Let's dig in!
We celebrated Sam turning one at home this year and somehow I managed to get the invite list down to less than 50, which, if you know anything about me, you know is a miraculous feat! The party, in my humble opinion, was a huge success. And it turns out that if you feed Sam cake, no matter what mood he was previously in, he becomes one happy baby! I think that even Uncle Rudy had a good time. Thanks to those who came, especially our out-of-town friends. We loved having you here with us to celebrate Sam. And thank you Aunt Jessica, for the beautiful and delicious dinosaur cake!
I took the opportunity to visit Jasper's school and help his class with their Thanksgiving feast (11/21/14). They wore Indian feathers and necklaces made out of noodles as they watched Pocahontas and ate turkey. Each child had his/her own Indian name, Jasper's being "Shooting Starr." My heart goes out to his two PreK3 teachers, Mrs. Denise and Mrs. Penny. They are positively incredible. I don't know how they have the energy to keep up with 24 three-year-olds. I was so impressed just watching them go. Each day, I'm happier and happier we picked St. Francis. It's a good school for us.
Aside from a few "not-sharing" complaints from Jasper, the boys are still getting along very well. Sam is perfectly content sitting in his chair or on our laps while Jasper plays with all of his (and Sam's) toys. They're good boys and they already make us super proud. Jasper is doing very well at school, receiving "green checks" for the most part. His manners are improving and he is (usually) a good listener. Then again, there was a day in December that he did receive the infamous "red check." Upon picking Jasper up from daycare, Mrs. Denise, while managing to keep a straight face, informed us that after Jasper went to the potty, instead of washing his hands like he was told, thought it was a better idea to pull down his pants and undies and run around the classroom. Like I said, we're super proud.
Sammy was having some trouble with ear infections so he had tubes put in his ears some time in November. Now, all is well and he's happy as ever. Sammy moved to the one-year-old classroom on December 1st and almost every evening when we pick him up, his teacher says, "He's such a good baby!" Funny. I remember when Jasper was in that class. We'd pick him up and the teacher would say, "You'll never guess what he got into today!" I still can't believe how different they are. Even the toys they play with... they both like ALL toys, but we can't help but notice how Jasper is still fascinated with trains, cars, airplanes and helicopters. Meanwhile Sam loves playing with all sports balls. He likes Daddy's adult-size football best. In fact, he is already playing (the baby version of) pitch and catch with Daddy. And don't get me started on their eating habits. It takes almost an hour to feed Jasper ten bites while Sam eats almost anything we put in front of him. As different as they are, however, both of them still managed to get stuck behind the couch at around the same age. And both of them love playing tackle with Daddy and each other.
Yup, I have almost the same picture of Jasper at Sam's age, stuck behind the couch...
Thanksgiving Day was also Sam's birthday this year. Happy birthday my little turkey! Your laid-back disposition, big hugs and happy smiles fit perfectly into this family. I love watching you watch the people and things happening around you. I just know you're going to be a smart kid. I'm OK with you not walking yet too. It just means I get to hold you longer and more often, even if you do weigh 24 lbs.
What a day. We stopped off at Grandpa and CiCi's for Thanksgiving Day hugs and kisses and a quick picture, then drove to Mandeville to be with the Giarrusso's, and finally ended up at Grammie and PawPaw's for dinner. It was a busy day and there was a lot of food involved. Dieting is virtually impossible in New Orleans. And we haven't even gotten to all of the Mardi Gras festivities and crawfish season!
St. Francis' PreK3 class is the only class in the entire school that gets to host a special Christmas Teddy Bear Tea each year. Jasper was allowed to pick two special guests to join him for breakfast. And can you believe, he picked us! Y'all, it was so fun. We just loved seeing him walk down the hallway to greet us. He hugged his daddy like he hadn't seen him in a month! (And we had literally dropped him off at 8 a.m. and waited in the gym for 30 minutes.) We sat with his buddy Aiden, and his mom and grandma. We had a nice breakfast together and got to visit with some of the other parents while the kids all played. It was a really nice morning.
During Jasper's Teddy Bear Tea, Baby Aiden was born! Aiden Douglas Starr was born on Friday, December 5th, 2014, weighing 7 lbs., 7 oz. and 19 inches long at Ochsner Baptist. And how convenient, Jeremy and I had already both taken off from work that day, so we were some of his very first visitors. We stole him from Tia and Neil right away and held him (hostage) the entire visit. Tia was such a great sport about letting us hold him and take pictures. It was a really great day. And Sam is very excited about his new, future best friend.
Daddy and I decided to take Jasper to see the Roosevelt Hotel for Christmas. We had it all planned out--Grandpa and CiCi would babysit Sam, and we'd go, just the three of us to a nice dinner and enjoy the lights. But of all days, he got a red check! You just don't know how much it killed me to not keep him home and send him straight to bed. That's the rule. You get a red check, you go to bed early. What do we do? We take him out for pizza and to see Christmas lights. Then cookies and ice cream for dessert. Well I guess I'll just have to get over it. He apologized to us for misbehaving, and to his teachers. And actually, his behavior at school has been really good since. So I think it's safe to say that our night without discipline didn't do any long term damage. Then again, it may be too soon to tell...
We had our annual Christmas Eve lunch with Granny, Aunt Carol and Aunt Debbie. Jasper and Sam loved their gifts, and we all enjoyed watching Carol and Debbie try to open boxes and get toys to work without batteries. That night, we went to Copeland's with Grandpa, CiCi and Uncle Rudy. Thankfully, the boys were pretty well behaved. And of course, we kept Jasper distracted with more toys and presents to open. After dinner, we went home and the boys played tackle. Sam practiced standing up in his adorable Santa PJs and Jasper ran around the house like a crazy man. When both kids were finally worn out, we put them to bed and Santa and Mrs. Claus got to work. Unlike last year, we kept things pretty easy. (Last year, "Santa and Mrs. Claus" got Jasper a small trampoline and "Santa and Mrs. Claus" were up til 2 a.m. putting it together.)
So we had quite a few stops to make Christmas Day. First off was Grandpa and CiCi, then over to Granny's. I suppose I should mention Jasper's black eye. Somehow, Granny thought it was a good idea to let Chad watch Jasper while playing on the swing outside. While she left them for only a few minutes, it didn't take long for Jasper to fall off the swing, and have it fly back at his face, hitting him in the eye. At least we took pictures with Santa the day before. Back to the day itself, Christmas was full with family and food as usual. Jasper especially loves time with Chad and Uncle Tony. Once we left Granny's we drove over to Grammie and PawPaw's to eat some more and visit with the Starrs and Swingens. Jasper and Nova got some especially big presents from Grammie and PawPaw this year, which they loved. Overall, it was a great day, to say the least.
The weekend after Christmas, we visited the Munstereifels. Eric loves Sammy, and basically held him and played with him the entire visit. He's such a good cousin. Wish we saw them more! I definitely see a Houston trip in our near future.
We bought a new kitchen table and I had to share a few pictures of Jasper helping Grandpa put the table together, with his plastic tools and all. Hopefully, he'll take after Grandpa when it comes to projects and fixing things around the house. No offense Daddy...
We couldn't wait to celebrate New Year's Eve with the Martinos again! They got a party bus, and it was definitely a party (on the bus). We stopped at a few bars, caught the fireworks along the river, and even ran into Sean Payton and T-Bob at the Gold Mine. What a night. Even Jeremy couldn't stop dancing on the party bus! Thanks to Grammie and PawPaw for keeping the boys for us all night. We're so lucky that we get to drop them off with grandparents and act like kids ourselves every so often. It feels good to let loose and just be together with our friends. And alcohol. And in case you're wondering, yes, that is a deer in Jessica's wig.
Like I said, the celebrations keep coming. On January 3rd, we surprised Grandpa with a party, inviting family and some of his closest friends to celebrate the big 7-0. And I must say, the "Silver Fox" looks good for 70! Thanks to those that attended--it was a great night and Dad was totally surprised. Happy Birthday Dad, and here's to many, many more!
We got last minute tickets to Endymion's Coronation, and it was so much fun. From sorority sisters, to cousins, to high school friends, college friends and work friends, I felt like we knew half the room! Especially glad we got to see Margot and Bryan--Y'all better not have too much fun this year at the Extravaganza without us. I'm already anticipating my jealousy that I'll have Sunday morning, looking at all of the pictures!!
Happy 60th Birthday to PawPaw! As you can see, Aiden already has a fabulous fashion sense. We had a nice night celebrating PawPaw and Jasper did a great job helping PawPaw blow out the candles, even if he did get a little spit on the cake.
We finally had our Christmas visit with the Anzalone family. And between Timmy and Mike's birthdays and the purchases of two new houses by Timmy & Eileen and Brittany, again, there was much to celebrate and talk about. I have to admit though, the kids stole the show. Nanny-Cristi Jo's attention was all on Sammy while Aunt Brittany held Baby Aiden throughout much of the dinner. The boys behaved and so did the adults. And we all went back to Nannan and Timmy's new house for cake.
If you've read this far, you must be family. If not, you've been a very good sport. Either way, thanks for reading. Mardi Gras is just around the corner, and I promise to have plenty of colorful pictures posted soon. In the meantime, we'll get back to making plenty of memories for our boys. Have a happy and safe carnival! We love you.
