Stupendous September

I have only worked two full weeks out of the past six. Both of these Turkeys keep getting sick!
The day after Drew got tubes, Anna got strep throat (again), which morphed into scarlet fever. She refused to take her medicine, so the next day we had to go back to the doctor and get a shot. Take a look at her tongue- it's called "strawberry tongue" and it's a side effect of strep/scarlet fever. I was a little too excited by it.



Drew now says, "uh oh!" and drops everything.



So the kids missed picture day at school. I took some pics of Drew by himself.



Over Labor Day weekend, we were hit by Tropical Storm Lee. We got a lot of rain, and the kids got a little stir crazy. This is what happened when it rained Trix cereal.



Clean up, clean up...



He thought it would be fun to walk on the cereal. Not so much after a while.



All of my laundry baskets disappear for rides.



My entire family came into New Orleans for the weekend to celebrate my dad's birthday. We made him a cake. Anna and Drew did the quality control.



The house is just about finished!! It's been a long six years since Katrina, but it will be worth it! Stephen has moved in and is in the process of furnishing it. Mike and Amy even installed closet organizers while they were in town.



You lookin' at me?



The birthday boy- 66 years young!



His trophy wife:



Anna was taking pictures (if you couldn't tell).



Stephen and his new honey, Melanie. She bravely survived dinner with ALL of us!


It was a fun weekend. Yay for family!

The Busiest Month of the Year

The end of July and beginning of August are always interesting at our house with the school year getting started. Drew is eating all table food (and has been for quite some time), and he loves to get his hands dirty and run them through his hair. Cheetos are particularly exciting.



During the last week of July, Anna went to Gymnastics Camp at LSU.






The restaurant around the corner from our house, George's, added a playground to one of their outdoor dining areas. We are thrilled because we can eat a good meal with friends and the kids are entertained!!




This was in response to being reprimanded for throwing herself down the slide and colliding with Drew.



This was Drew's response to Anna being in time out.




Richard and Lindsey, the newlyweds, joined us for dinner. We are glad that they like our kids!




Anna went to her friend's birthday party at the bounce place and had a smashing time.




Drew enjoyed dismantling my sunglasses and putting some fantastic tooth marks in the frames.




Daddy found a HUGE caterpillar in the back yard!



When I asked Anna to clean up her room, she responded, "Why?"



Anna has been practicing her headstands using the couch for support. She is improving.




Daddy gets triple-teamed:




Drew has FINALLY let go! He cruised for about 4 months, but once he saw Peter walking (at a mere 11 months), Drew realized that he could do it too! Thanks Peter!






They were being silly!



"Anna, do something to make Drew smile!"




Midevening cat torture:





After months and months of resistant ear infections, delayed babbling, and very little talking, it became obvious that Drew needed tubes in his ears. We did the surgery at Woman's Hospital (apparently NOT just for births and hysterectomies), and reported early Thursday morning. Drew waved to all of the big trucks on the way.



The hospital was slammed. Apparently, Christmas was really good last year.



Drew charmed all of the nurses and was impressed by his very own volume control.



In the gown, ready to go.




When he started to realize that something was amiss:




The surgery went well and Drew came out of anesthesia fighting mad! The nurses asked me to come back to the recovery room to help calm him down, but apparently, the only person he wanted was his daddy. This is what happened after Drew got his wish:



What a little stinker!
By the end of the day, he was making new noises and was back to his cheerful, active self.

Taste of Tap

Last week, Anna attended a "Tap and Tumble" camp at the local dance school. On the last day, they had a little performance for us to watch!




This is a video of the basics they practiced.






And this is their routine. Anna had so much fun!

Sorry about the unsteady camerawork. I was holding Andrew and he kept getting really excited and jumping all over whenever Anna would dance.

The Show-Me State

We left BR on the night of July 5 and arrived in St. Louis the next morning, driving overnight. While this mode of travel worked great for Anna and Drew, it was really tough for us. Shaun did most of the driving, so when we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house, he slept and we went to the park and went swimming. On Thursday, and each successive day, Daddy biked on different parts of the Katy Trail. In total, he rode about 200 miles (I think). Here is the only picture he took on the trail.



One of the parks down the road from my parents' house has a carousel. This was Anna's favorite thing to do! She was especially excited that she was old enough to go on it by herself. I was too, since it made me incredibly dizzy!



This is a video that Shaun took with his iPhone.





The park also had a playground that the kids enjoyed.



On Thursday evening, Mike and Amy came over for dinner. Anna LOVES her aunt and uncle! Drew just kind of looked at them and poked out his bottom lip. They were going to babysit for us on Saturday night, so we were glad that the kids were able to spend some time getting accustomed to them before then.



Drew LOVES music! He had a wonderful time at my parents' house because there are so many instruments to play. It seems as if music is always blasting on the stereo and it's a lot of fun!






On Friday, my mom and I hosted a bridal luncheon for my friend, Julie. I was a bridesmaid in her wedding over the weekend. We have been friends since we were 12 and she was also one of my bridesmaids. As everyone arrived at noon, Anna and Drew showed off their (ahem) talents.



Shaun took Anna to the Gateway Arch while we ladies were having lunch. You'll just have to take my word for it that this is a picture of her standing in front of it.



The rehearsal dinner was on Friday evening, so Grandma and Grandpa babysat for us.
On Saturday morning, we had our hair done at a salon. Julie was so excited!




Briana brought St. Louis Bread Company (Panera) and coffee to the salon for everyone to enjoy. She is moving to New Orleans next week!!



Julie, with her hair done and hairpiece perfect!



We rode in a stretch hummer to the church to get dressed.



We had a good time on the ride over.



Getting organized at the church.



Getting Julie dressed.



Dressed and ready to go!



On the way to the park to take pictures after the ceremony. Congratulations, Julie and Robi! Unfortunately, I didn't take any more pictures. I was having too much fun! The reception was one of the most enjoyable that we've ever been to!




On Sunday, Margaret came over with her 6 month old daughter, Makenzie. Margaret and I have been friends since we were in 8th grade. She is one of the few people who read this blog regularly (thanks!), and is a hysterically funny person. She makes me laugh constantly. We went to a nearby water park with the kids and they had a great time! So did we!!



We took Anna to the St. Louis Science Center, one of my absolute favorite places to go. I never get tired of being there. I think I had more fun than Anna. Probably doesn't have anything to do with the fact that I'm a science teacher geek...




These pictures are from the Discovery Room, especially for 3-7 year olds.




Anna had fun playing with the dinosaurs. And talking smack to the unassuming teen volunteers.



Drew was sick for second half of our trip with high fever and diarrhea, so that's why there aren't many pictures of him. I took him to the doctor when we got home and found out he also had a double ear infection! Poor little guy!

On our last day, Margaret and I went out to lunch, then took this picture at her work. Her boss tried to convince us to take the picture in front of the business sign to advertise, but offered no quid pro quo. He also didn't seem to understand that a grand total of 5 people actually read this blog. Cause I'm popular like that.



In a last ditch attempt to tire the kids out, we went swimming before starting our journey back home. It worked- don't they look excited!?



Our drive home was easy and the kids slept right through it. We have finally all recovered, and hopefully, will never need to drive all night again. Thanks for a great visit, Grandma and Grandpa. See you next summer, St. Louis!