Breakfast with the Easter bunny

Finishing up March's pictures, here's our own little bunny with the zoo's Easter bunny.  Helaina looks forward to these special zoo events because she loves the food, facepainting, crafts, the Easter bunny (or Santa at Christmas time) and of course, the zoo animals.  Cute pics of our gal with E.B.

Delighted.

Getting her bunny lollipopl

Taking time from her bacon and eggs for a bunny hug.

One of the volunteers brought out a snake and Helaina was very happy.  She listened, asked questions and told the volunteer what she knew about snakes.  She wanted to touch this snake so bad but it's not allowed.  Guess we'll take her to Fort Rickey this summer and she'll be able to touch one of their snakes at a reptile demonstration.  Wonder if when the time comes she'll change her mind about petting a snake.

Helaina loves these creepy mole rats at the zoo.  I can't even look at them.  They are albino-type critters with wrinkly skin, no hair at all, and large yellow teeth.  Sort of like a hairless hamster.  Eeeewwwweeeee.

The tigers were enjoying the weather.

Cute pic of the fox.

The weekend before Easter

The weekend before Easter was a blurr.  I should have been resting because I was feeling my worst pre-pneumonia symptoms, but instead we were cramming 3 activities into 2 days.  That's always the way - nothing to do on the weekend or not a spare moment.  Our town's Easter egg hunt was that Saturday morning.  Instead of being outside in a park as always, it was held inside a local mall most likely because of our unpredictable weather.

Helaina was thrilled to get to the mall and see her friends there.  Everyone found a "special" egg and was entitled to an extra prize.

Cute bunny and 3 adorable girls with their faces painted with a pink bunny nose and whiskers.

2 pics from our town's 2009 Easter egg hunt.  It was Helaina's first one.  It took all the bravery she had to get close enough to the Easter bunny and give her a smooch.

That same afternoon we headed to the fairgrounds for the circus.  We took Helaina last year for the first time and she loved it.  Lots to see, lots to do, lots of extras to buy.  Jim got the tickets through work so they were discounted but everything else cost a fortune.

The $6 pony ride.

Helaina's still not a fan of people dressed up as animals but she wedged herself right in there.

The $7 face painting.  A glittery butterfly.

Dora and Diego were there and you could have your picture taken with them - for $10!  We put our foot down on that one.  No way.

Helaina's into the Lion King movie lately so she loved seeing "Simba".

Oh the elephants.  Helaina's first love.

Helaina was impressed by the hula hooping ability of this performer.

This clowns act was funny and Helaina laughed out loud through the entire thing.

The daredevils riding motorcycles in this cage were pretty impressive.  They went round in circles, up and down and criss-crossed in between each other.

The circus started at 2:30 and we didn't get out of there until nearly 5:00.  We hit a diner on the way home for dinner and then rested for Sunday's event - breakfast with the Easter bunny at the zoo.

I got pneumonia for Easter ... what'd you get?

It was an Easter like no other.  The first Easter in my adult life where I didn't have family over for the holiday.  Helaina had a cough and slight sore throat about 2-1/2 weeks ago so of course, as it always goes when she gets sick, she ends up coughing in my face and I get sick.  Helaina gets better quickly and my illness morphs from a sore throat to a dry, bone rattling cough that won't go away.  The weekend before Easter we were busy with an Easter egg hunt, the circus and breakfast with the bunny so I didn't have time to rest.  I ended up with chills and a fever for 2 days and feeling lousy.  I finally gave in last Wednesday and went to the doctor after my lungs felt wheezy, crackly and heavy.  "You're the sickest person I've seen all day."  Love to hear those words from the doctor.  After a flu test (negative), a nebulizer treatment and a chest x-ray I was told that I had pneumonia in one lung.  I told the doctor "I can't have pneumonia.  I'm having 10 people over for dinner Sunday and I haven't done anything yet."  He smirked and said "How's that working out for you?"  Grrrrrr.  Nobody in my family wanted to be near me and I didn't have the energy to get off the couch so Easter at our house was cancelled.  I was annoyed and depressed for days but it ended up being a nicer day than I had anticipated.

Coloring eggs is always an adventure with Helaina.  This time we made it through the entire process without a major spill.  Helaina's sporting her spiffy headgear - but that's a whole 'nother post some time.

We kept our eggies basic with just a few stickers for decorations.  That's all I could manage.  As long as I could sit down and rest in between activities I was ok.  Even with strong antibiotics, steroids and an inhaler I was still wiped out for days - and still am pretty tired.

We made a bunny cake.  It didn't come out too fancy but Helaina was thrilled with it anyways.

Decorating anything with frosting, sprinkles and candies is a favorite activity for Helaina.

Helaina's basket from the the Easter Bunny and a bag of things from us.  We hid eggs around the house after she went to bed and hoped that the cat wouldn't be playing soccer with them all night long. 

She loved finding the eggs all over the house.  We put one in her room and she saw it the minute she woke up.  We could hear her after she called us "Oh my gosh!  There's an egg in my room.  How'd he get in here?  I guess the Easter Bunny IS real!!!!"

Helaina's limited as to what type of candies she can have this year because of the expander in her mouth.  Nothing sticky or chewy, no gummies, caramels or jelly beans.  It was challenging finding little things to put in the eggs.  Thank goodness she likes money!

Squinkies.  Squinkies are little and Helaina loves them.  Another money-making toy.  All you need is one good idea for a toy and you'd strike it rich.

Proudly carrying her find.

The Easter bunny shops at the Christmas Tree Shop and put this frilly princess dress in her basket.  She absolutely loved it and insisted on wearing it the entire day.

After our dinner we went to the park for a while.  It was sunny and mild but a bit windy.  Helaina's still obsessed with monkey bars but now she wants to climb on top of them and hang by her knees.  We absolutely do not allow this - can you tell?  Jim helped her get into position then stepped to the side out of the picture.  I have visions of falls and broken bones with our little daredevil.

First thing she heads for at any park.  First thing.  Her hands are already calloused from monkey bars.

Riding her bike through the park, happy as can be. 

Yah, it turned out to be a good day.  There was bike riding, kite flying, plastic colorful Easter eggs to hunt for, candy to eat and our sweet little girl Helaina to entertain us.  Now I just need to feel better so I can enjoy Helaina's spring break.