Happy Easter!

the girls have been looking forward to today for a long time. not only the Resurrection, but also the dresses, shoes, and---who are we kidding, it's all about the hats.

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it rained so we had to do our egg hunt inside. it was still plenty of fun since it involved climbing, crawling under and over things, and the requisite freezes to humor mama and her camera (L. was stellar, as you can see).

and last but not least: look who was here! Gramom is visiting from the UK for almost a week. We had Easter dinner with her, and Kay and Bave and their baby, though in this photo he/she is hiding behind that wine Kay's not allowed to drink. The new cousin will arrive this summer, sometime in mid-August. We cannot wait to smother him or her with lots of drooly kisses and fashion tips.

come and see us again soon

Grammie & Papa stayed with the kids for 6 days while Mommy & Daddy went to Montreal for a romantic getaway.
They left today and about 30 minutes after saying goodbye...

L.: "But I miss them already!"

family

the girls idolize and adore Mommy's cousin A. She is 8 years old and SO fun and cool. She loves unicorns and mermaids, too. Wait, it's the other way around: L. loves unicorns and mermaids because A. does!

BR loves A., and her mommy, who he very appropriately calls "Aunt Sassy."

I think that's going to stick, so you better get used to it, Stacy.

joke

L.: "Hey, Mommy, I made up a joke! What color is a burp? Burple!"

uncle "Bave" is way cooler than that toy

this toy is cool!

It's a little finger puppet theater, with sound effects and lights.

Here L. is telling us the story of the three little pigs, with a superman finger puppet, of course.

living in a world of women...

...can mean playing with your trucks, in heels. yowza.

march snowstorm

yeah...they lasted about 10 minutes.

I'm two!

Today is BR's birthday! He was really, really proud to have a lot of fuss made over him, and LOVED the balloons and cake.

Mostly, though, he loved having Uncle "Bave" as the honored guest at his party, especially since he brought the gift of a "B-ball." BR is OBSESSED with basketball. He just loves it, and anytime we walk or drive by a basketball hoop in a park, or someone's driveway, he screams "B-ball! B-ball!" over and over and over again, until someone acknowledges him. And then he starts all over again, just in case we forgot in the last 10 seconds.

(ps, Uncle Bave & Aunt Kay: BR slept with the B-ball in his crib last night. I think he liked it.)

i will NOT smile for the camera

she loves the new birthday apron from Mom, can you tell?

a perfect way to start the day...

...an oatmeal bath!

who wants $50

It's yours if you can guess what book from her mama's childhood inspired L. to draw this picture. (ps: I don't make any money, so I'm not really going to give you $50.)

ooohhh, pretty

Thanks, Gramom!

pretty enough to eat

7 minutes later (yes, i timed them): absolute victory!

Knock Knock

We were driving. L. wanted to hear a joke. It was the first one I could think of, while also thinking of the road.
A. was listening, but I guess she got pretty impatient for the punchline. Well, more like enraged:
"NO MORE BANANAS KNOCKING ON DOORS!!!"

easily amused

I don't know if the lesson here is that they really don't need sophisticated educational materials and cultural outings for healthy stimulation and growth, or that they really need to get out more.

the biggest grin in the widest world

for the Grandmas: you've both been wondering whether L. enjoys her swimming classes... Well, this is what she looks like for the entire 1/2 hour, twice a week.

hey, Billy...

This afternoon, L. leaned over and whispered, very seriously, "I'm going to celebrate...with a lemon!"

the coolest pop up book Ever

that would be Brava, Strega Nona, by Tomie de Paola. We LOVE it.

In fact, it's so cool, the kids are not allowed even to touch it without total mama supervision.

Thank you, Billy and Christine!

a sweet one

BR loves to snuggle and hug and give kisses. In the mornings, when he wakes up before the girls, he climbs into bed with me and we cuddle until they wake up. He gets bored really fast though, wondering where they could be. He eventually starts calling for them: "Ooo-see! Ah-mee!"

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50% snuggle and 50% aggression (no audio):