Early Morning Pictures

A few mornings ago Chance woke up super early. He came into the front of the house and evidently figured out how to take pictures of himself with my laptop. The first picture he took was timestamped 5:54am. He used the effects on photobooth. This is one of his self portraits.

Thomas the Train Engine Bed

About a week ago Chance pulled out his Thomas the Tank Engine to play inside, he had a good time playing in it and then driving it all over the house. When night time came though he wanted to sleep inside it on the floor so we made him a little bed inside Thomas and that first night he slept on the floor in his Thomas Train. The next night he still wanted to sleep in Thomas but I didn't want him to have to sleep on the floor again so I set it up on his bed and it fit perfectly. He has been sleeping inside Thomas on his bed ever since, I think it's been a week now. It is wonderful to see toys get a second life in totally new ways.

Black Hair

Chance's latest hair color is black. We tried to dye it black a couple weeks ago but it didn't take and turned a dark blue which everyone thought was very pretty except Chance so we put some more black on top of that and finally got a true blue black. Chance likes it and I have to say of all the colors he has had this is the most strange to me. All the other colors were obviously not real, this is the first color he could have been born with which makes it even more strange to me.

Our playgroup

Chance and I attended our first playdate with this group when Chance was just 6 months old. Over the last 5 years some of the faces have changed but there are a few that have been there with us from the beginning. One of those long term Moms is pregnant with her third child. We were able to snap this group shot when we were at her baby shower recently.

Hotel Demolished

The Grand Plaza Hotel on Canal Street was imploded this morning. It was a 17 story building and had been sitting empty and had been falling apart since Katrina so it was time to come down. Chance and I drove up to the other side of the Quarter then walked as close as we could get with a good view of part of the building. It's hard to hear it in the video but the rumbling started a few seconds before we could see any movement in the building. Then in just a few more seconds there was no longer a building at all. We were pretty far away when you look at the video but it was still a really cool thing to see.

Mud Island

One day while in Memphis we decided to make the trek over to Mud Island. We took the pedestrian bridge over from downtown which was just a few blocks from our hotel. It was really hot while we were out but we had a good time. On Mud Island there is a complete replica of the Mississippi River and Chance walked the whole thing. We rolled up his pant legs so he could walk in the "river" it started all the way up with the Ohio, Cumberland and Missouri rivers pouring their waters into the Mississippi. Then it follows the Mississippi River all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. With other tributaries entering the river at appropriate times and signs filling us in on history and other points of interest along the way. The thing was huge, it just kept going and going it took us an hour to get from top to bottom and we didn't even read all the signs. Chance wanted to stay longer but it was super hot and he did get to walk the whole river after all. Mud Island is definitely a cool thing to check out but maybe on a day that isn't so incredibly hot.

Chance's new color.

Chance doesn't like his new color. He was going for jet black and it came out this really neat blue color which everyone thinks is really cool looking except him so we will be putting some more black on top of it in a few days.

4th of July

This year we all went over to the westbank to watch the 4th of July fireworks. Evidently New Orleans' firework display has been voted the 5th best in the nation and it shows. There are two "dueling" barges which basically means there are two full on firework shows going on simultaneously on the river. We usually drive over to the westbank because it is easier to park and there is plenty of space. This year we went early and took some food to eat before the show started. We had a great time and the fireworks were spectacular. This picture is us just messing around before the show started.

Chance playing his little piano