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Well, Easter has come and gone. The only thing left are great memories and discounted Easter candy at Wal-Mart. This was Jacob’s first Easter with us. As far as we know, it was his first Easter celebration ever because I think that Easter is mainly a religious holiday in Russia. That means no Easter egg hunts or chocolate bunnies! Heaven forbid!
We saw to it that he had a proper Easter this year. We had to practice finding eggs of course. I bought him some very large plastic eggs at K-Mart, and Lisa got him a Spongebob Squarepants Easter basket. We had so much fun placing the eggs out on the rug in his room and having him “find” them. At first, he didn’t have any idea what to do. He just kept knocking the eggs around the room and out into the hallway. It was hilarious!
With enough practice though, he finally caught on. He started picking the eggs up and placing them in his basket. We would practice a little bit every day. Soon, one of his favorite games was “find the Easter eggs.” I knew that he was ready for the real thing.
Our first real Easter egg hunt took place on a blustery Saturday in Morehead, Kentucky. Our friends, Rod and Corrinna Middleton were taking their little girl Hailey to the egg hunt and invited us over to bring Jacob. Of course we “hopped” at the chance to test out Jacob’s new egg hunting skills.
Taking our place in the 0-4 year old group, we were prepped and ready to find as many eggs as possible. The wait seemed endless. The smell of anticipation hung heavy in the air as dozens of children quivered with eggs-citement. When would it begin? And then….it did. With a great roar of joy, hundreds of feet trampled grass and fingers alike as a blurry buzz of hands flew across the grass snatching up every egg in site.
Jacob giggled and laughed the entire time. He thought that it was just hilarious to run across the wet grass and pick up brightly colored Easter eggs. For his first egg hunt, he did a fantastic job. He ended up gathering 29 eggs! Not too shabby indeed! None of them were the coveted prize eggs….but he got a lot of candy. He is still too young to know about prize eggs….but just watch out next year!
The next week, he got to have two more egg hunts. One of them was at his daycare here in Jackson. He loves daycare. We call it school. It was his first Easter party and he was so happy to be able to have fun with all of his little friends. They had pizza, chips, juice, and candy. They also got to have an Easter egg hunt. It was raining that day, so the hunt had to be indoors. But they all still had a great time. The people who run the daycare are just great. They have been a big part in helping Jacob develop and grow. Lisa and I are very thankful that they are in Jacob’s life.
The final egg hunt was at our house. Mamaw and Papaw Fugate invited Jacob’s cousin Katie down to the house. She came along with her mom Christianne and grandma Minerva. They had a great time hunting eggs and playing on Jacob’s swingset. Jacob even found a prize egg that had some money in it! We put it in his piggy bank so that he can save up for that iPad he has been wanting.
So the first ever Easter for a two year old bundle of energy came to an end. This first year has been a year of firsts. It is the first time that Lisa and I are parents. It is the first time for all of the holidays and celebrations for Jacob. It is the first time that we can experience these things through the eyes of our child. We are so blessed to have him in our lives. Just like the grass and flowers are starting to grow in this spring season……our lives are growing every day. We are growing in love…..growing in joy…….growing in togetherness.
As the rainy days of spring continue to march toward the lazy days of summer, we look forward to experiencing other things with Jacob as well…..vacations, the beach, water parks, and cookouts. But for now….can you pass me another discounted chocolate bunny? Those things don’t last forever you know!
