Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Easter...

It was nice to celebrate Easter in Florida this year. Nice to have an egg hunt in Easter dresses and sandals versus the snowsuits we usually wear in Minnesota for the occasion. The girls had a great time - and are still on a sugar high from the chocolate and jelly beans. Slowly I will start weaning them off their new found love of sweets so life can resume a normal rhythm again.

We met the bunny. While we "do" the Easter Bunny and Santa a bit - I really, really try not to "overdo" it. Every year, the girls get a basket with candy and a few Santa gifts...but I try not to make a big deal out of it, talk about who the items came from or play up the mystery or illusions of these characters. It's really not that I don't want them to enjoy a time in their lives full of fairies and princesses and scary men in costumes...it's more that I really have a hard time lying to my kids. It feels weird.
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If they are to ask me how the baby got in my belly - I will tell them truthfully at this point exactly how it happens...and I talk to them very honestly about death, and sadness and good and bad. So, if they were to point blank ask me if the Bunny is real - I would only have the truth to fall back on.


That being said - when the "Easter Bunny" entered the restaurant - Esther's first words were "it's just a man dressed in a costume." Eloise said she didn't care - she still wanted a hug.

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After a lovely Easter Brunch - we proceeded to the beach club lawn to find 4000 eggs scattered about and areas divided by age groups. Eloise's age group was 5-7 year olds - and it was the largest group, the most competitive and the fastest. Those kids ran so fast and furious that the area of 1000 eggs was obliterated within 45 seconds. Eloise was lucky to get her 16 eggs and come out with her life.
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Esther's age group was 3-4 years. Her group consisted of about 15 little girls wearing their lovely Easter dresses, bows in their hair, and fancy sandals on their feet. All 15 girls politely and carefully and so dignified placed their 1000's of eggs into their baskets and bags. They spent the next 15 minutes trying to get them all while the rest of the age groups looked on with awe and greed wishing they could just get in there and help.
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In the end were lots of smiles for a perfect day with family, the "bunny", lots of eggs, sunshine and candy.
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Happy Easter. xoxo,t
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5 comments:

Grammy said...

Great pictures. They look like they are having such a good time. Beautiful dresses. I,too, would prefer sunshine and beaches to snow any day. Make believe is ok - really. Having an imagination is also pretty normal and ok. I guess I grew up with the magic of the holidays and the feeling of feeling special during those times. I passed that magic on to my children and when they asked about the "reality" it was no longer a secret - but it certainly takes some of the joy out of childhood. NOW, the business of the birds and the bees, well, that's another story:) It is from a seed that God plants in your tummy isn't it!! Please don't spoil that for me too!

Kristi Pohl said...

Easter at the beach looks way more fun than Easter in the snow.

Are the girls really ready to hear about uteruses and cervixes?????

Melanie said...

tracy, how can you and i be so alike and so different? your take on santa and the bunny are almost identical to mine. i just can't lie to them. yesterday i was contemplating whether or not catie is too young to learn about periods.

totally cracking up at your Easter in snow pants. we did not need snow pants, but it was COLD here on sunday.

Andrea said...

Looks like the perfect Easter! I too have a hard time lying to mine. When Noah had all his "how did Emme get out of your belly" questions, I just let him watch "A Baby Story" with me and that cleared things up real fast! He was also super impressed with the amazing power of the vajayjay. A bonus! :)

Melanie said...

You have the most darling girls & you capture them so well in photos!

I agree, it just feels weird lying to our kids about Santa & the Easter Bunny. We place such a high value on honesty in our family, that it just seems wrong to lie about certain things. Our kids know that we are the Bunny & have a pretty good idea about Santa, too, but they still like to send letters to Santa anyway!

Glad you had a warm & sunny Easter! That snowy Easter picture is hilarious!

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