Baby Seal's First Astros Game

Last September, I attended an Astros game with my family like we've done a couple of times a year for as long as I can remember. This game in particular was different, though - I knew I was pregnant and so did my family. Despite not yet knowing the gender, I purchased a onesie, a set of bibs, and a couple of pacifiers for baby Seal, and said he/she would wear them to a game the following season. Well, HE had the opportunity to do just that this past Sunday!

A little backstory in case you're new here - I found out I was pregnant after attending the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Weekend in summer of 2015. We were there to celebrate our favorite Astro (Craig Biggio) and his induction ceremony. My family and I have also been life long Astros fans. In April of 2016, Brayden was born during the opening week of baseball and was actually born on the Astros first game of the season vs the Yankees. That was April 5, he was born at 5 p.m., and the Astros won 5-3. No way that's a coincidence, just sayin! :)

Needless to say, I was way incredibly excited for the opportunity to bring my little guy to his first Astros game this past weekend!

Isn't his outfit just the best? See that onesie? Yep! It's the one I purchased last season at the game and my dad bought the hat for him!

Brayden says blankets taste yummy in case you were wondering...

See his shoes? Those were an amazing find at a local consignment store called Once Upon a Child. They are Sperry's and when I saw them, I knew I had to have them.

We have two pre-game traditions - take a photo with Biggio/Orbit and find Mickey! 

I tried to show Mickey to him but in all the commotion of people walking around, and the line to take a picture with Mickey, it didn't happen.

At first, I was worried the crowds and noise would bother Brayden because he started to cry a little - I think he was mostly overwhelmed by everything going on around him. Thankfully, our tickets were in the Mazda Club Level and we didn't have to worry as much about the crowds. I knew this going in as I've sat in this area in the past and I can definitely say it was perfect with a baby! The alcove behind the seats is enclosed and it's a bit quieter with less people which worked perfectly for us. When we go with Brayden again, we are going to sit here for sure. 

I have to tell you that we had a BALL at the game (no pun intended). Brayden was way better than I ever could have imagined! He was happy, loved looking at the lights/sounds, and overall stayed calm and content.

He loved the baby carrier! I took him with me when I went to find food and he cracked me up! First, he was like this....

Then before I knew it, he was OUT!

Watching the game from daddy's lap!

Of course, we also had our other game tradition - ice cream! :)

The only time he got cranky at the game was right before this family photo (and that was at the end of 9 innings)! He was hungry so I fed him a bottle, and he was just about to fall asleep again when we took this photo.

I really enjoyed sharing this experience with my parents. We all had such a great time together!

Now that I know he can do so well, I can't wait for the next one!! :)

Birthday Weekend Happenings

This past weekend, we celebrated my birthday with family and had a blast. Now that Brayden is in the picture, this seriously was one of my best birthdays ever!

It all began on Friday morning when my husband brought Cracker Barrel home for breakfast!

YUM! There was so much food, I saved half of the french toast for another day!

Friday night, my parents cooked dinner - my FAVORITE....roast, rice&gravy, and corn! YUM!

My poor Mickey...I'm NOT an artist, ok? :)

I haven't had my mom's roast in ages and it was SO good!

We also had my favorite cake - chocolate with PB icing. It's amazing!! I do wish those numbers weren't continuing to climb... *sigh....

On Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early for a run with my running buddy, Heather. The weather was drizzly with some clouds but we could see the sun peeking through. (More about my run on Friday.)

I also had family pictures planned, so Heather and I cut the run short and I dashed home to shower and fix my hair. As we were leaving for family pictures at 8:30 that morning, the bottom fell out of the sky and it began to POUR down rain. I know you know it's been raining daily here for the past two weeks, but it's always raining in the afternoons - one of the main reasons I chose a morning time for our session. Oh well, the joke was on me because guess what? At 5 p.m., the sun was shining.

The session was rescheduled to next week in the afternoon, so I'm crossing my fingers all goes well.

Since we were all dressed up and lookin fancy, we decided to stop by a local diner for breakfast on our way home! It was delicious!

Jason also surprised me with birthday flowers! :)

On Saturday night, we had a dinner celebration at Jason's parent's house! 

I love love love the "Celebrate" plate. Oh yes, and the tablecloth - if it's your birthday, you sign the tablecloth! It's fun to look back and read who all has signed it over the years!

Time for cake...again!

On Saturday night, Brayden and I wore our baseball PJ's to sleep in honor of Brayden's first Astros game the following day!

Y'all, he absolutely BLEW MY MIND on how well he did at the game! I'll share more about his first Astros game in another post. But for now....

It's the cutest little Astros fan you ever did see! :)

Overall, the weekend was amazing and was made even more special by family and friends! I hope you had a good one, too!

Fitness Friday & Birthday Weekend - 8/26

Well, it's Friday again and officially my birthday weekend! There are so many fun things planned this weekend - I can't wait! First, let me share my workouts for the week..

Currently Training For:

• Cajun Cup 10K (Lafayette, LA)
• Cajun Country Half Marathon (Lafayette, LA)
• Disney's Princess Half Marathon & Glass Slipper Challenge
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon

Saturday - 5 mile run
Sunday - 2 mile walk with Brayden
Monday - Tone It Up Girls Workout
Tuesday - Tone It Up Girls Workout
Wednesday - Rest Day 
Thursday - 2 Mile walk with Brayden
Friday - 3 mile run

On Saturday morning, I went for a 5 mile solo run around my neighborhood. I didn't start until almost 8:30 a.m. and it was HOT. I was going to attempt six miles, but my head was starting to spin from the heat by 9:30 a.m. Thankfully, cooler weather will be here within the next few months and running later on Saturdays when Jason has to work won't be a problem!

Hi turtle friend!

My lungs are what bothered me on Saturday's run, and I definitely had to walk a few times. I'm attributing it all to the heat. :) Hopefully tomorrow's run will be much better!

My friend Kim came over to spend a few hours with Brayden and watch him while I ran. So thankful for her!!

This week was also the first time I took Brayden on a walk without the car seat in his stroller. HE LOVED it and was so excited to see everything around him! The sun was still out on Sunday evening's walk, hence the shades. He ended up falling asleep during the walk!

This week brought more rain but also several pretty sunsets!

On Sunday, we are taking Brayden to his first Astros game! You have no idea how excited I am!! We've also been practicing in the baby carrier and he loves it!

Speaking of my sweet boy, he turned 20 weeks old this past week! He sure is so much fun! I just love it!

Also for the weekend, we have dinner with both my parents and my husband's parents to celebrate. We are also taking family pictures tomorrow morning and uhhhh...our outfits...I have no clue what we are going to wear! Yikes! I love the idea of Brayden wearing a patterned outfit, then Jason and I each wearing a color out of his outfit but omg...it's not as easy as I thought! Ah well, it will all come together!

Have a great weekend!! :)

Early Birthday with Friends

This past weekend, my friends threw me an early birthday party! My birthday is technically this weekend, but this past Saturday worked best for everyone to be together!

Originally, we were going to eat dinner at O'Charleys, but the line was 8 thousand hours long. My mom and dad were keeping my baby, so I needed to get back in a reasonable time. Waiting forever to be seated then waiting on food? Nope...NEXT! 

Instead, we ended up at Rotolos. My birthday dinner with this group of friends was at Rotolos last year as well and it's also where I told them I was pregnant. There were no surprises on this birthday, but we still sat at the same table for old times sake! Hah!

I somehow managed to put on  makeup, too!

They were out of my favorite wrap, so our waitress suggested I try it in pizza form. It was good, but I definitely miss my wrap!

What's a birthday without cake?!

My friends know me all too well! I loved everything!! :)

After dinner, we picked Brayden up from my mom's, then returned to my house to put him to bed and play a few games.

The Game of Things is HILARIOUS! One of my favorite group games to play with friends! Basically, you're given a topic and everyone has to write a random response on a slip of paper. The slips are given to the "reader" and the person to the reader's left has to try and guess which answer belongs to which person. SO FUNNY!

My dogs aren't spoiled or anything...

Group selfie!

We had SO much fun! I always enjoy hanging out with my friends and spending time with them!! :)

As an added bonus, we went to lunch with some out of town friends on Saturday morning. They made Brayden this adorable Mickey quilt and wanted to deliver it to him in person. I know he's going to cherish it for many years to come!

Overall, it was a great day!! :)

Top 5 Favorite Olympic Moments

With the closing ceremony of the Rio Olympics last night, so many memorable and exciting moments from these Olympic games ran through my mind. There were records set, lots of medals received, stories of overcoming great obstacles, and inspiration just to name a few.

I love love love the Summer Olympics and our TV at home has been on the local news channel the past two weeks straight! Brayden also enjoyed "watching" some of it - the swimming competition mostly! :)

There were so many moments I enjoyed, but I've compiled a list of just a few favorites below..

Source

Number 1:

Source

Women's 100 Meter Hurdlers - Team USA going gold, silver, and bronze...the first in that event in Olympic history! Such an exciting moment!


Number 2:

Source

Katie Ledecky - this lady is an amazing athlete! I was wowed every time I watched her swim, especially when she set the World Record in the Women's 800 m Freestyle!

Number 3

Source

Back to track and field, my heart went out to the ladies of Team USA in the 4x100 Meter Relay when the baton was lost in transition. I was happy that Allyson Felix used her logic in that moment to make her teammates finish the race so they would have a chance to appeal. They won the appeal and also the Gold in the final race!


Number 4:

Source

Mo Farah! Only this guy could fall during a race, get back up, then win gold in the 5000 m! Insane and absolutely incredible!

Number 5:

Source

My FAVORITE event in the Summer Olympics is Women's Gymnastics. I never was a gymnast, but I am amazed by the talent these ladies posses! From the individual events to the All Around and Team Finals, I loved watching our Team USA "Final Five" win so many medals, especially the one for women's gymnastics Team Gold!

Runner Up:

Source

The Olympics always brings around lots of emotion and I love when athletes show it! This moment after the men's 4x 100 freestyle relay had me crying right along with Ryan Held! These athletes worked HARD for their gold medal moments...I can only imagine the emotions they feel!

So many additional moments stood out to me during these events like the women's 5000 m collide between D'Agostino and Hamblin - their act of unity was amazing to see. Also, Michael Phelps achieving his final Olympic gold medal, Rupp pushing through to win the bronze medal in the men's marathon (and only his 2nd marathon EVER at that!), and watching Jorgensen as she crossed the finish line for gold in the women's Triathlon after determining to come back stronger from the London 2012 Olympics. 

Overall, the Olympics held so many incredible moments and I have only barely touched the surface of my favorites! 

What were some of your favorite moments from Rio?