Well this Easter was a great one. I remember last Easter going to the service held at the fairgrounds and seeing all the 'moms' and their kids. Some were in strollers, and some were walking around, and I remember thinking 'Wow. That is going to be ME next Easter.' And yes, it really was. Claire sat in her stroller pretty well, but towards the end got a little sick of it. But a HUGE shout-out to Colleen who offered to hold her!! Thanks dude!

Our Easter Meal (I'm not sure if it was technically lunch or dinner, and it was too late to be brunch) was consumed up in good ol' Apple Hill at my parent's house. The food was incredible (seriously mom - where DID you get that ham!) and of course I totally over ate. But I blame that on the creator of cream cheese. I mean - who would have guessed that mixing that stuff with potatoes (and creating 'twice baked' potatoes) would result in chemically altering one's ability to control their intake of food. It's really weird. Maybe they should do a 'study' on it.

And now, for a few photos - be prepared - I added quite a few.

And here is Miss Claire in her totally beautiful but completely impractical 'Easter Dress'. Yes, it's silk, and has to be dry cleaned only. Which mean I fed her in her pajamas then quickly put on the dress before heading to church, and then snapped a few pictures at mom and dad's and then changed her clothes again before giving her lunch. Good thing I'm going to have her wear that dress during her '1 year photos' - so at least it gets SOME use out of it. I know. Stupid purchase. (oh yeah - disclaimer on the hair - she was messing with it so it looks REALLY bad - but I didn't have time to fix it before our 2 minute photo shoot)

Claire has learned to clap. Super cute.
So here she is, ready to look for eggs and 'cheering' about it.
I wonder if she ever realized there was one just behind her.

Hmm. Looks like some other kid found that egg.
But hey - its a great day out. So there's still tons to clap about.

Oops. I guess those eggs are still there. Now if she can just lean forward a bit...

Yeah. It's gets pretty boring. I totally understand. But I have a feeling that if you just would have moved around a bit - it COULD have been a bit more interesting...

So in the end, we just gave her a few eggs. She was totally cool with it. But what I don't have a picture of, is Ty - when about 2 minutes later he walked up and took all her eggs. I think he thought he 'found' them. (the other eggs he found were hidden at the same level of 'difficulty')

Good Times with the Easter Bunny

So I was at the mall the other day and there just happened to be NO LINE for the Easter Bunny. Now, those of us who shop at the Galleria already are aware of the huge lines that can form for Santa, the Easter Bunny, and who knows what else they decide to stuff and sit in an oversized chair. Claire had on no shoes, no frilly dress, or anything else you might expect a child to wear when taking this monumental photo, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and do it anyway.

First, let me start off by saying that it was pretty clear that Mr. Easter Bunny pretty much hated his life. Claire has this 'thing' for bunnies so I figured that a HUGE bunny would be pretty exciting for her. I held her as we approached him saying 'Oh look! It's a bunny! Its the Easter Bunny!!!' And Mr. Easter Bunny sat motionless in his large, cardboard throne. Not even a slight turn of the head towards the precious, little child that was about to sit in his lap. No waiving of the polyester-gloved hand to spread some friendly aura to his visitors. Just a blank stare towards the camera - as if to say 'I'm ignoring you as much as I am legally able to without losing my job.'

I guess I can't really blame him for being bothered. I mean, white gloves went out in the 80's.