Easter Weekend 2012

It has become our annual tradition to keep our nieces and nephew each Easter weekend (as they get old enough, this was Ireland's first year). It began as a way for Seth and I to spoil them. I want them to grow up with memories of us (their aunt and uncle) that don't include 10 other people, particularly their parents, around. (Most family events are so full and so busy, that we don't actually get to interact much with them, especially on a 1:1 basis.) But now it's also become time for the cousins to hang out. Delaney, Turner, and Ireland LOVE Austin and are always cracking up over the funny stuff he does. I want them to have time together without the house being packed full of people.

We usually have them over Friday evening to spend the night as well, but several factors prevented that from happening this year. Instead, Spencer dropped them off first thing Saturday morning. We begin at IHOP, go to IBC's Eggsperience, go back home to eat lunch, dye eggs, enjoy the park down the street, and then it's time to take them back home so that we can prepare for the following day.

To start off our day: breakfast

A picture perfectly describing Austin's mood most of the day. Not Happy.

We had 6 in my 5. LOVE my car!!!

We asked them what they wanted to do first, and all agreed on "Paint Face."

This is the first of many meltdowns of the day. We'd only been there like 20 minutes and he was full-on tantruming! It would have been cute except for the loud wailing that accompanied this pose. (The wetness on his butt is from his water leaking onto his high chair at IHOP.)

Next up, everyone wanted a tattoo.

It was such a proud moment, to see my son getting his first tattoo. :-)

Then we moved onto the carnival games, and I made sure Austin got a chance to play too.

The prizes were things not even close to being safe for him, but he had fun pulling the duck out.

I took a lot of pictures of Game Playing, and couldn't get many good ones as it seems our camera is on its last leg. But, can you see the blur of the white ball that Turner just smacked? It was hilarious!

Another game Austin could play. All she had to do was show him how to do it once, and he went about putting all the other rings on the bottles. Very cute! Again, not a prize he could enjoy, but still fun.

A series of photos of my mans. One happy and smiling, the other unwilling to even look at the camera.

"I'm. Not. Going. To. Look. At. You. Stop trying."

They all did really well at this. You had to actually make a line with the bean bags you got through the holes.

Waiting to get into the petting zoo.

Besides calling every animal "Georgia," I'm not sure he was really into it. Though he did pet this baby goat.

The following day... Easter Morning!

I wasn't quite ready with the camera when he came barreling into the front room to find his basket.

His favorite word--ba. That's 'ball' for all you non-Austin speakers.

He immediately wanted to play with the bubbles.

I tried to get him to pose with his stuff, and Daddy decided it was time for bubbles. Can you see the smile despite the fingers?

This is one of his newest favorite things to do--make a big "O" with his mouth while oohing at everything.

After we came home from church, we did an Easter Egg hunt with the 4 kids. Austin got several minutes to "find" eggs while no one else was there to bother him. AND so we could get some good photos!

He's a natural! I was NOT expecting him to walk over, crack open an egg and then try to eat the contents!! I wasn't sure he'd know what to do with them, but picking them up, cracking them open, and then finally putting them in his basket was easy for him.

And one of Georgia Mae with her Easter Haul too. Man, this dog hates being photographed. 

Happy Easter, everyone! He is Risen!!!