Lots to catch up on!

Have a seat. This may take a while...

It's already May! This whole two-kids-thing has really put a damper on my blogging! Sam, a.k.a. "Porkchop" is already five months old! He started daycare back in late January and he's been doing very well. Jeremy weighed him some time last week and he's already 18 lbs! He's pretty much outgrowing his 3-6 month clothes, and I can barely carry him in his car seat! He's an awesome baby, just like his brother was--smiling often and sleeping thru the night. He can sometimes be a bit high maintenance during the day, but that's when I get my cuddling in. He was totally over his vibrating seat after only a few short months, probably because it leans him too far back. He loves sitting straight up and watching everything around him, especially Jasper. Thank God for the Bumbo, or as Jeremy likes to call it, the "Bimbo." Either way, that thing is a godsend for us. We "gently squeeze" his chunky little legs into it and he can sit for up to a half hour at a time, even longer if Jasper is entertaining him! We dusted off the bouncer too, and his feet already touch the ground! He's bouncing like crazy in that thing. He rolled over for the first time on the morning of February 24th. We started him on baby food just last week. Time is flying. I feel like I just don't have enough time to spend with him to make him laugh and take pictures. But I try. I play "photographer" as often as possible, trying to capture every expression, every change. I noticed his first mole just a few weeks ago. It's on his belly. (I thought it was dirt the first couple of days, but it wouldn't rub off, haha!) Hopefully he's not quite as "moley" as his mama.

As for Jasper, we have some special news! Jasper was accepted into St. Francis Xavier School on Metairie Road. Our current daycare, Metairie Ridge only takes toddlers up to 3 years old. So we'll be moving Jasper in September. The day we brought him for his screening, we took him out of daycare, leaving Sammy. On our way in to the new school, he asked, "Where's Sammy?" Made my heart melt... It's not easy explaining to a two-year-old that he's going to a new school and his baby brother isn't. But St. Francis has a 2 year old program, so we may very well bring Sam over a little early. We'll see...

I guess I should also mention Jasper's potty training endeavors. We're still not quite there yet, but he makes the effort. In fact, Jasper gave Granny a "very special birthday present" this year that involved the toilet and Facetime. He saved his first official #2 just for Granny! Happy Birthday Granny! 

Mardi Gras came and went. We did the usual coming and going from the Iris Ball to Endymion's Coronation Ball to parade watching, parade riding, parade dancing, and another Extravaganza. We did it all in a very short amount of time! Sam's first parade was the Little Rascals in Metairie. He wasn't impressed. Unlike Jasper, we've noticed that the noise bothers him somewhat. Hopefully, he'll grow out of it by next year--not like he has a choice. We partied it up with our favorite Mardi Gras going couple, Jessica and Trey. They're always so much fun! We sat through the Iris Ball without falling asleep, and enjoyed time with Joy Mike, Neil and Tia, and of course the infamous Gegenheimer's at the Supper Dance. Granny watched Sam for all the parades, and I didn't even have to ask! I think after all the running from parade to parade for 50+ years has finally set in and she's over it. The aunts on the other hand, yup, they're still going strong! We took Jasper with us when we could and he was a good sport. We're teaching him all sorts of life lessons after all... to respect good music, to share beads, how to catch, have patience, how to eat a moon pie and still wave as the float passes by--otherwise known as multitasking, giving to others, social interaction, and to dance like no one is watching. In fact, on the Saturday after Mardi Gras, I asked him, what do you want to do today. He replied, "I wanna go to the parades!" It's a good thing St. Patrick's Day parades were only a week away! Speaking of St. Patrick's Day, moving right along... 

The weather held up just enough for us to enjoy two full days of St. Patty's Day parades. Jasper and Sam had a blast! So glad Amanda, Matt and Alex joined us Sunday. Here are some pics from that weekend.

With parade season over, we thought it would be fun to enroll Jasper into sports. He's playing "soccer"on Monday nights out in Elmwood. Well, he's not actually playing soccer. It's more like learning how to follow instructions. I'm sad to say, it's not going so well. The coach says, "Run to the white line when I say GO." What does Jasper do? He takes off running before the coach tells him to, and when he gets to the white line... Well, have you seen Forrest Gump--the part where he keeps on running past the goal and through the stadium? Yes, that's our son. He runs and runs and doesn't listen to the coach at all. I just want to yell, "RUN JASPER RUN" in my best Alabama accent. He's adorable but I have to admit, he does not listen. So Jeremy and I have to be pretty hands on, more-so Jeremy, doing our best to keep him in line with the other kids, etc. But it's something fun to do that wears him out. In fact, his sleeping habits have improved. He's actually going to bed BEFORE 10 p.m., AND without us having to lay with him til he falls asleep. Don't judge--Jasper is a night owl and it's a very big deal that we've actually been getting both boys to bed by around 9:15 p.m.! With swimming lessons starting in June, I think it's only going to get better. At least, we hope so! 

I also need to mention that Grammie and PawPaw moved out just before Mardi Gras into an apartment on Jefferson Hwy. Good news--they found a house in Metairie, and the sale was finalized about a week ago! They're still dealing with the old house, but they're hoping to sell it soon so that they can move on. 

The months are going by so fast. Jeremy and I celebrated our four year anniversary and birthdays with a trip to New York City. The weather was great and it was nice to spend some quality time together, holding hands with each other instead of running after Jasper or feeding Sam, etc. We had everyone to our house for both Easter and Mother's Day, and we're looking forward to Aimee & John's wedding at the end of this month. So much going on I can barely keep things straight. Here are some more of my favorite pictures from the last few months. Thanks for reading!

Granny with her boys

Birthday Brunch at Muriel's

PawPaw and Sammy 

Me and the boys at Jasper's first Easter Egg Hunt

My birthday dinner at Porter & Luke

Me pretending I'm a professional photographer... yeah, not so much.

Grandpa and Sammy on Easter Sunday

Audrey and I on Easter Sunday

Jasper checking out his loot after another Easter Egg Hunt

 Granny and Sammy

And as if we hadn't already eaten enough, we had to go to Morning Call too!

So glad Nannan and Uncle Timmy joined us for Easter... and beignets!

Jeremy and I at Rockefeller Center in New York

P.S. We took some family photos in late April. Here are our favorites...

Moving right along!

Sam was baptized yesterday at St. Dominic Church by Deacon Capaci. Despite Jasper's snoring throughout the entire ceremony, and Cristi Jo and Nannan being stuck in traffic, it was a perfectly happy and intimate service. Big thanks to Aimee for filling in since Cristi couldn't be there. Deacon "Boo" baptized Jasper a few years ago too. He does such a great job at making everyone feel comfortable. He lets the kids walk and talk during the service. He didn't even seem too bothered when Nanny's phone rang... and she answered it. LOL. He asks the right questions, like, "Jonathan, what do you want for your godchild?" and, "Grandparents, what advice do you have for Jeremy and Brigette?" He just made it so meaningful and special for us. He was also so kind as to give a special blessing for Mike and Joy, which had us all in tears. Afterward, we celebrated Sam's first sacrament at our house with plenty of food and Mrs. Cindy's SoCo punch. It was a great day. Just another reminder how lucky we are to be surrounded by such wonderful family and friends. I used to constantly worry about how we we were going to raise our kids in today's society. And don't get me wrong; I know that between the internet and TV alone, it won't be easy. But as long as we continue to surround them with the good people in our lives, like our parents, our extended family, their godparents that we so carefully selected, and the friends we've made and kept, they'll at least have the guidance to make better choices along the way. And when they don't, they'll know who to go to when they don't feel like they can come to us. We're both happy and blessed to have the help.

  Aside from the christening, there is still plenty going on. Joy and Mike will be staying with us a little longer, and we're happy to have them here, especially Jasper! He basically looks at PawPaw as a gigantic toy he gets to climb on and play with. Grammie has been extra helpful with Sam too. They're in the process of trying to sort through what can be salvaged and figuring out how much was lost in the fire. But as I've mentioned to a lot of people, they are in pretty good spirits. I think that grandchildren are the sole reason for that. And believe it or not, so far, we aren't driving each other crazy!

Jasper will be two and a half in February. He's still an amazing big brother. I'm pleasantly surprised at how much he likes Sam and how nice he is toward him. When Sammy starts to cry, Jasper will say, "Don't cry. It's OK Sammy." Melts my heart. In fact, he has been saying some really sweet things on his own that make us so proud. The other day, as we dropped him off at daycare, I had to call Mom because I was in tears. I told him, "Have a good day Pumpkin! He happily responded, "Have a good day Mommy!" And when he wants to sit on my lap at the kitchen table, he says, "I wanna hold you." At night, as we're tucking him in, he has told both of us, "I wanna lay by you." Now, he's no angel. We still use time out a lot, and count to "3" more often than we should, but he really knows how to turn on the charm and make us smile. 

Speaking of smiling, Sammy has perfected the art of smiling. At about six weeks old, he was able to interact with us more, bringing on plenty of smiles, especially at a time we all needed them most. And he hasn't stopped. He'll be two months old tomorrow, and I'm happy to report that he's sleeping really well (thanks to the miracle known as "rice cereal"). He starts daycare at Metairie Ridge (with Jasper) tomorrow. I know Granny will be a little sad not getting to see him every day. I'll miss the smiley Sam pictures she sends.

In just a few weeks he'll be going to his first Mardi Gras parade. Having Jasper with us made it easy to catch plenty. I mean, the kid is freaking adorable. But now that we have both Jasper AND Sam, we'll be unstoppable! I anticipate stuffed animals flying in from every direction. Not to mention several crawfish bags full of toys and trinkets from Grammie in Iris, and PawPaw, Uncle Neil and Daddy all in Druids. Looking forward to some fun parades and warmer weather. Thanks, as always for catching up with us!

Birthday Celebrating

Tonight was a good night. We celebrated Mike's birthday and I suppose you could call it a milestone. It's been three days since a fire destroyed Mike and Joy's home. Most of their belongings are gone. The bathroom floor is covered in ashes and the ceiling to most of upstairs is gone. Jewelry is literally melted silver and gold. Pictures were lost and their new AND antique furniture is ruined. All of the things we take for granted--theirs are gone.

But they're alive.

And tonight, we celebrated with one another. We sat around the table like any other birthday with the Starr's except for a few exceptions... Carol and Melissa held Sam for the first time. Jasper had French fries and cake for dinner. Joy and Mike kissed each other more often than usual. Jeremy and I joked about taking the leftover cake home because they had no fridge. We took post-fire pictures of one another--all smiles (except for Jere). Neil gave his dad a birthday card from the dogs and it was actually signed by them--in mud no less! I bragged about Sam smiling for the first time. We laughed about how easy it would finally be to buy their Christmas presents--they used to have everything they needed. We fought over the bill and joked that Red Cross should pay it. I laughed more and enjoyed them more.

Sitting across from them, I was especially grateful tonight that that they'd be here to love on Jasper and Sam a little longer. If we learned anything from Katrina, we know that the contents of a house isn't what makes a home. It's just stuff and it can be replaced. Even pictures can be reprinted. It wasn't just another birthday, but an opportunity to appreciate each other more. They'll eventually rebuild and no doubt, Joy will buy new things! We'll probably get a little tired of each other after being all under one roof, but I'm glad we have a place for them to stay. Jeremy and I certainly appreciate the extra help with the boys.

Happy Birthday Mr. Mike. This year can only get better!