Paws off the Easter eggs, Lulu

If you've ever wondered if dogs find Easter eggs appetizing, they do. Our dog helped herself to a few of ours. Or six.

It was like something out of a sitcom. We decorated our eggs -- Hope was a little more into it this year and Oscar just wanted to the lick the big, cold things we kept handing him -- and then I went to the store while they dried. Joel gave the kids a bath.

When I got back and started to dismantle our dye operation, I noticed how few eggs we had. We'd only dyed 13 eggs but I could only find seven on the table. I asked Joel if he'd already put some in the refrigerator. Or did he eat some? Nope and nope.

That left one big, fat dog as the culprit. And she was so stealth about it. Joel didn't hear a peep. No other eggs were tipped or tampered with. It was like six just vanished. She could've at least challenged us to a game of cracks before she scarfed 'em all down.

But aside from our egg-head dog, our Easter was really nice. We had a low-key Easter egg hunt in our family room and then went to my parents' house for brunch. The Easter Bunny hid Hope's basket in one of her favorite places these days -- in the bathroom atop the toilet seat. Disgusting, I know. But we -- ahem, the Easter Bunny -- wanted her to find it on her own and this kid loves the bathroom, especially lifting the toilet seat up and down repeatedly and throwing bath toys in it. The toilet is cool and cleanly for kids to play with, right?

Oscar's basket, meanwhile, was hid next to another hot spot around here: The diaper pail for soiled cloth diapers.

It's hard to believe that this year marked Hope's fourth Easter. She was so tiny on her first Easter -- not even 8 pounds yet -- that she fit she just fine in a regular size Easter basket.

Last year, I envisioned Hope being steady enough on her feet by this Easter that she'd be able to carry a basket and bend down and pick up eggs. But we're not there yet. She's not strong enough or coordinated to hold a basket, stop, bend down, pick an egg up, and put it in. But one thing at a time. This time last year, she still wasn't walking on her own. Hopefully we'll get there one day.

Lulu, meanwhile, seems to have had no problem digesting six eggs. She had some toxic gas but that's just a normal Sunday for a dog who will eat any bodily fluid. A tip, though: Steer clear of her kisses.