Easter Weekend

April 26th, 2011

my happy girl

Hello there! How was your weekend? We had a very nice few days over here.

(Pardon the mix of pictures to follow, please! I can’t resist the Instagram app and sometimes the nice camera’s not handy, but I wanted to be sure to include both sets of photos, so here’s a mash up of styles. Also, I’m splitting our Easter weekend into two posts because I ended up writing way more than I planned, and it looks like we collected a whole lot of pictures. Here is part one.)

The weekend started lovely as Friday afternoon I took myself on a solo shopping date. Sometimes you just need those times, all alone, you know? It was just what I needed. I picked up some dinner on my way home and we enjoyed a cozy night in.

Easter officially started for us last week when we took the girls to visit the Easter Bunny at the mall. I was sure Ella would be one of those terrified kids on the suited man’s lap. I was indeed one of those kids.

I walked her to the front of the photo area to show her the Easter Bunny and just as we got in view of him, a little boy was being placed on The Bunny’s lap. Immediately, his arms were outstretched, reaching for someone, anyone to rescue him, tears were streaming, and he was screaming to high heavens. Despite seeing that, Ella still wanted to see The Bunny.

I wish we had a digital version of our photo…taken with my phone, then Instagramed

When it was our turn, we put her on his lap, propped Poppy in the crook of his arm, and stepped back. That’s when I noticed the fan behind the camera. Ella’s hair was blowing and she was sticking her tongue into the wind. The photographer caught a few of those, and the rest of the shots showed Ella looking starstruck. It was the sweetest thing to see. I really think she couldn’t believe that she was sitting on the Easter Bunny’s lap. She looked shy and excited and so cute! I think it looks like she was trying to tame her smile in that photo.

When it was time say goodbye, well that’s when Ella threw her fit. She did not want to go. The whole experience went completely opposite of what I expected. She surprises me all the time. (I totally would have paid for the terrified photo, by the way! I kind of love those.)

The only thing that really made leaving the Easter Bunny better was the promise that we’d see him again at the egg hunt on Saturday. So that morning, we headed out to our church for their annual Easter egg hunt. It was so fun to see all our little parishioners scrambling to collect eggs. I really love our church and parish so much. I feel so grateful to raise our family in that presence just as my sister and I were raised.

Ella’s egg hunting strategy is interesting. She sets her basket on the ground, runs for the eggs, and brings them back to drop in her basket. Then she leaves it for more eggs. I guess she’s got a good idea – drop the baggage, it’ll only slow her down. It was funny to see her basket alone there in the grass as all the kids ran around.

Ella Faye ate her first jelly bean that day…she said it was yucky.

After the hunt, the Easter Bunny came out for hugs and Ella was so excited to see him again. (Although he looked different than the mall Bunny, of course. I was worried she would notice and ask where his glasses were. I guess little ones don’t notice things like that yet? It must go back to that starstruck thing…)

I tried to get a photo of that long-awaited embrace but it happened so fast that I didn’t have the camera ready. We filled up on mac n’ cheese and cookies and cupcakes.

Poppy and Yaya

biggest pinata I’ve ever seen – he was at least five feet tall!

And Ella won a prize from the raffle!! More candy and a gift certificate to our favorite fries and milkshakes joint down the road! We’ll be redeeming that for an after nap snack this week! The best part of the prize though was another hug from the Easter Bunny.

When we got home, Miss Ella helped me mix up sugar cookie dough and I baked them off while she napped. She decided on pink and purple for the icing and we decorated away.

We skipped the egg dying this year; I think next year Ella will be at better age to start that tradition.

Now for the past couple weeks I had been itching something bad to find a box of my old baby clothes. I had looked through it back when I was pregnant with Ella, but for some reason had decided not to dress her in any of it. I wish I had. I think the excitement of buying new tiny outfits overshadowed the charm of those vintage dresses. So I knew this box was somewhere in this house. And I knew there was a sweet little seafoam colored dress, trimmed with white lace, just waiting in that box for me to find. It’s the dress I wore in one of the first photos taken of me. My mom had to hold me because I cried otherwise, and so they laid a blanket over her arms to act as the backdrop, while she faced me toward the camera. I know exactly what that photograph looks like.

I so badly wanted to find that dress to put my baby in. I found it. And my babyloo wore that dress on her first Easter. (Pictures tomorrow!!)

Also in that box are several other baby dresses that I can’t wait to get on little Poppy. I’m sure there will be photos to follow!

treats for the Easter Bunny

treats for the girls

After the dress was found, it was time for Easter baskets! We used the ones my sister and I grew up using. It was pretty neat to have them both in use this year. I really love the privilege of getting to take on the roles of the Easter Bunny and Santa. Having babies and making the holidays fun for them is the best. It really makes everything feel magical again.

I snuck into Ella’s room and left the beginning of an egg trail, starting at her bed. It led down the hall and straight to the baskets.

Throughout the day, I realized I was coming down with a cold and Saturday night I woke up every hour having to blow my nose and down a bunch of water. I felt awful. Each time I awoke, I thought about how I wouldn’t be able to make it to church. I would have been so disappointed…

This is what my lately looks like:

I’ll share the rest of the weekend tomorrow!

Have a fabulous day!

tags: Easter, Ella, Poppy, The Holidays
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