Egg hunts and Easter dresses

Nobody at our house got Easter baskets this year ... not really, anyway.  On Saturday we went to a friend's house for an Easter egg hunt, and the instructions were that we should bring 12 filled eggs per child to contribute to the hunt.  The dollar store had a decent assortment of candy, so I bought a couple of things, and snagged a basket for Lydia as well, so she would have something to collect the eggs in.  Since my daughter is very proficient at removing items from baskets, (I have a basket full of her shoes that sits by the front door--well, usually it's empty and her shoes are strewn all over the living room and placed on open shelves in the kitchen) I practiced with her for a few minutes before we left for the party.  I excitedly pointed out the eggs and she dutifully picked them up ... and proceeded to get very frustrated with me when I "helped" her put them into the basket.  Oh well, I thought, at least we should get some good pictures!  When it was actually time for the egg hunt, I (again in my excited voice) pointed out the nearest egg to Lydia.  She picked it up and I held out the basket for her to put it in.  Imagine my surprise when she actually dropped the egg into the basket!  I guess  that rehearsal helped after all!  We ended up with half a dozen eggs, all of which mommy or daddy pointed out, but ALL of which Lydia herself put into the basket.  As for the candy inside the eggs ... well, let's just say that mommy enjoyed it.

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Lydia's Easter dress!!! (And mommy and daddy too.)  As an aside, this was the only time all day she actually wore the hat that goes with the dress.