Field Trip!

Yesterday I had a really neat opportunity to tour one of the Corps tugboats and barge.  One my friend's, Lauren, dad is the Captain of one of the boats and the boat was dry docked for repairs.  He invited us to come down for a tour and lunch - so neat!!

Sorry the pictures are that great - they were taken with a blackberry.

One of the propeller things under the boat.  The actual propeller thing has been taken off and that is one of the things they are working on.

Views from the driver's seat. 

This reminded me of the part of the cruise ship you never get to see.

Look at the big windshield wipers!

Aren't we cute sportin' the hard hats?

This picture does not show the magnitude of how really big this crane is...this is just the bottom third.  Can you imagine being the operator of this?!?  Look at the big digger thing to the right!

I am not sure if this is used to pick up rocks or limbs...there is a claw thing for each.

Paige-isms

This post is really more for me, the mom, so that I can remember some of Paige's favorite things...

I started thinking more about what Paige is doing these days.  Like does she have any favorite toys or favorite things to do?  Is she attached to anything or are there any favorite "games" she likes to play?  At first I couldn't reallly come up with anything and then thoughts just started flowing...

Favorite game: Peek-a-boo!  We have been playing this for a very long time and it has always been a favorite.  It is so cute to see her be the one doing it.  She will take anything she can find and put it in front her of her face trying to hide.  This includes her hands, paper she finds lying around, toys, burp clothes, whatever.  The funny part of it is when she doesn't quite cover one of her eyes and we can see her.  It just cracks me up because we are saying "where's Paige" we can see one eye.

Favorite toy: She doesn't really have a favorite toy.  She likes to play with each toy for a little bit then she moves on to the next one.

The spoon: We got her this toy pot that came with veggies and a spoon for Christmas.  The spoon is now attached to her at the hip.  Like the other night she was eating dinner, in one hand is the spoon and she is using the other to eat.  She couldn't figure out how to pick up her milk one-handed and got mad when we took the spoon away so she could drink.  I was laughing with Brad as she went to sleep holding the spoon.  Some kids have security blankets and our's has a security spoon - ha!

Animal noises: We have been working on our animal noises a lot lately.  Here in the past few days we started making so progress and it was so cute!  We found a sheep that 'baaas' when you press it.  So, we were doing 'what does a sheep say?  baaaaa" and making the sheep make that noise.  Next thing you know, Paige is saying, 'aaaaaa'.  Too cute!  Dogs now say 'uuu' instead of ruff and cows say 'oohh' instead of moo.

The mirror: Paige loves to look at herself in the mirror.  Do I sense a diva in the making?!?  When she starts getting antsy and needs something else to do, just a find a mirror and she is good to go - it could be a big mirror like at a mall or a small mirror in a compact (thanks Elizabeth!). 

(Please note the spoon in one hand and the compact in the other.)

Forget the paci when you have a spoon!

(The paci has already fallen out, but she is still holding tight to the spoon.)

While the Parents are Away

While Brad and I made our quick trip to Glendale, Nanny and PaPaw graciously watched Paige for us.  I am pretty sure Nanny, PaPaw and Paige had more fun while we were on an extended trip thanks to Delta.

Yes, Paige is wearing Christmas PJs.  I am firm believer that when it comes to PJs, as long as it fits we will be wearing them, doesn't matter if the holiday has passed or not.

We have laid the groundwork for her playroom out and it has been awesome to actually have a clean den and somewhere fun for Paige to play.  Thank you Santa and all of his little elves!

Ms. Melissa lost a bet and had to wear an Auburn shirt!

Paige in typical Paige-fashion.  She loves to sit up against a wall and it is just like her to only have one sock on.  I think we are lucky that she has the one on!

A typical meal at our house - our scavenger dogs waiting on Paige to drop some food.  She now thinks it is fun to hold her hand over and let them take the food out of her hand.  We have to watch all 3 of them!

I love our dogs!  They are such hams for attention and the camera.  Nanny couldn't go anywhere with out both of them right there.  They even slept in the bed with them - which is funny to me as it is a queen bed with 2 people and 2 dogs, and the people are used to yorkies, not cocker spaniels.  I guess we should all be glad we don't have labs!

A proud SEC man showing off his Auburn attire on the way back up North!

Thank you Nanny and PaPaw for watching our sweet baby girls!!  We hope you come back very, very soon!

Glendale or Bust

Since 2004 I've told myself that if Auburn ever made it to the National Championship game Brad and I would be there.  So, when Auburn beat Alabama my wheels started turning about how real it was that we would probably get to the big game.  In an effort not to jinx us, I only booked our hotel room before the SEC Championship (well, 2 hotel rooms that is, I am not good at deciding on where we needed to stay).  During the 2nd half of the SEC Championship game, I started looking at flights to Phoenix and shortly after the game, our flight was booked.  The only thing missing was tickets, which is a whole other blogpost in and of itself.  [Let me just say with the tickets, we were very grateful to get them the Sunday night before the game from our expensive, but within budget, guardian angel.]

All Auburn fans agree that the game was AWESOME and we couldn't be any more proud of our tigers!!

With that, I will let the pictures do the talking...

Our trip was short - Sunday through Tuesday.  We saw more snow in more cities than ever before.  Here is a view of Denver as we landed Sunday - kind of scary landing in weather conditions like this!

Desert and palm trees = Arizona

Auburn fans for as far as you can see...War Eagle!!  We decided the crowd, inside and outside of the stadium was a 70/30 split, 70 = Auburn fans.

The view from our first seats.  We were lucky enough to find our tickets through facebook (Auburn Ticket Exchange) and the girl that was selling them used to work for the Alumni Office.  We decided she got the tickets free and just wanted the money.  She had 2 tickets in the end zone and 2 in the upper deck.  We sat in the bottom for the first half and then joined Justin and Christina for the 2nd half up on the top row.  Neither seat was really bad...shoot, just being in stadium is all that mattered to us.

A view from up top.  Please note the awesome lanyard Brad is sporting.  Yes, you could carry your ticket around your neck and look really cool!  I will say it was a safe way to store them so they wouldn't get bent but there is no way I would have spent money on these (they were in the goodie bag provided by Tostitos).

Enjoying the victory.

We had to roll something and since Toomers Corner was a little far away, the tree in our room would have to do!

Here's to another undefeated season and another National Championship!!  I love that our little girl is undefeated.  One neat fact - when Brad and I have big things going on in our life Auburn goes undefeated (2004 - we got married, 2010 - we had Paige)!  War Eagle!!!!

11 Months!!!

Happy 11 Month Birthday Paige!!!

I can hardly believe you will be 1 year old in a month!!  I think that may be one of the hardest parts of turning 11 months!

• You currently weigh around 22 - 23 lbs.  You are wearing 12 month clothes and they are slowly becoming a little too short so we may be moving up soon.
• You love to eat!  As Daddy and I say, you are definitely a Wright (hehe!).  There haven't been too many things you didn't like.  In fact, tonight you ate black olives and really seemed to enjoy them and the other night you ate broccoli like it was going out of style.  This makes it so easy for us just to be able to pack up a sandwich or bring some mac and cheese along for the ride.  School has gotten you in a pretty good routine with breakfast, lunch and snacks and we are very much appreciative.  During this month we also transitioned from formula to whole milk - fun stuff.  You have 3 teeth to eat all of this food with and 2 more are kind of poking through.

• You are still sleeping pretty good.  Most nights you go to bed between 7 - 8 unless there is something more exciting going on, but even then you don't last too much longer.  For awhile you weren't sleeping good in the pack and play (when we would travel) and you slept like a champ when we visited Nanny and PaPaw - thank you!
• This month has been a month of travels and 'firsts'.  First, you and I had our first real overnight apart from each other.  We went 3 nights without each other while Momma and Daddy went to NYC.  Then all 5 of us traveled (can't leave Ellie and Madi out) up to Huntsville for your first Christmas.  Then the 3 of us traveled to DC - your first plane ride and your first time to welcome a new year in.  Then Momma and Daddy went to AZ to watch Auburn bring home a National Championship - the first in a very long time!
• You are a social butterfly.  You love looking a what others are doing and taking it all in.  You also love it when others look at you.  I like to call it an "eye check" - you go around a room and make eye contact with everyone to make sure they are looking at you.  It cracks me up!
• You have always been a sweet baby, but hugs have become your speciality.  Daddy and I both love getting our hugs, morning, noon, and night.  It is so sweet to watch you interact with others, like Ms. Melissa whom you give a hug to in the mornings and your new doll babies; even Ellie and Madi get hugs now.
• You love walking as long as you have something to hold on to.  You make laps around the house pushing your little stroller.  I can't decide how long it will be before you walk.  On one hand I don't think it will be long, but on the other hand I think you are pretty comfortable with the way things are.

As we start each day, I am reminded how blessed we are to have you in our lives.  It has been fun for me to think about what was going last year at this time and reflect on the memories and be reminded of all the good days that lie ahead.

We love you more than words can say, sweet little angel!!!

Baking Part II

After I posted about my afternoon of baking a few people emailed and asked me some questions about it.  One question was, 'how do I find the time to do this'?  Answer - I just make it a priority and do it.  I made my menu a few weeks ahead of time, did my shopping a week or so ahead of time so that when the day came for baking I was ready to go.  I normally plan out the order I am going to do things so I can do it most efficiently.  I normally do it on a Saturday but this year I took off an afternoon from work (and it was definitely worth it).

Another question asked was a few recipes.  So, here goes...

Chex Mix
*For the most part I follow the recipe on the back of the box.  But, I do my own little variation by adding cheez-its.  You will need:

3 cups Corn Chex® cereal
3 cups Rice Chex® cereal

3 cups Wheat Chex® cereal
1/2 can mixed nuts (I use Planters)
4 tablespoons butter or margarine (is that half a stick?  That is what I use.)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (I normally add a splash more)
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt (I normally make this a heaping)
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 box Cheez-its

*Set oven at 250 degrees
*Melt butter in oven (I make this in a cake pan)
*Mix seasonings in pan with butter
*Mix in Chex cereal
*Mix in Cheez-its and nuts

*Bake in 15 minute intervals, stirring/mixing up in between, for one hour.

***Side note - you can buy the cereal at Sam's and it is a little bit cheaper.

Oyster Crackers

I got this recipe from Kelly's Korner - http://kellyskornerrecipes.blogspot.com/ and it is super easy.  You will need:

3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 (1 ounce) package dry Ranch-style dressing mix
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (12 ounce) package oyster crackers (might as well change this to 14 oz I think.  I just get a box which is a little more than 12 oz)

*Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).



*In a mixing bowl, whisk together vegetable oil, ranch-style dressing mix, dill weed, lemon pepper and garlic powder. Pour this spice mixture over the crackers in a medium bowl, and stir until the crackers are coated. Arrange the crackers on a large baking sheet.


*Bake in the preheated 275 degrees F (135 degrees C) oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Christmas Take Outs

I love the bloopers section at the end of movies.  So, here are the take outs/bloopers from our Christmas photo shoot!

Yay, it's picture time!

Oh wait, maybe I am not too into this.

Hug my momma.

And pat her head

And how in the world do you get a good picture of 2 adults, a baby and 2 dogs.  I think we needed more hands!

Shifting Gears

To finish out our time off from work, we visited with my mom and Bill up in DC. 

Paige got to go on her first plane ride.  She did great!  We were on a direct flight from Huntsville to DC so that made it pretty easy.  We had heard some tricks about take off and landing so we stuck the paci in as we took off and out she went.  She slept the entire plane ride up!

We were all smiles at the airport and on the plane.  Paige loved checking everything out and she didn't meet a stranger!

After arriving and getting settled we had our last Christmas celebration.  This was really just part 1 where Paige got to open all of her gifts from Nanny and Papaw.  Like most 10 month olds, Paige thought the boxes and tags were the best part.

Thursday we went to the Gaylord Resort at National Harbor to see the ICE exhibit.  It was so neat!  Paige was fascinated with all of the lights.  This was our first ICE experience.  I believe they have this at all of the Gaylord properties and maybe each one has a different theme; National Harbor's theme was "The Grinch".  The concept is really neat - everyone gets a big parka because it is 9 degrees as you view the sculptures.  It really didn't feel that cold, it was a weird cold feeling.  They didn't have infant parkas so we wrapped Paige up as best we could.  She really didn't seem to care too much that it was cold. 

So excited before we went in!

After ICE we walked around the Gaylord Resort.  They still had their Christmas decorations up and it was beautiful!

Brad and Paige took a little train ride.  They really got their money's worth as the train went around about 10 times!

Uncle Max joined us for dinner!

I don't know who was having a better time...

Friday we headed into DC to show Paige all of the sights.  I felt like she was Flat Stanley, going around to all of the monuments to have her picture taken.  Funny thing was, she was asleep through most of it.  We all had a good time though!  Before we got to DC, Momma and I took a detour to Georgetown Cupcake. While we walked around downtown, I protected these cupcakes with my life, ensuring that they would not get squished, only to find out they shorted us 2 - not cool! 

We stopped at the Christmas tree in front of the White House.  Not as impressive as the tree at Rockafeller Center!  They had trains all around the tree - I was not the biggest fan.  The train sets looked like they had come out of random people's closets and there was no rhyme or reason to their organization.

They also had smaller Christmas trees surrounding the big one.  Each one represented a state and people from the state sent decorations.  The Alabama tree had ornaments made by kids from Mobile and Fairhope.

This is one of my favorite pictures.  We did this a few years ago and it was so neat - we just had to do it again so that Paige could be in the picture.

To finish out the evening we had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory - delish!!  I have to brag on them because within a few minutes of sitting down they brought Paige out a plate of sliced bananas and 2 different kinds of bread.  It was perfect!  She was entertained and happy while we waited for our food.  After eating most of this, she sampled off of my plate, enjoying the chicken mardera and mashed potatoes.

Sunday we got to relax and hang out before we boarded up and headed back to Huntsville.  The entire trip was so wonderful; I hope we get to do it again soon!