Easter Egg Hunt at the Whites

After the big Easter morning on Elm Street we headed over to Broad Street for a lunch that only Marcia and Jim White can prepare!  There was enough of everything to feed the neighbor twice.  As always, we are grateful to them for including us in so many of their family activities - it means more to us than you'll know. 

Marcia and Jim and Pat and Wanda gave Liza 2 more Easter baskets and she was thrilled.  She has been playing bubbles, putting on her lipstick and asking to have a piece of candy every day.  You all were too generous and we thank you.

Liza is opening her Easter Basket from Jim and Marcia and admiring all the eggs that the Easter Bunny will hide later in the afternoon.

The girls see that the Easter Bunny is outside and they are looking out the window in disbelief!  They couldn't wait to get outside and see for themselves.

The Easter Bunny got straight to work and helped all the children find eggs - I think the Easter Bunny and the helpers, Justin and Jess were worn out from covering the entire yard with eggs!

Liza was so happy to see the Easter Bunny again and asked if the bunny would teach her how to hop - so off she went - jumping up high! 

We had to get a picture of all the children and the bunny!  Of course there was no way to get them all to look at the camera at the same time but we did our best.  I love that the two babies are checking each other out across the Easter Bunny's lap. 

When it was time to tell the Easter Bunny goodbye Liza was first in line for the hugs!  Thanks for making double appearances Easter Bunny - you are so special to us and we love you.

Easter at the Bair household

Liza was thrilled to wake up and find that the Easter Bunny had been in her room during the night and left easter eggs. When Liza realized today was Easter she was ready to head downstairs and look for more eggs.

After a successful indoor egg hunt Liza and Daddy went to share a bowl of cheerios, Auntie Em headed for the shower and I spotted the Easter Bunny hopping in our yard.  I ran to tell Liza and she jumped off her Daddy's lap and watched the Easter Bunny hop around her back yard!

Easter morning was chilly so we quickly bundled up over pjs and headed for the outdoor Easter egg hunt.  We were so lucky to have a great looking Easter Bunny. 

Look at that Easter Bunny hopping around and shaking its tail!

It took Liza time to warm up to the Easter Bunny and she watched that bunny very carefully.  She didn't let it out of her sight.  I think shortly after this picture she turned to me and asked what is that bunny doing?

Liza wasn't timid long and before too long the Easter Bunny and Liza were giving each other high 5s after every egg find. 

High 5s turned into hugs and it was a wonderfully happy morning.  When we went back inside Auntie Em came down and couldn't believe the Easter Bunny had visited and we didn't get her out of the shower -- maybe next time Auntie Em.

Stingrays and Easter Eggs

When we were in Florida we took Liza to the Florida Oceanographic Society and she fell in love with stingrays.  She loved petting them, feeding them and watching them swim around.  She had so much fun that she had to go two days in a row and she talked about it for days afterwards.

Watch me Mommy I am going to pet the stingray!

I love these stingrays and I can't get enough of petting them.  Watch it here it comes towards me. 

Daddy helped me feed them and here we are waiting for them to come grab the shrimp out of my hand.

For my next adventure we colored Easter eggs!  Daddy suggested it and Mommy jumped on board - later I think she regretted it because it was a little bit messy!  I think Mommy needs to loosen up and get over her crazy need for keeping messes to a minimum. 

Look at me, I am ready to get started.  I'm fascinated with this but don't understand why Daddy won't let me just reach in and grab the egg out.  

This is so much fun - not sure if Daddy should have left me with these colors all by myself.

I can't believe my parents thought it was a good idea to go back to the store to get more eggs.  Yeah for  me!

I picked out my favorite colored eggs and held it up high so my Daddy could see.  I didn't have the best control and before too long it fell out of my hand and cracked on the floor.  Fortunately for me I have many favorite colors and just picked another favorite and moved on.

We Love and Miss You

A little over two years ago we started this blog so family and friends who live far away could "watch" Liza grow up in pictures with a little bit of narrative thrown in for laughs.  One of our most faithful readers passed away this month, Chris's grandmother and Liza's great-grandmother, Edith Glasscock.  There was a beautiful service in Auburndale, FL on March 15th and the heartfelt words expressed by so many will forever be etched in my memory.  Had I been able to stand and share my thoughts I would have said Edith, or Nana to us, made you believe you could be better than you were.  There was nothing too small for praise in her eyes.  Without fail, after each post on this blog, Nana would send me an email saying how great Liza was, how great Chris was and how great I was...she told us so much that we really believed it; she made you want to do better and be better.  Whenever I think of her a smile comes to my face and what I remember most are the wonderful family times, Nana's love and concern for everyone and the way her smile made you smile too.

This picture is from our first trip to Stuart with Liza and it is the first time Nana and Gaggy got to hold her!

Labor Day weekend in 2009 the entire family found themselves in Stuart and we had a great time together.  Swimming in the pool, having dinner with each other and enjoying the beautiful sunshine.  We also had a family photo shoot and this is one of my favorites. 

Nana's grandchildren and great grandchildren brought her such great pleasure and she couldn't have been more proud of each and every one of them.

Christmas 2009 will always be special because we celebrated together in Stuart.  I wish this picture were a video instead because Liza squealed in delight when she opened this Thomas Station from her Nana and Gaggy! 

  

Our family hopes to honor Nana's memory by giving generously, loving boundlessly and encouraging our family every day in every way we can - just like Nana did for us.  

Madison, WI

My sister, Emmie, moved to Madison summer of 2009 and we are pleased that she is close to us out here in the Midwest.  We've been up twice so far and need to go visit more!  We came home from a fun filled weekend in Madison last night - the unfortunate part was Emmie (that's Auntie Em to Liza) wasn't there.  Auntie Em had a course at the NIH and we went to dog sit for our "nephew" Logan.  He was a good host in my sister's absence and we didn't mind letting him out a time or two in exchange for a warm place to sleep. 

The weather in Madison was GREAT at least by our standards - on Saturday it was 40 degrees and sunny! We went to the zoo and even though a lot of animals weren't outside we had fun.  We tried to teach Liza about a camel's hump and she kept asking to see the zebras which we couldn't find.  She had a great time running around and seeing so many other children.  She was disappointed to learn that the playground was closed but we really talked it up for our next trip to see Auntie Em. 

As a thank you to Auntie Em we took pictures of Liza at different spots in Em's house and left them on the frig for her to see when she came back from her trip.  Hope you enjoyed them!  Here are some of the ones we left for her.

Auntie Em, I really enjoyed sitting on my knees and eating my meals at your table.  When I go home I won't want to sit in my high chair anymore. 

Hey look Auntie Em, I colored a picture for you and left it on your frig.  I used "lots" of colors and it was from my favorite Dora coloring book. 

Auntie Em, your living room chairs are fun to be in so I can look out the front window.  Mommy tried to get me to cross my legs and sit like a lady but I wasn't interested in that option.

Auntie Em, I took good care of Logan.  I pet him a lot and let him lick my face.  Daddy took him out to do his business and I got to give him a treat too!

Your couch and coffee table are great for acrobatics! 

Auntie Em, do you see my plate?  I like ketchup too.  Thanks for sharing with me.  How do you like my Elmo bib and my fish tattoo?

Bye Auntie Em!  We had fun.  Come see me soon!

Modeling

The snow is melting some today but not enough to suit us! Liza wore some new clothes this weekend and she was so excited about them.  Since we don't have a lot to say these days we'll give you a bit of a fashion show post.

Liza was heavily pondering if she was appropriately attired to go to the Drake Library.  Apart from her too big boots falling off as she walked it I think it passed the library test!

When I was a little girl I wore the coat that Liza has on in this picture. I've seen pictures of me wearing it and didn't know that my Mother had saved it until she brought it to us. Liza knows it was my coat and she says "Mommy's little girl coat."

I couldn't resist asking her to wear the bonnet too!  Liza was a great sport for the pictures and I'm so glad I have some of her wearing "our" coat. 

She is just so cute -- when she wants to be!

Liza is riding her pony that Nana and Poppa gave her for Christmas and the pretty dress that Marty gave her just because she loves her.  Shortly after this picture she dragged the horse into the kitchen and said Daddy Nana and Poppa gave me this horse. 

Thanks Marty for the dress!  I loved twirling in it and lots of people at church told me how pretty I looked!

Snow snow go away...

We have been going crazy with the cold and the snow that keeps coming and coming and coming.  Surely, it is going to stop soon.  Liza loves going outside to make snow angels but there is only so much of that you can do when the temperature is in the teens.  One of our recent highlights was finding lots of great winter gloves for 1/2 price -- we lost more this season than expected!  We are so thankful that everyone was generous to Liza for Christmas and her birthday because we've been parceling them out little by little.  Last weekend it was finally warm, around 35 or so and we had errands to run.  Liza was so excited to be going "shopping"  and we didn't mind the slushy snow!  My highlight was getting fresh Tilapia at COSTCO so we can add more fish to our diet on a regular basis -- the things that make me happy these days! 

Our perfect little girl does get into trouble on occasion and this is one example!  While I was in the shower one morning Liza found a Sharpie and tried it out on a bed spread.  As you can imagine we are still arguing about who left the sharpie in her reach!

Sweet little Liza is trying to grow her hair but her Mother can't wait!  I tried to put it in pony tail and this is what that looked like.   

As I am getting ready in the morning Liza sits on bathroom counter with me and gives me directions -- dry your hair Mommy, you need deodorant Mommy, time for lipstick and on and on!  I usually have my phone with us and she "ordered" me to take her picture -- how could I resist?