let's get this story straight...

Pico: soft like a bunny, mean as a snake (R.I.P. - sniff)

So, now that Ave is 2 1/2 years old, he is able to grasp the concept of holidays – well, not the ACTUAL meaning – but the fun fairy tales we grown ups like create to make the day more exciting. Which brings me to the easter bunny...what's his deal again?

How does he get in your house? Does he leave the child a basket or fill one up left out for him, much like a stocking? Does he just leave eggs hidden in the yard and the child fills an otherwise empty basket?

The easter bunny who visited me was a very crafty rabbit. He left little notes out containing clues, each leading to another note and clue. He led me out to the mailbox and under the floor mats in the car. The final clue, of course, led me to the hidden easter basket.

A few other years he used string. It wound all through the house – under the sofa and over steep ledges. Along the string journey were little chocolate eggs to collect.

I never questioned it. We only children are more naive and gullible than the rest, you see. It wasn't until I caught my parents, via the rearview mirror, loading a large chocolate bunny in the trunk of our car that I ever questioned the existence of a generous oversized rabbit. Oh, and I still believed in Santa until the fifth grade.

Anyhow, so I'm fine tuning my easter bunny story for Ave this year. I told him we need to find a basket to leave out for the bunny, so we've been scavenging through the many baskets at my parents' house to find the perfect one. So far, Ave has settled on a petite square storage basket with no handle. Hey, it's not traditional, but it'll work.

I plan on putting his main gift and a couple treats in the basket and letting him hunt for the rest, but I haven't decided whether we're going to do it outdoors or not. Regardless, I do plan on having him prepare and leave out a plate of carrots on the front porch to attract the bunny to our house.

So, what do you guys do? Am I overthinking this tradition?