The Little Cat Blog

Happy Little Olive

2012-01-29T14:23:00.001-05:00

She was happy after finishing her lunch. So happy, in fact, that she couldn't stop giggling.

And a wave goodbye for good measure.

The Charleston Auto Show

2012-01-29T10:20:00.008-05:00

Yesterday was Charleston's annual Car show. They have cars from a long time ago, last year and the future. There weren't a lot of "exotic cars," but it was a solid way to spend a few hours.

The Little Olive was taking it all in. As usual she was skeptical of all the commotion, but she seemed to have a decent time in her new MacLaren stroller. Fitting that a company that makes high end sports cars made Livvy's ride.

Here I am just chillin' in my future ride... a Porche roadster. I had to wear my hat backwards because I didn't want it to blow off in the wind. ;)

There was an authentic Bumble Bee Chevy Camaro from the move Transformers. He was decked out to look exactly like the movie character. My favorite part of him was the Autobot symbol (the representation of good in the Transformer world) on the front quarter panel.

My wife's favorite car of the day. A VW bus. I saw a sign on one of them that said, "Hippies use the side door."

And here is my favorite car of the event... A 1966 Ford Mustang. Look at the way it shines. Pretty, isn't it?

A dude can dream. :)

Shopping

2012-01-18T07:42:00.000-05:00

Look who was being cute at Kroger on Monday.

Date Night

2012-01-18T07:36:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday my wife and I went out on the town for a few hours. We went to Charleston's best sushi spot... Ichiban. Above is Charleston Maki and some kind of eel roll... I forget what it was called, but it was good! Also pictured is seared tuna.

Then we stopped at the Boulevard Tavern for a beer and some NFL playoffs. It was a swell night, but we missed our Little Olive.

7 Months Old!

2012-01-15T09:51:00.001-05:00

She barely fits in the swing!

Sorry the picture was a little late. We've been busy eating solid food, learning to crawl and getting the Little Olive's first two teeth!

Obie Update

2012-01-12T07:49:00.001-05:00

Watch out, Darwin Cook. Orange you wishing you didn't tackle Obie after your touchdown in the Orange Bowl?

Haha. This is hilarious.

2012 Discover Orange Bowl

2012-01-07T10:15:00.002-05:00

Wow. That's pretty much all I can say. It's been 3 and a half days since it all went down and I still can't believe it. Dana Holgorsen had HIS Mountaineers prepared to perfection.

I was weary. Sports nation expected Clemson to win. Commentators like Kirk Herbstreit and Mark May were dogging us. We had a big task to conquer.

Then it happened. They played the game.

Touchdown. Touchdown. Touchdown. Touchdown. Touchdown. Touchdown. Touchdown. Touchdown. Touchdown. Touchdown.

That's right... ten of them. All for WVU... 70 frickin' points!

The game was tight until we scored this touchdown....

That one will go down in history. Darwin Cook will be mentioned with guys like Phil Brady (WVU Punter who faked a punt and picked up a huge first down to secure a Sugar Bowl victory), Wes Ours (WVU fullback who had an amazing catch and run in the 2000 Music City Bowl that sent Don Nehlen out a winner) and Owen Schmitt (WVU fullback who gave perhaps the most inspiring television interview in Mountaineer history after WVU destroyed Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl). Yep. Darwin Cook's play was that huge. It destroyed the hearts of Clemson players and fans alike.

It will be remember for another reason... he tackled "Obie..." the Orange Bowl mascot after he scored.

Here's video of the incident...

As it turns out, the person inside the suit was a young lady. Darwin didn't know that until after the game when he was informed by a WVU reporter.

Glad to see he said his apologies.

What an awesome night, though. As I'm typing this right now, I still can't believe it.

Crazy!

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T19:16:00.001-05:00

From the Little Olive...

Everybody Clap Your Hands...

2011-12-30T18:08:00.001-05:00

Clap, clap, clap.

This kid is just itchin' to be a sports fan.

The Little Olive's First Christmas!

2011-12-27T17:08:00.003-05:00

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Shake ah hands. Shake ah hands, now.

Livvy Loves to Laugh

2011-12-27T17:08:00.002-05:00

Check it out...

She likes it when mommy barks like a puppy.

It is pretty funny.

Haha.

We "Elfed Ourselves"

2011-12-21T17:33:00.001-05:00

Click here to see us elfing around.

The Pittsburgh Pirates Caravan

2011-12-15T22:22:00.002-05:00

The Pittsburgh Pirate Caravan came to Charleston! Every year players, coaches and announcers travel throughout PA, WV and OH to visit fans, sign autographs and take pictures.

This evening we got the chance to meet my wife's favorite player at the Charleston YMCA... Michael "Fort" McKenry.

My wife was excited. The Little Olive was skeptical, but curious.

Notice how she peaked around her mother's shoulder to steal a glance.

Other members of the caravan included Kent Tekulve, Bob Walk and Alex Presley.

Happy Holidays from WVU!

2011-12-15T22:17:00.000-05:00

Thanks for sending this, Uncle M. and Grandmom!

Good Stuff.

It's Been 6 Months...

2011-12-10T12:23:00.002-05:00

... since The Little Olive entered the world.

She's as happy as ever.

Merry Christmas!

Sittin' Up!

2011-12-10T12:20:00.000-05:00

The Little Olive's First Trip to the Greenbrier!

2011-12-04T08:23:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we made a family trip to the Greenbrier where we visited with my wife's longtime friends M&A!

The Little Olive was ready to roll, once again. This time she was wearing her Christmas hat!

She enjoys riding in the car. She gets to nap, play and look out the window. Most of all I think she enjoys Mommy sitting beside her.

There it is! The Greenbrier... lookin' pretty as usual. They had their holiday decorations up and ready to reveal. There was a Christmas parade in White Sulpher Springs that ends when everyone gathers at the Greenbrier and they perform a tree lighting ceremony.

We didn't stay for the festivities. The Little Olive has a bed time, ya know? ;)

Here's Baby O... one of the Little Olive's first friends! They really checked each other out.

It was interesting watching them interact. The Little Olive cried while Baby O. was smilin' and having a good time. Sounds like a perfect couple! Haha. No dating until you're 35, Little Olive.

After pictures we had lunch at The Forum. Hi there, M&A!

The Little Cat family had lobster pizza while M&A stayed on the traditional route and got a pepperoni pie. Good choice, M&A.

Next up, Santa Claus!!!!

The Little Olive was having none of it. Check out her face. She'd been on his lap no more than 5 seconds and, just as suspected, she hated him. It was a solid first attempt to see the jolly old man.

We would have had video of the event if the Little Olive's daddy knew how to operate the damn camera properly. Seriously, I'm shooting myself in the foot right now.

Despite my inability to operate technical equipment, we made it home safely. Mrs. Little Cat hung our stocking by the chimney with care...

... while I read the Little Olive a book about a magical snowman.

It was a great day! Thanks for the fun, M&A. We had a great time and look forward to doing it again.

The Little Cat Family Christmas Tree

2011-12-04T08:14:00.004-05:00

Well, folks... here it is. The 2011 version of the Little Cat Family Christmas Tree.

Tell me. Is it real?

The Little Olive thinks it's real! She gets super excited when you take her to the tree. She jumps all around and reaches out to touch the branches and ornaments.

She loves it!

How about The Cats???

Yup... they love it, too. Just another place to sleep!

Happy Thanksgiving (A Little Late Editition)!!!

2011-11-27T11:35:00.005-05:00

Friday morning we hopped in the car, went over the river and through the woods... to Grandmom's house!

The Little Olive was stoked!

Check out little Livvy and Grandmom having a stare-down on the couch. Very cute picture. :)

The Little Olive finally got to meet Aunt Luci!

After watching half of the Pitt game with the family we headed back to the hotel for a good night's rest. It was hard to sleep, however, WVU beat Pitt 21-20 after a great second half comeback.

Saturday morning we woke up early and headed to the Whiskey Path to see Danny, Mel, Little G and the twins!

Here's a picture of Danny and Little G...

Yeah... I think Danny is growing a Santa Claus beard.

After we visited with them, we made a quick trip to the place you wanna be.... the Boston Beanery! I had a club slammich with fries and ranch. Mrs. Little Cat had the chicken salad. That ranch dressing is the best!

Then we gave The Little Olive a special treat. We took her on the WVU Heritage tour.

First we stopped at The Kappa House where Mrs. Little Cat lived while in undergrad at WVU.

Then a trip to Woodburn Hall... where we each had numerous classes.

And then to Martin Hall where we both received our undergrad degrees...

From the WVU Heritage Tour to Grandpa's house where we hung out and The Little Olive got her very own reclining chair!

Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa F.!

We packed up the car and headed south. It was a long day for the Little Olive.

From the looks of the above picture, the Little Olive had a great time in Morgantown. She got to meet a bunch of new people and had a good time hanging out with everyone else as usual.

Thanks for everyone's hospitality and good times. We'll see you again close to Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving (Right on Time Edition)!!

2011-11-27T11:15:00.004-05:00

Things are always changing, so, this year we ended up at home on Thanksgiving day. It wasn't what was planned, but he had an enjoyable time anyway!

The Little Olive was certainly ready for a day filled with football, food and fun!

Check out her bib!

Please disregard the fact that the bib is made up of Virginia Tech colors. In no way does this reflect our college football affiliation.

She had a blast all day long. She sat in her bouncy seat, her jumpy chair and even watched football with me while reading her favorite crunchy noise book.

She got hungry, however. Time to eat!!!

Hey, if you can't be in Morgantown with the rest of the family, wear a shirt that says "Morgantown." :)

I slaved all day over this turkey. Ok, not really... it's a rotisserie chicken from Kroger I purchased the night before. Popped that sucked in the oven 30 minutes before we served it and it was ready to go.

We also had cornbread stuffing straight outta the box, mashed potatoes courtesy of our good friend Betty Crocker. The Pillsbury Dough Boy brought some crescent rolls and the Jolly Green Giant left us a can of corn.

Oh yeah... and Mrs. Little Cat made some spinach stuff.

Our Thanksgiving at home was a success!

Happy Thanksgiving... a little early!

2011-11-20T19:42:00.008-05:00

Thanksgiving came a little early at the Little Cat household. Saturday afternoon Grandpa and and Grandma M. came from Morgantown to hang out with the Little Olive and have Thanksgiving dinner.

And they brought a toy for the Little Olive. She thoroughly enjoyed it. It sings and dances.

Thanks for the present!

Then we ate dinner as the Little Olive joined us.

We had a special treat for little Livvy... strained apples. It was her first taste of anything other than formula and rice cereal.

Wondering how that went? Check it out...

Pretty much how you expected, eh?

Here's a still photo from the experience.

Yeah... she was a hoot! She seemed to like it, though. :)

Livvy had a good time with Grandpa and Grandma M. after her apple dinner.

After all the fun was over they left to go back to Morgantown. Grandpa got a pat on the head and said bye bye.

See you next time, Grandpa!

The Little Olive's Highchair

2011-11-16T13:49:00.004-05:00

It's finally time to break it out. She's almost ready to eat solid foods, so we figured we'd give the highchair a try.

Looks like a perfect fit for a smiling baby!

Thanks, Grandmom!

Guess Who was 5 Months Old Last Week???

2011-11-16T13:43:00.002-05:00

Yep! You guessed right. It was the Little Olive!

She has a bit of a cheek rash in this picture. We believe she's teething because she always has her hands in her mouth. When she has her hands in her mouth she gets slobber all over her face and gets the little rash.

We got it all taken care of, though. No more rash.

More Visitors!

2011-11-16T13:41:00.003-05:00

This time they were from Georgia!

Thanks for the piggy bank Aunt C. and Uncle B.!

It was great to see you both.

The Little Olive and Marty McSorley the Monkey

2011-11-13T16:18:00.002-05:00

This is a present from Great, Great Uncle M and Great, Great Aunt N. The Little Olive absolutely loves it.

Look at the way she stares at the fellow.

Very, very cute.

Thanks for the present!

The Little Olive's First Halloween!

2011-11-06T09:46:00.005-05:00

And she dressed up as a football!!!

Seriously... would you expect anything less?

We didn't take her trick-or-treating. She stayed at home with Mom and Dad and gave out candy to all the kids.

And yes, she tried to eat it. I'd say there's a 90% chance she wanted to eat the wrapper, not the candy. :)

Mommy was excited!

They eventually left me to give away candy to all the scary ghouls and goblins. The Little Olive needed her bath and bottle so she could go to sleep on time.

I almost forgot... here are our scary pumpkins!

Ooooohhh.... scary. ;)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2011-11-06T09:22:00.010-05:00

Look who came to visit...

There were lotsa smiles this time!

And video games... Hey... whatever the kid likes, right?

There was lots of reading...

Lots of playing...

And lots of sleeping babies! :)

After much debate, a Pies and Pints pizza was ordered. Yes. That's the Margherita Pie. ;)

Uncle Dusty and Scott stopped by before their costume party and watched WVU beat Rutgers 38-28 with us. It was a swell time.

And the next day the Little Olive got to meet her great, great Aunt N. and Uncle M.!

So much fun!

My Heisman Pose

2011-11-06T09:21:00.002-05:00

Complete with football!

The Little Olive Laughs Again

2011-10-30T21:15:00.001-04:00

She gets cuter every single day.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2011-10-30T14:27:00.001-04:00

Hehe. Hehehe. Hehehe.

It's Pumpkin Time!

2011-10-27T18:57:00.005-04:00

Last Sunday Mrs. Little Cat and I took the Little Olive to buy her first Halloween pumpkin. We figured Charleston's Capitol Market would be a great place for the region's finest pumpkins.

We were right...

The Little Olive loved the pumpkin patch.

Check out her pumpkin hat. :)

Mommy liked it, too...

It was a fun day at Capitol Market. We purchased some local beer, a nice bottle of wine and some tasty cheese from The Wine and Cheese Shop. We split the best roast beef sandwich in Charleston from Johnnies Meat Market. And, of course, we bought a pumpkin... it was a big sucker, too. ;)

The Little Olive is a Maestro!

2011-10-19T08:20:00.000-04:00

Every morning the Little Olive plays the foot piano while watching her Mom get ready for work... then she gets sleepy.

Morgantown in Motion

2011-10-18T06:47:00.002-04:00

I saw this video posted on Twitter this morning.

It's just... awesome...

EDIT: Here's another from the same guy...

The man does good work.

Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers

2011-10-16T13:05:00.004-04:00

Friday evening my wife, my good friend Jeffrey and I saw Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers perform at the Clay Center in Charleston.

We had 4th row seats and it was ridiculous.

This clip is Bruuuuuuce performing my favorite tune of his... "Mandolin Rain."

Bouncy Seat Time

2011-10-13T21:45:00.000-04:00

It's the bouncy seat thingy-ma-bob!

Tonight was her first attempt at it, but it certainly seems like she enjoyed it.

She was very vocal.

Look Who Turned 4 Months Old Yesterday...

2011-10-11T08:31:00.001-04:00

The Little Olive.

:)

WVU VS LSU

2011-09-27T08:13:00.004-04:00

What a day. I left Charleston around 5:15 in the morning. I headed north to Morgantown and eventually wound up in the Blue Lot around 10. Unfortunately the rest of the family didn't join me, so I had to represent well.

I spent the day with old friends, catching up, having a few beers and talking WVU Football. It was a solid day indeed.

Can a tailgate get any closer to the stadium? I mean seriously, we totally lucked out when a member of the tailgate got a call from a friend with an extra blue lot pass.

Solid.

Once inside we listened to Landau Eugene Murphy Jr sing the national anthem. The Logan, WV native won this year's America's Got Talent competition on NBC.

The game? Oh yeah... the game! It didn't go well. WVU let LSU get a 27-7 lead in the first half. WVU stormed back in the 3rd quarter, cutting the LSU lead to 6. The crowd was rocking (as seen above).

Then this happened...

Game over. Oh well... hopefully we'll see them again when we hop to the SEC.

Wishful thinking?

Probably.

The Little Olive in the Morning

2011-09-19T08:20:00.001-04:00

Three Months Old!

2011-09-13T08:09:00.002-04:00

The picture's a little late, but it was taken on Saturday.

She's trying her best to smile. :)

Happy Grandparents Day!

2011-09-13T08:08:00.002-04:00

She's Such a Fan

2011-09-10T20:48:00.002-04:00

She sports the same do!

Giggle

2011-09-08T17:09:00.001-04:00

Check it out. The Little Olive laughs at the 13 second mark of this video.

Great job getting her to laugh, cuz!

It's Gameday... Finally!

2011-09-06T17:20:00.008-04:00

Look who came to visit... cousins Dandy Andy and K-ristin! K-risten had been planning the trip for quite some time. Dandy Andy decided to surprise us and show up on our doorstep with a bouquet of flowers for my wife. He's crafty.

They were gold and blue! He's smart, too.

Saturday night we ordered sushi to go. That lobster roll was spec-tac-u-lar.

We can not confirm nor deny that there were duck farts involved.

And finally, it's gameday. Look who dressed up for the occasion. :)

Actually, we all dressed to for the occasion... even the out-of-towners.

We even talked to cousin K-risten's husband via facetime on the iPad. Hint, hint Morgantown readers. If you have an iPhone 4 on a wireless connection, you can facetime with us and see the Little Olive on a regular basis.

The game turned out well. Before the lightening, that is. Weather delays hampered play and the game was called sometime after 11 on Sunday evening. The above highlight is that of Tavon Austin taking a kickoff return 103 yards to paydirt.

Fun times.

Group picture. Someone didn't get the memo that you're supposed to wear gold on gameday. ;)

Oh yeah.

Thanks for visiting, cousins. You made the weekend a fun one!

Is it Football Season Yet?

2011-08-27T11:33:00.003-04:00

Here's the new WVU Football entrance video.

I'm ready for a new era, but I love the beginning of the video with old highlights and the voiceover from Jack Flemming.

Jack's soundbite came from the Penn State game that was played on Halloween weekend in 1986. It was quite possibly his greatest and most inspiring piece as a WVU announcer. Here it is...

Yeah. I'm pumped.

Too Cool.

2011-08-14T13:33:00.004-04:00

Yesterday we took the Little Olive for a walk in the park. The sun was bright so she had to wear her shades! She's also sporting the pink bunny shoulder strap protectors and a brown and pink binker clip.

Our kid is stylin'.

It's August 10, 2011 and...

2011-08-10T18:50:00.002-04:00

Smiles!

2011-08-06T21:24:00.002-04:00

Snowshoe, WV!

2011-07-31T19:30:00.015-04:00

Thursday, myself, my wife and the Little Olive took a quick vacation to Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort in WV. It was the first trip of any distance for the Little Olive. I'd never been there, but my wife attended a quick work conference there a few years ago. Needless to say, it was a new adventure for all of us.

Road trip! We took some hardcore back roads to get there. The GPS failed us once again. Just think of the movie "Wrong Turn" and you'll get what I'm saying.

The Little Olive was amazed. She'd never seen a country road so deep in the roots of Appalachia.

We finally arrived and my wife got her picture in the giant chair that Snowshoe's so famous for.

Each night we went to dinner in the village. My favorite meal came from The Junction where I had a new york strip steak and an amazing side of mashed potatoes.

My wife snapped this outstanding sunset picture when she visited the jacuzzi at dusk.

The first night there was a bit of a disaster. We were all frustrated with the drive and then we got to see (and hear) our room. That's right. We got to hear our room.

Let's start with the positive. It was clean. It had a balcony, fireplace and a view of the mountains, just like my wife requested.

The negatives? The balcony overlooked the roof of a neighboring hotel, the mountains could be seen if you leaned over and looked to the left. The place was tiny so we tripped over anything and everything. And worst of all, the air conditioner sounded like a 747 taking off every single time the thing came on... and it came on every 5 minutes.

We complained and were moved to a condo at no extra charge. The squeaky wheel gets the oil!!!

After a relaxing night in the new room we took a trip to the pool. The Little Olive stayed on the sidelines and relaxed a little more.

Then we drove to the lake and had a beerewskie. Very pretty.

A quick elevator picture shows a happy wife and a deep in thought Little Olive. Ok... maybe she's just a little tired.

The second morning we woke up to a beautiful scene. The fog had settled into the valley below our condo. This is a picture of the rolling hills of Appalachia at their finest.

Even the Little Olive enjoyed it!

My wife and I took a ride to the lake on the ski lift. We left the Little Olive in the condo. Haha. Tricked ya! We rode at different times so one of us could stay with her.

We took the Little Olive out to dinner and stopped to see the weekend's big festivities at Snowshoe... they were have a mountain bike race the entire weekend. I took this clip of the junior circuit.

The night before we left all three of us relaxed by the fire...

with a beautiful sunset.

Snowshoe turned out to be a success! Despite the difficulties getting to and from, it was a great time and a superb first family trip!

All You Need is Love

2011-07-23T18:36:00.000-04:00

Just a thought.

7th Inning Stretch

2011-07-19T22:29:00.003-04:00

The Pittsburgh Pirates have become relevant. Therefore, my wife and I tune in every night to watch Bucco Baseball while taking care of the Little Olive. When they broadcast the seventh inning stretch, I (sometimes we) sing to her and she smiles with joy.

Ok. Not really. She never smiles.

I can't figure out why?

MMMM....

2011-07-14T22:30:00.003-04:00

Check out what my fantastic wife made for dinner.

It's Curry Chicken Salad from Paula Deen!

One of the best meals she's ever made... and that says a lot.

It's July 10, 2011 and...

2011-07-10T21:01:00.001-04:00

... the Little Olive is one month old.

Visitors

2011-07-10T20:44:00.003-04:00

This weekend the Little Olive had a bunch of visitors.

On Thursday evening Great Uncle D. and Great Aunt N stopped in from California for a visit.

Friday evening Paw and Pippa stopped on their way home from vacationing in North Carolina.

This was Paw's first encounter with the Little Olive and she really checked him out.

Grandmom and Pap stopped over on Saturday afternoon. This was also Pap's first visit with the Little Olive.

Grandmom with a confident smile.

We had a great time and we're looking forward to more visitors in the future. Come on down. We'll be here!

Burping

2011-07-10T20:10:00.007-04:00

The Little Olive can burp with the best of 'em.

She makes the cutest faces as we encourage her.

We pat her on the back.

We bounce her up and down.

We pat her on the back again and she lets one rip.

She gets tired after all that burping.

2011 WVU Basketball Highlight Video

2011-07-07T07:47:00.002-04:00

I'm not sure when this came out. We've been a little busy as of late. :)

Here you go, however.

The Catnip Plant!

2011-07-02T19:14:00.003-04:00

Our cats have had a tough time dealing with the arrival of the Little Olive. One is losing his mind, the other is avoiding us at all costs.

Last week our veterinarian friend, Big Mac, stopped by to visit the Little Olive for the first time. Instead of bringing a present for the baby, she brought one for the cats. Check it out. It's a catnip plant.

Great idea. Seriously.

Thanks a ton, Big Mac.

The Little Cat Checks Out the Little Olive

2011-06-26T17:30:00.001-04:00

The Little Olive's First Trip to Coonskin

2011-06-26T15:02:00.004-04:00

It was beautiful yesterday, so we took the Little Olive to the park.

There was pretty scenery.

There were cute ducks.

And the Little Olive never opened her eyes once.

She slept through it all!

"What are you doing in my spot?"

2011-06-26T14:50:00.001-04:00

Says the Little Cat.

Hurry Up and Change Me!!!

2011-06-26T14:35:00.002-04:00

The Little Olive has a routine. It goes as follows...

1. Wake up.

2. Diaper change.

3. Eat.

This being the case, the diaper change part of the routine can sometimes get the Little Olive in a bit of a tizzy. She knows that it's almost time to eat.

She gets excited and kicks her legs.

Then she kicks her legs even faster.

Once the diaper change is over, she waits with anticipation.

This is the face of a little girl that knows what she wants. :)

The Full Face

2011-06-22T07:58:00.003-04:00

Check out the Little Olive after she's had her dinner. She lays around and digests her food with her eyes wide open... then she falls asleep.

The full face is slightly less cute than the "I want food" face. I'll post a video of that in the near future.

Happy Father's Day to... Me!

2011-06-19T16:50:00.003-04:00

She is so adorable... even when she poops on the changing table.

The Little Olive's Trip Home

2011-06-16T17:29:00.003-04:00

Last Sunday we got to bring the Little Olive home. She was so darn cute, we couldn't keep the camera off of her.

Here's a picture during the ride home from the hospital...

And here's her official introduction to our two cats.

Like I said before, this was last Sunday. The Little Cat has handled the situation remarkably well (knock on wood). The Big Cat, eh, not so much (as illustrated by this video). He's stressed and we're hoping he gets a grip.

Oh, and the Little Olive, she's great. She just sleeps, eats, poops and smiles.

She's Here!!!

2011-06-15T20:10:00.014-04:00

It's true! The Little Olive has arrived!!! Last Thursday morning my wife had a regularly scheduled doctor's appointment. At that appointment we decided that the Little Olive was going to be delivered the very next morning.

This is the Little Olive's birth story...

When we arrived at the hospital around 6 in the mornin'. I had to wait the customary half an hour before I could accompany my wife in her prep room. The nurses had to ask her if I beat her on a regular basis. Sad, really, that these things have to be done, but whatever. I'm all for keeping women and children safe!

Eventually I joined her in the prep room. That's where I had to get into this whacky assed outfit. My wife says I looked like a Ghostbuster....

Here we are on the operating table. My wife was extremely nervous at this point and I was beside myself. I was in a daze and didn't really know what was going on. There were lights everywhere and people all around.

All I could do was hold my wife's hand and talk her through her nervousness. I'm pretty sure I sucked at that and she could tell I was even more nervous than her. I tried, however. I recall a few conversations about our happiest times with friends at Rehoboth/Dewey Beach in Delaware.

Then it happened. I heard the sound we'd waited nine months for!

We heard her cry for the very first time at...

The Little Olive was born. This is her very first picture (random nurse holding her).

Another random nurse took a ton of pictures for us. I'm glad she did because I wouldn't have been in the right mind to do it myself. Here's a picture of the Little Olive getting her stats taken. Isn't her little foot adorable?

I held her for a few minutes and then they gave the baby to my wife. A lot of other things were going on at the same time, so she wasn't really able to hold her. She certainly tried, however.

As Mom was being fixed up, baby was moved to the nursery. I accompanied her there. Look who we ran into on our way! It's Grandma and Grandpa B.! This was one of many touching moments for me.

After about an hour of cleaning and prepping (I watched every fricking moment of it), I was able to take the Little Olive back to her awaiting mother. I snapped this picture of the two of them together. It's an amazing picture that I'm certain will pass the test of time. Through all the insanity of the previous few hours, they both show their beauty and strength.

Mother and baby were moved to a more comfortable room and look who came to visit! It's Uncle Dusty! Thanks for stopping by, my friend.

That night we slept here and there. Quite honestly, it's all a bit of a blur. I'm not even sure we slept a wink.

The next day we had more visitors! It was such a joy to share this moment with everyone. Grandmom held her first...

Then Grandma got her turn. This was such a special time...

The next day Grandpa and Margaret came to visit. The Little Olive enjoyed them as much as her mother and I did. Oh, and they brought some outstanding macaroni salad! Thanks so much for your help.

Soon after we were allowed to take the Little Olive home.

More to come in the near future.

By the way, Bill Stewart won the bet. He was fired 8 hours after the Little Olive was born.

:)

Which will happen first?

2011-06-08T20:24:00.004-04:00

Will my wife give birth to our little girl...

...or will Bill Stewart be fired?

My money's on Stew.

Your opinion is appreciated.

Smile! You're on 4D Ultrasound Camera!

2011-05-13T20:22:00.003-04:00

Can you get any cuter? I mean, really.

I'm funny, but I'm not that funny. Maybe it's just gas?

Our New Ride

2011-05-13T20:11:00.003-04:00

Check out our new "efficient" family car.

It's efficiently ugly!

But in all reality, we got rid of two jeeps and we're going to save a bunch of extra money. Thumbs up to Honda!

It even comes equipped with an Obama 2012 bumper sticker. :)

Happy Mothers Day, Mom!

2011-05-08T13:43:00.001-04:00

Hope you have a great day.

We love you!

New Orleans Wedding

2011-05-08T09:30:00.017-04:00

Our hotel was on St. Charles Avenue. I kept saying "this place sounds familiar. Is it's famous?" Then I realized I was thinking of "St. Charles Place" in Monopoly. Anyway, the street was about as quaint as anything I've ever seen. There were huge, old trees that lined the sidewalks. There were street cars that went up and down the middle of the road every few minutes. Very cool atmosphere.

This is where the family of the bride and groom stayed. It's the Columns Hotel. It was also where they held the rehearsal dinner... which, by the way, had the first shrimp gumbo I've ever tasted. I'm a fan.

This was the bar at the columns. Great frickin' atmosphere.

We met this guy at the Columns Bar. He was known as the Columns Cowboy. Sorry I didn't get a shot of it, but he was wearing purple mesh shorts. He was a hilarious character. Oh, and he smelled bad.

After the rehearsal dinner we went to the French Quarter. We stayed away from Bourbon Street and headed to the Cafe Negril. It wasn't a big place, but it had some awesome music. It was pretty much the first time I've experienced New Orleans Jazz. I might be hooked. It's like jazz on steroids.

Check out this lady. She only played a few songs, but when she did, everyone paid attention. It's a dark video, but watch how she beat on this tamobourine like a mother with a misbehaving child at Walmart. She was awesome.

After the Cafe Negril, we walked to Bourbon Street and had quite possibly the most expensive beer I've ever purchased, the worst hot dog I've ever run across my lips (it takes a lot to screw up a hot dog) and, no joke, a slice of pizza that was so burned it tasted like someone dumped an ashtray in my mouth.

The next day we got up early and headed downtown to the Riverwalk Marketplace. We ate at an overpriced seafood joint that had less flavor than a piece of cardboard. The Crazy Lobster... don't get the jambalaya. I think the sauce was ketchup.

A little gamblin' was happenenin'. Just a little. ;)

After Harrah's we had to head back to the Columns on St. Charles and take a shuttle to the wedding. I'm a dummy and forgot my camera, so here's the only shot of the wedding I got. Congrats, Jeff and Erin!

The wedding and the reception were held in the same building. The food and the music were great.... more New Orleans jazz and seafood! We ate, we had beer and we broke it down a little. :)

After the wedding we took another shuttle back to the French Quarter where we listened to more jazz at the Blue Nile.

The next day was the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. This was awesome. It's food, beer and music.

We saw Bon Jovi.

This was "Living on a Prayer." Bon Jovi was good, but I feel like we shoulda listened to a few of the smaller acts and jammed out to some more New Orleans jazz.

The food was awesome. It seemed like there were miles of these vendors lined up throughout the fairgrounds. I waited until the end of the day and I ate....

...crawfish etouffee. Frickin' outstanding. I needed more.

So I order up crawfish beignets with cajun dipping sauce. Wow. These kicked ass.

After we left Jazz Fest we had to catch a cab a few blocks away. This was a common scene on the way. Bands on street corners played what may have been some of the best jazz I heard on the whole trip. Such a great atmosphere.

New Orleans may be coolest city on the planet.

Amazing Alabama and Its Tornadoes

2011-05-02T18:58:00.014-04:00

My good friend Jeff got married in New Orleans last Friday. I was invited to the wedding and I decided to drive to Tuscaloosa, Alabama last Wednesday afternoon. My buddy Jeremy lives there and I was to stay the night with him and then we'd both get up early and head to the Big Easy on Thursday morning. Things didn't go quite as planned...

Around 4 PM central time on Wednesday I'm passing through Nashville, Tennessee. Jeremy sends me a text message that says, "major tornadoes and thunderstorms in northern Alabama in an hour or so." Me, being stubborn and slightly ignorant to the power of southern storms, decided to ignore his warning and continue south towards the Alabama border. Before I reached the border the skies turned dark and it started to pour. I turned on local radio to see if there were any tornado warnings. There were.

I found a local sports radio show that turned into a weather forecast. Two fellows who knew nothing about meteorology were reporting on the twisters. It was one after another, tornado after tornado was popping up EVERYWHERE. Here's the problem, however... they were saying the names of the towns the tornadoes were near and I didn't know Herky Jerk, Alabama from Stinkyville.

Before I knew it I could hear tornado warning sirens. The wind was blowing my car all over the road. I was driving 25 miles an hour on the interstate. All of a sudden the pressure in the car changed and my ears started hurting. It only lasted a second, but I knew from a tornado experience early in my childhood that was the sign of a nearby twister.

An emergency broadcast system warning interrupted the goofy weather men and said something similar to this... "There is a tornado in the area. Take cover. Take cover now."

I thought to myself, "Ok, this is enough." I immediately exited the interstate and headed for the first brick building I could find. It was an Applebees. I parked the car as fast as I could and ran to the door. It was locked!!! I ran back to the car, but as I started to get in, an older fellow ran to the door and let me inside. I chatted with him for a moment, but I think I was talking gibberish. I remember shaking, stuttering and not being able to pay attention to his questions.

I sat down at the bar to gather myself. The bartender came up to me and asked if I'd like something to drink. I said, "Yes. Beer." At that point the power went out. So, I sat in the dark and talked to the people sitting near me. To my right was a lady from Atlanta. She was also driving through on Interstate 65. She arrived 5 minutes before me. She took this picture as she walked in...

I'd missed the 3/4 mile wide twister by five minutes. Insane, right? Well, she also informed me that another one was predicted to pass in 10 minutes. I wasn't going anywhere for awhile.

Oddly, three national moving guys from Huntington, WV were to my left. I sat and talked to them about WVU and Marshall football for almost 45 minutes. And thankfully, the once predicted second twister passed well south of where we were.

I decided to hit the road again. As I entered the interstate, this was the first thing I saw...

This was the start of an amazing 4 hour drive. Trees were everywhere. They were snapped in half and thrown around like toothpicks. I continually smelled the sent of pine. I counted six tornado paths between where I pulled off and Birmingham, Alabama. Traffic was stopped numerous times and random people were pulling the trees off the road. Emergency workers were nowhere to be found. I'm guessing they were too busy.

I made it to Birmingham which was only 30 miles or so from Tuscaloosa. I had to get gas, but all the stations were closed! I thought I was going to have to spend the night there until a gas station opened. I was wrong, however and I found a crowded station and got a fill up.

Tuscaloosa was a mess from a Tornado that went right through its downtown. I was warned not to drive near there, but my GPS didn't know any other way to Jeremy's house. It was dark when I arrived, so I couldn't see much. I do recall seeing a section of I359 with debris strung everywhere. It smelled like burning metal and there were flashing lights all around. I didn't see a much, but I knew it was bad.

I finally arrived at Jeremy's in northern Tuscaloosa around 11 PM and we watched the end of a very dramatic Penguins game 7 against the Tampa Lightning. We're both huge fans, but neither of us cared that we lost. Sports was insignificant that evening. We went to bed, got up early and headed to what I call Tuscaloosa Ground Zero. Here are some pictures...

This intersection was where we entered the site.

Weird.

Speechless...

Right before I snapped this picture I heard a group of people scream and then cheer. I turned around and there was this fellow with his dog. He pulled him out from the rubble. He was there all night long and he wasn't hurt! Unfortunately he said he had another dog that he couldn't find. :(

Right after I took this picture a lady pulled up beside me in a car. She had a sign on the top of her car that said, "Steak Out." She was a delivery driver for a restaurant in this flattened plaza. She looks at Jeremy and I and said, "Welp, guess I'm not going to work today!" and drove off.

We gathered our thoughts, jumped in the car and headed to New Orleans.

Friday morning we read that emergency crews pulled a man out of some rubble only a few feet from where we took some of these pictures. He was alive.

Surreal.

Happy Birthday, Little Cat!

2011-04-20T16:52:00.002-04:00

You're cute.

The Little Take on Me Cat

2011-04-09T15:29:00.002-04:00

Oh the fun we're going to have as I figure out how to use this new video camera with the iMac.

Watch out.

Happy 40th Birthday, "Country Roads!"

2011-04-06T19:30:00.003-04:00

It's hard to tell exactly how much this song means to me and the rest of West Virginia, but I do know this... it's as familiar to me as the back of my hand. I'm about 99% certain that I've listened to "Country Roads" more than any other in my lifetime. It may not have been by choice, but I've appreciated it every single time.

Thanks for the memories, Johnny Denver. You made a special one 40 years ago.

EDIT: Just as I say this song is as "familiar to me as the back of my hand," I realize I've been singing it wrong my entire life! It's not "blowing like a breeze" as I thought. It's "growing like a breeze." I'm seriously flabbergasted by this. Next thing I know someone's going to tell me I'm supposed to have six fingers on my oh so familiar hand. Sheesh!

One Shining Moment 2011

2011-04-05T18:53:00.004-04:00

Another year of college basketball winds down and this video, as usual, tells its story.

Two things to look for...

1. Dalton Pepper and Kevin Jones celebrating their victory over Clemson with a chest bump.

2. Kevin Jones strutting backwards down the court after a made basket against Kentucky.

Oh, and Luther Vandross has returned. Last year Jennifer Hudson got her shot to sing One Shinging Moment and replace Mr. Vandross. She failed and Luther is back!

EDIT: As usual, CBS took the original video off of youtube. So, here's a crappy version someone recorded off their TV.

Nursery Update!!!

2011-04-03T17:20:00.004-04:00

1. The chair.

2. The bookshelf.

3. The flowers on the wall.

4. The rose picture.

I think it's finished!

Rhythm of Charleston

2011-03-30T22:28:00.002-04:00

What the hell is this?

lol

Happy Birthday, Quincy!!!

2011-03-27T12:24:00.003-04:00

He's 7 years old today!

Nothin' like a little bit of flame being blown in your face. Right, Quin!?!?!

God, we're lame. :)

Hail, WV!!!

2011-03-27T12:19:00.003-04:00

Last week we had one hail of a storm roll through the area. Here was the highlight...

Oh, and you can hear my wife say, "What's that paint smell?" I'm assuming some dope in the neighborhood washed paint down their sink and the smell of it seeped back up through the pipes in all the houses on our street when it rained.

HeadBand

2011-03-15T22:30:00.003-04:00

WVU Comes Back Against Loserville @ the Coliseum

2011-03-05T15:34:00.000-05:00

Hot damn, this was great.

The Nursery

2011-02-27T18:11:00.011-05:00

We're building a nursery!!!

This is what it used to look like. Notice the crappy carpet and the cream colored walls. My wife used it as a dressing room and The Little Cat used it to drink his water. :)

We removed the carpet. There's some pretty decent wood floor under there.

My artist/interior decorator/wife painted the room. Don't worry... it was well ventilated and it was water based paint.

Carpet! The Little Cat approved.

We picked up a used changing table. What a deal!!

I put the crib together and my wife put up the drapes. It's coming together, but it's not complete yet.

More to come!

By the way... how good is my wife at decorating the interior?

Happy Valentines Day to my Wife!!

2011-02-17T17:42:00.004-05:00

Heart shaped pizza... Odoul's and...

... Michael Jackson on Wii!!

I chose to play in my brand new valentine's day pajamas.

Oh. Yeah.

Short Trip to Motown

2011-02-17T17:26:00.004-05:00

Last weekend my wife and I took a 24 hour trip to Motown to meet her cousins at the WVU - Depaul basketball game. The game was horrendously boring, but we still had a good time!

Fosty Duster D-ing up Jerry West...

Beer and chicken wings with the cousins at the Brick Yard.

Swell time.

Celebrating 40 Years of the WVU Coliseum

2011-01-31T18:57:00.006-05:00

I can remember my first trip to the Coliseum. I was 7, maybe 8. My Dad took me to my first game. I didn't give a damn about the Mountaineers. All I cared about was the size of the Coliseum. It was huge. I recall sitting in the upper deck and looking upward towards the ceiling. I got dizzy because it was just so high in the air. I don't think I watched a second of the game... I was too busy walking around the last row in the upper deck. I made a complete circle around the Coliseum and remember feeling like I'd accomplished something.

Time passed and the Coliseum became secondary. The mystique of the building wore off and I only cared about the basketball being played on the court. There were a lot of great players. I remember WVU greats like PG Greene, Seldon Jefferson and Damian Owens. There are opposing players that stick out in my mind, too... Kerry Kittles, Marcus Camby and Allen Iverson. Iverson, of course, played in the Coliseum during WVU's very first Big East game in 1995. I was at that game. We were up by almost 20 points with just over 4 minutes left. We lost.

Losing happened a lot in the Coliseum. There was that memorable Georgetown game. There was the 1992 UMASS game in which we were up by 20 with just over 4 minutes remaining, and yeah, we lost that one too. There was Victor Page's 1997 New Year's Day gift... a Georgetown buzzer beater. He then jumped on the scorer's table and taunted the WVU student section.

As of late there's been more quality wins than disappointing losses, however. In 2007 we beat #2 ranked UCLA. In 2006 Mike Gansey set a WVU Coliseum record with 10 three point shots made against Marquette. And in 2005 we defeated #16 Pitt in overtime during one of the most intense games I can recall.

I've taken the building for granted over the last 25 years, but that's no longer the case. Since our move from Morgantown, WVU games at the Coliseum have become special again. Tickets are hard to come by these days... which is a tribute to the kind of basketball being played inside. We only make to a couple of games a year. I guess the old saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder" is true because when I walk through the gates and into arena, I take it all in and get a little dizzy.

Cheers to the WVU Coliseum.

Tell me about your favorite WVU Coliseum memory...

It's a Girl!!!

2011-01-27T08:57:00.004-05:00

She was quite cooperative, yesterday. She showed us her foot.

Sucking her thumb already? Oh no! :)

Her cute little profile. Awwwww...

She knew we were watching and waved!

Here We Go!!! (this year's version)

2011-01-16T09:57:00.003-05:00

It's even got "three points off of Suisham's toe."

How about that Ravens' game? Wooweee....

They must have played this in third quarter...

Renegade, a Steeler tradition.

The University of Michigan wants a Michelin Man?

2011-01-13T08:35:00.001-05:00

Ohh... a "Michigan Man."

My bad.

Pittsburgh's Goin' to the Super Bowl?

2011-01-13T08:29:00.002-05:00

This is old version, but let's hope we hear a new one in the near future. :)

Our Year in Review

2010-12-30T18:58:00.000-05:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Great work, my wife!

Happy Holidays from WVU... again.

2010-12-24T11:56:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from the Cook Family!

2010-12-24T11:41:00.004-05:00

Call them whatever you want, but don't call them late for dinner!

Boop boop beadoop!

The Little Cat says "Hello"

2010-12-24T11:29:00.002-05:00

Sniff. Sniff.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

2010-12-21T22:07:00.002-05:00

The best version... ever.

And a fun version for all the Yinzers...

Happy Holidays from WVU

2010-12-19T09:40:00.001-05:00

WVU Holiday Card

Dana Holgorsen to WVU

2010-12-15T08:00:00.006-05:00

How about this guy? I know. I know. He's a Fabio/Phil Collins/Bobcat Goldthwait look-a-like, but he's also an offensive genius. He's been putting up huge numbers as Texas Tech's and Oklahoma State's offensive coordinator for the past seven or eight seasons.

Reports say he's going to spend one year as our new offensive coordinator, replacing the much beleaguered Jeff Mullen. Now here's where it gets interesting... he's also going to be our Head Coach in Waiting. That means he'll be replacing Bill Stewart as Head Coach in 2012.

At this point nothing has been confirmed by WVU or Oklahoma State. I expect it will be soon, however. There are far too many reports on this information. The WVU Athletic Department will make an announcement within the next 24 hours and save Mountaineer Nation from certain meltdown.

Welcome aboard, Bobcat... er, uh... Dana. We're looking forward to your first BCS Bowl.

Pies and Pints in Charleston

2010-12-15T07:44:00.006-05:00

We used to have to drive an hour east to enjoy one of our favorite restaurants. Not anymore! Pies and Pints has finally opened its Charleston pizzeria.

Monday evening we enjoyed our first pies and our first pints. There were so many flavor options we couldn't decide on one pie. So... we split one. My wife's half was a Black Bean Pie. That included "seasoned black beans, cheddar, jalapenos, salsa, cilantro and creme fraiche." My half was the Spinach Garlic Pie. It included "spinach, red onions, gorgonzola, fresh garlic and roma tomatoes."

I washed it down with a Yellow Snow IPA from Rogue and my wife had a draught root beer. It certainly looks like she's drinking a beer, but as much as she wishes it was one, it wasn't. :)

Christmas Music Week

2010-12-15T07:21:00.002-05:00

Last Thursday Mrs. Little Cat, myself and Mrs. Little Cat's parents attended the annual Joy to the World performance by Bob Thompson and his Unit.

Another year, another solid jazz performance. I think this was his 18th year in a row.

And then Friday night we attended the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra's annual Christmas concert, Home for the Holidays. As usual, Conductor Grant Cooper put together a spectacular show... elf shoes and all.

The highlight of the show for me, Mrs. Little Cat and probably the rest of our section was when Santa hit the stage and sang Jingle Bells. As he came out, a young man a few rows in front of us (probably seven or eight years old) lost his mind. He yelled and yelled for Santa. He said "Santa! Santa! Santa! Up here. I'm up here! Hi Santa! Santa! Santa!" It was completely adorable and 100% innocent. He really believed it was Santa. He seemed a little disappointed when his mother finally made him sit down and quit yelling, but the rest of us appreciated seeing someone be so genuine.

Good times. :)

Nick Saban to WVU?

2010-12-05T15:12:00.002-05:00

Looks like a pretty good fit.

The Little Cat Family Christmas Tree

2010-11-30T21:21:00.002-05:00

A Tribute to Chris Henry

2010-11-28T09:07:00.003-05:00

Here's a tribute to former WVU wide receiver Chris Henry. Immediately following his death, Henry's mother donated his organs to transplant patients waiting for another chance at life.

This is their story.