Easter Weekend

So Celeste woke this morning at about 3:45 a.m. and I was having trouble getting back to sleep, so I decided to head off to work at about 4:30 a.m. ... which woke up Celeste again and apparently she was up for about an hour, although Evelin thinks they both dozed a bit in and out.

In some ways, it was a repeat of Easter morning. I was awake at 5:30 a.m. and figured I'd run out to get the paper, but as soon as I left Celeste decided it was time to wake up. I got home and there was an Easter basket full of Cadbury Creme Eggs on the porch for me; Evelin and Celeste were inside as awake as could be (well, at least Celeste was). Celeste got her Easter duck, which was received with a bit of indifference, and a pinwheel that she wanted to eat. (At Christmas, she was really into watching a fan, so I thought a pinwheel would be a good toy for her; she does like it, but she's not ready to play with it ...)

Before the rains came, we decided to give the Piggyback a go, and Celeste was a bit unsure as she was being strapped in, but seemed fine while on my back ... until about a half mile away from home when she started bawling. We were at the park, so we took her out and let her try the swings for a while (no strong reaction) before putting her back in the backpack and heading home. As we were leaving the park, we stopped to talk to a guide dog in training; Celeste was in the pack, so she didn't get to interact with her too much, but Evelin and I really liked her. She was a labradoodle (poodle–labrador retriever mix) and really sweet. Evelin offered to take her if she washed out as a guide dog, but apparently the backup option is life as a therapeutic companion dog, so we're a distant third in any claim on her ...

Easter supper was at Evelin's uncle and aunt's house, where Celeste's 10-year-old first cousin once removed, N---, was really interested in her. For the most part, he was really good with her, but he did get her crying once or twice. A---, her 13-year-old cousin once removed, was a bit calmer with Celeste, and though she was up past her bedtime and was getting cranky by the time we left, she did really well.

K---, Evelin's aunt, always forgets that I am a vegetarian, so it didn't surprise me when Evelin said all I could eat was the confetti salad. I was okay with that, but it turns out the potatoes would have been okay to eat: Evelin'd just been teasing me ...

Easter supper actually made for two good out-of-the-house evenings in a row for Celeste. Saturday night, we went for an early dinner at Samantha's; she was really good watching the baby at the next table, watching the people at other tables, and watching the cars and trucks passing outside.