We had a very lazy day today. Other than getting out to our fruit and veggie market, we pretty much did a whole lot of nothing all day long.
Taking care of her bear family. Notice she’s wrapped them in a blanket, given them a “book” (her singing Easter card), and made sure that the baby has a pacifier. What more could they need?
Stamping mess. A current favourite.
Taking photos for the shop.
Smelling our backyard blossoms.
Dropping pennies into the mall fountain.
Being silly in the kids’ play area.
Driving Noah’s Ark.
♥
Off to see the cherry blossoms.
Papa and his little lady.
Strolling.
Perched in a tree.
Exploring.
Covered by blossoms.
Mama and her girl.
Sniff sniff.
Merry-go-round.
Spinning cup.
On top of the world.
Mini marathon runner?
Climbing.
First time on a big kid swing alone.
Very carefully carrying around her cousin Korbin’s picture.
♥
What a silly little duck. I absolutely love our little girl and her emerging personality. 
Gracen enjoyed every minute and was such a little gem all afternoon that we ended up pushing it a little late, eating dinner on the train, skipping bath time, and arriving home to read a couple of stories and crawl into bed. ♥
We took them out to the solarium this morning so that Gracen could take a better look…
‘Mama’ has a few hairs growing from the top of her head (and a few growing out from behind her eyes too – oops!)
Poor ‘Papa’ only has one single tiny hair growing atop his head…
And ‘Bubba’ has little hairs growing all around her head and all over her face too!
Our day started with Gracen waking up to all sorts of goodies from the Easter Bunny. She carefully went through her basket, spending a little time with each item before moving on to the next…
Inside, she found several books…
An egg shaker…
A new sunhat to fit that ever-growing Kossowan head of hers…
A beautiful new dress…
A button-up perfect for spring… (Plus new stamps and ink pads, stickers, cookie cutters, bunny ears, a baseball cap, a summer dress, and more!)
After enjoying all of the Easter Bunny’s treats, it was onto opening her gifts sent down by Grandma Charlotte and Grandpa Dave.
Again, she opened each item carefully, pausing to investigate them before moving on. She especially loved her new wooden caterpillar puzzle.
Grae kept busy by strategically placing her new stickers all over herself (and the house) while we prepared Easter brunch.
Soon after, Uncle Brett arrived and we all sat down to eat.
With brunch cleaned up, it was time to pull out some of her new goodies! This little lady is all about stamping right now.
When she’d had plenty of stamping, we put on her pretty new dress, got her egg collecting basket, and headed into the back yard.
Some spots were a little tricky…
And some were not.
Either way, she collected those eggs like it was her job!
And when she had found most of the ones out back, we headed out to the front yard to see if there were more there…
Team Ogasawara was there to give pointers, just in case.
And then it was off to find the really tricky ones. Sometimes you just have to throw your hands up into the air!
Problem solved with the help of a shoulder ride!
When we sat down to take a closer look at Grae’s findings, we realized she had collected a new little friend in addition to her eggs.
A little wet slug!
Grae patiently opened each egg and placed the treats into her bucket.
Opening eggs is tough work.
Inside, she found all of her favourite treats – all sorts of nuts, raisins, freeze-dried berries, banana chips, and fruit leather strips. She was thrilled.
Out front, she picked out her first treat and sat down to enjoy it.
Of course she shared a little with Unky Brett.
And then it was off to do a little exploring…
One of the other things Grae found in some of her eggs were these very weird little mystery Easter pills. We brought out a bowl of warm water, popped them in, and waited…
Some waited more patiently than others… Uncle Brett just couldn’t stand the suspense any longer, and helped the surprise arrive in a more timely fashion.
Easter-shaped sponges – woooooooooow!
We spent the rest of the morning outside and only went in when it was time for Miss G’s nap.
When Grae woke, the three of us headed down to Stanley Park to partake in more Easter festivities.
And guess who was there! The Easter Bunny himself, that’s who!
It’s a good thing our little doodlebug is a collecting machine, because she participated in yet another egg hunt.
The only problem was that the baskets were so small that her eggs kept spilling out when she’d bend down to retrieve more.
Not sure what it is about these things, but I just can’t seem to pass them up.
And with that, we boarded the Stanley Park miniature train.
We rode around, watching closely for animals and Easter eggs – both of which, Miss G pointed out plenty of.
On the way into the park, I had spied a little organic popcorn station hosted by Whole Foods, so after our train tour, we stopped in a grabbed a bag as a treat.
Gracen was all over it and kept saying, “Moore. Moore!” the way she does in her little accent.
We stopped and played at this crowded playground for a bit before heading down the hill.
Grae found herself a flower patch that kept her entertained for a while…
And when she had exhausted herself with flower picking, she bounced on Papa’s tummy instead.
With it nearing dinnertime, we headed back up to the hill to our car.
The best ending to a busy, fun-filled day? Deciding that stopping at Cactus Club for dinner is the way to go. Yay for a night off from cooking!
Basket in hand and ready to search!
Waiting patiently…
Go!
Like an old pro…
Found another one!
Checking out the loot.
Grae’s first ever face painting experience.
Gracen, the bunny.
Ring “tossing”.
Bouncy castle!
Playground time.
Bunny-eared baby.
Admiring her findings once again after a nap.
Beach time!
Sand box fun.
Collecting.
Beach-loving baby.
‘Can we collect seaweed too, Mama?’
Telling me that she wants to kiss the dog passing by.
So lucky to live where we do.
Sometimes you just need to make a good mess.
Ahhh… Nothing like sunshine, green grass, cherry blossoms, and a little monkey climbing on your back.