Easter

We have been having some really beautiful days in Houston so I took the kids out to the Easter Eggstravaganza at Blessington Farms last weekend.  They had fun hunting for eggs, enjoying all the rides/games, seeing the animals (though poor Eric was scared of most of them – except the baby ducklings which he of course loved!) and we had a picnic lunch before heading home. 

  

The experience at Blessington Farm seemed to be pretty traumatizing to him because on Monday morning all he could talk about was how the “hen took Rheric snack!” and how he was “scared” (said as he literally clutches his chest) of the toucan, bunny (named Patricia) and other animals there.  I reminded him of the Daniel Tiger song about when you’re scared holding a hand can help you feel better.  Later that morning when we were driving to school he was still talking about it and then said “Yah Yah! My hand!  My hand!”  I watched in the rearview mirror as she took his hand.  He said “That hand” and reached for her other hand.  So she reached over and held both his hands.  They were basically face to face and both smiling at each other and I could tell Olivia was pretty smitten in that moment with Eric.  She sort of squealed “Eric!!  I love you!!”  He responded with an enthusiastic “Yeah!”  She and I both laughed and then I told him “Eric, when someone says I love you, you should say I love you too.”  So then Olivia told him again “Eric I love you!”  He responded “Too!”  Then I said “Eric I love you.”  He responded “Too.  Dada love TOO!”  Olivia got this look on her face and said “Oh my gosh!  He said he loves daddy too, that’s so cute!  Eric, will you marry me?”  He looked at her with a huge smile and goes “Noooooooooo!”  It was so cute.  I don’t know if its even adequately conveyed over blog – but it was adorable and I’ve been smiling all day thinking about it.

Olivia is VERY invested in ensuring Eric gets into Kinkaid in Pre-K so they will be in the same school for a year together.  She loves it when he knows something she thinks is impressive (e.g. she is obsessed that he can count to 10) and she is always trying to teach him new things.  We usually get daily reports from Eric’s teachers about the lessons they had in class.  The teachers take turns showing off all the kids in the class.  If that day’s picture/update is about Eric and he did well at the lesson, she gets really proud of him.  So, it was no big surprise when she came home last week and told me she stopped by to see her old Kindergarten teacher in the morning before school and said “She told me some strategies we can work on with Eric” and then proceeded to show me some admittedly really good ideas for ways to help him with his numbers.

That evening, we did our monthly Big Sister Date with Olivia - we had pizza and then went to play some games at a local arcade!

Olivia started swim team practice this week.  The first practice was one of the most beautiful days in Houston so I took E’s swim suit and introduced him to the pool for the first time this year.  We have a Peppa Pig book we have been reading about the pool so he knew sort of what a pool was.  I changed him into his swim suit, covered him with sunscreen and we walked over to the baby pool.  I put him in it (it was 6 inches of water that barely came up to his knees).  He looked at me with a concerned look and said “Oh no!  All wet!”  I assured him it was okay and the point of it.  He asked “Sit down?”  I said sure.  And that was basically all he needed.  This kid was splashing and jumping and living his best life, while poor Olivia worked her tail off at practice.

And then after Eric swims, we put on PJs and wait for Olivia to get finished with her practice! After Olivia's practice was over we were walking back to the car, Eric in the middle of Olivia and I, all holding hands.  I noticed Eric wasn't talking and was walking sort of slowly.  Olivia noticed too and asked me about it.  I guessed maybe he was getting used to walking in flip flops?  All of a sudden as we got to the edge of the parking lot, he dropped our hands, turned around and sprinted back yelling "Rheric pool!"  We quickly grabbed him and he thought he was SO funny.  The rest of the car ride home he said "Rheric run to pool?" with a huge smile on his face.

 On Good Friday we got lucky with some sunny weather so we spent the morning outside in the baby pool.

That afternoon, Olivia and I enjoyed a little mother-daughter lunch with some of her friends at Brennan’s.  It was a great event with a candy bar, kid friendly menu, hidden eggs, and real live bunnies for the kids to pet!  

On Saturday, we went to an Easter Egg hunt at Birons gym, where Olivia takes gymnastics.  Olivia’s bff Andrea and her little sister were there so she had a great time. The Easter Bunny did make an appearance which scared poor Eric so he hung pretty close to Matt and I. 

Another day, another hunt.  By now Eric was an old pro at egg hunts and couldn’t wait for the hunt at Westside.  Both kids got tons of eggs and treats.  Matt was with Olivia at the big kid side and didn't take any pics, but I got a few of Eric at the baby event!

  

And that night, Olivia helped E. Bunny with stuffing and hiding the eggs this year and did a great job!  On Easter morning she was thrilled to take Eric around the house and help him find the eggs.  

While she was "in the know" on the eggs, one thing she forgot about was her Easter basket, so I was still able to surprise her with that, which I was happy about.

This is her face when she sees the giant LOL Doll container next to her basket!  I just love it!

 And Eric was pretty happy about his Daniel Tiger trolley too!

His favorite thing to do is make a tunnel and have Trolley go through his legs...

And then we got dressed and the fam came over for Easter brunch.  This year we did a bagel bar.  Again, I loved planning the party with her and having her help me with all the details of it.  Then she helped Mimi put together this rabbit fruit salad.  

And this year Olivia did a "guess the number of jelly beans" game for everyone.

We skipped the Pin the Tail on the Bunny for an Easter Egg Relay race.  Olivia decided the teams beforehand and obviously rigged it in her favor.  She had Naz, Mimi, Popo and Matt.  Meanwhile my team was me, Eric, Grandpa and Heather.  But Eric was surprisingly fast and good at the relay so it was a pretty close game.  But in the end Olivia’s team won!

After brunch and games, the kids had fun opening their easter baskets from the grandparents and we had a little dance party too!