May 28 {mudbug}

This afternoon we attended our first crawfish boil as guests of the Harding's.  It was SO fun! The hosts went all out with authenticity - newspaper covered tables, zydeco music, cajun snacks (including gator and snapping turtle) and of course LIVE crawfish!

Maxine got gussied up for her first party (outside of family functions).  

Cole arrived and quickly took to Stevie and Charlie.  They had a great time together.

The process of preparing the crawfish was more involved than I knew.  First the little buggers were put in the baby pool and covered with salt and water.  I learned this process was the "purge" - - cleans 'em out.

 Can you tell?  Dirty water!

 The kids were spectators and terrified watching the mudbugs jump and pinch.  The big boys did the work...

...and played...

Cole was NOT interested....

..until he was.  You know.

The view was amazing.  Just outside of Waterloo, although it reminds me of somewhere dreamy.

Back to the boil...

 Crawfish in!

 Spicy goodness

 Dinner is ON!

Did I mention that I was a bit taken by the view?!?

It was a great afternoon and evening.  We enjoyed the adult company and Cole had a blast with the girls.

Our hosts were so gracious - we hope we earned an invite again next year!  ;-)

Sushi Sister Visit

Jayjay made a quick visit home for Mardi Gras. Since D and I feel we've outgrown Mardi Gras (for this year anyway!) we all met for family sushi night to get some Jayjay time in.

Service was 'leisurely' at the little restaurant.  This gave us plenty of time to visit.

Have Saki.

Play "light sabers" with chop sticks.

And practice our stick skills.

Can't forget the sushi!  It was worth the wait for the sushi fans in the house!  Here's a little guy that WAS a caterpillar before we attacked him! 

Broadway Oyster Bar

Saturday the fam decided to cash in a groupon for the BOB for an early family friendly dinner.
Yummy oyster grinder for D and fish for Cole & I. Then we all split bread pudding for dessert!
Fun atmosphere.
Lots of memories of different fun times at the BOB - not of the "family friendly" variety!
A few attempts at a good photo.

He loves his Daddy!

Rarely do I have a photo taken with this boy.  I swear I am present in his life and I do hug on him and love him and kiss him on a daily basis.  Here's our attempt for a photo....

Stinker!

(Why do I not realize how pregnant & puffy I look until I see a photo!?  

Maybe the negative talk is why I am never in photos!  ;))

Superbowl Sunday

Colin, Milinn, and Meredith invited us over for the Superbowl. Wishing the game was shown on a Saturday, wishing Edwardsville was a little closer, and wishing we had Monday off, we headed over.

We were graciously hosted by all three. Meredith was wonderful with Cole and provided Derek and I a very relaxing evening!

Colin created a Superbowl Squares game, knowing that Derek loves it.  It made the game a little more interesting, seeing as how none of us really cared about the competing teams.

Each of us ended up winning one quarter, meaning there was no money exchanged in the end.  

My kind of gamblin'!

The boys warmed up with some foosball.

Meredith and Milinn provided Cole with a super fun, (nice) smelly, messy good time with shaving cream in the water table.

Does it get better than this for a SB party?  Cozy, comfy couch with a table full of food!  

Funny note about the food - Colin & Milinn made meatballs and queso.  Derek and I brought meatballs and queso.  There were a LOT of meatballs and gallons of queso for consumption! 
Yum.
Fun. 

Tampa Night

For dinner, Jayjay suggested Acropolis.

Greek food - yum.

Entertainment - wonderful.

Company - excellent!

Cole was thrilled when the wait staff danced through the restaurant and threw napkins into the air!

He clapped along and kept his eyes peeled for the rounds!

He got an up close view of the wandering guitar.

And he fell in love...with the belly dancer.
His eyes followed her round and round.

He and I shared some yummy dessert and left stuffed and exhausted.

We headed back to Jayjay's apartment for continued good company, Wii Mario, and...swelling.

Missed Moments: Cole's THIRD birthday

 Cole's third birthday also marked his last day at Miss Dawn's house.

As a big-boy, potty-trained, three-year-old, he was ready to begin KinderHaus daycare & preschool.

Miss Dawn celebrated Cole with a birthday cake and balloons and some cool gifts from the Busch Stadium gift shop where she took the boys on a field trip earlier in the week!

What a fun last-day, birthday, celebration day!

PARTY TIME

 As mentioned, we celebrated Cole's day on Friday after work in Yo-Gabba-Gabba style!

Cole was so lucky that his family loves him so much and traveled that afternoon/evening to celebrate with him.

 We kept it simple with salad, Pizza Hut pizzas, wings, and cake & ice cream!

Gigi & Alberta; Grandma, Grandpa, Adam & Rachel, & Aaron; Na & G all made the evening so much fun!

 Homeboy is spoiled.

Homeboy is lucky to have such an amazing family.  

We all are.

 Saturday morning we headed to Carlinville to spend time with Oma & Opa...and of course, celebrate Cole some more!

Of course, the material things and party are insignificant in the grand scheme.

(They sure make the celebrating fun though!)

I hope Cole always knows how much he is loved.

He has lots of family and they all think the world of him.

Not such a bad way to be spoiled....

Happy Birthday, Cole.

It's been amazing to watch you grow and become yourself.

You are spunky and loving.

I am so proud of you and so proud to be your mom.

I can't wait to celebrate you year after year.

Missed Moments: Birthday Preparations - Yo Gabba Gabba style!

Cole's birthday fell on a Friday this year. I thought this would be the perfect time to have a small birthday party for him with the family....not thinking about preparations for a party!
With the help of my buddy (and ordered pizzas and a low key family) we pulled it off.
Cole and I made his Yo Gabba Gabba cake for his party and cupcakes to take to his last day at Miss Dawn's the following day. It was a colorful and sugar-full evening!

Merriest Christmas *2010*

We woke on Christmas morning to find that he really had come...Santa brought the two things that Cole had been asking for on repeat; "Stinky, the Garbage Truck" and a "race track" (a present that Derek had been waiting years to share with Cole, a slot-car track).

There truly is nothing better than Christmas with a child. 
Completely magical.

After we opened gifts, Na & G, Jayjay, and Gigi joined us for brunch.  This is a tradition that I stole from Sheryl because I love it so. 

I cooked my heart out the day before to fill everyone's bellies.   

Cole loved having company to help him break in all of our new toys.  He got a little emotional when everyone left.  I am sure this had nothing to do with the massive amounts of sugar he had consumed within the past 48 hours.

I think Derek said it best when he said that this was the best and saddest Christmas he's had. 
We missed Oma and thought about her so much. Opa kindly gave me a beautiful necklace and favorite ring of Oma's.  We all shed some tears when he gave this to me but then quickly returned to joy watching Cole enjoy the magic of Christmas.  We feel like Oma was with us and enjoyed every second of watching Cole with all of his goodies.
On the other hand, we have always wanted a relaxing Christmas at home.  The joy of being at home and watching Cole enjoy Christmas to the fullest made this the best Christmas of my life.  We are so happy that Opa got to spend a few days here.  It made it even better to have him here. 
I am recovering from the holiday, feeling so happy and full of love.  I can't wait to do it again next year....with a new addition to the Crew!