Eggs and Bunnies

As Callie gets older, each season brings more fun-filled activities that were not possible the year before. And as Callie grows more aware of and excited about the world around her we all get to enjoy the little things that we have taken for granted in the past. For example, when was the last time you went down a slide at your local playground with a big smile on your face? Fortunately, we can say it was yesterday, and we had a blast! One of Callie's favorite phrases these days is "Oh my goodness!" and she truly makes us see the world in a whole new light.

This season's new fun-filled activity was, you guessed it, coloring Easter eggs. John has learned a variety of techniques from the Skonieczny family and was happy he could bring those skills to the table. Step one, boil the eggs. To be completely transparent, we must admit that we had to go online to get the instructions on how to boil eggs properly. A little embarassing, but we didn't want to lose any potential egg canvases through ignorance.



Callie was very patient throughout the boiling process, since it took longer than we had anticipated. She was also extremely helpful when it came to cooling and drying the eggs. Although at her age it is difficult to avoid being a bull in a china shop at times, she has a very attentive and delicate approach to the tasks she is given.


Here is a picture of step 2, dyeing the eggs. It took Callie a few minutes to understand the process, but she was soon eager to use all of the colors we had in front of us. And once she had mastered the dyeing process, she was deemed ready to take on a more advanced skill.




Here we see Callie using a crayon to write on the egg before placing it in the dye. This is one of the ideas John picked up over the years he spent at the kitchen table of the Skonieczny household. Now we were not as adept at using two other techniques John learned. Polishing the finished egg with wax paper didn't go so well and we chose not to introduce Callie to the highly competitive sport of egg konking. Don't worry, I bet the konking will be a part of things next year.


One of the nice things about dyeing eggs is how the finished product looks. Callie was definitely proud of all of her eggs and thought the whole activity was a lot of fun. More surprising, to John at least, is the fact that over the past week Callie has also eaten her fair share of the eggs. Who knew?




Easter also brings another important tradition - a picture of Callie with a stuffed bunny on the stairs. This has been an interesting way to track Callie's growth in terms of size and cuteness over the past couple of years. This year did not disappoint. But as you will see below, this year's photo shoot introduced another element to the mix - you'll see what we mean shortly.


Our first picture is the traditional version. For the sake of comparison, you can go and take a look at the posts from April 2009 and March 2008. Those pictures of Callie with her bunny and bunny ears from previous years give you a sense of the changes in such a relatively short period of time. She has grown so much, it is absolutely incredible. We are wondering just how old she will be when she finally refuses to pose for this photo. We are hoping for 18 but imagine it might happen a year or two sooner.

Okay, here is the twist in the tradition for this year. It all started when Grandpa Dan sent Callie a package a month or so ago. The box seemed pretty light, but it was also quite big. We opened it up and all we could see was pink fur. As soon as we pulled the gift out, Callie fell in love what appears to be a bunny that ate a basketball. Take a look below and you will see what we mean.





The above signs of Easter all occurred early this year because the three of us will not be together for Easter weekend. Sarah and Callie are heading off to be with all of Callie's California aunties while John entertains four of his closest friends by showing them all that Lexington has to offer. We are excited to see our friends since they mean so much to us and we don't get nearly enough opportunities to spend time with them.