*Will, RJ and their kids celebrate Easter with family! Thank you to BrianBadgerMay for helping me write this! Enjoy! Love • Bree 🐰🐇*
Today is Easter in the Shepherd-Aguiar household!
For a lot of families, Easter is a very religious holiday but for the Shepherd-Aguiar's it's just a fun day to spend with family, eat lots of yummy food and candy and have fun!
Right now, Will, RJ, Karen and the kids are getting up for the day!
Theodore, Harlow and Luca are hanging out in the playroom while RJ and Karen are getting Arya and Oliver's diapers changed. Averie and Coralei are sitting in Coralei's bedroom watching a YouTube video.
Will is holding Luci while they walk over to Benji's bedroom, he is the last one to be awake since he loves his sleep. He used to be an early bird but now that he's a preteen that has changed.
"Let's go wake up Benji, Luci! Let's go!" Will says as Luci babbles and claps her hands.
Will knocks on Benji's bedroom door before he slowly opens it. Benji is still fast asleep in bed causing Will to chuckle.
Will and Luci walk over to Benji's bed and sit on the end of it.
Benji felt the weight change in his bed and stirs in the sleep, causing Will to smile. Benji then sits up in his bed.
"Hey bubba, good morning." Will says to Benji and Benji yawns.
"Hi." Benji says softly.
"Hello. You don't have to get up but your siblings, Papi, Nana and I are going to head downstairs because the Easter Bunny came. We are going open the baskets." Will says to Benji.
Benji is the only child that knows the Easter Bunny isn't real but he knows not to say anything to any of his younger siblings.
"I'm coming." Benji says as he rubs his eyes.
"Okay, take your time." Will says, kissing Benji's forehead.
Luci waves at Benji and Benji smiles, waving back at Luci.
"Aww, are you waving at Benji? He's waving back at you, baby." Will says as Luci babbles.
Luci looks at her big brother in adoration, trying to understand what the words fully mean.
Benji gets out of bed and stretches his arms, which makes the baby laugh.
"Is that funny?" Benji says jokingly, letting out a laugh too, not expecting a reply.
The three of them go around the other rooms of the hours to get the others to come downstairs.
Luci begins to hide her face in Will because she's a bit overwhelmed by the bright sun and the noises.
"It's okay, Luci, it's okay." Will reassures her, letting her hide to calm down.
"We are going to see what's in the baskets. The Easter Bunny came to our house." Will explains softly with a smile.
"The Easter Bunny came to our house! YAY!" Coralei and Averie both yell in excitement.
"Woah! The Easter Bunny ate the carrots!" Theodore says as he looks at the empty plate.
"He sure did, Teddy!" Karen says with a big grin.
Luca and Harlow both run over to look into their now full Easter baskets, and everyone else follows and sits down.
*Benji, Coralei, Averie, Theodore, Harlow, Luca, Luci, Arya and Oliver's Easter baskets*
"Baket!" Luca says happily.
"Baa!" Arya and Oliver both clap their hands.
"The Easter baskets have your names on it, so make sure you have the right one!" Will says, making sure all of the kids have the correct Easter basket.
"We will open those, yes! Easter baskets for everyone!" RJ agrees and gets his phone out to take pictures.
"You can all do it whenever you feel ready." Will tells the kids, and Luca, Harlow, Theodore, and Arya and Oliver - with the help of RJ and Karen - start doing the activity.
The littlest kids didn't get much candy but books instead, along with soft toys.
RJ takes a few pictures and then Benji, Coralei and Averie find toys and candies in their Easter baskets.
Luci finally reaches into her basket, surprised to find a stuffed animal and several other baby things.
"You see those? Wow, that's amazing. Here's a toy bunny." Will holds the toy out, and the second youngest girl nods, taking it happily.
"Oh my goodness, Luci! What's that?" Karen says as she shows Luci the small book.
"Ooo, a book! A touch and feel one! How fun!" Will says as Luci begins to look at the book.
"You have other things in here, baby!" RJ says as he holds Luci's Easter basket in front of her.
This is Luci's first ever Easter she has celebrated with a family so Will and RJ want to make sure it's special!
"I got stickers!" Averie says with excitement.
"Wow! That's awesome, Avy!" Karen says to Averie as Oliver crawls on her.
"I got nail polish!" Coralei gets excited.
"Me too!" Averie cheers happily.
"Me thwree!" Harlow says as she jumps up and down.
"We can paint our nails together one day!" Will says as Luci continues to hold her bunny and book
Arya and Oliver begin to play with their toys and giggle loudly.
"Papi, open dis pwease?" Luca says, wanting RJ to open a pack of jelly beans.
"We are going to have breakfast first and then we are all going to get dressed!" RJ explains to Luca.
"Otay!" Luca says, kinda sad he can't have his candy at this moment.
"Can we eat our candy later, Daddy and Papi?" Harlow asks RJ and Will.
"Yeah, We can have our candy later! After we look through our baskets we are going eat some breakfast and then get dressed! We are going to have an Easter egg hunt later when Mallory, Josie, Davis and Myles." Will says as the kids cheer happily
"Aaa!" Luci says as she kicks her legs happily.
"Yeah! Happy first Easter with us, Luci! And happy first Easter, Arya and Oli!" Will says as he takes pictures of the kids.
"What did you get Benji?" Karen asks Benji.
"Cologne, candy and gift cards." Benji says with a big grin.
"Cologne! The Easter Bunny gives that now?" Karen asks as he looks at Will and RJ.
"He's a preteen, mom! You'll be surprised what happens in middle school now." Will says to Karen.
-
Soon, all of the kids and babies have looked through their baskets and the older kids have put their treats and such in their bedrooms.
RJ cleaned up Arya, Oliver, Luca and Luci's Easter things so they won't break or have the dogs get into them by being left on the floor.
Luci kept the soft toy bunny in her hands, liking the texture. She also stayed in Will's arms, clinging to him.
"Someone is a Daddy's girl, hmm?" Will asks.
Karen and RJ meanwhile start cooking breakfast, which is pancakes made with eggs, milk and chia seeds for extra protein rather than protein powder, and fruit. Oatmeal for the babies, with fruit.
"I'm gonna paint my nails before the egg hunt." Coralei announces, and her sisters except for Arya comment that they want to as well.
"Me too!" Luca says, excitedly.
"Yes, we will paint yours, too!" Averie promises.
The family eats their lovely pancakes and fruit, looking forward to the fun day.
Luci pushes her raspberries and apple slices away, instead only eating the oatmeal.
"Does she not like apples? Or berries?" Theodore asks curiously.
"Maybe not! But that's okay, she's eating banana slices and oatmeal. She'll be fine. She is learning how to ear different foods just like Arya and Oliver." RJ says as he feeds Luci another bite.
-
And after the food and some candy gets eaten, they all go to their rooms to get dressed.
When RJ gets Luci dressed, she fusses.
"What's wrong, baby?" RJ wonders, noticing how she cried after touching a pair of socks.
"She hates socks but these are the kind that Carrie got for her and she seems to not mind them." Will says to RJ before he finds them in Luci's drawer.
"There you go! Daddy found your favorite socks!" RJ says as Luci babbles.
Just then, Arya and Oliver crawl into Will and RJ's bedroom, screeching happily.
*Benji, Coralei, Averie, Theodore and Harlow's Easter outfits*
*Luca, Luci, Arya and Oliver's Easter outfits*
"Hello, twins! Hello! Did you two escape, Nana?" RJ asks Arya and Oliver in a babyfied voice as he manages to pick both babies up and sit them on the bed.
"You got them?" Karen says from the hallway, looking for the babies.
"Yes, we got them!" RJ says with a smile at his mother-in-law.
Karen smiles and then goes in to help Harlow and Luca get dressed.
Luci covers her ears with her hands when the twins are babbling much louder than she is, but she isn't crying.
"Huh, I didn't know that she knew how to do that," Will says observantly.
"That's good, though." Will says.
"I've seen it a few times." RJ admits as he fixes Arya and Oliver's outfits.
Meanwhile, Luca and Harlow are happily getting dressed, with Karen's help. Harlow, being a bit older, doesn't need as much assistance.
"Don't you two look pretty! Good job." Karen compliments, brushing Luca's hair.
All of the other kids are also getting dressed, which doesn't take long.
Averie runs into Benji's room with a hairbrush and elastic bands in her grasp, asking for help doing her hair.
"Sure, I'll try my best! How do you want it done, Aves?" The preteen asks.
"In pigtails, please!" Averie answers eagerly.
Benji nods and gently styles his sister's hair, showing her in the mirror.
"So pretty! I love it! Thanks!" Averie giggles.
"You're welcome!" Benji smiles.
Soon enough, everybody's dressed and ready, so now, Averie, Coralei, Harlow and Luca are getting their nails painted. Benji is also helping so it gets done sooner.
"Pretty nails! I love them!" Karen says to the kids with a grin.
"Do you want yours painted, Nana?" Coralei asks Karen, causing Karen to smile at her granddaughter kindness.
Since losing Hank, Karen hasn't truly been herself and is grieving hard. But for the past almost three months of being with Will, RJ and the kids has given her so much joy and love, slowly healing her broken heart.
"No, I already have polish on mine. Thank you for asking though, that was very sweet." Karen says to Coralei happily.
Arya and Oliver are happily watching a Miss Rachel video along with Luci so they are occupied but also learning while Will and RJ get the back yard ready for the egg hunt!
"Mallory, Josie, Davis and Myles are on the way!" Will says as he comes back in the house with Dobby, Sammy and Astrid.
Will then walks in the living room and sees three content little ones happily enjoying Miss Rachel.
Arya and Oliver crawl over to the couch and both stand up, holding onto the couch.
"Which one of you will walk first? Hmm?" Will asks the twins playfully, causing both of them to screech happily and smile.
Meanwhile, Luci gets in a position to crawl and slowly crawls over to Will. This has been a skill that Will and RJ have been working hard with Luci to learn so she can be independent some way.
"Great job, Luci! Come this way! You are doing it, yay!" Will says as he takes a small video of Luci crawling.
"I knew you would get it! Great job, baby! Now we need to help you to stand and walk but one milestone at a time right?" Will says as he picks up Luci and Luci flaps her hands happily.
"She's crawling?" Karen asks as she walks over to check on the babies since RJ is now with the older kids in the dining room.
"She is! Slowly but surely!" Will says proudly.
"And these two are standing! So many milestones!" Karen says as she takes a picture of Arya and Oliver in their outfits and standing.
"I just hope Luci catches up." Will whispers, worrying that Luci won't be like her peers.
When Will and RJ brought Luci home, they knew she had some delays and since then have been working hard with many therapists to get the therapy she needs to catch up.
"She'll catch up, sweety. Her brain is just different and that's okay! She has accomplished so many milestones since being here. She's crawling, she's starting to babble, she's eating a lot better! She has two parents who love and adores her and has eight siblings who love her. She's such a lucky girl." Karen says as she picks up Luci from Will.
"Nine siblings, mom." Will says, pointing to his small baby bump.
"A baby brother on the way." Karen says with a chuckle.
Luci allows Karen to hold her for a moment, but has a slight issue with someone she barely knows, she also is overwhelmed by the scent of perfume and so she cries out.
Karen isn't offended at all by this; she understands.
"I'm sorry, baby." Karen says quietly.
"It's all right." Will gently takes Luci back in his arms and she calms down.
Then the little girl chooses to practice crawling more, staying near her daddy and occasionally looking up at him to make sure he's still there.
"I'm here, Luci. I'm not going anywhere without you." Will assures the toddler, looking down at her.
Arya and Oliver are bouncing up and down, practicing their leg strength, and looking around at everything colorful.
Luci smiles at her younger siblings and touches the couch with her hands, sitting there but not standing.
"Good job, Luci! You're getting there." Karen encourages.
Luci babbles in response, getting used to her grandmother.
"She loves her Nana. Don't you?" Will asks Luci as he holds her close.
"I know you are still getting used to all of us. You have been here almost two months! Yay!" Karen says as Luci giggles.
"I can't believe she's been here two months. She has advanced so much." Will says as he carefully fixed Luci's little hair bow.
"She sure has!" Karen says proudly as she smiles at Luci.
"Aaaaa!" Arya and Oliver both screech loudly.
"We see you two! We see you two!" Will says to the twins.
"Are you two up to no good?" Karen says playfully.
"Cora, Avy, Luca and Harlow want to show all of you their nails!" RJ says happily as he walks over.
"Ooh, let's go see! Come on." Will says out loud, as he and Luci, Karen, Arya, Oliver and RJ go to the main room to see the other kids.
Luca spins around excitedly as everyone walks in, then he runs up to Will.
"Daddy! Wook!" Luca says loudly, holding out his hands.
"Wow! That's beautiful! Who did them?" Will asks with a grin.
"Cora!" Luca giggles.
"Bubba did mine!" Harlow shows her family her orange colored nails.
Averie and Luca both have blue nail polish, dotted with white for a polka-dotted look, and Coralei has hers lavender colored, with hearts.
"Benji did the hearts on my nails! He's good at it!" Coralei says.
"Yeah! They turned out pretty!" Benji smiles, lifting his little brother Theodore into his arms playfully, which Teddy laughs happily.
Oliver stares at the colors of the nail polish and points at it.
"Me! Me be itty!" Oliver requests.
"Ya! Me!" Arya agrees.
"You two are too little for nail polish, sillies!
You're already pretty, Oli." RJ chuckles.
"In a few years you can have some." Will says to the twins.
RJ throws Oliver in the air, causing him to squeal loudly. Arya lays her head on Karen's shoulder.
"Did you do your nails, Benji?" Karen asks Benji and he shakes his head no.
"No, not today! Maybe next time." Benji says with a smile.
"Luci needs her nails painted!" Harlow yells happily.
"No, I dont think she'll like that. Not yet anyway. She doesn't like her hands touched." Will explains to Harlow.
"But she let Daddy put a bow in her hair, and she looks so pretty!" RJ says as Luci squeaks happily.
"Did the Easter Bunny bring toys and treats for Dobby, Sammy and Astrid?" Averie asks RJ and Will as she twirls around.
"He did! They have a basket right there and they all got a new bone." RJ says to Averie.
"Oh, that's good! The Easter Bunny doesn't forget our pets!" Averie says, seeming happy with the answer.
Sammy wags his tail and chews on a new dog toy contently.
Theodore meanwhile looks out the window, waiting for their guests to arrive.
"What're you looking at, Teddy?" Benji asks and looks over as well.
"The window! For everyone coming over!"
Theodore replies.
"They'll be here very soon, Will tells them, taking Oliver. "Traffic takes a while."
-
A few more minutes pass, then the doorbell rings.
RJ goes to answer it, now holding Luci. She didn't like being alone. Karen follows, still holding Arya.
"Mallory, Josie, Davis and Myles are here!" RJ calls out and opens the door.
"Hello! Come on in!" Karen invites the four inside.
"Hi! Thank you! Wow, everything looks great!"
Mallory smiles and waves.
"Hello!" Davis greets and jumps excitedly.
Luci glances at the strangers hesitantly, keeping her hands on RJ's shoulders for security.
"Oh, beautiful outfits! And look how big you are, Arya!" Mallory says to the younger baby.
"Yeah!" Arya giggles.
"Hi! I'm so excited for today!" Myles shouts, which makes Luci cover her ears again.
"Hey!" Karen says with a big grin as Josie, Davis and Myles hug her.
"Hi, Auntie Karen!" Josie, Davis and Myles all say in unison.
"Hey, Auntie Karen! It's so good to see you." Mallory says hugging her aunt.
Mallory then gets lots of hugs from Benji, Coralei, Averie, Theodore, Harlow and Luca.
"Hi, Oli! Hi!" Mallory says to Oliver as he claps his hands and smiles at her.
"Look, Luci! There's your cousins! Mallory, Josie, Davis and Myles! It's your first time to see all of them!" RJ says as Luci hides her face.
"Hi, Luci! Hi, pretty girl! It's so nice to meet you!" Mallory says softly to Luci as she holds Luci's hand.
Luci lets Mallory hold her hand for a few seconds, then quickly pulls it away. She puts both hands on her new toy bunny, which one of her siblings had brought to her.
"She's a little shy, not very used to people yet." RJ speaks just as softly, telling the baby again that things were okay.
"Ah." Luci babbles to RJ, as if understanding.
"Oh, that's fine. So nice, though. You are a sweety, Luci." Mallory nods.
Oliver coos and looks down at his cousins, loving to talk and hear them. He liked people.
"Can we do the egg hunt now? Please?" Davis asks, a little quieter than before.
"Sure! Who's ready to do the Easter Egg hunt?" Will asks all of the kids.
"MEEEEE!" Benji, Josie, Coralei, Averie, Davis, Theodore, Harlow, Luca and Myles all cheer loudly.
"Aaaaa!" Arya and Oliver yell happily.
"Are you ready too, Luci? Your first ever Easter Egg Hunt! Ari and Oil's too!" RJ says as Luci smiles.
Everyone goes outside, where, unbeknownst to the kids, RJ and Will had hidden plastic eggs all around the yard.
All the kids get their empty Easter baskets and start searching. RJ is still holding Luci, to help her move around.
Arya is carried by Will, and Oliver by his oldest brother Benji.
And the other kids run around talking joyfully as they place eggs in their baskets.
"Bwue!" Oliver reaches for the blue egg, taking it.
"Yes! It's blue." Benji giggles.
Luci sees a green colored one and easily puts it in her basket, once she gets her fingers grasped onto it.
"Good job!" RJ says with encouragement.
"Look! I found a pink one hidden in da tree!" Myles laughs.
"This egg was in a flower pot!" Josie smiles, very keen.
"Whoa!" Averie says to Josie.
Arya grabs two at the same time, laughing because that was funny to her.
"Guys, make sure there are eggs left for the little kids!" Mallory says to the older kids, making sure things are fair.
"Aaa!" Luci screeches happily.
"You got another one!" RJ says as he cheers at Luci.
"I can hold him, Benji. Go get some eggs for yourself too!" Karen says as she takes Oliver for Benji.
Will let's Arya crawl around in the grass and she finds another egg.
"I found one in the sandbox!" Theodore says as he giggles.
"Look right there Luca! What's that?" Mallory says helping Luca out.
"Dats a big egg!" Luca says picking up a yellow egg.
"Harlow, look!" Karen says with a smile.
"Oooo! Dis is wainbow!" Harlow says as she jumps up and down.
"Are you having fun, Luci?" Will asks Luci and Luci babbles.
"It looks like it! Yay Luci! Yay Arya! Yay Oliver!" Mallory says as she cheers at the littlest kids.
Benji easily finds some Easter eggs to put in his own basket now, having a good time.
All the kids enjoy finding eggs for about an hour or two, and once there aren't any more to find, everybody goes back inside.
"That was so much fun!" Theodore smiles widely.
"It was! You guys are good at finding eggs!" Karen smiles too.
"I think the babies liked it too!" Will mentions.
Luci holds one of the eggs and opens it up, finding confetti inside.
"Woah! Look at that, Luci!" RJ says as Luci babbles.
Benji, Josie, Coralei, Averie, Davis, Theodore, Harlow, Myles and Luca all sit on the floor together and they begin to open their eggs to find confetti, treats or money.
"I'm going to make a meal that Grandma Janice use to make for Easter!" Karen says with a big smile.
All of the kids begin to play with their toys or color on the floor while Arya and Oliver took a much needed nap.
"I know you are sleepy, Luci girl." Mallory says as she holds Luci in her lap.
"She hates naps, I'm not sure why. But she'll fall asleep eventually." Will says as to his cousin.
"Maybe it's just harder for her to. Too noisy or something. Or she doesn't like to be alone." Mallory suggests.
"Maybe so. But that's fine." Will shrugs, watching Luci play with a toy in her hands.
Karen begins cooking, while RJ cleans up a few things here and there so nothing gets lost. He looks at their second youngest daughter.
"No sleep again, huh?" RJ says.
Luci looks up at RJ and shakes her head, not wanting a nap.
"I know you are sleepy baby." RJ says as Luci begins to fuss.
RJ picks up Luci and holds her close, calming her down. RJ then begins to rub her back softly,
"Aww, she's a Papi and Daddy's girl huh?" Mallory says, causing RJ and Will to both smile.
"Very much!" RJ and Will both say causing Mallory to chuckle.
"Mostly a Daddy's girl, lately. All day pretty much today." RJ adds on.
Luci pulls her bow out of her hair and hands it to RJ, then points at her bunny.
"You want the bow on your bunny?" RJ savs gently, and she nods, so he does put it on.
"You are so smart, Luci! Yes, you are!" Mallory says in a babyfied tone causing Luci to babbles.
"Luca Everett, what's in your mouth?" Will says, catching Luca eating something.
"Chocowate." Luca says with a guilty smile.
"I know you love chocolate but it's dinner time. Nana is making us some pasta, mmm! So don't have anymore chocolate okay? I don't want you to have a tummy ache." Will says to Luca.
"Otay, Daddy!" Luca says, hugging Will.
Will hugs Luca in return, then leans back into his seat as the little boy runs away to go do a different task.
-
Not too much later, Karen has finished cooking the entree and sides for dinner and calls everyone to wash up and come to the table.
All the kids and adults do so, and each sit down at the nicely decorated and set table.
"The food looks so delicious, Nana!" Benji says happily.
"Thank you! It does look tasty." Karen smiles.
"And it smells good too!" Josie says and smiles as well.
The babies get food on their plates first, then toddlers, then everyone else gets served.
Arya and Oliver happily feed themselves with some assistance from Mallory and RJ while Will is helping Luci.
"Mmm! Is it yummy, Luci? Is Nana's pasta yummy?" Will says as Luci happily continues to eat.
"Now look at that, she is eating so good!" Karen says proudly.
"I think we found a favorite food for her! Nana's cooking is good, isn't it baby?" RJ says as Luci smiles.
"She also really loves oatmeal and blueberries. Nothing too crunchy." Will gives Lucille another bite of pasta with minimal sauce.
Arya and Oliver have sauce all over themselves, unlike Luci.
All of the other kids are very much enjoying their food, Coralei giving Luca some Jell-O salad to try.
Luca takes a bite, "Mmm! Yummy!" He declares.
"Yeah! This has.. What does it have again?"
Coralei asks RJ.
"It's made with orange Jell-o, and it has pineapple and shredded carrots in it!" RJ
answers.
"I wonder if Luci would like it," Will thinks. "We can give her a bit to try."
"Luci, do you wanna try this? Mmm!" RJ says to Luci and Luci looks at the Jell-O salad.
"Give her a bite. Let's see if she'll like it." Will says softly.
RJ carefully gives Luci a small bite of the Jell-O salad.
Luci smiles instantly, making a humming noise in joy. She points at the spoon and Jell-O salad.
"Ooh, I think she does!" RJ smiles too.
"Mo," Lucille requests more happily.
RJ gives the toddler a slightly bigger bite, happy that she's eating.
After dinner, Will, RJ, Karen, Mallory, Benji, Josie, Coralei, Averie, Theodore, Davis, Harlow, Myles, Luca, Luci, Arya and Oliver all hang out for the rest of the night!
Will, RJ, Benji, Coralei, Averie, Theodore, Harlow, Luca, Luci, Arya and Oliver all had a wonderful Easter! :)
*Picture of Arya, RJ, Oliver, Coralei, Harlow, Luca, Theodore, Benji, Averie, Will and Luci. RJ is holding Arya and Oliver while Will is holding Luci*
shep689 happy easter everyone! we hope all of you have a wonderful day! 😊🐇
*Picture of Arya, Oliver and Luci all sitting on a blanket together. All of them are smiling*
shep689 Ari and Oli's first ever Easter while it's Luci's first Easter with us!
they look like triplets here because they are all the same size 😅
*Picture of Josie, Will, Davis, Mallory, Myles and Karen all standing together*
shep689 it is so nice to have Mallory, her kids and my mom in town to visit! 🥺😇
*Picture of Arya, RJ, Oliver, Coralei, Harlow, Luca, Theodore, Benji, Averie, Will and Luci. RJ is holding Arya and Oliver while Will is holding Luci*
damnitrj Happy Jesus yeeted out of tomb day from our family to yours! 🐇🍫
*Picture of Davis, RJ, Mallory, Myles, Will and Josie all standing together*
damnitrj Thanks for visiting @malloryhalday, Josie, Davis and Myles! ☺️
*Picture of a selfie of Karen and she is smiling*
shep689mom Happy Easter! I had a wonderful Easter with my son @shep689, son-in-law @damnitrj and my nine grandchildren - Benjamin, Coralei, Averie, Theodore, Harlow, Luca, Lucille, Arya and Oliver!
*Picture of Josie, Myles, Harlow, Luca, Coralei, Arya, Averie, Luci, Theodore, Benji, Oliver and Davis all sitting together on a blanket*
shep689mom I am so happy to have my grandkids plus @malloryhalday's kids for Easter today!