Snow Day!!!

We are spending Christmas break in Michigan and it snowed (imagine that). This is the first time that Cali has seen or been out in the snow! My Mom has a baby sled so Cali got a sled ride. She had such a great time, smiling and enjoying the ride!!! Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas is in 12 days!!!

We finally decorated the Christmas tree today. Between my being sick and then Cali May being sick, we have not decorated :) Cali's tree has been up but the big tree did not have any ornaments on it until today. The house should be done tomorrow, just in time to clean it up for next year...hahahaha. This is Cali May hanging her first ornament!!!

I just wanted to post this adorable picture!

We bought Cali a 6ft white tree for her bedroom and put it up this evening, it doesn't have ornaments yet but she loves the lights! We have bought those, but we needed a costume change for those pics :) We will take those later on!

We have so much to be thankful this year!

Sorry I didn't post on Thanksgiving but I have been really sick. I have a sinus infection, which was hard not just being sick but being unable to snuggle with Cali May :( But I am feeling a little better today and I am getting in some snuggles. Cali May did laugh (giggle) for the first time yesterday. She has been smiling and cooing for quite awhile but this was a full out belly laugh. Thank goodness the baby monitor was on or I would have missed it. Jeremy was changing her in her room and he was blowing rasberries on her belly and it struck her as hysterical. Such a beautiful sound!!!

Thanksgiving was at Mia and Pa's house and we had a good time. Both great-grandpa's were there and were happy to see Cali. Aunt Nater stopped by to see her too! She is usually the main attraction anywhere we go now :)

We are so thankful to Theresa for picking us to be parents to such a beautiful and smart baby girl. She will never know how much she has changed our lives or how much she has made our family complete. Most of all we are thankful to God for bringing these three individuals together to form one family!!!

Love and Thanks,

The Efird's

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It's Christmas Time in the City!

Well actually it's not even Thanksgiving yet but we went and met Santa Claus today. Bass Pro has the best looking santa that I have ever seen. We pulled the Mommy and Daddy trick of handing her to Santa backward so that she never looked at who had her :) She didn't cry at all.

At her Doctors' visit on Wednesday Cali May weighed in at 14 pounds. She is also 26 inches long now. She can roll over from back to belly, and then back again. Cali also wants to sit up really bad, when you lay her on her back she does crunches and gets ugly with us when she can't get herself up into a seated position.

On Tuesday she is officially ours. Cali's birth father was able to sign the paperwork and help us to get her adoption finalized :) Pray for us as we enter the final stages of this mountain of paperwork!!!!

Halloween Pictures

What a fun Halloween we had! My Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Kathy were in town and we had a fun time hanging out with them. They flew into town around lunch time and Cali and I went to the airport to pick them up!!! When we got Cali ready for trick or treating we took about a million pictures of her :) Her pink poodle costume was so adorable on her! We took our poodle to her Mia and Pa's to trick or treat first. She got cute socks, books, and a rattle :) I never realized that you could collect presents on Halloween :) But when we went to Aunt Nater's Cali got a new shirt and a rubber ducky!!! She even trick or treated at the Grant house, where Mommy and Daddy got some candy and pretzels :)

Cali's BFF Hadley showed up in her Chicken costume and her farmer parents :) It was so cute to see the two of them dressed up on their first Halloween :)

In case we don't have enough pictures of Princess Cali, we went to Walmart and had 4 generation pictures done and Cali in her costume. I will post these when I can :)

Halloween is coming!!!!!

I am so excited about Halloween coming. Not because of the candy, and not because my students will trick or treat at our house (which I love) but because Jeremy and I have a baby this year to take "out". Cali is going to be a pink poodle. We got her a costume from Babies R Us in September :) hahahaha! It is so cute, I will post pictures on Halloween if I can. 

The other good thing about Halloween this year is that Cali's Grandma, Nina, and Aunt Kat are coming from Michigan to see her :) I know they miss their little baby and they will be shocked to see how big she is now. This is her Aunt Kat's first time seeing her!!!!! We have girls weekend planned, Cali is getting her ears pierced and she is going to a pool party at the hotel :) Look for new pictures next week!!!

Cali is now drinking 6 ounces at a time and sleeps through the night most nights. She slept from 6pm Saturday until 6am!!! Jeremy and I checked on her though, that threw us for a loop :)

Pumpkin Patch Palooza !!

We went to Riverbend Pumpkin Patch today. We met up with some friend of ours and walked around with Cali. Cali went on a wagon ride and then went through the patch to find the perfect pumpkin. We took some really cute pics of our little pumpkin. They are on her picasa site, go a few posts down and there is a link :) Happy Fall Ya'll!!!!

You are the cutest baby EVER!!!!

Can you see why I want to hold her day and night ????? She is growing leaps and bounds. Cali is smiling socially and is sleeping through the night for the most part :) she still loves shopping with mommy :)

Princess Sweet Pea is 2months old

She was thinking, are you kidding me right now...more pictures. hahahhahaha

This is princess watching her crib aquarium. She LOVES watching the fish go around and round. Look at her big girl Paci :)

I love this picture of Cali because she is wearing those Mary Jane socks. She looks like such a big girl :) I cannot believe how quickly the first two months have gone by. I don't want to blink, she will b 3 months.

The first on camera smile !!

I have finally been able to catch Cali with a full smile. She is so darn cute anyway, but then when she smiles....look out! She is starting to look like a baby now not a newborn. We took her to the mall today and she did so good!! I got her a bunch of outfits that were only $1.99 a piece and a ton of sun hats for next summer. She is the best dressed person in our house to say the least. But who can pass up khaki pants for $1.99 a pair?!?!?! Not me!!!

Happy Labor Day!

I had to post this picture because it is soooooo cute! Jen and I put Cali in her Bumbo for the first time today. She did really well sitting up in it. The Bumbo really helps her to sit up and she looked so perplexed that she could see all around at once :) Slow down Cali you are growing too fast :)

If you want to see all the 400 million pictures we have taken of Cali, and then you can save them to your computer go here http://picasaweb.google.com/Calitheresa

Happy 30th Birthday Theresa!

Sunday is Theresa's 30th birthday. I hope that she has a wonderful day and that this is the best year so far!!! We will be calling her on Sunday to wish her a happy birthday but I wanted to let everyone know that it was her special day!!!

Going back to work on Monday :(

This was my last weekday with Cali before school starts. I wouldn't even talk about it this week, it is breaking my heart to even think about being away from her during the weekdays. I am hoping that the craziness of second graders will keep me busy and not thinking too much about the baby :) Speaking of the cutest baby in the world; she is now holding her head up like a big girl, she is sleeping in her crib full time, she loves her crib aquarium, and she loves her Mommy and Daddy!!!

A big event that happened this week is Cali met Hadley. Hadley is Cali's BFF and we took pictures of them together. She is the cutest little peanut of a baby. Cali looked like such a big girl next to her. Hadley's mommy took more pictures than we did, I will try to add more when I get them from her :)

Cali also went to the Doctors for her one month appointment with Dr. Breach. She now weighs in at 9 pounds 10 ounces and is 22 inches long!!! Holy Moly :) No wonder my back hurts at the end of the day of carrying her around :) She is a very healthy baby and we have had no problems!!!

Happy One Month Birthday!!!

Our sweet angel is one month old today! She has gotten so big and she definately has her own opionions on things. She is eating between 4-6 ounces every 3 hours and loves sleeping with Mommy and Daddy when she is napping. We had her pictures taken today and they turned out sooooooo good. It was hard not to be suckered into buying the big package because all of the pictures turned out so beautiful. Our girl is also going to be in the newspaper tomorrow, her baby announcement will be included in the Sunday edition of our hometown newspaper. I will try to scan the announcement into the computer and see if it will look good or not. Let's hope the next month doesn't go by as fast as this one has. School starts in 9 days, YIKES!!!!!!!

Our baby is growing too fast!!!

I cannot believe how fast Cali is growing. I look at her and I can't tell, but if I look back at the million pictures that I have taken I can really see how much she is growing. This week her great grandma came to visit and spoiled her even more than she already is. She brought with her the gift money from our Michigan family. With the money we bought half of Babies R Us; swing, bouncer chair, play mat, bumbo, positioner, bottles, nipples, baskets, diaper genie supplies...and more than I can even remember right now. We also had to install a second rod in Cali's closet for her clothing collection. Gram and I organized it by sizes so it is easier to choose an outfit for her :) Well I will try to update sooner next time, it's just been HARD to get the time to do it!!

Pictures of the dedication!

The video is "working" but not as well as the other video. If you are a patient person you will see some of it, but it is choppy. I will try to fix it (between baby time) when I can!! Here are some pics of the dedication. I will post pictures of the luncheon when I can!!!!

This video should be better :)

Cali's Dedication Ceremony

Today was a very blessed day! 20 family and friends joined our church family to dedicate our baby girl Cali. It was a very moving ceremony for Jeremy and I because of all the love and excitement shown by everyone. Cali made her church debut this Sunday and was awwweeeddd and ewwwweeddd over as we knew she would be. She looked so pretty in her white dress and the white blanket from Grandma Dorothy. We had a nice luncheon at Mia and Pa's house after and everyone took turns passing her around again :) Hope to post more soon!! I will try to post pictures of my Mom and Dad's visit to see Cali for the first time!!!!

13 days old!

We are really enjoying Cali and being around her all the time. She is a good sleeper and only cries when she is hungry or dirty. She is the sweetest baby ever. She has had quite a few visitors as well. She is waiting to meet her Grandma and Grandpa Manis on Thursday! She enjoys her nightly visits with her Nana Efird and just loves being snuggled by her :) Cali will be 13 days old on Tuesday but she has already been in three states, been shopping at outlet malls, walmart, and Target and gone out to eat 3 times :) I wonder what else she will get into :)

Our Girl is a model!

Sunday afternoon my friend came to take proffessional pictures of Cali and I am posting some of the proofs. Cali did so well!!!! I cannot believe how great they turned out, it's like Anne Geddes came and took the pictures!!

We are going to go see Tummy Mommy today for a visit, Jeremy is so excited because we will get to have a home cooked meal. I am happy to go visit and get out of the hotel and get to visit with Theresa and Joyce :)

Hopefully we will get to go home to North Carolina tomorrow but I am not holding my breath. It hasn't been an unpleasant stay but it will be nice to sleep in our own bed, and Cali in her bassinet.

Sunday 7-20-2008

Today was a very busy day for Miss Cali. She had her first photo session today and it went very well, she even peed on the prop table twice :) That's what babies do :) She also got to meet her Aunt Jen for the first time, she is going to be one very spoiled little girl. Cali was very busy with shopping at Walmart and eating dinner at Ruby Tuesdays :) Jeremy and I are officially "those" people who's child cries at dinner. This young couple that was sitting near us turned and looked but I just said sorrrrryyy :) She only cried until I held her, she does not enjoy the car carrier.

Saturday!

Today was a sad day, and a happy day. We already miss Tummy Mommy Theresa and know that she misses Cali immensely. There is no doubt in our mind how much she loves this baby and wants only the best for her. We are at the hotel now. Cali just finished a 2 ounce bottle and is now laying in her bassinet :) See I can put her down....at least long enough to type this!!! Thanks for all the well wishes for our new family. Keep praying for Theresa as this is not an east decision on her part and I don't like to see her hurting!

We love you Theresa!

Kimberly, Jeremy, and Cali

Cali on video!!!

I hope this works! I took a video of our baby and she wouldn't wake up for too long but she did get a little mad at being poked at :)

Happy Birthday Cali!

She's here! Cali Theresa Efird arrived at 10:09am weighing in at 7 pounds and 1 ounce. She is 21.5 inches long!!! I did not post yesterday which is understandable because all I wanted to do was hold her and love on her! She is laying with Theresa now sleeping snug as a bug!!! She loves to be swaddled and gets a little testy when you unwrap her for any reason :)

I will write more soon!

Mommy

There are two of us, soon to be three of us!!

We are in Georgia and it's 6:30 am. Cali is going to be born through c-section today around 9am!! I am just a ball of nerves and snapping at every little thing :) I need to see and hold her :) I will post more tonight with pictures but I wanted to update that her c-section was going to be this morning and not in the afternoon like we thought! Please keep everyone involved in your prayers and especially Theresa as she goes through the surgery.

Less Than A Week!!!

Well today is Thursday and I am really starting to get excited beyond measure. I have had this baby in my heart my whole life and now it's becoming a reality. I am so nervous about the hospital and how can I keep myself from sobbing a crying when I finally get to hold her. Jeremy and I are going to stay in the "guest house" at the hospital and be within walking distance of our baby Cali. Speaking of Cali (hahaha) Jennifer a friend of mine from work (Nahrgang) sent Cali the cutest onesie yesterday, it is pink and it says "Cali" embroidered across the chest!!!!!! Sooo cute!

ATTENTION, The day is drawing near!!!

We just found out that our precious baby Cali will be arriving on July 16th. Theresa is have a scheduled C-section that day. Not only is it a special day for us being our anniversary, but now it will be our baby girls birthday!!! What a great surprise to come home to yesterday :) Thanks Theresa for helping us get all of our blessings!!!

Clothes Gone Crazy!

Now that we are matched it has about killed me to look at and not buy pink clothes. I have finally given in and bought a bunch of outfits on Ebay. Jeremy has put me on a budget, and will not let me spend anymore of "our" money on clothes. He has a point, we have not had our showers yet and we will probably get a ton of clothes from all of our friends and family!!!! Well here is my favorite of the ones I have bought. I also bought a beautiful sign for the nursey door that says "Sweet Dreams" and it is in the pink and brown of the nursery paint color :)

The nursery!

Alright everyone knows that I am a little picky and super selective, well I have the nursery painted and the bedding has arrived, but of course I am second guessing myself again. I know I love the bedding, it is a plush pink with little butterflies embroidered on it and the bedding will look awesome with the furniture. I am just worried that I won't like it next to the brown and pink. I am going to try it out today and see :) I do love the walls so here is a pic of the wall in the nursery. I will post more pics tonight when I get the bedding on the new mattress. Also I am leaving for a wedding next Wednesday so I hope Miss Cali knows that she cannot come out at least until July :) I want to be there the moment that she makes her debut!!!!

Gotta run, more later!

Here she is!!!!

Here she is~ Cali Theresa is making her world wide web debut. She is shown here in profile! She is weighing in at 4lb 10oz and she is right on target where she should be for 33 weeks. It was really exciting to see her and to hear her heartbeat. We showed Grandma and Grandpa Efird her sonogram video tonight. It was just as neat to see it again at home. Theresa is ready for her to make her appearance, it is VERY warm in GA these days!!!

We are Matched!!!!

It is official. I have never been so happy to see words, as I was to see "we are matched" under our picture. On the Lifetime website we are now listed as matched. I am verrrrryyyy excited! Little pink outfits and little purple and blue outfits are dancing through my head. Theresa was everything that we can hope for in a "tummy mommy" she is kind and sweet and she makes us laugh. I look forward to our new family growing in July to include Cali and her family!!!! Tomorrow is the sonogram :) We will get to see our baby girl for the first time!!!!!

This is where we can meet!

This is where we will post information about Cali and the rest of the family. This is where you can have 24 hour access to all things Cali. You can post things here as well, pictures of you and of Cali's siblings. I hope this is something that everyone will check for updates on how Cali is doing and how much she is growing.