(Last year’s lessons can be found here.)

1. One Year Old Boys have no appreciation for being dragged into the living room by their sister first thing in the morning.

IMG_3691

… Until they see that there’s something in it for them.

IMG_3697

They they’re completely on board.

IMG_3698

…Until they realize they can’t open it on their own.

IMG_3699

IMG_3700

IMG_3701

Then they go back to having no appreciation.

IMG_3702

2. Easter morning photos are all about the girls.

IMG_3714

Because the girls get to wear the glamorous dresses and the fancy jewelry.

IMG_3721 copy

…and when you try to add in the boys,

IMG_3729

it just frustrates the ones for whom Easter morning photos are all about.

IMG_3727

So I’m sorry, Noah, but you are never going to have a montage of all of your Easter outfits.

But your sister is.

Easter Montage

I know, it totally reeks of sibling inequality.

3. Photoshop is a powerful tool.  Sure, magazine covers use it to give us all an unrealistic view of perfection and beauty, but giving one’s husband a little help on the issue of forehead sheen is an exciting improvement.

With sheen,

IMG_3743

and without sheen.

IMG_3743 copy

Okay, I might have given my stark white legs just a tiny touch of help in the color department, too.

But that’s only because Photoshop is such a powerful tool.

4. Photographing all of the cousins made it quite apparent how sore-thumbishly Noah fits in with the rest of the family.

IMG_3762 copy

A bunch of Greeks and … a blond.

IMG_3781 copy

Speaking of Greeks, Chris was feeling especially Clarkish this Easter and wanted to contribute something new and grandiose to our traditional Greek Easter Lunch.

So he decided to attempt his own personal favorite Greek dish, Saganaki.

5. Flaming cheese is a shockingly frightening concept to a five year old.

6. But a delectably amazing dish for less-jumpy adults.

Want to know how to make it?

Slice Kefalograviera cheese into 1/2” slices, then dip it in cold water and then flour.  Fry the cheese until it gets a nice brown crust, then lay in a bowl.

Pour Brandy over the cheese,

IMG_3816

then immediately light it.

IMG_3820

Have the entire household yell “OPA!!”, while simultaneously throwing napkins into the air and smashing plates against the walls.

IMG_3821

(Make sure that the napkins aren’t thrown near the open flame, and feel free to skip the dish smashing unless you’re really itching for a new set anyway.)

Allow the cheese and brandy to burn for a bit, then squeeze lemons over it to give it the final flavor and extinguish the flames.

IMG_3825

Serve immediately.  Except to five year olds who are terrified that it might spontaneously erupt into flames again.

7. A great way to give your wedding-present towels a last hurrah before replacing them is to take them outside and set a clean, naked baby with a chocolate bunny on them.

IMG_3903

(the following is a completely unnecessary amount of photos of a Baby and His Bunny.)

IMG_3942


IMG_3936

IMG_3946

IMG_3951

IMG_3962

IMG_3966

IMG_3967

IMG_3968

IMG_3970

8. Eventually, chocolate babies will get lonely, and attempt to crawl into their mother’s lap.

IMG_3981


IMG_3982

9. When rebuffed, their chocolate high will be blown as they languish in their deluge of grief.

IMG_3985

10. But babies bounce back quickly.

IMG_3989

IMG_3990

11. Five year old OCD girls are much neater with their bunnies, and therefore less fun to photograph.

IMG_3926

But that’s okay, because Easter morning photos are all about them.

IMG_3723 copy

31 thoughts on “Lessons Learned on Easter, Volume Two.

  1. What a very nice looking family and I think that some little blond boy got “into” Easter there at the end…poor chocolate bunny…we mourn you but Noah is happy and that is all that counts.

  2. Alright, alright already, I’m getting clucky! (And if I’m lucky enough to have a girl, I’ll definitely adopt your ‘new dress for Easter’ idea. Such pretty dresses!)

  3. OMG, that is the most amazing cuteness! And you are totally right – Easter outfits are for GIRLS!!!

    Your daughter is absolutely stunning and your little boy has the biggest blue eyes I have ever seen.

    Awesome, awesome, awesome…so much in one blog post!

  4. This is fantastic. Ali can have a perfectly posed and polished year by year Easter montage, Noah can have a chocolate face montage. It is my impression that boys quite prefer that. Both the kids are beyond adorable in these.
    And now, at 9am I want flaming-alcohol-soaked-fried-cheese. Thanks. :)

  5. I loved reading these lessons. ; ) So cute. The Easter dress montage is adorable- and it makes me want to go dig up old pictures of my daughter’s previous Easter outfits.

  6. boys and girls are just so different aren’t they?! loved her easter dress montage. makes me want to start doing that too-4 years late. and he was so cute with the chocolate. you didn’t photoshop his eyes did you? they’re outta control beautiful!

  7. Great post!

    Ali is such a pretty little girl.

    (Although the shot of her going from super-curly hair to lovely straight locks from one year to the next still worries me for Della).

    But my favorite all-around shot is the first one of Noah lovingly gazing at his chocolate bunny with extreme satisfaction.

    I can almost hear him saying: “My Preccccccioooooooous.”

    1. I know – the hair thing is especially apparent in this Easter Montage. (sob)

      And yes, he was definitely humming The Bunny Song in a low, ominous tune…

  8. Love it! I have one of those “sore-thumbishly” fitting in blonde haired-blue-eyed boys too. His brother and cousins are all brunettes with brown eyes. He is definitely one of a kind!

  9. Ok first, those children are incredibly cute! Second, those bunnies are flat..do you buy them that way or did you make them yourself? I’ve never seen flat bunnies here.

  10. Great pictures! Love Ail’s Easter dress! All her Easter dresses for that matter. I was so tempted to buy my girls really fluffy fancy dresses, but I always opt for something I know they will wear again. Then every year I see all the gorgeous dresses and feel regret. Next year I’m not going to be so pratical. They need fancy dresess. :) And a chocolate bunny montage would be way cooler for a boy to look back on than his outfits. :)

  11. Such a sweet post! But I’m not gonna lie, now I’m hungry for a chocolate bunny AND some Saganaki. (That may mostly be the pregnancy hormones talking, though)

    One of my coworkers has a similarly diverse spread of kids – their oldest has medium skin and brown hair, the middle dude has a way darker complexion, and their youngest is a tiny pale blonde. My coworker was adopted and doesn’t know his ethnic heritage (his wife is straight-up caucasian, I believe), but apparently there’s some sort of diversity in there! :-)

    1. There must be! I’ve always been fascinated by families where the kids look completely different. Now those type of people have imaginations when it comes to babymaking!! :)

    1. I buy mine at our Mediterranean grocery store. But you should be able to get it at any specialty grocery store that sells Feta Cheese “out of the cabinet”, if you know what I mean. Where they measure out the amount you want?

      1. I tried it and I am sad to say it was a rousing failure. The cheese didn’t fry, it just melted and the brandy didn’t want to be flammable. And the consensus was that the cheese is terrible. I’m thinking I will check out some recipes and advice and try it again.

        Oh, and we didn’t smash the plates or throw the napkins, so we may try that next time.

        1. This is Chris:

          I’m soooo sorry it turned out poorly. The blog didn’t really cover all the steps. I had read a dozen online recipes and I melted a bunch of butter in a frying pan, rinsed the thick slices (1/2″) in cold water, then flipped them in a bowl of self-rising flour with salt and pepper added to it, and fried them on HIGH for just a few minutes, flipping gently twice. I poured the brandy into a glass and microwaved it on HIGH for 20 seconds to warm it up for better flammability. After removing the slices from the hot pan and placing them in the corningware dish, I poured the brandy over them and lit it immediately. You let it burn almost all the way out to get rid of the alcohol taste, and then squeeze lemons over it.

          Better luck next time???

          (This is Rachel – sorry for the incomplete instructions!!!)

  12. Noah has the most eautiful blue eyes!!! wayyy tooo cute!! and Ali looks like a princess!!
    I am definately going to try to make the flaming cheese :)

Leave a Reply to Abbie (Five days...5 ways) Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *