Hugs

Hot off the press! Lucas took this picture just this morning. It is notable not only because it is incredibly cute but also because 1) the girls are not trying to pick a fight with one another (part of testing their limits these days) and 2) because they were dressed with time to spare for a quick photo op! You may also notice that they are not quite identically dressed. That's all part of the growing up my girlies are doing these days (officially 2 1/2 this past Monday). While they've told us for a long time now what TV show they want to watch (even though we always insist that Barney has gone to bed) and the food they want to eat, they now show preferences for the clothes they wear and the hairstyles they sport each day. Yeah... we're so not ready for this!!!

Easter

Easter was in Lafayette this year, which meant lots of cousins, new Easter dresses made by Ma Mere, and a warm sunny day to enjoy food and family. Uncle Jamie made use of his fancy camera to capture these shots of the girls with mom and dad and a few cousins thrown in the mix. They were taken right after mass and before the girls had time to realize that what they really wanted was to change into their bathing suits and head for the pool!

There's no one like Papa.

Well, but Thomas is pretty cool, too :-)

The smocking and handwork on these dresses is best seen in this picture, as are my Sweet Caroline's rosy cheeks :-)

What I love about this picture is that you can see how hard it was to get the kids to pose together. We have many, many pictures like this, but this one has such great expressions!

 In Louisiana, a late Easter means it's warm enough to go swimming (and when Easter is earlier, plenty have been known to dive in anyway...) so in the afternoon, most of the crowd did exactly that. Zio Lucas was one of the few adults who braved the waters so he was a popular attraction, all the more so for his willingness to throw his nephews high into the air for lots of splashy fun!

The girls really enjoy the water and will start swimming lessons in mid-June.

Emma's wind-blown "beach Look".

Thanks, Easter Bunny!

Yes, I know this post proves how long it often takes me to get things onto the blog these days, but I'll hide behind the old adage, "better late than never". These pictures are certainly not prize-winning snapshots of our Easter morning, but they do show some essentials, like the baskets all done up in bows and cellophane, the girls' excitement over CANDY, and the fact that they shared the event with their Dallas cousins Liam and Barrett. Pictures from the rest of the day are sure to come- hopefully without so long a wait!

A "before" shot of the baskets and toys. Emma's PINK pajamas are now her favorites.

Emma and Barrett get a first glimpse at their baskets.

CANDY!!!!!

Caroline finding the sidewalk chalk.

Caroline surveying the loot.

All Dolled Up on a Pretty Spring Day

These pictures were taken outside church two weeks ago when I figured out that these dresses, given to the girls by cousins Amy and Caitlin at their baptism, finally fit! Amy and Caitlin wore the same dresses to the baptism, and if Amy and Caitlin did not grow like weeds, they might, perhaps, still fit into them (which would make for quite a cute picture). However, I have it on good authority that said cousins are bigger than ever these days :-) Nonetheless, I hope they enjoy seeing Emma and Caroline in their dresses and remember the fun time they had in Louisiana!

Emma wasn't so keen on having Caroline give her a hug.



My brown-eyed girl and her Morson family half-smile :-)



Hat Day

Discipline has been challenging lately, and I have to say that Lucas and I have not been completely prepared for the "Terrible Twos" given how sweet and gentle our girls have been up to now (and yes, we know how lucky we are!). In fact, we got a call from school just the other day telling us that one of our girls (who will remain unnamed so that this blog cannot be used against her in the years to come) PUNCHED the other on the playground. The red mark that remained around her sister's eye for several days was evidence that the incident was serious enough to warrant the call we received!

So I am sharing this picture in no small part to remind myself that while things may have gotten a little rough lately, I still have super cute and truly happy and smiley little girls most of the time. This picture was taken one morning as the girls were leaving for school. They had simply decided that it was a great day for hats and searched the drawers in their room until they found some. Emma's didn't even fit her anymore, but they were so happy about having them that we let them bring the hats to school and keep them on as long as they wanted. Sometimes they're just (two) too cute!

Conge

Last weekend we went to my high school's annual fair, which is called Conge (French for a short respite or break), and the girls had a fantastic time roaming the campus and playing with Ma Mere and Papa. It was a perfect spring day of food, family, music, and fun.

Playing on the lawn and listening to music.

Ma Mere and Papa were on hand to push a swing or buy a sweet treat or whatever else the girls wanted.

The girls had a great time playing house. They are really starting to understand imaginative play.

Caroline "driving" on the playground.

Emma dancing to the live music.

Mama's Make Up

The pictures below are  fairly self explanatory... We seem to be finding the girls with my make-up a lot these days. They've definitely hit the stage where mimicking everything Lucas and I do is a favorite pastime and their greatest challenge. It would be easy to get angry at some of the things they do... if only they didn't look so darn cute doing it!

Unfortunately, I had only bought this lipstick the week before...



Lucas calls this Caroline's Lady Gaga look.