Mardi Gras Mambo!

The catches of the day. (The one on my hip was the best thing I caught all day.)

In mid February, we got to celebrate yet another first with our Little Bean. Yep, that's right Will experienced his first Mardi Gras! Granted, it was a lot tamer and more kid friendly than the previous years, but Ben and I agree it was the best Mardi Gras we've ever had because we got to spend it with our sweet baby.

On Saturday, February 13, we took him to the Lafayette Children's Parade. As the bands rolled by and the floats drove past with beads flying through the air, I don't think he really knew what to make of the situation. He was probably wondering why in the heck everybody was so excited to catch beads worth no more than 50 cents a piece. It was a little chilly and windy that afternoon as well, so he wasn't as enthusiastic as we thought he might be. All in all, it was still a great first experience with him.

On Fat Tuesday, we decided to give it another go and took him to the Lafayette King's Parade, and he seemed to enjoy it much more. As the bands passed he would bounce his head to the beat, and after seeing me raise my hands up and hollering for beads, Will actually followed suit. It was so cute to watch him raise his hands up on his own and scream as the floats went by. I must admit, he was the reason that we caught so many beads. As the men on the floats would see him, they would point at him, then throw us the beads. Several times we had to go into full protection mode as the beads would rain on our little guy. He was just so cute they couldn't resist :) In fact, I think we caught more and better quality beads with him then we have in recent years. It was a blast!

Before we knew it, Mardi Gras was over and Ash Wednesday was here. We took Will to Ash Wednesday Mass in the evening, where he talked the entire time. It was kind of funny that Will didn't quite know what to make of the ashes on our foreheads. He even cried a little at Ben when he tried picking him up. After mass we enjoyed some fried shrimp poboys at one of our favorite restaurants in town. It was a special evening for us to share as a family.

Notice the excitement on Will's face (insert sarcasm here). Please don't criticize his wardrobe. We were running a little late, and didn't have time to get him dressed. He is slightly mismatched, but still as cute as a button.

Still not grasping the concept of the beads.


"I've got my game face on. Bring on the King's Parade!"

Following Momma's lead.


After Ash Wednesday Mass.