February

We loved watching the superbowl with Meecie, Fud, Sara and Tibo. Rejuvenated after a night on the town in New Orleans, Nate and I picked up crabmeat, oysters, and shrimp on the way home and we had a feast Louisiana-style while watching the Pack win.
We were spoiled by a very long visit from Fud and Meecie, although it was kind of hard to share them with Tibo. Grandpa went to Kai's field trip to the local pizza joint, and he gave Grandpa Fud hug-after-hug, smile-after-smile, he was so proud to have him as his guest. We had Tibo spend the night at our house, his first away from Sara and Matt. He was brave and easy and entertained by his cousins.
We celebrated the kids' half-birthdays with cake - cherry frosting for Kai and chocolate for Nina. Between King Cakes, Valentine's Day, and Mardi Gras these kids are on a sugar high. Nana sent V-Day gifts for the kids, here is Nina trying on hers.
We're still playing musical beds. Sometimes Kai and Nina are in my bed with me; sometimes Nina is in our "red bed" (i.e. our old bed which is still in our room, can't figure out what to do with it, can't quite part with it) with Nate; sometimes Nate is in Kai's bed. Ugh. It's driving us nuts, yet these kids are just so cuddly. Nina prefers to use my stomach as a pillow, sleeping horizontally across the bed. Likes to fall asleep cheek-to-cheek, when she wakes up she wants a bear hug. Kids are happy. Parents are sleep-deprived. Sleep training is in our future. At least Nina is now napping in her bed sans crib rail. Next week she'll nap two days/wk at her preschool...
We rented bikes and finally got out on the Tammany Trace last weekend. Tibo and Nina started out in one trailer and we rode for less than 3 minutes before Sara returned to get a second. Nina's not always so nice to her little cousin. He's learning to stand up to it. It was a beautiful afternoon, Kai just loved it and rode about 5 miles without his training wheels. We ended the ride with a stroll on Lake Pontchartrain, tons of people out enjoying our springy weather.
Meecie and Nina spent V-Day doing projects, while I attended Kai's school party. It was great for me to have some time with Kai without chasing Nina, great for Meecie on her last day with us to have some quiet time painting with the little one.
And here we are, six months under our belts on the northshore. It's starting to feel like home! The weather is warming up, this week at least, and our friends the skinks have reappeared in our shutters.