A photograph or a picture?

We have this discussion in my family about what is a phtograph and what is a picture? I say a photograph makes you feel something, and a picture shows you what's happening. Anyway...I think both of these are photographs (even if I did take them) I could look at that face all day every day...

Since this is my digital babybook here are Ethan's milestones:

Temper tantrums, oh my he is good at them. Although he's a mild mannered little fellow most of the time he is as dramatic as Robert when he gets really mad.

He is jumping on two feet (I think Robert was older when he did that) and runs all the time.

Ethan's vocabulary is growing as fast as my squash. Today he can say, bus, choo choo, "what's that?", eat, please, yes, no, cookie, juice, mine, me, Mama, Dada, brabra (which is Robert), cat, cow (which sound a lot a like), outside and so many more I can't remember them all.... the other day he made a sentence "Dog goes Ruff"

He loves to read and watch Thomas videos, he eats anything and everything but loves Mac and cheese and strawberries more than any other foods.

He is growing up so fast.

My baby boy is on the move

And my big boy is as sassy as ever Its going to be a crazy summer.

School ended on a high note with Robert getting several awards for reading. Baseball ended with a final victory. Robert and Ethan will both spend some time with Papa and Gigi this summer, in fact we are going to be very busy for the first few weeks. I promise we'll work in time for ice cream, long days in our pajamas and swimming...but we work best when we are busy. Wish us luck.

May has flown by. Robert has spent the whole month partying...his birthday, all sorts of end of the year celebrations at school. Ethan is into "choo choo" which is what he calls Thomas. He is getting so big and he even had his first hair cut, sort of...he got his bangs trimmed. School is almost out and summer is upon us. The garden is going crazy...I am gonna have to learn some new recipes for squash.
Summer is a tricky time for we Humphreys. I want to do everything and nothing. I want to travel and work and keep Robert busy. But I also want to sleep late, lay out by the pool and skip house cleaning for about three months. We'll have to see what happens.

Drill Baby Drill

"Drill Baby Drill" will always sound stupid from here on out. Anybody who grew up in Alabama, Mississppi, Louisana or the panhandle of Florida thinks of the Gulf Coast as our own. I am no different. When I was in seventh grade my class went to spend a week at Dauphin Island Sea Lab. We waded through marshes, collected specimens seined the bay etc. About half way through the week we had a classmate kill himself while we were there. It was a defining moment in time for me. And like everyone, where you are when you start to grow up becomes a part of who you are.

When I was in college Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Bon Secour were my playground. Hunter and I honeymooned in Seaside and watched storms come in from the Gulf from our villa. I have vacationed in Appalachicola and Destin and SeaSide with my best friends when we started having kids. Fort Morgan is one of my favorite places in the world, there are prettier beaches but that's the beach my babies play on....its where we go as a family to leave the rest of the world behind. And now all of them are threatened in a way no hurricane ever could.

Did you know that the Gulf Coast represents 20 billion in tourism, 640 million in seafood production? Over 70% of oysters and over 60% of shrimp come from there. Every oyster shucked on Bourbon St., every grilled grouper sandwich or shrimp cocktail served anywhere is going to cost a fortune for the next 5 to 10 years. And of course the people who depend on the water for their living are going to be hit the hardest.

The ecological impact is going to be horrific as well. For example. now is the time when migratory birds are stopping off along the coast on their way to the rest of the country. There will be fewer songbirds this year and next.

People in New Orleans will tell you the real disaster of Katrina was man made...this one is too. After a hurricane you rebuild, you can't rebuild oysterbeds or grassbeds...

Of course oil can be safely harvested and refined even from the Gulf...but why was no one prepared for what would happen if there was an accident? BP downplayed the possibility of this scenario and apparently didn't bother to prepare for it. Meanwhile, everyone here just watches the oil inch closer to a piece of our heart. Here's hoping its not as bad as hyped...but I plan on having seafood every day this week. It may be a while before we do again.

Scooby Scooby Doo Where Are You?

The Scooby Doo extravaganza has come to an end. We're done with round one of birthday celebrations. Round two will take place over Mother's Day weekend and on Robert's actual birthday next Monday. Everyone was pretty wiped out from the party..although it seemed to be a big success. Afterward Robert said he wanted to have another one just like it next year.

Every year I swear it is going to be a simple affair, family only and maybe a couple of friends and every year it spirals out of control...it reached its zenith when Robert turned three and his entire class plus siblings (about 20 kids altogether) showed up at our house and descended on the gymboree tumble bus thingy. That was the last party we had at the house I think...anyway this year we had just the right number of kids....and I bought everything Scooby Doo related..cake, goodies, etc. I want to be the Mom who makes a cake from scratch and crafts homemade takeaways months in advance,but that ain't happening. All in all it was a fun day. Even Ethan seemed to enjoy himself, he was full of cake and ice cream courtesy of the four grandparents and one Tia present.

In other news, Robert will portray Rainforest Tree # 2 in his class play on Tuesday. Ethan got a little trim of the bangs thanks to my talented friend Kim. Work is super slow right now (all the military families are getting ready to move). But I am thinking about doing a very specific kind of training in a few weeks which may prove to be beneficial. Hunter's work is super busy right now. My class reunion is mere weeks away and I am getting excited and a little nervous. That's about it.

Except that as I type God knows how much oil is seeping toward one of the places I love most on the earth...more about that when I get my head around it. I think I'll buy some shrimp for dinner though because it may be awhile before I get anymore.

Photos of the birthday bash and Ethan's first hair cut will be forthcoming.

What I'm reading : Finished The Help, Listening to South of Broad by Pat Conroy and reading Outcasts United by Warren St. John.
What I'm listening to : John Hiatt and Kids stuff (always)