More videos

Delia was not so talkative tonight, but she was doing lots of playing. She also tried out her Bumpo-style chair for the first time, which frees up mom and dad 's hands to hold the video camera and provide prop.

Excited for a bath!

We recently bought a small, digital camcorder because Delia has started "talking" so much. The camera is great...it is the size of a wallet, it records up to 1 hour, and it automatically saves the files into little movies that are ready to upload to the web. Pretty easy. So, expect lots of Delia videos in the near future.

Our first attempt is below. Melissa was was getting Delia ready for a bath when she started making this funny, growly noise. It went on for several minutes, and she seemed quite entertained by herself.

Touring StarkVegas

My friend Anna Ford Spurlin and her hubbie Matt came to visit from N. Carolina this weekend! We thought Grady might make it back in time to see them, but the chasing was still hot this weekend, so he is scheduled to get home tonight. I have known Anna since junior high and we lived together at MSU. This was her first trip back to Starkville in 10 years, so we spent a lot of time touring around seeing all the things that have changed since then. On Friday morning we started downtown, then headed to campus.

One thing that hasn't changed: great BBQ at Little Dooey's.

Waiting for our food inside the new screened in/plastic-ed in porch.

Not long before you can have your own BBQ baby girl!

The new Barnes & Noble bookstore on campus,

which houses Starkville's first Starbucks AND
the only escalator in the tri-county area.

We enjoyed Italian food on the patio of BIN 612 on University Dr. that night.

Delia was very quiet at dinner, but she talked all the way home.

On Saturday we drove about 20 minutes out to the Noxubee Wildlife Refuge, where Anna and I used to go to "study" (lay out and get tan).

This boardwalk took us through a swampy wooded area to a view of Bluff Lake.

Delia's first picnic!

The view from one of the overlooks where you can
sometimes see deer, geese, bald eagles, and other critters.

The day started out cool, overcast, but very humid. After lunch it became very sunny and steamy. Delia was a trooper, even though she was a hot and sticky baby.

At the welcome center overlook, we saw a pretty big gator swim by. On our way out, we saw another big one, possibly the same one, resting on a submerged tree. He slid off the tree and flipped his tail while we were standing there and then we saw how huge he was!

Gators in water are larger than they appear.

Zoomed in view of the same photo. Yikes!

Since there are no Sunday alcohol sales allowed in Starkville, it's good to stock up on Saturday. Brewski's has a large beverage selection, as well as fresh crawfish. We picked up some Southern Pecan Ale, which is the only pecan beer in the world and is brewed in Mississippi's first and only brewery, Lazy Magnolia.

Also new to Anna is Mugshots Grill and Bar, voted "Best Burger in Mississippi" by Mississippi Magazine. (Awesome website and food photography by Blufish Design)

Fried pickles, apparently not as readily available in N. Carolina.

Delia played with her dress and her feet
while we chowed down on monster burgers.

Sunday was a lazy day of Wal-Mart, laundry, grilling, and
watching the races: the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600.

"Where are we going now?

Delia gazes at her new best friend.

"What a fun weekend!"

More than nice views and microbrevvs

Those of you following Walker Ashley's blog may have been under the impression that Grady's "storm chase" was just an excuse to tour around national parks and microbrevveries of the western U.S. Well, the weather finally cooperated on Thursday as the group saw 5 tornadoes in western Kansas. All 5 were spawned by the same storm as they followed it from near Grainfield, KS to Dresden, KS. The following photos are just a sample. Check Walker's blog for more detailed updates as soon as we have time. Be aware that the chase pattern looks great for the next several days, so it could be a while.

This is the first cell we got on, and this was as good as it ever got...a little mammatus. Patience was important all day.

After the first two, small tornadoes, this nice-looking cone stayed on the ground for ~20 minutes.

We even had time for fun photo ops.

This was near the storm's most powerful stage...multiple vortices! Thankfully, no injuries or major damage were reported.

*This site is now rated E for everyone. Jenn, let me know if you can access from work now.

Birthday Weekend in Memphis

This weekend I went up to Southaven to stay with Jennifer and Wes for my birthday weekend. (It's a birthday that ends in a zero - yikes!) Since Grady is usually gone storm chasing on my birthday, he always fixes me up with something really sweet. This year he got me a spa day at Gould's Day Spa at the Peabody Hotel. Wooo wee! The husbands worked together and Jennifer got a spa day for Mother's Day, so we went together on Monday. Grady's mom also came up to Southaven and helped keep the babies.

In case you haven't noticed, we've got some happy babies on our hands.

Precious!

Then there's drunk baby and monster baby...
we laughed at this picture until we cried!

Saturday night we got a visit from Jenn's friend Megan and her twin girls!

"Look at these great toys!"

"Let's get those babies!"

"Help us Grandma! Here come the twins!"

"They're headed for my swing!"

We went to a really nice outdoor shopping mall on Sunday and the babies were soooo good.
Here we are eating lunch outside at CrepeMakers, which was dee-lish.

Grandma stealing sugar outside CrepeMakers.

We got our makeup done at the Bare Escentuals store,

and Delia and Wesley slept the whole time.

Shopping all day is hard work!

We found a precious christening gown at Dillard's for Delia's baptism in a few weeks. Then Delia had a giant blowout in the Dillard's Ladies Lounge (not very ladylike) and we had to throw away some of her clothes.

Luckily Wesley let Delia borrow his bath raft that night.

Then he and Grandma Amanda helped her fall asleep.

p.s. It is after midnight, I just finished unpacking and posting pictures, and the dogs are barking like crazy in the back yard. I rescued a big chewed-on turtle around 9pm, so I'm thinking it's another one. I walk out there in my flip flops with a flashlight, hear Buddy yelping, and IT'S A SNAKE! Grady, come home! What kind of snake is solid brown? I threw the dogs in the laundry room for the night. Maybe the snake is not poisonous and the pups will still be alive in the morning.

4 Months Old

Delia is 4 months old this Saturday! She had her 4-month vaccinations on Monday. They made her feel bad for 2 days, but she is back to her sweet smiling self now. She weighs 14 lbs, 8 oz, is 24" long, and she is in the 80th percentile for her weight.

With bunny at 4 months old

With bunny at 1 month old

The other night I was rattling some ice around in a cup and Delia's eyes went really big at the sound. So I showed her what it was and she followed it around with her eyes. Then I touched the cup to her hand and told her "cold." Then I touched it to her mouth, and she started licking it like an ice cream cone!! She got so excited that she kept squealing!

What a wonderful little weirdo.

Storm Chase Season

Grady is in the Plains for the next couple weeks. If you are interested in keeping up with his trip, you can read Walker Ashley's blog each day: http://thetae.blogspot.com/

Happy Mothers Day!

Delia got dressed up in her new dress for church on Mothers Day. After a disgustingly humid day yesterday, a front finally came through late last night and brought us fabulous cool weather today. We went for a quick walk with the dogs before Delia's afternoon nap. Her sun hat was too big, so her daddy folded it up like a helmet for her. She has been "talking" and cooing like crazy lately. So much that we just bought a pocket camcorder online so that we can video the cuteness. Stay tuned for The Delia Show....