A little Easter catch up

I think I've mentioned about a billion times on this blog how much I enjoy experiencing the holidays as a parent. It's so much fun being on the other end of the months of planning and it's so rewarding watching it all come together in a way that's so magical through the innocent eyes of childhood. And now that Macey is old enough to actually participate in our holiday traditions, it's twice as rewarding.

Initially, we had planned on going to our neighborhood egg hunt on Saturday morning, but the weather had other plans. Because no one wants to be outside hunting for Easter eggs when it's 45 degrees and raining, the egg hunt got scrapped, but they did still have the Easter bunny visit our clubhouse. They also had some cookie decorating and a few little crafts, so we (along with my in-laws) took the kids over for a little while. Macey wanted absolutely nothing to do with the Easter bunny, but Camden marched right over to him for a high five.

If you had told me he'd voluntarily take a picture with the Easter bunny when he was two, I would've told you that you'd lost your mind.

We woke up bright and early (as per usual) on Easter morning and headed downstairs to search for baskets. I don't know if that's a normal Easter tradition for most families, but it's something that I carried over from my own childhood; our Easter baskets were always hidden. Matt's childhood Easter Bunny hid their previously dyed Easter eggs instead of their baskets, so we do both. So, Camden and Macey (okay, Camden) had a lot of hunting to do first thing in the morning. After baskets (and eggs) were located, both kids sat on the family room floor and checked out their goods. One of Camden's "goods" was a new bike. That's not a typical Easter gift for us (they're usually much smaller), but he was in desperate need of a big kid bike. I was feeling bad for him riding down the street on his tricycle while passing other 3 and 4 year old kids on their regular bikes. He was thrilled (and he loved the Mohawk helmet too).

 

Big kid bikes take a lot of concentration and focus.

That evening, we hosted Easter dinner at our house for my side of the family and Matt's parents, who were in town visiting. We also put together a little egg hunt for the cousins in our backyard. The kids had a great time; the older cousins were good about making sure the little ones had enough eggs. And Camden ended up getting the "golden egg", which contained a dollar bill along with some candy. He was pretty thrilled about that!

 

The hunt begins. 

Macey was much too busy to have her picture taken, but her Grandpa managed to snap this picture of her coloring at the kitchen table. I love that little dress she's wearing with bunnies on it (courtesy of Old Navy).

The golden egg recipient with his cash prize!

It was a very happy Easter around here. I hope yours was, too.