April 24: Easter Sunday

Jonah's basket: a new wallet because he loves Isaac's so much, an interactive book about his favorite animal (cats, or "ow?" as he calls them), a new train engine with a tiny headlight, and some candy.


Isaac's basket: a new book (Stellaluna), a "learning book" as he calls them (to practice writing), a new set of paints (he loves painting these days), a new pair of sunglasses with flames on the sides, and some candy.



It was another dreary Easter Sunday here, cold and gray, not like the glorious warm mornings I remember from childhood when we would cut flowers from the yard and weave them into the cross that stood in front of our church. Even when Easter is late here, spring usually hasn't really arrived yet, and I always carry that image of the cross taller than a child, with fresh flowers bursting out of it everywhere.

But we can still have fun in dreary weather, and Isaac was beside himself with excitement after we had casually mentioned the Easter Bunny the night before. For one blissful night, all I had to do was remind Isaac that the Bunny might not bring him anything if he didn't behave (kind of like Santa, right?), and any transgression, from hitting his brother to speaking rudely to me, was followed by hugs and kisses and a solemn "Sorry, Mama." And then: "Are you still going to call the Easter Bunny?"
Yes, I had threatened to call the Easter Bunny, early in the night when Isaac was stubbornly refusing to listen to me. I didn't have to bring it up again.

Jonah was kind of oblivious the next morning, but Isaac was excited, examining each gift. We wanted to keep it low-key, and it was, but their baskets were also filled with things they wanted and loved. Jonah finally discovered his engine and his wallet and was enamored with the Petsmart card inside. He even sat through most of his cat book, which is a real success, as he normally doesn't read anything in a linear fashion and is reluctant to sit still long enough to read a book. Isaac loved Stella Luna and ate chocolate and a banana for breakfast...a special treat.

Then there was church - a beautiful service, as always, but Isaac forced us to leave early by crawling under the seats and then trying to push his way under the legs of the poor man sitting next to us. We were already short on space, and there was not enough room for me to reach down and pull him out without setting him off kicking and yelling. Jonah was sitting pretty calmly on Adam's lap, listening to the music, but then he wanted my lap, and the man next to me had his legs all the way to the side trying to avoid our large, thrashing preschooler on the floor beneath him, so that was the end of church.

We headed to lunch instead and ended up at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants - fun for me since I'd given up chips for Lent.