One Inch Tall by Shel Silverstein

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BArKcmPH5tg

A dog named Russo and our friend Leo

Our next door neighbors have a beautiful black lab named Russo. Livi is in love, and likes to go snuggle with him sometimes. Oscar, who has always been a little leery of larger animals, has kept his distance (esp after the incident with the boxer). However, we got a chance to do a little day dog sitting a few weeks ago and Oscar let Russo into his world a little bit. He was trepidatious at first, but slowly accepted him and even started playing with him. He was proud of himself, and really enjoyed his special time with Russo!

a ball-driven lab

A new feline friend in the neighborhood:

And our favorite, Leo, who came over for a visit last weekend and obliged us with a photo shoot:

Party time!

Livi wanted her birthday party at our house again this year, and fortunately the weather cooperated. We scaled down the size of the party though and had Livi invite her closest friends from school, and a few from the neighborhood. Everyone made it and the girls had a wonderful time (if I do say so myself)! Her "theme" was animals and nature…so I had a lot of flexibility in decor and party favors! We stuck mostly to flowers and butterflies, with the occasional puppy and candy treat thrown in. Livi helped make some of the matchbox favors each girl got, in addition to the treats for completing a game and from the scavenger hunt.

she loved adding gems to the boxes and made sure each girl got the same amount

Once the favors and decorations were set, it was time! Party goers started by decorating their goody bags along with flowers and butterflies with stickers… a lovely activity that never seems to go over quite as well with lots of boys in the mix… ;) 

We had a few games lined up once the girls had some fun playing with toys, including pin the paw on the puppy (Livi's game of choice), throw the ball in the flower (created with a painted cardboard box), and hit the balloon into the hockey net! I have no photos of these games since I was busy running them, but I did get a few of the scavenger hunt!

lining up for the backyard treasure hunt!

The search is on… We're BIG on equality in this house, so I made sure there was enough for each girl to get exactly what was on the list…with a few extras thrown in for good measure. The girls hunted for frogs, glass gems, sparkly butterflies, pink coins, and sparkly eggs.

they definitely work the "cluster" strategy for finding things…

After all the treasures were found (Oscar went through and picked up the extras…), it was cake time! Livi got to pick out her cake and she surprised me bypassing Elsa and her other Disney friends, and went for the gardening cake! Unfortunately they didn't have the decorating kit for it and couldn't order it (gotta love NOLA), but she was very happy with her second choice of a princess crowd and wand.

While we usually save presents for opening once all the guests have left, Livi wanted to open presents with her friends this year! She did a wonderful job of looking at each card and finding out who the present was from first, then giving each gift-giver a big hug after she opened their present!

The party was schedule to end right after presents, but a few of her friends stayed late and kept playing in their room while the parents chatted away.  Their bedroom is still recuperating from the aftermath of the Barbie explosion, but fun was had by all! 

And for those gift givers she couldn't hug personally, Livi made some thank you cards combining her love for photos, painting, and writing. Thank you everyone near and far for helping to make Livi's birthday so special!

Birthday Girl

She's 6!!! Wow.  As per usual, we had a birthday celebration that spanned over a week. For Livi's actual birthday we were supposed to go camping, but scrapped the trip for a variety of reasons…cold weather, Livi being afraid of the dark, and the fact that she decided she didn't want to drive anywhere for her birthday. We spent the weekend celebrating in a variety of ways to help make her feel like the extra special birthday girl she was!

Oscar let Livi have a special snuggle with his animals when she woke up

a balloon and donut surprise!

Of course Livi posed for some pictures, and kept asking me to take "one more!"

the cutest grim reaper

Then is was time for the first round of presents from family near and far!

a big hug for a special necklace from Oscar

perfume from Nana and Papa

Barbie book with decoding glasses from Elly

Panda bear and New Orleans mask from Mama and Dada

fun with sand…

That afternoon we headed out to Sector 6, a new indoor trampoline park. The photos are incredibly blurry, but essentially she was a bouncing bundle of joy!

the slacker line

Oscar practicing some flips:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0Vl5sO6IHE

The trapeze! This was Oscar's fav (and mine) and while Livi tried it, she got a little scared since it was so high. Her fav was just bouncing around!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlVS5X8Lqgc

After Sector 6, we ordered some Slice pizza (a staple!) and sang to the birthday girl. Gigi's cake was the request, and a big hit as always.

Phew! It was an awesome day of family fun, but her birthday celebrations weren't over yet…. A few more presents came in the mail throughout the week:

sketch pad from Gigi

a purple magnetic spider from the birthday package from Nannie and Grandad

a pretty dress from Aunt Jenny
(photo complete with wrapping paper decor and mama's shoes)

It was a wonderful birthday week for our girl, and it wasn't over yet! Next up, party time…

Hanging out around town

We spent the last few days of Mardi Gras break without parades and just hanging out around the neighborhood.

Re-enacting Frozen with some glitter…

And some silliness with cinnamon cereal…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE94Yf1PRv0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3NXvkID84E

Our good friends Laura and David also had their baby shower a few weeks ago. The kids were a hit, helping with presents and providing their own commentary, "LIVI!! You don't understand the concept of a baby shower! These presents aren't for you - they're for the baby!"

And yet another perfect family picture…

Krewe d'Etat

Oops - I missed a few….

horses driving by in prep for the parades

On Thur, Oscar had a fever and Livi was still battling with a horrible cough, but the girls tried to make it to the Muses parade. Livi only lasted about 5 min (and for a few glowing things) but we still managed to take a few pics.

Livi and Theo heading to Muses

butterflies in Muses

the famous bathtub

and shoe!

The whole family decided to head out for Krewe d'Etat on Friday night, since it was our favorite parade last year. After trying to stand on the route, we decided to get a little out of the crowds and headed to Jefferson Ave, right before the start of the parade. Our spot turned out to be perfect, and the kiddos could run up to the floats on their own without fear of getting trampled. They made out like bandits and our Mardi Gras spirit was renewed!

gleeful after getting a stack of cups

We love Krewe D'Etat!