Baby's First Christmas

For Christmas Eve we spent 2:00-5:00 with The Brooksher Family @ the Butler's home in Bocage. We watched the Christmas parade, ate lunch, opened presents, & saw Santa!

We then headed to Lafayette for the wild Perret Family Christmas @ Beezie & Sport's house. We then stayed up to open gifts with Nanny Nat, Uncle Justin, Beezie, Sport, Uncle Andy, Aunt Emily, Mary Claire, & Jacob. On Christmas morning we opened up presents from Nana & Grandad. Christopher stayed with Beezie & Sport while Mama & Papa went to mass. We then ate lunch & headed back to Baton Rouge. Santa came to our home & left each of us 3 presents! Christopher received a walker, play table, & bucket of shapes. We then headed to Mae Mae & Birds to open up more presents with them & Uncle Nic, Parrain Josh, & Aunt Irene.

We had a very Merry & Blessed Christmas!! Oh yeah...Santa also brought Christopher his 2 front teeth!

Much Love & Many Blessings,

Mauree

Made with love by Mae Mae

Look at the Christmas Eve & Day outfits Mae Mae made for Christopher. Doesn't Mae Mae need to go into business or at least start an Etsy? Hope Everyone has a very Merry Christmas. We will let you know all about Christopher's first Christmas soon!

Much Love & Many Blessings,

Mauree

Matthew 1:23 "Behold the Virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Immanuel , which means 'God is with us.'"

Lost & Found Voice

Poor baby Christopher had his first trip to the ER at Our Lady of the Lake Children's Hospital. Last Friday is when he came down with a sniffly nose, Saturday night his voice became hoarse & raspy, and by Sunday morning he was breathing quickly & with force. Therefore, we decided to call the Dr after his 2nd long nap of the morning (this is not normal either). Well the nurse listened to him breathe over the phone & said sorry but that is your ticket to the ER. After six hours of waiting in the ER we finally saw the nurse, resident, and doctor. Turns out he had the early stages of croup. Christopher received a steroid shot & thankfully it turns out it really strengthened him to fight it off. It never got much worse. It took its course & ended up as a small cold which is now gone! It was worth the 6 hour wait at the ER. I'm glad he's all better for his first Christmas. It's funny that he started off the week with no voice & is ending it with a new found voice! He talks & sings to himself often during the day!

Much Love & Many Blessings,

Mauree

Moving from one group of children to another...Our Lady of the Lake

CH_WeeBelMag_FINALfall2010.pdf

It is official! Our Papa has a new job! Steven accepted an offer from John Paul Funes. John Paul is the CEO of the Our Lady of the Lake Foundation. He was offered the position of Campaign Director for Our Lady of the Lake's Children's Hospital. Our Lady of the Lake has a children's hospital; however, it is just one floor of the actual building. Therefore, the foundation is starting the Capital Campaign to raise over a million dollars to build a whole building for the Children's Hospital. Steven will be the Campaign Director for the capital campaign and work closely with John Paul as well as two other men who serve as volunteers on the Foundation Board. Steven & I are really thrilled about this incredible opportunity that has really fallen into his lap & is an answer to a year long prayer request. We have been ever blessed by God with so much support & a loving community at St. Aloysius. Through this community Steven has been connected to this new opportunity. Steven is excited to continue to work in a Catholic setting and in a setting that is helping children. This is a different population of children; however, these children are still seeking hope & love just like the children of St. Aloysius. Steven is excited about the challenge of building a capital campaign & meeting even more people than the people he's met over the years at St. Aloysius. Steven begins working at Our Lady of the Lake on December 20th. On December 19th Father Burns will announce Steven's official leaving at 5:30 mass and there will be reception immediately following. You all are welcome to attend! Again we are grateful for Steven's new opportunity & we ask that you all pray for us as we make this transition in the coming weeks.

Much Love & Many Blessings,

Mauree

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

Christopher took his first trip to pick out a Christmas tree!

Much Love & Many Blessings,

Mauree

Happy 5 Months Old Bday!

Christopher is now 5 months old! Here are some ways he is growing up!

Eats oatmeal cereal, bananas, & sweet potatoes

Rolls over

Coos & oos all the time

Loves to interact & giggle

Holds his head up so strong

Turns his head to the left & right

Sleeps through the night with out being swaddled

Sits in his stroller without being in his infant seat

Weighs nearly 15 lbs.

Holds his rattle

We are so proud of him! I'm ever grateful that he is developing so well!

Much Love & Many Blessings,

Mauree

Happy Birthday Bird!

November 29th was Bird's birthday! We went over to he & Mae Mae's house for a yummy dinner & cake! Christopher's grandfather, Bird is a wonderful man! He is a wonderful role model for our family and especially Christopher. He is always so sweet, super positive, an amazing father of five, calm, thoughtful, genuine, and faith-filled. We are ever grateful to have him as a father, father-in-law, and grandfather! We love you Bird!

Much Love & Many Blessings,

Mauree

Psalm 103:13

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on the faithful.

Baby's First Thanksgiving

For Christopher's 1st Thanksgiving we headed to New Orleans. We spent Thanksgiving with the Briede Family (Mae Mae's family). We ate lunch at Christopher's great grandparents, Grandma & Papa's. Papa just had hip surgery a few weeks ago so after lunch we headed the the Rehab Center to wish him Happy Thanksgiving. We were grateful to have the entire day to spend with the Briede's.

Much Love & Many Blessings,

Mauree

Psalm 100:4-5

Enter the temple gates with praise, its courts with thanksgiving. Give thanks to God, bless his name;

good indeed is the LORD, Whose love endures forever, whose faithfulness lasts through every age.

I do, I do, I do!

My little brother, my bubby, Andrew, is engaged! Andrew proposed to Emily, whom I call Sweet Em', on November 6th in Central Park! They plan to get married in Lafayette at the Cathedral next December. Andrew & Em' have been dating since high school! They both moved to NYC after they graduated from undergrad at LSU. They have lived quite the fairly tale life & God has opened up SO many incredible opportunities for the both of them! Andrew now has his real estate brokerage license and works for a firm called Brown, Harris, & Stevens. He is part of a stand-up/improv comedy group & they have had about 2 to 4 gigs a month in the city! He also was cast in an independent film last Saturday! Andrew attended Strasberg for a few semesters taking acting classes. Emily is currently at the Broadway Dance Center this semester. She will be on the National Music Man tour come January through May! She was also offered an incredible opportunity from the Disney Cruise line; however, she chose to attend Broadway Dance Center this semester. She was cast in an fitness commercial last Saturday. She was also appeared in the Dance Spirit Magazine last month! One really cool opportunity she had was about a month ago. She auditioned for Madonna's new clothing line, Material Girl launch party. Only 10 dancers were chosen to dance for Madonna & she was chosen! She first worked at Metlife as a Personal Trainer and has now left them & started her own fitness program called, Em-power! I AM SOOOOOOO THRILLED for the both of them! They have such an incredible outlook on life. They certainly reach for the stars and have pursued their life long dreams! They have taken great risks and great leaps of faith; however, they've kept their faith at the center of their lives! They have prayed for all their pursuits in NCY & God has most definitely opened up incredible windows for them to use their amazing gifts and talents. I cannot wait to officially call Sweet Em' my sister-in-law! I LOVE you Bubby! They came in to Baton Rouge this morning for a wedding this weekend. Therefore, we got to congratulate them & have lunch with them today!

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Mauree

Mark 10:6-9

"But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

Weekend In Lafayette

It's a BOY!

Maw Maw & Christopher at the GAP party.

Mary Claire strolling baby Christopher all on her own!

Me enjoying a margarita : )

VIP tickets and a margarita...nice work, Papa!

Swinging on Beezie & Sport's front porch.

This weekend was a wonderful weekend spent with family. We went to Lafayette for our cousins', Hunter & Candyce, gender announcement party (GAP)! We went in on Friday afternoon and the party was Saturday afternoon. Friday night Steven & I had quite the unexpected date night! My sister insisted on keeping baby Christopher so we could go do something and she suggested we try to go to the Jars of Clay/Brandon Heath concert at First Baptist Church. We decided to have dinner at the Filling Station, which is right down the street from First Baptist. While we were waiting on our dinner to arrive Steven walked down the street to try to buy tickets. Well he came back to the Filling Station with VIP tickets, which a man gave to him! We were intending to only buy the cheapest tickets, but we ended up with VIP tickets! We pretty much sat front row & were given free CDs! We had a ball! The song I posted above is called Love Never Fails You. Brandon Heath asked an engaged couple to come dance infront while he played the song...sweet : ) On Saturday morning and early afternoon we spent time outside enjoying the day with Nat, Mary Claire, & Jacob. The GAP party was very fancy & fun! Candyce & Hunter are having a little boy in January! Congratulations!

Much Love & Many Blessings,

Mauree

Grandad or Uncle Louis?!

Grandad is holding Christopher

This weekend, Christopher's great grandfather and great uncle came to Baton Rouge for the LSU vs. Bama game. Christopher's great grandfather is a twin! We call him Grandad. Grandad's twin is named, Louis. They came in to go to the big game on Saturday. They took us out to eat at good ole' Sammy's Friday night. Grandad also dropped off a special treat for Christopher. He dropped off his Christmas stocking which Nana made! It came out beautiful! It's bigger than Christopher. Santa will have a tough time filling it up! We also got to visit with them after the LSU game with Beezie & Sport!

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Mauree

Milk and cereal...cereal and milk!

We put together Christopher's high chair yesterday. He loves sitting in it! So much so that he fell asleep sleeping in it. Dr. Tribou told us to feel free to start introducing certain foods over the next 2 moths. Today Christopher tried cereal for the first time. I think he liked it. Now he just needs to learn how to swallow it instead of pushing it out of his mouth!

Much Love & Many Blessings,

Mauree

1 Peter 2:2-3 "...like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk so that through it you may grow into salvation, for you have tasted that the Lord is good."

Happy 4 Months Old Bday Bugaboo!

I will let the video tell most of it! But Christopher is:

smiling

sleeping from 9PM-6AM in his crib

interacting with people

measuring 11 lbs & 7.5 oz & 22 in long

holding his head up

cooing

watching baby signing time

pushing his feet down & legs straight when placed on a surface

Much Love & Many Blessings,

Mauree

Go State, My First Fair, & MOOO...My First Halloween!

What a perfect fun Fall weekend! Friday we joined with much of the Perret Family at the PMAC. We went to watch my first cousin, Paris play volleyball for Mississippi State vs. LSU! Christopher loved looking around at all the action; however, the band was SO loud that I had to position my fingers on his little ears to block the sound! We then went to my first cousin, Lauren's house for gumbo. Christopher met may aunts, uncles, and cousins for the first time. This weekend was the good ole' annual St. Aloysius Fair. We spent our whole Saturday there. Christopher had a ball! We got to visit with many friends, play Bingo, and of course eat great fair food. Our Uncle Nic injured himself on the playground at recess while playing soccer (hence, the orange cast). He's is doing very well and making a rather speedy recovery. For Christopher's first Halloween he wore Papa's very first Halloween costume. Papa & I decided to dress up like cows with him, at the very last minute. We went over to our friend Mr. Ken's for gumbo & to greet many trick-o-treaters. We thoroughly enjoyed our weekend full of family fun. So much so, that Christopher is sacked out in his car seat still in his cow costume from head to toe!

Much Love & Many Blessings,

Mauree

16 Weeks Old & a Wonderful Weekend!

We have had a busy but fun-filled weekend! Last night we went down-town to Life After 5 with the Romero's. I think Christopher & Magdalene thoroughly enjoyed their date night! This morning we went for a family stroll in the neighborhood. While strolling a man stopped us to look at his butterfly garden. I must say Christopher and I have strolled right past this garden at least 5 times and never knew what it was all about. I just thought this home had an overgrown yard that needed some help. Little did I know! The owner of this home has created a garden specifically for butterflies to enjoy! It is a registered National Wildlife Certified Habitat. It's called "Na-Papen" meaning beautiful butterfly. The owner had us take Christopher out of the stroller to walk around and to look closely at the butterflies. There were tons! It was really a beautiful experience in nature today.

Much Love & Many Blessings,

Mauree

Psalm 104:24 How varied are your works, LORD! In wisdom you have wrought them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

Sunshine

My sweet friend Laura Lindsey is a wonderful artist. She is also a precious & sweet person. She is so full of joy that she is also known as, Sunshine! She is the mother of 4 (with one on the way)! I met her when I taught in St. Francisville. I taught her daughter, Betsy. Sunshine painted a painting for Christopher's nursery. She painted what she calls her "Alleluia Bird". It's a painting with a joyful meaning. Alleluia meaning, Praise be to God and the momma bird with her eggs is a sign of new life. How fitting right! We certainly sing praise to God for our little new life, Christopher! Thank you Sunshine! We will treasure it always!

Much Love & Many Blessings,

Mauree

Psalm 150:6 Let everything that has breath give praise to the Lord! Alleluia!

Say Cheese!

Well Baby Christopher sure did! My sweet neighbor and friend, Mary Beth took Christopher's 3 month photos. She is a photographer in Baton Rouge; however, we took these at her home. Christopher was quite the little model for Mary Beth. Enjoy!

Much Love & Many Blessings,

Mauree

Psalm 15:13 "A joyful heart makes a cheerful face..."