Busy Friday...with pictures

Friday when I got home from work I grabbed Betsy from Grandpa's house and she and I headed to the Children's place. Betsy got a new dress and we got a new shirt and sweater vest for cousin Will so they could get pictures taken together! Here's Betsy in her new dress with matching hat.



Aunt Mary and cousin Will came over to our house after shopping and we got the kiddos dressed and headed to Portrait Innovation. Our mission: to get a great picture of the cousins together to give Grandma and Grandpa for their birthdays! Pictures were pretty difficult. Both babies crawl and it's not easy to get two mobile babies still and smiling at the same time. We ended up with a good picture though, as well as a great picture of William smiling, and another of a very serious Betsy standing and clapping. I'll have to upload those tonight for you guys.

After our picture session Betsy and I went to Hobby Lobby to buy picture frames for the birthday presents. While at Hobby Lobby I saw the first unusual sight of the day...two Buddhist monks making a return at Hobby Lobby. It seemed very out of place.

After about a million comments about how adorable she looked in her dress and matching hat we made it home and Betsy took a little nap.





I rested a bit too and picked up around the house before getting dressed myself, and getting Betsy ready to attend the Belton High School football game (it was homecoming)! She was so good at the game, I wore her in the infant carrier facing out and there was tons of excitement for her to see. The weather was a little cool but she wore her fuzzy bunny hat and I wrapped a blanket around her and she was snug as a bug in a rug.



Lots of people commented on how cute she was, including the Santa look alike who was in charge of letting people in the bleachers. And the opposing team who we happened to walk beside right before they headed on the field. And the administrators from the opposing team (who wanted to know where she got her hat).

Since Betsy and I didn't buy a ticket, we just got in with our District pass (all the coaches wives get one) we stood along the fence to watch the game. Belton did GREAT, they recovered an onside kick, as well as blocking an extra point and running the ball back for a two point conversion. Betsy and I left at the half, but Belton was leading and ultimately went on to win the game 47-20.

***On a related note, be sure to cheer on the Belton Tigers this Thursday night on ESPNU, they'll be playing their in-district rivals, the Temple Wildcats.***

After the game Betsy immediately fall asleep in her car seat and I decided to treat myself to a diet sprite from Sonic. As I pulled in I saw this car... and thought it deserved a picture on the blog.



Betsy and I made it home at 9:10 pm and after a bottle and change of clothes she quickly fell asleep, as did I at 9:30.

Weekend plans.

Today is my half day, so I'm picking up the sweet girl and heading home for some light cleaning. I actually look forward to that...getting the house spotless before the weekend starts. Also things aren't quite put back in order after last weekend's party and I need to move stuff from the garage in the house, from the yard to the garage etc.

Tonight Betsy and I are heading to the high school to watch Ben's football game. I hesitate to take her because it's cool outside, and she usually falls asleep at 7:30 pm, but we haven't been to a game yet this season! I really do love football. My plan is to put her in a couple layers, wear her in the baby carrier (it helps us share body warmth) and wear one of Ben's jackets zipped up over both of us! It worked for soccer season early this year and Betsy still loves being in the carrier (sometimes I even wear her backward in the carrier while I vacuum).

I need to make some returns to various stores this weekend, and Ben will be home (yea!) Saturday so I'll probably get up early and run around town. Target, Ross and Hobby Lobby. I have tons of sewing to do, so I hope to wrap up a few of those projects and get them mailed out! Also, my FUN project for this weekend is to try to sew a dress for Betsy. I've never sewn clothing and I really want to make a personalized dress (kind of a jumper?) for the sweet girl. I'll share pictures (if it's a success OR a failure). I'm sure we'll watch some college and professional football this weekend, and we'll try to make a trip to the carnival at the pumpkin patch on Saturday.

Tomorrow night we'll be celebrating my mother-in-law's birthday! We haven't decided if we're going out to eat or having everyone over to our house. I don't know, we'll think about it. I'm SUPER excited about the birthday present we bought for my in-laws. Jane's birthday is tomorrow and Jimbo's birthday is a week from today. We bought a present for the two of them (that I'll share on here after we give it to them) and I think it takes into account both their likes!

What a fun weekend we have planned!

Because I'm crazy...

Five days post couple shower the party planning instinct strikes again!

Today I worked on the invitation list for Betsy's first birthday, which is about 6 weeks away. Let me say this...it's huge. I'm really excited about it though! I know the first party is really about the family than the child, but I am thrilled to celebrate the most wonderful year in our lives, which happens to be the first year of her life.

The party is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, December 13th, the weekend after her birthday. It happens to be the day after JD and Tiffany's wedding so lots of family and friends (including Granny, party planner extraordinaire) will be in attendance. I'm thinking middle of the day, we'll serve lunch and cupcakes and call it a day.

Get your party pants on people!

Sangria: the new love of my life

I made this recipe for JD and Tiffbo's shower and it was a hit! I made three batches the day before and let them marinate over night. It's super easy, smells wonderful, and went great with Mexican food. I'm not a huge fan of red wine but Sangria is fab. I hope you try it, and enjoy it!

Party Sangria Recipe

This Sangria recipe is perfect for big summer parties - always a favorite, you may consider doubling the recipe.
Prep Time: 0 hours, 5 minutes
Ingredients:
1 Bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja, Zinfandel, Shiraz)
1 Lemon cut into wedges
1 Orange cut into wedges
1 Lime cut into wedges
2 Tbsp sugar
Splash of orange juice or lemonade
2 Shots of gin or triple sec (optional)
1 Cup of raspberries or strawberries (may use thawed or frozen)
1 Small can of diced pineapples (with juice)
4 Cups ginger ale
Preparation:
Pour wine into a large pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon, orange and lime into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and pineapple then add sugar, orange juice and gin. Chill overnight. Add ginger ale, berries and ice just before serving. If you'd like to serve right away, use chilled red wine and serve over lots of ice. However, remember that the best Sangrias are chilled around 24 hours in the frig. - allowing the flavors to really marinate into each other.

Hallelujah!

Betsy and I slept from 9:15 to 6:15 this morning. In our own beds! After the few rough nights we've had, that deserved it's own blog entry. The sweet girl is feeling much better. No fussing, lots of smiles this morning. Eating well, SLEEPING well. I hope she and I can both catch up on our sleep now!

Congrats Sean!! *Shameless brag*

Lauren's boyfriend Sean was named ACC Offensive lineman of the week for the second time this season. He couldn't be more deserving, Sean has a fantastic work ethic, motivation, and maturity beyond his age.

http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/101909aac.html

Georgia Tech's football record is now 6 and 1. Keep up the great work Uncle Sean!

Sick Betsy update: double ear infections

Yesterday Betsy had a fever of 101.8 so I called the doctor and asked for an appointment. They squeezed us in at 5:30 pm. My father-in-law met me at the doctor to hand off sick Bets. By the time we got in to see the doctor her temperature was down to 100.2. She's weighing in at a whopping 18.5 pounds. I really liked the doctor we saw this time, and he quickly diagnosed her as having ear infections in both ears. I was surprised because she hasn't been pulling on her ears or sticking her finger in her ears or anything.

Anyways, the doctor prescribed an antibiotic and she's taken two doses now. She slept better last night, but not great. She slept on me most of the night. I'm hopeful she'll be a little better each day and night.

*update* Ben called a minute ago to tell me how Betsy and I hogged the bed last night. He claims Betsy "kept pushing him until he was hanging off the bed". Really? She weighs 18 pounds, how hard can she push?!

Poor Ben, no space in the bed. Poor Betsy, she has earaches.