The Red Stick

We had a great time in Baton Rouge this weekend visiting Mike, John's godfather, and Don.  We were certainly given the royal treatment!  Saturday morning began with a fancy breakfast served on china - even the granola bars and bananas had their own plate.  This was the first time I had seen individual salt and pepper shakers and strawberry forks - Mike certainly knows how to set a beautiful table.  Mike drove us all around Baton Rouge on Saturday and was a fabulous tour guide.  He can tell you something about almost every house and building in Baton Rouge.  I had seen LSU twice before but this was the first time that I really got to see the rest of the city.  Saturday night we had a wonderful dinner at Roberto's on the Mississippi River.  We are very thankful to Mike and Don for showing us such a good time.  Here are a few photos from the weekend.

Fancy breakfast - note the china, crystal and silver:

John at breakfast:

Don, John and Mike:

John and Lauren:

Shopping List - UPDATE

Editor's note: As Lauren was browsing around the store, I asked the nice owner whether a certain style of crib might be more or less difficult to assemble than another, as that would factor into how I shape my opinion. She said, "As long as you follow the steps, none of them are hard to put together. What gets people in trouble is that they skip steps and try to do it themselves."

I'm sure it'll be that simple.

Shopping List

This was the first weekend that we were both home in a few weeks and we were busy running around town.  On Saturday, we decided to start looking at nursery furniture.  We won't know the sex of the baby until early June so we can't really start decorating the nursery, but we know we want white (or off-white) nursery furniture so we figured we could start on that project early.  We visited Babies R' Us (yikes!  sensory overload!), Precious Cargo (adorable baby boutique just down the street from our house), and New Baby Products (old Atlanta standby in baby furniture, etc).  At the end of the day, we agreed that we both really loved some of the things we saw at Precious Cargo, so I think I will be headed back there soon to place an order.  Here is a photo of the crib we like, and the matching furniture pieces are just as cute.

Although we didn't find any furniture at Babies R' Us, we did pick up a Snoogle.  I have wanted a Snoogle since before I was pregnant.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Snoogle, it is a "total body pillow" that provides extra support at night, particularly at the end of pregnancy, and comes highly recommended by my friend Meagan.  Although I don't actually need it yet, I figure I may as well get some use out of it!

Sunday morning started out with a wonderful Easter brunch at South City Kitchen.  Then, a modest trip to Home Depot to pick up a couple flats of impatiens ended up becoming a very ambitious landscaping project for John.  John spent the afternoon planting twelve azalea plants along the side and back of our house.  John says he was inspired by the beautiful azaleas at the Masters this weekend.  In any event, the new plants are a significant landscaping upgrade for us.

I'm still feeling really good now that I have officially left the first trimester behind.  I am less tired and my appetite is back with a vengeance.  Although I didn't have morning sickness, I didn't have much of an appetite or had trouble finding anything that sounded good to eat during much of the first trimester.  Let me assure you that those days are gone.  I am hungry all the time these days!  

Here is a before and after of the side of the house, the "after" being thanks to John's hard work.

Before:

After:

Georgia Peach

The big secret is finally out - we are having a baby! The baby is due October 15 and we couldn't be more excited. I have been feeling really good and have been able to avoid any morning sickness at all. We will find out the sex of the baby in early June, but I have a feeling that it's a girl. This feeling is based on things like the Chinese calendar and the fact that the baby has a heart rate higher than 140 and is not at all scientific. Of course, we will be equally excited to have a healthy boy or girl.



Here is an ultrasound photo from our 12-week visit. We couldn't believe how much it really looks like a baby now and not just the blob like we saw at the 7-week ultrasound. The baby measured 5.5 cm in the ultrasound, and various pregnancy websites compare its size to a lime or a peach. We are very excited about our Georgia peach!

Not surprisingly, it took John all of about five minutes before proclaiming our baby will be a Tiger Fan. I don't think he'll be disappointed.