Easter Sunday

On Sunday, we got up early (as usual) fed the babies, and then let the kids hunt for Easter eggs (Matt's first Easter!). After that, we had breakfast and then went to church. We came back to Judy's and had lunch and just relaxed before everyone had to head home =(  The kids really enjoyed the hunt for eggs. Kena definitely made out good--ha ha! (a 13 month old and 10 month old can't really compete) =)

 Loaded up on the good stuff.

 Mylee picking up Easter eggs

 Mylee and Makena getting their egg hunt on.

 Matthew watching Daddy steal his candy.

 Cute Mylee!

 Mylee and her daddy.

 Matthew, me, and Ross

 Mommy and Matthew

 Matthew and his colorful assortment of eggs.

 My handsome.

 So ticklish!

Matthew and Mylee had fun playing with the plastic eggs. Matt enjoyed putting them in his basket and dumping it over. Overall, we had a really great weekend!

New Orleans

On Saturday before Easter we all packed up and headed to New Orleans. We did the French Quarter and walked along the river and walked around the mall and then headed back to Judy's house. It was a little crowded and hard to get out once we were ready, but it was a nice day. There were times I wanted to crawl up in the stroller with the boy b/c my feet hurt, but we had a good time. We had fun glasses Judy bought us to wear, so that was fun. =)

 Makena and Matthew in the French Quarter. Cousins in orange stripes! So cute.

 Makena had Matthew giggling.

 Miley and Matthew. They enjoyed the ride.

 My little monkey.

 Judy, me, and Stacey in super cool shades. All we are missing are our bunny ears and teeth.

 Makena in her new flower wreath.

Judy, Ross, and Wade strolling along near the river.

Easter Part 1

We had a FANTASTIC Easter weekend. We were in Hattiesburg, New Orleans, and then Hammond Louisiana.  We started on Friday when Judy, Wade, Stacey, Makena and Mylee came into town and we had a crawfish boil. The weather was pretty nice, so we spent most of our time outside playing and hanging out.  Here are pictures from Friday. There are more pictures to come from Saturday in New Orleans and Sunday in Hammond.

 Stacey with Mylee and her bunny ears

 Matthew deciding whether or not he will keep the bunny ears on (with Judy)

 "I'm not so sure about these ears, Juju..."

 Wade hanging out in the back

 My good-lookin' husband =)

 Makena and Mylee swinging

Stacey and my little Easter bunny

 "What's up guys?"

 My little football player

"Can we get in here?"

Easter Bunny pic

I took Matthew to see the Easter Bunny today. His first look at the giant animal wasn't too promising. Meanwhile, a three year old in front of us was screaming at the idea of coming close to the bunny. He looked a little worried about being close to it, too, so I grabbed his attention by playing with him, lifting him into the air, and making all the funny noises parents make that cause others to stare. It worked. Then I went and sat down by the bunny and sorta played "peek-a-boo" with the bunny to see if that would put him at ease.  Success! The picture turned out okay, I think. At least there are no tears or screaming, not that my child would do such a thing. Haha. If you look close enough, you can see the person's face. Kinda creepy...

Hanging around the house

Here are a few pics of the boy(s) hanging around the house. We've really been trying to enjoy the weather before it gets unbearably hot (Hattiesburg is much like Houston in that respect).

Also, BIG news is that Matthew has taken his first steps at 9 1/2 months old! I don't have video of that yet but will soon. Such a big boy!

 Matthew LOVES a shoulder ride!

 His favorite spot: on Daddy's shoulders

 So happy

 Decided to taste a little grass...

 Not so tasty.

 Standing up.

 Haha...not sure what this face is about

SO funny...Matthew found some leftover Cheerios from the morning under his exersaucer and climbed in to retrieve them! Luckily the camera was close.

Trip to NOLA

I could get used to this whole living close to New Orleans. We just made our second trip with Judy (Ross's aunt) and her (and our new) friend Linda for the French Quarter Festival. We didn't stay as long as we would like, seeing how easy it is to make day trips with a 9 month old (sarcasm), but we really enjoyed the trip and hanging out with JuJu.  One of the perks of the event is that all the fabulous restaurants of the French Quarter set up tents and sell dish samples uber cheap. We walked through the Quarter, the French Market (and got the most exquisite pralines EVER), and then set up chairs near one of the stages for a little zeideco music. We left just as the crowds were starting to invade and went back to Judy's house for bratwurst for dinner. Overall a great day. I'm really starting to want to venture around for day trips like these since we don't know that many people in Hattiesburg, and I figure since we live so close to places we've never or rarely been, we need to take advantage. Other places I want to go are Biloxi (and the Beau Rivage again), Gulfport, Destin, etcetera.
Coming soon....visit with the Thomas family from Kingwood and (hopefully) a trip to the New Orleans Audubon Zoo! Can't wait!

Happy Boy.

Here are a few pics I've taken lately of Matthew (and one of Ross) grinning ear to ear. He is so happy =) 

Ross hard at work washing my explorer.

 Hanging out outside (in the garage) watching Daddy wash the car.

 BIG fan of biter biscuits!

 Matthew LOVES the dinosaur!

 This is a new thing for Matthew: standing up and throwing his hands up! (and I LOVE this outfit!)
In the top pic, it looks like he is saying, "Rar!"

Peek-a-boo

Matthew loves to play peek-a-boo. All we have to do is say, "Where's Matthew?" and he pulls a towel or blanket over his head fora dramatic pause before "revealing" himself. So cute. Here's a video of him playing with us. 

Also of note, Matt has learned how to clap! He kept doing it this morning while Mickey Mouse Clubhouse was coming on =)