Laissez les bon temps roulet!

Caroline and I just got back from a whirlwind tour of Baton Rouge last week. Bill is traveling for business for two weeks, so we decided it was a good time to head home for a visit with friends and family. 


She's at an age now where she's much more aware of her surroundings and gets bored after about, oh, 10 minutes of the same activity. Hence I was a little nervous about trapping her in her carseat for 4 hours on the drive back. My mom flew in on Friday night, we packed stuffed the car on Saturday night, and struck out at 6 a.m. Sunday morning. It seems the amount of baby gear that needs to accompany her on her travels increases with her age. In addition to the stroller and suitcase of clothes, bottles, etc. we also loaded the bumbo chair, the high chair, the travel crib, and made arrangements to purchase a jumperoo in Baton Rouge. We looked worse than the Griswolds headed to Wally World. I was only barely able to see out the back windshield. While on the road I spotted this clever contraption that some entrepreneurial parent had attached to the car. Note to self: must purchase one of these!!

All it needs is a dog on a leash trailing behind and the
scene is complete...

In Baton Rouge we made the rounds and spent lots of time visiting. Her social calendar was booked before we even got to town! Caroline met my friend Rachel (interior designer extraordinairre who designed her nursery), and my friends from LSU landscape the Lemoines and Laura. The Lemoine girls kept Caroline quite entertained with their chatter and activity. 

Apparently finger-sucking is a prerequisite for visiting
the Lemoine household. Mmm fingers.

Also spent a good bit of time hanging out with MaMa and Nana, the doting great-grandmother and grandmother. MaMa is in the midst of packing up her house and moving, so it was our last trip to stay there. Sad to say goodbye to the house where we spent all our Christmases, Easters, birthdays, crawfish boils, Sunday dinners, and an entire lifetime of memories. But we'll still have our MaMa! 

Nana is convinced Caroline needs to spend more time outdoors, since we have no yard in Houston and are inside pretty much 24/7. We enjoyed sitting on Nana's carport on the swing, watching thunderstorms and playing in the mud! (click the video link below.) Caroline looooved squishing her toes and jumping in the mud. I forsee a copious amount of laundry in her early childhood, but that's ok by me. I loved playing outside as a kid, and I hope she does too. Our next house absolutely MUST have a yard. 

http://youtu.be/ceULCd4J14M

Of course with it being hot as hades in mid-July in south Louisiana we had to take a dip in Nana's neighborhood pool. Nana's BFF Susan has a membership and treated us all to an afternoon of splashing around and making sure Nana didn't drown the baby. (She insisted babies her age can go underwater. I wasn't about to find out if she was right.)

Winnie spent the majority of the visit digging out toys from the garage sale stack in MaMa's house and trying to convince her they were still needed. When not searching for buried treasure, he preferred to be as far away from Caroline as possible. He still wants to pretend she doesn't exist. He found the perfect hiding spot to escape and sulk over the lack of attention he now receives.

We'll be back in BR next week for another short trip for my friend Betsy's baby shower. This time Caroline and I will be flying. Having learned a few lessons from our last flying adventure, I think we'll be better prepared for air travel this time. Looking forward to more fun soon!!