Stanford-USC Tailgate

Such a fun weekend!  The Borchards (Joe's parents and his Aunt Martha and Uncle Tony) and my cousin (Charlie's godfather), Will, came up to stay the weekend and tailgate "in style" for the Stanford/SC game.  Joe's mom went ALL out ...I swear, she must've been cooking and preparing for this thing all week long...she brought up coolers (yes, multiple) of food...potato salad, homemade cookies, pumpkin cake, chicken salad, season tri-tips, sausage, chips, seven layer dip, chili beans....YUM!!  Joe was in heaven entertaining all of his buddies in Chuck Taylor Grove.  The kids and I lasted over there for about two hours...they had a ball, but it exhausted us all.  Ellie passed out cold on the walk home to the apartment!  I really do love my in-laws...they spoil us ROTTEN.  Thank you, Mimi.  By the way, how cute are the Stanford polo outfits Joe bought the kids for the game?!

Jewel Gypsy!

One of Joe's best Stanford football buddies sent Ellie a gift in the mail two days ago...a Disney Pretty Princess jewelry board game.  His card read: "Ellie, Happy Birthday.  Here's a game for you to play over and over and over again with Daddy."  She LOVES it!!!!!!  She's been totally occupied dressing herself up all day long over the past two days.  So funny, she really did make Joe wear an earring and her crown immediately upon opening the gift=).

Cake...Finally!

Well, we'd been practicing our candle-blowing all week long...in our toast, in our sandwiches, etc., and birthday dinner finally brought candles in CAKE!  I baked a birthday bomb for her (or for Joe, really...it was his request)...a pan of Ghiradelli brownies, with white chocolate chips, chocolate frosting, and rainbow sprinkles.  Mmmm!  We did the whole "Happy Birthday" song and cake with Grampy and Mahgie on iChat video.  It really was special.

The Jungle

Next on the birthday agenda was a trip to "The Jungle," a slightly cleaner, slightly fancier Chuck-e Cheese-type place in San Jose.  I took her by myself (with Charlie in the the Bjorn) while Joe was busy in class, and she had a BALL!  We didn't go until after their naps, so it was late afternoon, and didn't stay for much more than an hour...but that was ALL the time we needed at that place.  Ellie is still talking about "The Jungle" five days later.  Oh, and she ended up with a bloody lip within the first 30 seconds of her time there...she still loved it.  I'm a good mommy=).

Messy Morning

Just playing with her toys.  Holy Hurrican Ellie!

Happy Birthday to You, Ellie!

My baby officially entered her "Terrible Twos" this week!  We had such a nice day of celebrating as a family.  We had no big party, no family or friends in town; we just celebrated ourselves, and it was so special...much more fun and celebratory than I'd anticipated it being.  I set up her place setting extra special for breakfast with ever pretty princess thing I could think of...plus candles in her toast, of course.  She got to blow out her candles, open her gifts, and wear her crown...life was good.  Best gift EVER...a Dora sing-along DVD...talk about the best electronic babysitter EVER...if necessary, I can get a good hour of peace out of that thing!

Practice Makes Perfect!

Ellie turns TWO tomorrow!  So, we've started practicing the whole blowing out the candles bit...she's VERY into it.  It's pretty much all she talks about while she's in bed talking to herself, delaying her naps=).  We've been doing candles the past couple of mornings on her toast and cream cheese breakfast.  She has no idea how to blow yet, but we're working on it!...maybe by tomorrow night!

Sticker Faces

Ellie had a bit of fun with stickers the other afternoon...all over both of our faces.  She's getting to be so much fun to hang out with these days...funny, creative, busy and so smart.  She totally speaks in complete sentences all the time now, and I just can't believe some of the things that come out of her mouth.  Tonight, we went over to my cousin's house for dinner up here (Mark and Michelle Box), and Ellie bent down to greet their dog, Banjo, and said clear as a bell: "Hi Doggy, how's it goin'?"  Hah!

First Fashionable Haircut

How cute does my girl look?!  She just got the most expensive haircut of her little life...a whopping $23!!...I almost refused to take her once I saw the price.  It ended up being totally worth it, though...much better than the Super Cut specials I was getting.  Anna let me know that her hair was very much resembling a mullet, as of late...ouch!  So, we got her this stylish little bob; looks like a cross between Posh Spice and Matilda Ledger to me=).

No, Not Halloween...

No, this is not Ellie dressing up for Halloween.  This is just a normal morning in the Borchard household...that girl LOVES fashion....she just needs to refine her tastes a bit in the coming years.  On Anna's last morning here, she decided to "try on" all of her Auntie's dirty clothes...nice!

First Food

Charlie got his first taste of big-boy food this week....mmmm, rice cereal!  He's not really so sure about it all yet, as you can tell my that expression on his face.  We'll keep trying, though.  I'm hoping the extra weight in his belly will help him sleep through the night...wish me luck!  He kind of looks like his dad in this picture, doesn't he?!

Best Pals

Ellie and her Auntie Noni are such good buddies.  I've loved watching their special little friendship grow.

Visit to Aunt Barbara in Monterey

We visited Aunt Barbara, Haley and Ian the day after Halloween for some fun in Pacific Grove and at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Charlie LOVED cozying up on Barbara's couch to watch movies, while Ellie was a crazy, wild one at the Aquarium...ran around like a mad-woman!  The kids are still catching up on sleep post-Halloween/Monterey!!

Our 30 Seconds of Costumes

A big thank you to Ellie's and Charlie's Mimi for buying them their adorable costumes.  What a bummer they didn't last a bit longer.  At least in only takes a few seconds to catch the moment on film, though=)

Happy Halloween!

We had a ball this Halloween!  Auntie Noni was in town, and we all went down to Los Gatos to be with my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Sheila at their home.  The do it up in L.G!...you should've seen the decorations up and down their street...amazing!  Ellie liked the giant blow-up Tigger dressed as a pirate on somebody's front lawn best of all.  She still wakes up every day from her nap asking to go to "Tigger's House."  Ellie was a banana for Halloween, and Charlie was a giraffe...Charlie tolerated his costume for approximately 30 seconds, while Ellie stayed in hers for about three minutes.  Oh well!  E wore the giraffe head for most of the night at least.  She would not trick-or-treat, as the whole thing just scared the heck out of her.  The decorations were VERY scary, and when one of us would try to walk her down the street, she'd just bury her head in our necks and quiver all over.  Kind of sad.  Instead, she ate only candy for dinner and planted herself on Jerry's front porch all night long.  She LOVED handing out candy to all of the kids and wishing them a "Happy Halloween."  We adults enjoyed a relaxing night of beers, Mexican take-out, chocolate chip cookies, and the comfort of family.