Yum, Delicious

Life has been swimming along. Last weekend we went with Mom and Henry to a Zephyrs game -- our team was terrible, but the fireworks at the end are worth the price of admission. Saturday we had Chase and Tricia and the girls over for barbeque. The girls are cruising and crawling and Henry had a really good time entertaining them. Their laughter was infectious and it was good to catch up with our old neighbors and friends. That evening we attended a fundraiser for Confetti Kids, the group that organizes events for kids in Algiers Point and maintains the two playgrounds. It was nice to get dressed up and see other parents that we usually only see on the playgrounds, when we are surrounded by (and distracted by) kids.

Sunday we laid low. Perfect.

This week I had a work event Wednesday afternoon so I switched my afternoon off to Friday, which made for an almost three-day weekend (though the week leading up to that was LOOOONNNNGGGG). Friday night our friends Noah and Denise took us out to dinner at The Pelican Club, as a thank you to Matthew for photographing their wedding. The food was delicious and the company even better.

Yesterday my sister, Jane, and her boyfriend, Gaylen, came down from Baton Rouge for the opening of the Audubon Insectarium. Mom and Henry joined us for the quick trip across the ferry to the new museum, which is about two blocks past the Aquarium, right on Canal in the old U.S. Customs House (Matthew had a wedding). It was a members-only opening, so there were plenty of people but no oppressive crowd, and the Insectarium is simply wonderful. I never thought I would get so much enjoyment out of being surrounded by bugs, but the displays were creative and interesting and there was so much attention to detail. Henry ate a chocolate-covered cricket. Even though we kept telling him it was a chocolate bug, it wasn't until we called Daddy to tell him about it that I think he realized he had eaten an ACTUAL BUG. He told Matthew, "Daddy, I ate a cricket made of chocolate!" No, baby, I said, you ate a REAL CRICKET that was covered in chocolate. His eyes got bigger and he said with surprise and pride, "Daddy, I ate a REAL BUG, not a chocolate one!!" He loved the place, of course, especially the movie, which managed to pack a lot of surprises into five minutes.

After the museum, we stopped for lunch at the Dry Dock, then Henry got to touch Jane's pet tarantula, Magdalena. She brought him down in the car just for Henry, and he was thrilled. Me, not so much, but I told my sister she has definitely earned the title, "Cool Aunt Jane."

In the evening, Nicole came over and we walked to dinner at Aunt Leni's, followed by a stop by the park. I am grateful to have so many friends who not only don't seem to mind when Henry tags along, but seem to genuinely enjoy his company.

Today we're laying low again. I sat out with Henry in his baby pool for awhile, and Matthew is moving everything from his office to our guest room so he can refinish the walls and ceiling in his office and get the room set up the way we've always wanted it to be. It's been a magnet for chaos and clutter since we moved in, and it's been a terrible environment in which to work, so I am really glad he's making himself a priority and going to have a clean, professional space. Henry starts summer camp tomorrow, so that should give Matthew some free time, something he generally has in very short supply.