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Friday, March 28, 2008

Easter Weekend Highlights

So I am finally getting around to posting! I thought I had better get on this before summer comes.

I am happy to say that keeping Mara up an extra hour has done wonders! The first night we did it, she slept from 9:30-6:30 without waking up! Last night she slept 8:30-7 and then slept another hour in bed with me. It is amazing. Hopefully-by just continuing the "hour up" routine and being strict on her diet, we will all be catching up on some sleep for awhile!

Here are some photos of our week:

First was the Easter Egg Hunt on Thursday with my parenting group. It was so cold outside-with wind gusts up to 40+ mph. But it was still fun! They filled the eggs with money and slips of paper that they could turn in for things like stuffed animals, coloring books, bubbles, etc. Very nice!
The girls were tired from all of this no sleep, so there were lots of tears. Analese had an especially hard time, and was either crying or demanding one thing or another-foot stomping and all!

But we survived :)

I know I have mentioned this before, but it's interesting the response that Analese gets from parents whose children are younger-such shock at her emotion! And the parents with older children? Don't even look her way :)



On Saturday: DYING EGGS!!










Do you think she is excited?


































Sunday morning: Egg Hunt and Baskets

















Found one!












The girls enjoyed their baskets full of art stuff, books and
Mara loves her new rain boots! She wears them every day, and I am looking forward to the next rainfall so we can test them out :)























Sunday afternoon: Going to Aunt Charlotte's House




aren't they both just beautiful?




The Egg Hunt:


So that was our day! I will admit that Easter is becoming a difficult holiday for us-much like Halloween in the amount of candy being pushed onto our children. When you have a child with food allergies, this is a nightmare! We do not give our girls candy, but do not refuse to let them have it if it is offered to them (or to Analese, I should say) This year we did find some jelly beans and gummi bears that Mara could have so that she wouldn't feel left out. That is always my fear for her, because as she gets older, there is going to be more and more things that she will miss out on. We hope that she may outgrow some of her food issues, but do not want to sit and wait for this to happen. I would rather be pleasantly surprised :)
The big family Easter hunt was a major stressor for me, as I wanted Mara to be able to participate and just have fun...without feeling singled out by having to only look for certain eggs or be limited to a certain section. That did not happen this year, as we brought metallic eggs filled with Mara-safe things and I had to trail behind her and throw out the eggs she picked up that she couldn't have. It worked this year-I hope we can find a better solution next year, as she will be older and wiser :) I have been told by many "that its just one day"....but remember what that one day was like as a child? I want both my girls to experience such excitement, and to never feel left out of things. There are plenty of other days for that....it shouldn't be like that with family.
Anyway, I wanted to get these posted. I have so many posts started, and will try to finish them soon! This weekend will be filled with studying once again, as another web design project due. Only a month left of school!

Have a great weekend everyone!

10 comments:

Autumn said...

Oh those bunny ears are so cute! Their dresses are so sweet too. One thing I will always miss out on not having girls, fun dresses. All of the Easter boy clothes are rather.. um ... nerdy. LOL
Thank you so much for the book suggestion on my blog, I will have to check it out. I want to do my best to raise a confident child.
Maybe next year you could do a trade for Mara, buy her something she really wants and then before the hunt tell her "If you can find X amount of eggs you can trade them for THIS!"
I kind of do that now, because we limit candy in my house. So we "trade" with him for toys or other food that we know he would want.

Anonymous said...

Your girls are gorgeous in their Easter dresses! Sounds like you're doing a wonderful job of making the holiday special. You're an awesome mom. Your children will remember the things you do.

Lorrie said...

Love the pictures! They are so precious in their easter dresses! Now that Alaina is 9, I can't buy her a fancy dress anymore-well, I could but she wouldn't want me to. I love Mara's little rain gear, too-so cute. And Analese's hair is getting soooo long-I love it (:

Peace is every step said...

I can't believe how long both their hair is getting! They are so very beautiful.

My friend with celiac's (and kids with celiac disease) does something cool for thier egg hunts. They have a huge family, and they have each parent buy a sheet of stickers (all the same kind) for each child. Then when they fill the eggs, they place a sticker on them---that way every child is looking for their sticker. It's worked great & is a lot of fun.

Corey~living and loving said...

first off....your girls are stunning.

love Autumn's idea. really smart. I limit candy here as well. She got peanuts and raisins and such in most of her eggs this year. :)

Chris said...

I also love Autumn's idea. We should really incorporate that in our family, too. The candy is way too overwhelming.

The pictures of the girls are beautiful. They are both getting so big, I can't stand it! And their hair! Both are growing so long. Just precious in their Easter dresses, too. I miss those days so much....

Kaylyn said...

Your girls are so beautiful! I love their dresses! I also love seeing my bunnies in the baskets! I hope they loved them!

JK said...

The girls are lovely and the egg hunt sounds fun. I have never done this with my kids.

My Lifesong said...

They looked adorable in their dresses. Yes, it amazes me how fast their hair grows. Love the rain gear on Mara...if it was me, I couldn't wait for it to rain. Good suggestions for Easter hunts. Yes, the flood of candy is overwhelming. Thanks for the pictures and post.

Lizzy in the Burbs said...

The girls are just too pretty for words, Julie! Love their little dresses and bunny ears!! Glad you had such a nice Easter!

Lizzy