Pageant girls

I find the show Toddlers and Tiaras deeply disturbing on many levels.  So, when I saw "Tom Hanks on Toddlers and Tiaras" in my inbox, I was intrigued.  This is absolutely hilarious.

On Stage!

Last night was the Selah concert at First Pes here in Baton Rouge. It was a great show, a great night filled with some really gifted singers and amazing stories. The part of the night that was most memorable for Jeff and me and a certain little five year named Caroline, was when a few audience members got called up on stage and she was one of them!

She was absolutely beside herself to be up there in front of a full house of people. For those of you who don't know Caroline well, she has expressed a desire to be "on stage" as long as I can remember. Whether it involves singing, dancing, or acting, she loves the idea at least of being on stage. While she was definitely a little nervous at first, she got into it and calmed down and really enjoyed herself. And through the rest of the show she kept asking when she was going to get back on stage.

Now her career aspiration is to be "just like Amy" and sing on stage. And in preparation, she's been singing their songs all morning.  It was a wonderful night with a memory that I know will stick with our girl, and I'm really thankful for Amy, Allan and Todd taking a few minutes to be interested in a little five year old in Baton Rouge.  They were so gracious and it meant the world to Caroline.  And her mom.    

Peek-A-Boo

We took the girls out to LSU on Sunday afternoon because the weather so was unbelievably nice. It's a great (free) place for them to run around, ride bikes, and explore, and I can push a baby stroller pretty much everywhere on campus, so it makes it a good all-family outing.

We ran around the parade grounds for while, played around in the quad, went to see Mike the Tiger (who was enjoying an afternoon nap), and ended up back at the Union for a snack before we went home.

As a complete aside, are you aware that there are actual people (college students, no less) who play the Harry Potter broomstick game? On the parade grounds. Where other people can see them. Quidditch (thanks Google!). And it looks to be a pretty fiercely competitive bunch. I'm not sure what to make of that development, but I thought I'd put it out there for everyone's edification.

Our very own "cute character"

I saw this on 22 Words the other day and the first thought that came to me was, "That's Charlotte!"  The descriptions in the poster are spot on for our little girl.  No longer a baby, but still with much of what makes a baby so cute, she's a real-life Disney character!











Exhibit A:

 

Exhibit B:

The National Anthem in a Hysterical Parody

I could not stop laughing at this today. So funny.

The Deal Is On!

I'm pretty sure that all of the family and friends who read this blog of mine are women, but in the event there is a random brother-in-law or male cousin who clicked on over, Groupon is offering one heck of a deal on flowers in anticipation of Valentine's Day (not that you have to use it for Valentine's Day, so girls, feel free to go on and grab this Groupon to use for some other occasion, or figure out a sly way to pass the link on to your husband/boyfriend/significant other). 

Here's the deal:  You get $40 worth of flowers for $20! 

And here's the link.

Rainy days

Eat. Sleep. Repeat

That is the life of baby, isn't it?  They eat, look around a little bit, smile, play if they are in a good mood, and then it's off to night-night.  That cycle has taken on a little bit of a new look in our house over the past week or so. 

Although I hesitate to put words to this, I think Camille may have emerged from the newborn sleep phase.  And now, just because I said that, she'll go back to multiple wakings in the night.  Ever since the beginning of December, Camille's sleep has been of the "two steps forward, one step back" variety.  She'd sleep for six or seven hours one night and then she'd wake up every two hours the next night.  But for three night now, she's slept through the night.  By "through the night" I do mean from about 7:15 or 7:30 until at least 4:30 in the morning.  There are no words for how warmly I've welcomed uninterupted sleep back into my life.  Sleep is one of those things that you can never truly appreciate until you do without it.

In other news, Camille also has started eating solids!  She had a little rice cereal the other morning and actually seemed to like it.  Then a couple of days later, I added a little bit of mashed pear to the cereal mix and she couldn't get enough.  She whined every time after she swallowed and I didn't get the next bite to her mouth quite quickly enough for her liking.  The small joys of introducing a baby to new food are beginning again in our family and I love it.