The Faceless Easter Bunny

I know this is a little late but I thought I'd report on Easter this year. My trusty computer has not been functioning properly so I've not had the opportunity during the day to write as much as I'd like. Better late than never-right?

It was really fun watching Alea learn all about Easter, and watching her enjoy the egg-hunting game. We weren't sure if she'd get it, but she did, and hasn't stopped getting it for the past couple of weeks. I've hidden enough eggs to last a lifetime, and would consider skipping it all together next year if I thought I could get away with it.

A big mistake I made this holiday was putting chocolate in her eggs. Alea LOVES chocolate. After all the chocolate was gone it took a few rounds of egg hunting before she finally gave in to the idea of finding empty eggs, and even so, cracked them open just to check. We, by the way, have enough candy in the house to supply the trick or treaters this next Halloween.

Alea enjoyed opening not one, not two, but three Easter baskets this year. One from her Mimi and Pawpaw, one from her Namaw and Dapaw and of course one from us. One thing I always remember asking for when I was small was a chocolate bunny. I didn't get one every year but I was so happy when I would go to my basket on Easter morning, and find one nestled there in the grass along side my annual bag of lemon drops.

I decided, while shopping for her goodies, that I would buy Alea her first chocolate bunny. There were so many choices. Every candy company has their own version of the iconic chocolate rodent, some hollow and others made of solid chocolate. There was even one that was a foot tall, and claimed to weigh in at a solid pound! Keeping in mind that Alea is only 20 months old, I opted for the slightly smaller and cuter version.

I was so excited to give it to her. I told her that I had a delicious surprise for her and put her in her booster seat. I unwrapped the bunny and placed it in front of her face forward. She just looked at it for a minute then picked it up to examine it from all angles. When she realized that it was a bunny made out of chocolate, she grinned from ear to ear then started nibbling away at it.

I watched her with it for a few seconds then turned away to put some dishes in the dishwasher. When I was finished I checked on her progress and noticed she hadn't eaten much --just a few bits from the ears and tips of the toes. I was amazed! This is my little girl who loves chocolate. Offer Alea chocolate and you can get her to do anything you ask (not that I've made a habit out of bribing her with the stuff). I went over to take a closer look and found that I was mistaken about the amount of bunny that was consumed. As I came around to her side I saw that she had gnawed the bunny's face completely off. It was frightening and humorous at the same time and she absolutely loved it.

I decided not to let her eat the whole thing in one sitting, and when it seemed that the excitement had worn off, the bunny went back in it's packaging to await the fate of it's next body part. It took Alea a week to finish it off with a little help from her daddy of course. New photos have been added to the April 2009.