Graysen's party

Today we helped celebrate Jack's friend Graysen's 4th birthday at Gymboree. Both boys had a BLAST! We had never been there before but I have a feeling that it won't be our last time to visit. Most of Jack's friends from school were able to make the party and were so excited to see each other since the kids were off all week for Mardi Gras. Theo was climbing and tumbling on all of the mats and bars there.

We were thankful to have something fun to do today since daddy is in Memphis until Sunday. Next we'll be celebrating Dave's 33rd birthday on Monday!

Frozen yogurt

The boys and I met up with Aunt Jen and Corinne on our last day in Houston for some frozen yogurt. The place had the neatest little kids area and the cousins played there for close to 2 hours. The weather turned warm the last 2 days of our visit and I didn't pack accordingly. I went shopping the day before and picked Jack up a couple of polo shirts in youth XS. Well, I put one shirt on Theo and it was long, but it didn't swallow him like it should have!

We had so much fun letting the kids get to know each other again. It's sad that once the kids really warm up to each other, it is time to leave :(

Theo's new shoes

I got the boys matching croc-type shoes today from The Children's Place (a boy clothing haven....... thank goodness b/c there aren't many). Theo loves his new shoes and was so excited to wear them around. Theo is also obsessed with the cucumbers from the food stand at Mimi's house. He carries all three around and will not let go of them, even to drink milk!!!! Crazy kid.

Playing with Corinne

Aunt Jen and cousin Corinne came over to play this afternoon. The three kids had a blast playing with Mimi's cat, Sissy, and riding Papa's horse, Trigger. Sissy was smart enough to get away from the kids up on the perch of the chair so they amused themselves by "feeding" her fruit from the food stand Mimi has here. Mimi came home from work and made lemonade for the kids. Just good old fashioned fun!!

Visiting Mark and Ella

I took the boys to visit my friend Carrie and her twins, Mark and Ella today. Carrie and I went to high school together and we try to see each other when I'm in Houston. Mark and Ella were born 3 weeks before Theo and we call them the "triplets". The kids really had a great time playing together and the twins taught Theo how to use a fork! Ella was in love with Jack and followed him around. They even had a few "conversations". It was cute. I think Theo and Mark could pass as brothers...... blonde hair and blue eyes, what cuties!

Thanks for hosting us Carrie!

Orpheus in Mandeville

My mom and I took the boys to the Krewe of Orpheus in Mandeville. We met up with Jack's school friend, Graysen, and his parents and also my friend Patti and her little boy Andrew (who is about 4 months older than Theo). Patti's husband Eric brought along the New Orleans creation of a ladder seat for the kids. Graysen and Jack sat up there and had the best seat in the house to see the floats. Luckily Graysen's dad stood behind the boys on the ladder to catch the beads for the boys. Little kids often get hurt on those seats from beads being pelted at them. Those beads hurt, believe it or not!

Theo spent some time in Mimi's lap, until he got hit in the face by a bead. He wasn't hurt, thank goodness, but we moved him into his stroller for the rest of the parade. He was pretty tired since the parade started at his usual bedtime. We left immediately after the parade wrapped up and got him in bed about two hours later than usual.

The boys are both out of school all next week for school so Mimi is going to drive back to Houston with me and we'll spend next week there at her house. We'll be coming back for Graysen's 4th birthday party next Saturday!

Toddlearn Time

Mimi flew in yesterday for our local Mardi Gras parade and got to spend the morning with both boys at Toddlearn. I let Jack stay home from school a couple of days this week to have special time with Theo and me. I've been taking Theo to Toddlearn every Friday for the play time for a couple of weeks now. Jack took lessons there for over a year and a half and he's asked to go back to play several times lately. He's in school full-time now though and always misses out on the play times. We picked Mimi up from the airport and headed straight to Toddlearn. Jack and Theo had a wonderful time playing, especially with Mimi there.

Theo Crocket?

We were playing in the train room today and came across this oldie but goody. We got this cap for Jack in Colorado before Theo was born. Theo didn't even realize it was on his head for the longest time! Of course all I did was laugh as I took these pictures.

Cars

Jack and Theo have a lot of hotwheels. Probably hundreds. I bagged about 2/3 of their collection up over Christmas when Jack went to Mimi's house and they have stayed hidden since then. Until today, that is. I had to provide some distraction for the kids while I cooked dinner and nothing was cutting it. I caved and gave them a bag of cars and a hotwheel ramp. My plan worked perfectly and I didn't hear a peep for nearly an hour! And yes, I bagged those suckers back up when dinner was over. Nothing like tripping over 10 hotwheels in the dark....