2 out of 4...

so, we had amazing weather for the first 2 days of our trip. the 2nd two? i'm not sure new orleans has seen that much continual rain/wind for a long time. (though it's really weird to think we were watching all the tornado warnings that were issued for towns/communities not terribly far from where we were and then to see the devastation later that day from those towns that were leveled. makes a bunch of rain and lightening and mud seem not so bad. but still, it made the 1st day of jazzfest a little less than wonderful)

the weather may have petered out, but there was: lots of good eating-though for us that doesn't necessarily equal traditional creole/cajun food. lots of good company. lots of good hours laying by a pool. or walking around the quarter. or eating breakfast on our balcony.


we don't have a whole lot of pictures. i blame the fact that we were focused on relaxing and not having any responsibilities. (which was a lot harder than i thought it would be. there were definitely times where i would be sitting around not really knowing what to do with myself and happily agreeing to reapply zane's sunscreen or run out to search for t-shirts for the 800th time.)

but here are some highlights...

our little italian restaurant with excellent (and extremely cheesy) pizza and fun tablecloths. this year, their new addition was the local beer in a strawberry brew. our waitress told us she hadn't had anyone not enjoy it, and zane being the skeptic, gave it a try. he enjoyed it.


our night (or 2 hours) spent on bourbon street. we had dinner first, then headed to bourbon for dessert and a drink. walking home we passed the "huge ass beers" storefront and stopped in. we have a nice collection of these cups at home (they're a great size for water or juice) and wanted to add some more. i think we each successfully drank about 1/30th of the beer and dumped the rest out at the hotel. but the cups are happily sitting in our kitchen.


zane and i made our way to jazzfest on saturday, hoping that the rain that flooded the fairgrounds on friday would stay away. good news, the rain did stay away and even better, we got to see the "treme brass band". one of the jazzfest posters this year features "lionel batiste" and we got to see him in action (see above).

so though there isn't much picture evidence, we had a great time and it was a lot easier being away from the girls than i thought it might be. the night before we left after the girls had been put down, i burst into tears thinking of them waking up and wondering where we were. but once we were on vacation and knew that the girls were having a blast with mema, it was really nice to let go and enjoy everything the city had to offer.

the funny thing? i never napped.

81 and sunny

nola is now pulling herself up on anything and everything. trying to crawl up the walls. pushing herself backwards to plop down and laughing. letting go of my hands when i'm standing with her and helping her walk. saying "uh-oh" when something "uh-oh" happens (i'm thinking of counting this as her first word). we're leaving for 5 days and i can't even imagine how much she's going to change while we're gone!

avery is trying to be patient with nola's newfound ability to get into everything. and she's also trying to ignore nola's crying at night since she's been sick, but that's not going so well and no one has really slept much in the last week. (hopefully that will make our 3am wakeup for the airport tomorrow morning a little more manageable ;))

i can't even express how much i'm going to miss the girls or how much i'm looking forward to an uninterrupted nap.

laissez les bons temps rouler!

10 months and mommy #2

\
10 months and i can finally gather a few pieces of hair to put in a pony tail ;)


wearing a bathing suit top, mismatched bottoms (around her neck) and some high heels. someone's ready to hit the town ;)

it's friday!

and here was the first conversation of our day

z: did nola sleep through last night?

a: i think so, i didn't hear anything.

z: hmm, i hope that's a good thing.

a: well, why don't you peek in her room and check?

z: nah, i can never be quiet enough. have a good day, love.

happy to report that she was fine, the pillow contraption that zane made in her crib to help her breathe must have worked. and maybe the benedryl ;) either way, she had a great night's sleep and is back to playing and smiling this morning.

just in time for 10 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! holy.cow.

speaking of 10 months, i think it's safe to say that it's taken us just about this long to really settle into a groove of having 2 little ones. it's been a long road, but worth every step and setback. this morning, the girls woke up around the same time and mema brought avery into nola's room. nola lit up when she saw avery and avery begged to be put in nola's crib with her. these moments are coming more frequently and it's such a blessing to sit back and watch.

more to come later with tales of midnight crib sheet changes, new signs, avery's story reading, excitement for vacation, anxiety about vacation and the horrors of shopping for a bathing suit post 2 pregnancies ;)

it's almost friday!

kind of. a little bit. hey, it's close enough for me.

we've got a sick little baby in the house and aside from feeling helpless that we can't snap our fingers and make her feel better instantly, it's SO HARD to take care of a sick baby when there's also a toddler that needs/wants/deserves attention/food/snuggles/fun. and when you were up half the night with the sick one.

(i do have to say though, i'm so glad this is happening now and not next week when we're away!)

i forgot what i was going to even post about, which is okay b/c nola is having a hard time falling asleep and i don't have the time to write anyway ;)

hopefully i'll get back to post in less time than it took to get this one up.

*update: after nola's second 2+hour nap of the day, we took her outside and zane went for a walk with the girls and dogs. i met them as they were coming down the street and it looked like nola had been crying hard for some time. her poor face was red, puffy, and splotchy. so, we're thinking allergies. gave her a half a dose of benedryl and so far so good!

i could make a killing off my medicine cabinet.

towards the end of my pregnancy with nola, i was so excited to be done with doctors and medicine for a while. i had come to the conclusion that this would be a year to focus on myself without the worry of an unborn child. and then i went to the dentist and we all know how that turned out. then i went to the oral surgeon. and that time didn't go much smoother. and without going into detail, right now i'm fighting 2 infections, am allergic to one of the medicines i was given and hoping the new one doesn't make me throw up.

and to top all this off, because my body and mind aren't tired enough, i cannot for the life of me figure out nola and avery's sleeping stuff. they're up at 5:30 or 6 am just about everyday. nola has slept for 20 minutes today. avery's finally stopped screaming for 30 minutes at night when we put her down. nola's waking up pretty consistently at night, after having a good couple months where she slept soundly through....

all of these things combined result in me trying to look up airline information and typing "boston airport" in yahoo. i've lived here all my life and can't remember the name of the airport? i need a nap.

at least when i'm not napping, i can look at these little faces.



because they aren't sleeping either ;) (especially with prune all over her face :))

catch-up

we had a fantastic easter weekend!!

friday-

went to the park on a perfect spring day. avery played on the swings, went down all the slides, enjoyed the sunshine, and ended the day with pizza and a movie.

saturday-

went to a local church that was having a block party. bouncy houses, face painting, cookie making, hot dogs, and really really nice people.
got accepted into my grad program!!!!
dyed easter eggs
had a cookout with lots of meat and cold drinks on another perfect spring day!
hung out with our neighbors without the kids! a nice treat :)

sunday-

had a blast with avery searching for treats that the easter bunny left.
painted/stained our porch table and got lots of sun.
cooked off and on all morning for an awesome early ham dinner.

for a full album of the weekend, here you go

no bunny's gonna take a picture of me

avery was begging to sweep the porch this morning. it was tough handing over the broom, but i got over it quickly. and she had a blast!


and then i tried to get a picture of the girls in their matching "no bunny's cuter" t-shirts and nola had a small breakdown. and then napped for 2 hours.

nothing's safe!

i had to document what the house looked like tonight after the girls were down.
with two mobile kids, toys and treasures get tossed, carried and kicked everywhere. at times it makes me smile, at other times i want to grab a huge trash bag :)
i think we're in desperate need of more bins, buckets, and boxes for all their stuff...

because it's monday...

...and i needed an excuse to download this pictures.

but now, since i'm 8,000 steps behind in just about everything to do with this house, i'm off.

*cue the angels*

the sun is back. and better than ever. and nola loves it.


correction-nola, avery, and mama love it. at the park.


correction-dada loves it and it wears avery out quickly ;)


good times.