mardi gras partying

Dennis 'helped' me get ready for our party today as much as he could. He actually behaved very nicely while I spent the morning doing some cleaning. Our house still looks pretty nice from our stint of not living here for two weeks while the plumbing was not working. So there wasn't too much that I had to do, just some surfaces and floors. Dennis still hates the vacuum and happily played in his room while I tackled that particular chore. He did spend a while this afternoon messing up areas I had already cleaned and that was pretty darn frustrating, but we got through it and the house was clean when Gran arrived to help distract Dennis while I finished cooking. I made gumbo with andouille sausage and shrimp, red beans and rice with smoked sausage, dirty rice with beef, and beignets liberally sprinkled with powdered sugar. Uncle Denny brought over some truly delicious jambalaya and Jennifer brought chips and dip. Gran supplied French bread, which we served warm with butter and garlic. Ellen had sent a King Cake for us to enjoy. We even made chicory coffee for cafe au lait! It was a meal with a true New Orleans flavor, and I decorated with masks and beads and doubloons and feather boas. I'm so glad that Jennifer brought her parents over with her (though we did miss Hadden), and our small crowd enjoyed a yummy meal and each others' company. Dennis informed everyone "we are having a Mardi Gras party!" several times. He was very excited.

The babies were so absolutely adorable, and they were so smiley and happy for the whole evening. Dennis LOVED watching them and playing with them, even bringing some toys from his room for them to play with. He very much wanted to pick them up and carry them around but we didn't allow it. Katelyn enjoyed Dennis' bedtime story tonight, as she sat in Gran's lap along with Dennis as Gran read from the Truckery Rhymes book. We all thought it was so sweet when Katelyn began playing with Dennis' hair, eliciting big smiles and giggles from Dennis. We are all totally charmed by those twins. I wish we could see them so much more often than we do!