Easter Weekend & Ellie's Dancing Skills

There's no doubt Annie is my child. I mean, even toss aside the fact she's a carbon copy of me . . . but the child woke up at 3AM loudly exclaiming, "It's Easter! It's Easter! Let's go downstairs, the Easter Bunny came!" This is NOT something she gets from her father, who would happily sleep in any day, especially major holidays. I, on the otherhand, was known to wake up at 4AM (alongside my sisters) for Christmas morning well into my late teens.

We did get Annie back to sleep, but both girls slept awful, waking up often, and both getting up before 7AM this morning for good. But I didn't mind the early morning once we headed downstairs to see what a certain oversized rabbit had left for the girls. I don't know how 'unconventional' Easter baskets on Saturday is . . . it's always just been my norm, and I know it's a bit of a "Utah" thing, but my family always did our Easter baskets on Saturday morning. And it was always a big deal. The Easter bunny hid our baskets in increasingly more difficult locale throughout the house (and yard) as we got older. Making it even more difficult was the fact that my Mom hated the idea of regular straw baskets, so our Easter baskets were usually more along the lines of Rubbermaid totes, laundry baskets or storage bins . . . something that would be 'useful' to us longer than that day. Cool, because they held so much more Easter loot . . . difficult because they camoflauged easily into places like the attic. Anyway, Greg and I decided to take the 'Saturday' tradition over into our own family once we got married. It works for me . . . it leaves Sunday mornings less hurried and crazy, and more about focusign on the spiritual and religious reasons for Easter. I can't imagine having dragged Annie away from her loot this morning and going to 9AM Church! We would have had one angry, hopped up toddler on our hands in Sacrament meeting!

This year Annie got a new tricycle, and a bunch of random 'princess gear', and Ellie got a little swimming pool and a stuffed T-Rex for our little 'growler'. There were also a dozen eggs hidden around the frontroom, which Annie had fun hiding.

Here's a bunch of pictures, and at the bottom some video, of this morning's festivities. Including a clip of Ellie's amazing dancing skills.

Annie in her new tiara . . . Mommy yawning after the crappiest night sleep, but it kinda looks like I'm dry heaving . . . and the back of Ellie's not-completely-bald head.
He he he . . . Ellie's REALLY excited about the necklace she's holding. The T-Rex is pretty happy about it too. Later in the afternoon, the girls spent a great deal of time just hanging out in our new front room pool.
The bottom tooth has cut through, but the drooling hasn't even let up a little . . . especially with the cold.
Ridin' around the front room . . . Easter basket flung over her arm . . . (note the cute Easter basket . . . a tin Princesses pail that can now be used in bedroom/playroom decorating.)
Ellie is cracking herself up over this whole 'keep crawling around after my sister on her new toy, then touching sister/toy and annoying sister' thing.
I love her in her blue-cell-phone-covered pajamas.
Dad and Ellie, just chillin' (or half dead due to tiredness, one or the other.)
Go Speed Racer!
Me . . . lookin' pretty good at 7AM on not the best night sleep, if I do say so myself. I have to make sure there was at least one picture of me at major events/holidays/parties . . . just so I can prove I was there.
Ellie has a new found fascination/obsession with the stairs . . . a picture taken several hours later in the day of this same area would show a newly installed gate at the bottom of these stairs.
After finding all of the eggs hidden on her level, Annie got a boost from Dad to find the ones hidden up on shevles, and in the case of the one she's pointing at, in the drapes.
Annie with the T-Rex.

Some translations for Annie:

Some people are little, and they can't get things that are up high!

I went backwards!!

No, this is my bicycle . . . You can ride it when you are two, Ellie.

I trying to push the pedals, but I'm getting better to push the pedals.

Did you see that?!

A bicycle! This is not a little bicycle . . . little kids, littler kids ride littler bicycles.