Welcome to the Family

Introducing: Tate Garrett Van Scharrel.
Born: October 30, 2007 at 5:37 p.m.
Weight: 6 pounds, 13 ounces
Length: 20 inches
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
He strikes a nice pose for 15 minutes old, if I do say so myself.

Pumpkins...

What do you do when you're waiting for the arrival of a child? Do something you did as a kid. If it were Christmas, we'd be baking cookies, and if it were Easter we'd dye some eggs, but it is the end of October. Georgia turns Kujo on us when her face is carved on a pumpkin.

We realized we forgot how much work it is to carve a pumpkin. Our hands were cramped up like we had just taken the ACTs or something.

The Georgia pumpkin by day. I offered to carve Kristen's face, but I think she thought it was creepy.

Yep, Saturdays in suburbia aren't too bad.

We're almost there...

The nursery is ready, Kristen is just a couple of days away from that 37-week mark where she is considered 'full term' and the baby can come at any time, and as of our last OB appointment on Wednesday our baby boy was already at 6 lbs, 9 oz. Besides packing a bag for the hospital and taking Weekend Lamaze class next Friday/Saturday, I guess we're ready to go. Everybody tells us that our lives are about to change. We know this is true, of course, and we're excited to find out what that really means.

Anyway, stay tuned to the blog, because this is where you'll find such things as baby pictures and more baby pictures. We'll let you know when he makes an appearance!

Labor Day Weekend

Here we are...
...with our friends Aaron and Abby from St. Louis...

...and Kevin and Meghan from Lincoln...

...enjoying a fine outdoor Mexican meal at Los Cabos on the Riverwalk in Jenks.

Georgia's New House!

Yes, $30 in materials and 4 hours of sweaty labor in the Oklahoma can earn a beagle a new dog house. She doesn't sleep on the roof like Snoopy yet, but I think she kinda likes her new house. It rained today, and the roof didn't even leak. Of course, Georgia didn't stay inside it, so she was still pretty wet. The moral of the story: you can build a dog a dog house, but you can't make her stay in it.

The nursery...

The nursery is finally painted (it took 3 coats to cover), and the crib and bedding are set up. We are now officially at t-minus 2 months and counting.

Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain...

The champion tribal dancer before the Oklahoma musical at its 'official home.'
The pre-Oklahoma tribute to all things Western and cowboy. Yee haw!

Kristen and Abby waiting in eager anticipation.

Enjoying the pre-musical barbeque in the 95-degree heat.