Holding her own

Lyla has been holding her own drinks for a while now. She's still a little shaky when sitting up but if you lie her down she is a pro! I love her independence but it makes me a little sad. The milestones are reminders that she is growing up. And too fast for mommy!

My Actual 29th Birthday

Sunday was my actual birthday. Turning 29 is weird because everyone thinks you are just lying about being 30. We slept in and went to brunch at the Court of Two Sisters. Brunch is my favorite meal! The perfect combination of sweet and savory and it is completely acceptable to have a drink! I love mimosas! Other than Brennan's, the CoTS has one of the best brunches. Unlike other places, they have a big hot and cold buffet with a made to order omelet/eggs Benedict station, so you can try a little of everything. I forgot to pack Lyla's portable highchair so we had to try the standard wooden chairs that the restaurant had. After a wipe down, she plopped right in. As silly as it seems, it amazes me how quickly things change with her. A few weeks ago this was not an option. She loved the sweetpotatos and grits. That's my Southern lady! She also became quiet accomplished at playing the spoons. She was trying to help the Jazz band out.
After brunch we wandered the streets. I love Sunday afternoons in the Quarter! It doesn't seem as crowded and you have the chance to really appreciate the architecture. We came upon this group of street performers. The woman had an AMAZING voice and it filled the streets. The swing dancers were a nice touch.
We went to Lush so that I could finally spend my gift certificate from Valentine's Day. I love their products. They are handmade, mostly organic and use fair trade ingredients. After that we headed back home. Lyla and I took a few pictures with our hats on. TJ got me a new summer hat for the pool. I love hats and this one is great!I have a such a wonderful husband! It was the best birthday and a great way to start out my last year of 20's youth!

My 29th Birthday Weekend - Saturday

Part of my birthday gift from TJ was tickets to Jazz Fest! We went out there on Saturday to hear James Taylor, Wilco and many others. We started out at the Fais Do-Do stage to hear some zydeco. This music makes you want to boogie! I loved watching our fellow festival goers Cajun Waltz and two step. I love that style of dancing. For those who have not seen it, to me it, looks similar to a jitterbug polka. Lyla, once again covered in sunscreen, made the trip with us. She was the best baby and loved all of the colorful people and all of the music and action. She loves to go and do, just like her parents! The Kelty was perfect for the festival. She had a birds-eye view of things and was safely out of the way. A great investment for a family on the go. Especially since our little one doesn't like her stroller, unless it is moving!
TJ and I both love the Blues so we spent most of the day in the blues tent. It was nice to sit in the shade. Lyla was quiet a ham and made several friends. She really liked this couple from England, making faces and laughing at them. She also enjoyed the Blues music and would "dance" and try to sing along. There were about 70,000 people in attendance on Saturday and we ended up sitting next to a couple from Amarillo. Small world! We also ate some great food. We had to try the famous Crawfish bread and it didn't disappoint! We shared a combo plate consisting of Pecan Catfish Meunière, Seafood Mirliton Casserole, Fried Crab Cake w/ Smoked Tomato & Jalapeño Tartar and Fried Green Tomatoes. And being a former Snow Cone Queen, I had to try their Sno Balls. Pretty good, but no match for the Snow Patch - ha!We also took Lyla to her first Pow Wow, where we watched Houma Indians perform tribal dances. She is an eighth Cherokee, which is too funny to me since she is the whitest baby I know! But I want her to know her heritage and the Cherokee have such a rich one. We also got to see the Mardi Gras Indians parade. I wanted to see their parade during Mardi Gras but we didn't get the chance. They have the most beautiful costumes and, to me, one of the most interesting histories of any Krewe.

After a big day at Jazz Fest we boarded the buss back to our hotel for hot showers and a quick nap. Then TJ and I tried Carlos Mencina's Suave. Not the best Mexican/Latin food place and pretty over priced but there was no wait. The best thing on the menu was the Blueberry Mojitini. And this cost more than my burrito. This confirmed my theory that actors and singer are not the best restaurateurs. Especially when they feel compelled to name their establishment after themselves!
Another fun filled day and it still was not my actual birthday!

My 29th Birthday Weekend - Friday

My wonderful husband planned a family trip to New Orleans for my 29th birthday! New Orleans is possibly one of my favorite cities and we love "urban exploring" there. He got us a room in the Warehouse District. It was great to see a different part of downtown. I love the Quarter, but with Lyla, this was a little more practical. We got there at about 3 on Friday and while we were checking in Forrest Gump showed up. You never know who you will see down there!
We then headed over to Cochon for a late lunch. Other than the history of the city, I love the food!!! We had pork ribs with pickled watermelon for an appetizer, TJ had brisket with horseradish potato salad and I had an oyster and bacon sandwich with coleslaw and green tomato, crawfish casserole. Wonderful southern coastal cooking. They also had some great beers at the bar. I had the Lazy Magnolia Pecan Ale and TJ had a Saison Dupont.
Check out the hat squad behind me! There were about 6 of them all wearing fedoras or pork pies. The colorful people make this city so unique! After dinner we took a stroll towards the river. We stopped by the Wine Institute of New Orleans, or W.I.N.O (that's great, huh!). They are the first place in Louisiana to have enomatics. TJ and I tried about 15 different wines. We would have stayed longer but Lyla crashed out in her new carrier. (She out grew the Bjorn so we upgraded to the Kelty TC.) I felt weird enough having her in a wine shop, but to see her sleeping upright while we were sampling wines just seemed cruel!
So we headed back to the hotel to get her stroller and then to the Riverwalk. After an evening stroll, the smell of charbroiled oysters was too much for me so we dropped off at The Crazy Losbter for some Cajun, Carribean, and Greek charbroiled oysters! Yum-o. We had to have Lyla's favorite, bread pudding, for dessert. This restaurant is right off the river and they have a live jazz band playing out on the patio. It was such a nice way to cap off the day!
Lyla checking out the menu.

White Romper

Lyla's Nino embroidered her name on the bottom of this romper. I love Lyla in white. It is just beautiful on her with her blue eyes and strawberry hair. She gets tons of complements on this outfit. My mom got her the bow in Borger at Fit to Be Tied. They have some of the neatest baby things there! Lyla is working on the Hairbow Rainbow. We have almost every color. She has been wearing them since the day after she was born. She is really good about not pulling them off. I think she just assumes they are an extension of her hair!

LSU Super Sports Weekend

Lyla's Grandad came down for a visit so we all went to Baton Rouge for LSU's Super Sports Weekend. They had baseball, softball, tennis, track, and their Spring football scrimmage. We made it to baseball and track. Lyla always enjoys a crowd and it was great weather, a little overcast so the heat was not miserable. The baseball team lost to Tennessee, but their new stadium is very nice and they have the best concession stand food! My Aggies were participating in the track meet. It was fun for me to get to cheer them on! I love track meets so I had a blast watching. We tried to see Mike the Tiger but he was hiding in his habitat so we missed another tiger sighting! Lyla did get some new pompoms so it was not a total loss for her! She LOVES her poms. My sister got her a little read and white set and she plays with them all of the time. The new ones are much bigger and she didn't want to let them go. TJ had to take them away for a second so he could get her in her car seat and she had a fit! She fell asleep with them clutched in her little hands on the ride home. We went to Tsunami for dinner. It is on top of the museum and has a great view of the Mississippi River. The sushi was pretty good but the view was the real treat. Another fun filled Saturday for the Watson Family.

The new LSU baseball stadium

The Track and Field complex with Death Valley in the distance

Geaux Tigers! My little cheerleader in the making.

Lyla and her Grandad, Tommy.

Knot Dress

Lyla's Aunt Teri and Nino made her some adorable Knot Dresses for Spring. They are both very talented and creative. Lucky for Lyla! My mom got the bloomers for her so she would have something to wear underneath. I don't like seeing baby diapers hanging out of cute outfits. This is Lyla modeling her Pink dress. She also has one in blue/yellow and orange/green.

Geaux Tigers

As mentioned in a previous post, Lyla likes to roar like a tiger. Maybe it is being so close to LSU!

For whatever reason, I think it is so, so funny!

Sitting Up

Lyla has started sitting up by herself! She is not the most stable, more like a weeble, but she is sitting without me or her bumbo. Of course it takes a lot of concentration, so any slight distraction and its off to rolling around. But she will sit there long enough for me to take a few pictures!

Zoo Trip

Lyla and I took our first trip to the zoo yesterday! We went to the Baton Rouge zoo. It was ok, but the "big cat" exhibit is being remodeled so no tigers or lions, Lyla's favorite. I say they are her favorite because roaring/growling is the only animal noise she makes. She did it back in February for about a week. On her exersaucer there is a lion button that roars. She would hit that button and the make a similar noise. It was hilarious but she stopped after a few days. Yesterday we played zoo with all of her animals, making the noises they make and talking about them. Mike the Tiger was the last one and after I started growling she was all about it. I will try to upload the video. Hilarious.

We watched this famly of monkeys for a very long time. We both got a kick out of them. The one on the stump is just a toddler and that is his mom on the right. He was going crazy running and jumping around and chasing his brother. His mother was chasing after and in this picture she had just given him a snack. All the while the dad was sitting around with his junk hanging out, watching the show and munching on something. A strong case for evolution! ha ha.

Lyla loves to kickback in her stroller. She always manages to put her feet up. My girl likes comfort.

It is already getting pretty hot down here but this big guy was moving around a lot more than the other animals. He would give the hare a run for his money.

Lyla's First Easter

Lyla had a great first Easter. Here are some of the pictures.
These are her Easter pajamas. They looked so cute on her, especially the pants! I loved the little bunny on her bottom.


This was her pretty Easter dress that Nino and Poppy got her. It had beautiful roses embroidered on the smocking and the collar. I love her in Raspberry and White.
Lyla and Lula celebrate Easter together.
The required "Baby's First" bib. TJ makes so much fun of me for buying these but I love them!
Lyla with her Easter bucket from her Nana and Grandpa. A woman my mom teaches with makes these and they are so cute. I know Lyla will love it for years to come!
Lyla loved her mini eggs. Her favorite activity was shaking them out of their bag. She wouldn't stop until the last egg was out. We admired her determination. She also got pretty good at dropping them in her bucket! We had a great Easter, even though TJ had to work. We celebrated with a good meal when he got home and just enjoyed the evening together.