We’re pretty sure Clara has a new favorite holiday (although it could be that Easter is just the first major holiday that she’s finally old enough to really enjoy). Either way, someone had a fantastic Easter weekend.
Her love of Easter could also be skewed because as far as she knows, the festivities stretch over at least 5 days. We actually kicked things off last Wednesday with an egg hunt at a local park with her older cousins Jake (who turns 13 today! Happy Birthday Jake!) and Olivia (age 10), since they’d be spending Easter weekend with their dad’s side of the family this year.
She found two eggs (aka, Sherry and I handed her two eggs that my dad had left out in the open for her and her 18-month old cousin Emanuel to find). It was love at first sight. Literally, she couldn’t take her eyes off of them.
She refused to put down her beloved eggs as we continued to play on the nearby playground. Apparently the only thing better than swinging is swinging while holding an Easter egg.
That was Clara’s first of three Easter egg hunts. On Saturday we happened to be at the grocery store while they were hosting one (in the paper towel aisle, no less) for kids under seven. Clara left with one egg, a balloon, and a giant smile. But that of course was only another warm up for the official hunt that ensued on Easter morning.
The scene: the yard around my parents’ beach house in Delaware.
Clara’s mission (which she happily chose to accept): collect nine eggs.
Since her love of Easter eggs was still fresh from her previous hunts, we actually let her do some of the grabbing this time around (though most of the eggs still needed to be pointed out by Sherry and me). And since she has recently become fond of putting things away, dropping the coin-filled eggs in the basket came pretty naturally (though one egg always stayed in hand most of the time).
Her egg-huntin’ bucket was actually her Easter “basket” for the day. It was a tin from Target that we found for a few bucks and not only does it fit in with her nursery colors, it also fits in with her love of buckets (which probably slipped down a notch thanks to her newfound romance with Easter eggs).
You can read more about how we assembled a baby-friendly Easter basket right here on BabyCenter today (complete with details about those wooden Easter eggs that Sherry dyed with food – no kidding).
We also tossed in a bunch of Clara’s other favorite things (from cheerios to a big pile o’ ribbon, which always ends up exciting Clara more than the actual present that it comes with) so you can check out all those deets and some more pics here.
Oh yeah and of course we remembered to snap her weekly fabric-background picture, and we couldn’t resist giving it a bunny-esque slant. Yes that’s a real carrot. The girl loved it.
But as much as Easter baskets and egg hunts and bunny ears rocked Clara’s little world, perhaps the number one reason that Easter takes the cake for her is sand.
Since we enjoyed the weekend at my parents’ house near Bethany Beach, Delaware and we were graced with 80-degree temperatures, Easter involved an impromptu trip to the ocean (on both Saturday and Sunday, actually). Though the breeze on the beach meant it wasn’t quite bathing-suit weather, we definitely still had some good old fashioned beach fun.
Saturday’s trip got Clara reacquainted with sand, of which her only previous experiences involved being six weeks old and completely unaware of it and then having it blow in her face on our Valentine’s Day trip to Rehoboth Beach (which she didn’t like at all).
This time it was straight up sand love at first sight. There was lots of pinching it between her fingers, throwing it in the air and, yes, even a bit of “what does this taste like” going on (luckily the verdict was “not good” so that ended soon enough).
Sunday’s trip was a bit more dynamic (since it was already established that sand = friend, not foe). So there was a sandy crawling session…
…a hunt for seashells and apparently surfer boys (though neither were quite as exciting as the hunt for eggs hours earlier)…
…a brief fashion show (involving her new sunglasses from the nearby outlets, which were tolerated for about 10 seconds)…
…and spending some quality time with her mommy (who ditched her usual uniform of black shirts) and her fellow baby cousins (Emanuel and my sister Emily on the left, John and my sister Katie on the right). And yes, this was the most flattering picture of three babies on a windy beach that we were able to achieve. They’re squirmy little things.
Of course, all of adventures that made Clara fall in love with Easter also meant that it was a pretty darn good weekend for us grown-ups too. In addition to all of this, our cousins/BFFs Cat and Travis (who we mentioned here last week) had their baby! The Easter bunny stork dropped off Edison Dean on Sunday afternoon, so we were even able to swing by the hospital on our way home on Sunday night for a brief meeting. Everyone’s doing well by the way, including new big sister Elsa.
Oh and after all of that what-does-this-have-to-do-with-your-house stuff, Sherry and I were actually able to make some progress on our next big project all the way from the beach: patio planning. My dad is also planning to add a stone patio to the back of their beach house, so we helped him brainstorm a few shapes to choose from and even sketched out a general plan for the one that we’re going to tackle momentarily on the side of our house behind the carport (it’s accessible from the sliders in the living room and the sunroom). I’m sure we’ll be blabbing a lot more about that as we go, but we’ll leave you with these photos of the side yard where we’ll be adding some fencing (for privacy) and a paver patio (for a lot more outdoor living space while keeping some of the green stuff around for shade/beauty):
Here’s our little sketch of the plan – at least as it stands today (Sherry had some Photoshop fun):
It’s only early days though, so who knows where we’ll end up with it. All I know for sure is that Clara’s party is less than three weeks away and my charming-but-sometimes-a-bit-too-optimistic wife thinks we’ll be done by then. Should be interesting. But enough about us (at least until this afternoon’s post) – tell us about your weekend. Were there egg hunts and Easter baskets and bunny ears and prop carrots involved? Are there other born-on-Sunday babies that you know of?
Stephanie says
Nothing better then Easter in Bethany Beach! What a beautiful weekend for it too. Thanks again for the help with the cloth diapers we’re on day 5 and going strong! Next time you’re up in NOVA there’s a great CD store in Manassas Abby’s Lane free shipping and tons of Babylegs and CDs.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw so glad to hear it’s going well! Yay cloth.
xo,
s
Wrenaria says
Clara’s lucky to have so many cousins close to her age to grow up with. Looks like you had a fabulous Easter.
Good luck with your yard transformation!
Christine says
I have to agree with the previous posters. This is the first time I have seen a pic where I think Clara looks like you Sherry – it is the one where she has the sunglasses on.
Kristin says
Loved this!! You guys make me want to have kids. On a side note..Sherry, are your sunglasses Tom Fords?? If they are I am incredibly jealous and now love you 10x more than I did before. If they’re not, I also love you 10x more for finding sunglasses that look like my ultimate dream sunglasses :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- I wish! They’re Vera Wang from Kohls ($12 I think).
xo,
s
Beth H. says
I love the bunny baby :] Her first Easter looks like it was great! And I just have to say the beach photos make me so homesick! I basically grew up in Dewey Beach :]
Maria says
Clara is such a beautiful baby, congratulations, I really like your picture where she is trying to eat the egg, :)
Lesley says
I like the 3rd pic down. I have the same problem as Sherry with jeans that are too long. If I go for petite legth they end up being too short…argh
Laci Waner says
It is crazy how much Clara is starting to look like Sherry especially with her big, beautiful smile!! She is always happy! LOVE it!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahooo! You guys are making my day by saying she looks like me! Everyone always says John. I’m beaming like a weirdo.
xo,
s
Noel says
John – Love the blog, but have an extremely irrelevant question … what kind of Asics are those in the 3rd pic of this post?
YoungHouseLove says
Those are from TJ Maxx a while back. They were $20 or so. They’re brown and orange if it helps.
-John
katherine says
Love Clara!! She has the mouth of Steven Tyler whom I LOOOVE!! Maybe she’ll be an amazing musician one day too :):) yay for big mouths…xoxo, keep rockin’ Clara!!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, she gets her big mouth from her mom and dad. We both have ’em! Haha.
xo,
s
Kate says
Love all the pictures, but I especially love the new baby’s name–he happens to share it with my son! His namesake is my husband Edward (Get it? Son of Ed?!), but I wonder if they’ll have to explain it the way we do all the time: “His name is Edison…yes, like Thomas.”
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, so far most of the family has made Thomas Edison references in reaction to the name, but I bet he’ll just be Edison without any other explanation soon. You know, once we all get to know him and he comes to mind first (instead of good ol’ Thomas).
xo,
s
Christina B. says
Love all of her cute outfits! Looked like a good Easter for your family.
sara says
I see that you still have the carport on the sketch. What did you decide about converting it to a garage?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s on our long term plan list. Someday!
xo,
s
Ellen says
Clara is adorable! Can’t wait to see the patio project unfold. What phase was the moon in this weekend? A gal at our church had her baby Easter morning and another friend’s 1st grandchild was born that day as well. What a special day to have a baby! I have had grandbabies born on Christmas, Mother’s Day and my birthday. Makes it all the more special!
YoungHouseLove says
I don’t know what phase the moon was but you might be onto something! I even asked the nurses if the full moon thing was true and they said the hospital was always busiest then!
xo,
s
Jenn E says
Sounds like great Easter fun! My son missed being born on Easter Sunday sixteen years ago. I was induced on Sunday but he was delivered at 12:42 am on Monday morning. Can’t wait to see the patio makeover and of course Clara’s birthday party pics!
Gina says
It is very possible that you have the world’s cutest baby girl! She is so adorable, and the bunny ears…so cute.
Destiny says
Baby Clara is just the cutest!
Ann says
Must head to Lewes, DE the next time you are on vacation. Stop by the most awesome place called The Old Screen Door (209 Monroe Ave). Lots of goodies you all would like!
YoungHouseLove says
You’re the second one to recommend that so we’ll have to go!
xo,
s
Dave says
So my wife loves your blog and she left it up on the computer. I was looking at your pics and i have the same Asics your husband does! ha that’s random. But it looks like you had a great easter. I like your sewing projects.
YoungHouseLove says
Nice. We’re shoe twins.
-John
Donna Huebsch says
Clara looks like she really got into her Easter weekend – sounds like a great time! My favorite pic has to be the one of her with the carrot.
We had an Easter weekend at the other end of the age spectrum – we visited my Dad, who turned 89 on Saturday…A very nice weekend! http://donnahuebsch.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/easter-weekend/
Celeste says
Smirk, grin, giggle, I feel your pain when it comes to sewing time but do not worry; I hold the record for the world’s slowest stitcher and you’re not even close, lol!
Sewing machines are like cars because they really need a test drive to see if they fit you. If you don’t bond with the oh bro you may seriously consider a Bernina, (mine is c.1974 and I love it.) Best of luck!
JR says
Cute – Like your big watch too!
Marybeth says
Many years ago when my daughters were 6 and 4 it was Easter eve and the girls didn’t want to go to bed. I asked them what the problem was and they told me they were scared of a giant animal being in their house. That was the night they learned the truth about the Easter Bunny.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha- hilarious!
xo,
s
Claire says
That surfer boys photo of her is priceless. Promise me you’ll save that and use it somehow to embarass her when she’s a teenager and she’ll love it as an adult!
YoungHouseLove says
Promise!
xo,
s
stella says
I guess I am the only but a baby with teeth and a real carrot freaks me out…it’s a choking hazard – I hope she only had it for the shot.
YoungHouseLove says
No worries! It was just for the shot and she was supervised the whole time (by two parents, haha). No one’s more paranoid than I am.
xo,
s
Megan says
I’m in the middle of my own DIY patio project, and I have referenced your step-by-step posts NUMEROUS times throughout! I am at the “sand base layer” phase, and hoping to move on to “paver laying” phase tomorrow. SO EXCITED! Your patio is beautiful, I’m almost said to see you leave it behind for your new house, but I know you’re on to bigger and better :) All the best to y’all!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, best of luck Megan! I’m sure it’ll look awesome when you’re done!
xo
s