We are here in Mississippi. Paij just finished her first semester of her masters program in school counseling. I just finished my second year of optometry school. We are the proud parents of a new baby girl, Morgan. She was born on May 22. She brings so much joy into our lives. She has already changed us in such a wonderful way. We hope that you will enjoy the photos of our little princess.

Little baby girl Collins is here!!!

She was born Thursday night at 9:30, weighing in at 6 pounds, 4 ounces. She is 21 inches of perfection. Mom is doing great and recovering well from the c-section. The baby is beautiful. We are amazed at how alert and responsive she is to her new world. Paij and the baby will likely be staying at the hospital until Sunday. I am so proud of them both, especially Paij and how strong she was today.

Memphis in Mud...

So one of Paij's best friends from good old Manteca came out to visit for Paij's baby shower. They got their creative juices flowing and got the baby room all decked out. We decided to go to the Beale Street Music festival while she was in town. We were looking forward to hearing Ben Folds, Sheryl Crow, and My Chemical Romance. Instead we got to listen to the locals offer to share their rain-beer as we huddled in the mud waiting for the storm to pass. Needless to say Memphis in May lived up to it's reputation and turned into a torrential downpour. Next time we'll just listen to the cd.

Seeing the sites in Memphis

Paij's cousin Sarah and her husband Ryan came to visit this weekend. It was fun to hang out with them again. We spent last Thanksgiving with them in Pensacola, FL. They currently live in Houston. Well we decided that it was time for us to get out and see some of the sites that we have neglected since moving here to the Memphis area. Paij was a real trooper, especially since she is getting induced in only four days!!We spent all day Saturday touring Memphis, which included stopping by Graceland, visiting Sun Studios, walking Beale Street, visiting the Mud Island river walk park, watching a Redbirds baseball game, eating at one of the worst Bar-B-Que joints we've found in Memphis, and visiting the Lorraine Motel, the assassination site of Martin Luther King, Jr. We all made significant progress with our farmers tans while enjoying the rare beautiful Memphis weather.

The 4-tiered diaper cake, one of the wonders of the world...

Paij received this 'diaper cake' at her baby shower. They did a wonderful job making this thing. But does anyone else see any irony in this spectacle? Who wants to associate cake with what's gonna be in those bad boys soon. Some things a man will never understand.

The baby crib

It took four months, but it is done. The crib is made out of red oak and has an espresso stain. It turned out better than I had hoped. This was a rewarding project and we are looking forward to having it get used.