Off to Mardi Gras!

Baby J and I leave Friday for Mardi Gras! It will be his first Mardi Gras and I CAN'T WAIT! I had this little longall made for him to wear to the parades. Isn't it adorable?

 

The week of J's 1st birthday we started switching over his 3 formula bottles to sippy cups and milk only. He now takes a sippy cup of milk when he wakes up and then drinks from it during the day and a bottle of milk at night. Pretty good for just a few weeks! I'm so scared to give up that night bottle, but I'm sure he'll be fine once I get the guts to do it. Any tips? Also, this trip will be our first without formula. It is pretty easy to travel with formula (or while you are breastfeeding), but I'm worried about the milk. I went and bought this. It says it will keep the milk cold for 12 hours. What do you do about milk when you travel with your toddler?

Oh, quick question for all of you Moms of little Southern boys. What kind of shoes do your little boys wear? I want something that goes with Baby J's smocked outfits and also gives him enough support for his walking. The Striderite store on the UES is not cutting it! Their options are SO UGLY! Help a Southern girl out! What's a great 1st shoe for new walkers? I've just been putting him in his little white robez and he needs more support!

Can anyone recommend a good book to read for the Toddler years. We are already experiencing the terrible twos, I bought this book, because I loved this one. But, would love a couple more!

Baby J and I are traveling by ourselves. I've done it quite a few times now, but since he is REALLY walking it should be interesting trying to get him to sit in my lap. The flight from LGA to ATL is 2.5 hours and the flight from ATL to PNS is about 1 hour, so we decided not to buy him a $350 seat. The last flight to California was the 1st time we bought a seat, so now I'm spoiled. Oh well! "A" will join us for my parade next weekend. I can't WAIT! This is going to be such a fun trip.

Tomorrow, one of my very best friends is being induced with her 2nd child.. You may remember praying for Scarlett, her 1st child that is missing the tissue that connects the left side of the brain with the right side. Scarlett is almost 2 now and doing pretty well. She has a lot of physical therapy, but is still not quite walking. Although she is a great climber! My friend will have her hands full, but I'm so excited for her. I am even more excited to get my hands on her little man! I can't believe I will get to be there!

On Saturday, I'm going to Mardi Gras parade and ball with some of my high school girlfriends. On Sunday, we have float loading. That is where we bring all of our bead and throws and put them on our floats. It is also a big party and I can't wait to see all my friends and their families. On Wednesday, it is one of my best friend's birthdays so we are celebrating with a Crawfish Boil! So fun! Thursday is our rehearsal and meeting and our float's party and Friday is our parade and ball!!!! This is going to be such a fun time with my family and friends!

Do you want to get in the Mardi Gras spirit? Order a king cake! A friend of mine up here asked where to get a King Cake shipped from and a few of my friends recommended these places:

http://www.kingcakes.com/
Gambino's Bakery: http://www.gambinos.com/shop/default.php
Cake Palace: http://www.thecakepalace.com/

Hope everyone is staying warm! Laissez les bonne temps roulez!!!!