CC's First Halloween

Today Courtney woke up with a terrible eye infection which we assume is the dreaded 'pink eye.' The doctor called in prescription eye drops and said she would continue to be contagious for 24 hours after beginning the eye drops. So that blew some of our Halloween plans out of the water. I had taken a vacation day to help out at the day care's Harvest Festival, but we did not get to go to that because of the contagiousness. Todd and I had volunteered to help at the neighborhood Halloween Bash at our neighbors' house, but she only came for a short time (with Mama Lyn) and stayed in the stroller most of the time. We couldn't let her get close to other kids so were trying to be cautious. However, she looked cute in her kittycat costume and really enjoyed wearing it! The photo above is of her in the antique dresser - which is our storage place for diapers. Sometime Friday she discovered how to open the dresser door and climb up on top of the diapers. She was quite proud of herself.
If you zoom in on those photos you can probably see that her left eye is red and swollen. Although she was irritable on Friday, her overall mood was good. Here she is standing at the Halloween Bash. As for the candy, she did not get any, although I did let her have a treat - a 100 calorie pack of Chips Ahoy, which she inhaled.

No Fail Quiche

I can't believe I haven't blogged about my no fail quiche before, but I just did a search of past posts and apparently I haven't. Whenever I'm stumped for dinner, I make a quiche. I keep frozen pie crust on hand at all times for this. Tonight, I decided to make one with some leftover cooked shrimp and a bell pepper. Here's the recipe.
4 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
1/2 cup fat free milk
1/2 cup of something with fat in it - either mayo, reduced fat mayo, or sour cream or reduced fat sour cream
3/4 cup whatever cheese you have on hand, shredded
whatever vegetable you have, chopped
whatever meat you have, optional

Cook your pie crust in the oven alone for 7 minutes. While it bakes, beat your eggs with a whisk. Add salt, milk, your fat ingredient and shredded cheese. Whisk. Stir in chopped veggie and meat. Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until set. Easy.

CC and the Bath Water

A certain little someone at our house loves to take a bath. Here's a short video of her enjoying tub time.

Mockingbird Play

Tonight we saw the play, 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Jackson's New Stage Theatre, and we both really enjoyed it. We have both read the book (me within the last year) and a lot of the dialogue was straight from the book. It was very moving and thought-provoking.

Jackson Zoo

Mama Lyn and I took Courtney to the Jackson Zoo today. Truthfully she was more interested in eating cheerios and drinking from her sippy cup than looking at animals. But those darn monkeys caught her attention. I tried to keep going past the monkeys because of my sharp disdain for them, but those are one of the only things she focused on!
Here's a bear...
Here's a zebra.
And here's Mama Lyn and Courtney at the end. Special note - Todd visited the Jackson Zoo when he was almost exactly a year old. We have photos of both of his parents and him on the trip (they lived in Brookhaven at the time so it was an hour's drive). I'll try to scan those in.

Jalissa Left Today

Jake and Melissa left today to resume their world tour and eventually land back at home in Sydney Australia. I was at work today but Todd and Mary Lou and Harold took them to the airport. Above, Jake, Melissa and Todd.
Mary Lou, Melissa and Jake.
Melissa and Courtney. Courtney got her first trip to the airport today, seeing them off.

Oh So Spoiled

Curtain Climber got used to being picked up 24/7 this week with Jalissa and MoMo and PoPo here for an entire week. She also did not go to day care, so wasn't on a strict routine. This is her 'pick me up' request to Jake, who took this photo. We have enjoyed having the Australia crew here in town, as well as the Westbank crew. Courtney misses them a lot!
Here's Courtney with Jake and Meow.
Melissa, Jake and Courtney.

Courtney Saying Hey!

I just thought this little video was cute! Mary Lou took this video I believe in our back yard.

Walking in Memphis

Today we visited Graceland, Elvis's home, in Memphis. It costs about $30 and comes complete with an audio tour. Pictured above - me, Bill, Hermine, Tommy and Rita.
We also visited the Memphis Zoo - the entrance is guarded by these animal sentinels (above) who were charmingly dressed for Halloween.
An 8-day old baby giraffe was romping with its parent at the zoo. We also saw white tigers, giant pandas and other impressive exhibits. Lots of kids were there - it made me want to take Courtney to a zoo.
Tonight at dinner at Spindini in downtown Memphis, my friend Bill pulled out his Elvis glasses and sideburns for effect. I had to snap a pic.

Cue the Duck Bedlam

The mob scene today at the Memphis Peabody, where they release the ducks at 11 a.m. each day with all the fanfare of a movie premiere, complete with red carpet, emcee and flash photography.

Memphis Trip

I am in Memphis for work with about 30 others - we are having a great time. The only regret I have is that Jalissa is in Jackson, staying at our house. (You may remember Todd's brother Jake and his wife Melissa - they live in Sydney Australia.) We haven't seen them in about a year and of course I have to be out of town when they are in the states. They arrived Friday (today) after I had already left for Memphis. So Todd stayed home with our houseguests.
My room at the Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis.

Tonight's dinner group at Blues City Cafe. They served us 6 different meat entrees (each), no kidding.
I could not resist taking a picture of Bill's blue suede shoes he wore tonight.

All You Can Eat Buffet

Baby's version of an all-you-can-eat buffet: Grab the bag of Cheerios. Shake bag vigorously. Enjoy the buffet.

I've Been Tagged

Blogtag. See the rules in the attached graphic. I was tagged by LOK of The Zoo, so the rules say I have to share random facts about myself, then tag others. First here are the tags. Then the facts.
Crump Connection
Davis Diary
Jalissa Olivier
Mader Family News
Woman About Town
Arr-Jay's Little Red Blog N Rouge
Everything & Nothing
1. One of my first jobs was actually driving to different towns and buying Coca Cola products for quality control purposes. We mailed the two-liters back to Coke headquarters.
2. I've visited Switzerland - my favorite town was Bern - and also took a day trip to France and Germany. When I return to Europe one day, I'd like to visit Normandy, where my paternal grandfather stormed the beach in 1944.
3. My favorite wine is pinot grigio, and my favorite wine store is Chan's in Destin, Fla.
4. I am inordinately afraid of having Courtney make an outburst in public. Ridiculously so. Like there is no way I could expect a baby to act any other way. However, I had an acquaintance who when she was asked 'smoking or non' at a restaurant, always said 'no children,' so I think about her and it makes me afraid of bothering people.
5. My favorite TV show is Project Runway, and the finale aired tonight. I taped it and haven't watched it yet. I will after I post this.
6. I know what happens when you press 'control, alt, down-arrow' on your computer at the same time. And how to return back again. (Try it.) I was taught this by my infant who was banging on the keyboard. And after an hour of web research, I was able to fix it.
7. My first dog Scuffer was a white and brown mutt with soft ears. My first cat was Pattycake, a white longhair, and I used to wheel her around in a baby stroller.

Mississippi State Fair

Todd and Mike took Courtney to the Mississippi State Fair today - the last day it was open. I politely declined to attend this year. Luckily Courtney didn't eat any fair food and did not get sick. That may be the last year that will be true. So Courtney and her father rode several rides and walked through the petting zoo (which reportedly had a camel, goats and llamas). Mike took several photos so here they are. Todd showing Courtney a ride and Todd and Courtney on the giant slide. She also rode the mystery machine kiddie ferris wheel and the carousel. Reportedly she giggled and loved all the rides except the rocking boat.

Our Good Eater

She has started eating with a spoon in her hand. She will scoop in the bowl with the spoon, but doesn't often get food on it. I can feed her with a second spoon, but she wants to palm one. Typical eating for a day is: Cheerios or other pickup for breakfast, cut up carrots or peas, plus cut up peaches, grapes or apples for lunch, then some spoon-fed veggie mixed with cereal plus some more pick-ups like cheese or a fruit for dinner. So far she has not refused any food I've offered her!

Waterbug

She does not seem to mind the water at all - here she is putting her head under the faucet!

The Mommy Box

Today I created a Mommy Box for the trunk of my car....containing essentials that heretofore I have often needed but been without. Waterproof cloth to sit on, sunscreen, first aid kit, wipes, extra diapers, bactine and bandages, tissues, etc.

Sprinkler System

Tonight when Todd was watering the potted plants, Courtney was so curious about the spray nozzle....she squealed with delight as she ran through the spray, putting her hands into it, and literally pulling the nozzle and aiming it toward her face and head. For those of you up north, relax, it was 85 degrees in Jackson this afternoon!

Courtney the Mimic

We will have to start watching our language around here - we have a little parrot at our house. This weekend she picked up the words 'hello' and 'flower.' The language isn't crystal clear, but I can tell what she's trying to say. This afternoon there were some neighborhood kids on their bikes and we were in the front yard, and she kept looking at them and saying 'Hello' - sounded more like 'heh-wo.' Here's some video of her trying to say 'flower.'