Weekend in Vegas...

I have only been to a casino twice. My first time, I begged my parents to take me to a casino that had recently opened near my hometown. My parents never gamble, so it took some major convincing to get them to go. My Mother gave me $5, she said choose my game, and decide how much I wanted to spend. Not knowing how to play any table games, I chose a slot machine, something cheap that would give me the most time for the $5 dollars I was given. I ended up winning about $300 dollars. I was having the time of my life, cheering, celebrating, causing a small group of older ladies to wander over to see what all the celebration was about. I will never forget one of the old ladies turning up her nose at my celebration, and saying "oh, it's only $300, why are you so excited?" Seriously?!?! I didn't want her negativity to ruin my good time, so I cashed out, took my earnings and left. 

The second time I ventured into a casino, I can't remember the exact reason I went, but I remember being given $5 dollars. I sat down at a slot machine. Lost my $5 dollars. Stood up, threatened to burn the place down, and walked out. I have never returned to a casino since. 

One may correlate Vegas to gambling. Ryan and I did not gamble a single penny. I thought I would give the $5 casino adventure another try, but once we were there, I had no desire. The people in the casino did not seem like they were having a good time, everyone looked so serious. The cigarette smoke was a bit overwhelming, so I spent my time passing through the casinos at a swift walk, almost run. I credit my hastiness to the lack of casino machines calling my name. 

Number one reason for visiting Las Vegas, and the starting plan for our trip was Cirque du Soleil's "O" show. Ryan and I are big fans of Cirque. We saw our first two shows in Indianapolis while in college, we saw a show in Moscow, and recently attended a show in New Orleans. The New Orleans show really got our thinking wheels turning, and we knew we had to see the O show. We discussed a trip to Las Vegas while I was pregnant, but considering I do not miss drinking, and nightclubs are not my thing, I had no problems visiting Vegas while preggers. Plus, let's be honest, who in their right mind would take a child to Vegas? Actually, a lot of people, I was surprised by the amount of young children walking around. Maybe my Mommy self was in full force. 

O was everything, and more than we expected. Ryan picked the perfect seats, center stage, 4 rows back. I am thankful we did not have front row seats, I am pretty sure they were splashed a few times. At one point, we felt the water mist, so I know the front row was probably showering. The strength and talent each performer possesses is incredible. I am always in awe during each Cirque performance, and this one was probably the most awe inspiring. If you have a chance to see the show, go. No photos were allowed during the show, but we did take a couple before. 

The dress was a good choice, you can see a bump!

Perfecting the art of the "selfie"

Ceiling

We did this trip on the "cheap." Airlines miles for the tickets, and points for the hotel. We were very fortunate that the Cosmopolitan is affiliated with Marriott. Our room was awesome, as well as the view from our balcony. We were able to watch the Bellagio fountain show from our balcony. We only have about five pictures from Las Vegas, the remaining pictures came from our exploring outside the city. We actually spent more time out of the city than we did in the city, and it was perfect. Ryan and I were glad we saw Vegas, but Vegas is not really our thing. In order to not sound pretentious, I will filter our comments regarding the city, but we can understand why people like the city.

Our first adventure out of the city was to the Hoover Dam. Now that we are back in America, we are trying to see the major landmarks and sights of America. The Hoover Dam is a pretty impressive engineering feat.

The picture does no justice to the actual size. 

Isn't he handsome with his beard? :)

Our second adventure took us to Zion National Park. What an incredible natural wonder. We heard it was a beautiful area, and the reviews were not lying. I am not much of a nature girl, but I could not get enough. I even said, and I am documenting this in writing, "We should come back in the future. We can spend the day hiking, and you (Ryan) can carry Baby Boy Lang in the baby carrier while we hike." Maybe I was delirious from the fresh air, but I was not too delirious to think camping was a good idea. Hiking, but no camping. :)

We have no future travel plans in the works. Ryan is going to be pretty busy with work, and I am going to be pretty busy baby baking. I am so happy I was able to see O, and I look forward to a future trip out west to take our little boy hiking. Seriously, I just typed the word hiking (in a positive tone) multiple times in this blog post. Maybe I will be a good Mom of a little boy. :)

If you wish to see the remaining pictures from our trip, click on the link to our photo album below. I highly recommend you check out the pictures from Zion National Park, and plan a trip to see it in person. 

Las Vegas and Zion National Park Photo Album

What are little boys made of...

A wee bit of dirt and a devilish grin

Curious eyes and spaghetti sauce chin

A dollop of mud behind his right ear

And a handful of worms in his pocket I fear

You see his knees through the holes in his jeans

He likes ice cream but he won't eat his beans

He's made of mud pies and bubble gum kisses

And wonder at Christmas and birthday wishes

And a heap of giggles and wiggles and love,

These are the things little boys are made of!

In case you didn't figure out from the poem, we're having a boy! And for those of you Pinterest lovers, you can tell where I have been spending some extra "browsing" time. I found this little poem, and thought it was very cute. All the lovely things I have to look forward to. My inner Mom is very excited, while my inner OCD is very nervous. :) Don't get me wrong, I am beyond excited to have a little boy! Ryan has another adventure buddy to join him, and I have future little man to give lots of love to. When you include Ryan, me, Macy, and baby Boy Lang, we are now an even house, two girls, two boys. 

Speaking of what little boys are made of, people are always asking what I am craving. To be honest, nothing specific. When we were in Hawaii, I ate copious amounts of french fries and tater tots, could not get enough. It wasn't like I was craving friend potatoes, but if a plate appeared in front of me, my self control disappeared, and I slowly picked at the plate until all were gone. My last post made reference to ice cream, and fortunately I am now slowly eating it again. Ice cream was the one food that would make me nauseous. Just this week, I started trying small amounts of ice cream again, and it seems  to be agreeing with me. *Huge sigh of relief* This kid didn't know what he was getting himself into. I tried to explain to him, "Your Mom likes ice cream, therefore you must like ice cream, there's no negotiating." Glad he finally decided to listen. Coffee also does not agree with me, or more specifically my nose. I gave up coffee, cold turkey, as soon as I found out I was pregnant, and it wasn't hard, the smell of coffee is not my favorite anymore. Long past are the days of walking into a coffee shop and breathing in the invigorating smell of coffee. But again, not a major deal. 

I felt this was too funny not to document. Ryan and I went to the grocery store a couple weeks ago to pick up a few, random items. This was our shopping cart. I, the pregnant one, added the spinach. Ryan added everything else. :)

And to answer the other most common questions, no morning sickness, and no stretch marks. I really can't complain about pregnancy, well maybe just two things:

*Dizziness and lack of energy, it seems to be getting better, but I am still not fully charged. My Doctor thinks it is caused by my blood pressure running low (or the fact I am growing a human).

*Sleeping on my side, absolutely hate it. I am a tummy and back sleeper, and now I am only allowed to sleep on my side. A memory foam mattress topper for my side of the bed, and lots of pillows have helped make side sleeping as "comfortable" as possible. 

It's a Baby, not Haagen Dazs...

I wish I owned a shirt that said, "It's a Baby, not Haagen Dazs." I would gladly wear it to the gym each time. Not only would I hope it would bring a smile to each person's face, but also spread a bit of insight into why I seem to be expanding, yet still don't look pregnant.

Ryan and I live far away from many of our family and friends, but I want to make sure I keep everyone updated on any baby bump sightings, as well as other baby happenings along the way. For the first update, and what will hopefully become a weekly update, the baby "bump."

We took the first picture at 5 weeks, a week or two after we learned I was pregnant, and I had an ultrasound to confirm. I have pictures for weeks 5, 10, 12, 14, 16, 19, and 20, but considering there is not too much of a difference, I only posted the first picture, and the last, most recent picture. If you have a desire to see each picture, let me know, I will email them to you.

I can see a definite difference when I look at 5 and 20 weeks. If you are thinking to yourself, "wow, she looks fat" feel free to tell your spouse, tell your dog, just don't tell me. Thanks! :) I am currently in my 21st week, with the 22nd week starting on Sunday. I will take another picture at 22 weeks, and post next week.

Tree, Rockettes, and the search for winter weather...

Continuing with our travels of the United States, Ryan and I boarded a plane to New York City. We searched through our winter gear for coats, hats, gloves, and scarves. Our goals included finding the really big tree (check), seeing the Rockettes (check), and experiencing some winter weather (check). We left the warm weather of Louisiana for a weekend of Christmas in New York City.

With all the excitement of the holiday season, I am a bit late with this post, but as they always say, better late than never. Our weekend getaway took place the middle of December, and provided the perfect start to our Christmas celebration. The trip also provided me with the perfect reminder of why I love living in the South. After just shy of 24 hours in NYC, I was ready to fly south again, I have very easily become accustomed to warm, southern winters.

It did snow while we were in New York, or I guess I should say as we were landing in New York. The snow did not last for long, but the cold temperatures did. The weather was great for exploring the city with cups of hot chocolate in hand, visiting the Rockefeller Christmas Tree multiple times, and fulfilling my wish to see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall for their Christmas Spectacular.

No travel experience is complete without sampling local cuisine. We had our share of New York City bagels, cheesecake, and pizza. It's a great thing we did a lot of walking around the city.

If you want to see our other adventures while in New York City, you can view the remaining pictures from our trip in our photo album below. Click on the link.

New York City Photo Album

Ryan and I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy start to 2015. And, for those of you in the North, experiencing the cold, winter weather, I'm sorry.