I love Easter time, with all the pastel colors, the themes of new life and fresh starts, and the promise of spring. I must admit, we haven't really created any new traditions for our kids - we've stuck with the tried and true. I set up the cookie decorating, egg dying, Easter baskets and egg hunt just the same as my mom did it when I was a kid, and I love seeing my kids carrying on the traditions. We always leave the baskets and eggs (both hard-boiled and plastic) out the night before, and in the morning the baskets are filled, and the eggs are all hidden. The girls are getting a little too old (and too cool) to be really excited for all of it, but they play along. And now we get to start all over again with Ian! Holidays really are so much more fun with kids.
Kevin and I are not big fans of ham, which was the traditional Easter meal growing up. Somewhere along the way, I started making a cheese lasagne to go along with the meal, and it kind of stuck. So, lasagne for Easter dinner, and this year: chocolate fondue for dessert. It turned out that several of my cookies stuck to the pan and broke when I tried to take them off, so I saved all the pieces to dip in the fondue. Add some strawberries, oranges, bananas, apples, and pretzels, and I'd say that's a mighty fine dessert!
The evening before Easter, cookie-decorating was in full swing. I love to see the girls' creations take shape.
There weren't as many eggs to color as I had planned - when I cooked them, I set the timer, but then I went downstairs to feed Ian. I could hear the timer going off, but I was trapped under a baby! So, some of the eggs over-cooked and cracked, but we still had enough to dye. Ian isn't quite big enough to help with that yet, so he hung out with his Sofie la Girafe.
On Easter morning we ate our traditional holiday coffee cake (I forgot to spray the pan with Pam, so it didn't come out very pretty, but it was still really yummy). Then we headed downstairs to check out the baskets and hunt for eggs.
^^Serena took egg hunting very seriously - she even hung upside-down in an effort to leave no stone unturned!