Easter Egg Hunt Take One

Saturday was the first Easter Egg Hunt of the season. Our neighborhood put on the cutest little Easter Celebration, and Grace had a wonderful time.

Her first Easter, she was around 8 months old and totally didn't get "The Hunt" - even though her Nonni and Poppy put one on for the kids. She just cared mostly about the chocolate bunny they gave her. Her first of many experiences with chocolate!

Last year, it was FREEZING the week of Easter so all of the hunts were canceled. Our play group did a cute little indoor hunt, but this year is her first real experience with hunting for eggs!

Saturday was a beautiful day - sunny, not a cloud in the sky. As you can see from the photos, Grace was squinting in most of them! Even though there were no smiles, she really did have a great time and wanted to do more. They had a glitter tattoo table, an egg in a spoon race (thankfully they were wooden, because Grace thought she was supposed to throw the egg!), a bean bag in a hoop game, sidewalk chalk and several other little things.

She also got to meet the Easter Bunny - I was surprised that she wasn't scared at all...she walked right up to him and smiled pretty for the camera! Each kid was allowed 10 eggs, and after finding them, Grace promptly sat down to find out what she got for her "prizes." She was extremely thrilled that there were candy and stickers in all of her eggs.
Lining Up:
Finding Eggs:

Looking for Prizes:

Decorating the Sidewalk:

With Rachel:

The Livestock Show

On Wednesday the 12th, we went with a group of kids to the Texas State Rodeo and Livestock show. Grace had such a wonderful time. Her favorite thing by far was the pony ride. Also on her list of things she enjoyed was the petting zoo, watching the milk come from a cow and the rides. Also, she got TWO ice cream cones....and that is just a perfect day for her.



As you can see, Grace and her friend Tova LOVED the ride, while Aubrey...well, lets just say she HATED it! Poor child was terrified! They had to stop the ride and let her off. Tova and Grace loved it so much, that they went on another ride with Kate (I don't have a photo of that one for some reason) on a train.


Grace and her friends at the rodeo!

My Princess-Obsessed Child

Today, we took Grace to the store. Jeff told her that she could pick out a present. I asked her what she wanted and she responded, "White princess dress with matching shoes."

She got instead a Princess Barbie with a matching baby Barbie. She came home and put on her pink princess dress to match and is happily watching her princess cartoons.

Family Game Night

Saturday, we had a family game night! We had so much fun playing with Grace. She only has 3 games, but we played them over and over again. The game she played that impressed us the most is called "Too Many Teddies." It is kinda like Uno for toddlers. There are 4 colors of bears that have 1-3 buttons on them. You can either play the color or the number of buttons. She really understood it and played it very well, waiting her turn and following the directions. We played several times and she wanted to sleep with the cards! She woke up and that was the first thing we did the next day, too!

Grace Happy.

Last Friday, Grace was having a really hard time going to sleep. I don't know what was going on, but she was crying a lot, waking up constantly and just generally miserable. I finally told Grace that she could come and lay down with me in my bed, until Daddy came to bed. Then she would have to go back to her room. She was so excited and toddled off to my room.

We snuggled in, sharing a pillow...I closed my eyes. Then I felt her sweet little hand on my cheek and she whispered, "Mommy?" I opened my eyes and looked at her. She said, "Grace happy."

My heart just melted.

The WHAT? Sliding Blues??

In Kindermusik, one of the songs this semester is called, "The Toe-Tapping Blues." Grace loves singing it. We switch the words to give them more movements, so we may sing the egg-shaking blues, or the foot-stomping blues, or whatever.

On Wednesday, I was giving Grace a bath and she wasn't really cooperating. I started singing the song, using phrases like, "The Toe-Scrubbing Blues, The Knee Scrubbing Blues, etc." At some point, she slid in the water and started giggling. And sang,

I've got the Butt-Sliding Blues!!!

Payback is so sweet.....

On Friday, Grace was playing with Aubrey and they got in a little scuffle over a toy. Grace let go of whatever it was and Aubrey, unfortunately went flying. She slammed her face right into the corner of the coffee table. She has a beautiful black eye! You can see Aubrey's black eye by clicking here.

So, Wednesday, Aubrey decided to pay Grace back!





She chased Grace down, tackled her, put her in a choke hold, then rubbed her face into the ground! Grace had dirt and grass all over her - even up her nose!

Now, please don't think that Aubrey is a bully! Both of the girls were having a great time and laughing so hard that I am surprised Grace didn't wet her pants. And, of course, the moms were urging Kate to get Aubrey so that Grace could be dog-piled.