Carnival fun!

Kiran had a very eventful week and he is really learning about the perks of being a Bayou Baby now that its "Carnival Season."

He saw his first parade last weekend, the Krewe of Ponchartrain.  He started his collection of Mardi Gras trinkets, a blue plastic cup and a few strings of beads.  He didn't really react to the parade much, but he did have fun watching the older kids enjoy the parade.  On Thursday night, we took Kiran to see one of the biggest pre-Mardi Gras parades, the Muses.  Muses is an all-women's krewe that has a funny tradition of throwing decorated shoes along the parade route.  The shoes are coveted and its a huge deal if you catch one.  No dice this year!  There were some great marching bands in the parade, and luckily the thumping of the bass drums didn't make Kiran burst into tears.  The crowd was loud and very excited and Kiran just quietly took it all in.  There were lots of families out enjoying the parade.  Typically the older kids watch the parades from the tops of "Mardi Gras Ladders," these are regular ladders with special seats built onto the tops for kids to get closer to the action.   Families claim their parade viewing turf by setting up their ladders and locking them in place for the week leading up to Mardi Gras.  I'm glad Kiran is a few years away from getting into the whole parade scene ... I'm not ready to have him tottering away at the top of a ladder!   We did spot a few younger kids out at the Muses parade.  We actually saw a pack & play set up on the neutral ground on St Charles Ave!  And yes, there was a toddler asleep in it!  Mom and Dad enjoyed seeing some of the parade, but we did feel a little guilty having Kiran out past dark.  He eventually fell asleep in the carrier and we got him home to bed soon after that.

Kiran was a very busy boy at the Whelan Center this week.  He had TWO yellow slips, which sadly were accompanied by new bruises on his forehead, eyebrow, and cheek!  He continues to be very bold exploring his classroom and bobbling about.  One of the battle scars was not his fault, a work-study students hoisted him up and accidentally bumped him into a ledge on the door.  Needless to say, she did not make the cut as a potential babysitter ;)  She felt really bad, but Kiran got over it quickly.  He has already picked up another bump this weekend, stretching from a chair to another piece of furniture.  Its fun to see him gaining confidence with his mobility, I just wish we could get through this stage without bruises and yellow slips!

Kiran's class had lots of fun activities this week.  For Valentine's Day they stamped their footprints on red foam hearts.  Kiran gave his teachers chocolates and he got valentines from his BFF's Holden and Linden.  The little tykes also made king cakes, a traditional Mardi Gras pastry, out of brown paper towels and purple, green, and yellow paint.  They even wrapped them up in saran wrap like they do at the bakeries!  They listened to lots of New Orleans music and talked about Mardi Gras.  They had playtime with plastic Mardi Gras beads and then made up a special string of beads with his picture framed by wooden sticks.   The older kids were busy decorating T-shirts and bags and making king cakes.  Its fun that Kiran is getting exposed to some of the local Mardi Gras traditions at daycare.  It really is such a unique time here in New Orleans.

Mardi Gras is on Tuesday, and there are parades all day tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday.  There are no classes at Loyola next week, so Kiran and I will continue the carnival celebrations for the rest of the week!   Yippee!!