Mari Walker

Kalyee Freiberger is known for her incredible volunteer work. The 18-year-old recent graduate from Runnels High School received the 2018 Outstanding High School Volunteer Award at last year’s Greater Baton Rouge State Fair. The award includes a $500 scholarship, which Kalyee will use at Louisiana State University. “I’m looking at pre-med track, either biology or biochemistry major,” Kalyee says. Read the rest on the Baton Rouge Parents Magazine website .

A recent Baby Center email for my seven year old (yes, I still open them to read about her development!) had the headline, “How to Encourage Reading.” I laughed and read along, knowing the advice doesn’t apply to me just now. Miss Seven is an avid reader, almost to the detriment of anything else. She wants to stay up late reading and has been known to use her alarm clock or nightlight (both of which are too dim for reading!) to stay up past bedtime to get in a few more pages. On school nights, this leads to disastrous mornings, but she persists in her love of the written word. She reads on the potty, while she’s eating, in the car and during church. She still prefers screen time on her Kindle or the TV, but since those are more rationed, she’ll most often be toting a book or two. She will also read to her three-year-old sister, and those are some of the sweetest moments of my life so far–gazing on my angelic children enjoying a book together. Read the rest on the

You’ll never consider my body bikini-ready or beach-worthy. I’ve never had six-pack abs or been a small person, even in my younger, pre-kid days. I have a soft, squishy tummy; big, strong thighs; big everything. But my body is a powerhouse. My body built two beautiful baby girls, birthed, and nursed them. I love my body, whatever its size, and I want my girls to love their bodies, too. Part of that means living in my body without apology, and I hope you can, too. As summer rolls around once again, we’re faced with Louisiana heat and humidity. I’m not built for the heat, so getting outside almost requires water of some sort. And where there’s water, there are swimsuits. Splash pads, swimming pools, the beach and water parks–all ways to stay active and have fun in the hot summer sun without completely melting. It can be tempting to just sit in the shade (perhaps with a cool towel) and watch your little ones have fun in the water. Or even to avoid being the one tak

As Community & Education sections editor, I wrote pages 16 to 25 of the June 2019 issue of Baton Rouge Parents Magazine . See the layout on the magazine's website . I also wrote Pathways to Parenting: Primary Immune Deficiency Diseases and Exceptional Lives: Building a Legacy of Love .

Avery Vasta is a preschooler at Central Primary in Gonzales. When she hears music, she has to stop and dance, and she’s free with hugs and kindness, making her a favorite at school and everywhere she goes. She loves Moana and Elena of Avalor . Avery, who is five, is different in only one way. She has Down Syndrome. Avery is in a regular PreK class, and her mom, Kayla, says the inclusiveness is the best thing ever. “Her peers love her, and they’re amazing with her,” Kayla says. “She’s taught them a lot.” Read the rest on the Baton Rouge Parents Magazine website .