My best friend, Shay

This is my best friend, Shay. She is amazing. This picture was taken at her baby shower/girls' night out the night before she went into the hospital to be induced to deliver her third baby. She had a baby boy named Ty Orlando. He is precious and his big brothers, Aidan(4) and Eli(2), think he's pretty wonderful.

I have been friends with Shay for, at least, 10 years. We were bridesmaids in each others weddings and have been there for each other during many of life's major milestones.

The two things I appreciate most about Shay are her faithfulness and her wisdom. She is a great example of a faithful wife and friend and she gives amazing, biblical advice. She has such a gentle spirit but she can crack you up with her sense of humor...just ask her what sound a dinosaur makes. :>)

I feel the Lord has blessed me with many things: a wonderful husband, a beautiful daughter, a fantastic family. But He went above and beyond when he put Shay in my life. Thank you, Lord.

new pics posted on Flickr

Welcome home, Zoey

We're home!!! And we couldn't be more excited. Zoey, 7 1/2 months, doesn't seem to remember our house at all and so she is a little nervous about everything. She doesn't know her room or her bed and she has had a difficult time falling and staying asleep. She has figured out that she can sit up in her crib but I don't think she knows she can lay down when she's ready to sleep. I know she'll get back to her normal schedule and that we all just need a few days to re-adjust. It's been difficult to unpack because when Zoey's awake, she cries unless we're holding her or playing on the floor with her. Our house is significantly bigger than our one room cabin at kamp. She must think when we leave the room, we're never coming back. She also has a bad cough which keeps her up at night and at nap times. As soon as we get unpacked and her cough goes away, we'll get back on track.

The state of Texas pushed back the start date for school, so we actually have a week off between kamp and the first day of school. We can't begin to tell you how amazing it is to have down time after kamp. What a treat! It's 109 degrees out today so unfortunately we'll be hanging out inside, but at least we can do fun stuff.

Gotta go...Zoey's calling.

new pics posted on flickr

Introducing...Rice Cereal. Yummy!

After much thought, advice, and prayer, we decided to start Zoey on solids at 6 1/2 months. Originally, I had wanted to wait until we were home from kamp before introducing rice cereal into her diet. But, after asking a lot of moms their advice and reading everything I could get my hands on, we decided to give it a try. Needless to say, the first meal was messy and really funny. It's been about 2 weeks since she started solids and we have recently added sweet potatoes to the menu. In another few days we'll add squash, then carrots.

Other than the life changing news about Zoey and cereal, we've had a wonderful summer. It's hard to believe that kamp is almost over and we're getting ready to pack up and head home. I miss my house. And, I'm tired. I guess I thought I was Superwoman or something. Running the office and taking care of Zoey has left me pretty exhausted. There were days when I would ask myself, "What was I thinking?" I miss the days of catching a movie and sleeping in on my 2-4s (days off) or catching a nap during FOB (flat on back). Though, I will tell you this. My main goal for this summer was to have no regrets. I didn't want to look back on the past 3 months and wish I had spent more time with Zoey. I didn't want to miss anything. And I really, truly feel that I accomplished my goal. I may have let other things slide...balancing our checkbook or sun tanning (I don't even look like I worked at a summer kamp)...but I got to spend time with my family. I love that Dave can spend time with Zoey during the daytime. He can lay her down for her nap or carry her around kamp in the front carrier. He can take for walks and tell her she can always come to him and talk to him about anything. As excited as I am for getting home and seeing my family and friends, there is a big part of me that will miss the lifestyle we lead at kamp. We'll get home and become busy with the day's tasks. Dave was accepted into grad school and he'll be starting classes this fall. He'll head back to work and I will miss getting to have lunch with him everyday and walking around kamp together. It's such a bittersweet time.

The good news is that we will always have next summer.

new pics posted on Flickr

Long Time...No Post

Well, it's been a while everyone. We have been at kamp since May 17th and this is our first opportunity to post some pictures. I had the hardest time deciding which picture to post, but after many options, I decided on this one. I couldn't have posed her better myself. So many things have happened and Zoey has grown and changed so much since we've been here. Instead of a paragraph of info, how about a top 10 list of interesting things that has happened to the Cribbs Family.

Here we go...

#10...Zoey learned to blow raspberries a couple of weeks ago. She thinks they're really funny.

#9...Dave celebrated his first official Father's Day with his baby girl. Technically, he was a father last summer when I was prego, but this year Zoey gave him his gift...a black fleece vest from REI.

#8...Zoey went swimming for the first time a couple of days ago. She was pretty indifferent about it. She didn't love it but she certainly didn't hate it. PS-she looks adorable in her bathing suit.

#7...Zoey turned 5 months on May 28th. At the time she weighed 15 lbs and measured 27inches. She's getting so big.

#6...Dave got a black eye here at kamp. I like to tell people that he ticked me off and I let him have it, but the truth is he was launching a water rocket and the bottle came up and pegged him right in the eye. Nice shiner.

#5...Zoey learned to play peek-a-boo. When I lay a burp cloth over her and ask her, "Where's Zoey?" she pulls it off and smiles. Cuteness.

#4...Zoey is 6 months old today. We haven't weighed or measured her, yet, but she is long and skinny but she's got the cutest chunky thighs. She's wearing 9 month outfits but only because she needs the extra length. She can still wear a pair of 0-3 month shorts.

#3...Dave is going to sign up for another adventure race that takes place in September. Usually he and his teammates do the Booger County race, but this year they're considering the Berryman which is a 36 hour race.

#2...Zoey is getting close to sitting up by herself but she still needs to learn to not throw herself back. She really enjoys sitting upright because she has access to all of her toys.

And the number one thing that has happened to our family is...

#1...On Tuesday, June 26th...I turned 30!!!!!!!!!!!!

New pictures posted on Flickr

Happy Mother's Day

Today I celebrated my first Mother's Day. I love being a mom. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be but it's so much more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true. She is the best gift ever.

We're down to our last few days before we leave for kamp. I've got a ton to do but if I stop for a moment to think about my list of "to-dos" or how I'm going to miss my friends and family, I will end up in tears.

Onto Zoey news...

She started rolling over about a week ago. I laid her down..on her back...for a nap and a few minutes later her cries sounded muffled. When I went into her room, she was on her tummy and couldn't figure out how to roll back over. She's since realized that she likes sleeping on her tummy and it doesn't freak her out anymore.

She loves, loves, loves playing on her baby gym. She kicks her toys and squeals with delight. She coos and carries on extensive conversations with toys, people, the ceiling fan...whatever catches her eye.

I hope and pray that she will make a smooth transition to kamp. It's always a little scary being in a new environment and around a ton of new people. Please pray that she will sleep well, eat well and enjoy meeting new people. As always, we'll keep you posted.

new pics posted on Flickr

4 months old

Zoey Michele @ 4 months

13lbs, 12.8oz (55%)

25.75 inches long (90%)

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We saw Dr Day on Thursday and Zoey received her 2nd set of shots...only 4 shots this time. She responded much better than last time. Praise the LORD! She no longer has to take her reflux medicine and I have been able to reintroduce dairy back into my diet. Last night I made some chocolate chip cookies and I had a half of a glass of ice cold milk. Yummy. I haven't had milk in almost two months. Zoey has met all of her milestones except she hasn't rolled over, yet, but Dr Day wasn't concerned at all.

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Unfortunately Dave's adventure race was cancelled due to a lack of participation. Bummer. He was looking forward to using his new bike light and headlamp. Hopefully he and his teammates will be able to find another race in the fall.

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I can't believe it's already that time of year when we start packing up and head to kamp. So many people were surprised that we were still going to kamp this year...now that we have a baby. I guess it never crossed our minds to NOT go to kamp. It seems like the most natural transition. Don't get me wrong. Of course I'm nervous about packing up and moving for the summer, especially with a baby. But kamp is such a wonderful place and we will be surrounded by some of our best friends. I know my parents and my sister are not exactly thrilled that we're taking Zoey 8 hours away for 3 months, but at least we can post tons of pictures. God bless the internet.

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One more thing before I go. Our little Zoey is now officially sleeping through the night. We put her to bed around 8pm, I wake her up at 10pm for her final feeding and she sleeps until I wake her up at 7am. We know that she is physically capable of going at least 9 hours between feedings and waking up three times during the night to nurse was not good for me or her. So, last Monday night, we decided to break the habit. It only took 2 nights before she was sleeping straight through until morning without little fussing spells. I knew she could do it, but I was very surprised I could do it.

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new pics posted on Flickr

other goings on

Dave asked me the other day if this blog was just for updates on Zoey or for updates on other things. I looked at him with a puzzled expression... what else do we have going on that doesn't relate to Zoey? As of right now, my world pretty much revolves around taking care of her, however, there are a couple of other things to mention.

First of all, Dave took the GRE last week and did well. He will be applying to the University of North Texas to pursue a Masters in Engineering. Hopefully, if everything works out, he will begin taking classes this fall.

Secondly, Dave is preparing for another adventure race...Booger County 2007! He and two friends from kamp, Micah and Marissa, will compete in the third annual race. They are still debating if they will attempt the 35mile or 60mile course. In years past I went along as the support team, unfortunately, this year I must pass the responsibility onto another worthy person. Any volunteers? Dave has been running and riding to prepare for this race and last week he squeezed in a 20 mile bike ride before folks came over for Bible study.

Wow! Dave has alot going on right now. Hey, I have goals, too, ya know. I try to take a shower every day AND I shoot for going the entire day without being soaked in drool or spit-up. Everybody needs goals, right? Actually, I love, love, love being at home with Zoey. She is the most wonderful thing that has happened to our family. We literally don't have enough hours in day for the number of kisses we want to give her.

Oh, we should also mention that Dave changed our settings on our blog and now anyone can leave us a message. We also receive an email alert each time a message is left. It makes it even easier for us to keep in touch with our friends and family. Hope to talk to you soon.