Easter Family Photo

A friend snapped this photo during a free second -- I thought it turned out very nicely! And no, I'm not tickling Cal's leg...that's just his crazy smile again.

"Easter Haunt" #2

Cal woke up Saturday morning repeating the phrase "Easter haunt? Easter haunt?"

I'd been telling him all week that we were going to have an Easter egg hunt on Saturday, and he remembered. The hunt turned out to be really fun. Our friend's parents hosted it in their cute little English yard:

After a delicious brunch for the grown-ups, the daddies hid the eggs, and we all let the kiddos run wild. Cal was doing pretty well at first:

(Look at this little Easter nugget boy:)

But then, he saw Reed taking pictures on the camera, and abruptly lost interest in eggs:

At least he managed five:

Here's Cal chomping chocolate:

We could not draw his attention away from the chocolate:

Here's one shot where he glanced up for a few seconds:

Then...back to the chocolate:

It was a gorgeous morning, and all three of us had a great time. Spring is such a lovely time of year, filled with such enjoyable activities!

Spring

Sorry to rub it in, but we had a gorgeous day here today. Last week, I stocked up on spring/summer things like bubbles and sand toys, and so far, we're getting great use out of them.

I know I say this in every other post, but it is amazing how much better our day is when we both get out of the house and have fun together. Happy Easter weekend, everyone!

Easter Haunt #1

Regardless of how many times we tried to teach Cal the phrase "Easter egg hunt," it invariably came out "Easter Haunt." (Which, being a Gothic-lit enthusiast/analyst, sounded promising. Zombies = unholy resurrection, anyone? Anyone?)

Anyway... our first "Easter haunt" of the week took place as part of our weekly park days activity with the moms from my congregation. It was super low-key, but turned out to be so fun. You know I love that combination. Everyone contributed eggs, and while the kids were playing on the jungle gym, I went and "hid" them (a.k.a. scattered them in plain sight across the grassy lawn at the park). It was the right "challenge" level for most of the toddlers, and we were lucky enough to have very cooperative big kids with us, who were super gentle with the babies. Here are a few shots of the search underway:

 One little anecdote I want to remember... one of the moms brought empty eggs, which I didn't think would matter to the kids. To my surprise, I watched Cal pick up each egg he found and shake it to test whether or not it had candy in it. If it didn't, he'd promptly toss it to the side and continue onward.

Here's a shot of [most of] our park days attendees:

Guess who's son is obsessed with candy...

Tron Dance Party

Last night, we had a family dance party to the Tron soundtrack, complete with glow-stick bracelets from the dollar bin at target. Cal L-O-V-E-D it!

After we got through the album once, we moved the party upstairs and Cal got to take the coolest bubble bath that ever happened:
It never ceases to amaze me how the simplest of activities can produce such a good time--especially for a toddler. I just have to keep reminding myself: it doesn't have to be big, it doesn't have to be perfect. Cal will remember these fun memories, even if they aren't the most amazing things in the world. What matters is that I'm there, smiling and laughing with him -- that's what he'll remember.

Crazy Smile

As you'll recall, we've recently been having problems getting Cal to smile for the camera. But now the pendulum has swung a little too far in the opposite direction. This past week or so, every time we tell Cal to say "cheese", this is what we get:

Closed eyes, scrunched nose, over-exposed teeth. Just so you know I'm not exaggerating the problem, take a look at the other photographic evidence I have:

The funny thing is, I completely remember doing this as a child, just to be obnoxious (I was an AWESOME child). Every time he does it, I can tell he thinks this is comic gold!

What a silly little Buddy Boy! :)

St. Patrick's Day Activities

It's amazing how much entertainment Cal gets from such simple things. I'm learning to lower my standards for activities -- small things can make a difference! Things don't have to be perfect for toddlers to have fun.

St. Patrick's day found us shaping green play doh:

(Cal's chubby little hand)

Decorating Shamrock sugar cookies:

And doing a craft with our friends:
Those are Cal's little rainbow handprints. He was quite put out that he didn't get to eat his pot of gold (a.k.a. Reese's peanut butter cups) immediately.

Lesson of the week: small activities can equal big fun for toddlers.