The cardboard box...elevated

You know the old saying "the cardboard box makes the best toy." Well, I suppose after you have kids, you realize that this is too true. Then, you realize that because you are married to an architect it takes on a whole new meaning...

I ordered a console table for our dining room and it arrived on Saturday in a pretty big, but pretty flat box. It doesn't take much to get Lillie's little mind going, probably because she KNOWS Dad will take on the challenge. "Dad, let's make a house out of the box." Now I'm thinking "that's gonna be a tough one, the box is pretty flat." Ha! What do I know? Apparently nothing when it comes to constructing houses out of boxes (and it's packing content). Below you will see the house that has been established in our living room. I really don't see how I'm going to get rid of this. I guess (maybe) when we give the girls their new inflatable playhouse for Christmas. Oh well, what can you do. At least the girls "play nice" most of the time together in it.

You will notice the portable DVD player inside. This was Pat's addition to the home on Sunday. Yes, Sunday. I'll let you figure out why he might have put that in there.

One more thing. Yes, you do see a pink Christmas tree in the house. Lillie purchased this tree at Target with a gift card she got for her birthday (Thanks, Becky!). I never realized what joy a pink, lighted tree could bring to a 4 year old little girl. (BTW, Lillie insisted that Charlotte HAD to have a purple one just like it. That one is upstairs in the hallway.) Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, how lovely are thy pink branches!

A very creepy...no...croupy Halloween

We have had our share of colds these last few weeks... tis the season! I'm pretty sure if I could I would detach my head and hose it out.

I took Charlotte to the doctor last Friday when it sounded as if she had turned into a seal. Cough, cough, bark, bark. Turns out my little girl had croup. A quick steroid shot to reduce the inflammation in her throat and that's it. Saturday she was miserable. Nothing could make her happy which is quite odd for Charlotte. And she wasn't eating too much... bad sign. She would not even entertain the notion of putting on a costume. She hung out with me to pass out candy while Lillie, Pat, and our neighbors (Carter, Declan, Dad, Uncle, and Aunt) went trick-or-treating. I felt Pat and Lillie were in safe hands as you will see in the photos below.

Lillie and Carter had a blast from what I hear. Taking turns knocking on doors, screaming "TRICK OR TREAT!!" as loud as they could. It is amazing how things change in a year. Last Halloween Lillie was too scared to go up to any one's door, much less whisper "trick or treat".

Here are some pictures of Lillie and Carter and my little candy thief (sick or not, she knows the good stuff!)

A Spider Story

Today Lillie celebrated Halloween with her friends at school. She brought home a story that I just have to share. The class learned about spiders this week (for obvious reasons) and to bring it full circle the class wrote "A Spider Story". Lillie and her 12 other friends each contributed a line or two and here is the result:

Once upon a time there was a spider. He was making a web. The spider built a bridge and then it started crawling on the floor. He went to sleep. He built a bed in a tree and when he woke up he didn't have his mommy. She had been to the store. She had a really giant pumpkin and it was tall. Then they went to the grocery store and got milk; they had a cup of milk. They climbed up on the table to drink it. Then spider and his mommy went out and played and they were hanging on the end of a string. They played and then they took a nap.
The End

Happy Halloween everyone!

Happy Birthday... now here's your shots!

Last Wednesday, October 7 Lillie turned the big #4. Since then we have successfully ditched the pacifiers for bed and taken down the safety railing on her bed. Yea! Really, both were done without any tantrums or anything. Kind of weird, but I'll take it!

We celebrated Lillie's birthday on the big day with friends, pizza, strawberry cake (it's pink, you know!), and some general craziness which is bound to happen with 13 little people running around. It was great! Here are some pictures to capture the day...

Lillie practiced blowing out the candles once-oops.

Lillie's friends...



The day after Lillie's birthday we took a trip to the doctor. We picked up Lillie from preschool and took her directly there. She was fine in the waiting room...until they called her name. We got her in the doctor's office, she screamed at the nurse who really just wanted to measure and weigh her, poor nurse. She settled down, read the eye chart like a pro and let the doctor check ears, eyes, etc. etc. Then the dreaded question - "we can go home now, right?" Well, no, not quite yet.
The nurse came in with 3 shots: 2 boosters and the flu shot. All I can say is that I am SURE that Lillie scared the jeepers out of every kid still in that waiting room. And somehow I ended up being the one hold her arms while the nurse gave her the shots. Thanks, Pat. I was so drained after that trip I really needed a drink...but off to tennis I went. I guess we're done with that for another year.

Our little Charlotte is doing great. She has now figured out how to climb the stairs--great. She is a pretty good listener and won't really take off by herself... too much. When she is not chasing big sis around the house, she still likes to just roll around on the floor. Especially the kitchen floor. Here she is just having a ball.

Learning to sit

This week marks the second week of Lillie starting preschool in the 4 year old class. Monday through Thursday Mom gets a little break... really a BIG break because Charlotte naps during this time, too. So glad I kept Lillie in the afternoon class. For a while I had her on a waiting list for the AM session. It seems I make several "not so good" decisions as a Mom, but I nailed this one!
Charlotte is really becoming her own little person and pretty much a complete opposite of Lillie at this age. Fearless and pretty competitive for a 16 month old. This past week she mastered the task of sitting. Whether it is on a step, on a stool at the park, on a curb, on the heater covers in the house... you get the idea. As I watched her at the park last week I thought how wonderful it was that she was totally happy and amazed at her new-found ability to bend the knees, back up until her bum touched the stool and then sit. Get up, walk about 4 steps and repeat.
Here are some recent pictures of the two lovelies - first day of school, at the park, at Celtic Fest in Grant Park, and at home. Happy Fall everyone!

Logic

Lillie, Charlotte and I ventured to Lincoln Park Zoo yesterday. Another perfectly gorgeous day to be out and about. I thought for sure Lillie would get tuckered out and take a nap (she got up very early for her, around 6:45am). Nope.
They had a great time at the zoo. This was Charlotte's first time this year. She loved it, but screamed her head off every time I told her she could not get in and swim with the fish, the seals, the polar bear... She can't get enough of the water and apparently it doesn't matter who (or what) is swimming in it.
So no nap for Lillie means a "touchy" afternoon and evening. Generally she gets goofy, runs around the house, has a great time until you tell her she can't do something.
Here's how it went:
Lillie: (at 5:45pm)"Mom, let's go outside."
Mom: "We can't right now. I have to make your dinner. Do you still want turkey and cheese sandwich and soup?"
Lillie: "Yes, but can we PLEASE go outside?"
Mom: "Not now."
Lillie: "AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" (and runs upstairs to her room)
5 minutes later...
Lillie: "Mom, I changed my mind. I want a hotdog for dinner. Can you grill it outside for me?"
Mom:"A hotdog? Grilled outside?"
Lillie: "Yes. And since you can't leave us in the house, we'll just come out with you until the hotdogs are done. That a good idea?"

I mean, what do you say to that except "Hotdogs it is! Let's go!"

A different kind of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

This summer in Chicago has been a little goofy in terms of weather. Not super hot, kind of a lot of rain, not like any other summer in Chicago that I remember. So, it seems that these last couple of weeks before preschool starts again I feel under some sort of pressure to do some more fun "summer" stuff.
Yesterday, we ventured down to Millennium Park to the Family Fun tent with our neighbors (you know him as Flash from the previous post). The gist of the Family Fun tent is this: 10am concert for the kids: Old MacDonald, Twinkle Twinkle, ABC's, the usual kid songs sung by ONE person playing A guitar. After that, just fun stuff for kids to do- color, build with blocks, hula hoop, etc.
Lillie had a rough start. She wanted to just "go play". I told her we should sit and listen to the music (which, generally, she LOVES music) and then we'd go play. Nope. Crying, crying, more crying. Then plugs her ears and says that music is too loud. We go outside, make it through and eventually go play. Here is Lillie and Charlotte having fun with Flash at "the bean" and the fountains.



Lillie has always been very sensitive to loud sounds: public toilets flushing, those ridiculous "xcelerator" hand blowers, sirens, fireworks, etc. So, you can imagine my surprise when we walk to grab some hotdogs for lunch by the bandshell... the music playing was LOUD. The music is described as Experimental/Indie/Rock. My neighbor said, "is Lillie going to be OK with this?" I said "hmmm... I don't know..." then to my surprise I look at her sitting in the stroller and she is "banging" her head to the beat, totally in a zone. Then she said "I feel like dancing." Oh, Lillie. If you really want to hear it, check it out http://www.myspace.com/algernonmusic then you have to imagine it live and much, much louder.
Maybe the Charlie Brown Christmas CD in her room is a total cover up. I'd better check under her bed... or in her drawers... for her real stash of music.

Saving the World One Twirl at a Time!

We are so fortunate living here in Beverly to be surrounded with such wonderful neighbors and friends. Little did I realize until a couple of weeks ago, however, that we do have a resident superhero a few doors down... Flash. I know. Who knew? Right here in Beverly. Wow.
Well, Flash (aka Carter) and Lillie often get together to play and lately it has been all superheros, all the time. So last week, Flash came over. On this particular day, I could only address him as Flash... Carter was not here. I told Lillie that should could be "Super Princess" not really thinking it would stick. It did. During their time together, they had a few challenges with the "bad guys". Here is my favorite dialogue that I overheard:
Flash: "Look, Lillie! It's the Joker!"
Princess Lillie: "Oh no! Let's get him!"
Flash: "Ok, I'll zap him (makes a zapping sound)!"
Princess Lillie: "Ok, and I'll twirl! Watch this Flash! (continues twirling until she falls down)"
Let's hope that if the Joker (or other bad guy) tries to take over the world we either have a lot of "zapping" goin' on or there are so many Super Princesses twirling, he smothers in silk and ruffles.
"Super Princess! Saving the World One Twirl at a Time!"

Here is Lillie with Dad in her Super Princess outfit...and Bears jersey underneath for a little extra power.

And then I looked down.

Today was a day when I reflected on my prior life in the working world and laughed at the littlest things (they seem that way now...) that would embarrass me: forgetting "work" shoes and having to wear Uggs in the office, realizing the black tights you thought you put on were actually navy blue, forgetting to put eyeliner on and having everyone say "you look tired today."
Now, as a Mom who is happy if she remembers both kids and all the stuff that goes with them when leaving the house things take on a new light.
I decided not to go to the pool today because Lillie's cheeks are a little pink from yesterday so a break from too much sun is good. We headed out the door this morning to hit the "grand opening" of a Marshall's (don't laugh!) and then to Target to get Aloe, batteries, etc. Halfway through Marshall's I think, why do my shoes feel weird? And then I looked down. Not exactly what I had in mind to complete the outfit this morning. Go State.

So next time when you see someone that seems to have lost their fashion sense, look around. Are there little people with him or her? They could very well be the culprit.

Sand, Sun, Sand, Fun, Sand, Friends, Sand, Lunch...Sand

Get the picture? After I type this post, I'm sure I will have to vaccuum some sand from the keyboard...we hit the beach today with friends for some fun in the sun. It was a wonderfully sunny day with a chilly (brrrr!) breeze off the lake. That didn't stop Charlotte from charging into the lake to tackle the waves. She loved it. I finally had to bribe her with potato chips to get her out...after I noticed her feet were blue! Yes, Lake Michigan is a little crisp these days.

"Mom, I need my goggles. I'm going to go jump in the waves." Uh-huh. Ok, Lillie. Needless to say, this is as close to jumping in waves as she got.

Lillie spent the majority of her time looking for seashells and digging for treasure. We found lots of seashells, not so lucky with the treasure. She also got to experience 2 fly-bys...seagulls and practice runs for the air and water show this weekend. Needless to say, she was not thrilled with either. "Mom, are the seagulls going to land on me?" "No, Lillie, of course not." This was truly one of those times that I crossed my fingers and hoped I was right. Those gulls were relentless!

For those that are around Charlotte, you know that instead of crawling she scoots on her bum. Not the best way to get around at the beach...at least for Mom that has to...well...figure out how to get her clean enough for the ride home. Charlotte's bum had a full exfoliation today, thanks to South Shore beach.

Now, who needs a nap?

Slip Slidin' Away...

Yesterday was Lillie's friend Jack's 4th birthday! We enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous day at McGuffage Water Park. Never heard of it...? It's a private club by invitation only. We are just lucky enough to know the owners :-).
Charlotte simply enjoyed being sprayed by the sprinkler and kicking around in the pools. Lillie and friends gave the slip-n-slide a try and had a ball. Here are some pictures of the day...

And your Delta Tau Chi name is...

"Bruiser" (aka Charlotte).
Charlotte is now officially walking... and falling. I really don't remember Lillie falling this much and in such a violent-looking way. Poor Charlotte is sporting a bruise on both sides of her forehead which she manages to fall on every single time. Short of wrapping her head in bubble wrap or having her wear a helmet I am trying to take it all in stride (no pun intended). I put some shoes on her today which seems to help with her thinking she can suddenly run. She now has a marching-type walk but is a little more "careful". She is determined. However, since she never crawled she is not quite sure how to 1) catch herself with her hands when she falls and 2) get up after she falls. Following up on #2, her first word is now "up" which she says with out-stretched arms.
And, I find it so funny that as soon as kids figure out they can walk, they think they can do ANYTHING while they are walking... like eat some oatmeal. Oh, Charlotte.

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Whew! I guess it's been a while since I have updated what's going on in Borzenskiland. Well, much like everyone else around here, June was quite a disappointment in terms of weather. At one point, I really felt like I should pull out my Bears jersey... is it football season already?
Everyone is doing well. Patrick completed his Madison to Chicago run with his team, the "Magellan Men". They finished 7th overall with a time of 24 hours, 30 minutes. Not too shabby ;-). The winners finished in just over 21 hours to give you an idea of what "fast" is in such a race. Of course, I had no idea (until Patrick was safely home) that this is somewhat of an outdoor endurance race. He failed to tell me (probably a good thing) that they were sent out to run their leg with a map, a headlamp (if running at night), and they had to take their cell phone... just in case they got lost and had to call for their team to come and get them. Since this is now behind him, he is starting his training for his upcoming triathlon. Bike before work, swim at lunch, work somewhere in between all the fun... All sarcasm aside, we are extremely proud of him and it is amazing how much he has accomplished these past few years.
We have managed one trip to Michigan so far this summer to visit all the family that was available. Here are Pat, Lillie, and Lillie's cousin Wesley enjoying some fantastic weather and just having fun. First, a friendly game of tag. Being a beginner at the game Lillie would say "You're it, Wes-el-ly! Now tag me!"


Patrick and Lillie getting their toes wet.

You'll notice you don't see Charlotte in any of these pictures. She was sleeping pretty much the whole time at Aunt Kim's. At least that's what she led us to believe...but here she is (at home) playing a little diddy on the piano.

We hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th! The West family - Kellie Jo, Mark, and Emmie Grace - joined us here in Chicago. Me, being the wonderful Mom I am forgot to take my camera to any of our outings. As soon as I get the pictures from Kellie (no pressure, KJ), I will be sure to enlighten all of you.

Run, Pat, Run... oh, and bike a little too

So Patrick is venturing off on Thursday morning to participate in the MC200. What's the MC200 you ask? Madison to Chicago 200 mile relay. No, that wasn't a typo... 200 miles. Patrick will be part of a team of 11 running, running, running all day and night. And, instead of riding in a van all the way up to Madison, Pat will be biking approximately 80 miles. Go. Pat. Go.
They will arrive back in Chicago sometime on Saturday and then he will be able to take a breather BEFORE... the Wilmette 1/2 marathon on Sunday. So, when you are sitting around on Saturday thinking "Man, I'm tired and need a nap", think of Pat, get off your butt and do something! :-)
If you get a chance, please send him some good wishes, luck, love, whatever!

Happy Birthday, Charlotte!

So our little baby turned 1 this past Friday - sigh. Grandma and Grandpa Hammonds came in for the weekend to celebrate with us. We were fortunate to have an absolutely beautiful day for the party. Thank goodness, because entertaining 10 kiddies inside a house can be a little tricky...especially when you throw in 20 adults, too. Actually, the kids entertain themselves, it's the adults you have to worry about. The Borzenski clan (Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Meghan and Uncle Brian) also drove in for the day.

Here are the "warm-up" pictures from Friday...



And pictures from the big bash- friends, family, food, good times!

I Flip...

...for moments like this.

To preclude this awesome gift, I found out this week that I will be getting video capabilities on my G1 phone in the next couple of weeks. After sharing this news with Pat his reaction was "Great! That is awesome!" I should've known something was up because normally it would be a simple "Really, that's nice." Anyway, Pat and the girls got me a Flip video recorder. A cute (yep, cute!) little video recorder for moments like these. (And, no, Lillie was not prompted!! )

Happy Mother's Day!

To all my fellow mommies out there... this one is for you. Pay no attention to the cinematography. Holding an 11 month old (because she will not let anyone else hold her) and video-taping is a little tricky. Enjoy the show! (PS- this is an .mp4 video and ignore the watermark, I'm still deciding which one I want to buy...)

Lillie's Garden

For the past few weeks, Lillie has been in a "Go Green" extra class at her preschool. This class takes her up to 4 days a week which she seems to like...and, ok... so does Mom. She has been planting seeds in this class including 3 Gladiolus, tomatoes, basil, sunflowers (the "mammoth" variety), and strawberries. Here is her hard work paying off. My window sill is packed, but it is fantastic!

The theme of the class is simply learning about earth's resources, how to grow your own plants, how to recycle, etc. So after a trip to the outlet mall, Lillie came up with a little recycling project of her own. Hey, they fit and should be quite waterproof... introducing Gap plastic shorts! I think this should be #11 on the "Top 10 ways to reuse this bag" list printed on plastic shopping bags!

We have also been enjoying the nice weather as it appears in April and May in Chicago. Here are the girls having some backyard fun. We are planning on enrolling Lillie in her first golf "lessons" this summer. I think she's getting the hang of it..I'm just envisioning Charlotte with golf ball dimples imprinted on her forehead at some point this summer for getting in the way.




And speaking of Charlotte... in just 16 days she will be 1! Hard to believe. She has chosen to scoot herself around on her bum to get around. She is getting quite good at it. She has also given up her walker for the holding of Mom's and Dad's fingers and walking around. This type of activity is OK for a 5'4" Mom, not so good for a 6'3" Dad.

67 at 100.8

Happy Easter!
Lillie successfully found 67 of the 70 eggs that Pat and I... oops, I mean the Easter Bunny... hid last night. Lillie felt a little warm this morning when she got up and I thought maybe she was just a little hot from being under her blankets, etc. Then, she refused a donut, a bunny cookie, and chocolate for breakfast. Something is off. I took her temp and she has a little fever of 100.8. Poor thing. Both her and Charlotte are napping now, Pat's at mass, and I recovered the card reader for the camera so I can actually update our poor blog AND post pictures.
Here are a few of the girls and their baskets, Lillie hunting (not "finding" as she pointed out several times!)for eggs, and Charlotte trying to keep up! Charlotte wasted no time digging in to her basket and seemed like an old pro!





You Gotta Be Quick!
Yesterday was a cool, breezy, spring day. PERFECT for an Easter Egg hunt in a local park. Let me tell you, it was pretty cut-throat from what I remember as a kid. Ok, that was a looooong time ago, but still! By the time Lillie pointed to the egg she wanted- poof! - gone! Swooped up by another little person (or a squirrel as you'll see). Man, they are quick- the kids that is! I guess Lillie doesn't quite have that competitive spirit yet. It was a fun time and Lillie and Meghan seemed absolutely mesmerized by the big, pink Easter Bunny.



Wishing everyone a peaceful, fun, and relaxing Easter!