Wudup Cuz

The first few days of the week were pretty uneventful.

Things cranked up on Thursday when Riley got a new cousin.

Jake and Sara welcomed Gavin Joseph to the world at 6 lbs 10 ounces and 20 inches.





Riley can say "Baby Gavin", but was less than thrilled to walk into a room and see his Nonnie holding another baby.





He wasn't much more excited to see his Mommy holding Gavin, but was eventually nice enough to pet him softly.






I don't think he really understood that Gavin was anything more than a head sticking out of a blanket until he saw him unwrapped.





Friday, we headed down to New Orleans with Granny Lynn, Paul, Liz and Caroline for a day of zoo-ing and aquarium-ing.

Of course, when we planned the trip a month ago, we weren't expecting it to be a day with near freezing temps and forecasted snow. But you make do.


I'd love to tell funny stories about what went on at the zoo, but I can't.
I was stuck at a nearby CC's, working, because some lawyers (who have a professional reputation roughly equivalent to that of Tiger's marital fidelity) think they don't have to play by the rules and follow deadlines. That leaves lawyers who do care about the rules in a jam. But oh well.

I don't sound bitter do I?

From what I can tell from the photos, everyone made the best of a pretty chilly day.

Like visits to our local zoo, while the animals were popular, a good bit of time was devoted to playground exploration.





After perfecting his technique on our patio, Riley made the public debut of his head first sliding method.





And even though Riley enjoyed the carousel last time, they both staged a revolt this time around.






it actually got colder as the day went on and everyone eventually migrated to the Aquarium.






We hit the penguins at feeding time and they were way more active than last time we were there.







Riley pushed every button within his reach, which kept him from pushing our buttons.





Like the zoo, most of the time was spent in the kids' play area.





Riley did what he does best--solo Ring Around the Rosey.





Both kids mustered up the courage to try to pet the shark.
Don't know if either of their arms were long enough to reach, but, thanks to refraction, it looked like success.






It snowed in Lafayette that evening, but since we were coming up from the south, we never saw any.

Saturday we headed to BR for Lillian's birthday party. But first we stopped by Louisiana Hot Stuff on what seems like an impossible quest for a Saints polo shirt.
for those of you unfamiliar with this particular store, one side is Ragin Cajun merchandise, and the other is all purple and yellow LSU stuff.

Riley gave us the first example of a kid not having a filter when, in the middle of the store, he broke out into a loud, repeated chant of, "Boo Tiger."

It was beautiful.

We came up with the ex post facto explanation that its because Shere Khan is the bad guy in Jungle Book, but we know the truth.


When we traveled to the home of the "Boo Tigers," Riley got to hang out with Connor, son of Jennifer, a friend from law school, and Ryan, a former LSU football player.






He also renewed his friendship with Lillian's cousin Claire. She's great with him, but I guess you can expect her to be good with kids since she's one of 8.





Riley is trying to break away from his "cute" image and thinks that wearing sunglasses inside will help him look tougher. He got some funny looks but refused to take 'em off.





Then we met Paul and Caroline for some Nagoya buffet.

Caroline double fisted egg rolls......





.....while Riley played under a high chair.



guess which one is on the weight chart.


Caroline, liking to eat with two hands, but only having one spoon, then started using an ice cube to eat ice cream.
Cold Cold.





On the way home, Riley was fully occupied by a Monsters Inc DVD, even though he originally requested "Jungle Bear"




that face is the reason we don't let him watch TV. Pure zombie.


Sunday was supposed to be a recovery day.
Riley woke up saying, "I wanna see Go Saints."

Unfortunately, it was still a few hours till game time, so we had to redirect his attention.
Never one to be reasonable, he then insisted on playing outside.
He was bundled up enough that he actually lasted about 5 minutes.




Once game time rolled around, he watched a good bit of the first quarter and shared some popcorn with Mommy.
His commentary included such football insights as, "Oh no, they fall down," and "He hit/hurt the head."





For anyone who saw the 4th quarter, you know it was anything but a relaxing view.


That's about it. Pretty weak week ahead, so I don't know what will be in this space next week, but I've resolved to try to keep up weekly posts till he's 2, and I don't want to quit too early.