April highlights {Easter, Nick's 40th, Mary Poppins, St. Anthony's Chapel}

 1) Easter. we hosted Easter celebrations at our house this year. Joe and Sabrina drove out to spend the weekend with us. the littles got to visit with the Easter bunny at daycare (I have very ambivalent feelings towards the Easter bunny -- I don't mind it, but would never go out of my way to arrange a photo op the way I do with Santa). we dyed Easter eggs Saturday morning and then the littles stayed home with Joe and Sabrina while I took the older girls to the Easter vigil mass.

she is the master of the gradient egg!

new dress and sunglasses from Nana

there was quite a turnout for the vigil mass. I thought the architecture of the building across the street lent an even more medieval flair to the Easter bonfire and subsequent procession

we circled around the church before processing in for the remainder of the service -- my favourite mass of the year. I wrote more extensively about this here. 

 

Easter morning, the girls hunted for their Easter baskets while Nick played for nine o'clock and eleven o'clock masses. then I put the older girls to work helping with Easter dinner preparations. initially there was a bit of complaining and eye rolling, but then they decided to pretend they were running an Italian restaurant and much hilarity ensued.  

a simple but delicious Easter breakfast of sausage links and storebought muffins

opening their Easter gift bags from Grammie

these bags were a gift for me to, as they kept the littles occupied while I prepped for Easter dinner!

helping Nana make the traditional bunny cake

Greta setting the table with panache. it was her idea to include the candlesticks (which were a wedding gift from our dear friends)

Nana and Cece dancing

Becca joined us for dinner. this year's menu: ham, BBQ meatballs, baked corn, caprese salad, deviled eggs, cocktail shrimp, fruit, charcuterie platter, and crescent rolls

Daddy's girl

the rainy weather forced our usual outside egg hunt indoors. after every last egg had been discovered, the girls set about comparing and trading their loot. 

I told Victoria she had had enough candy. she burrowed as far into her bucket as she could and kept sneaking candy, fully convinced that we had no idea what she was doing

with her beloved snakey, binky, and Nana's glasses (while Becca valiantly tackled the mountain of dishes!)

Cece's architectural creation

2) Nick's 40th Birthday. Nick's birthday itself fell on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter -- the busiest weekend of a church musician's life. since many of his good friends are church musicians too, we postponed his actual birthday party until May, but of course we had to celebrate at least a little bit! the girls helped me make his favourite chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, and Cece wrote a poem in his honor. this man gives so much of himself to our family, his work, and his friends -- I felt bad that his actual birthday wasn't too exciting, but also was sure that his party would make up for it and then some (and I was right!). 

in his happy place

3) Mary Poppins, JR. the spring musical this year was one of my favourite shows of all time, and Greta was cast as one of my favourite characters, the Bird Woman. her song "Feed the Birds" has always moved me to tears, and I knew hearing my daughter sing it on stage (while seven months pregnant) would definitely stir up the waterworks. when the cast list was released, though, Greta was not pleased. "I don't want to play an old hag!" we had many conversations about the importance of working hard and giving it her best even though she had hoped for a different part, and also about the reality that being cast in this part was an honor since she would have an entire song as a solo. she finally embraced the role and did an absolutely beautiful job. 

I learned for the first time this year that all of the sound and lights are run by students, and that the backstage crew is also students (including high school alumni of the school), responsible for the right students coming out on stage at the right time. knowing this made the production even more impressive! 

on opening night, Nick and I attended just the two of us. he reached for my hand when she came on stage, and dare I say, I was not the only one with wet eyes by the end of the song!  

I'm including two clips from two different shows. the first is from the Friday night performance (the second show) that I attended with Cece. I could hear just a bit of tension in her voice at the beginning of the song and then she relaxed into it and her voice just soared!

and here's a brief clip from their closing performance on Saturday. Victoria was fussing in my lap and I was trying desperately to shush her so apologies for the wonky camera work, but oh my goodness, Greta's voice is magical! one of the other parents came up to me after the last show and told me that he had come to all three performances and Greta's song was his favourite moment each time. her clear tone and precise rhythm remind me of one of my other favourite singers, my sister Kira. as of yet, Greta doesn't plan to follow in Auntie Kira's footsteps and pursue a musical theater degree, but I hope she continues to sing in some capacity into adulthood. 

and another clip from "Let's Go Fly a Kite". such a fun show!

curtain call -- she is front row left

apparently this one may also have a future on the stage...

4) St. Anthony's Chapel. we have been to this Pittsburgh treasure several times (including for Elizabeth, Victoria, and now George's baptisms), but never attended an official tour until now. Cecilia's catechism teacher arranged this for them and it was quite informative! Elizabeth and Victoria were full of shenanigans towards the end of the tour and I missed some of the talk while wrangling them in the back. if you're ever in the Pittsburgh area, it is well worth a visit!  the chapel contains over five thousand relics, as well as a unique set of lifesize wooden statues depicting the Stations of the Cross. 

each one of these medallions holds a fragment of bone or hair, or piece of fabric from clothes worn by a saint

Bonus Round:

more Antney's on a chilly day

a new princess outfit from Auntie Kira! (the shoes are mine...)

Cece perfecting her volleyball serve

on the hunt for costume pieces for the musical, Greta discovered this "preppy" organizer at the thrift store. 

sister snuggles in my body pillow

a patient left this mini Jesus in an exam room and the medical assistants kept hiding him around the office. one day he appeared on my computer!

can you even stand it?

"I see the moon!!!"

honing her soccer skills at daycare

bicycle brigade in our back alley

and then this plaintive text Nick sent me at work on a Monday, when Elizabeth and Victoria stay home with him (they go to daycare on Wednesdays and Fridays). just in case you thought it was all sunshine and roses over here!