Easter Festivities, Picture Success, and Not-so-Tummy-Time

"For God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Hello all!! It's been a fun-filled weekend with lots of pictures, so get ready for a long post (assuming Elizabeth will let me finish this up - she was very good while I downloaded these pictures). Anyway, we had lots of fun Easter activities this weekend, and Cline was off work the whole time, so it was a great holiday this year! (It's a great holiday every year, and I am truly grateful for the amazing sacrifice that is Easter. It's even better with an extra set of hands to help cart 3 little ones to the 4 different egg hunts, however :) On Easter morning, we checked out the Big Bunny's leavings, shot a few pictures, made it to church on time, and spent the rest of the beautiful day outside at Cline's family's lake house. We all hunted more eggs, ate great food, played with bubbles and play-dough, and dyed Easter eggs. (I love that my mother-in-law does all this, so I don't have to :) Well, Elizabeth is getting fussy, so I suppose I should get on with the picture captions :)

Abby Kate is enjoying some early Easter presents from Mimi and Pa (and once again reminding us that she is wayyyyy too cool for 19 months:)

Christa actually stepped out of her comfort zone and pet a live bunny at our MOPS Easter Egg hunt on Friday!

Not a bad family shot, if I do say so myself! Everyone is looking at the camera and smiling. And the best part is, I'm hidden from the neck down, so it's a flattering shot!

Abby Kate got the hang of hunting eggs very quickly!

Christa really got into the egg hunting this year. Neither of my girls were overly competitive about it, though, so it was very fun. I'm sure all that will come in the next few years, but I like that they are satisfied with what they get for now.

We went to another egg hunt and breakfast on Saturday. Thank goodness the Easter bunny was there, because I totally forgot to take everyone to the mall this year!

The Easter bunny was very kind to the girls. He understood that we generally have way too much candy in our house, so he opted for some inexpensive toys, instead. Toys that can be used up or lost without being a big deal - our favorite!

Elizabeth's first Easter! So, that hair bow stayed in for a good hour, then fell off. I still don't get it! The Easter bunny left a few of her favorite things: new pacifiers, bottles, and Mylicon!

Everyone is dressed, smiling, looking at the camera - I'll take it!

Another semi-decent family photo! Could this be a new trend??

Our good friend, Meredith, gave the girls matching shirts for a baby gift. They say "Big Sister, Christa," "Little Sister, Abby Kate," and "Baby Sister, Elizabeth." Since we were on a roll with the whole picture-taking thing, I dressed them this morning, and snapped a few shots.

So, here's what Elizabeth thinks of Tummy Time....

.... she's opting out of it entirely, with a smile to boot! I put her on the couch on her tummy several weeks ago, just to give her a different position while I picked up some things nearby. When I looked back over at her, she was nearly on her back - the couch cushion prevented her from being totally on her back. She was 2, maybe 3 weeks?? I totally thought it had to be a fluke. But we tried Tummy Time again today, on the floor, and she rolled over twice. How am I going to prevent her from getting a flat head??? I've never had a newborn who loves her back so much - I've gotta say, I'm liking this!

Alright, Elizabeth has been patient enough, so I'm going to run. I hope all of you had a fantastic Easter!