asheville

We got back from our North Carolina vacation a few days ago and boy was it good for the soul! Brad's good friend from LSU got married last weekend, so we were in Asheville for his wedding festivities and decided to make a week long trip of it.  We were pumped to discover Asheville is only a 7 hour drive from Indy and thus commenced baby Pier's first road trip (!).

We were going to break up the travel into two days and stay our first night at a hotel, but minutes before we left I looked at Brad and said, "Why don't we just go camping for a night?! Is that crazy for wanting to camp with a 3 month old?" Apparently Dr. Brad did not think it was crazy to camp with a 3 month old because we ended up camping in the middle of nowhere, Kentucky under some lovely fall trees.  And thus commenced baby Pier's first camping trip (!). 

^ The look of awe and wonder that is camping in the outdoors

And it ended up being a fantastic adventure! Camping with a baby wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be (yes, we barely slept, but really we don't sleep anyway so it's not that big of a difference).  The weather was perfect when we set up camp, so we made an executive decision to sleep without the rain cover on our tent so we could star gaze.  Ahhhh peaceful isn't it?  It was until about 3:00 in the morning...Brad looked over at me and said sleepily, "That's rain isn't it..." and I said cheerfully, "Yep." And then the heavens opened and the rain showed us no mercy as my poor husband got out and tried to put the raincover back on as quickly as possible. Don't worry, baby Pier slept through the whole ordeal (of course). 

The next day we got to Asheville for Davis and Anna's rehearsal dinner and man did those Blue Ridge Mountains look good! It was so so good visiting with friends that we haven't seen in for-eva....it was like a glorious Louisiana reunion in the mountains!

Thank you Mr. Adam for babysitting!!

We stayed in a house close to downtown with our friends Matt and Ali and Father Brad.  The benefits of having a BFF priest is that you get to do things like have mass in your living room #yesplz.

We had so much fun at the Hester wedding that I didn't take any pictures (that and my phone died ha!). We got him these headphones for the reception to protect his ears and to basically enhance his cuteness.  Seriously y'all aren't those headphones the cutest things EVER in the history of cute things?! Cute baby + obnoxious headphones = GOLD.  Thank you Ali for snapping this one for us ;)

The day we left Asheville we ate a yummy breakfast at the beautiful Hester home and got to say goodbye to all of our friends.  Fr. Brad ended up missing his flight (yay!) so we got to spend some extra time with him!

Now for part 2 of our vacation...we rented a cabin in the mountains with the Rodriguez's for a few days and did nothing but stuff like this:

This was the view from our window guys....NOT BAD

We also rocked the occasional selfie...which Brad and I are awesome at.

My favorite part of the whole trip was our family hike! It was just a little trail in the Blue Ridge Parkway but it was so relaxing and peaceful for the 3 of us.  Pier loved looking around on the way up, and once we made it to the top, he fell right asleep and didn't wake up until we got back to the car.

I'm already planning our next trip back... Miss you already North Carolina!!!!

month 3

Little Pier is growing up, y'all! Can you believe it's been 3 months? We officially are out of the fourth trimester and, to be honest, I feel like I can do anything after those first few months with a newborn!

He is the cutest, snuggliest, sweetest baby, and he's the best teacher I've ever had.  He's taught me more about God's love and mercy in these past weeks than I could have ever imagined.That 12 pound boy has also taught me that I have so much to learn in the art of motherhood.  Pure, genuine love is self sacrificing in the truest sense and I have become more aware of how to love others better by mothering this little baby.

Now for a few developments!  Month 2 was R-O-U-G-H -- my child was allergic to sleep, extremely fussy, and was clingy as could be...Brad was working long, long hours and I was getting 3 hours of sleep on a good night.  Then something beautiful happened over the past 2 weeks...He's still a very temperamental sleeper, but he's been a happier more relaxed baby lately and I'm not complaining at all :). He's starting to love play time and is cooing like crazy (I'm happy our conversations aren't one-sided anymore!)

Those baby smiles make me weak in the knees! I'm constantly reminded with each smile Pier gives me that this child serves as a tangible reminder of God's love for me.  And within the last few days he's been smiling every time he sees me or Brad, so I get a lot of reminders in that area:).

A few things I'm learning about Mr. Pier...

He doesn't like s'mores as much as his mama does...

He loves to sleep on his tummy! Which is not recommended buttttt...you gotta do what you gotta do when your child hates sleep.

Pier has officially discovered his hands! And currently they are his favorite toy. When he's not accidentally slapping himself in the face, he always has them folded in ready-to-pray position (probably foreshadowing how holy he will be right?! ;))

It's been a blast to watch him change over the course of just a few months.  Babies are so fun because there's always a new developmental milestone to look forward to! Here's to another great month!

month 2

As of yesterday, our little Pier is 2 months old!  

Isn't he such a joy?! I kiss those cheeks approximately 2304987 times a day.

This baby walrus LOVES baths.  If he's fussy, a bath calms him down immediately.  He goes to town kicking and splashing away...We might have a future swimmer on our hands ;).

We're still working on sleeping! He has started to take naps more frequently but still thinks nighttime is play time...particularly at 3 a.m.

He's starting to put on some pounds....I'm not complaining because this mama is a sucker for baby rolls. I've hatched a secret plan to make him as chubby as possible mwhaha.

We love you Pier Francis! You teach us something new each day and we can't wait to watch you grow sweet boy.

brad's 27th

It's Dr. Brad's birthday today!!!! So....sorry guys, I'm about to gush a little...

In case you didn't realize, I hit the jackpot marrying Bradley Fossier.  His joy is contagious. He tells the lamest corny jokes ever (and I secretly love it). He is selfless, humble, and courageous.  He is a genuine person and doesn't pretend to be anyone he isn't.  He is the most talented person I've ever known -- from drawing, to playing multiple instruments, to learning complicated medicine things -- he can do it all.  Above all, he is a holy husband and father and strives daily to bring his family to heaven.  I often tell people that he's my role model and I mean it.

Pier wanted the chance to give his daddy a special birthday shout out! But side note: there were probably 70 photos of him making the face on the left before I caught the face on the right.  He's all like seriously mom? And just like that his teenage years flash before my eyes.

As a true Ina Garten fan girl, I made her Mocha Ice Box cake to celebrate the big 2-7.  It has all the things I live for in a dessert -- coffee, chocolate, and cookies.

And since it's so rare for me to get all dressed up (aka wear clothes that are not pajamas), we took a few family photos!

We tried someplace new for dinner tonight called the St. Joseph Brewery. It used to be a Catholic Church! Um so we were all about that.  Beer, food, and Gothic architecture? Sign me up. 

I love you Bradley Fossier and I am so grateful you were born. Happiest of birthdays to you!

chop chop

Surprise!!! So, this might be pretty vain of me to dedicate an entire blog post to hair, but since since blog is about my life and this was a pretty big change for me, I thought why not?

In case you need a really cute before picture....

^ #nofilter

Ah those long locks --it was time. That picture captures me day 3 without a shower and the baby may or may not had just spit up in my hair... It exudes a nice new mother glow doesn't it? :)

I've been daydreaming of chopping my hair for about six months now and boy did it feel nice once it was finished.  Caring for Pier and a few health issues postpartum has left me feeling less than glamorous, so a trip to the salon was just the ticket to get me feeling like myself again. 

PSA to new moms....GO PAMPER YOURSELF if you can!!! Pier has been going through a 6 week growth spurt (aka eating round the clock) and sleep regression and I have been running on 3 hours of sleep for the past week.  I left my house feeling like a zombie and came back home feeling like a rock star ready to take on whateva this baby threw at me.  That's the power of a haircut people.