A Visit From Home!

We were so excited that Kelly and Anderson decided to come visit us in Louisiana. We picked them up from the airport on Friday and night and hit the bath tub first thing. We could tell right away that it was going to be a lot of fun!

On Saturday morning, Tristan surprised us with a special pancake breakfast! Anderson was excited about his giraffe.

We decided to go out to Tickfaw State Park and hit up the water park they have there. Ethan was crawling all over the place and didn't mind the cement or the water flying everywhere. It was almost hard keeping up with him!

It was perfect for the boys. They had a variety of fountains that ranged from small ones that trickled out of the ground to larger ones that sprayed from overhead.

Ethan was fascinated with the buckets that dumped water at random intervals. He stood like this, watching them for quite a while.

Tristan and Anderson shooting us with the water cannons

Sunday morning, Kelly stayed home with the boys. As you can see they were busy loungin'! Last time they were in this crib together they were a lot smaller!

We spent the afternoon at the pool...loungin again'!

On Tuesday we decided to make a day trip to New Orleans to celebrate Tristan's birthday. Our main purpose for going to New Orleans was to take the boys to the aquarium. It was a first for both of them and I think it was a success! Here's a family picture as we started our adventure!

Taking it all in...

Two sets of best friends

The white alligator is always a highlight when we go to the aquarium.

Time for a quick photo op with the two buddies!

We stopped by the play area to let the boys stretch their legs a little and they had a blast!
We made a stop by the shark tank on our way out. The boys were fading quickly...

Luckily by the time we were done with the aquarium the rain had let up (temporarily) and we were able to take a walk along the Mississippi River.

All tuckered out from the aquarium
We finished our day off by taking a stroll through the French Market and going out to a late lunch to celebrate Tristan's birthday. We went home wet, but we had a great time!

We spent a lot of time just watching them play and be crazy! They had a lot of fun just finding anything to play with...

...like spatulas. I don't know what it is about kitchen utensils, but Ethan LOVES them. Apparently Anderson does as well!

Thursday Kelly and I decided to hit up the mall with our boys. Since we were on a shopping marathon, the boys got a little restless so we decided to stop at the play area and let them stretch their legs. This was Ethan's first time at an indoor playground so I wasn't sure how he would do....Needless to say, he did just fine! He had never been on steps before and he climbed all the way to the top of these without any help and without hesitation!

Good buddies

On their last night here we decided to go to the Bass Pro Shop and see the sights. We started with a stop by the aquarium to see the fish!

Checking out some of the non-living animals
We made a stop by the duck pond to see the ducks, fish and turtles. We wanted to see Rocky, the raccoon, but he was sleeping. The boys weren't overly impressed but we still had fun!
It was a busy week, but we had so much fun! We are really looking forward to the next time we can get together when we go home to Washington in September!

Catching Up: Grandma and Grandpa Walker's Visit

Here I thought I was all good and caught up on my blogging and then I realized that I never posted from when my parents came to visit---in MARCH...oh well, at least I'm trying! Both my mom and dad came for a week and we had a great time. We made the mistake of going to do the tourist attractions in New Orleans on a Monday...apparently, everything (aquarium, IMAX, zoo, House of Blues, etc.) is closed on Mondays. We ended up walking around and enjoying the PERFECT weather for being outdoors!

Santa was here on vacation, too...o.k., I'm not trying to be mean but if this guy isn't really Santa, he should get a job being a Santa. Doesn't he just look like one of those Santa figures dressed up in Hawaiian gear? Tristan spent a lot of time trying to discreetly get a picture...
Family pic in Jackson Square

We decided to do a self-guided tour of the USS Kidd while they were here as well. Since my dad served in the Navy, I thought he might enjoy it. We all ended up really enjoying it--even more than I thought we would. We learned a lot about my dad's time in the military and got to see some interesting items in the museum and the ship.

Getting a boost from Grandpa...

Our family in front of the USS Kidd
Hangin' with Dad...

On one of their last days here we decided to take Ethan on his first trip to the zoo!

Checking out the monkeys with Grandpa!

The aquariums were, by far, his favorite part (which made me even more sad that they aquarium in New Orleans had been closed)!
He was fascinated by each new aquarium and just looked up and stared and stared!

One of many stops for a photo with the proud grandparents!

We made a quick stop by the giraffes to get a picture for his buddy Anderson in Washington.

Getting some love from the grandparents...

Of course, no visit to the zoo is complete without a stop by the elephant exhibit!
Overall, it was a wonderful and busy visit! We look forward to another one soon (especially Ethan who was obviously spoiled by the attention!!)

Here comes TROUBLE!!!

I really have to update this more frequently so my posts aren't so long!! But this little guy keeps me VERY busy! He is busy, busy, busy! He is constantly moving and doesn't want to just sit in a lap anymore! He is super curious about everything and if I walk out of a room to go to the bathroom, answer the phone or anything else, I never know what I'll find! On this occasion, I returned to find that he had pulled apart his changing table and dumped it all out on the floor. What a mess!

Sometimes when I'm in the middle of changing his clothes I'll have to run and go get something. Usually I'll return to find that he has started taking off his diaper...not good!
One morning he woke up, but he was just babbling away happily in his crib, so I stayed in bed for a little while longer. When I went to go get him, I found out he had been chewing on his crib! It's really only been since his two top teeth started coming in that he's been doing this, but he chews on all of the furniture!

We find that keeping him busy is often the best bet! I'm so glad that we have access to a pool at our apartment and ever more happy that we have a water baby on our hands!! Here we are, getting ready to go to the pool!

Not diggin' the sunglasses OR the hood!

We weren't able to get a good picture to prove it, but Ethan LOVES the water! Be it a bath or a pool he is in 7th Heaven! The first time we got in the pool he acted just like he does in the bath tub--only larger! It was so bright that he was too busy squinting to smile on this day. But he really does laugh and splash like crazy! This is actually his second trip to the pool...we went earlier that week with our friends Drew and Grayson, but this was his first time with Dad!

Ethan loves bath time. When I go in and get the water started he will crawl at full speed toward the bathroom! This has it's drawbacks also...bath time has become another time for trouble! I will walk out for just a second to grab something for bath or for after bath and I never know what I'll find. You can see in this picture that he has discovered the joys of toilet paper...Needless to say, our toilet paper rolls are out of commission for now!

Don't you just hate it when it sticks to your foot? :)
Again, while getting ready for bath...Ethan decided to get a head start on taking his diaper off!

Here he is checking out the tub to make sure we're preparing it correctly!

Those bubbles sure look interesting!
You can't do anything without him noticing these days. He wants to be in on the action all of the time. The landscapers were here mowing the lawns and he was riveted as they drove back and forth by our patio!

He has really gotten a lot better about finger foods, which means that if he finds anything on the floor he thinks it IS finger food!! I vacuum almost everyday! He's all about Cheerios right now!

It seems like everyday he learns a new "trick"! So while I was doing this (Girl's Camp--and yes, I am rockin' a side pony with my girls!)...
...Ethan was doing this! He will stand on his own for 30 seconds or so (or until he realizes he is standing on his own). Once he realizes he's not holding on to anything he either grabs something really quickly, or he slowly squats down to the ground. It's amazing how quickly things happen! I was only gone for 2 nights!!! I'm so glad Tristan thought to get pictures!

He now understands that just because he can't see it, doesn't mean that it isn't there. So we finally had to put child locks on the kitchen and bathroom cupboards. I was hoping he would just never get interested in them, but I think that was wishful thinking! We left a few of the cupboards open so he could entertain himself while we cooked. So often I find myself wondering, "Why buy toys?"

BUSTED!!!
His latest "trick" is pushing things around the house...I'm wondering if this stems from his dad pushing him around in that tupperware bin...

He really liked pushing the laundry basket around because he could stand up and push it!

I have a funny feeling that he will be walking before we know it--then he will REALLY be trouble!!