Throw Me Something, Mister!

Happy Mardi Gras everyone! Steve and I haven't been t0 the festivities in NOLA since 2001, but we think about what we would be doing every year when Mardi Gras rolls around. On Friday night, it's Krewe D'Etat, my personal favorite. On Saturday, we take the streetcar to Tucks and Iris, have Zapps for lunch, hit Liuzzas (R.I.P.), and then get ready for Endymion. On Sunday, the girls have a nice brunch, do a little shopping and then get rested up for the big Bacchus Ball. By Monday, we were usually headed home. Someday I will go and stay through actual Mardi Gras Day.

Needless to say, we have a lot of beads. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to dress young Samantha up for a photo op. As you can see, she is getting the hang of it already. I think she'll be ready for "the big dance" in no time. No body parts were shown (nor have they ever been shown) in the making of these pictures or procurement of the beads.

Throw me something, Mister!!!

Maybe they can see me better from Daddy's shoulders!

Decked out and ready to party.

Perfecting her stance to grab beads and cups.

Our Weekend on the Mountain

Time for another road trip! Since we hadn't seen the Mitchells since Christmas, we packed up the family truckster and headed to Signal Mountain this weekend. Samantha is growing and changing every day, and we couldn't wait for Bill, Elise, Will and Caroline to see all of her new tricks. Caroline is also playing basketball, and we wanted to make it to a game.

It goes without saying that we are never disappointed by time spent with the Mitchells. They graciously allowed us to pretty much take over their downstairs during our stay. Its amazing how much stuff a baby needs for one night away from home! I probably didn't need to take as much play stuff as I did. Samantha could sit in Caroline's room for hours and be entertained! A highlight for her was having her first taste of a biscuit, courtesy of Aunt Elise. I should say first tastes ... she definitely wanted more than one bite. As for me, I was introduced to the SAT prep question of the day website, which is visited daily by the Mitchells. Much to my chagrin, I discovered I have forgotten A LOT of stuff since high school and college. Here are a few photos from our wonderful weekend.

Samantha was starting to wind down for a nap, so Elise got out her secret weapon .... the original fuzzy.

"Yep. Works every time." - Elise, after Samantha literally fell over in her lap.

Action shot from the ballgame. Caroline was inbounding the ball. Despite a serious 4th quarter push, her team lost 12-16. She had a bucket and several great passes!

Coach Mitchell and Caroline

For my friends keeping score ... Yes, this is Will. Yes, he is driving. Yes, he turns 16 in July. Yes, we are getting old.

Happy Valentines Day!

Samantha would like to wish everyone a very Happy Valentines Day!

Tuckered Out

For those of you who know me well, you know that I may have a certifiable OCD. I just want to do everything right, for everything to be right ... its exhausting being me sometimes! The latest thing I have been obsessing over is Samantha's feeding schedule. Just this week, we went up to 3 meals a day to prepare her to "kick the bottle" after she turns one. Though this should not be a big deal, my irregularly napping child has just started a NICE 2-3 hour nap that ran right through lunch time. Thus, my dilemma. It she starts getting sleepy before lunch, do I try to keep her up for a bit or just let her sleep? If I let her go to sleep too early, will she sleep long enough to get her nap out? Is 2:00 too late for lunch? Won't that just mess up her dinner routine? Etc., etc., etc. While my mind was working through all of the possibilities, Samantha made up my mind for me. Yes, she fell asleep sitting up in my lap. She just kind of fell over and that was it. All things considered, I decided a dream bottle was in order and that lunch would obviously have to wait. I passed her off to Steve so I could get up out of the floor, and she was so tired that she still did not wake up.

Please remind me that I will look back and laugh about all this someday!

Happy Birthday, Daddy! (Part2)

Steve got a birthday surprise Monday when God decided to send a little more snow our way. You've got to love East Tennessee weather ... on Sunday, I went walking outside to enjoy the 60 degree weather. On Monday, it snows. School was actually out through yesterday because so many of the back roads were still icy. Incidentally, this weekend it is supposed to be back up in the 60s again. Time to break out the allergy and cold meds!!

This was a truly good, wet snow. The kind for beaning someone with a well-packed snowball or building a snowman. We bundled up Samantha and went outside to do both (not to her, of course), hoping another exposure to the white stuff would "warm" her up to it. Not so much.

This part she did like, probably because she is teething. It also didn't hurt that the snow was indoors.

Real snow!

A smile ... maybe the only one we had all afternoon.

Not happy about Mommy and Daddy's attempts to make a baby snow angel.

If only we had a sled.

The snow was much tastier in the warm indoors.

Her first snowman, Samantha size.

Happy Birthday, Daddy! (Part 1)

Steve had a big birthday on Monday, his first with his little girl. I wish it had been more exciting for him, though he would probably tell you it was exciting enough. He came home from work a little early so we could go outside and enjoy the snow. Yes, after 60 degree weather the day before, we had a pretty big snow, around 2-3 inches. After we came inside, we had a lasagna dinner, with strawberry cake for dessert. (Does Duncan Hines count as homemade? If so, it was!) I think of the 3 of us Samantha had the best time. For one thing, there was paper to play with. She also thoroughly enjoyed the icing off of Steve's cake. I'm looking forward to seeing her really dig in on her first birthday!

Helping Daddy open his present.

Showing off the card she picked out for him.

A new XM docking station! Samantha is thrilled that she can now listen to Radio Margaritaville anywhere in the house.

Helping Daddy blow out his candle ... so she could stick her hand in the icing.

Got some!

This stuff is pretty tasty! Way better than my squash and rice!

Gotta make sure I got it all!

A visit from Big Guy & Grammy

We were so excited that Big Guy and Grammy came to spend last weekend with us, especially Samantha. For her, it was non-stop attention, snuggling and playing! The great thing was that we really didn't do much at all. Weekends where you are not constantly on the go can be some of the best. We really enjoyed our visit, and can't wait to do it again.

One of Samantha's favorite activities - sleeping in Big Guy's arms.

Hugging Grammy.

Showing off her new purse and cell phone.

All dressed up and ready for church!