Easter

This was Rudy's first holiday that he actually keyed into the idea that something special was going on. Even Halloween and getting dressed up like an elephant didn't phase him...just another day in this zany new world. Well, I guess the zaniness of the world has begun to wear off and he now recognizes when something is out of the ordinary. This was very exciting for Jason and me, 'cause we could bask in Rudy's excitement over our small effort to make the day special.

The whole week long, we'd been teaching Rudy about the resurrection (I'm not quite ready to dwell on crucifixion pictures with our little guy yet, and besides, Easter Sunday is about resurrection anyway.) We weren't quite sure how we wanted to incorporate the whole Easter Bunny thing into such a sacred holiday. We decided not to. We just did a little Easter egg hunt and never mentioned a bunny at all. As our kid(s) get older, we'll talk about how eggs are a symbol of new life and tie them into the resurrection that way, but I don't think we'll really need a bunny to help us celebrate.

Anyway, I hid a dozen plastic eggs with a chocolate chip in each of them all around the front room, hallway, and kitchen. Hid is probably not the right word...it was more of a scattering in places I thought Rudy would see them. The next morning, Rudy ecstatically collected them all. He was so excited to find a new egg, and to get the treat inside. Each time he found an egg, he'd do the happy dance, punctuated with a gleeful yawp. It was a great way to start the day, emotionally, at least.

Nutritionally, it could have been better. :) Even after feeding Rudy an exceptionally balanced breakfast of scrambled eggs with spinach, onions and cheese, toast, and grapefruit, our little man was totally wired during church. He's usually decently behaved, so when he was the noisiest kid in sacrament meeting, one of our beloved 'grandmas' asked me afterwards, "Is Rudy sick? He's never that loud in sacrament!" All I had to do was say the word chocolate, and she gave me a knowing smile. Oh well, its only once a year.

After church and a mini nap, we headed out to Mom and Dad's for a scrumptious Easter dinner, a cousins egg hunt, and fun family time. Rudy had a blast checking out Ella's new kitten she brought to show us all, and just hanging out with his cousins. He did really well finding his eggs during the hunt and especially loved eating the deviled eggs Mom always makes for Easter.

We ended the day back at our house, all jammied up, reviewing the resurrection. We used the cut outs available in "Behold Your Little Ones" to tell Rudy how Jesus died and was put in the tomb, but was resurrected 3 days later, and lives today. Rudy loved putting Jesus in the tomb, counting to 3 and then popping him out with yelps of glee. It was like peek-a-boo for him, I think. Not super reverent, but as I watched him do it over and over, I thought "Yeah, this is important to think about again and again."

I love Easter because it gives me a reminder to review the beauty of what Jesus did for each of us, and the beauty of God's plan for our eternal happiness. Really, it's worth yelping with glee about. In fact, sometimes I've felt that yelp spring out of my heart as I have contemplated the completeness of Jesus's love for me. I just keep it from getting past my lips, because most of the time, I'm in a place where reverence is important when that yelp of joy hits me. :)

Here's a few shot of our day:

Rudy reveling in his eggs, chocolate goatee and all.

The Egg Hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Jason helping Rudy to remember to put his eggs in his bucket.

A game Rudy and Jason made up: "Egg Shower"
Rudy just loved the sensation of empty plastic eggs showering down on him. He asked to repeat the game over and over. Funny kid. :)