Mother's day weekend

One of my favorite activities is picking strawberries, especially with the family

Daddy is a great helper with the basket

I am one lucky mommy

I couldn't imagine my life without them in it

Eleanor and I couldn't wait to get home to try our strawberries- they were sweet and delicious!

Eleanor had a great plan for my Mother's day cake, but Daddy is not the best cake maker, but he can cook a great steak for dinner!

This picture just warms my heart- they are my little loves and I will do anything for them!

Trying to get Emerson to say Mama for the special day:

Things we wear

At Eleanor's school, Macfeat, they have a week of learning about what you wear, so she got to dress up differently each day. Here she is sporting her Curious George pajamas with Emerson!

The other items included: shoes (she wore Elmo slippers) and hats. The week ended with a hat party- everyone was required to wear their own hat. Emerson looked good in his sun hat.

Eleanor showed off her Curious George hat, a wonderful gift from her Aunt Jen, Uncle Robert, cousins Mikayla and Landon

They even made their own hats and they were very fancy!

It's never easy...

...getting both kids to look at the camera at the same time!

Got one here

Eleanor is better at a solo photo shoot

So is Emerson, with Eleanor standing behind Mommy to get that big smile

Both eyes but only one smile, good enough :)

I am pretty sure this is a hug although it looks like she has him in a head lock

It's fun discovering spaces where you can hide

I love my happy, energetic, sweet girl!

Time to play

Just like his big sister, Emerson enjoys the "train" laundry basket, especially when some animal friends are along for the ride

With new teeth coming in (regularly), the rings relieve some pressure

It must have been getting close to naptime because someone was not interested in playing with their crab on Mommy & Daddy's bed

Who doesn't love to go swinging?!

Emerson might have caught a few flies :)

He's sitting up like a pro and loves to feel the grass on his toes & sometimes in his mouth

The best big sister in the whole world, Eleanor, is showing off her cute short haircut!

Now that Emerson is getting bigger, they can almost play together- Eleanor sure loves her little brother!

It's a Southern thing

Thanks to Nakia, I eat and love grits. So do our kids! Emerson wanted to eat it straight from the bowl

Many nights we even have grits and eggs together as breakfast for dinner. Eleanor is a big fan of this meal

He loves it so much that he is licking that bowl clean!

These two are true southerners :)

Just Fishin'

Eleanor asked Grand Daddy to get her a fishing pole for her birthday. He found a Cars one and that made her day. Emerson was trying to figure out how to use it already

It's fun to practice in the house and see what we can catch

Emerson is ready to drive down to the pond

Eleanor reminds him that safety is important by wearing her helmet

First, Grand Daddy showed Eleanor how to tie on the hook/bait

It looks like she knows exactly what to do & Daddy is a good helper

Like father, like son- same pose helping Eleanor wait

Time to reel it in! Unfortunately, nothing was caught that day, but lots of practice time was put in

Emerson decided it was a little boring and slow for him so he might just take a nap

An ice pop is a good way to end the day for Eleanor

And Emerson prefers to take a bath to end the day- the sink works too!!

Easter Fun

Since Emerson was too small to hunt for eggs, he went for a ride in the backpack.

"Ready, set, go" Eleanor was off like a canon to collect eggs for her and Emerson

I think she is checking out her loot

Eleanor has always been adorable in hats!

"See how many I got, Mommy!"

Eleanor's legs were too tired after the hunt so she got to try out the backpack with Daddy for a nice hike through the woods of Anne Springs Close Greenway

Emerson had a ride in the bjorn with Mommy

For the second year, we attended the Easter Vigil mass on Saturday. Last year, Daddy was getting baptized. This year, we were fortunate to sponsor a wonderful couple, Jack & Jen, as they joined the Catholic Church. Eleanor always enjoys playing in the fountain

Emerson and Daddy looked handsome in their Easter attire

Eleanor wanted to be sure that the Easter Bunny did not get confused about the different baskets for her and Emerson, so she put their names on them (notice that hers is the Lightning McQueen one) and we left carrots for him to munch on

The Easter Bunny was very generous in our house and knew exactly what Eleanor and Emerson wanted (the Oreos were also to share with Daddy)

"Look, it's Beauty and the Beast"

Happy 1st Easter to our little man!

Grand Daddy came on Easter Sunday to eat lunch with us and help color the eggs

They did a great job!