Thaw before reheating.
{ Monthly Archives }
Our Lion King, before Thursday:
Fluffy, full, regal, mighty.
Our Lion King, after:
(Another) unfortunate episode lead us to drastic measures. In his third shower of the day, the scissors joined us… and the cat got a haircut. We held off on pictures for a few days to let him fully dry and endure a few brushing sessions. Now that he’s filled out a bit, he looks a bit less ridiculous than he did look.
This Friday Abeona held an end-of-summer party. After enjoying two days of wonderfully temperate (low 80s) temps, the end of the week sweltered back up to the mid-90s in relative heat. Pool party? No problem! Paul and I took the morning off to share in the event. (Well, actually, we dropped Will off at his normal time and went down the street for breakfast at Oak Street Cafe — and THEN went back to the house for the party!)
Paul juggled; I played photographer (note: we have become addicted to our hobbies.) In the picture above, I capture Kate thinking on one of her nefarious plots of world domination. “Yesssss….”
She didn’t last long in her Bumbo. And I got more input from other parents who were there on our Bumbo issue: she’s probably a little young to sit for that long and she’s HOT in the thing. There’s hope yet for our intented Thanksgiving centerpiece!
The kids had a blast at the party. They attempted to make homemade gelato (it was too hot for it to properly set, but they had fun rolling the cans as part of the process), played in a pool, with a hose, and in a newly built sandbox, and painted the sidewalk with special paints and chalks. The teachers were amazing. Everytime I am there, I learn so much — and leave feeling so thankful toward this community of people helping to raise my kids.
I am just posting a few pictures here (just ones that are mostly Will and Kate). Abeona has posted more of the shots (ones not on the blog) here. Check them out, they are really fun!
We have been enjoying some wonderful afternoons.
These outtings have included daily walks to Whole Foods, a visit to the neighborhood bookstore, Octavia Books (where Will got an autographed copy of Mo Willems‘ new book), snacks from Laurel Street Bakery (one of our neighborhood bakeries), chats with neighbors, popsicles from the Farmer’s Market and running around the playground.
Yesterday, we all went to Audubon Park for Wednesday afternoon juggling.
A few jugglers showed up to practice. Will took some video.
And then played in the park fountain, splashing with the birds and butterflies.
The jugglers meet at the St. Charles Avenue end of Aubudon Park, Tulane and Loyola’s main campuses are across the Avenue. It is a beautiful spot, so I got all artsy-fartsy with the camera. The favorites from the afternoon (including more juggling!) can be viewed in our Shutterfly albums.
Attention Gods and Goddesses of the world! More afternoons like these, please!
The Bumbo is the much-loved babysitter, adored by my friend, Gwen, whose opinion I trust implictly. It is now widely considered THE must-have baby item. It was unknown to us prior to Kate, making it one of our baby items not previously tested on Will. We reluctantly admit that, at least for us, and at least for right now, the Bumbo is not a very popular item.
It’s best use (to date) has been as a photography tool. Kate definitely sits unsupported in it… for about 5 minutes. Then she begins to throw her arms back (see above) and can actually lift her little butt up from the chair. If it weren’t for the fact that her Michelan baby thighs get stuck in the leg holes, she would easy be able to catapult herself out of the Bumbo.
She also has a sideways manuver where she uses her arms to push out to one side — again, the thighs protect her from landing on her head (or in one of our plates, as we frequently seat her in the Bumbo as our dinner centerpiece.) 
So we are left wondering… is Kate simply an errant Bumbo user? An unusually active infant? Is this something that she will outgrow? Inquiring Bumbo-owning parents want to know…
Brocato’s, the beloved NOLA gelateria, is reopening this weekend! Enjoy live music (noon-7) along with yummy italian goodies.
Angelo Brocato Ice Cream & Confectionery, Inc.
214 N. Carrollton Avenue
New Orleans, LA
– Compact fluorescent lightbulbs
– Aged gouda
– Italian Boule
– Tummy time toys
– Temps in the high 70s
– Gymboree outfits
– Big Easy Roller Girls
– Pushing Kate’s hair out of her eyes
– Lit Review/Dissertation Research
After a very busy Saturday, we enjoyed a more low-key Sunday. An afternoon of light drizzle made for a great escape to a humid, but not unbearably hot, playpark.
In case there was any question of where Will got his crazy slide-habits from…
Rolling Stone has a wonderful article about the rigging of the 2004 election.
Will thinks monsters are scary. I wonder if, like his parents, this is sort of stuff that he will recognize as truly, truly frightening.
Will’s best girl, Aya, had a party at The Fly on Saturday. (The Fly is the section of the Mississippi River Levee behind Audubon Zoo. It’s a beautiful park with a great playground, athletic fields, and the launch site for the Aubudon River Cruise.) We had a great afternoon!
