Fun filled weekend

Cortlyn had a great weekend... starting with Saturday morning... when Daddy brought home Shipley's Do-Nuts! YUMMY!

I can't be cute right now- I'm EATING my DO-NUT!
Then, we all went to the university to take some pictures and play. Cortlyn FINALLY has just enough hair in the back to do some mini-pigtails...

This is where Daddy and Cortlyn are admiring the water...
and this is where Cortlyn got mad that Daddy didn't let her take a swim... mean ol'daddy!

Bad posting mommy!!!

This week has been a pretty laid back week. I got hit with my yearly upper respiratory junk (no flu here- trust me, I got the yucky test!) this week, so I have been resting a lot! Cortlyn on the other hand is just getting bigger and faster. Nothing really to report right now, so I'll just share some pictures of her!

Sitting on the front porch:

From the video game last weekend (it was from the cell phone!):

Exploring new play areas!

THERE'S THE SUNSHINE!

Well, folks... there was sun and lots of it today! Cortlyn got to play in her kiddie pool in the backyard. She enjoys splashing around in the pool in the backyard. We have the big umbrella up to shade her though, since the sun is SOOO bright here!

For lunch today, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings. Cortlyn had a good time and was amazed at all the TV's to watch her beloved football on! She started to get restless after we ate and while we were waiting on the check, so we went to the small little game room. I sat her in the car racing video game, and she was having fun pushing the flashing buttons and steering. Corey has a picture of this on his phone... we'll have to get it loaded on here for you later!

Yesterday, Cortlyn and I went to Mobile to go to a friend's baby shower. Cortlyn proved again that she is not a fan of car rides. I had a passenger seat full of toys, snacks and books to help keep her entertained. Didn't help at certain points. I hate to hear her crying in the backseat, but I also know that car rides are a fact of life, so she will have to get used to them at some point. I'm going to start looking for a DVD player that you can strap to the headrest. I hate to have to use that in the car, but I also, think our sanity is going to need a break of some sort when we do try and come home! She did however fall asleep within 5 minutes of getting back in the car to come home... but it was a short nap of only 20 minutes. SIGH... It was great however to see Constance and help shower her expected baby boy with lots of cute clothes and diapers! Cortlyn enjoyed chasing the kitten that belonged to the girl hosting the party, along with Constance's little girl Ella.

I did however win the stupid mom move award last night. :) I put Cortlyn to bed and she was out like a light... well, after about an hour, I heard her chatting. That's VERY odd for Cortlyn, so I left her alone, thinking she'd fall back asleep. Not so much. So, I went to her room and the LIGHT was on! I had accidently turned off her ceiling fan instead of the light! YIKES! She was jumping in her crib and all hiped up. I knew we'd have a fight if I tried to just turn off the light, so I let her get up for a few minutes to see her daddy (since he was at the USM game ALL day long!) and put her to bed about 20 minutes later. She went right back to sleep... but I'll never forget that look on her face. Something like I KNOW I'm awake past my bedtime- woohoo! Sigh... Corey put her to bed tonight and YES the light is OFF!

Rain, rain go away

Okay, I hope this loads right! This is my big girl helping mommy load the washer! She is loving helping mommy. We're getting really good about throwing laundry in & putting all the toys up, but somehow she's missing the fact that everything should STAY! She likes to pull things out as fast as she puts them in! Oh well, she IS learning!

She has also learned that her paci is for bedtime only! We've been taking her paci out of her mouth when she gets up and saying "You don't need that!" and throwing it in the crib. Well, the last two mornings, we've said "You don't need that!" and SHE threw the paci in the crib! YEA!! I suppose soon, we'll start weaning the paci at naptime, but geez... its hard to think about that when she goes to bed so well.

I think Noah will be by any minute to pick us up... its been pouring rain here for a week and a half... and I heard tonight that its supposed to keep raining on & off until Monday or Tuesday. Yikes! I hear the rain is making it up there, so I'm sorry, but you guys are looking at several more days of unpredictable showers! Tomorrow we're headed to my old stomping ground Mobile, for a baby shower of a dear friend of mine! It's my first car trip with Cortlyn solo... hopefully she won't fall apart... Typically she is done with the carseat about 2 hours after we leave. But there isn't much in between where we are and where we're going! So... Hopefully, she'll just take a good nap in the car! :)

Cortlyn's way of doing things...

So, Cortlyn has her own way of getting things done. It amazes me to watch her figure out how she's going to accomplish something...

Example Number One:
Cortlyn doesn't like to cross the threshold of the doorway. She loves to go outside or go "bye-bye." BUT... open the door and ask her to walk outside? She stops. Either you pick her up over the threshold or she does this:
Now, if you can see... its all of an inch. But goodness, you'd think we were asking her to cross the ocean!

Example Number Two:
Cortlyn will repeat 1, 2, 3 if you ask her to. So, we've been working on a, b, c. Well, she has the "a" down pat! What comes after "a"? "BA!" Literally she says a, BA! It's adorable... although, we are still working on her saying B!

Example Number Three:
I love this one. This shows that she truly is a woman...
Nobody has to tell her, she just knows! Daddy's wallet is ALWAYS open for her! heehee. Her other love is credit cards... but we have some old giftcards that she's happy to play with in her purse.

The beginning... Somewhat

I'm not that talented of a writer, but this blog is more to update friends and family of our live as we're living so far away! It probably won't be all that entertaining... with the exception of the pictures of the CUTEST little girl... in my opinion anyway!



Yesterday was the second football game at USM. We almost didn't go, as the weather was extremely iffy, with a 80% chance of rain. I checked the weather and decided that we could at least go for the tailgating festivities. I'm in love with the tailgating aspect of college football. USM has a tradition that is wonderful. They have what they call an "Eagle Walk" parade about 2 hours before the game. The band marches down through part of the campus and then the football players follow behind them towards the stadium. You should see the little boys that are lined up to give hi-fives to the players as they are walking (in their suits in the 4 million degree heat) to The Rock, as the stadium is referred to. From what we have gathered from the people here, Eagle Walk is something that people come to, even if they aren't going to the game. Parents bring their kids every home game to participate in this tradition.

People start tailgating much earlier in the day. my employer has a tent set up with free food for those of us that go. Last weekend, we had hamburgers and hot dogs. This week, we had Ribeyes. Not Longhorns or Marc's, but free steaks are always appreciated! :) Corey gets to join us for a few minutes between the Eagle Walk and the second parade at the Tailgating. The second parade, is a slightly different route through the campus towards the campus to excite the fans before everyone heads into the stadium for the game to start. Cortlyn and I get to join in this parade. Of course, Cortlyn is being held by another Grad Asst, Callie, her new best friend. We march to the stadium and its just electrifying!



I've always loved football, watching it on TV and high school games, but the excitement of the USM games is just a whole new thrill. Cortlyn has a lot of fun running around. In fact, she got her first scraped knee last night at the game. She didn't cry- she was too busy getting up and running around!

That's all for now... I'll try and make time to update this blog as we go! :)