An Eggcellent Easter

I think this picture below sums it all up, we had a great Easter. An eggcellent Easter in fact! I was a little sad earlier in the week that this Easter we wouldn't be with any extended family but it turns out, we were with family, our Charlotte family.
Our next door neighbors and some of our closest friends, Adam and Jaime invited us to spend the weekend with them and their families and everyone welcomed us with open arms. Adam's aunt and uncle live in a beautiful home in Charlotte complete with swimming pool, great lawn for hunting easter eggs and perfect kitchen for gathering and talking. We were invited over not only for Easter brunch but also Saturday night for a steak dinner.

Ella quickly found a new toy, a cane that sqeaked when you hit it and she quickly discovered a second use for it, perfect for splashing bubbles in the pool.

Check out my new cane Mom! Oh and by the way, can we come here all the time so I can swim in the pool??

Oh and big surprise, guess who found the necklace and had to put it on immediately? This girl is already a sucker for jewelry and she isn't even 2 yet. I guess I have taught her well.

But luckily, she is happy with a bright blue necklace from the dollar store.

(Note: most of these pictures were taken by Jaime with her fancy camera. I have major camera envy)

This picture is so cute because it is so typical, Ella and Allie giving each other a hug.

And there they go, off to play in the backyard. Oh yeah and we also have major yard and garden envy of this house. The yard was so big, you could definitely have played a full soccer game with all the room.

And Ella found some other new "toys" and her Dad was so proud that it was a Giants helmet! At least the helmet matched her necklace!

Later that night, all the little ones got on her pjs and watched a movie before we had to head home for bedtime and guess who became Ella's best friend? Their sweet dog just hanging out between Ella and Allie. Sammy should be scared, Dakota could tell her some good stories.

Sunday morning, the three of us went off to morning church with the rest of Charlotte apparently. I have never seen so many people at our church or any other church before but it was nice. Then after church, we headed back over to have brunch with our "Charlotte family." The weather was really nice and hot! Very sunny and almost 90 degrees by the afternoon.

Jaime took some great pictures of the family and these below of Ella are my new favorites.

She is wearing the same dress she wore to Brad and Whitney's wedding because it was just too cute to not have her wear it again and I am so glad she did because the pictures are perfect!

And Daddy looks pretty nice himself!

After a quick change because it got hot and Ella had a run in with a Reese cup (don't worry, the dress survived and is fine), we headed outside for the kids Easter Egg Hunt.

She got the hang of it after last week's hunt but still not too aggresive. She is happy to have just one as long as it is full of jelly beans.

There was lots of open space and good hiding spots for the eggs.

Forget the basket, it is holding me down. I just want to hold onto the eggs so I can eat the yummy candy inside.

The day was definitely a success and while we missed our families, it is nice to know that when we can't get home, we have family right here.

Check out this Irish baby's red cheeks! Outside for 10 minutes and they immediately become flushed. I love them, match her strawberry blonde hair perfectly!

This hunting business is tough but look at all the yummy candy I got!

And that look says, it is time to head home for a nap. Which is exactly what we did and then just had a quiet dinner the three of us that night and toasted to a wonderful weekend and a fun Easter.

Each new holiday just becomes more and more fun as Ella grows up and starts to be able to really participate so seeing her this Easter already makes me excited for next year and with how fast this past year has flown by, I am sure it will be here before we know it. Hope you enjoy all the pictures and hope your Easter was an eggcellent one also filled with lots of jelly beans egg hunts!

What does a bunny do??

In our neighborhood, we have lots of rabbits and bunnies that usually Dakota chases after so it is not rare to see them and lately Ella is really into animals and the noises they make and what they do. So, with Easter coming up quickly, our favorite animal is the bunny and whenever we see them, Ella says "bunny bunny" and while I am holding onto Dakota for dear life on the leash so she doesn't rip my arm off, I say and what does a bunny do? And right on cue, she replies, "hop hop hop." So, we were so excited for Sunday and the neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt with a big bunny to hop around!

Before the Hunt, we went to church for Palm Sunday. Ella stayed in the nursery while Mike and I enjoyed the service and I hope she likes it because Ella will be attending preschool there in the fall. It is just 2 mornings a week but I think she will enjoy it.
After church and some lunch, we were on our way. It is only about a mile from our house but since the hunt started close to Ella's naptime, we wanted to drive so we could have a quick getaway in case things headed south. As you can she, she was excited for her big hunt and to carry around her basket.

The hunt was held at this historic home that has since been converted into an Inn and Conference Center where they hold lots of events and weddings. It is overflowing with flowers and bushes and they were all in full bloom and it was gorgeous.

I think someone is excited to get started and find lots of "eggies."

And the grand marshall of the event, the Easter Bunny, kicked off the event and then we were off. Of course, miss shy girl was cautious at first, just checking everything out.

But then she got the hang of it and realized you were supposed to pick up and keep the eggs. Getting her first egg!

Oh wow, there are eggs everywhere, this is really fun Mom!

And then Dad and Mom switched camera and hunting duty so Dad could help spot some eggs.

Quick mid point break to check out all the goodies we have collected, she was very fascinated by all these colorful eggs that rattled with something inside.

And we are off again to find and collect more eggs. Where to look, where to look?

There are a lot of kids this way, maybe I will follow them to see if it will lead me to find anymore.

Quick pose in front of the pretty flowers so my Mom and Dad will stop nagging me about taking a picture.

Ok, you got your one picture, I am out of here find more eggs and candy.

Me and my little bunny.

And I think that's a wrap folks, and I only had to trip 2 kids and throw 1 elbow on my pursuit to collect the most eggs possible! (Obviously I am kidding, no one was hurt in the making of Ella's egg hunt.)

Before the hunt started, Mr Easter Bunny himself came out on the porch to say hello and start the hunt and Ella was obsessed! The entire time while she was getting eggs, she kept saying, "bunny bunny" and was pointing toward the house. So, after we got the eggs, we waited in line to see Mr E.B. himself.

Now, this is the little girl who is terrified of strangers and don't even mention Santa Claus so I was really hesitant but she was so excited. Even trying to cut the line to run up immediately to see the Easter Bunny. Here we are in line, finally made it to the front, things are looking good... And then when she got close and realized how big he was, she freaked out. She literally clamped onto my arms with the jaws of life and was not letting go for anything. We tried to even stand next to the bunny but she didn't want any part of that so I guess she is like her Mommy and a little terrified of dressed up characters.

And of course as soon as we walked away, Ella turned and said "bunny" with the biggest smile like she wanted to go see him again. I don't think so little one, not going back in that line again. Maybe next year when you are a little older and less scared.

But it was such a fun day and the weather could not have been more beautiful and it is so cute to see Ella start growing up and be able to participate in these rites of passage. And maybe one day she will sit on the Easter Bunny's lap.

Our Week

When the sun shines down and that Carolina blue sky appears, we are sure to be out and about soaking up that warm finally spring is here to stay weather. And that is just what we did last week, although we did have to retreat one morning when some April showers (and wind and thunder) came. One of my favorite things about Charlotte and where we live is all the parks that are so close. We went to one last week that was only 10 minutes from our house but we haven't been to. It is a great park and even has the nice rubbery pellets on the ground that look like dirt but a lot cleaner and softer if you fall. Ella found the bunny ride and couldn't wait to climb up. This is one of my favorite things to do, meet friends in the park about mid morning after I have gone to the gym and then play and then go out for some lunch. This time we met 2 friends there who each have 2 girls so 3 adults and 7 girls under 4 for lunch is quite an adventure. But before we went off to lunch, down the tunnel slide.

We also like to try and get some fresh air after dinner when Daddy comes home. The sun is going down so it is a little bit chilly but the perfect after dinner and before bedtime activity. Sometimes we bike ride, sometimes we just open the garage and play and sometimes we ride around in the wagon. We looked back to find our little girly girl had unzipped her sweatshirt and was wearing Daddy's hat backwards!

This week, we also did some babysitting for two of our best buddies, Kayla and Allie or "kawa" and "Owie" as Ella says. They live next door and are pretty much Ella's older sisters, she adores them and they are so sweet to her. The other morning when she was waking up in her crib, Mike and I could her saying over and over, Kayla, Allie, Kayla, Allie.

Kayla and Allie's Mom and Dad had a date night so we watched the girls and of course built a fort! Well, Mr. Mike built the fort for them, first on the couch but it wasn't big enough, so we moved it to the playroom so we could add more pillows and blankets.

Like, I said, Ella adores them and they are so cute and patient with Ella.

Giving each other a hug and then bursting out into laughter! We are definitely lucky to have them living right next door.

Saturday morning, the rain blew in with wind and thunder and so we had to take the party inside. Back to our favorite indoor musuem and what is so great is that everytime we go, we discover something new and different to play with. This time, we found a different water table, perfect for splashing and making a huge mess that I didn't have to clean up.

And because we are in Charlotte, no musuem is complete without a racecar. I think she might be the next Danika Patrick if only her feet would reach the pedals.

This picture cracks me up because she is waving out the window, like she is doing her victory lap and waving to all her fans!

This week, we also found a new place in the house, timeout. However, I don't think she quite got the concept since she thought it was a game to keep hitting all the buttons on the tv and then run and sit in timeout without being told and repeat it. And by the look on her face, I think she is enjoying it a little too much!

When the sun came back out after the storms, we of course went back to our new favorite park. Ella watching and trying to be like the big kids and hang from the bars, luckily for her and me, her arms aren't quite long enough yet!

Finally, no week is complete without at least one picture of Ella and Dakota. This was taken after much torturing by Ella to sit in Dakota's bed, grab Dakota's collar, trying to strangle, I mean "hug" Dakota and you get the idea! Like timeout, someone was enjoying it a little too much.

And the week was actually topped off yesterday with an Easter Egg Hunt but that definitely deserves it's own post and I haven't downloaded those pictures so more on that later in the week.

And finally, a special congratulations to our good friends Katie and Dean (Katie and I worked together at Bank of America) who had a little baby girl on Mike's birthday, April 8th. After a rough first week of life, Emma Kathyrn got to finally come home on Saturday with Katie and Dean and I know they are thrilled to have her home. We can't wait to meet to her and have another new playmate for Ella.