Every Day with Eli: April 20

Whew! What a long day!

We got to bed at 2 am, Caleb woke us up at 6:30 am, we left for church before 8, returned home by 10, had family over for brunch at 11, got the kids down for naps at 2:30, visited the neighbors for an egg hunt at 6, and finally got the kids to bed around 9. Now it's nearly 11 pm, and I just finished going through my pictures for the day. But what a fun day we had!

Thank God for sunshine and 70s! Otherwise, our Easter feast would have been a little bit cramped. Instead, we were able to bask in the sun!

We started with an egg hunt, thanks to Billy and Ryan's egg-hiding skills. Caleb was the only one who was willing to wear the bunny ears.

Daisy happily accepted Grandmother's help finding eggs.

Showing off her loot.

Max had the orange eggs, and he did a great job finding them!

Ryan helped Jace find his "hidden" eggs.

Caleb was focused on his task!

Jace was so happy in that little rocking chair!

Daisy was delighted to find a strawberry in one of her eggs.

I'm not sure if this picture is lovely, or goofy. Either way, I like it!

Jace and Lily were communicating, and then he discovered her bow. He was sad that Grandma wouldn't let him pull it out of Lily's hair!

I splurged on coordinating Easter outfits for the kids. There are only a few more years that I can get away with it, so I'll keep on until the kids no longer cooperate!

Caleb loved his colorful plaid shirt and new shoes with yellow elastic laces. I made the yellow bow tie to match his laces.

Oh. My. Goodness.

This girl clearly knows how cute she is. I added the belt to her dress so that she could better match Lily

This was Daisy's first time with a headband. Cute, huh?

I tried so hard to get a picture of the three of them together, but this was the best I could get.

And this was the reality of our family photo attempts.

Daisy lifting her dress, Lily's turquoise diaper peeking out, Caleb picking his nose, and me looking exasperated. Keeping it real, people.

But this idyllic moment was just what I needed.

Except that it looks like Daisy was trying to convince Grandma to let her pee in the grass?

I love this photo of Lily surrounded by women who love her. It's pretty fantastic.

Those blue eyes?

That smile?

Jace was killing me with his cuteness. He's a natural model!

Lily was napping during the first egg hunt, so she got a turn to find her eggs after brunch.

After everyone left, I tried my best to take some 9-month pictures of Lily. Unfortunately, both her dress and her skin were filthy from devouring the contents of her Easter eggs (yogurt melts), and she just wasn't interested in being photographed.

Maybe tomorrow?

Caleb's Easter basket from us included his first real Lego set, and he was so excited! He and Chris worked really hard to make this Lego City airplane.

He was so proud of his work!

Daisy went down for her nap at 2:30 and didn't wake up until 6. Really. Just as she was waking up and we were thinking about feeding the kids dinner, our neighbor called and invited us over for an Easter Egg hunt in her back yard.

Daisy had crazy nap hair, so I asked her if she wanted me to brush it or put it in a ponytail. Amazingly, she wanted a ponytail! This was the first time she kept a ponytail in for more than 3 minutes, and I thought it was the most darling thing ever.

Seriously. Look at that big girl in her new outfit from Grandma and her tiny ponytail. She's growing up! As she reminded everyone who would listen today, her birthday is in two weeks!

Finding eggs! Our egg hunt this morning was color-coded; Daisy had to collect only pink eggs. The neighbor's egg hunt wasn't color-coded, though, and it took Daisy a while to get the hang of it.

Lily hung out with her friend Andrew. He was thrilled with the eggs, and she seemed to think he was insane. Actually, she probably had that peeved expression because she didn't like the feel of grass on her legs. See that little foot that she's trying to hold up in the air?