Finnie

I mean have you seen a cuter Valentine?

A few quick updated pics of my favorite baby niece!

Mystic Maids Ball

Its Mardi Gras season around here and that means balls and parades.  Last weekend Albi and I got dressed up and headed to the Mystic Maids balls.  Our evening started a little rough since Mac was under the weather, so we stayed home later than planned and got him to sleep, skipped our pre-party and went straight to the ball.  The ball was a lot of fun even though the music was so loud that we spent the majority of the night outside – are we really getting that old?!?!

Forrest and I both rented dresses from Rent the Runway, and it was a great experience that I highly recommend.  I will definitely do it again.  Forrest didn’t like her dress, but since I rented one and liked it, she wore my back up dress.  Mom had bought us masks in New Orleans months ago, but Forrest forgot to bring hers so it was just me in the other the top mask!  There is something about a mask/costume that always makes things more fun! 

These pictures were all taken with iPhones so the quality is well…phone quality.  Oh well, at least we got a few pictures!    

Dr. Mac

My children rarely get sick, but I swear the last two months I feel like someone in our family is always sick.  This time it was Mac :(  It started with a cough that he had for over a week, but in all honesty it never slowed him down.  Then I get a call from school that he isn’t acting like himself and has a very low grade fever.  Miss Katie picked him up  from school, but after a dose of Motrin he was bouncing all over the house.  I thought we had dodged a bullet, but that night the fever came back, so I figured I better at least take him to the doctor the next morning (a Friday) before we had to go all weekend with the office closed. 

That night Mac came in our room to sleep because he said his head hurt, and he couldn't get comfortable.  At one point he looked at me and said, “my left ear hurts and I know I have an ear infection.”  This was the first time he mentioned his ear, but after that he consistently told me for the rest of the night and the next morning that his left ear was hurting. 

The next morning we got to the doctor’s office, she asked Mac how he was feeling.  Very matter of factly he replied, “I’m feeling pretty good, but I have a bad cough and I have an ear infection in the left ear.”  She chuckled at his self diagnosis and then looked in his ears.  She wiggled the right ear and asked if it hurt.  He said no.  She then did the same on the left, and he promptly told her, “the infection is not on the outside of my ear.  It is way down on the inside where you can’t see it!”  Wouldn’t you know, Dr. Mac was right.  The left ear was infected.    

Waiting on the Dr   

Checking his BP while we waited on his Rx

Getting to rest in mommy’s chair

Best part of your day

Every Most nights at dinner we go around the table and everyone has to say the best part of their day.  We started this about a year and a half ago, and Mac would insist on not only going first but dictating the order that the rest of us went in.  I was generally last and often forgotten completely, but the point of the question was to encourage family discussion and to hear what he did during the day, so I didn’t mind. 

A year later, Mac still dictates the order we go in, but now I’m almost always first.  I usually ask him the best part of his day, and he will stop me and say “mom, remember how you taught me that its nice to let mams (or ladies) go first?  so what is the best part of your day?”  It brings a smile to my face every time he says this (especially when he calls ladies “mams!”).  It shows me he is growing up, his sole focus isn’t on himself and he is learning to be a gentleman.  Yay, some of my mom skills are working!

We have had some funny “best part of the day”  stories over the past 18 months.  I wish I had recorded them all.  Lately Copeland has also been able to chime in with a few words about his day - play KK, play Mackey, play outside, eat nack (aka snack).  Last week though he kept saying “see George” when asked about his favorite part of the day.  Mac finally explained that Miss Katie was dog sitting, and they were going with her some afternoons to feed the dogs.  Copeland apparently took a strong liking to George!  Katie confirmed that Coe followed George all over the house and was constantly trying to kiss him.  Wonder how much longer Albi and I are going to be able to avoid buying the boys a pet?  I’m hoping we can start with something like a fish!   

Beach House Family

We have a group of wonderful friends that we started going on an annual beach trip with about 4 years ago. There are 4 families and between us we now have 9 children. Not everyone can go on the beach trip every year, but the group as a whole makes up the “beach house family.”

We try to get together for dinner on a somewhat regular basis but coordinating schedules with 8 adults and 9 children is not always easy. For our last dinner, we were missing one mom and one child, but everyone else showed up for dinner and margaritas - our signature BHF drink!

This was the first BHF get together where all the kids were really able to take care of themselves.  Don’t get me wrong Copeland, Frances and Thaxton still need a lot of help, but that is where Ansley and Eliza come in!  They sure are great mini mommies.

It was Mrs. Stephanie’s birthday and she promised that whoever ate all their dinner could help blow out her candles.  Mac was quick to report back to Mrs. Stephanie as to who was eating and who should not be helping with the candles. 

Painting with a Twist

For as much bad weather as we had in January, we had an equal amount of beautiful spring like days.  We took full advantage of it by spending as much time as possible outside.  Painting is one of the boys favorite outside activities! 

Coe had paint all over his hands.  He rubbed his eye and got paint on his face.  He kept trying to rub it off and the end result was this!

Mommy’s Coe

Coe is so wild in the bathtub that we generally bathe he and Mac separately. One night I tried to capture Coe’s long eyelashes with water droplets on them like I see every night, but taking pictures with my good camera while water was flying everywhere didn’t last long. I got a few shots that didn’t quite turn out the way I wanted, but they were better than nothing at all.

Almost every night after I get Coe out of the bath and wrap him in a towel we both look in the mirror and say hi to our reflections before we walk into his bedroom. We have done this for as long as I can remember, and if I forget Copeland quickly reminds me that he wants to see, “Mommy-Coe”. I love this picture of Mommy-Coe!

How can you not smile while playing peek-a-boo with this little guy? I feel like I say this all the time now, but I really wish I could freeze time. I love watching my boys grow up but at the same time I don’t want to loose the innocence, the joy, the sweetness and the attachment Copeland has for me. I may sometimes complain that he won’t let me out of his sight or that he hangs on to me like a baby koala, but secretly I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love being a part of Mommy-Coe!