The Big 3-0

I've been dreading it for months, but it finally happened. I turned 30 a week ago. I'm not sure why it bothered me so much, but I told Jeff that maybe it was because 30 is the first age that I can really remember thinking when I was younger seemed really old. Now I've reached that age and I feel, well, really old.

Jeff had told me about my birthday present several weeks ago, mainly because he knew I'd need some time to adjust to the idea. He surprised me with tickets to see my favorite band, Foo Fighters, in St. Louis. I missed their Memphis show (and I've never missed a Memphis show) because of graduation, so as soon as I casually mentioned they'd be within driving distance a few days after my birthday, Jeff jumped at the chance. He somehow found a good deal on a room at the Ritz Carlton, set up care for Cooper and Avery, found restaurants he thought I'd liked, and budgeted everything. I was shocked and yes, it did take me a while to adjust to the idea. This was the first time I left Cooper overnight where we weren't in town and even though I knew he was in very capable hands with Nana and Bob-O, I did need some time to be okay with it.

Saturday morning, we dropped Avery off at my parents' house and Cooper off at Jeff's parents' house, then were on our way. The drive seemed like it took forever- Memphis to St. Louis isn't the most scenic drive- but we made it there around mid-afternoon, just in time for a little shopping. We checked into the hotel and when we got to our room, we found this:


Somehow, we got a room with a fabulous view of St. Louis. Even though it was cloudy, we could see the Arch and a hot air balloon race from our balcony:


And Jeff pointed out the ballerinas in front of the hotel:

He wanted me to get out and pose like them and when I refused, I was told "You are no fun. You are acting like you're 30!" Well, then.

Jeff really did his research and found some great places for us to eat while in St. Louis. On a previous trip, we ate a deep dish pizza place on The Hill, but it has since closed. Jeff found Pi, a restaurant that won the Best of St. Louis award for deep dish pizza. It definitely did not disappoint- fresh ingredients, great atmosphere, and our waiter was wonderful. Unfortunately, our camera was on the fritz at dinner, but we did get this picture on the way out of town (yes, Pi is closed and it is raining):


On to the Foo Fighters! Can I just tell you how absolutely giddy I was? Seriously, I could barely contain myself and you'd have thought I had never seen them, or any other, concert. I pulled a total fan geek move and got a t-shirt (but didn't go so far as to wear it at the concert; that's just wrong). We walked around the arena during the opening act and made it to our seats in plenty of time to do some people watching. Oh my. St. Louis citizens are an interesting group of people, I can say that much. Anyway, The Foo Fighters did not disappoint and if I had known my camera wouldn't have been confiscated, I would have taken it and gotten much better pictures:


Opening with "Bridge Burning"


The band and Pat Smear on the big screens


Dave Grohl performing "Best of You"

They played for almost 3 hours, including a 7 song encore and a cover of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Breakdown" that was unreal. And yes, I know I sound like a freak show groupie gushing on and on about the concert, but it was amazing and I loved every minute of it.

Sunday morning, we went to breakfast at Winslow's House, an organic restaurant and gift shop. I think Jeff and I both thought it would be like a farmer's market and restaurant, but it was more knick-knacks than anything. I had pancakes with apples that were very good and Jeff had French toast with berries that he said were good, but he'd definitely pick something else if we ever went back. After that, we were on the road back to Memphis, both ready to see Coopie and surprise him with his Cardinals hat.

A big thank you to Nana and Bob-O for keeping Cooper; Pops and YaYa for keeping Avery; all of them, plus Tada for keeping the surprise secret for several months; and especially to Jeff for making it such a perfect weekend.

Tigers Around Town and 23 Months Old

This weekend, we ventured to The University of Memphis for their Tigers Around Town event. This being the 100th year the university is in existence, they kicked off the celebration by getting local artists to decorate life-sized tigers, each representing a year. We ran through the exhibit because someone was out of sorts, but did manage to get pictures of several of the tigers.


Joey Dorsey tiger in honor of my favorite Memphis basketball player, aside from Earl Barron and Kelly Wise.


Us in fron of the 1999 tiger- that was the year I started at Memphis.


The 2003 tiger, which was the year I graduated with my undergraduate degree.


I think this was 1926, but I really took the picture because I thought the tiger was cute.
*The other pictures we took either didn't make it out of the camera or didn't turn out well including 1976 (the year YaYa graduated), 1977 (the year Pops graduate), 1987 (Tada's birth year), 1998 (the year Jeff started at Memphis), and 2007 (the year I graduated with my Master's). Like I said, quick outing.

Speaking of someone, we are a mere month away from having a 2 year old on our hands. I was looking at his baby pictures, getting all teary eyed because he's really not a baby anymore. And he's really not staying in his bed, either, so maybe those tears are from lack of sleep. No, I'm pretty sure it's because I can't believe almost 2 years have gone by so quickly.

So, what's Mr. Cooper up to these days?
*Escaping from his crib and room with the greatest of ease. Just call him David Copperfield. We've been battling naptime and bedtime because he's decided he's not going to stay put. We're working on this. Diligently. Because Mommy and Daddy are t-i-r-e-d.
*Talking up a storm. Frequent calls are made to Bob-O, Nana, Pops, YaYa, and Tada in which he says "hi", "love you", "bye" and may or may not hang up in the middle of the conversation. He talks about Mommy's glasses being on and off, our shoes being on and off, he and Daddy wearing hats, Avery playing with her golf ball and all the things "Coopie" is doing. Loves to point out school buses, trucks, cars that resemble family members' cars, airplanes, puppy dogs. And did you know that everyone mows the grass, even Carnie, Bob-O and Nana's dog? It's true.
*Loves brushing his teeth. Every morning and night, we go through "Mommy brush teeth?", "Daddy brush teeth?", "Coopie brush teeth?", "Avey brush teeth?"
*Loves reading, especially his potty book and Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin. We've read that one so much he can recite it along with us.
*Needs to check the mail everyday. He proudly announces "Maaaaaiiiiillll" or "No maaaaaiiiiillll" each time we walk in the house. Those drawn-out letters are no joke- Cooper has a strong Southern accent.
*Potty-training when he feels like it. Sometimes, he has no problems sitting on the potty and going. Others, you'd think we were about to waterboard the child. We're picking our battles, which probably isn't what hardcore parents would say to do.
*Has found a love of yogurt (strawberry seems to be his favorite) and cheese puffs. We're still struggling with him being a picky eater.

We're gearing up for his birthday party, although his Mama can't quite get it together enough to plan anything out. A party planner, I am not.