THE JUMPY JUMPS....

Before the great rain of the summer of 2011, we had a play date at In The Zone. Jonathan and Braylin, their mommies and their baby brother/sister met us for some fun!! We had an absolute blast!!! For those that haven't been, or haven't heard of it, it is a giant warehouse area filled with 7 Bounce Houses. A few days a week they have open play for toddlers. What fun!! Daphne was on the ball with her camera (as always) and sent me some great pics! Here's one that gives you an idea of how crazy awesome these enormous inflatable monsters are. Apparently, you don't just bounce anymore, you climb and slide and swing and crawl. No big surprise, Taylor was fearless!!!

RAINY DAY....

Taylor just didn't know what to make of the wet stuff falling from the sky after months of 100+ weather. So, of course, we HAD to go play in it!!!


She was VERY curious as to what the wet spots were on the ground....

She finally built up the courage to jump in with both feet...

But the giant worms were what held her interest the most!!!!

EDIBLE FUN....

HOT, that is the only word I can use to describe the past few weeks. So, Taylor and I invited Braylin over for a little indoor fun. Indoor and EDIBLE fun....


Apparently, all you need is 1 box of white cake mix, 1 stick of margarine, a few tablespoons of water and a couple drops of your favorite food coloring for a good 15 minutes of fun with some custom colored, edible play-doh. Oh yeah, you read it right...15 MINUTES! Apparently, our girls were not too too impressed with this little concoction and let their limited attention spans get the best of them. But it was totally worth it!!


Braylin kept informing me, "Aunt Jennifer, you're not supposed to EAT playdoh!" But after some convincing, she gave it a try...

Taylor has never played with Play-doh, so she was a bit unsure what to do...

Braylin gave Taylor a bit of direction and, finally, the fun began...

BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN....

Well, where Taylor began, that is. Last weekend we went down to New Orleans for a wedding and took Taylor with us.


We stayed at the beautiful Omni Royal Orleans, giving us the opportunity to stroll Taylor through the French Quarter.

 We also took a little walk down by the river on our way to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.

Taylor LOVED the 'fishes'. She loved looking at all of them and making fishy faces through the glass...

She even got a smile from a sting ray...

Taylor tried so hard to touch a fish, those durn glass walls...

And, of course, we had to check out the shark's smile...

Taylor had a great time at the Aquarium. We hope to take her back to New Orleans. When we do, the Audubon Insectarium will be top of our list!


Ray and I had a great time taking Taylor to try some of our favorite munchies, many of which I CRAVED when I was pregnant with Taylor!!!


Of course, we had to introduce her to the New Orleans tradition of Beignets. I wish I could say that Taylor LOVED them,

But she touched...

She tasted....

She was ready to wash her hands...

She DID enjoy eating the chunks of powdered sugar, but the yummy goodness of a deep fried mound of dough wasn't as appealing to this 22 month old. I'm sure she will grow out of it :)

Ray, Taylor and I had lunch at our absolute favorite Uptown shop, St. James Cheese Company. Here, Taylor had the hands-down, best grilled cheese sandwich in the history of sandwich making. Our sandwiches were every bit as wonderful as we remembered.

Ray and I are always telling friends to try it out whenever they are in NOLA. I know, I know, a sandwich shop?!?! When you are in New Orleans, you want fried seafood, oysters, creole, red beans, pralines, beignets, roman candy, lucky dog (anyone's stomach growling yet), but St. James is a must. Best sandwiches and an AMAZING selections of cheeses, pates, cured meats, perfect for lunch and a nice bottle of wine.  And if you DO venture out of the Quarter and over to Prytania for this tiny gem, you will be a few doors down from our other absolute favorite...


THE CREOLE CREAMERY...and, of course, we took Taylor here for a scoop of the best ice cream EVER. Caramel Chicory Chocolate, Chocolate Amaretto Cheesecake, Black & Gold, Cookie Monster, Creme Fraiche & Raspberry, Egg Nog, Ginger Peach, Turtlemisu, oh my gosh, I have to stop, my mouth is watering. Homemade in the shop, flavors changing weekly, a true neighborhood favorite! Needless to say, Taylor LOVED her scoop of chocolate AND her Daddy's cone of Chocolate Cheesecake...

What a great weekend. The wedding was beautiful, but we will forever cherish the memories of reintroducing Taylor to her birthplace. We can hardly wait to take her back...maybe when its a little cooler :)

BEACHIN' IT...

Ok, so its almost been a month since we left for our summer vacation in Perdido Key. So, why is there no update on my blog?? I've totally been slacking! And I can't even blame it on the crazy happenings of entertaining Taylor during these long summer days. Its been so hot, we have been spending most of our days at home, coloring, watching TV, playing with baby dolls....So, I have had plenty of time. I guess motivation was lacking. 

So, now, without further ado (and no added commentary so you can simply enjoy the pics), our summer vacation....

There were about 750 pictures, so I narrowed it down a tad. 


The Mijalis' joined us for a few days. Jonathan and Taylor had so much fun together. And, of course, Taylor enjoyed playing with "Baby Mark."