Easter 2014

Last year there was snow on the ground for Easter. It was sad, but we made the best of it with an Easter egg hunt indoors which is really all I remember doing when I was young (and in this same house!). But in the days leading up to Easter Riley shared that she wanted to do an Easter egg hunt outside. We crossed our fingers that the snow would be gone and that it wouldn't rain. It was a little damp out, but we were able to make it work. It ended up being a beautiful day - the first of it's kind in a long, long, time. Jesse woke early (as in he couldn't sleep and got up at 4:30 am) and hid the eggs outside so they were all in place by the time Riley woke up... at 5:30. We waited a bit and headed outside sometime shortly after 7 am.

Dewy morning

Some one was beyond delighted to get this Frozen CD and a Frozen book (and some silly socks, and Ariel t-shirt, a Doc McStuffins coloring books and some Wonder Color markers) from the Easter Bunny. As you can imagine, we all have the Frozen soundtrack running though our heads since we have to listen to it all the time. I put it in my computer one day and she just sat staring at the booklet that comes with it - following along with each song. Some serious Frozen love going on over here.

Um, yeah... pretty sure this is the remnants of a dead bunny. You may not be able to tell here, but that's fur and the outline is very bunny like. We steered Riley clear of this part of the yard, obviously. No need for creating Easter PTSD.

After the egg hunt we went inside to read Riley's new book and color in her new coloring book. It was a long and lazy morning.

So confident that she's not going to fall. She's been lucky so far - knock on wood.

We then got ready and waited for grandpa to come over. My dad is always early, but he arrived over an hour early. He got his times a little mixed up, but that was fine because it gave us a little extra time with him.

Showing off her Easter outfit

Reading the Frozen book for about the 5th time that hour.

My dad gave Riley a bunch of treats, and then we headed off to my brother's house. My sister in law asked me to take some pictures of her sons so I did that when I first got there since one of them had to head off to work that afternoon (more about those pictures in another post). After that it was a lot of hanging out, eating, taking pictures, and checking out new baby Sawyer.

My sister, Judy, and my dad

My brother, Chuck, put together a few games for the young kids (James, Alex, and Riley). Prior to Easter he emailed me to let me know that Riley could win 'valuable prizes'. Haha, ok. But when it came time to play the games she didn't want to join in. We encouraged her to give it a try, but she said no so we didn't push it. Jesse later commented that if the games revolved around books or coloring she would have been all over it. A few family members kept on Riley about playing like they were going to be able to convince her. It reminded me of when I was a kid. I hated the pushing people would do. It was as if people didn't trust me to make my own decision. I know they were well meaning and just wanted to let Riley in on the fun... and the valuable prizes, but I could just feel the pressure on her.

James (5) and Alex (2 or 3?) played the first game while we watched from the stairs, but when Chuck gave darts to the boys for the second game we all hightailed it off those stairs.

The popping of the balloons bothered our kid who hates loud noises so we went inside to snack on more appetizers and then out in the back yard to play with the bubbles (one of the valuable prizes) Riley was given just for being there.

Eventually, the games wrapped up and everyone trickled inside or out to the back yard. My nephew's wife, Jenny, got Riley to go out front with the boys and play and then played some other games indoors (including hide and seek). I have to give Jenny a big kudos because she's always been so great with Riley. Much of my family are outspoken Italians that mean well, but can be overwhelming to some... like my kid. Jenny has always applied the right touch with Riley. Once when Riley was about 3 months old and still a little colicky I took her to a wedding shower for my niece. Riley was on the verge of crying whenever anyone looked at her, but she actually let Jenny hold her and fell asleep in her arms. It was pretty amazing and I've always appreciated Jenny for that.

Not sure what this game was, but it looked really fun.

The newest baby in the family

We were about to get ready to eat when Jenny shared with us that Riley went to take a rest after playing games. I found her in my nieces room where she insisted that she wanted to stay there and rest. That's not really like my kid, but she hadn't been feeling well or sleeping the greatest so it didn't totally surprise me.

Shortly after, Riley decided to come out and join us for dinner, but mentioned a couple more times that she wanted to rest. Definitely not feeling her best.

My brother in law, Jim

But before you know it Riley was running around with her cousins and playing with bubbles again.

First we give kids darts and then we place them next to open water...

It was a fun and eventful Easter day. I'm always a little torn about Easter since we aren't really religious. It seems like an excuse to give you kids candy and gifts they don't really need... but I also like holidays for the chance to get together with family. One day I will explain to her what Easter is really about (besides the Easter bunny), but for now it was just fun to see her delight in the day.