Easter

As all of the holidays are, Easter was full, exciting and fun. Here are some of my favorite highlights...

I colored Easter Eggs with Eli for the first time this year. I've bought dye and eggs in years past, and never got around to it, or never figured out a way to do it with Keira's help. Eli had dyed eggs before with Dendi, but this year was the first year I got to experience it with him. One afternoon the week before Easter it worked out perfectly -- Keira took an extra long nap and Eli and I were able to take our time. I relish the time I have with each child, individually.




First thing Easter morning was just as magical. When Keira and I got up, Eli told me a bit forlornly that he'd looked all around the house and hadn't found a single egg. Turns out, the Easter bunny had left a note on his bathroom mirror telling him to find his eggs up the hill in the backyard. Whenever we go out these days, we all wear hats for sun protection, even though I tried to dissuade her, Keira insisted on wearing her hat for the egg hunt. :) Following along in her interesting wardrobe choice was her brother. As he did going into school with his Easter basket, he chose to wear his on his head. He said it was part of his detective costume. :)




Eli couldn't get up the hill fast enough, but the Easter bunny had left explicit instructions that he'd left twelve eggs for each child. Eli zoomed around and easily collected his twelve, while Keira took her time. She was still getting into the swing of things. As I helped her find each egg, she took the time to happily open each one, inspect the contents and dump them into her basket.



A wild animal helped themselves to a few of our eggs before the children had a chance to find all twenty-four. We ended up having each of them find ten or eleven. Still, Eli was an incredibly good sport. Once he'd collected his allotment, he patiently led his sissy around the playground and pointed out eggs to her. He even watched as she opened each one.



Finally, after all the edible eggs were collected (not counting a few that were mangled by the wildlife) Eli and Keira got down to the business of enjoying some chocolate. They sat at their new picnic table under the play structure.



One of the most beautiful parts of Easter morning for me was spending time outside on a crisp morning with my three favorite people. After enjoying some new play structure time, especially some swing time, we packed up and headed over to our subdivision's playground and tennis court. A few weeks ago, we invested in some sporting equipment including tennis rackets and tennis balls. Eli showed some early interest in tennis, but watching both of them on the tennis court by myself didn't allow for much practice. However, with two adults, the numbers were more in his favor, and Eli got in some good practice time. He practiced hitting the balls that Scottie bounced to him and even got about five good shots over the net.

Our New Play Structure

Scottie's done it again. He's built something amazing for our family. This time I think he's outdone himself. The first week in April was his Spring Break. He spent the entire vacation building the kids a new play structure. He did an amazing job. The first day was spent clearing the spot in our woods which was no small feat considering how dense the underbrush, shrubbery and vines were. The next step was to dig huge holes, plant the first posts and pour in the cement to anchor the posts. Once again, Tom helped Scott with a lot of the building, Diane helped out with childcare. Thanks so much Dendi and Bapa! Eli got in on the fun a little too, he helped with the mixing and pouring of the cement.



The first exciting day for the kids was the slide day. Once Daddy had built the platform and made the ladder he attached the slide quickly so that the kids could get a little taste of their new play area. Both Scottie and I didn't want Eli to outgrow the play structure too quickly. With that in mind, he made the slide as steep as he could. He did a good job, too -- it is FAST! You can see just how fast the slide is by our expressions at the bottom of the slide. Pure joy.





Besides installing a super steep slide to keep the kids' interest, Scottie also put in a vertical climbing wall for a challenge. Eli can already climb it, but he has to work at it, and he prefers having a spotter.


Finally, on Sunday April 24th (this post has been a LONG time in the making!) Scottie built a roof for the play structure and added small rocks under the play structure and the little picnic table. Incidentally, the little picnic table is one of Eli's favorite features. He can bring a snack or an activity (yahtzee, a puzzle, coloring or a maze), sit at the little table and stay close to Keira and I while I push her in the swing. My favorite part about the table is that it keeps Eli close to the action and he usually ends up playing on the structure rather than working on his sedentary task. Here's a photo of our beautiful, completed play structure.

Fire Station Field Trip

Last Wednesday, Keira and I accompanied Eli to his final field trip of the year to the fire station. On Tuesday night, I said to Scott, "I'm taking two children to the fire station tomorrow who are terrified of fire trucks and fire fighters. What am I doing?!?" Fortunately, we survived. In fact, Eli did exceptionally well. Despite being somewhat timid when we first arrived, once he settled in with "his person" Mandy, he was good to go. One of my favorite things about his preschool is the ratio, with all the highschool helpers, it's nearly one on one. On field trips, specifically, it is one on one. Each high schooler signs up for one of the preschoolers. It's amazing, and particularly helpful in a situation like the fire station. Here's Eli with his "person" Mandy at the beginning of the tour.



Thank goodness for Mandy! Keira was miserable the entire time at the fire station, which left me very little time to make sure Eli was okay. When we first arrived, she was overwhelmed with the amount of people (probably around fifty) in a small room. Then, once the fire fighter started to speak she was done. I tried stepping outside a few times, but with Eli being in a place he's always been terrified of, I felt like I couldn't abandon him. The best I could do for Keira was to try to stay a few paces away from the huge group, keep her safely tucked into the sling and try to soothe her the best that I could. Once again, I'm so grateful for the sling! After about twenty minutes she was so exhausted she fell fast asleep in the sling and slept for the duration of the tour.

As I said before, I was extremely impressed with Eli. He stayed with Mandy the whole tour, but didn't talk about being scared at all. Yet, he wasn't enthusiastic about the tour either. After the fire station, the kids were heading to Jump To It. Eli was VERY eager to leave, and move on to the enjoyable part of the field trip. Here are a few pictures of my brave boy at the fire station.