Easter Bunny 2013

I took Tory to visit the Easter Bunny today at a nearby mall. I talked our visit up big time this morning, asking her if she wanted to see the big Easter Bunny. She nodded her head (and her entire upper body) in agreement, as she does these days when she's excited about something. I told her about the big Easter eggs she'd see when we visited the Easter Bunny and again, she nodded her head yes with much excitement.

It was a blustery 28 degrees as we pushed though the parking lot at the mall and felt more like January than March. I opted to dress Tory in her Easter dress at the mall, instead of at home, because it was so cold outside today. Once we arrived at the mall, I high-tailed it to the family restroom to change Tory into her adorable Easter outfit. The entire time I dressed her, we talked about the Easter Bunny and how big his ears were, how fluffy his fur is, and how happy we were to visit him. I was trying my best to prepare her for the Easter Bunny's size and hoped she'd be as jazzed to see him as she was during our conversations.

Remembering back to our Santa Claus visit in December, I dressed myself in a "springy" scarf with the off-chance idea in mind I *might* have to sit in the photo with Tory. I really, really, really didn't want to do that and surely she'd be okay snapping a photo with him solo. When we talked about taking her photo with the Easter Bunny in the car ride on the way to the mall, Tory even said "cheese!" with her new camera smile. She's got this! No big deal.

As we wheeled up to the Easter Bunny and Tory gathered what was about to happen, her little legs clamped around my waist like a vice script. She puckered her lips and began to whimper. I tried talking to the Easter Bunny and giving her a few minutes to warm up to him, but it was no use. Luckily, Tory and I were the only people there so we had as much time as we needed. The photographer suggested I sit in the photo with Tory so she'd feel more comfortable and of course that's exactly what I did. Dang it.

I don't want to be a mean mama by torturing her with these photos at the holidays, but I also feel like I need these photos for her baby book, too. Quite the parenting pickle. As soon as we walked away, Tory was back to her normal, bubbly self so all was well in the end.

After I changed her back into her regular everyday clothes, I decided to treat us to lunch at Qdoba. Tory was such a little angel at the restaurant and even ate her entire cheese quesadilla with a side of black beans. I couldn't help but smile as we shared our lunch together. She is really growing up to be a big girl and I cherish moments like this with her.

Tory's new "cheese" face for the camera

After lunch, we did some shopping at Stride Rite and I bought her an adorable pair of pink tennis shoes. She's going to need some solid playing outdoors shoes this spring / summer, I thought, and I can't seem to find quality tennis shoes for her anywhere else.

Last stop at the mall was the kid's area where Tory had a ball running around with all the other kiddos. These play areas are heaven for Minnesotans stuck inside for months and months on end.

Not the greatest picture, but it was hard capturing a shot of this girl on the move!

What a fun day with my little Bean!