When Dora Babysits

Today I needed to catch up on work. I have several emails and voicemails that need to be returned, as well as making a hotel reservation for a 2 night stay for a training the next couple days. If I didn't start I wasn't going to get everything done today. Plus, nap time always corresponds with most offices lunch hour. I was checking on the girls between each call. The second time I came out to check, this is what I found. (Did I mention I am mother of the year??) What a little monkey. And just in case anyone is wondering, the huge bump on her forehead is from running into the corner of the utencil drawer, not from falling off the table. She actually stayed off it when I got her down.

HOT-lanta!

This weekend was the Hinman Dental Convention in Atlanta. Tom had to be there Wednesday, so we had girl's time with Daddy gone. The night before Tom left we were trying to get everything ready so we had a late dinner. The girls were entertaining themselves in their favorite place, the pantry, while we were finishing cooking. Ella calls the pantry her office. Audrey follows her everywhere so she loves to go in there too. I opened the door to find them raiding the Girl Scout Cookies. I couldn't help but laugh since it was our own fault they were starving!!

Early the next morning we had to take Tom to the airport really early. I went to grab my planner that has all my credit cards and my driver's license. I couldn't find it anywhere. We left for the airport and I searched the whole house and NOTHING. The girls and I were heading down to Atlanta to meet Tom on Friday and I had no money!! Or License!! I hurried and cancelled my cards so that I could get replacements overnighted, then hurried to get a replacement license. Thursday I had a training, but it gave me a day to get credit cards.

Friday morning we got up and headed to Atlanta. The girls did a remarkable job traveling. The girls started to get a little tired of the car about 2 hours into the drive (halfway) so I found a McDonald's sign thinking I would let them run around and get some food at the same time. Of course, I found the only McDonald's WITHOUT a playground. It was still rather early for lunch around 11, so they charmed all the old people also out traveling. They danced around the restaurant for a good half hour.....literally. Thank goodness they are cute and several of the other diners clapped for them. We got to Atlanta and I realized that I left the camera home! Oh well. Tom was still working, so we went across the street from our hotel over to Olympic Park. We played in the Ring fountains, trying to avoid the spouts of water. We didn't get wet besides mist but it sure was fun for the girls. They played for a couple hours.

Saturday we planned to go to the Aquarium. We were within easy walking distance. I got there and it was insane!!! There were Disney-like lines. It would have taken us an hour or more in line just to get tickets and then they were selling tickets for a few hours out. I should have planned ahead and bought online, but with young kids that tends to bite you later. Olympic Park has a great playground area though, so I took the girls there and we played for a few hours then they played with toys in the field area and just ran and ran. They were loving the great weather and being outside. After the show, we loaded up and headed home. It was a little harder drive home. Part of the freeway was shut down so Audrey was not having a great time. We sang lots of "Wheels on the Bus" and "Old McDonald". It settled her down pretty quickly. I think on a whole, the girls really did a great job traveling. It gives me hope for our long flights to Las Vegas in June and Utah in July.

Ella's imagination kept her entertained the entire trip. Lately Ella has her hands in fists almost constantly. She does everything with her thumb and first finger while keeping the other three clenched. She has imaginary things she is constantly holding. Sometimes it is a jaguar (thanks Diego), some type of food, etc. If you ask her to open her hand to hold your hand, she will take her imaginary item out of one hand and juggle it to the other hand. HILARIOUS! Today she was squatting down and I asked her if she was pooping. She told me "No mommy. I am sitting on a blue chair. Do you want to sit?" She stood up, turned around, picked up her "chair", walked it over to me and put it down in front of me. Her imagination is always running. Add that to her photographic memory and she is a crack up. Which brings us back to Ella's office in the pantry. I decided to clean it out today and in a corner I found my missing planner. I needed a new driver's license anyway. My other one had my old address. I guess she really was playing WORK this time.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Well, we pulled out the green for St. Patrick's Day. I didn't realize my girls had so little green in their wardrobes. Thank goodness it warmed up enough to wear spring clothes or they wouldn't have had ANYTHING to wear. Ella's dress is an India dress that Lorilee handed down, so thanks Erik and Lorilee for contributing to our holiday spirit. We already had Corned Beef and Cabbage for dinner on Sunday, so we have just been celebrating by enjoying the nice weather and playing outside most of the day.

I haven't posted a lot lately because I haven't taken many pictures lately. I haven't taken many pictures because Audrey is a poster child for an abused child. Ella took forever to walk, but never fell. Audrey falls all the time and still has not learned to catch herself with her hands, so everything is face first. This week she had a bruise on each cheek, one over her eye, and a scrape on her chin. I am afraid it will be a while before we are able to take professional pictures again. Maybe her lack of coordination can be attributed to her lack of sleep. She is teething right now so she is up 4-5 times a night. Ella has been up once or twice a night too. (She is teething as well, both girls are getting molars in.) This has made one tired mom and dad.

Last Sunday we got to church early enough to get a pew and we decided to sit on the last row. Ella was sitting on my lap and Audrey was playing to the side of us. Ella was playing this game where she would cover my eyes and say "You can't see me". It was keeping her quiet during the sacrament, so I went along. Then she reached over and covered Tom's eyes too. Audrey chose that moment to be an acrobat and went head first over the pew. Because it was the last row, she went right to the floor. Our only warning was the gasp from the Priest who was standing by the door who tried to catch her. So much for being quiet during the sacrament. She was fine within a couple minutes. Tom and I sometimes wonder if she can feel pain. Her bump over her eye is from smacking her head on our headboard while trying to get comfortable. (After waking up 4 times I brought her into our bed.) She didn't even wake up. So if we get arrested for child abuse, someone bail us out.

The girls are starting to get to a stage where they are really fun. They have started to hold hand when they walk places. Sometimes only Ella finds this fun. She is becoming a really good big sister. She tries to guide Audrey the right way and explain why she can't have something. Last week when it was warm she kept finding Daisy and grabbing her collar and bringing her back to the yard. And good Daisy for following since she is more then 30 lbs heavier then Ella. I know most moms are sad to see their babies grow up, but I am enjoying seeing them get more independence and be more responsible. As tired and cranky as I have been lately they really are amazing girls with the biggest sweetest hearts. We are going to Altanta later this week. Tom is going to a tradeshow and I am bringing the girls down towards the end of the show and we will go to the Aquarium and swimming while Tom is working. I would really like to get them out and show them some of the great things to do on the East Coast. So wish me luck on the trip. Hopefully I will get a better nights sleep before I make that drive!

Driver's Ed

This weekend was GORGEOUS in Charlotte. Friday we.....meaning Tom.... cleaned out the garage. Saturday he also cleaned both our cars. The girls loved playing in them while Tom was cleaning.

Audrey making sure the seat belt works.

Both girls buckled up for their "ride".

Audrey's manic steering. She drives like her mom.

Sunday I subbed in Nursery so Audrey got to come play with all the "big" kids. Between playing hard and having late church so no nap, she was exhausted and didn't even make it to the freeway enterance before falling asleep. She was so cute I couldn't help but snap this photo.

I thought I would also include a few Ella-isms for the week.

On Friday our friend Kelly was watching the girls. I went to pick them up and as I was strapping Audrey in her carseat, I noticed Ella was still at the bottom of the driveway. Their driveway has a slight slope, VERY slight. Ella started yelling at me "Mom, come help me!". I turned to ask her why and she said "I can't get up this MOUNTAIN! It is super high. Help! Help!" I couldn't stop laughing. My dream of taking them to Stuart Falls this summer was dashed in that one conversation.

Last night about a half hour after putting the girls to bed, I heard Ella screaming. I was going to ignore her but she has been pooping and taking off her diaper and throwing it over the crib, so I thought I should go see what was the matter. She had obviously woken from her sleep and was still halfway asleep. I asked what was wrong and she said "I's scared". I asked what she was scared of and she told me "I's scared pirates are coming to get me." Hummmmmm. I am not aware of her watching any pirates except an episode of Dora with pirate piggies, but they are nice. When I told Tom he said that pirates ARE scary.......

The Ella Dictionary

Ella speaks a lot. Too much most of the time. She is a typical girl. BUT, there are a few things that may require a translator, so here I am....

Bear Milk -

Pediasure

It has a picture of a bear on it. She got addicted back in the non-eating days and I needed something that would give her nutrional value. It is a full meal substitute and rather expensive. Now that she eats, she still insists on having Bear Milk, so I add a few drops to her regular old whole milk.

Monkey Milk -

Nutripals by Pediasure

It has a picture of a Monkey inline skating. This is Pediasure, but not a full meal substitute. It is does have a lot of the same nutients, but you couldn't totally replace a meal with it. It is quite a bit cheaper though so we are trying to get her to like Monkey Milk. I also just add this to her regular old whole milk.

Tiger Cereal -

Frosted Flakes

Who doesn't love Tony the Tiger. She has always had a thing for Tigers anyway, so that is probably what motivated this new fascination with frosted flakes. This is her new favorite food. She wants it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Princess Dress - This is obviously any dress, the more frilly the better. But it can also be dressy shirts that she thinks constitute as a "dress". So you may have a princess dress with jeans. Pink being her favorite. T-shirts DO NOT PASS for a Princess Dress.

Pink Treats -

Pink M&Ms

These were bought to be potty treats but she has not been too good about that, so they have become the best way to bribe her to do ANYTHING.

I am sure I will think of some more as soon as I post, but you never know when you will need your Ella dictionary.

Family Fun

Last week our neighbors, Todd and Alana and AJ moved out. They are moving up to Boston. We are going to miss them. AJ is about 3 weeks younger then Ella and their dog Sox plays with Daisy. For those of you that don't know Sox, she doesn't really like strangers, so having the movers there was driving everyone crazy. The movers got done earlier then expected so Sox stayed with us part of the week. The girls LOVE Sox. (We call her Sox-ey) They would wake up and look for her.

One night Tom pulled out the guitar and the girls started dancing around. They are fascinated with the guitar and music. Tom figured out how to play "Twinkle Twinkle Littel Star" for Ella. She sings it at the top of her lungs most of the day every day. Of course she says it "Tinkle Tinkle Little Star". I wish she would Tinkle. Potty training is pretty much at a standstill. I put her on her potty and she will just sit there and wait until I put the diaper back on to go. Anyway, back to the music. Tom's most prized possession is his guitar. He loves it. I was really surprised that he let the girls play with it with him, especially since Ella had a graham cracker. I guess that tells you what his true most prized possessions are.

It started raining on Friday so we took the girls to Monkey Joe's. They are all these big blown-up bounce house type toys. They have a whole section for Mini-Monkey's and the girls had a great time. They were running around all over the place. When I was taking Ella to one of the jumpy areas she took my face in her hands and said "I loves this house. Let's come play here every days." Unfortunately I left the camera at home for that trip. It rained all Saturday as well, and most of Sunday. Sunday afternoon the rain turned to snow. It kept up most of the night. We had Paige and Curtis over for dinner and as it was snowing it started to lightening and thunder. Apparently this is a SUPER uncommon experience. They had people from the weather channel documenting it. I decided to take a picture comparing the amount of snow from this snow storm and the last one in Feburary. They were taken about the same time into the storm. It continued to snow though so I didn't get all the snow on the current picture. The picture on the left is the Feb. storm, the picture on the right is last night's.

Since my kids hate the snow we are going to be indoors for the next two days. By Thursday we are going to be back in the 60's though. What crazy weather!!!