Easter Dresses & Bumbo Chair

Today, the girls finally got to wear their Easter dresses (which we purchased in Brussels last autumn). Here's pictures from the pre-church photo shoot (also, cute pictures of Isabelle in her Bumbo chair):

Easter on the English Riveria

I finally got a four day weekend, and we decided to take a little trip to Torbay, which the British call their Riveria. It's in the county of Devon, which is in South western England.

The weather wasn't optimal for a beach holiday (we actually saw a couple snowflakes), but the scenery was pretty. Also, we saw lots of animals at the zoo and at Living Coasts (a zoo for marine life), and we road a steam engine and then a ferry to Dartmouth, which is very quaint village at the mouth of the river Dart (hence its name).

There was some good food (including lots of yummy fudge), shopping (a must for Ally and Maddie) and a nice hotel with an indoor pool (also a must for Maddie).

And, in addition to the chocolate Easter eggs (an English tradition) given to us by the hotel and the Easter egg hunt (also organised by the hotel), the Easter bunny managed to find us and left baskets full of treats for the girls. So, lots of fun and even more candy for everyone.

View from hotel room:

Paignton Zoo (FYI - while we did see real crocodiles, we only let Maddie stick her head in the pretend ones):

Living Coasts (The penguins were roaming free; they seemed to like Maddie, as they spent a fair amount of time following her around):

Dartmouth (it was very windy):

Easter morning:

Miscellaneous Isabelle (in the picture with the hair band, Maddie did Isabelle's hair):

Tummy Time

Living in a flat with hard wood floors and only limited rug space, Isabelle doesn't spend a lot of time on the ground. As such, she's a little behind on her tummy time.

Some days she does better than others. She seems to like it more if she can do her tummy time with her sister. Isabelle likes everything more if Maddie's doing it too.

Also, Ally must have broken out the big bows when I wasn't around. We've got lots of bows for Isabelle, but I very rarely see them other than in pictures.

Lastly, check out the cheeks, which she gets from her daddy (let's hope she grows into them - her daddy never quite grew into his).

Talks, Pictures & Parties

Today, Maddie gave her first talk in Primary. We don't have any pictures, but she talked about Jesus and did a great job.

It's birthday party season in Maddie's K1 class. Last weekend there was a fairy princess party in Hampstead. This weeked was a tennis party in Holland Park. A professional tennis instructor came and gave the kids a two-hour lesson. Maddie had a great time and now thinks tennis is her sport. She'd like to start taking lessons as long as we first buy her all the proper tennis attire. Here are a couple pictures of the party, including one of some of the kids in a tree:

Maddie had an almost sleep over with her friend Mckay. They put on a play and a concert.

Maddie made her very own skirt out of some school papers and decorated it with markers and crayons.

We've also got a few cute pictures of Isabelle.