Happy Mother's Day!

My two sons...

Mother's Day seemed just a little sweeter this year with Charlie's presence.  How blessed I feel to have not one but two sons (not to mention a wonderful husband for their father)! 

Family photo - Take Two

Our day was very low key.  Miraculously even though they rose at the normal 6:00 a.m. wake up call, both boys decided to quietly and contently entertain themselves until 7:00 a.m.  Oh joy!  Billy appreciated that too. 

We attended mass (where Beau's behavior was a solid C+).  Then we spent the rest of the day watching Toy Story 3 and just enjoying each other's company - it was perfect. 



Isn't that the cutest mugshot - I mean - portrait you've ever seen!? 



Beau not only picked out flowers for me for the occasion but he made a special gift for me at school this week.  He's such a sweetie.

Happy Easter!

Maybe I'm crazy.  Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment.  (I did after all have two kids in as many years.)  But, shortly after returning home from the hospital we hosted Easter weekend for our families.  Grandma Deb and Grandpa Tom came in on Thursday, as did Aunt Lizzy.  Melinda joined in on the festivities on Saturday. 

As Beau was out of school on Good Friday, Aunt Lizzy helped babysit.  We took our inagrual trip to the neighborhood park in the luxe double stroller.  Beau LOVED playing on the swingset and slides with Aunt Lizzy.  And Charlie took advantage some indirect sunlight to help with that pesky jaundice.  All in all it was a fun little excursion. 

That night we all headed over to Uncle Marcus and Aunt Robyn's for dinner.  The BBQ shrimp were wonderful.  But it was a long day; both kids were tuckered out; so we called it an early night. 

Saturday Billy fired up the pots and we had a good old crawfish boil with the family.  Keith and Geralyn came and brought the girls.  So Beau had a blast.  Man, does he love playing with the girls.  They played hard and after the crawfish were done they enjoyed a Easter Egg Hunt in the backyard.  Beau did well, except once he got an egg he wanted to open it instead of hunt for more.  Oh well, he's got a whole year to practice for the next hunt. 



Sweet Baby Charlie

Easter Sunday, Billy and I attended mass with Charlie (yes, we left Beau at home with Aunt Lizzy and Maw Maw...he was just too wired.)  The service was lovely.  And when we arrived back home we enjoyed a nice lunch with the family.  Again, Beau had a blast playing hard and enjoying his first piece...er...many pieces...of candy.  He went to bed at 6:00 p.m. that night!    

Words cannot express his joy in this tub o' balls. 

All in all it was a wonderful weekend and thanks to the help of our families, it all went smoothly and with little stress - which I greatly appreciated.  Looking forward to our next family holiday together! 

Our first official family photo...pretty appropriate, I'd say. 

One Crazy Christmas

Without question, the hardest family photo we've ever had to work for!

This year Billy and I hosted our first official Christmas celebration for our families.  Yep, you read that right...BOTH our families were in town for the festivities.  This resulted in over thirty guests at our house on Christmas Day alone.  Pregnancy hormones aside, I think I did a pretty good job playing hostess.  There were some mishaps (Nanny, I'm looking at you and the bourbon sauce I am STILL cleaning from the crevices of my kitchen stove...) but that is to be expected, right?  Unfornuately, as hostess I had little time to take many photos to document the festivities.  Sure I ended up with about 200 pictures, but that is well short of the 500 or so I probably would have taken.  Oh well.  We sure did have fun anyway. 



We did manage to get his shoes on for mass...well, at least the first thirty minutes or so...



My two handsome men.

The festivities started with Christmas Eve mass.  Beau did fairly well considering we had to arrive an hour early and it ran through his dinner time.  But once at home we were joined by Deb, Tom, Aunt Lizzy, Melinda, and eventually my parents as well.  Lots of gumbo and pistachio cake rounded out the evening. 



Beau loved Chase.  Chase, well she tolerated him.

Christmas day was a blessed chaotic event.  Beau wanted nothing to do with opening presents.  He was just as happy having someone else unwrap the gift and place it in his tiny outreached hand.  And to my delight he was gifted as many outfits as toys. Thank you, thank you, thank you.  The toy cabinet has reached its maximum capacity. Really though, our families were so generous to our little boy. 

Maw Maw and Paw Paw know just what he likes.

The tent was THE present of this year's Christmas. 

Can you tell he was in heaven?

Even daddy got in on the action!

Aside from some minor mishaps (see the bourbon sauce incident above) Christmas dinner was a delight.  Full of good food and good family and friends, we were reminded of how fortunate we truly are. 

Yes, that's real Burberry...thanks, Aunt Lizzy!

Three generations and one little pot belly. 

However, despite the success of our first Christmas, I am very much looking forward to next year in Texas.  And yes, while it will be nice not to play hostess (I mean, worrying about where to seat 30+ people can take a toll on you) it will be even nicer to celebrate it with our newest family members, Jellybean and Nameless Baby Boy Brian (Yep, Robyn and Marcus....doesn't that sound pitiful?  "Nameless Baby Boy Brian."  Maybe you should pick a name...MARCUS!)  Next year at this time we'll have three grandchildren to make the season merrier - a two year old, an eight month old, and a seven month old.  Gracious...that should make things interesting!   

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season.  And from the Billy Brian Family, here's wishing your family the very best the new year can offer! 

Happy Halloween Partner!

While this was technically Beau's second Halloween, it's the first one that "counted."  Afterall, last time he was only five days old and slept through all of the festivities.

Always such a happy kiddo!

His first official Halloween costume was a cowboy outfit.  And, he LOVED it!  Seriously.  He wore it all day long.  And even more impressive, he kept on his hat ALL DAY LONG.   

"I'm the law in these here parts!"

"I've got my eye on you..."

Even though he was fast asleep before most of the night's trick-or-treating was taking place, he had a wonderful time.  Next year, maybe he'll even get a piece of candy or two. 

Mother's Day

Well my first Mother's Day as a mom was better than I could have imagined.  Billy and Beau both made the day so special.  They really set the bar high...now I really have my work cut out for me for Father's Day! 

Our attempt at a family photo

We spent the day at Uncle Scott and Aunt Dian's in Folsom.  Despite the fact he missed out on one of his naps, Beau was a good sport and enjoyed the time with family. 

Looks like a natural

Loving some daddy time

Here comes Peter Cottontail!

Is this all for me?! 

I LOVE IT! 

Thanks mommy and daddy! 

We had a WONDERFUL Easter weekend...but man, are we tired.  Aunt Lizzy came in on Thursday and spent the day with Beau and I on Good Friday.  Shopping on Magazine Street; lunch at St. James Cheese Company; ice cream at The Creole Creamery on Prytania.  And if that wasn't enough, we made a trip to New Orleans East to pick up crawfish for the next day. 

Aunt Lizzy got me a stylin' new shirt on her last ski trip to Vail. 

Yo, yo, yo...waiting on those snow bunnies. 

Saturday we hosted a crawfish boil for the Brian clan (Deb and Tom came in Friday evening) and my family, plus Nanny and the boys.  The crawfish were delicious...Billy did such a great job!

Spending time with Grandma Debbie

Loving the new book Auntie M gave him. 

Easter Sunday involved mass at Our Lady of the Lake and then a big party at our place.  Beau got his first Easter basket from mom and dad.  He also received little gifts from all his aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. 

Ok, this was not staged...as soon as he got the toy he immediately took off the top two rings and placed them on his feet for safe keeping.  Too cute! 

What I'd do? 

If Easter was this big of a celebration, I can't imagine what Christmas is going to be like this year!! 

The three WTBs on Easter Sunday. 

I'm gonna go see the Mardi Gras

So Beau got to see not one, but two parades this Mardi Gras season. For the first parade the weather was so cold he stayed all wrapped up inside Aunt Dian and Uncle Scott's RV. But for Fat Tuesday the weather, while cold, was clear, sunny and gorgeous.

While he had no idea what was going on he enjoyed the colors of the floats and the sounds from the bands. We can't wait until next year when maybe, just maybe, he can yell, "Throw me something, Mister!"

At least he got to spend time with his cousins, Kasey, Alli and Maddie.  I have a feeling the girls will show him the ropes next year!