The Little Giant

WOW - we took LH for his 4 year old well visit! I think there were twice as many sick people in the waiting room than well, so Hubby iniated a plan of action. I signed in LH and waited in the "well" area while he and LH trashed my car for an HOUR! It took forever and Hubby is so germaphobic that he kept text messaging me reminding me to wash my hands, cover my mouth, and not touch anything!!! Too cute, but I was in total agreeance from the looks of the office! We don't want to get sick, much less the Hiney Flu (our name for the H1N1).

We were very pleased with LH's check-up and he's doing great. I would say he's right on target, but he's actually well beyond his years! He is the size of a typical 5 1/2 - 6 1/2 year old! He's in the 110th percentile of his height and I think atleast the 100th or 105th percentile of his weight! Thankfully, he is proportionate in both, so he's not too heavy and the Dr. wasn't concerned! He did grow FOUR inches in one year and gained 6 lbs! I knew it had to be close to that because nothing fits anymore! He informed us that at this rate, he will be considerably taller than his Daddy who is 6'1"! He predicts around 6'3" or more - which I already guessed on my own gut feeling and the fact that I'm his mommy and we know all! He was a little shy in taking off his clothes but that's probably our fault since we are talking to him about privacy and such these days! Other than that, he answered all the questions and chit chatted with the nurse about everything that she was going to be doing to him! Very aware and likes to be informed!

His 4 year stats:

44.5 inches tall
52 pounds

Now, this is why everyone asks me what grade he's in! =)

The joys of trying to feed and clothe him will be immense in the future! I've already had to increase the grocery budget and clothing allowance! I can't wait!

First Movie

We have been waiting.....a long time! We finally took Little Hauss to his first theater movie. I know, he's 4, but we weren't sure if he, I mean, WE, were ready for it!
There are so many factors to consider - the cost, the time, the sitting still, the cost, the loud speakers, the attention, the cost and did I mention the cost? Ok, I know, you gotta just suck it up, but really, it is ridiculous how much it costs to go to the movies. Thankfully, we had a gift card for $25. Now, for a matinee, 2 adults, & one child - that barely covered it! We had about $3 leftover for some concessions. We ended up getting the kid's meal thing which surprisingly enough is the best bargain in the place.
We went Sunday afternoon to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"! Very cute and short so it was a good first movie experience. However, next time, we will get there about 10-15 minutes after the "start" time to miss all the previews and commercials. Without those, LH would have been great. He sat quietly and watched intently and enjoyed it, but towards the very end, he was asking when it would be over and climbing onto my lap to cuddle.
Our theater here offers free movies for children in the summer months, but it doesn't always work with our schedules. This summer, I'll try to get him there a few times because they always play the movies that have been popular for kids from the previous few years. And its FREE!!!!

Dressing Up and Playing Big Brother

Cousin Ava is over 4 weeks old now!!!! I'm sorry its taken so long for me to post pics, but I just got a camera that I could use and as you can tell, I'm using it to my advantage right now! So, here she is, chubby cheeks and all! Sweet as ever and we love her so much! LH is obsessed, but when you ask him if he wants one, he replies "yes, but not this kind - I want a brother!" Sheesh - I thought once she got here, he'd get over that, but oh well, we'll see if we can deliver but it's a tall order!

Sweet Ava
All better now? We just changed her diaper!

LH took this picture...he's quite the camera man!

So in love!

Little Hauss is getting excited about Halloween and wanted to dress up. Actually, in all honesty, I wanted him to dress up too because he will be wearing a football uniform that his Gigi got him last Christmas. Any guesses as to what team its for? I don't really care because I'm cheap and this will be FREE! What better way to get some use out of it? And, he loves wearing it and tackling his Daddy!

Nawlins'

We left from New Orleans, so we decided to stay an extra night when we got back to explore the city. Next time, we will go a day early and spend the night so we can get home quicker. If I had felt better, it might have been more enjoyable, but we couldn't walk straight for a few days after we got off the boat, so sight seeing was just a little burdonsome!

Bourbon Street
Oceana's Creole Restaurant - very yummy!

Something's missing??? No towel friend this time! And, we both were kind of hoping they would have come back in and straightened up after we went to dinner but no such luck! Cruise spoiled us with twice a day room cleaning services!

Looks so innocent doesn't it? Amazing what all that water can really do.

Cemetary. I think this one was the one that part of the movie "Double Jepardy" was filmed in.

This place was sweet!

Beautiful hotel

We had our coffee and beniets!

Horse? no, mules!

This is one of the houses in the 9th Ward that has been built by Brad Pitt's efforts and foundation. It is amazing to see the growth that is happening down there, but sad and humbling because this is right next door to a lot with no house. Even worse, the stairs to the old house are still standing....devastating.

Just Us

Can you tell I'm REALLY happy in this picture? I finally got a patch and was feeling much better! It's nice to have some pictures of just us....they come far and few between these days!
I'm smiling....but feeling like crapola! Nothing a pretty dress, bling, and a cute boy can't fix!

New Friends

We had the best table mates at dinner! They were 2 younger couples that were a blast! We have already talked about planning another cruise with them in the future! They live in Arkansas and the boys played lots of late night poker with Hubby! He was in heaven. I was happy he found some friends since I was kind of sickly and turned in early most nights!!!! Larry and Julie
Cathy and Mark

Elephant Towel Friend

Bunny Towel Friend

Jason the sound guy and Dave the social Host!

I think that was one of my favorite parts about the cruise - meeting all kinds of new people!

Cozumel

Our other port of call was Cozumel! Very nice place and the beaches are wonderful. I love that you can see down to the bottom of the ocean through clear blue water! Beautiful!

Drink at Fat Tuesdays
Our finished product! We took at cooking class and created a wonderful authentic mexican meal.

Mom and Dad

I let him do most of the cooking since I cook every night! Also, I was still sick so while they all sipped on margaritas, I stuck with sprite!

I mustered up a smile for the picture....but wasn't too pleasant to be around - just ask, he'll tell ya the truth!

Our First "Excursion"

Our first port of call was Progreso, Mexcio. It was really nothing to write home about, but again, we didn't really see much of it. We had heard rumors that there were some cool Myan ruins in the heart of the Yucatan, but it would be a long bus ride (at least 2 hours each way) and it would be hot, muggy and buggy! I don't love hot and muggy, but definitely not bugs!

So we opted for our own 'excursion' if you will - we took a nice mexican air conditioned (windows down) ride into the city by the sea and decided to stop in a quaint Mexcian Restauratnt for ONE margarita. Well, Fernando, our server, brought us our margarita and complimentary shots of Petrone! I LOVE Tequila. I really do and normally would jump all over the opportunity for free shots, but I just couldn't stomach it quite yet. I was still very nauseous from the day at sea. Don't worry, it didn't go to waste! Mom took her first shot ever! AND, followed it up with 2 more!!!! Go Gigi!

Well, we thought we were done...on our way to walk the beaches and just have a nice quiet day! We were wrong! 3 cruise employees ended up stopping in the restaurant and of course we had to have more shots and a few beers. We chatted and got all kinds of inside scoop on the boat and the life of cruisin'.

After a few more drinks and the thought of heading back to the boat, more cruisers came in and we shared some fellowship and food with them - oh and along with a couple more shots and beers! One couple actually said they didn't drink!!!!! Then she took her first shot of Tequila!!!! I guess they drink now!!!

Progreso, Mexico
Oh, we were so happy to explore the wonderful world of Tequila shots!

So enticing. Such beautiful presentation of the lime wedges and salt!

Our 'excursion group'

Fernando!

Dave the Social Host and Dad!

Mom's first shot!

We did have a great time getting to know fellow cruisers and some of the staff! And yes, I've already befriended everyone on FB. Don't you know I'll be contacting them next time we cruise!!!

Proof of Vacation

Finally, proof that I really took a vacation.

Riverwalk, New Orleans prior to boarding
Gigi and Pop at dinner

My first towel friend - they gipped me the first night! Ask anyone, they heard about it because I wouldn't shut up about it! I talked about those stinkin' towels the whole week before we left! I love that stuff - but why wouldn't I? A Hospitality & Tourism Degree does that to a person!

Ok, so yes, we really had to put these on and "muster" at our designated stations. I wasn't too sure though if I would know where to go in a real emergency. I think we'd already had 2 buckets of beer at this point!

Our Boat! The Carnival Fantasy