Easter

There is something so supremely creepy about this 6 foot man in a raggedy bunny outfit clutching my little girl. And the fact that I had to pay him for the privilege is equally if not more disturbing. We actually tried to get her to sit on the Easter bunny's lap for a photo op last year, but apparently she had sharper instincts back when she was only one because she took one look at the mutant rabbit was not about to have any part of that nonsense.

But there you have it. Easter. And all its weird trappings. I'm sure it's all very confusing for my 2 year old since it has no religious connotation for her. The bunnies, the marshmallow chicks, the jelly beans, the dyed eggs. Very colorful, but very strange.

And we do all the silly stuff. I've come to the conclusion that as her parents, we are in charge of the hefty responsibility of all of her childhood memories. So it's up to us to do it up right and take the opportunity to make these holidays and traditions something special that she'll look back upon fondly.

This year was our first attempt at dying eggs and it was a huge success. Brad and I had fun experimenting with different dying techniques - using rubber bands, stickers and even vegetable oil. And Abs had fun just dropping the eggs in the colorful cups and stirring the contents.

Good old PAAS

Abby and Brad dying eggs

Our snazzy eggs

We left old fluffy buns a little bribe to be sure he'd stop by.

He took our snacks and left behind a little memento.

He also left behind some footprints.

The girls each got baskets from both the Easter bunny and grandma and were ready to start the great Easter Egg Hunt of 2010. Let the fun begin!

The loot.

Thrilled with her score.

We had so many eggs for the girls to discover in the backyard. There were two dozen of the hardboiled variety and at least 4 dozen more plastic eggs filled with candy and small change.

The girls had a blast and were surprisingly competitive about it. It was hilarious to see them in their Easter finery duking it out over gaudy toy eggs filled with stale candy.

After the egg hunt madness was done and all the booty had been found and collected, we headed inside for Easter brunch. I decorated using tons of fun and bright finds from my favorite department store (The Dollar Tree). The entire family had a great time and it was another happy memory in the bank for our baby girl.

The kids table

The adults table

Sweet centerpieces