MSU vs. Tennessee

Saturday morning, we loaded up and headed to one of the best places on Earth...Starkvegas!  It was a big game day...and it proved to be even bigger!  Millie Janalee has been a little touch and go lately, so I was curious about how she would do.  She was a trooper!  Minus one meltdown...she had a great day!

Now, when you take a bitty baby to a ballgame...it's all about the details.  Make sure that baby knows who she's cheering for.  From hairbow to toe!

It was a beautiful day to tailgate!  The weather was nice.  The breeze was blowing.  The company was fun...as always!  The fun had begun!  We spent our day like we do every other tailgate.  Visiting, watching football, eating, laughing, and playing corn hole.

PawPaw, Millie Janalee, and Uncie Bucket

Sheila and Susu

Sisters

Tailgating with a baby makes things even more entertaining.  Especially now that Millie Janalee is interacting more.  Auntie Kristin and Uncie Lee spent some good quality time with their favorite niece. Somehow they always end up with "leftover time" when it comes to Millie Janalee.  So it was nice for them to play.

"Hey Auntie Kristin!"

Reading a book to Millie Janalee

Auntie Kristin and Uncie Leeroy

As always,we enjoyed our visitors who stopped by.  We have gotten used to the fact that many come to see the baby, but we still enjoy their visits nonetheless.  Ha!  This is one of my favorite things about game days.  No matter where you go after college, we all end up in Starkville on Saturdays in the fall.

Jean, Mama, and Sherra

Jennifer, Kristin, and Millie Janalee

Sheila, Dustin, and Daddy with Daddy's cousin and wife

Season and Millie Janalee

Season, me, and Millie Janalee

Corn hole games rarely end when visitors stop by.  It's great friends who join in the fun!  Karen and her "posse" visited for a while on Saturday, and she made sure to try her hand at corn hole before leaving.  The guys and Sheila can be quite competitive during this time!  Ha!

Daddy and Karen

Millie Janalee resting up for the big game

Lee and Dustin

Daddy and Sheila

Russ

After Millie Janalee's minor meltdown, a nap, and some time to herself playing in her pack 'n' play...she was one happy baby ready for game time!  Russ got a new camera last week.  Did you hear that?  Yes.  My husband got a new camera.  So prepare yourself for a major picture overload when he gets time to really play with it!  Ha!  So, he took a few snapshots...or a lot of snapshots...of the rest of the night.

Happy girl!

Smith girls

I usually have to beg him to snap pictures of our visitors and fun things throughout the day, but this time was different.  He was happy for any opportunity to take a picture.  Yay for a family photographer!

More friends who are loyal visitors

Our cousins made the trip to Starkville for this game! 

Group shot with Chelsea and Phillip!

Can you tell it was a white out on our side of the stadium from the above picture?  Ha!  Millie Janalee isn't quite in her white out attire quite yet.  Don't worry!  You know I brought her a cute costume change.  She'll join the crowd in a bit.

Me, Millie Janalee, and Uncie Bucket

Dustin did a quick physical therapy assessment...and she passed.  Ha!

She was thrilled!  Can you tell?

I must mention that this was a late game.  LATE.  It didn't start until 8:00.  So, around 7 we all started picking up and putting valuables in our cars.  Daddy started handing out tickets and gathering cowbells.  I took some time to get Millie Janalee ready to beat Tennessee.  She was ready!

Throwing some punches Tennessee's way!

I just LOVE her game day white out dress!

If you remember, we took Millie Janalee into the last game.  She did great! Slept through the whole thing.  This game, we knew it would be LOUD.  This will probably prove to be our biggest game of the season!  SEC game.  Really needed a win.  Or as ESPN kept stating it, "We needed to prove ourselves."  Whatever!  I was SO excited about what Susu had for Millie Janalee's first LOUD game! I can't stand it!  I'm obsessed!  Everyone in line was obsessed too, and one lady gave Millie Janalee a sticker on her booty since she was so cute.  Ha!

We put her headset on right outside the stadium, and her eyes immediately began to get heavy.  She couldn't hear a thing.  At least that's my guess.  She was in her own little world.  She might as well have been nice and cozy in her bassinet at home. 

Instead she was amidst screams, yells of "Maroon!  White!", the band, cowbells, and lots of excitement!  I was completely OBSESSED with her.  We laughed and took pictures all night!  So cute!  Hilarious!  Gosh, she is just a perfect fit!  Born TRUE MAROON!

Millie Janalee and Mama

She slept through the entire first half.  At halftime, I laid her out on my lap and it never phased her.  She just snoozed right through the headset squeezing her cheeks together!  As the third quarter began, she woke up ready to stretch.  Susu ended up taking her on a little walk under the stands.  She just needed to stretch.  Mama said that she watched the third quarter standing on a ramp.  Millie Janalee must have watched too.  She couldn't hear it, I'm guessing, because she had her headphones on.

While Susu and Millie Janalee were under the stands, they missed Millie Janalee's big introduction to Davis Wade Stadium!  Yep.  She was on the jumbotron dreaming of an undefeated season and a championship trophy!  It should be noted that I missed it too, because I walked under the stands looking for them!  Thankfully, Russ took his camera into the game.  Yay for the family photographer!

She's famous!

The rest of the game was amazing!  Mississippi State not only beat Tennessee!  Our Dawgs made a grand finale with an incredible touchdown pass and catch!  We were all on the edge of our seats, shaking, tense, and elated about such a victory!  This was big for our program!  BIG!  We are bowl eligible, and I look to even more wins as this season progresses.  GO DAWGS!

Fireworks went off as the game ended.  We experienced our first battle scar of the season.  Out of the more than 57,000 fans in the stands, the fireworks landed on one of us.  Daddy felt his arm burning and looked down to see this...

It was suggested that he frame that shirt in a shadow box to commemorate the win.

We stood around soaking in this win as our band played the Alma Mater and fight song.  The team left the field with cowbells still ringing.  Finally, we all headed to the tent.  I was anxious to see how Millie Janalee liked the rest of the game.  She was so happy about her Bulldogs!

Yay Bulldogs!

Smith women

It was close to midnight at this point.  Way too late for a child, but that's the way we roll around here.  Ha!  We started taking down the tents, food, and paraphernalia while I put Millie Janalee into her pajamas and Sheila fed her.

We sat around and visited as we waited on "Dan the Man" to leave campus.  He always drives past our tailgate, and we like to wave or "ring" him out.  This time, we were delighted to ring a cowbell as he passed.

Way to go Coach!  Great game!

Our estimated arrival time in our bed...3:45 a.m.  Makes for an early Sunday church service.  Ha!  Now, let's do it again Saturday!