Too Much Monkey Business

When I was a small child, my father would often ask me, "Who do you love?" I always gave the obligatory answer expected of a child my age, "You, Daddy." His follow-up question would inevitably be, "Who are you going to marry?" Since this was before I knew that Damon existed, I would usually reply, "You, Daddy," to this question as well. One day, however, I stunned my father with another reply. I said one simple word: "Elvis." There was a pregnant pause and then cruel laughter. "You can't marry Elvis! Elvis is dead!" A million thoughts ran through my head: Huh? What?! Why had no one shared this information with me? And when did it happen, because I had just finished watching one of his movies and he looked healthy as a horse. I am sharing this intensely private tale of shattered dreams because it ties in with this blog's title: "Too Much Monkey Business." Remember that Elvis song? Well, I do, and when I think of Elvis I can't help but remember how my plans for matrimonial perfection ended in one bitter reality check. Now that I've shared my Debbie Downer moment of the day and we've all shed a tear in memory of the King, let's move on to someone who LOVES monkey business!

Stella recently had a chance to visit "Monkey Biz" in Baton Rouge with her Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw. I was there, too, but mostly took pictures and missed out on all the real fun. Here she is cheesing it up in what she dubbed "Stella's House"... See-saw time with Maw-Maw...
Does it look like she had fun?
Stella and Maw-Maw in the ball pit. Stella was really more interested in directing others on how to play in the balls than she was at playing in them herself...
Boldly going where few grandparents have gone before. Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw both explored the labyrinth of tunnels and slides with Stella.
"Ya want one?"
Driving along in her automobile, and of course, making car noises with her mouth...
Back in the ball pit with a new victim...
Enjoying the roller slide...
Paw-Paw liked it, too. I will let my readers guess which grandparent tried out this slide belly-first and skinned both their knees in the process...
Whee! Fun! Stella is the cheapest date ever. She likes to play on the riding toys, as long as they are not going. Maw-Maw ended up with a roll of quarters and a kid who would have been happier if all the machines were unplugged...
Stella had a great time monkeying around with her grandpa and grandma. I had a great time watching them act like contortionists, as well as pondering the weight limit of the play structure. Overall, Monkey Biz gets two thumbs up from the toddler set and the 50 and over crowd.

Little Boy Blue

In addition to singing her ABCs, Stella also likes to entertain us with nursery rhymes...

Now I Know My ABCs...

Actually, she's known them for a while, but we finally got around to filming her and posting it. Enjoy!

Stella's Almost 2 Pictures

Yesterday, Stella and I took advantage of our last day of Mardi Gras break to visit one of our favorite summertime hot spots: the Sears Portrait Studio. I found a coupon on the bathroom floor that was only a little soggy from Stella's last bath/splashfest, and we renewed our friendship with the Sears staff and reminded them why they hate us: we don't fall for the sales pitch. The first pose is the one I chose to have printed... For wardrobe, we chose Stella's birthday dress from last year. Hey, it was an 18 month size and somehow she escaped ever having her portrait taken in it until now. Not really sure how that happened...

Stella was actually coming down with an ear infection during this session, so she is usually a lot more cooperative. Whereas she LOVED having Dara tickle me during her Christmas photo shoot, she screamed at the Sears photographer when she tried to tickle me. My guess is that it had something to do with the poor girl's lack of a handsome assistant...

I loved this one, but wanted to see that smocked birthday cake, so I turned it down...

Such a sweet baby...er, I mean, toddler...(sniffle, sob)And finally, 2 going on 12, the attitude, hand-on-her-hip shot. Thank goodness she learned how to put her hand on her hip in gymnastics class!

We'll soon be preparing Stella's birthday party invites, so get excited! More photos coming soon!

Throw Me Somethin', Mister!

Today we set out for Mardi Gras Parade take two, the LaPlace parade... Here is Stella, moments before the festivities, resting up for all the action...

The man who would be king...our personal friend and hopefully our next parish president, Buddy Boe, along with his lovely wife, Courtney...

Though most of our friends were driving convertibles with queens on the back, we did manage to have one float-riding connection. Our sweet friend Taylor made sure Stella got the good stuff...

Stella was obviously very grateful...

Direct quote from Damon, "This is my favorite Mardi Gras parade ever." I wonder why...

My personal favorite float...

Our little bead magnet...

Damon actually let me have a turn holding Stella...

We parked at Jamie's house and walked over to the parade route. Jamie was invaluable in the efforts to keep Stella from getting hit in the head with beads. Here we are taking a break and discussing defensive tactics...

Whoo-hoo! Beads!!!!

When the parade was over we visited with Jenna and Courtney for a few minutes. Are these not the three prettiest girls you've ever seen?

Thanks, Jamie, for a great day at the parade. You already know that Stella loves you "so much!"

Happy Valentine's Day!

Last year, we took pictures a few weeks early and made our own special Valentine's Day cards for friends and family. This year, we totally dropped the ball on our cards, and were late for church due to our own small home celebration. None the less, we wanted to share some Pourciau love with you this Valentine's Day. First, a kiss from Mommy and Stella... Stella posing by the "Jesus Loves Me This I Know" display at church...

Earlier that morning, Stella's Valentine's Day breakfast...well, at least, this is what she ate after she polished off her box of Starburst...

Taking a big girl bite of yummy eggs...

Hope your Valentine's Day was filled with sweet surprises!

Towahpa-what?

Wednesday night Stella witnessed her first Mardi Gras Parade while we were out doing a little shopping in Metairie. She was amazed that they were throwing out free necklaces, and she began begging me to take her to another parade. Today we gave in, and took her to Reserve for the annual Towahpasah. We have been hearing legends of this parade for years from the Zeringues, and believe me, it lived up to the hype. Lori's dad's house is on the parade route, so we were able to take advantage of some prime parade-viewing real estate thanks to Mr. Doona and Ms. Paula's generous hospitality. Stella got a little worn out towards the end of the parade's first pass...

A sampling of Stella's bizarre Towahpa-loot: a jester bear, a milk chocolate Santa Claus, and a rather smudged topless Cabbage Patch doll, complete with bloomers and frizzy hair...

She also caught a fragrant flower that she shared with Daddy...

Enjoying the witty conversational stylings of a nearby Zeringue...

Mawmaw and Pawpaw arrived in time for the parade's backyard pass...

The parade participants were very eager to give Stella their special stash of stuffed animals, and she ended up with an armload...

And strangely enough, even caught "It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown" on VHS. We had to explain to her what VHS was...

On the way home, she showed off one of her new necklaces...

And we finally gave her some refreshments. All that parading can make you a very thirsty girl...

Thanks, Lori and family! We had a great time at our first Towahpasah!

Who Dat Sleepin' in My Bed?

Well, I only left town for one day, but when I came back, someone younger and cuter had already stolen my spot... This morning Stella was repping her team and sporting some precious pigtails...

She likes the Saints, but she loves food, and she was not willing to pause her snacking long enough to take a picture. At least in this one you can't really see the bowl of grapes she was munching on...

Oh, and the pigtails that I spent 10 minutes perfecting? They lasted almost 30 minutes before Stella decided that she needed a new style. "Pigtails are so 2009!" she said. Oh, well. Geaux Saints!