Let's just pick up where we left off last week.
Early Sunday afternoon, we headed down to Joan's family's compound in Erath to tell her great grandmother happy 100th birthday.
Riley got to be around a baby, Hope, the daughter of Joan's cousin Ben, and his wife, Jen.
She held his attention for about a second and a half before he went back to playing with the big boys, Hope's older cousins David and Evan.
It was the first time he's gotten to really play with bigger boys and he held his own pretty well considering his communication skills relative to theirs.
He also got a chance to play with a real piano, and quite pleasantly he did more than just mash handfuls of keys.
He very deliberately pressed one or two keys at a time and even explored the full dynamic ranges of the instrument.
From there , Mommy and Daddy headed down to New Orleans to meet up with Nanny for the Our Lady Peace show.
On the way down, we listened to the atrocious first half of the Saints game.
We almost didn't watch the second half, but we decided to grab a seat in the bar at Copeland's cheesecake Bistro, just in case.
We were not disappointed.
In addition to their awesome crawfish ravioli (imagine ravioli fried in Popeye's batter, then covered in cream sauce) we got to see one of the greatest halves of a football game I've ever witnessed.
It was also a totally different experience because everyone else in the bar was New Orleanian African American Church ladies whose cheering style is quite different from that of our Lafayettian yuppie friends. Fun times.
With a great win in the books we headed downtown to the HOB.
We got there pretty early and had a great spot.
Even better, for the first time in the dozens of shows I've been to, there was an opening band I'd never heard of that was actually good.
Check out Company of Thieves. not the greatest band ever, but pretty entertaining.
By 9:30 OLP came on and played a very strong set.
All of their big hits virtually non-stop.
They could definitely teach Blues Traveler a thing or two regarding show pacing.
The only downside was the blinding backdrop lights.
Best part was the show was done by 11 and we were back on the road to Lafayette.
Life was life during the week, not worth typing about.
Friday evening we went to Ciao Bella Pizza with Anna's family. My parents also came with my g-ma.
There are not many things Riley likes more than spending all day and all evening with Anna and my mom.
The pizza was pretty good, but there are a few pizza places in Lafayette I'd pick over it.
Riley's main course was a sucker.
He couldn't be distracted from the toy choo-choo by either tiramisu or brownies and ice cream.
Saturday morning we hit Great Harvest for breakfast.
He didn't want anything to do with their excellent baked goods, but they have books, so he survived.
Next we were off to Granny & Grandad's to visit Caroline and the Baton Rouge crew, now freshly de-swine-flu'd
There Uncle Paul taught Riley the humbling game of Chase the Laser Pointer.
and Paul learned his own lesson regarding the cardio effects of the indoor stroller roller coaster game.
The kids loved it, and were not afraid to say so.
Then everyone took advantage of being on the last block of a dead end to have a nice family stroll.
Aunt Liz heard everyone was walking down the street so she wore her street walker shoes.
With near perfect weather we headed down to Johnson'ss Boucaniere for lunch.
Hard to beat superbly seasoned boneless ribs in a plate with boudin, beans and mac.
Unless you're Riley, then its hard to beat 2 bottlecaps.
When he finally went down for a nap, mommy whipped together his first halloween costume.
He got to dress up as a highway.
As the legally appointed hour drew near, Cousin Caroline arrived dressed as a pirate with her crew in tow, and we all headed down to Cinderella's castle (Anna's House)
Three kids in strange outfits don't make the best studies in photographic cooperation.
Riley first decided it would be fun to hit Anna with her princess wand,
but quickly retreated when she got fed up.
Then he tried to make up for it with a goofy hug.
The great thing about his costume is he always had a toy to play with and a prop to ham things up with.
Eventually Caroline got tired of Riley and Anna's dillying and dallying and ringing around the rosey and signaled that the trick or treating should begin.
Riley and Anna raced ahead like kids itching to run in the streets.
Caroline decided to be the responsible one and help push the empty stroller.
Things peaked kinda early when Riley got a sucker at the second stop.
That was all he needed for his night to be complete.
He and the other short-legger spent the rest of the night chauffeured in the stroller with his face/neck/chest becoming progressively browner and stickier as he made headway into the sucker.
There's social commentary to be made about trick or treat trespassers who just pull up in cars and start walking the neighborhood, but I don't have the energy.
Plus Joan and I are about to leave to go see This Is It, the closest we'll ever get to a Michael Jackson concert (until he comes out of hiding for that triple bill with Elvis and Tupac.)
I do want to leave you with a question, and since I know you read this every week, you might be able to help:
When did our little baby become a little boy?
1 comment:
To answer your question... once baby boys turn 1 you have to stop blinking because they grow into little boys! I had a swallow back tear moment yesterday when I realized my first born is goign to be 7 next year!
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