Claire was really excited to make use of the pink Easter basket she picked out the night before, but when they yelled "go", she had a bit of a problem. You see, we've spent the last 2 1/2 years telling her not to pick things up off the ground and eat them. When we tried to convince her that this was actually the one time of year when it was acceptable to pick up candy she found laying around the park, she looked at us like this...
She recently started telling us that things are "crazy" and I think she mastered that vocabulary word just so she would have something to say the next time she gives us this look.
You'll be relieved to know we did eventually convince her to pick up a few candies, but she was so uncomfortable that she just walked away from the hunting area after a few finds.
The following week, we tried another Easter egg hunt at the local YMCA. Having tasted the treats from her previous hunt, she was much more willing to pick up the plastic eggs this time... as long as they were pink or purple. She adamantly refused all other egg colors. She would pick up the pink egg and leave the green one next to it sitting on the ground. When I asked her, "Claire, do you want to pick up this green one, too?", she would politely refuse. "No thank you!" After a few tries, I gave up and she happily filled her basket with all girl colors.
After spending the next two days worrying about what we were unknowingly teaching our daughter about gender roles (ah, modern parenting), it was time for our family egg hunt at home. I am proud to report that Claire gave up her strongly held gender bias and embraced an equal opportunity egg hunt approach. She snatched up every treat-filled plastic vessel she could find, regardless of color. I was also really impressed that she would actually search for hidden eggs. The community events were more "egg grabs" than "egg hunts", but Claire was up to the challenge of finding the eggs Grammy and Grandad hid around our yard for her.
Claire also dropped her feud with the Easter Bunny this year. She has never been a fan, and last year she refused to even get close enough for a picture. Then, the day before Easter, we went to the mall to ride the carousel and, completely on her own, she asked to visit the Easter Bunny. I expected a repeat of our Santa experience - excited until it was her turn, then an absolute refusal to get within three feet of him. But when it was Claire's turn, she walked up to Easter Bunny (a little cautiously), said hello, and then willingly sat in his lap and smiled for some pictures. I was shocked, but so excited to finally have some Easter pictures for the scrapbook. Here they are...
Easter wasn't all egg hunts and candy for us, though. We really wanted Claire to know (a three-year-old version) of why we celebrate Easter. I looked around for a book to read but couldn't really find much (any suggestions, moms?). Finally, I just decided to tell her about it during bathtime. When I got to the part where I explained that there were some people who didn't like Jesus, were very mean to him, and hurt him and killed him, Claire gave me her "that's crazy" look again. So, it's not really the most kid-friendly story, I suppose, but she did seem to be okay with it when I explained that Jesus rose and then went to live with God in Heaven.
So overall, I think she understands the eggs, candy, and bunny a little better than the resurrection, but I suppose that's normal for an almost three-year-old. Now, I just have to hope Claire understands that Easter is a one-off situation. I really don't want to spend all summer telling her she can't pick up that half-eaten sucker on the playground for snack time. She'll probably just give me her "you're crazy" look as she pops it in her mouth.
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