Easter Afternoon and Evening

These two girls spent some time making a castle out of the tiles that the Easter Bunny left. They have pretty much played with these blocks every day since Easter. They've made princess homes (or shanty towns as Daddy called them), beds, roads, hotels, kitty houses...They play pretty well together and I love watching them put their energy into something besides begging for more TV. 

 East was pretty much one of the only nice days of the week. We went for a mid-afternoon walk and walked to the neighborhood playground after dinner on Easter. We had a fantastic Honey Baked Ham. I also made quiche. Chris made asparagus. It was a delicious lunch (and dinner). 

 The girls played with their new stuff and outside for most of the day. It was a wonderful Easter. Brain took a few naps in Juliet's Easter Basket. It was almost black when he got out. Gross. That reminds me to go wash it. 

Pajama Egg Hunt

 The silly bunny hid some eggs outside, too! 

Easter Morning

The Easter Bunny decided to put the Easter Eggs in full view of where I take a picture *every* Easter morning. Chris couldn't stop laughing about what the Easter Bunny did. Leah really, really tried to give a real smile, but Juliet just couldn't help staring at the eggs and laughing. I couldn't work too hard to try to get a good picture, because I totally understand that the girls should be enjoying the fun, and not posing for pictures. However, next year I am putting caution tape around the entry way and dining room. :)

 Both girls were super excited to find eggs. Juliet liked shaking them. Leah was just too fast for her, though. Leah would clean out a room in under 2 minutes, leaving Juliet with only 1 egg--the egg she first picked up. We tried to get Leah to slow down, but she just couldn't. :) 

 Leah and Juliet practiced hiding eggs and searching for them. I think that practice paid off on Easter morning. 

 The Easter bunny hid their baskets this year for the first time. Leah figured out where they were, because the Easter Bunny left a clue. He gave them Magna Tiles. He hid the basket in the closet, but had magna tiles magnetized to the hinges of the closet door. Leah figured it out pretty fast. 

 Leah was so, so excited about her new Frozen night gown. 

 And her new pink tutu dress. 

 Sunglasses are always fun. 

 Juliet got new books. 

 So did Leah. 

 Juliet loved her new "Mo-Mo shoes". Bittersweet, because the Easter Bunny has brought those for Leah before, too. Now Leah scoffs at anything related to Sesame Street. However, if the show is on, she will still watch it and be pretty entranced. 

 Also a new Barbie computer to learn letters. 

 Leah as happy as a clam. 

Easter Eve

 The girls were very excited to change into their Easter Jammies on Easter Eve. Both named all the bunnies on their Jammies. They represent Juliet, Leah, Annie, and me. Pretty cute. 

We watched a family movie and tried to go to be early. We told Leah that the Easter Bunny might skip our house if she wasn't asleep, and she immediately offered to let Daddy skip the usual 5 minutes of Daddy sitting in her chair. It was pretty cute. Leah was wide awake nice and early on Easter Morning. I think it was the first time she woke up early because she was excited about something. 

Easter Egg Coloring

 The girls were very excited to paint eggs. They put on their "play jammies" and got ready for the fun. Since Chris and I both got dye all over our hands (that did not wash out), we only let Juliet use water color to paint her egg. I don't think she really knew the difference. She still had fun. 

 Leah got it, and had fun painting several eggs. She was really into pink eggs this year, and wasn't as experimental as she was in the past with different colors or dyes. That's okay. 

This year Cooper was staying with us during Easter Break. As Leah puts it, "Cooper needs grown up food in his food before he'll eat it." So, that's what we used all the Easter Eggs for. Cooper was pretty happy, and we were happy to not have to waste the eggs. 

Juliet's First Movie

The above picture pretty much sums up the experience. It's like she's saying, "Why am I here?!"

I don't know, Jelly Boo. Your Mama thought you could handle it. I'm sorry I was wrong.  

Leah's first movie was right around 2, and she did pretty good. I thought Juliet would follow Leah's lead and be okay. Leah really wanted to see Muppets Most Wanted. Chris took an extra day off a few weeks ago, and we (okay, I) thought it was the perfect opportunity to see a movie like a family and to paint some furniture. Juliet liked the popcorn the best. She ate it for about 15 minutes, and was then full. Then, Juliet made it through the previews (kind of) and spent the first 15 minutes of the movie dancing in the aisle. 

We spent the rest of the movie playing in the lobby. After about a half hour, her diaper somehow came off and she peed all over her pants and the floor of the lobby. The bathroom was very traumatizing for her. Then she complained about being "cold" for the last 45 minutes, even though she refused to put on her jacket because she wanted to be like Leah. We tried to go back into the theater a few times, and Juliet flat out refused to do anything besides run in the aisle or try to put her finger into electrical sockets. Leah apparently whined the entire time I was off with Juliet that she missed Mama, but refused to leave the movie. 

Needless to say, Juliet will get a babysitter next time we are in the market for a kids movie at the theater. 

The time it was warm enough for shortie jammies..

Easter Egg Hunt

 These girls were pretty excited for the Easter Egg hunt. I wish I would have focused the above picture better. It's perfect! 

 The gang getting ready for the hunt! 

 2 excited girls! 

 I only have a 2 pictures from the actual hunt because Juliet fell and cut her lip. Poor girl! 

 Annual "bench" picture with the Z's. Last year Juliet and Anna were in snow suits! 

Fun Fair

 We took the girls to my school's Fun Fair on Friday. I think both girls had a pretty good time. Leah got to do quite a few games and jump in the bounce house. She was REALLY excited about winning a Frozen pencil. The girl running the station said she had 1 Frozen pencil and was saving it for a special girl. Leah LOVES it. Juliet wasn't so into the large crowds and had the most fun playing on the playground with Daddy. 

 They both did a good job and had fun. Leah is excited to go to my school next year! 

Jelly Boo

 I looked at the above picture and I got so sad. My little baby looks like a girl. She is almost 2 now, and I can't believe how fast it has gone. She's not as verbal as Leah was at this age, but she is much more independent. She can put on her own coat, walk around in dress up shoes like nobody's business, and plays by herself much more than Leah did at the same age. Recently she has been taking more risks with her language, and is putting together 3 or 4 word phrases/sentences. Even when she can't find the words, she still knows how to get what she wants. We were in Sephora last week. She LOVES makeup and was in heaven. She was watching an older lady get a "make over". When she was done, Juliet walked up to an associate, pulled her coat. The lady asked her name and she said, "Boo-Boo" (her name for herself). Then she pointed to the make up chair and started making kissing sounds. The lady actually picked her up and put some makeup on her. Juliet was thrilled. 

 Juliet also loves to play Mama. She carries around her baby and tucks her in. She also loves to play tea party and loves to make plates of food. She has a much better "imagination" than Leah did at the same age. It's so interesting for me to compare and contrast these two. They are so similar in so many ways: both love to cuddle, both LOVE books and could be read to all day, both love puzzles, both love to wear dresses and look "pretty", both love make up. 

 Like Leah did at 2, Juliet is going through a "2" phase. She loves to notice when there are 2 of things. She didn't want pig-tails until Leah pointed out that then she would have "2". Then Juliet was insistent.