Ally and Mari

On our way home from Natchez this past weekend we stopped over in Jackson for lunch with Miranda (my friend from highschool, housemate in college and bridesmaid) and her husband Jimmy and their daughter Ally. Ally is closer to Jake's age (she will be three in September) but she and Mari seemed to hit if off better. These pictures are of them playing outside in Ally's play house. Ally is so cute! The last time I saw her she was a baby.

Jimmy grilled and Miranda cooked a very nice lunch and it was great to see them again.

Fossils found on a walk after heavy rain

They have put in an access road behind our neighborhood and apparently it is on top of a prehistoric oyster/clam bed and so when it rains these fossils wash out.
Here is James' hand to show the size of them. Down the road a few miles north of us is a creek where you can find prehistoric sharks teeth as well. This last shot is of the field next to the road to show how widespread the find is.

We collected a few to play with in the sand box and promised Jake we would go back (with his Wellie boots) after the next big rain.

Trip to Water Valley

Jake and Mari must have been hungry waiting on lunch to start as they kept climbing into their booster seats at the table so finally I gave in and fed them ahead of everyone else (I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner).

Jake and Mari's toys are upstairs in John and James' old room and so quite of few of us gathered up there to watch them play.

I took these outside, I just thought they were cute!

Mari tryiing to get the camera.

The peacocks (male on left, female at right).

I don' t think Mari is afraid of anything, but when the peacock started making his awful screeching noise Jake wanted James to hold him.

Mari and her grandmother (Ann) playing with a ball.

Mother's Day

Jake loves helping me cook and is always begging me to let him cut the veggies, which of course I do not allow him to do. I thought it would be fun to let him make banana pudding and let him cut the banana's with a butter knife. Jake assisted in making two banana puddings (one for James' mom in Water Valley on Saturday and one for me and my mom on Sunday). I took a picture of him at every stage of the process as he was so proud. The desert was very good and it was so much fun to make it with him!
Above cutting the bananas and below stirring the pudding.

These two some how got out of order as the bottom one should go first, but they are Jake assembling the first layer of wafers and banana slices. He wanted to line them all up in straight even rows. It was perhaps the most orderly banana pudding ever made.

Rather than bore you with the repetition of the layers I skipped the second layering shots and here he his posing with the finished product!

Such a cheesy smile!

Mari and her Daddy enjoying the left over pudding.

Jake lined up the left over wafers into four rows: one for Mama, one for Daddy, one for Mari and one for Jake (well so he said, but then he ate them all himself).

Wellie Boots

With all this rainy weather Jake and Mari needed rain boots to stomp around the yard in. I had no trouble finding Jake's but I had to special order Mari's as her feet are so small (they don't make many shoes for walking infants in her size). Anyway, they finally arrived (in April) despite being ordered in January. Too cute!

Easter at my parents

We changed out of the Easter outfits to eat and hunt eggs at my parents' house. As you can see Jake is an old pro at egg hunts by now.
Mari is a fast learner! I know Jake didn't quite grasp what was going on at her age, but then again she had Jake to watch and mimic.

Mari above and Jake below.

Mari kept trying to open them with her mouth even though she doesn't like candy (Jake didn't either at her age); she just seems to really enjoy opening the eggs!

Easter Pics at the Whitten Center

On the way to hunt eggs and eat lunch at my parents' house we stopped at the Whitten Center to take some pictures. If you click on the pictures above and below you can see the horrible faces the kids make when you ask them to smile for the camera these days.

Mari stopped to pick flowers.

Jake and Mari running around in their Easter outfits.