Our Easter Egg Hunt

Our family had an Easter Egg hunt in our back yard this year...

Abby checking out her much bigger and more mobile competition...

Look at the determination on her face!

I thought it might be fun to hide some confetti eggs this year...

...some people were good sports about it...

...and some people were not.

Happy Easter!

Opening Night

The Cincinnati Reds happened to be playing the D-backs on opening night, so the Speier family had themselves a fun family excursion courtesy of Grandpa. A great time was had by all.

My husband loves to buy inappropriately large amounts of popcorn for the girls. This is how the scenario plays out ( it's happened several times at the movies.)

Dad goes to buy snacks.

Dad comes back with a disturbing amount of popcorn.

Dad doles out the popcorn in disturbing portions.

Mom gives him an incredulous, disapproving look.

Dad grins and shrugs.

Three girls gaze up at Dad in adoration whilst shoving disturbing amounts of popcorn into their faces.

Mom watches in horror as her two-year-old's stomach visibly swells to disturbing proportions. Kateri loved it.

She also loved catching glimpses of Grandpa in the dugout.

What she didn't love were these creepy, big-headed former D-backs stars, who had a race around the field before touring the stands and coming a little too close for Kateri's comfort.

When I asked her if she liked those guys she replied, "No, I don't like them...I like the tiny heads...the tiny ones!" pointing down at the actual players, whose head did, I guess, look pretty tiny in comparison.

Anyway, we had a great time, even if our team lost. Thanks, Grandpa!

Video

Untitled from Allison Speier on Vimeo.

I'm trying out this way of uploading videos from my new camera.
This is Kateri's favorite song. I'll include the lyrics since she isn't as articulate as her little cousin Fi.

One, Two, Three, Four, Five
Once I caught a fish alive
Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten
Then I let him go again.
Why did you let him go?
Because he bit my finger so.
Which finger did he bite?
This little pinky on the right.

Spring and other things

Spring is back, and so are the orange blossoms. We've been spending a hefty chunk of our time in our backyard.

Kateri knows that the best spot is under the orange tree.

She was "being Alice" that day. In fact, I let her wear her Alice dress out and about while we ran errands, violating one of my personal rules. I used to scoff at other parents I would see in the supermarket, with their little girls in polyester Disney Princess dress-up gear, and their little boys in Spider-man unitards that really didn't fit them anymore...but it is amazing how many opportunities motherhood lends for eating your own words. Besides, her beautiful costume was hand-made with love by Nanny, and as she grows, it is getting shorter and shorter, so I might at well let her enjoy it while she can.

Especially since she can use all the help she can get in looking feminine. Looking at this picture of mini-me Luke, I can forgive the well-meaning strangers who say "Hello, Little Fella" to her if she is not wearing pigtails and pink.

I also dusted off my sewing machine and ignored the half-finished comforter I've been needing to finish for Kateri's bed. I made Lili an Easter dress instead from some pretty fabric Nanny had given me and a pretty straightforward tutorial I found online.

I really like the idea of the back, even if the execution leaves something to be desired...

...the good thing is Lili still gets excited when I make her things, and doesn't notice all the imperfections...