Greetings from the Red Stick!

Hello all! Greetings from Baton Rouge! We're in the Rouge this weekend and then heading to the beach in Sandestin, FL on Monday. Woo hoo! Jeffrey graduated last night--congrats, Jeff!

This is our second trip with Lucy and I am happy to report that once again she did great on our flight. But let me start at the beginning--with the packing for this trip. Okay, pre-baby, Seth and I prided ourselves on only bringing carry on bags, no matter how long or far the trip. We would check in online and swiftly glide through security. We had a super-efficient system for packing only clothes that go with multiple outfits, arriving at the airport precisely 32 minutes before departure, taking out our liquids, taking off shoes, etc. etc. You get the picture. Well that strategy has gone out the window with Lucy! We now pack everything but the kitchen sink. Shoes I might want to wear with one outfit? Sure, why not pack them! A 200 pack of diapers--why not? 20 outfits for baby Lucy? We might need them all.... So once we finished packing at about 11 pm, we went to bed for what can only be called a nap--and not a full night of sleep--since we were up at 3:30 am to head to Baltimore for our 6:30 am flight. Argh. Every time we fly out of that airport, I say never again. Seth is a thrifty man, and he just can't bring himself to pay more for our flights. Now me, I will pay $100, $200 more for a reasonably-timed flight out of the closest airport. Okay, I digress....

So we get to the airport and now it is time for me to sing an ode to curbside check-in. Pre-baby, I wondered--who uses this nonsense? Now I know! Families with a 3-month baby, 8 bags, and a stroller use curbside check-in and it is AWESOME! It allows us to dump our giant 50 pound bags at the curb and move slightly more quickly through security. After dumping our giant bags at the curb, then all we have to bring through security is the carseat, stroller, diaper bag, breast pump (VERY precious and pricey cargo, you nursing mothers know what I'm talking about), our carry-on bags, and oh yeah, little Lucy. After two trips through security, I have discovered that TSA agents have hearts! They are so nice to you when you have a baby.

Likewise, I have also learned that there is one time that people really do not like you or think that your baby is cute--and that is when you are boarding their airplane. Seth was definitely one of those people pre-Lucy (maybe I should use the abbreviation p.l. from now on or is that really lame?). Now he holds his breath and hopes that she sleeps the whole flight. Lucy didn't sleep the whole time but she still did great and didn't cry at all. The flight attendant was super nice and asked how old HE WAS. Um, she was wearing a purple polka dotted outfit. Seth said, SHE is three months old. Should I permanently affix a bow to her head so that people know she's a girl? Her outfit was far from unisex.

So we arrived in New Orleans and met Jeff, Brandy and Courtney for a delish lunch at Mona's lebanese restaurant. Lucy thought the hummus looke so good that she was trying to swipe it off my plate but momma ate it so fast she couldn't get to it in time! It was great to see our wonderful friends and catch up with them.

And then we headed to B.R. and went to Jeff's graduation last night. Seth and Marc, being the crazy older brothers that they are, blew an air horn when his name was called, giving the dignified ceremony the proper Roussel respect it deserved. Congrats again, Jeff! Oh, also, I am happy to report that people were so interested in seeing Lucy that no one seemed to notice my muffin top. Lucy has been all smiles for maw maw Patty, paw paw Jose and paw paw Kevin. More later!