TOO COOL FOR SHADES

Yesterday, while the weather was still nice, Luke and I headed outside while Grey finished his afternoon nap.

We walked up to the yard to visit Max's Garden and see the beautiful daffodils.

Once back down in front of the house, Luke thought he would help Daddy by relocating Marc's Boat Trailer stops... SOOO Strong!!

After his hard labor, he took a break and enjoyed his slide.

He's looking pretty cool in his shades.

MY BOYS

Just some pics of the boys from this week.

Luke is finally mastering drinking from a cup.

Getting ready for a bath...

Bath time

Grey playing Peek-a-Boo

GREY ON THE DECK

Yesterday evening, while Marc fixed burgers (real not deer... YEAH!!) on the grill, the boys played on the deck. Now that Grey is so mobile, he's everywhere. So as not to get splinters, here is how he crawls on the deck.

He loves being outside as much as his brother does.

ALL BOY

It was so nice to get back home to Virginia, and be greeted by Spring like weather. Now that it is finally warmer, me and the boys can get outside and relieve the horrible cases of Cabin Fever we caught this winter. Yesterday, I believe it reached almost 80, so Luke took full advantage. He is now 2-1/2 years old, and yesterday was the FIRST time he really played in our yard. For those of you who have never seen our house, it's built up on stilts and is situated in the woods... not very conducive for outdoor play for little children. They can play on the deck, but there is only so much you can do on a deck... like not being able to get dirty - what all little boys aspire to do.

Luke had an absolute ball playing in the dirt pile that is located in the 8' of ground between the house and the driveway. When we went inside for lunch his hands and knees were black.

I'm sure cold weather will return for a little while before Spring has arrived to stay, so for now, we'll soak up as much Vitamin D as we can.

BUZZ CUT

Marc took Luke for his third haircut today. Due to his natural curl and the fact that his hair grows like a weed (when it gets long, it looks like he's wearing a hair-piece), we decided to give him a buzz cut. I think next time, we'll go even a little shorter.

He looks so handsome. Definitely no longer my little baby.

COONASS IN THE MAKING

Marc is so proud of his little CoonAss in the Making. Mr. Roland (Granny's boyfriend) treated us to a seafood feast tonight for dinner. We had crabs, shrimp and crawfish. After watching his Daddy, Luke attempted to suck the head of a crawfish (supposedly, that's were all the flavoring is located). The only problem was that the crawfish that Luke was trying to suck, still had it's head intact. He definitely gets an "A" for effort.

PLAYING OUTSIDE

The day after we arrived last Friday, the weather was SOOO nice. Granny has the perfect little back yard for Luke to play in, so he spent most of the day out there, and absolutely loved it. After Grey got up from his nap, he also enjoyed it. It was the first time as a Mom that I had to worry about getting grass stains out of their clothes.

Granny came out to enjoy the day with us and had fun picking flowers with Luke, and then later showed him how to use the watering can.

We're hoping for more beautiful weather before we leave so Luke and Grey can spend another day getting tons of fresh air and dirty knees and butts.

MEETING FAMILY

Yesterday, we took the boys to meet family. Marc's Dad, Clyde, is staying with his brother, Ray, so we went to visit and the boys got to meet Uncle Ray, Aunt Heather, and Grey got to meet his PaPa Faucheux.

Aunt Heather was the Bomb. She whipped out all these toys and got down on the floor and played with Luke and Grey. But the biggest hit was when things got "Musical". Aunt Heather showed Luke how to play the piano. He sat right up there, with perfect posture, and placed his tiny hands upon the keys.

Grey was not to be left out. He chimed in with rythm on the bongo drums.

After a yummy lunch of boiled crawfish (which Luke could not get enough of) and shrimp po'boys, Uncle Ray headed out to the shed and brought out a riding Fire Truck that he had made. Aunt Heather pushed Luke up and back on the back porch.

But most importantly, PaPa Faucheux got to see his two grandsons. Luke and Grey did really well showing Clyde all their "Tricks". I think Clyde really enjoyed seeing them. Here he is with his newest grandson, Grey.

We hope to go back later this week to see them again. We are here in New Orleans for a sad reason, but it is so nice to see family and for the boys to get to know all of them.

NEW ORLEANS AUDUBON PARK ZOO

This past Sunday, the weather here in New Orleans was absolutely beautiful. We decided to take full advantage, and headed out to explore the Auduon Park Zoo. Aunt Brigitte and Uncle Jason met us at the gate, and then we all made our way inside to see all there was to see.

One of the first things we saw were the Elephants, who were a BIG hit with Luke.

Here are some of the other animals we saw.

Aunt Brigitte was very excited to see the Turtles.

Grey really wasn't into looking at any animals. He was totally content to hang out in the stroller and chew on the strap.

Aunt Brigitte and her little buddy Luke had a GREAT time.

At the Petting Zoo, she helped him pet all the little creatures.

Once he got in the actual "Petting" zone, all he wanted to do was climb on this structure. We learned that day that he really likes climbing around on stuff.

Uncle Jason also made sure he could see everyting. The funny thing, however, was that rather than being interested in the animal in any given exhibit, Luke would be completely fascinated by a stick or rock on the ground.

Marc, Brigitte and Jason were all three very excited when they saw the Roman Candy Stand. According to them, the best part of Roman Candy (or Taffee to us Northerners) is pulling it out till it's "stringy". After doing the stretching, they gave Luke his first taste. He seemed to enjoy it.

Luke also enjoyed seeing the sights from high up on Daddy's shoulders.

In the "Louisiana Swamp" exhibit, Luke got to see an Albino Alligator with Aunt Brigitte and Uncle Jason.

Like I said above, Luke likes to climb.

Marc got to do some reminiscing, when we visited his childhood home...

and a little dreaming, when we scoped out our Louisiana Retirment Home.

All in all, the visit to the Zoo was a big hit. We got the boys a couple of souvenirs... an Elephant for Luke and a Camel for Grey.

We're also hoping to maybe make it to the Children's Museum while we're here. Hopefully, it will be as big a hit as the Zoo.