definitely a Creepy Santa."

Nice holiday attitude!, and what if the poor guy heard her saying this? Now, true that he isn't the BEST, most warm looking Santa around... I agree....possibly Shane agreed, too... but cripes... calling the guy creepy? Anyway.... lol... here's the shot. LOVE it! One day, Shane will get a kick out of it, I'm sure. :)

Shane's 1st Visit to PA!

We went to PA to visit my family for Thanksgiving. We had SO much fun, and it went too fast, as always. Shane did great on the plane going there, even with a 3.5 hour delay, we couldn't believe what a little trooper he was! Everyone was commenting that he was a great lil traveler. When we were at baggage claim, he was still smiling at people, waving to them as they walked by. At 1 o'clock in the morning, no less. (He's a nightowl like his mama....) :) We got to my bro's at 2:30am, and Shane was still amped up. Coming back was a different ballgame altogether. Shane and I both had head colds and all 3 of us hadn't slept well in 3 nights. So, you can imagine how thrilling that plane ride was home.... At one point, we were "those people" with the screaming baby, hysterically crying for 20 minutes straight. I couldn't get him to calm down, people looking at us, both of our noses dripping like faucets.... and I'm pregnant with dizzy spells and horrible heartburn.... and hormonal.. AND bummed that I just left my family back east... GOOD grief, I just wanted to curl up somewhere underneath the plane and cry. Oh well! What can ya do, right?! We survived, it was an experience, WELL worth it, and we learned a lot.

Shane loved my bro's new 11 week old boxer puppy Bailey! It was awesome seeing them run around, chasing each other. I think Shane was thrilled to be bigger then a dog, for once. Shane met his Great-Grandparents!, and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. We had a fun playdate with 4 of my close friends, their kids, my sis, and my niece. It was very fun seeing the kids sit and play together! My friends and I all go back 20+ years, when we were just kids playing out at recess, so its trippy seeing our kids hang out. Shane spent a lot of quality time with his Uncle Colson, watched him play the drums, & watched some cartoons together. Colson probably still has the stupid Hot Dog song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse running through his head. lol. Shane LOVES his cousin Savanna & Aunt Jan and enjoyed being around them. Aunt Jan got him lots of yummy treats! Shane REALLY loves his Mom-Mom (my Mom) she plays silly for him and makes lots of funny faces, which he totally digs. She has this Gopher that dances & plays the theme song from Caddyshack. He must have hit the play button on that 20 times. We also met up with extended family (Kendall and family, Deb and Doug!) for a nice fun playdate! Kendall and I used to skip school together back in jr. high, so its quite comical hearing ourselves 'correct' and guide our children. lol. My long-time friend Amy was visiting PA from WV with her family (!) so we squeezed in some time the morning of Thanksgiving for bagels, juice, and a short but wonderful visit. We met her new hub Steve and new adorable baby girl Josie (3 months old) and of course enjoyed seeing Jessie again (Amy's 7 yr old daughter). We spent some time with my Aunt Pam and cousins Rachel and Frankee, & had great pizza from one of my fave places back east. (Shane loved the pizza too!) We had a yummy mini-Thanksgiving at my Mom's on Wednesday with my Grandmother and Aunt Linda and a big Derby family Thanksgiving the next day at my Aunt Bonnie's house. (my Dad's only sister) It was the first time the whole family was together in about TEN years (minus my cousin Lisa, who is probably still hearing it from her parents! she was the only blood relative missing), it was all truly a blessing to me.... My Pop would light up everytime Shane was near him; we watched a family slideshow that my aunt made my g-parents for their anniversary; we snapped a family pic - the first one in a LONG time; and we watched my aunt and uncle's awesome Christmas light/music show outside. Great stuff... :) We were busy, as you can see, but not TOO busy. One week isn't enough, but then again, its never enough time when you are with loved ones who know you best...

My heart took many, many snapshots.

But, here are some pictures you can actually see. :)