our favorite place

It's a poorly kept secret that Scott and I want to live in New Orleans someday. A couple of weeks ago, we took Clara for a couple of nights - her first time there. It was very different from when we visited before she came along (those days were filled with swanky restaurants, browsing art galleries, and a lot more alcohol). Still, we loved being there as a family and, per usual, can't wait to go back.
These are out of order (sorry). Most are from the zoo (amazing), some from the kids' museum (not amazing, though she loved it), others as noted:

{pointing at chimpanzees}

{seconds after seeing a sea lion for the first time}

{trying to climb in the sea lion tank}

{feeding a giraffe}

mmmm, theo's pizza {a fave of mama and dada; on magazine st}

this is the life! {suite @ the Loews}

{miss independent}

{on the way home}

{feeding surfboards to a whale at Lucy's..   good kids' menu there - and 'ritas.}

{trying to climb in the aviary}

{playing drums on a (very patient) goat}

{getting reacquainted with my old friend, abita strawberry}

{listening to jazz with dada}

{mama and dada's fave greasy breakfast spot. very toddler friendly}

milky matters + misc.

First, I've made some edits to the breastfeeding, birth story, and "about us" pages above, so check those out if you're so inclined.

Second, we had a fun trip to New Orleans earlier this week and I'll post some pics soon.

...

As I've written about before, we ended up with a huge freezer stash of milk due to Clara sleeping through the night so early and me working.  When we realized she wouldn't be able to get through it before it expires (in the deep freezer, it's best to use it within 6 months, but it's OK up to a year), I started looking into donating it. The first options I found required the donor to pay per ounce donated, which frankly turned me off.  Luckily I then found out about HMBANA banks and ended up donating 300 ounces to the one closest to me (in Austin). They pay for your blood test and shipping (if necessary) your milk.  It was really pretty hassle-free, and it feels great to donate milk to help sick babies.




Mommy, what do you think you're doing with my Yum Yums??

 

Through this process, I learned that there is a developing milk bank in Mississippi. I reached out to them to see how I could help and was invited to join the Board of Directors. I accepted (of course). It's been quite exciting.

Silly Mommy. I'll help you put it back up.

...



{playing at the park with uncle jeremy recently}



Hope everyone has a great weekend!

-G.

catching up is hard to do

busy times around here! still working on the "milky matters" post I promised. in the meantime, here are the last couple of week's pics (sorry for cell phone camera quality of some) and vids:

it's spring!

spring for Scott = fallen branches and time to get out the Pocket Chainsaw

I just didn't have the heart to tell her to put her leg down when she was having so much fun.

shopping at the kids museum's faux farmers market

future conductor

not sure about her new nubby toothbrush





awesome toddler slide @ lefleur's bluff park

not afraid of heights!

for faraway relatives, some videos of everyday life:

in case you can't tell, she's doing great. says mama and dada but it's questionable whether she knows what they mean. her two real words are "cat" and "owl."  her coolest new trick is you can ask her to go get a specific book (The Little Kitten, Fancy Nancy, etc) and she will - even if it's in a different room! my heart swells with pride :)



who, me?



 have a great weekend!

G.