Easter

Savannah had some experience last year with Easter egg hunts at her birthday party and in neighborhood hunts. So this year she's two and I thought she's gonna love this and totally kick butt at the RBC egg hunt which was held the weekend before Easter. But she has taken on one of my traits of people watching, so the poor girl didn't get a single egg on her own. The truth is that most of the toddlers were pretty clueless about how the system worked and were quite overwhelmed by the crowds of people gathered in a small space. So the typical experience was that while one parent scooped up eggs for their child the other was capturing the moment on camera. I was holding Lexi, attempting to snap pictures, and directing Savannah - who was content to watch the other kids quickly scoop up every plastic egg before them. Luckily for her, a sweet little boy saw that she had nothing in her basket so he gave her a couple of his. His parents and I exchanged glances of pride and gratitude. It was pretty dang cute that a 2 year old thought to share on his own.

Well fortunately our trip to Portland coincided with the Easter holiday and so Grandma & Grandpa made sure that Savannah got the hang of the hunt. After hiding 30+ plastic eggs around the living room on Easter morning, Savannah was given the opportunity to find them all by herself. She steadily picked up speed as the concept became more clear to her and she loved it.

This was a great practice session for later in the afternoon when we were over at my Aunt Cathy & Uncle Mikel's house with nearly all of their kids and grand kids. We were spoiled with delicious eats, treats, and then a 3-room egg hunt. (The Portland weather proved to be too soggy for an outdoor hunt that day.) Savannah was plowing through the rooms filling up her basket like it was a marathon. She was so excited and really took on the energy from the other kids too. It was pretty funny to watch. Also fun to watch was little Lexi who finally got in on the fun. She's a people watcher too, so after seeing the kids scooping up the eggs, she wanted to be put down on the floor and participate. It was truly a good time had by all. (Thanks again Dover fam for letting us share in your fun celebrations and for spoiling us rotten with yummy treats!)

Our final Easter celebration was over with the DeRoest side of the family. My Dad's Mom aka "Grandma DeRoest" or "Grandma the Great" had organized a family gathering at her home. It was fun to see my girls meeting so many new faces and responding to the love of this big family. They really charmed their way into everyone's hearts. Some of the fun highlights included Savannah cuddling up to Ashley to see what her phone could do and then having a real phone conversation with my cousin Jessica. It was adorable. Another fun Savannah moment was when she was hugging on her cousin Maddox (I've got to put up that picture. It was so cute. ) Most touching moment was looking over at Lexi in my grandma's lap. She was just so relaxed and cuddling right up to her. Lexi can be a busybody most of the time but she was so good to just cuddle up with everyone and seemed to enjoy the attention. On a funny side note - Jess and I (both naturally blonde) had decided recently to try a new look and it turned out we both dyed our hair the exact same color. I really missed having my husband to share in the wonderful family moments but hopefully these fun images and this blog is able to recapture some of the specialness of our Easter celebration. It really was amazing to be around so many family members and feel of their love and support. Thanks to everyone for making it a wonderful day and know that we love and miss you all.