Happy Feet

Riley Turns the Big 3!!!!

2012-01-20T08:24:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet Riley!!!! She turned on 3 on Jan 18th and had a wonderful day! We had a special breakfast before school, Ella Kate helped me make waffles with whipped cream and sprinkles! Boy did they love that!!! Riley kept saying "I'm the Birthday Girl!!!!!" She had to have BLUE cupcakes (her favorite color) to bring to school for all of her friends and from the sounds of it, they loved them!!!

Then that night we had homemade sketti and meatballs (Riley's favorite) and thanks to Me Me for making it for her. Followed that with more cupcakes and opening presents. She had a great day!!

More Fall Fun!!!!

2011-11-30T12:06:00.000-08:00

Gotta start out with a "HOW BOUT THEM TIGERS!!!!!" They have been giving us a ton of Fun this year and we have had a blast cheering them on every weekend!!!!!

We took the girls to the Homecoming Game, it was Riley's first time and she was so excited!!! We tailgated first with friends and I swear the girls must have chugged down 20 juiceboxes! We were back and forth to the bathroom! Finally, it was game time and they loved every minute of it! Riley kept shouting "HEY FOOTBALL PLAYERS!!!" and EK danced her little heart out! They were true Tiger Fans!!!

Next up, was the St Aloysius Fair and it is always a great time! Scott and I were the Fair Chairs this year so we were sooooo busy, so Me Me and Ya Ya brought the girls out for a day filled with rides, games, face painting, and lots of good ole' fashioned fun!

The Fair and Halloween were the same weekend, so talk about being BUSY BUSY BUSY! First up was Trick or Treat on the Row followed by Trick or Treat at the Zeringues. Ella Kate and Riley were LSU Golden Girls this year and I have to say, these were my favorite costumes yet! They loved them and boy did they look cute! And of course, we had to get our pics made with the real Golden Girls!

And of course, our Annual Trip to the Pumpkin Patch! Always such a fun day and the kids just love it!!!

Fall Fun and GEAUX TIGERS!!!

2011-10-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have not been updating the blog that often, we have just been soooo busy!!! The girls are in full swing with school and then dance and gymnastics in the evening, it has been hard to keep up!

We had Riley's Fall picnic at school last Friday and boy did we have fun! Riles was all smiles having us there and was loving the yummy hamburgers. It was such a pretty day and Riley kept saying "come sit and have a picnic with me." She was so precious!

We have been busy cheering on our Tigers too! We are a family of LSU fans, the girls cheer just as loud as Scott and I when it comes to our Tigers! They are also huge fans of Mike the Tiger. We go and and visit him every Thursday evening before gymnastics. He is usually sleeping, so we leave a little bummed out. We missed our visit with him one Thursday night because we were running late and wouldn't you know it, we heard we was swimming and playing and we had missed it all!

So the next day Scott picked the girls up from school and they decided to go and see what Mike was up too. They arrive and there Mike is sleeping once again! Scott decided they just needed to be patient! And hour and half later, someone woke up and was ready to go for a swim!!!!!!!

Definitely worth the wait!!!!! GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Isabelle Rosalie Boneno

2011-09-06T08:03:00.001-07:00

Well, nothing ever goes as planned in our little Griswald family! Tropical Storm Lee brought a whole lot of suprises including our newest addition to our crazy family! We were all set for her to arrive on the 14th, so Scott and I and the girls along with Katie and her family all headed to Texas for the long weekend. We arrived at Biggie and Me Me Deb's Friday night around 8p. The girls were so excited to get there and could not wait to get in the pool! We all settled in for bed around 11p and I awoke to a text around 430a from Jen saying her water had broke and they were at the hospital!!! WHAT??!!!!! I woke up Katie and woke up Scott and then we woke up Dad and Deb. Katie and I were in a panic! How were we going to get back to BR with a Tropical storm pounding most of South La.???!!!! We turned on the weather channel and it did not look good at all! We made the hard decision to stay put, it was not safe for us to drive. We were all heart broken but knew Jenny and Baby were in good hands and Kevin and Mom promised to keep us updated!

Thank goodness for Skype! This was the next best thing to being there! We were able to talk to Jen and Kevin and see their anxious faces! We were all gathered around the computer including all of the kids! We skpyed one last time and then Kevin said "Ok, time to have a baby, we will talk to you later!". The computer screen went black and then silence. We sat there on pins and needles waiting for them to call us back!!!! And then Mom made the call.......................

IT's A GIRL!!!!!!!! IT's A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Katie and I were screaming at the top of our lungs!!! Tears were flowing and I all I remember is hugging Katie and jumping up and down! Deb and Dad were hugging and I think Ella Kate just looked at us all like "I TOLD YOU SO!!!" She had the biggest smile on her face and ran to hug Libby, Mills and Riley! Russell and Scott just looked at us all like we were crazy! But that is us, we are the Griswalds and we wouldn't have it any other way!

Isabelle Rosalie Boneno was born Saturday 9/3 at 243p. She weighed in at 5 lbs 14 oz 19 in. She is Gorgeous!!!! Kevin told us what a Champ Jen was and I could hear the pride in his voice! Luca has a baby sister!!! Their little family is now complete.

We finally were able to get back to Baton Rouge yesterday and meet Baby Isabelle. She is the most precious little thing ever and even though we were not there when she came into this world, I felt like she knew we were with her the entire time! Ella Kate and Riley were over the moon, they kept wanting to hold her and everytime I asked if I could hold her, Ella Kate would say, "Yes, but you will give her right back to me, right???" None of us wanted to let her go, she is just so sweet!

Their Little Princess has arrived!!!!!! We are so blessed to welcome her to the Griswald Family!

1st Day of School

2011-08-12T07:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a very big day for us, first day of Pre K for Ella Kate!!!!!
We walked Riley over to daycare first so Ella Kate could show off her new uniform to all of Riley's friends and to her old teachers, she was so proud! And then we walked over with some of her friends to their classroom. It was so special! I left her there and looked back and she was just a smiling away, as happy as can be!

Me Me picked her up later and said she had a great first day! I asked her all about it and she told me her teacher, Mrs. Gina, was awesome and it was so fun! She said she had recess and ate lunch in the cafeteria and carried her lunch tray like a big girl!!!

Yep, my little girl is growing up!!!!!!

Our little Crawfish

2011-07-31T08:24:00.000-07:00

Ella Kate has been busy this summer! She just finished up swim classes at Crawfish Aquatics. Riley kept busy playing on the waterslides and eating snow balls while her sister was learning to become a fish!

Check out our little swimmer in action-

And Riles the Daredevil-

A Star is Born!!!!

2011-06-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

Ella Kate loves to DANCE! She has been so excited about her recital and could not wait to get on that stage! It was the cutest thing ever to see her up there and it brought tears to my eyes! We were all there to cheer her on and I think Riley was the proudest of us all! She rocked her Recital! Even when her tap shoe went flying off mid tap routine, the girl kept going like the star she is!! We were so proud of her!!!! And boy did she love all of the flowers that she was given after her performance!!! It was a magical night for our little ballerina!!!

Here are videos of her from the dress rehearsal, talk about cute!!!!-

And lots of pics from the Recital!-

Annual Griswold's Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

Every year, we go to Dad and Deb's for Memorial Day Weekend, we pile the kids in the car and take off! The kids live in the pool and the adults partake in lots of good food and spirits. Let me just set the scene for you-we are the GRISWOLDS!!!!

If you listen closely, I swear you could hear "Holiday Road, oooooo oooohhhh Holiday Road!" in the background! We lived up to our Griswold name-kids everywhere, toys strewn about, sippy cups mixed in with beer bottles, little potty breaks pool side and a near caddyshack moment thanks to Luca, dixie cups for wine by the pool,full bellies that require half a bottle of Tums, sunburns, and laughter! ALOT OF LAUGHTER!!! When we get together, we sure do have some fun!!!

And this was probably the most precious sight ever- SILENCE IS GOLDEN!!!! This was the only quiet time we had all weekend!

Sweet Sisters

2011-05-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

When I look at my girls together, it melts this Mama's heart! I know first hand how wonderful it is to have a sister and there is nothing like that special bond that sisters share! I love that my girls get to experience all of the special memories that my sisters and I shared like tea parties and playing dress up together!

I love how protective Ella Kate is of Riley and how from the moment she laid eyes on her, she knew she was the big sister and she would always look after her little sis. I love how Ella Kate comforts Riley when she falls down and tells her "It's ok, come give Big Sister a hug!" And there is nothing like seeing that big sister cuddle up with her little sister while sleeping.

I adore how Riley is always walking around the house calling out "Ella Kate, Ella Kate" because she wants to be wherever her sister is! Riley tags along to dance class and t-ball and cheers her big sister on with the biggest smile on her face! Oh and boy does she look up to her big sister, she wants "a big girl pony tail like Ella" and wants to wear the same dress her sister has on! So now I have to buy 2 of everything!!!!

Oh how sweet sisters can be! One day they will realize just how very lucky they are and will treasure the same bond that I share with my sisters. There is nothing like having a sister!

Okaloosa Island

2011-05-18T07:51:00.000-07:00

We had such a wonderful beach vacation!!! The girls were so excited about our trip and asked me everyday leading up to our vacay, "If today was the day???" They love the water and building sand castles and collecting seashells. And I love nothing more than seeing them so happy and seeing those smiling faces! And we loved that Me Me, and Logan, Emma, Aunt Lesley, and Uncle Brandon came with us! Boy did we make some memories!

We had the most amazing weather the entire time we were there and the water was so blue and clear! Scott and Brandon went snorkling a few times and even found a starfish and a couple of sand dollars. Ella Kate collected every shell she laid her eyes on and Riley loved the waves and would point to the water and say "I want to go in!!!!" We spent most of the morning at the beach and then the afternoon was spent in the pool, they all were little fishies and never wanted to get out!

We went crab hunting at night and that was so much fun! The last night we were there we found a bunch and Riley was the only one brave enough to touch the crabs, that kid is not afraid of anything!

We had a ball and were all so sad when it was time to head home. I think the kids had to say good bye to the beach and pool a million times and even had to stick their feet in the water one last time. I know how they feel, I always get sad to leave and always take one last look at the beach and take it all in to tide me over till next Summer.

Till then when we have these pictures and memories to remind us of our time-

Potty Queen

2011-04-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

SO proud of RILEY!!!! I took the long Easter weekend to potty train her and the girl ROCKED IT!!!! She is loving her little underwear and enjoys picking out a new pair each morning. Her little face lights up and she says "I am doing it Mama, I am tee teeing!" And then she follows that with a "Give me a HIgh Five!" Love this!!

I got to school yesterday and they said she had a great day with NO ACCIDENTS!!! This girl is the Potty Queen!!!!

And here is her Potty Train Chart, one more sticker and she made it to the end and it is "Potty Party Time!!!!!!"

Birthdays, Ball Games, and Bunnies!!!!

2011-04-27T09:13:00.001-07:00

We have been so busy! First off, we have had a different Birthday party every single weekend and the girls have loved every minute of it! Cake and Ice Cream and Fun, what's not to love!!!! We went to the coolest kids' park in Covinton for Mills' Third Birthday! There was so much to see and do, we will definitely be going back to this place, the girls had an absolute ball! And Mills was King of the Play Ground!

Next up was Luca's Party! He celebrated turing 2 Carnival Style! Bubbles the Clown was there and she painted everyone's face, she did quite the number on me though! Ella Kate kept calling me Lady Ga Ga! There was a clown, popcorn machine, and even a bounce house so the kids were beyond thrilled! Little Luca had a wonderful day!

Ella Kate started TBALL this spring and is so sporty!!! The girl can hit and boy is she fast! She has made her Daddy very proud! Her team name is the Orioles and Norm and Kyle are her coaches. We named Riley and Harper as the Bat Girls and even made them shirts! It has been so funny watching these games, we have all had a blast! And Katie is loving that Ella Kate is number 5, "Look Alive Number 5", that is what they used to tell Katie when she played soft ball!

We kicked off the Easter Celebration with an Easter Egg Hunt at the Kappa House! Talk about fun! The kids loved finding all of the eggs, I think Ella Kate cleaned them out, her basket was full up! Luca came along too and he was stylin' in his shades! It was such a pretty day!!!

We had a wonderful Easter with family!! The Easter Bunny came to visit and left the girls all kinds of good stuff! Then we had an Easter Egg hunt with cousins Logan and Emma followed by delicious hamburgers and pool time! It was a beautiful day!!

Throw Me Something Mister!!!!!!

2011-03-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

"Throw Me Something Mister"!!!!! That has been the phrase of the month! We celebrated March with Mardi Gras and St Patrick's Day Parades! The girls had a blast and caught lots of good stuff. They got nailed in the head by flying beads a few times too, but they toughed it out!

We kicked it off with the Krewe of Tots Parade at St Aloysius. Scott decorated the girls' wagon and they were ready to roll!! Ella Kate was all excited about her Mardi Gras tshirts her class made and was showing hers off proudly! Riley was more about eating the candy than she was throwing! This parade is usually a hit with the girls, but Ella Kate decided it was too loud this year and started bawling crying and we had to take a detour. It is pretty overwhelming, little kids screaming at the top of their lungs"THROW ME SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Next up with the Spanish Town Parade! We had a blast over at Crawford and Sutton's Dad's office even though it rained all day! The kids racked up on so much stuff because the crowds were so small due to weather. No One was Raining on Our Parade!

And then it was off to the St. Patty's Parade! We went over to the Lemoine's with the Sunstroms and had so much fun! Beads, Bounce House and Beer, what more could you ask for!

A Party fit for a Princess!

2011-02-28T12:11:00.001-08:00

We had a ball at Ella Kate and Riley's Princess and Frog Party! There were so many little pretty princesses and handsome little froggies! The girls were so excited to get all dressed up and celebrate with their friends! And they LOVED the castle bounce house, so much so that they were still bouncing the next morning! Happy Birthday my Beautiful Girls! Nothing makes me happier than seeing your smiles! What a fun day!

Happy Birthday Ella Kate!!!!!!!!!!

2011-02-22T07:08:00.000-08:00

Ella Kate turned 4 today! She waltzed into our world 4 years ago today and has been bossing us around ever since!!! She blazoned the way for her younger sister and has taught us a kind of love that I never even knew existed, my heart hurts sometimes from loving her and her sister so much!!! Happy Birthday Ella Bean! We love you!!!

Happy Birthday Riley!!!!!

2011-01-18T12:27:00.000-08:00

Two years ago today at exactly 344am, our sweet Riley Anne was born!!! I still cannot believe she is already 2 years old!!! The last few years so she has touched our lives in so many ways- She is tough as nails,at times way stronger than even her Mommy. She is so funny and has the best laugh,it is one of those laughs that makes you join in with her! The girl has a heart of gold and adores her big sister!

We love you so much Riley Belle!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Beautiful Girl!!!!

HEAUX HEAUX HEAUX!!!!

2011-01-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

Christmas came and went over at the Falgoust House! The girls loved all of their presents and boy did they rack up! It was the year of Rapunzel-bike, scooters, dolls, and even a Rapunzel Tower! We spent time with our family and just enjoyed the holidays! Ella Kate's class even had breakfast with Santa and the girls both got to visit Mr and Mrs. Clause at Bass Pro! It was a jam packed Christmas full of family, food, and lots of memories!

Breakfast with Santa-

Visit to see Santa-

Christmas Eve, making cookies for Santa and Reindeer Food-

Christmas Day-

More Christmas Fun-

Jam Packed October

2010-11-01T13:19:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy!!!!! Oct started out with Ella Kate's first LSU Football Game! Scott and I could not wait to take her to her first game and see her face light up in Tiger Stadium! We made it even more special by bringing her best bud Emery, those two are a sight together! They had so much fun and were really good! Their favorite thing were the Golden Girls and Scott taught them had to yell when the Tigers got a Safety! We all cheered the Tigers onto a Victory!!!

The following weekend we had a visit with Ganny!!! Dad and Deb met the girls and I in Shreveport and we had a fun filled few days together! It was so nice spending time with my sweet Ganny and she loved seeing Ella Kate and Riley. And they loved her and the endless amount of jelly beans she kept giving them! We fit in a lunch at Superior and then watched the LSU/Auburn game. We weren't too happy with the outcome of the game but that didn't spoil our good time!

My most favorite moment of the weekend came when Ganny dug up this old shirt for the girls to have. My sisters,cousins, and I all wore these shirts 30 some odd years ago for an ad when my Paw Paw ran for Clerk of Court. They were my Mother's creation and I can remember taking this picture like it was yesterday! Deb and I texted the pic to Jen, Katie, and Mom and it brought tears to their eyes! So very special! I am pretty sure Paw Paw was smiling down on at us that day!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!! Our Halloween Festivities started out with Trick or Treat on the Row!!! Such a great time and the girls love seeing the cheerleaders and Mike the Tiger!

More Trick or Treating!!!! Annual Zeringue Party and Riverbend Halloween! We had so much fun!!! Got to hang out with all of our buds, Riley loved all of the candy and Ella Kate discovered a yummy Purple drink thanks to Mr. Norm!!! Can you say "SUGAR HIGH"?????!!!!!!

We also had the St ALoysius Fair which kept us VERY busy! Scott and I were up there all weekend long working it and thank goodness for Me Me and Ya Ya for watching the girls. The girls loved the Fair, especially all of the rides!! Ella Kate even went on the big ferris wheel with her Daddy and her friend Kate. Her and Emery braved the big slide together and Riley loved them all!!!! She put a death grip on of the horses when our turn on the Merry Go Round was over and I told her it was time to get off, she did not want to let go of her Horsey! They blew through all of our money in a blink of an eye and when we told them it was time for them to go home, they were not happy! We had to bribe them with some popcorn to leave and that did the trick!

Fabulous Fall

2010-10-11T16:38:00.000-07:00

We kicked off October at the Girl's School Fall Picnic! It was a beautiful day and the excitement was in the air for the Weekend's LSU game.

The weather has been so nice and it has just been GORGEOUS outside! Perfect weather for taking our little Punkins to the Pumpkin Patch!!!! The kids had such a wonderful time! There were so many things for them to do: pumpkins, face painting, a petting zoo, a zip line, tractors, swings, it was too cute! Ella Kate chose the smallest baby pumpkin she could find and Riley changed her mind several times before settling on the perfect one! We stopped for some Ice Cream on the way home which was a nice little treat and EK loved her sprinkled cone! Afterwards, the girls insisted their Daddy carve their pumpkins!!! It was such a fun Day!

Summer Wrap Up

2010-09-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

Summer is winding down so we are cramming everything in! We all packed up and went to Biggie and Me Me's Deb's for Labor Day Weekend. The kids had a blast and stayed in the Pool most of the weekend! We also had an Early Birthday Celebration for Dad who turns 60 on Oct 16th. We all sported our LSU Gear for the first game of the season and luckily pulled out a WIN! Many laughs and lots o wine were had by All!!

The following weekend was another away LSU Game, we had plans to watch the game with the Riverbend Crew and as luck would have it, it was Riverbend's Fireman Appreciation Day so we got to hang out with the Firefighters and the kids got to check out the truck. Ella Kate would not go near the Fire Hose but Riley was all about it!

Beach Vacay

2010-08-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

We went to Florida last week for our Annual Beach Trip. Jen, Kevin, Luca and Ya Ya came with us and we had such a wonderful time despite the rainy weather. It rained on us most of the time we were there but we made the most of it! We loved our condo, it was on the ground floor and our patio opened up to the pool and beach, it was perfect! We spent most of our nights on that patio sipping wine and listening to music and sharing laughs. The kids had a blast playing in the sand and water and loved every minute of being at the Beach.

I did not want the trip to end, I always get sad when it is time to leave. The girls and I waved good bye to The beach our last day and said "See Ya Next Summer!" So until then......

Sweet Slumbering Sisters

2010-08-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

The girls have ended up in our beds alot the last week! Not sure what is the problem, but they make their way into our big ol bed at different times of the night. Ella Kate just walks on in and whispers to me that she wants in and crawls on over. Riley has a different approach, she just cries and hollars out "MAMA" over and over again until I finally come and get her. There she will be- just standing in her crib holding all of her blankies with one hand and the other one will be reaching out for me. Thank goodness for our king size bed, because Roux also sleeps with us and he is a major bed hog!

This morning was no different, woke up to me being on the very edge of the bed and two very precious little girls sandwiched in the middle between Scott and I. This is the sight that I woke up to and I think my heart melted at that very moment.....

Doesn't get any better than this!

Chatty Patty

2010-08-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

Riley is talking non stop these days and I caught her in action the other night on camera! Here she is going through all of the family-

More family, love how she says "Russell"-

And then we have this video, right after the girls' bath I was walking Riley and Ella Kate into their rooms to put their pj's on. I am trying to get a diaper when I see something on Riley's hands, I was like what in the world??? Ella Kate screamed "IT IS POOP!" Sure enough, Scott spotted poop in the hallway, seems Riley "Had to go" while in en route from the tub to her room!!! We were dying! But the funny part was everytime we asked her "Who did it?", she would blame it someone else. And she went down the list-Me Me did it, Ya Ya did it, Ella did it, Mama did it, Roux Roux did it. Here is her blaming it on her Daddy-

Daddy's Girls

2010-07-22T09:41:00.001-07:00

The girls are all about their Daddy these days! Riley goes around the house saying "DAD-EEEEEE" "DAD-EEEEEEE"! And then both go running to the door as soon as they hear the little ding ding of the alarm, they know that sounds means Daddy's Home!!! I am pretty sure it is the highlight of his day seeing those faces light up at the sight of him! They are both yelling his name, giggling, and trying to jump in his arms. I just sit back and watch them in awe! And then we have the nights where they beg to go and wait outside for him, so that is what we do and they get so excited when they see that white truck drive up! Even Roux starts going nuts!

They love their Daddy! Probably because he lives for making them happy and loves to see them smile! For example, this was their entertainment the other night-

And oh how we all laughed!!! It was wonderful suprise to the weekly night ho hum! And the girls just ate it up! That's their Daddy!!!!

July 4th Weekend

2010-07-06T06:38:00.001-07:00

Our long Holiday Weekend started out with a sleep over at Emery's House. The girls were so excited and talked about their sleep over all week! Ya Ya was there babysitting Em and Harper while Kyle and Erin were at the beach. Ya Ya bought the girls some Toy Story Popcorn which they loved and ate while they watched Toy Story! They had alot of fun, but boy did they wear us out! I think we all finally collasped around 10p!

The next morning I took Ella Kate and Emery for a little outing together. We went and purchased dance shoes, made a trip to Pigtails and Crewcuts for a haircut for Miss EK, and then to Walmart. I made a promise to the girls if they were good, they could have a treat. They decided they wanted marshmallows, no idea where they came up with this, but this Mama said "easy enough" and we grabbed us some mini marshmellows from Walmart and were good to go! Next stop was McDonalds drive thru for some happy meals for lunch, but wouldn't you know it, both girls were snoozing by this time in the back seat. They were so sweet together and it was a treat for me to spend the morning with them!

We had a low key but fun 4th of July! The kids got to hang out together and we did a little swimming over at Emery's house. Later that night, Scott and I loaded the girls in the car and drove around the neighborhood looking at all of the fireworks! Riley did not seem that impressed and fell asleep but EK loved it, Scott let her sit up in the front with me and put down the sun roof for her and she "ohhhhed" and "awwwwed"!

Ella Kate had her first dance class yesterday! EK and her BFF Emery were all smiles for class and reminded me so much of Erin and I so many years ago! They were too cute and were pretty good if I do say so myself!

And here are just a few random cute pics of the girls and a funny video of Riley in action!!!

Our Little Blueberry Picker

2010-07-01T07:03:00.000-07:00

MeMe invited Ella Kate on a little Blueberry Picking Adventure last week! Her Nanny and Parrain and cousins also joined in on the fun! She had such a great time and loved picking as well as eating her little berries!

Here is a pic of the lil diva en route to her Berry destination-

In action-

Looks like she found something else she liked while there! Our little Biker Chic!

Summer Fun

2010-06-21T12:32:00.001-07:00

Our Summer started out with Ella Kate's End of Year School Party! We wanted to do something special to mark the kids moving to the next classroom-T1 so we had a party to celebrate and also show our appreciation for their teachers. I printed up some Achievement certificates for the kids to make it feel like a graduation, they loved this! It was really cute, we had their teachers call out their names and they all walked up in front of the class to get their certificate!

And then it was really time to start our Summer Fun with a trip to Biggie and Me Me Deb's for Memorial Day Weekend! We had a full house and had so much fun! The kids wanted to stay in the pool the entire time! We got lots of swimming in and lots of family time full of laughs! Thanks Dad and Deb for the yummy food and overflowing beer and wine! And for all of the loving on our kiddos, they sure do love you guys! And I love seeing your faces light up when you get to spend time with all of the grandbabies!

Next on the agenda was the CIRCUS! Ella Kate was so good and sat so still throughout the entire show! Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for Riley! She was good for about the first 30 minutes and then started throwing pacifiers at people! Tons of fun!!

Griswalds Gone Swimming!!! I sent Scott to the store to get a new baby pool and he came back with a water park fit for the Griswalds! We had two pools, a slip and slide, and tons of water guns! Great way to beat the Heat!

And next up it was time to celebrate Dads!! We celebrated Father's Day NOLA Style! We had beignets at Cafe Du Monde, walked outside by the river, went to the Aquarium and Insectarium. It was a fun filled day! EK loved that she got to have beignets just like Princess Tiana makes! And she was so excited to see all of the fish and insects! Riley on the other hand, was "Bad Betty"! She could not sit still, did not want to be in her stroller or be held, she just wanted to run wild! She wore us out! Even with her bad behavior, we still enojoyed our day! I had asked Scott what he wanted to do for his special day and his response was "To spend time with you and the girls", well, that is exactly what he got!!! Ella Kate was all about her daddy and woke him up that morning by shouting "HAPPY"S FATHER"S DAY!!!!"

Scott, I hope you had a nice day full of new memories to file away! And I hope you know how much the girls and I love you! You are our everything!! And accodring to Ella Kate, "Daddy can fix anything!" And that is pretty much true, so thank you for all that you do and for being such a wonderful father to our beautiful girls!

I have to give a shout out to my own Dad, thank you for being such a wonderful father and friend! No one does it like Big Al from Kingwood when it comes to loving his kids and grandbabies! Nothing like a daddy's love for his little girls!

And now according to Ella Kate, "After Father's Day, it is Friends' Day!" Not sure when this new holiday came about, but I like it!!! The girl loves her friends and so does her Mama!

And just a few cute pics of the girls! So funny, Riley now says "CHEEZ" and smiles when she sees a camera now! My Little Hams!

2010-06-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

Ella Kate took swim lessons at the YMCA. She loved the water and loved her teacher! Everyday she would ask me, "Do we get to go to Swim Classes today?" She would tell me "This is the best!" at every class! Scott was able to come to some of the classes too which she loved, she loved showing off and would give us a thumbs up every time it was her turn! She was such a little fishy and made us proud! Riley cheered her on from the side of the pool!

My Little Hams

2010-06-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

The girls have so much personality these days! Ella Kate loves to perform! I taught her the song "Glory of Love" from the movie Beaches and she goes around singing it all of the time! We caught her on camera doing her routine-

And Riley is bit of a ham herself! The girl is really starting to talk these days. Here is her vocabulary as of late-

Mama-she literally yells at me! She calls out "Ma Ma" when she wakes up in the moring and wants me to get her from her crib.

DaDa and Daddy
Ella
Uh-Oh(when she drops something)
Book
Baby
Bye Bye
Hey
"What's that?"
Poo Poo-she has told me twice now when she has pooped!
Tee Tee-she repeats this when her sister says she needs to go potty
Bo Bo(when I put a bandaid on her or her sister)
Roux Roux (our dog)
Ball
Side(outside)
Sit
MO (more)
Eat
Noonie(paci)
Me Me and Ya Ya (both of her grandmothers, now we just have to work on Me Me Deb and then Biggie and PaPop)
Luca(her cousin)
Linda (one of her teachers)
SHOES(the girl is obsessed with her shoes! She carries shoes all around the house and will even pick out shoes from my closet and will bring them to me to try on!)
Teeth
Nose
Ha Bow (hair bow)
Peekaboo

Here is a cute video of her and I playing Peek a Boo! Love that laugh!

Mother's Day

2010-05-18T12:21:00.000-07:00

We had the most Wonderful Mother's Day! We were lucky enough to spend the day with my Mom and my sisters and their families. We enjoyed a day at the Audubon Zoo, it was very crowded but we got there early and the weather could not have been more perfect! The kids loved seeing all of the animals and us Moms and Dads loved seeing their smiling faces! Afterwards, we decided to go to lunch at Cafe Rani. The kids were so good, no meltdowns! And the Moms got to enjoy bottomless mimosas, we shared a toast for such a wonderful and happy day. I told Scott it was my most favorite Mother's Day Yet!!!! Thank you to Scott and my girls for making me feel like the most special Mom ever!

Spring Fun

2010-04-18T15:18:00.001-07:00

We have been enjoying the nice Spring weather and spending lots of time outdoors! We made a trip out to Global Wildlife and had so much fun! We fed lots of animals! The highlight were the Giraffes and of course Daddy broke the rules and fed the zebras even though he was not suppose to because they will bite!

We got to go to the Train Gardens in City Park for Aidan's Birthday Party, it was so much fun! Ella Kate got to play with her buddies Sydney and Aidan and we got to see new baby Avery! Riley and Abby were there too! It was so pretty in the park and the girls could not resist the flowers, they kept trying to pick the flowers in the Botanical Garden.

The girls love eating outside at their picnic table together. Riley often steals food from Ella Kate's plate when she is not looking, it is hilarious!

And Ella Kate got to go to her first LSU Baseball Game! Ya Ya stayed and watched Riley so Scott and I and our very own LSU cheerleader could go to the game. We were able to sit through a couple of innings, but EK was getting a little restless. She made me take her to the bathroom several times and went through a smoothie, popcorn, and some m&m's. Then we let her play on the LSU playground they have inside of the stadium, it is too cute! After an ice cream cone, it was time to go home! She was worn out and passed out! And way to go Tigers, they beat Bama!!! GEAUX TIGERS!

Easter

2010-04-11T19:05:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter weekend! Went to visit the Easter Bunny on Good Friday and met up Me Me and Uncle Kevin and Luca. We waited in line for over hour to see Mr Bunny and finally got our turn. First once, no meltdowns and we actually got a really cute picture! Since the kids were so good, we rewarded them with some play ground time and a carousel ride. We had such a fun day!

On Easter Sunday, we fried fish and hung with famiy at our house. The kids had an Easter egg hunt and played all day!

Here are many pics of our fabulous weekend-

March Recap

2010-04-07T06:24:00.000-07:00

March was a very busy month for us! We had so many birthday parties this month and EK loved every bit of that! The girls had so much fun at Luca's Train themed birthday party! And boy did Luca love his cake, it was a wonderful first birthday for our little Luca! And the train was a hit!

Earlier in the month, We took the girls to the St Patty's Day Parade, they had such a great time and caught a ton of beads! But as you can see from the last pic, we were exhausted afterwards!

We went to visit Mike the Tiger and of course he was sleeping. The girls still had fun and EK even did a cheer for Mike-"GEAUX TIGERS, WAKE UP MIKE!"

We had nice weather towards the end of March so we took the girls to the park to fly their new lady bug kite!

A few pics

2010-03-05T08:44:00.000-08:00

Rock Star Riley

I call this one, "My three little piggies in a blanket!" I was getting dressed for work the other morning and drying my hair. When I was done, I walked into our room and found this precious site.

And here are pics of our Lil Bruiser! Riley is all over the place these days and she fell at school and got her first shiner.

Feb Recap

2010-02-24T06:55:00.000-08:00

February has been very busy for us! We had so much going on!! The girls had their annual Mardi Gras parade at school on Feb 5th. The Crewe of Tots rolled at 10am that morning and boy did we have fun! Ella Kate and Emery rode in one wagon together and Harper and Riley rode in another. Luca rode in his hip trikester! Mr Kyle brought some really cool throws for the girls so i am pretty sure they were the hit of the parade, see for yourself-

LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULEZ!!!!!!!!!!!

And then the next day was Em's Princess Party! The girls got all gussied up and had such a wonderful time! Happy Birthday Emery!

And then we had the unbelievable Superbowl Win for the Saints!!!! WHO DAT! Talk about a PARTY!

Busy, busy, busy! Riley had tubes put in on Feb 11th, which also happens to be Scott's birthday! Happy 35th Scotty!!! Anyway, Riley did great, she was screaming in recovery though, she was HUNGRY! She downed an 8 ounce bottle and wanted more and got mad at Mommy for not bringing anymore milk. She fell asleep on the car ride home and took a good nap and felt much better when she woke up. Here are a few pics of her before the surgery-

And here are a few pics of her dowing that bottle in recovery-

And then the next day SNEAUX!!!!!!!!! The weather has been crazy! We woke up and no snow, just rain. I was convinced it was not going to snow, so we are going about our normal morning routine when all of sudden I glance out the window and it is SNOWING!!!! I ran screaming through the house and Ella Kate was so excited and wanted to go and play and make snowballs.

Riley is growing up so fast! She is really walking now, it is so funny to see her go and Ella Kate cheers her on! They are so cute together, they hug and kiss one another, melts this Mama's heart! Riley loves to point and points to whatever it is she wants! She is also saying "more" now in sign language and also has some new words-"BaBa"(bottle), "Roux Roux", "Socks", "Ball", and "Babeee"(baby) and of course she loves hollering "EWWA" when she is looking for her sister. She is also pretty good at repeating and has repeated some words or phrases she hears us saying. The other day I said 'Thank You" and she repeated "Tank ewwww". Too cute! And Ella Kate has such an imagination these days, she likes to make up stories and play make believe. She reminds me alot of myself when I was a little girl! She calls Scott her "Prince Charming" and Riley is her little "Prince". I am her "Heiness". Too funny!

Our little Cupcakes had their birthday party on Feb 20th and it was alot of fun! We ended up having the most beautiful weather and it was a perfect day! The girls had such a great time with all of their friends and family!!!

Birthday Girl

2010-01-28T06:59:00.000-08:00

I am a little behind in posting but Riley's birthday was last Monday! Can't believe our little girl is already 1! We didn't do anything too big since we are having a joint birthday party for the girls next month, but we did sing to her and gave her her a cupcake. She loved the icing! And Ella Kate loved singing happy birthday to her baby sister. MeMe and YaYa came over to help us celebrate.

The week went downhill from there. At Riley's one year check up, we found out she had a double ear infection. We had a rough week, we were in and out of the doctor's office because the antibiotics were not working. So two different antibiotics and two shots of roseffin later and her ears are still not clear. But at least the shots seemed to help with the fever. And she is teething at the same time, she has 5 teeth up top one of which is a molar that just popped through. Poor Baby! And we are headed to the ENT tomorrow,pretty sure tubes are right around the corner.

We saw her Cleft Team this past Monday for her annual check up. Everything went well, but they did check her ears and said they were pitful and they thought she would need tubes ASAP. Ella Kate came with us to the appt becuase she was not feeling well so I did not want to send her to school. She was still not feeling well the next day so she came to work with me, she was so good for her Mama. MeMe took her to the doctor later that day and turns out she now has an ear infection and bronchitis. My poor girls! Scott and I are pretty worn out too! She is on an antibiotic and seems to be feeling better so she went to school yesterday!

Oh and I forgot to mention that Riley is starting to walk!!!! She started taking about 4-5 steps at a time over the weekend. It is the cutest thing ever and she just gets so tickled with herself. She is pretty brave so you have to watch her like a hawk because she takes a few steps and then comes tumbling down!

Here are some pics of Riley and her cupcake-

And this is little Riley snoozing mid breakfast, so funny!

And just a cute pic of the girls-

And a cute pic of Riley lunching at Chick Fil A-

Holly Jolly Christmas

2010-01-13T07:09:00.000-08:00

We have been soooo busy, so i am just now getting to recap all of our Christmas Festivities on the blog. We had a wonderful holiday with all of our family and friends and Santa was so good to us all! The girls loved all of their toys and Ella Kate loved seeing all of the Christmas lights on all of the houses. She was so sad when the tree and all of the lights had to come down, but I told her not to worry, they would all be back next year!

Here are tons of pics from Christmas Eve over at Jen and Kevins and then Christmas Day at our house-

And over the holidays, EK went to the movies for the first time ever! We met up with her best friend Emery and her parents and saw "The Princess and the Frog." It was such a cute movie and the girls loved it! They were dancing in the aisles! They were pretty good for their first movie experience, they did get a little loud at times but no one seemed to mind. They had a blast together! Here are some pics-

Gingrbread Dropouts!

2009-12-23T07:06:00.001-08:00

Ella Kate and I attempted to make a gingerbread house, we didn't do so well! But we sure did have a fun time trying! EK said she was making the house for Riley, I told her sister would be so proud! I think she enjoyed eating all of the icing and candy the most!

Ho Ho Ho

2009-12-21T13:03:00.000-08:00

We took the girls to Bass Pro to see Santa. There was a pretty long line but at least it was moving(unlike the mall). So RIley and I took our place in line while Ella Kate and Scott walked around the store. EK loved seeing all of the animals and kept asking her daddy to take her back to see Bambi! Riley and I hung out in line while she proceeded to eat everything and anything I could find in my diaper bag! It was finally our turn and Ella Kate looked like she not going to go anywhere near Santa so Scott bribed her, he told her if she sat with Santa he would buy her a Barbie fishing rod. Well, she opted for Ms Clause instead so we handed Riley off to Santa and she took one look at him and lost it! She was not a fan! Ella Kate was happy, she left with her Barbie Fishing Rod!

November has come and gone.......

2009-12-03T10:26:00.000-08:00

Just playing catch up-lots going on over at the Falgoust House. Our Thanksgiving was pretty much a bust! We all had the stomach bug and it traveled from person to person all last week. Scott got it on Wednesday and was in bed most of Wed and Thursday and he is the Chef! Me Me took over the cooking duties and all was well in the food dept but too bad all that were up for eating was three of us-Me, Mom, and Ms Angela! The girls sat at the table with us as well, but everyone else was at home sick!!! We have so much to be thankful for so we tried not to let it get us down!

One of Riley's top teeth came in the day before, we keep trying to get a look at it but she will not let us, she lets me poke at it with my finger but not for long! She may just get her two front teeth in for Christmas! She is also crawling everywhere and pulling herself up to stand! She "cruises" when she is holding onto things. Her favorite thing is standing at Ella Kate's kitchen, she is already taking after her dad's love of cooking! And she is all about her sister, she will follow her wherever she goes and I think is even saying her name"EWWA"!

Of course, Ella Kate just loves Riley too. They love to laugh together and it in turns makes us all laugh at them! Ella Kate is all over the place, one minute throwing a tantrum because I will not let her wear her dress up shoes to school and the next being a sweet little angel who tells her Mommy-"Mommy, you are so beautiful and funny!" I think she already has the manipulation thing down pat! I heard her singing in the hallway the other night and looked out to see her decked out in a tu tu with all of her dress up jewelry on and dress up shoes and she was singing- "I am so beautiful, I am so beautiful!!!!" It was too cute! She is also loving all of the Christmas lights, she makes me drive around our neighborhood so she can see them all and last night we were front of a house and she said-"Oh Gracious, they are just so beautiful!" My heart instantly melted!!!!

Now we are just gearing up for Christmas! Santa will be here before we know it!

Riley

2009-11-11T06:03:00.000-08:00

Riley is growing up so fast! She started crawling last week and gets so tickled with herself as moves from here to there! It is the cutest thing ever! Ella Kate says she taught her how to crawl! We all cheer Riley on and she loves it! I totally forgot about this stage with Ella Kate and how once they start crawling, I have to start brushing all of Roux's hair off their clothing from crawling across the wood floors! Time to break out the lint rollers! Riley also has learned to clap, gotta get that one on video but here is her and her crawling skillz!

Oct Festivities

2009-11-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

We had a very busy October! We went to the Pumpkin Patch and the girls picked out big and small pumpkins! Ella Kate had a great time carving her first pumpkin with her Daddy! Riley liked holding the smaller pumpkins and checking them out. We also had some pictures made of the girls and they turned out so cute! They definetly got their wear out of their Halloween costumes this year, we trick or treated on several occasions. The girls and their Me Me and I went trick or treating on Sorority Row! We all had such a great time and the girls had their pics made with the Golden Girls, the LSU Cheerleaders and the Tiger Girls! Ella Kate even cut a rug in front of the Kappa House, she loved the music they were playing and danced her little heart out in the middle of the street! We went to the Zeringues' party in Riverbend on Friday night and that was alot of fun, EK and her best buds went from door to door in search of candy! Riley happily rode in the wagon and snacked on her Puffs! And on Saturday we handed out candy at our house and that was fun too! So it was a busy but very fun and memorable month! Here are all of the pics-

Riley's First Word

2009-09-29T06:52:00.000-07:00

The sweetest sound ever!!!!! Riley is saying Mama!!! I just love it! Especially since Ella Kate said DaDa way before she ever said Mama! Here is our girl in action!

Lil Tigers

2009-09-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics of our Lil Tigers-Ella Kate,Riley and Luca!! Jen and Kevin came over last weekend to watch the game and we got the kids together to play, of course they were representing in their Tiger Gear! Riley and Luca were also once again sportin' the drool!