Easter Bunny Charlie

Happy Easter!!  Auntie Noni arrived this past weekend with a treasure trove of Target 1$ Section toys for Ellie, as she does every time.  One of the gifts was a pair of bunny ears.  Anna plopped them on Charlie's head, and he could've cared less...he'd have worn them up there all day if Ellie hadn't insisted on snatching them back.  I am in LOVE with that little boy!

Daddy Got His Baseball Pictures

Spurred on by Uncle John getting the honor of Charlie's first baseball game, Joe had us meet him over at his stadium for some family pics with him in uniform.  There's a fabulous one of Joe and Ellie, but the rest are just so-so.  How in the world do you get two kiddos to look at the camera and smile at the same time?!  If only Ellie didn't look drugged in the one where they're both smiling and looking in the same direction.  Oh well!

Ellie "Elephant?!"

You always hear that toddlers and children, without fail, end up putting things in their nostrils, ear holes, etc; I just never really thought mine would do that.  I don't remember doing anything like that.  I do remember tasting my boogers in the back seat of Mom's car once, though.  Yuck.

I found Ellie like this the other night.  Yes, that is one blue dangly clip-on earring in one nostril and one pink dangly clip-on earring in the other nostril.  She was quick to inform me that she was an "elephant."  My first reaction was, "Huh?"  Oh, I get it...the earrings were her trunk!  Hah!

You Know Grammy's In Town When...

Your child gets to eat ice cream in bed!!  Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you.  That is Ellie's Mahgie feeding her an ice cream sandwich in bed, while reading her her bedtime stories.  Wow!

Uncle John's Game

On the second day my mom was here, we decided to make the treck to Tampa to see one of Uncle John's Spring Training games.  Ugh, we sat in traffic forever on the way there and were unable to stop for lunch or anything before we had to pick up Annie and her friend, Libby, before the game.  No big deal, except that sometimes my Terrible Two-Year Old can't handle situations like that.  For no apparent reason at all, she suddenly LOST IT right when Annie and Libby hopped into our car.  I mean LOST IT!...thrashing so badly in her car seat that she gave herself bruises and rope burn from the harnesses across her hips. Are you kidding me?!  So, I found the nearest parking lot, pulled in, snatched her out of that car seat, plopped her on the sidewalk outside of a Mexican market, and threatened to leave her there.  You should have heard the howling and seen the boogs and tears!  The ladies running the market even poked their heads around the door to peek on us and to make sure I wasn't abusing the wailing child.  I just looked at them with my frozen smile and said, "Lo siento.  Dos anos."  They smiled and nodded in understanding...and sympathy, I think, as the little girl with her mommy at the store brought out a paper towel for me to wipe my child's face with.

Meanwhile, Noni and Mahgie had driven off in my car to get Anna to John's game on time.  That brought on a whole new wave of wails from Eleanor: "Mahgie, Noni! Mahgie, Noni!  Come back!"  I told her that they'd be back but that this was what she had done.  Ooooh, nothing like guilt.  Once she finally calmed down, we walked into the Mexican market, bought a bag of Doritos, and sat out on the sidewalk like a couple of homeless bums eating our snack until Mahgie got back about 10 minutes later to bring us to the game.

Once we got to the game, both kids were perfect.  Phew!  Ellie just raced around, while Libby timed her running to the flowers and back, while Charlie just played with Annie's purse in the grass.  We made sure to take pictures, as this was officially Charlie's first ever baseball game.  His daddy was very jealous of Uncle John getting that honor when we got home and showed him the photos that evening.  Oops.  Joe then made sure to arrange a time and a place for us to meet him at his field the very next day to take pictures with him in his uniform.  Nothing like a bit of sibling rivalry!=)  See a later blog entry for those photos.

Shamu, Shamu!

My mom flew in on the red eye flight last Thursday night, arriving at around 5:30 AM here in Orlando on Friday morning.  Poor thing!  She was such a trouper, though, and we even ended up spending the entire day after her arrival at Sea World with the kids and Auntie Noni.  We had a ball.  That park really is spectacular...so clean, beautiful, not nearly as crowded as the Disney ones, and just fascinating.  Those whales are HUGE!  Ellie really enjoyed the shows, but it's hard to keep a toddler interested all the way through.  She really liked it when the trainers would get the crowd involved with dancing and chanting and stuff, though.  She's still walking around the house, waving her arms like they taught her, chanting, "Shamu! Shamu!"  Charlie and Noni just bonded all day long...she was the baby whisperer, putting him to sleep several times that day against her chest.  Too cute.

Potty Jealousy

Mahgie came into town for a long weekend!  It was such a wonderful trip...gosh, I love my mom!  She was such a HUGE help with the kids, she cleaned our house (and told me it was fun!), told me I am a good mom over and over, and just encouraged me to follow my instincts with my NASTY toddler.  She just left today, and I'm so sad about it, but I just feel so refreshed after her visit.  Thanks, Mom!  And boy, do those babies adore their Mahgie.  I love seeing their relationship with their grandparents grow.

In the first two days that Mom was here, she worked on the whole potty training bit with Ellie.  That only lasted two mornings, though, before Mom gave up, too.  That girl is just not ready, and she's so dang stubborn, that it will absolutely have to be on her terms.  Ugh!  One of Mom's many tactics was to try to make Ellie jealous of Charlie to get her to go pee-pee on the potty... hence, Charlie sitting on the toilet=).  It didn't work, but it was pretty funny to watch.

Favorite Activities These Days

These two kids have found their favorite activities of the moment.  Charlie LOVES to "play" with Ellie's doll house...i.e. topple it over onto himself, lay there like a lazy bum, and fiddle with the gadgets.  This drives Ellie nuts, because it knock off all of her goodies, which she has placed just so.  Aaaah, the wonders of teaching a two-year old to share with her pesky baby brother!

And Ellie has discovered the fountains in the cute little town of Celebration.  Whether clothed or in a swim suit, she LOVES to get soaked out there with all of the other kids.  It took some time getting used to, though.  Her first day out there, she walked right into the center of the circle while the fountain was collecting water and wasn't spraying...and then, every spigot suddenly turned on, aimed straight at her, and absolutely PUMMELED her!  I sat there frozen for a second, then tossed my phone, and ran in to get her in my jeans and white T-shirt.  Nice.  She got adjusted to the whole thing in time, though, and now when we just drive or walk by the darn fountain, she whines for it like a labrador retriever driving by a park.

Just Hangin' Together

These two are getting to be so sweet together these days.  Charlie ADORES his sister, and she's actually starting to consider his feelings here and there...she even has a special rattle in her backpack of toys for the car/stroller that she's designated as his (she pulls it out and forces it on him every time).  Bath time is the highlight of their every day (or every other day=))....though about five minutes in, Ellie usually tells me: "Charlie want to get out now."  I think she can't "swim" as well with him taking up so much space.

The first picture is the funniest, though.  Yes, Miss Eleanor is wearing her Mommy's lingerie... two pairs of thong undies and two bras.  She even knows just how to wear  the undies properly!  I was desperate to finish blow drying my hair, both of them had woken up from a nap, and I needed to find a way to entertain each of them...Charlie got Daddy's bungy chord, while Ellie got Mommy's fancy panties.  Hey, whatever works!  And check out those thighs on that baby boy!... those are some healthy, porky gams.

Ride the Momma

Any time Joe or I ends up on the floor for some reason, Ellie rushes over to us, hops on our back, and informs us that she's going to ride "the horsey."  I can't remember what brought the tears on in this picture, but trust me, she was having fun.  This was anything but Ellie Torture; Mommy Torture??...maybe=).

Scary Movie Face

So, finally, "Pretty Ariel" (yes, "The Little Mermaid") has officially run its course in the Borchard family Chevy Tahoe.  Because I've listened to that movie approximately 257 times all the way through, you'd think I'd be dancing a celebration jig that Ellie has moved on.  No, you are very wrong.  BECAUSE, Ellie has now become obsessed with a very low-budget early 1980's "Care Bears" movie I found at Target for $4.99.  It's much shorter than a full-length Disney movie, too, so in the 3 weeks that she's been watching this one, I've already listened to it all the way through about 300 times!  

On a much lighter, more forgiving note, however, she is TOO cute when she watches this "Care Bear" movie.  She sings jibberish along to every single song and recites lines left and right all the way through it.  This picture captures the face she makes EVERY time she sees the "scary" scene at the beginning with the dragon.

Any movie suggestions out there for a 2 year old?...keep my ears in mind=).

Siesta Time

This afternoon, while I was inside the house cleaning up, I left the sliding glass door to the backyard open so that Ellie could come in and out as she pleased.  She LOVES carrying around the pool skimmer and dragging the hose around out there.  Fun times.  Today, though, I caught this moment where all she did for half an hour was pretend to sleep on the door mat outside the house.  She snuggled up with her blankie and her little plastic queen doll and kept telling me: "Good night, Mommy; Good morning, Mommy."  

Too many minutes later, I found out why she'd been so sweet and still out there for so long...the diarrhea is back!...in a big way.  YUCK!  A bath soon ensued.  Wish me luck.

Potty Practice

Ellie has been down and out the past few days with a nasty stomach/intestinal bug.  With all of the accidents I've been cleaning up...can't even begin to count how many loads of laundry I've done and how many beds I've made up...I've been desperate to get her to go on the potty instead of in her pants.  Gosh, you should see the diaper rash she's sporting around with right now, too!  She did lots of practicing on the potty for me the other morning; still, though, no positive results.  She gets that diaper back on, and bam!, potty she goes.  I'm guessing she's just not ready.  Gotta give myself some credit, though; I mean look at how much fun I make sitting on the potty...crayons, paper; it's craft time!

Poof!

This was hilarious.  The other day, I was changing Ellie's diaper downstairs when she asked me if she could hold onto the baby powder.  It's her new favorite thing...whatever...last time it was the booger bulb (you know that thing they give you at the hospital to suck out their mouth and nose goodies?)...yeah, she walked around carrying that thing for a week like she was holding a golden egg, and she kept calling it her "special gift."  Hmmmm.  Back to the powder.  So I handed it to her, but I forgot to screw the cap back on; she immediately went down on her back, shoved it in her face, and POOF!! This was the result.  She didn't flinch, cry, nothing.  I think she liked it and sort of felt pretty.  Geisha girl maybe??

"Playing House" Together

I caught Ellie and Charlie happily playing together again yesterday.  It's amazing to watch them grow as siblings; they've gone from mostly playing side-by-side to now sometimes playing with the same toy and interacting a bit.  I really do hope they end up as good of friends as my sister and I are.  I'm so not looking forward to that inevitable stage all siblings go through, though, of constant bickering, "Mommy, she's touching me"- issues, etc.  Already, you should see Ellie slap that hand away with a blood-curdling screech when Charlie innocently reaches over to touch his "sweet" sister in the car!  We're off to a fine start.

Snuggling with the Stomach Flu

Ellie and I are both a bit under the weather with a nasty stomach bug.  I was feeling so rotten the other night that I spent most of the evening on the couch wrapped up in our favorite blankie, which Ellie fondly refers to as "Cozy Cozy."  I was just sitting there, enjoying being miserable, when she decided that she had to get in on some snuggle action...she crawled right up onto the couch, shimmied under the blanket, and wiggled her way right into my armpit for some cuddles.  As you can see by the look on my face, it certainly brightened my yucky evening.

We're Big on the Graham Crackers These Days

Both kids are WAY into graham crackers these days.  I swear, Charlie can eat an entire cracker (4 squares!) all in one quick sitting!  I make him sit on a blankie now, though, as his slobber-soaked mushy crumbs get all over the place.  And yes, my son is wearing a pink and purple bib.  He will definitely be well in touch with his feminine side as he ages. 

Kids Say the Darndest Things!

I think my daughter has been hanging out with Spicoli from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" lately.  She's got this surfer-speak that has just come out of left field, and it is cracking us up.  Just yesterday, we were leaving the gym, when a car pulled out in front of us and I had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting him.  Since the guy ended up stopping halfway in the middle turn lane and halfway in my lane, I honked at him to let him know to go ahead.  I could tell that the whole thing sort of scared Ellie; right away, though, she just said to me: "Mommy, th-th-that was a bum ride!"  A "bum ride?!"  Are you kidding me?!  Where in the world did she learn that phrase?  And no, I did not mistake what she was saying, as she has said the very same phrase several times since then.  These kiddos make me laugh all day every day.

Big Girl Cup!

As I wrote in an earlier posting, we had visitors staying with us over the past couple of days.  Brady and Kamryn, Ellie's new best buddies, are 2 and 4 years old, and are already masters at drinking out of real (that is, non-sippy) cups.  So, inspired by the bigger kids, Ellie just HAD to figure the whole thing out for herself.  You have no idea how hard it is for me to relinquish control and to let her have at it, just knowing that major messes are inevitable.  I'm working on it.  Really, she's got the whole sipping thing down; she just sometimes forgets between sips that you can't just run around or tip upside down a full cup of liquid at whim.  Oh, calm my poor control-freak heart, please.

Just Some Afternoon Fun

Ellie and I had the best afternoon together today while Charlie was napping.  All we did really was hang out, but she was just so sweet, affectionate, and fun to watch entertain herself for those two hours.  She was wearing a new outfit from her Mimi that is absolutely darling but that, without a doubt, makes her look like she totally belongs in a Miami retirement community.  It just sealed the deal when she insisted on wearing her pink visor all morning long on top of the whole get-up.  too cute.  

And yes, in case you were wondering, my daughter really DOES stand that close to the screen when she watches TV...EVERY time.

Charlie's First Boy Toy...Wahoo!

Get a load of that baby's face...is that true bliss, or what?!  

The baby sitters at the gym here in Orlando informed me that Charlie LOVES to play with anything with wheels when he's there with them in daycare.  Poor guy's been stuck playing with Barbies, crowns, and anything pink for the past few months.  When I told Joe about his love for wheels, we were immediately off to Target that afternoon to buy Charlie's first Tonka Truck.  I think it made Joe's month!

Guess it's finally time to start investing in a few boy toys here and there for our little man.  

Brady and Ellie Sittin' in a Tree....

We have some dear baseball friends of ours (Kevin and Aimee Walker and their two kiddos, Kamryn and Brady) staying with us for a couple of days in Orlando.  All of the kids have really hit it off, but Ellie definitely has a serious soft spot for that Brady.  Two separate times tonight, she just jumped up onto the couch where Brady was lounging to snuggle up to him for some cuddle time.  Too cute.  Look at that guy...darling!...Elle-Belle's got some good taste.  I'm thinking Eleanor Walker sounds quite nice=).  

Vroom, Vroom!

I can't get enough of these grocery cart pictures.  It cracks me up when we put the two of them in there and they both start spinning the steering wheels simultaneously, like they're actually driving the thing.  I swear, at almost 8 months old, Charlie has totally got the driving thing down already!  The discovery of these car carts has completely and totally changed my grocery store experience...MUCH smoother...that is, until Charlie starts trying to "steal" (well, really just swipe at) whatever snack Ellie is munching on.