easter

Straw glasses were among the favors in the "pass the bowl" game at Sam's birthday party (in which a bowl filled with little presents is passed in a circle while music plays, and the kid holding the bowl when the music stops gets to choose one, then leave the circle. We did this in lieu of goody bags).

Sam also got an insect kit from my grandmother, complete with an ant farm. He brought home an ant in a little jar (packed for that purpose) from his long bike ride w/J. on Saturday, but alas we couldn't find any sand for the farm fast enough, and the ant died that night. In the meantime, he'd named it Pillow. It's a bug name, he explained quite seriously.

We tried naturally-dyed eggs this year. Grape juice worked the best (deep bluish-purple). Beets were ok, too. Less luck with red cabbage, turmeric, and paprika (the white designs are from dripped candle wax).



"Why on this night do we recline while eating?" (a line from the Passover Haggadah, for the Gentiles reading...):



After brunch and a short backyard hunt for Easter chocolates, we drove north to spend the afternoon at Wingaersheek Beach (the same one I'd gone to with the kids and two friends right after Thanksgiving). In contrast to last weekend's frigid weather, which Omi and Opa endured on a walk through Boston Common and the Public Garden, this past weekend was warm and lovely. Sorry... better luck next year? We'd expected to just walk on the beach and climb rocks again, but it was so warm that wading called. Sam promptly wet himself up to his hips while trying to hop between rocks. He was fine, if a bit itchy on the way home:





Frida hung out on a blanket for a bit, then consented to riding around in the ergo. She will NOT keep a hat on. Sunscreen for the feet and ankles, and an unending game of hat-on hat-off.



She has been determinedly working on independent mobility, these days. Also babbling. J's quite pleased with her selection of "dadadadadadadeedadadadadeee" to begin.