The Easter Bunny Through the Years...

"Here comes Peter Cottontail, Hopping Down the Bunny Trail." Go ahead, sing along. You know the tune is now stuck in your head!

I have been throwing myself, full force, into our Easter preparations. Plastic eggs have been hung outside, and my Easter plates have been brought out of storage. Robby and I have been busying ourselves with a variety of Easter crafts. As I have stated before, I love holidays!

I have been trying to teach Robby about the wonders of the Easter Bunny. I explained that the Easter Bunny will hop into our house on Easter Eve. The Easter Bunny is so smart. He knows that Robby doesn't eat a lot of candy but that he does love to play outside, so every Easter he leaves a treat basket filled with sidewalk chalk, bubbles and books.

The Easter Bunny has apparently left his workshop and has taken up residence at the mall. I packed up Robby and we headed off to meet the jovial rabbit. I was wary about his reaction since the Easter Bunny is more intimidating than Santa Claus. After all, it is a lot easier for a child to accept speaking to a man versus sitting next to a giant bunny! Nevertheless, I didn't want to deprive him of this childhood joy.

On the way to the mall I found myself thinking about our past encounters with the Easter Bunny. Robby absolutely adored the Easter Bunny in 2007. Of course, he wasn't even one yet and didn't quite know what was going on. I dressed him in an adorable bunny outfit and, truth be hold, he really liked being in costume.

Unfortunately, we didn't make it to visit the Easter Bunny in 2008. I was recovering from a revision surgery and traveling was difficult. Robby did enjoy dyeing Easter eggs. It is impossible for me to forget that Easter because the blue and purple baby hand print, the result of our Easter egg dyeing fun, is still on my sofa.

Last year we tried to take Robby to meet the Easter Bunny. He was excited until he actually saw him. That is when he threw himself on the floor and clutched onto his Nana's leg, crying "No bunny.. no bunny for Robby." I accepted my defeat and settled for a friendly wave from the rabbit. I did, of course, take a picture before comforting my scared little man.

This year I was optimistic that we would have a successful meet and greet with the Bunny. Robby was excited in the car. He was not nearly as enthusiastic when we entered the mall and he actually saw the Easter Bunny.

Immediately upon setting eyes on the overgrown rabbit, Robby started pleading for lunch. "I'm hungreeee Momom." I knew that he was not, and told him that we would get a treat after he says hello. Unconvinced, he hid behind a post and started to cry.

After a few minutes, we were able to pry his little fingers off the post and managed to stop the tears. Luckily a little girl was waiting to see the Bunny. Robby saw her approach, sit and chat, and retreat without incurring any injury. He was more willing to try.

I had to hold Robby as we walked up to the Bunny. I was hoping that Robby would warm up, especially when he saw the basket of lollipops. He was not impressed and continued to cling to me. We managed to convince him to lean towards the Bunny, but only when we promised him a total of six lollipops and Play Dough ice cream.

After the picture was taken, Robby seemed happy as could be. He took his candy and skipped down the mall to get his ice cream. When he was eating his treat he chatted about how the Easter Bunny was his friend. He told me that the Easter Bunny promised to bring him a fishing pole. This was an important piece of information to learn!

Apparently I misunderstood Robby's crying and holding onto me with white fists. According to his chattering, he had a great time. He was eager to tell everybody about his Easter Bunny encounter, including the man sitting next to us at the ice cream store. Now Robby can hardly wait until Easter Eve to leave carrots and a beer for the Bunny! Ah, family traditions.