Mardi Gras

We went to New Orleans last weekend - Mom had meetings for work on Friday and we decided to make it a family trip and enjoy some of the Mardi Gras festivities. But, the weather was really lousy - cold and rainy - so we didn't do as much Mardi Gras reveling as we hoped. We were still recovering from colds from last weekend, so we had to be careful with the weather. Dad and the kids stayed around the office on Friday, and then we went out for Japanese with Paul (or "Jackanese" as Natalie kept calling it). On Saturday, we ended up at the Children's Museum, where we all had a really good time. It was perfect considering the soggy weather. The rain cleared out in the afternoon and the temperature went up a little, so after an early dinner, we did make it to one parade. Natalie and Owen couldn't take their eyes off the floats, and we did score some beads (and a sword for Owen!), so that was cool. Natalie also enjoyed all the people around us. She informed the man next to us that we were sleeping in a hotel. We're lucky she didn't know that name of the hotel and room number or she probably would have invited him over. She's very friendly. She officially has bead greed - as we were heading back to car, she kept saying she needed more beads. We headed home on Sunday, and enjoyed a nice warm, sunny afternoon when we got home.

Last weekend we were housebound with three sick kids. Owen stayed home from school with a fever on that Friday, and by Saturday morning, Natalie and Henry had fevers as well. So we ended up at the doctor's first come-first served Sat schedule. It turns out everybody had colds - could be worse. It was only a matter of time, the kids at school have been dropping like flies. Every week there's a new case of some illness, and the flu and strep throat were going around. So we had to take it easy around here. Monday Natalie and Owen were home for Martin Luther King day, so Owen went into the office with Dad for a while, and Natalie stayed home for some quality time with Mom. Then Dad had to go out of town last week for work, and we were glad to have him home. Henry had his four month check up last week as well. He's doing great! He's built like his brother, long and lean. He's currently 45th percentile for weight and 85th percentile for height. We'll be venturing into the world of solids with him soon.

Everybody is feeling better now, and we're getting ready for Natalie's birthday celebrations this weekend. Henry is rolling over now - he's been working at it for many days, and he finally did it. He's just itching to get in on the action with Natalie and Owen. He loves watching them and always has a smile and laugh for Natalie.