Easter 2016

The weekend before Easter, we took Arlo to a local egg hunt.  It was huge, and had multiple fields set up for various age groups.  Arlo was in the 0-3 group, and there were (what we were told) thousands of eggs on the field.  Once they blew the whistle everyone stormed the field and it was an egg collecting frenzy.  Arlo was not in any apparent hurry and was rather gentle about his collection process but still managed to score 10 or so eggs in the short time the hunt lasted.  I was confused to find that nearly every egg contained a tootsie roll which is both a choking hazard and super unhealthy for such a young age group, but Arlo didn't seem to care that we opened them and gave the contents away pretty quickly (note to self - this won't last forever, have a backup plan for next year!)  After the hunt he played with another little boy about his age and they ran around dumping out their empty eggs and recollecting them.

The best part of the hunt was meeting the Easter bunny, which Arlo didn't get to do last year.  He was a little apprehensive about approaching him by himself, so Erik held him for a picture.  Before we walked away we asked him if he wanted to hug the Easter bunny and he did not once but twice, and with a big smile on his face.  It was pretty sinking adorable.

 

This past Sunday was Easter and I spent the evening before putting together his basket and filling up eggs with treats and small trinkets.  Erik saw everything I had set out for Arlo to find the next morning and joked that the Easter bunny was a little too generous at our house this year.  But my defense was that when your kiddo's birthday is just six days from Christmas the other holidays throughout the year are good opportunities to add in a new book, puzzle, or toy.  I always feel guilty buying him stuff for no reason and rarely do but to me Easter is a perfectly good reason for a few new things!

Arlo was pretty excited to find his little pile the next morning, and almost looked at us confused like "is this for me?"  His basket had a sketch book, crayon/paper set (for taking on the go), sidewalk chalk, kinetic sand, a little tow truck, a new book by one of our favorite authors and cute wooden alphabet puzzle.  Of course his favorite things were the $0.40 plastic wall walking bug I bought on clearance after Easter last year, the paper grass, and the basket itself which he loved wearing around all day on his head.

Since the Easter bunny wasn't sure if it was going to rain that morning, he waited to put out the eggs until the weather was clear.  Fortunately his timing was spot on, and we were able to have a little egg hunt right in our front yard, and made it back inside just minutes before the rain started.  There were three jumbo eggs with small toys inside - a talking Thomas Train in one, bubbles in another, and a light up bouncy ball in the third.  The rest were small eggs filled with mini play doh, stickers, fruit snacks, and probably half had organic animal cookies in them.  Arlo opened up the big eggs first and the look on his face when he found Thomas was priceless.  I was afraid that after he found the train it would be game over since he likely wouldn't want to put it down, but once he discovered the snacks he went from egg to egg, opening them, eating the contents, tossing the empty egg on the grass, and moving on to the next.  The fruit snacks were equally as exciting to him as finding the train.  This kid isn't much for sweets but is crazy for fruit snacks and gasped every time he found one.  Now please indulge me as I include all of my favorites from our Easter photo shoot....

telling us about the clouds and that rain comes from them

 

Even though it rained most of the rest of the day, we accomplished what we had hoped to and spent the afternoon mostly being lazy and flicking Arlo's new wall walking bug so many times that eventually it stopped sticking to the wall.  I guess I know what I will be filling his basket with next year  ;)

Easter 2015 + a first haircut!

For the sake of both saving time and simplifying things, I am combining two posts into one today - Easter Sunday and Arlo's first haircut.  We actually did the haircut on Easter so why not just blog about it all at once, I say.

This past weekend we had Erik's family in town.  We were so glad they could visit and had a great time with them!  Even though this wasn't technically Arlo's first Easter, it was the first Easter that he went egg hunting and received a basket.  So it was pretty neat to have family around as it made the time even that more special.

On Easter morning, the Easter bunny decided to wait until everyone woke up and had a nice big brunch before he popped in to drop Arlo's basket off, and he didn't even notice it at first.  It was almost nap time and he was starting to get sleepy and a little fussy.  He did look at one of his new books for a bit and happily ate the treats from the eggs, but then he was pretty much over it and wanted to go lay down in his crib.  In his basket the bunny left some sidewalk chalk, bubbles, two stuffies (a pig and a bunny), crayons, two books (the kind with big pictures which Arlo is really into right now), and some snacks.  I didn't want to introduce candy yet, so I found some organic fruit juice sweetened treats, and he loved them.  I found these bars at the grocery store, and am so glad I did.  Arlo loves them and they are individually wrapped so you can keep one in your purse or diaper bag for on the go emergency snacks.  Especially helpful for when you have a toddler who needs to eat seven meals a day.  Ha.  Moving on...

After nap time we headed out to the yard to find the eggs that the bunny had left outside.  I probably should have waited a while after he woke up to do this, but I was too excited to see Arlo's reaction.  As well, our guests were heading back home mid-afternoon and I wanted them to be around for the egg hunt.  I think the poor kid was still coming around from his nap and ended up breaking down crying halfway through!  He did pick up a few of the eggs (with encouragement) and ate the contents of every last one of them, no need for encouragement there.  One egg contained a cute little bird whistle but the rest were filled with the special Easter snacks I had bought.  The cloth basket in the photos below was made by my mom, probably more than ten years ago, for one of my much younger cousins.  So glad my Aunt saved it all these years and passed it along to us  :)

first egg!

now what?

over it!

but wait, these eggs contain food?  ok, happy once again!

After the egg hunt we took a few family photos.  Erik's brother, Scott, and their father both came downstairs on Easter morning dressed in red plaid shirts.  Knowing that Erik probably had a red plaid shirt himself (plaid is pretty much the standard uniform in the B family) I joked that he should put it on and match his brother and father.  He obliged, and after looking through the tub of clothes I have for Arlo that will fit him next winter, I realized that he too had a red plaid shirt.  So, this was not really pre-planned, but as it happens, all the B boys ended up in matching shirts (awwwww....)  The picture below captures the moment so perfectly.  The boys in their red plaid, Arlo with his beloved broom, and Lucy in the background staring intently at a bumble bee she tried to catch the whole time we were outside.  Perfection.

Our guests left mid-afternoon and we were so sad to see them go.  We love living where we do, but being so far from family and only getting to see them a few times per year is hard, especially now that Arlo is in the picture.  Fortunately we will be seeing everyone a couple of times this summer due to a family reunion and two weddings, and might even get to see them again before that! 

After everyone was gone, I decided it was time to give Arlo his first haircut.  I had called around to barber shops and salons earlier in the week, hoping to find one that was both kid-friendly and reasonably priced, but in the end I decided that I had the qualifications and skills to do it myself.  Actually, I really don't have any such qualifications, however I do cut Erik's hair myself and have now for several years, so I decided to just go for it.  I am so glad I did - it turned out great (pats self on back) and Arlo did way better than I thought he would.  Here are a couple of before shots, note the mullet in the back:

I started by using scissors to cut off the long part in the back, and saved a lock of it to put in his baby book.  I then used the clippers to go over his entire head.  For future reference, since I know I will forget, I used an 8 on the top and a 6 on the sides.  At first Arlo kept trying to turn his head to see what I was doing, but I handed him a turkey baster (why do we even own a turkey baster?!) and he was content to play with it for the duration of the haircut.

Here are the after shots.  I can't get over how much more grown up he looks now.  The wispy baby hairs are gone and he now looks like a little boy, ahhhh!!!