When we got to the rec center, we met up with our friends and got to egg hunting! The basketball court was set up with cute Easter decorations, with eggs scattered throughout the gym. Nolan was in his element and loved everything about it! He thought the decorations were fun, and absolutely loved picking the eggs up and opening them. He always had one egg in his hand and carried them everywhere. Once he found an egg, he would pick it up and immediately drop the one he had been holding, like he was trading them. He sometimes would manage to drop them in his basket, but was more content with just holding them himself!
The kiddos were pretty set on doing their own thing, but every once and a while would get together and drag the cardboard decorations around the room or steal each others eggs from their baskets. We tried getting some pictures together, but with these active little munchkins, there was no way we were getting a good one with both of them looking and smiling! Haha!
Nolan liked to take a break every once and a while and check in on his eggs, so he would sit in the middle of the floor, open each one, shake it around, sneak a taste of candy, and then throw them back. Then, it was off to find more.
Once all the eggs were found and the hunt was over, we made our way to take a peek at the Easter Bunny, who made a surprise visit. We passed on photos since we had plans with Daddy to meet the Bunny a little later, but tried to get some more pictures of the boys together. They basically laughed in our faces, thinking we would get a good one. Sneaky boys!
Later that day, we met up with Daddy at Bass Pro Shops for our turn to meet the Easter Bunny and take our photo with him! Bass Pro offers free photos, so we knew there would be quite a line. We switched on and off, taking Nolan around to look at the billion things there are to see at Bass Pro, while the other held our place in line. An hour later, we finally got to the front! Nolan was super excited to see the Easter Bunny, and we couldn't believe how different he was acting! He kept darting over to try to touch him, and we had to hold him back until it was our turn. As soon as we were the next in line, the Easter Bunny had to take a quick potty break. I was worried Nolan would get antsy and freaked out that he had left, so I tried my best to distract him with the props around the photoshoot set. I also got worried that Nolan would be terrified once the bunny came back... so when he saw the Easter Bunny return to his bench, I let him go at his own pace, and sure enough, he walked right up to him all alone, touched his leg, and smiled! I lifted him onto his lap and we took a few different photos, all of which Nolan was smiling in! He kept looking up at the Easter Bunny and touched his fur on his face and chin. As I started walking over to get him, Nolan leaned right in and gave the Easter Bunny a hug! We said "Thank You" and waved Bye-bye, and Jason and I were standing there shocked as to how well it went! We were expecting screams and tears from our shy guy, but he was so sweet and happy, and we couldn't have been prouder.
On Saturday, we tried to do another egg hunt at Town Square, but didn't realize how terribly busy it was going to be (actually, I did realize how insane it would be, but just decided to wing it and hope for a spot in the morning hunts, but didn't get a slot until the afternoon, in which Nolan would be down for his nap by). We passed on the afternoon egg hunt since Nolan wouldn't be up for it, and spent the morning hanging around Town Square and enjoyed the nice Spring weather.
Finally, Easter Sunday was here and the Easter Bunny made his visit to our home! We woke to find some bunny tracks, leaving a trail from where he placed Nolan and Harley's Easter basket, to out our front door! He hid eggs all around the downstairs, and Nolan was shocked by the extra big surprise he left!
Once he took a good look at his trike and played with all the fun stuff on it, we started hunting for eggs! Nolan still needed a little help from Mommy and Daddy, but did end up finding a few on his own and, again, would trade out the one in his hand for the new one he found! Silly boy. He tried opening them as soon as he found them, but these eggs were a little tougher to open, so we waited to collect all 15 of the Easter Bunny's eggs before we sat down to find out what he left inside.
We sat down to open all of the Easter eggs, and Nolan was all business when it came to finding out what would be in each one. The Easter Bunny left some snacks, like Cheddar Bunnies, a couple chocolate eggs, and Nolan's favorite, M&Ms, inside. He also left one solid chocolate bunny, some fun bath toys, some Easter themed toys, and, Nolan's favorite, some Sesame Street figurines!
Once we finished opening eggs, we ate some special cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and then continued on to open our Easter baskets! The Easter Bunny left Harley his traditional basket, with a couple bags of Dentastix and minty treats. Nolan's basket had lots of fun stuff in it, including bubbles, chalk, some bath books and toys, a cute golf set, a coloring book, stickers, more books, and some other random toys and Easter themed toys!
After a successful Easter morning, we took our new tricycle for a spin around the block! Nolan was so beat from his busy morning (and still not quite used to his transition to one nap), he kept dozing off towards the end of our stroll)! Once we got back, lunch came around and Nolan chowed down on his first chocolate bunny for dessert. He definitely did some damage and practically finished the whole thing! He's finally warming up to sweet things... big time!
Later in the day, after Nolan's nap, we made our way over to my mom's house for our traditional Easter dinner. Both Harley and Nolan received more treats from Grandma, spoiled boys! Harley got two toys to play with, and Nolan received a cute outfit, some books, a fun toolset, and more little Easter themed toys! He also found Grandma's singing and dancing Donald Duck (who he's totally into right now on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) and played with him ALLLLLL afternoon!
We continued to hang out around Grandma's house, play with her toys, and take adorably cute pictures while we waited for dinner. Once it was ready, we enjoyed some Easter ham with all of our traditional fixings- mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pineapple salad, and a new dessert that tastes just as good as our old favorite- maple dumpling cake! Yuuuuummm!
We had such a great Easter this year, and I know they will get even more fun as Nolan gets older and can do even more! Watching him participate in all the Easter events and see him light up with excitement is the best thing to witness as a parent. I love celebrating holidays and making memories and traditions to continue each year! Happy Easter to our family and friends, we hope yours was as blessed as ours!