Easter!

I know, sometimes I just disappear.  We headed up to my in-law's to spend the long Easter weekend (this is when it's awesome that my husband is a missionary with a Catholic organization) with them and help distract my wonderful (wonderful, wonderful) mother-in-law from the fact that Tuesday is her second hip surgery.   Anni's got the distraction thing down.

We had parties in the gazebo that mostly involved dancing, using Nonna's cane, and throwing baby in a corner to "nap".  Baby had to have an oxiclean cleanse later that night.

We practiced going up and down the stairs dozens and dozens of times.  Each time she bumped down a step was like a whole new party.

We tested out playground equipment in-between Anni getting her fill on the slides.

Oh, and Papa and Daddy scared the hey out of me helping Anni going up this.  She was actually quite safe, but it didn't stop me from having a heart attack.  (I was actually the third spotter right after this.) 

We put together a masterful Easter basket... no candy involved!  We knew Nonna and Papa would fill the candy requirement, so we filled our basket to our Nugget with things she loves.  Underneath the Easter hat ($1 at Target... yes!) was a set of jammies.  Technically there were two t-shirts, pants and shorts, but we pulled out one set for her to wear the night before, so you only see one here.

In the top we had a book (Fra Angelico illustrations of the life of Christ in a board book?... love it!), two pouches of "sauce" (applesauce), an egg with some coins and three eggs with "fishies" (actually Annie's bunnies... yes, the actual name is more apt, but she learned to call them fishes long before...)

And that was that.  Simple, but all fun things.   We snuck the basket into the room where she was sleeping and giggled a little in excitement (picking the perfect spot... not in a place she'd hit if she fell out, but still visible).   Easter morning, we woke up to her chattering over the monitor.  We booked it up to see if she had found the basket, and as we started to open the door, could hear her saying, "Sauce!  Book?"  She was a little less than thrilled by the camera... but super excited that there was a basket of treats next to her bed!  [On a side note, we accept that this may be all she remembers from Easter this year.  She isn't quite two, so explaining the Passion of Christ was mostly boiled down to explaining that Mary needed extra kisses the night before because she was missing her son and that Jesus hurt a lot.  She obliged with a whole lot of kisses.]

The discovery of the cheddar bunnies was heralded with a lot of excitement and, "Bowl!"  Daddy got her a bowl so she could empty them into it.  Eggs must not be as exciting when it comes to those.

The hat was really not all that popular.  We nabbed a few pictures throughout the day when she withstood it for a few seconds; but, for one dollar, I think that's okay.

 

Anni was part of her own Easter miracle when she was remarkably awesome for Easter Mass.  Being not quite two, we fully understand that Mass can be a little difficult to sit through... but she rocked it this week!  It helped that we were in the front row of a small church and she could see a) Papa (he's a deacon and was serving) and b) The "tar tar" (guitar).  They have an awesome guitarist (reverent, but a really beautiful player!) at this parish and, Miss Anni is ob-sessed with the guitar.  It was a good combination for her.  I had to stand up once near the end, but I felt the most relaxed I have in a while after Mass.    

And the Easter egg hunt?  My current favorite Easter memory every.  (Of course, almost anything beats last year having the stomach flu...)

It took a little bit of cajoling to get past the, "Must try to eat whatever I find!" stage, but once she realized we were on a hunt... Miss Nugget was determined and *super* excited.  In fact, we hid the same basket of eggs twice because she got into it enough to not care about what was inside (briefly).

Sweet little girl in an Easter dress carrying her basket?  Bestill my heart!  Grass may not be green around here, yet, but we're excited about Spring and all the fun we get to have with this sweetheart!

After being helped inside by her favorite Papa, Nonna brought out the little basket she had made for her.  (Yes, my child was a bit spoiled... we didn't really mind.)  Nonna introduced her to marshmallow eggs (I had to declare that the end of chocolate for the day), and Anni ate almost the whole thing... with her back to Daniel and I.  Apparently she a) did not want to share or b) was afraid we would take it away.  We did neither, and thus ended the sugared fervor of Easter Sunday.  (There was dinner and a sleepy drive home... but there aren't any pictures of that... so, you know.)

PS Now that we're home... I'll be returning to my recap of Ireland!  Be excited ;-).