Easter

What a difference from last Easter, which we spent in Philadelphia, where the trees and flowers already showed signs of spring. It was really windy, but also so sunny we squinted like we hadn't seen the sun all winter. The kids ran threw the lush lawn at my stepsister's place hunting for eggs. On the last day of March this year, winter was still trying to hold its grasp on Minnesota. Our soggy, muddy lawn sat under a remaining layer of snow and the windchill made the air feel colder than the day's high of 36 degrees.

Oliver noticed his Easter basket as soon as he came downstairs yesterday morning. His favorite part of the day may have been that he got to eat chocolate before breakfast. He was leery of the jelly beans and looked interested in the Cadbury eggs, but wasn't feeling adventurous and stuck with what he knew he liked - good old milk chocolate.  I eventually cut Oliver off so he'd actually eat breakfast and that's when he very seriously turned to me and said that he was going to hide his Easter basket so Daddy wouldn't eat all his chocolate.  Now, I can't totally pick on Chris, because Oliver is actually usually hiding chocolate from his chocoholic mom.  And I have memories of my mom swiping chocolate from my Easter basket as a kid, so Oliver was trying to stay one step ahead of us.  It's just that he hid his basket in a room with the childproof cover on the doorknob, so when he wanted to retrieve his stash, he had to ask for my help to get to his "hidden" basket of chocolate.   

The kids also received stickers and colored masking tape in their baskets. Yes, the Easter Bunny gave them tape. But the Easter Bunny knows what a three-year-old likes. That stuff kept both kids occupied the rest of the day. I spent that evening scraping stickers and tape off windows, floors and counter tops, but they had fun.

Despite the un-spring-like weather, the sidewalks were clear of snow, so before our guests arrived, I plopped Soren in the stroller, zipped up his cozy stroller cover and headed out for some fresh air and a walk. Grandma and Grandpa were already here when we returned and once Uncle Andy and his girlfriend arrived, we sat down for a very nontraditional Easter brunch of breakfast burritos.

There was one thing on the menu for dessert. Chocolate! Our talented nanny had made us a traditional chocolate Easter eggs like she grew up having on Easter in Brazil.  We cracked the egg open in inside were homemade chocolates.  Soren had missed out on the pre-breakfast chocolate, but by this point, he wanted his fair share and before long, had a mouth covered in chocolate. 
Because of the weather, we never had our Easter egg hunt.  The kids were having so much fun playing with extended family that I didn't want to interrupt them.  Soren went down for a nap and Oliver eventually experienced a sugar crash.  And yes, I sampled the chocolate from the kids' Easter baskets.