Letting go of her mother’s hand, a girl skipped past pink, purple and yellow pastel Easter eggs to a person in an Easter bunny costume.
She hopped onto the bunny’s green upholstered chair, tilted her head and smiled at the camera.
With his dark blue coat and fluffy tail, the Easter bunny stopped by Saturday — 15 days early — at College Mall’s center court to take photos with children and families. The bunny will continue to take photos with families until April 15.
The girl’s mother, Melissa Schroyer, said she has brought her daughter to take photos with the Easter Bunny every year since she was a baby. Now, photos with the Easter bunny have become a tradition.
“It’s part of the Easter lineup for us,” Schroyer said. “We do an Easter egg hunt, have a family dinner, and now we take pictures with the Easter bunny.”
Schroyer’s daughter jumped off the Easter bunny’s lap and looked at the yellow basket of dum-dums beside him. She took three. Then she walked back to her mother after one last wave to the Easter bunny.
“She wasn’t always this calm about it,” Schroyer said with a laugh. “She cried the first time.”
Schroyer pulled off her daughter’s headband and replaced it with a pair of white paper bunny ears. Then they walked off to explore the rest of mall.
“She gets older every year,” Schroyer said. “These are going to be some great mementos to hold onto when she gets older.”
Next in line was 8-month-old Eliana Vilches. Her mother fiddled with Eliana’s pink frilly dress and plopped her onto the Easter bunny’s lap.
Her mother sat on her right, and her father knelt on the left with her brother, Enzo Vilches.
But Eliana didn’t look at the camera. Instead, she was too busy staring at the Easter bunny’s face. The photographer rang a bell to get her attention. Eliana looked at the bell for a second then turned back to the bunny.
“Well, that didn’t work,” Carlos Vilches, Eliana’s father, said.
Meanwhile, 2-year-old Enzo looked at the Easter bunny and cried. He also cried when he met Santa Clause and Mickey Mouse, Carlos said.
“I think he just doesn’t like the whole costume thing,” Carlos said. “But it’s kind of funny to see his reactions.”
As a result, Carlos said he never forces Enzo to sit on the Easter bunny’s lap. Eliana, on the other hand, is happy to, he said.
“She’s just cool with whatever,” Carlos said. “You give her to anyone, and she’d just be like ‘alright, that’s cool.’ It’s funny to see the differences in their personalities.”
Carlos said the photos with the Easter bunny will be snapshots of memories that he’ll be able to hold onto as his children get older.
“They grow up so fast, so we really want to take lots of photos to remember how they were every step of the way,” Carlos said. “And it’ll be fun to tease them about it when they’re older.”
After Carlos left, two children leaned over the rope fence.
“I’m not going to take a picture, but can I have a hug?” one said.
The Easter bunny got up and hugged both children.
“Hi, Easter bunny,” the first child said.
The Easter bunny waved.
“How are you?” the other one said.
The bunny responded with two furry thumbs up.
