Dyeing Easter Eggs...Not As Easy As It Looks

Saturday night before Easter, we gathered all our ingredients we needed to dye Easter eggs :) I was probably the most excited out of the bunch because that's just how I get about every holiday. My family celebrated every holiday to its fullest and always made them feel very special. It's something I want to re-create with Eli :)

We started by boiling our Easter eggs. This was a job for Mommy only, but Eli was allowed to look at them as long as I held his hand. He saw the steam and said "hot", but still kept his hands to himself.



We went outside to play while the eggs were boiling. After Eli's bath, it was time for us to dye the eggs. Eli seemed to have picked up on my excitement and he was ready for this fun new activity. He helped me set out all the cups, fill them with water and vinegar, and place the coloring tablet in them.




Then the real fun began. The tablets didn't dissolve as fast as we wanted them to, so we helped them a little by stirring them. Eli loves to use a "poon" so he was more than happy to help with this part. I, on the other hand, was very nervous about it spilling all over the kitchen. Luckily that didn't happen, but Eli sure gave it his best shot! The tablets still didn't dissolve as fast as they should have, but Eli was sleepy and was starting to get cranky, so we decided to go ahead with the next step.




While we were waiting for the color to get just right, Eli and I used the "magic crayon" to write special messages on our eggs. Eli didn't like that he couldn't see the crayon right away, so he quickly lost interest in this activity. I think the crayon actually ended up across the room at one point. I guess he didn't like the fact that he couldn't see what he was writing right away. After retrieving the crayon, we decided that Eli had done all he could do to help with the dyeing process and that Josh and I would finish for him. It was time for a little boy to go "night-night."




We let Daddy be the creative one and while he was dyeing the remaining eggs, Eli and I read a book about the true meaning of Easter. I know he doesn't understand it now, but it is our hope and desire that one day, at an early age, he WILL understand it. We hope that he will realize that Easter isn't about a big bunny and colorful eggs, but that it's about the incredible sacrifice our Savior made for everyone, his miraculous resurrection, and the promise of his return one day. Those are the things we want to make sure we teach Eli.