Saturday, June 27, 2009

Cutie Pie's... a hungry father's saga

Hello everyone - this is the DAD's first post on this blog... I am announcing my presense confidently and with great anxiousness in my heart to tell you of the saga of the hungry father.

Today, my family and I (Jessica, Reagan, and myself) were out and about visiting some stores in the Southlake area. We finished up our business and were going to head home. Somehow, we ended up by Grapevine Mills mall which wasn't necessarily our intention. The baby was crying and I was trying to drive to quiet her - but then realized she was hungry. So we got off of 121 and pulled into the Bass Pro parking lot so Jessica could feed Reagan in the car (with a bottle mind you)... Reagan sucked down her feed and as I was listening to "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" by the great Michael Jackson (RIP), I suddenly realized I was rather hungry myself.

We meandered around in the Bass Pro parking lot (which by the way is the most ridiculous way to try to get over to Grapevine Mills - it borders on impossible). Once I realized that I would not make it to Grapevine Mills via the parking lot of the ADJACENT STORE - I got out of there and intended on heading towards highway 26 to get to Grapevine Mills and find some grub for dear old dad. As we were about to turn right onto 26, I spotted a place that I knew nothing about and had not seen before - a quaint little restaurant (roadhouse actually) called Cutie Pie's. I asked my wife Jessica if she would like to try it - her response: "Sure! Sounds good!" We parked our Ford Explorer - whose air conditioning was doing quite an admirable job in the 100 degree heat - got out of the car, got the stroller geared up and headed for the front door of what was sure to be a great eating experience.

Well we got inside and THIS is what we found:

Yea - I know. Questions abound from my readers at this point. Geez, Justin. When you realized that this was a cowgirl hooters, why didn't you get your family out of there? Answer: I was in shock - and my wife was leading the charge! We sat down and I looked at her and said; "Oops."

"Oh, no. It's ok. The food looks good and the atmosphere seems ok," Jessica said.

I looked down at my 2 month old daughter.

"Wow. Those uniforms look like something I would want to wear when I'm 18," said my daughters silent eyes.

I quickly spoke silently and sternly back to her and we began to parouse the menu.

The food looked quite good. I ordered some Fried Pickles. Review: pretty good - on par with other good Fried Pickles from other restaurants. Jessica had the Brisket Sandwich and Mac and Cheese. She says that the Brisket Sandwich was a 9 out of 10. For my meal, I ordered the 2 meat plate with sweet potatoes and baked beans, all of which were VERY good. The best thing about this place (including the girls) was the Bar-B-Que sauce. Some of the best I've ever had.

Now you may be asking yourself why I'm sharing all of this with you...my point is this. We found ourselves in a place we would normally not go into (especially with our 2 month old) and we decided to stick it out and see what came of it. Turned out to be one of the best meals I have had in quite some time. And here's another tidbit of information - if you like places like Hooters, Twin Peaks, etc. - you need to try Cutie Pie's. Although the girls were dressed in attire that didn't necessarily make you think they were morally sound in all areas of life, they were some of the nicest waitresses we have had...and guys, they have $6 pitchers every day. So skip Hooters and all the others, and try Cutie Pie's...but just remember to get a babysitter!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Happy Father's Day!



The Rana's had an amazing weekend! To start things off, Reagan turned two months old on Friday! I can not believe how quickly the time has passed. I still feel like it was just yesterday that Justin and I brought her home from the hospital. Everyone knows that along with the celebration comes a trip to the pediatrician for the dreaded vaccination shots. Reagan had three different shots. She did very well and after the initial screaming she was back to her cheery self. We were so thankful that she did not have any side effects! Praise the Lord! Dr. Jones was very impressed with how well she is growing and developing. Reagan can hold her head up very well while on her tummy and has even rolled herself from her tummy to her back! She's only done it once so far, but we know she'll be doing more often in the days to come. Reagan now weighs 11 pounds and 1 ounce and is 22 1/2 inches long. She is growing perfectly!

Saturday was a very chill day around here. Justin watched Reagan for a few hours while I went out shopping for a few Father's Day gifts. Saturday evening we had our friend Chad over to watch our church's First Fruits service on the web.

Sunday was one of the most special days we've had with Reagan. Not only did we celebrate Justin's first Father's Day, but we also were able to dedicate Reagan at church. My mom and brother were there along with Justin's parents and his brother, sister-in-law and their two children. Unfortunately my dad was out of town on a trip, but he was able to watch the service through the church's webcast. Chuck, Robert and Justin all made the dedication so special and something we will always cherish and remember. We hope you all enjoy the video clip from the service.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

7 weeks & 7 hours


We have made it! We have completed seven weeks with our sweet little Reagan.  Justin and I are thrilled to announce that she is now sleeping 7 hours through the night! WooHoo!  She has been doing this now consistently for about a week and a half.  We actually discovered her new sleeping talent by complete accident.  One night my alarm didn't go off for her middle of the night feeding.  I think I woke up around 5 o'clock and she was still sleeping! From that point on we have let her sleep as long as she wants during the night hours.  

We will have an exciting weekend ahead.  Reagan will turn two months on Friday! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone.  We go to the pediatrician then for our next visit and her first round of shots. Our prayer is that she gets through them with little or no side effects. We also will be dedicating her at church on Sunday, so we are hoping she is in a wonderful mood for her special day!