Sarah and Sean get Married!

This was a picture out the window as we flew down to Dallas for Sarah and Sean's wedding. I couldn't have gotten a luckier shot! It was Giselle's first time on a plane, and she did remarkably well riding the almost 4 hours in our laps... Anais did excellent. She is so enamored with travelling - she might even end up catching that travel bug from her mommy!


We had lots of help getting the girls ready! Anais and Giselle both loved the extra love and attention from their aunts and the rest of our families while we were there. Francois and I sang The Prayer for the wedding - and everything went great. I was sick and Francois voice has been overworked at the Army, but we managed to pull it off unscathed!

Sarah was a beautiful bride, and we had a good time just visiting with family and friends.
This might also be my favorite picture of my dad of all time. I think he was just relieved he has finally finished doing his daddy duties of giving us all away!

The reception was the next day and we had fun cutting it up casually!

After all was done, we also got to hang out with some of our good friends from Dallas. This picture is Francois with the girls and Bryan Bannister, our good friend for over a decade. You know, good friends only get better with time!

Anais and her first ever HAIRCUT!

So, lo and behold, it came to pass that Anais has never had a haircut! Her hair was getting so long I was afraid that (given her green-ness in using the bathroom all by herself) she might have a problem keeping her hair out of harm's way -so to speak... So we decided it was time to clip just a little bit off. So we started with a bath. We took so many pictures, but for the sake of our girls, we only posted this one. They are so funny together! Destined to be friends already. =)


So then we prepared the hair and took a couple pictures to document the big ordeal. Anais was so sweet and excited - although she mentioned over and over how she only wanted me to cut "just a little" off the bottom.

Apparently, I did so well I got to have one of my favorite things from her - a hug and a smile.

We also took a couple of pictures of her playing with Barbies - a favorite thing to do when Giselle is not awake and cannot take them (or all their little pieces of clothing) from her.

We tried to get some pictures of Giselle coloring for the first time... but she may not be ready yet for the crayons based on these pictures. She has such a tender heart... crying is always such a sad thing for us to watch.

A visit form some Texans!

At the end of February, Sara and Jason Rains came to visit us. We were thrilled (!) to see people from our neck of the woods. We also got out to see our first little bit of Seattle (and got our first parking ticket...). Sara also took me and Anais out to get our nails done - it was such a treat - and Anais' first time to get her nails done by a professional! She loved it and even though her toes were ruined at least three times before we left, she can't wait to go again. She did seem a little tired though afterward. And Jason was the perfect pillow.

We went to Alki Beach - a beautiful beach with beautiful homes on the western side of Seattle. Anais had never been to a real beach, so we let her walk in the sand with her bare feet and put her toes in the water. We warned her about the cold - but she did it anyways. To her credit - she did not complain at all!

Views from Alki Beach...

After Sara and Jason headed to the airport, we decided to take advantage of being downtown and hit the Pike Place Market. Both Anais and Giselle fell asleep almost instantly once we got back in the car from the beach to the market, so the first hour or so, Francois and I strolled along with two sleeping babies. Soon enough, they woke up and started enjoying the market too. We ate some very tasty things in the downtown area - bargains I had found in a Seattle magazine! We sampled a little bit from several different eateries - it was very filling and very yummy!

A very nice man offered to take our picture as we were headed back out to our car. You can see how tired the girls were. And I love this shot of Anais and her daddy. All girls who love their daddy know what I mean. =)

Giselle's Birthday and the Children's Museum

On February 10, 2009 - Giselle turned 1 year old! We made her a little cake and let her got at it the same way we let Anais when she was one - first with spaghetti and then with the chocolate cake. Giselle would NOT eat the spaghetti for any reason... so we jumped to the cake to see what she would do. She much preferred this new dish! She is much more introverted than Anais was, but she seemed more excited about the cake than Anais had been! Kids are so funny.

I added this video of what happened at the end of our little "party" - I have to laugh every time because of how much icing was on Francois' face - and how Anais got so bent out of shape because the cake was ruined. Giselle didn't even seem to notice. =) And isn't that who we should be worried about?

We also took a little trip to the Children's Museum in Tacoma. It was fun for the girls to play with the farm to market section (they had plastic fruits you could harvest and then sell and serve). It was really cute. They also had Washington history and a fun art section that admittedly was better for Anais than Giselle. We were just excited to go somewhere and do something despite the constant rain.

Our New Home - and enjoying it!

So I was started to worry about my own mental health when I would wake up to this type of weather day after day... gloomy weather is called that for a reason. People become gloomy. It is hard to be chipper when you actually feel like the sky is pressing down on you. But rest assured - I am told - the summers here are a dream. I hope they are right. Because all I am dreaming about right now is the 70 degree weather happening in Plano...

So this is our home - well - not the whole thing! We live at 2696 Erwin Ave in Dupont WA 98327. That is the left third of the picture below. Our door is actually not the one you see - it is really on the side of the building. But those pretty bay windows are ours! And we really do like it!

I took a couple pictures of the inside as it is currently. I like the floorplan because there is a lot of open space for the girls to play - and the kitchen has lots of cabinets and counter space. Good all around.

I found three pictures of my three favorite people, and I feel compelled to share them. I love this one of Francois - his eyes are so pretty -and kind. One of my favorite things about him.

This picture of Giselle I just adore. She always sits this way - with her feet crossed. It makes me melt.

And Anaïs - our little queen. I know all parents are biased - but I think she is just so beautiful.

Getting Settled

Now that we finally made it to Ft. Lewis, the task of settling into our new home is upon us. Francois has all kinds of Army things to do - getting checked in and assigned gear, a unit, getting to know where he's supposed to be and when... it is a lot of stuff. And then there is us. We need a home, a kitchen full of good food (as opposed to most of what we have had on the road), and some room to play. But while all that was happening, we managed to catch glimpses of the girls enjoying themselves and everyone relaxing together as a family. Proving that, as long as you are with family, you are home.

Wearing the Texas cowgirl outfits - to show everybody where we're from! =)

Oh my little princess! She is just such a character. She is always entertaining herself - and sometimes we are lucky enough to get to listen in.

Well, this picture is pretty much for Papa - as the girls refer to the American flag as Papa's flag. =) It is declared such as we pass schools, libraries, and the like. I keep trying to explain the flag belongs to all of us, but I am pretty sure Anais would prefer to call it Papa's flag anyways.

I could not help putting these in. This was the first time Giselle used a straw - and boy was she excited - and satisfied (from the looks of it)!

I also felt compelled to put in a picture of Mt. Rainier. This was probably the best view we had of it for weeks due to the clouds and rain - so we were thrilled to be able to actually see it!