Easter greetings!

even though this is Emma's 2nd Easter, it was more like the first. she was too young the first time around to even notice that anything wonderful was happening around her. this year, she has been the center of our Easter celebration and it has been a delight to see the joy of tradition through her eyes.

when she awoke and was brought downstairs, the very first thing she saw was her very first Easter basket, full of plastic eggs filled with "baby appropriate" goodies, such as fruit snacks, temporary tattoos, tiny tubs of Playdoh, and yogurt raisins, as well as a small-ish bouncy ball and of course a hollow chocolate Easter bunny. she was instantly excited and exclaimed "bah!", which is her cute way of saying "ball". I put her on the floor and she scurried over to the basket to explore each of the treasures. breakfast today was not the usual breakfast bar and milk... it was Easter treats instead!

our most cherished Easter tradition is attending church to celebrate the death and RESURRECTION of our Lord, Jesus Christ. wearing a beautiful pink taffeta dress, Emma entered the church and joined the congregation for worship. she participated in singing the hymn, "Christ our Lord is risen today, Alleluia!" in her own precious manner, which is to say that she got a very serious look on her face and vocalized, "aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!"

after singing, new friends were made in the nursery, and dresses interfered in the climbing of the tiny slide. she was sleepy when we arrived home, but was cheerful enough to make up her very own Easter game (which you can see in the accompanying video clip). we have not yet had our Easter egg hunt (we've been hoping for the rain to take a break) but if necessary, we will hide eggs indoors for Emma to find and soon we will partake in a delicious ham dinner.

I hope that all of our dearly loved family members and friends have enjoyed a beautiful day of celebrating your own Easter traditions.