Hey Mike!

Addison and I went to visit Mike the Tiger at his habitat for the first time recently.  The weather was so perfectly springy a few weeks back, it was hard to come straight home after picking her up.  We made a trip to the park and to see Mike all in one week.  Here are a few pics from our visit to see Mike.

When we first arrived and found Mike in the corner shade, he spotted us right away and began licking his chops.  Seriously, if he could talk, I'm certain he would have said "Hey lady, I want to eat your baby." It was a little eerie!

Addison wasn't too interested in Mike but was just thrilled to pieces over the steps at the front of the habitat.  She kept going in circles up, down around and up again.

Sometimes, I really enjoy being a tourist in my own town, and visiting campus always reminds me that Baton Rouge is a pretty fun place to be.  Geaux Tigers!

Top Ten of 2011

Since I was such a slacker blogging after Addison's arrival, I decided to do a top ten of 2011 to highlight some of my favorite moments of the year...enjoy!

10)Becoming a Kelly's Kids rep - yep, that's right, I became a rep for Kelly's Kids in 2011. My first season was this Fall and it was a lot of fun having trunk shows at friend's homes and getting to pick out all sorts of ridiculously cute clothes for Addison. I looked into it for the rep benefits and pretty much spent every penny of my commission on clothes for Addison, which was just what I had planned. I recently received the spring catalogs in the mail, and went through today deciding what I can spend all my commission on in the spring.

9) Best compliment of 2011 - a coworker stopped me to ask me what color lipstick I wear, she said she was noticing my lip color the other day and meant to ask me what lipstick it is...I don't wear lipstick!!! Best. Compliment. Ever!

8) New patio - Brandon got a wild hair shortly after Addison was born and added a patio in the front yard, at the time I was a bit confused about the sudden urgency, but understand it is basically the opposite of nesting. Women make a happy home to prepare for baby's arrival, men need to work outside after the baby comes. I blogged part one months ago but never completed the update, you know, because I'm a slacker. Well, here's the finished product, it turned out awesome!

Our new patio

7) Girls Night Out - I love spending time with my girlfriends which is new to me because I never really had a lot of girl friends growing up. I have made a lot of good girlfriends in the past five years and love sushi/margarita/American Idol/Project Runway nights.

6) Pick a state - I've set a goal to visit all 50 states by the time I'm 50 and truth be told am a long way off. It's getting harder to decide where to go because, I'm not that excited about all 50 states. This year we decided to put the remaining states in a hat and draw our next location. The winner was...Kentucky! So, I've been planning our 2012 vacation to Kentucky and am excited about seeing Churchill Downs, the Louisville Slugger and Kentucky Derby museums, going on a bourbon tour, Louisville Zoo, and much more. Imagine my delight when I discovered that Indianapolis and Cincinnati are a few hours drive...so I'll attempt to knock three states off the list in one trip. I'll need to do that to achieve my goal because 50 isn't that far off!

5) Labor Day at the beach - We spent Labor Day weekend in Gulf Shores with my dad and his wife and Tropical Storm Lee. It wasn't really what I had in mind for a weekend at the beach but we made the best of it.

Labor Day in Gulf Shores

4) Boo at the Zoo - We took Addison for her first visit to the zoo for Boo at the Zoo. Our local zoo decorates for Halloween and local sponsors give out candy to the children. It was absolutely crazy packed. We weren't worried about waiting in line for candy with a nine month old so it was no biggie. We ended up with an annual zoo membership because you could bypass the admission line if you purchased a membership. After waiting for all of one minute, we signed up. The best part is, the membership reciprocates to other zoos around the U.S., including the Louisville Zoo! :)

Addison's first trip to the Baton Rouge Zoo

3) Mother's day - this mother's day was very special because it was my first mothers day and I got a Kindle! Just kidding...well, I did get a Kindle, but that's not why it was so special. We also had Addison baptized on Mother's Day and all of our family came over for brunch after church, it was a very special day.

Addison's baptism, my first mother's day

2) LSU's undefeated season - how special is that...I know it's kind of lame for that to beat out mother's day, but I'm pretty freaking excited about our amazing football team and am nervously awaiting the BCS Championship game on Monday night.

Trying to keep this in mind

and the number one moment of 2011...

1) Addison's birth day - the most special moment that I don't really remember thanks to complete exhaustion and lots of narcotics but still the best day of the year by far!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful year...looking forward to all that 2012 holds, wishing you many blessings!

Christmas Traditions

Brandon and I have had few "traditions" during the holidays but I've found since having a little one, those traditions have more meaning.

Here are a few of our Christmas traditions...

1) LSU christmas tree - I had a purple and gold Christmas tree before Brandon and I moved in together and we've just kept it going all these years. I contemplated a more traditional Christmas tree since having a baby but just couldn't commit. I've gathered a nice collection of ornaments, most of them this year when I went a little overboard at Hollydays, buying up every LSU ornament I saw. Here are some of our new ones we added this year.

LSU Tigers
Geaux Tigers!

LSU

I love LSU Gameday

Addison 2011

2) Decorating the outside of the house - we didn't even do this this year, since our house is on the market, Brandon decided not to decorate outside. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing when trying to sell the house but I guess in terms of photographing the house, it doesn't date the pictures.

Here are some ideas for new ones to be instituted sooner or later, when Addison's old enough to remember. After all, isn't that what traditions are all about, making memories?!! If we are going to all that work, I want her to remember it.

1) Cutting down our Christmas tree at at farm - we usually go to Lowe's or Home Depot and pick out a tree but think it would be a lot of fun when she is a little older to go to a real farm and cut down a tree

2) driving around looking at Christmas lights - I've been trying to talk Brandon into this all season but with no success. I was so excited to find this article in a local parenting magazine about light shows in our area...I guess it's still not too late but I'm thinking this tradition will be put off.

3) Elf on the shelf - I'll admit this inspiration came from so many cute postings on facebook and pinterest but mostly I want to get an elf on the shelf because I want to name him Elfis, get it, like Elvis but Elfis! I heard that on the radio and have been dying to get one just for that reason.

4) Birthday cake for Jesus - started this tradition this year, because after all He is the reason for the season and who doesn't like birthday cake, right? I was picking up the cake at the bakery yesterday and asked that they write "Happy Birthday Jesus" on the cake. The girl at the bakery looked at me with a smile. I answered, "well, it is his birthday, that's why we celebrate" and out of the blue, this women next to me says "Hallelujah!" I'm not sure why but it just cracked me up...so random and strange yet wonderful all at the same time!

What are some of your Christmas traditions?

I hope everyone have a very wonderful Christmas and Santa brings you everything you asked for!!

Happy Hump Day

Happy hump day...after taking off last week for a very important hump day celebration, I knew I had to make the time to blog today. Thanks so much to all of you who asked about the blog...I don't realize how many of you are reading and appreciate the feedback, it's good to know I'm missed when I skip a week! So, over the last two weeks the following things put a smile on my face:


1) Cohen James Cline - 7.5 lbs and 20" long was born last Wednesday (hence the reason I missed blogging last hump day), he is totally precious and loved by many. I had an ob/gyn appointment on the same day so conveniently walked over the their room at Woman's Hospital and there were so many friends and family members visiting this little fellow. Congrats to Nicole, Jason and big sister Ashton!

Cohen and big sister Ashton

2) Good visit at ob/gyn - on Wednesday of last week as I mentioned I had my 28 week appointment, everything went well, measuring right on target and heartbeat in 150's. We had our first talk about delivery and she said she wouldn't let me go past 41 weeks and the earliest she would let me deliver was 38 weeks, then I realized that was only 10 shorts weeks away and kind of freaked out...where has the time gone? Everyone says the last few weeks will drag on but it certainly hasn't' seemed that way yet and I'm thinking with the hub-bub of the holidays, January will be here before I know it!

3) Baby girl Abadie - the gymnast! I'm feeling a lot of movement all the time, and sometimes it freaks me out because more and more you can see her moving around in there. Brandon and I were sitting in church last week and I had the hymnal in my lap, leaning against my belly and she was moving and grooving so much in there the hymnal was moving. Brandon and I were both trying to keep our composure in church but had a hard time restraining our giggles.

4) LSU vs. Alabama Not much else to say about that one...I'm pretty sure there was lots of people smiling about that one!

5) Brandon and Millie - once again those two keep me entertained, they are like two peas in a pod, looking for trouble all the time. Millie is back on oral medications for her allergies, which one of the side effects is excessive urination so I've been trying to limit her intake of fluids because she pees all the time. I came into the bathroom to get ready for bed and this is what I found.

Brandon had her on the counter, allowing her to drink out of the faucet...does she have him wrapped around her little paw or what?!?! I realize that's kind of gross...but it was our bathroom, so don't worry if the next time you come to our house you would like to use the restroom.

I have another baby shower this weekend and am really looking forward to spending time with my girlfriends and family. I hope each of you find something that puts a smile on your face this week.

Happy Hump Day

Happy hump day everybody...here are a few things that put a smile on my face this week:

1) Baby clothes - so I swore I would only spend $50 a paycheck on baby clothes but now that we've found out it's a girl it is almost impossible not to buy everything I see. One of my recent finds that I'm totally smitten with is the dress below. I found it on sale at Kelly's Kids and thought it was so cute and would be perfect for crawfish boils next summer! It also has coordinating ribbons that tie at the shoulders but I took them off for now.

Then I realized it was reversible and thought...OMG how can I not order this, it's two dresses in one!
It wasn't until after it arrived and I checked it out did I realize it's actually three dresses in one because the button tab on the blue side with the crawfish (well, they call them lobsters, but I'm calling them crawfish) reverses as well and has firecrackers on it...perfect for 4th of July!


Seriously, have you ever seen anything as cute at that?!?! I was so happy with my purchase! I also bought her Easter outfit already (you can see it in the background of the first picture), the cutest pink bubble outfit with chocolate bunnies smocked across the collar. I love it too!!! I already told Brandon, this little girl is going to bankrupt us for sure!

2) My belly - for the first time on Monday, I had a perfect stranger ask me when my baby is due which made me so happy because this means I'm pass the "you look like you've had too many cheeseburgers" stage and I really look pregnant now. I've been trying to get Brandon to take a picture of my expanding waist line on a weekly basis but he's hard to tie down. Last week I did get him to take a pic...here it is, but be warned, I'm a beast! Check out how wide my nose it already.

Me at 22 weeks pregnant

That's not the funny part though...the funny part is Brandon said look at my belly and I took a picture of his too. Check this out!





3) An LSU victory - even though it wasn't pretty, it was a win and the Tigers being 4-0 puts a smile on any LSU fan's face. It was a late game, 8pm kickoff and I surprisingly made it the whole game and was on my feet, jumping up and down until the very end. I hope they can keep squeezing them out but sure wish they looked better.



4) Spending time with Amanda - My friend Amanda came into town on Sunday for a work conference this week and we had a late lunch at Zoes Kitchen (yum!) and did some shopping at Towne Center. We don't get to see each other as often as we like, so it's always great to get in a visit.



5) Cooler weather - with lows in the 60's and highs in the 80's this week, there is a lot to smile about in southern Louisiana! The weather has been so awesome, I hope the fall-like temps stay for a while because a girl (especially a pregnant girl!) could sure get use to it.


Happy hump day y'all...may you find what puts a smile on your face this week!

iheartbr

I stumbled across this video on facebook and had to post it here.  It is all the things I love about my hometown...LSU, our beautiful state capitol buildings, Spanishtown Mardi Gras, Live After Five, ferns on the front porch, football, Third Street, seafood and of course Mike the Tiger.  I remember in college I couldn't wait to get out of town and was so over Baton Rouge...even joked about the "big BR" with friends and how lame it was.  But now I can't imagine living anywhere else and just wanted to share the video to remind you all about how fabulous our city is, although we do have our share of issues, I love BR!

Please pause the playlist on the right of our blog before hitting play on the video...and enjoy!

Happy Hump Day

Happy hump day y'all...I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day and remembered what we celebrate for.  This week was pretty chill until the weekend which will be the bulk of this edition of Happy Hump Day. So, here it goes...this week the following things made my smile:

1)Millie...she was so funny playing with her new tennis ball this week.  I fed her while she was playing with her tennis ball and she was so confused as to how to proceed, it was as if I could see the wheels turning in her head.  She didn't want to put the tennis ball down because she was having so much fun, but she was really excited to eat dinner, so what's a girl to do?  Here's what she worked out:

Tennis ball in her bowl with her food and she just ate around the tennis ball until she was finished, picked up the tennis ball and resumed her play.  She's such a funny little dog!

2) The first annual Bayou Country Superfest in Tiger Stadium was this weekend and although I was dreading it I actually enjoyed myself.  We bought the tickets ages ago and I was really excited when we bought them but when it came down to it the thought of spending most of the weekend in the heat with 40,000 other people didn't appeal to me and to add to that Brandon had to work on Saturday and couldn't even go.  The headline on Saturday was Taylor Swift, so I brought my niece with me because what 10 year old doesn't like Taylor Swift?!? So we went and enjoyed ourselves, only got a little wet from the rain and also got to see Kelli Pickler and Keith Urban, not too bad.

Madalynn and I waiting for the show to start

I also loved that some of the stars showed some love for LSU.

Keith Urban in his LSU t-shirt

Taylor Swift in her LSU jersey

On Sunday, Brandon and I went together and the weather was pretty good after the early afternoon rain.  Sundays line up included Jason Aldean, Brooks and Dunn and Kenny Chesney.  Kenny brought a few special guests on stage including Uncle Kracker, Les Miles and Sean Payton with the Lombardi trophy which was pretty cool...the whole stadium was screaming "Who Dat!" when he came out.  It was funny because Kenny Chesney just says "hey look what I got" and turns around with the Superbowl trophy in his hand!

Kenny, Sean and the Lombardi Trophy

Both nights they ended the show with fireworks and it was just a lot of fun spending time in Tiger Stadium (including beer and margaritas, a girl could get use to that!) and hanging out with friends.

3) Which leads me to my next item...spending time with friends.  We celebrated our friend Beau's birthday this week at DiGuilio Brothers.  It's always nice to enjoy dinner with friends and celebrating birthdays.  Carrie Madge surprised him with a cake after dinner, it was good food and good friends. 

Happy Birthday Beau Higg!

Also, we ran into another couple friend of ours at the concert who had seats near ours.  They had some empty seats around so we sat with them and enjoyed the concert with friends on Sunday.

Me and Alycia

Monty and Alycia

Brandon and I

Happy Hump Day...may you find what makes you happy!

Are you ready for some football?

I realize this may seem a little early, but I'm ready for some football...and just paid our TAF fees! Brandon has been tailgating with the same group of friends since 1995, I joined the party in 2003 and think the tailgating is what I love way more than the football. 

Some of the crew (from L to R): Brandon (aka Shuba), David, Chris (aka Crotch), Jeff (aka Mutt)

Our tailgating crew is the B.T.P. which stands for the Blue Towel Posse...remember a group of guys started this right out of high school so don't make too many assumptions about the name. One of the guys who started the group works in medical sales and always provided extra blue towels from surgeries they use when cooking and cleaning at tailgate (notice in the above picture they all have blue towels in their pockets!), hence the name.


For the last couple of years we have been so lucky to get tickets from our friends the Kellys.  David and Donna (or D&d) have 10 season tickets and let us buy two of them which is awesome. None of that waiting in the nose bleed section until it's your turn, just fabulous tickets right from the start.

 

View from our seats, taken with my iPhone at the home opener last year (LSU vs. Vandy, 2009)

Our seats are underneath the upper deck and are awesome because the upper deck creates a breezeway, shade and an umbrella so the weather is always perfect no matter what, even though it never rains in Tiger Stadium. I will say my favorite part is the band, pre-game, half-time show, warm up at the Greek Amphitheater it doesn't matter; I love the Golden Band from Tigerland. I can say that I love winning too, which makes the football game itself much more enjoyable as well. 

The Golden Band from Tigerland, march to the Stadium (LSU vs. Vandy, 2009)

Be on the lookout for many more posts about LSU football to come as the season starts with the Chick-fil-A college kick off on ABC, September 4th against North Carolina at the Georgia Dome and the home opener on September 18th against Mississippi State. Geaux Tigers!