The Borzenski Family, Chicago

Time for Kindergarten!

2011-08-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

Well, our oldest officially started Kindergarten last week. It is hard to believe how time flies. Lillie has officially aged about 2 years since starting, it seems. She is loving every minute of school so far which is fantastic!

Anyone that knows me well enough knows that I am not a morning person AT ALL! Pat was a little concerned about me getting up in time to get everyone ready and out the door to school by 7:50am. Thankfully, Charlotte serves as a great alarm clock between 6 - 6:30am. Not to say I have overslept ... but just in case!

Charlotte will start preschool on September 13 so we have had some bonding time since Lillie has started school. I'm not sure she is enjoying as much as me since she keeps asking me to "take me to the castle today for school". Oh well, she's stuck with me for the next few days!

Yep, we are still here...

2011-07-08T20:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I just looked at the last post to realize it was 5 months ago. I could go on and on with excuses...laptop died, too busy, etc,etc but I will spare you all.
Here are the highlights-

Our little Charlotte is now 3...well as of May 22. I just took our first trip to the emergency room (and,yes, I gave myself a pat on the back for going 5 1/2 years before it happened) for Charlotte to get 3 staples in her head. Sounds really bad, I know. Fact is, she slipped on the bathroom floor and hit her head on the glass shower door. I took her to her doc first...was hoping for an industrial band aid fix. No go. Too deep. Off to the ER. I know you won't believe this, but she did not shed one single tear. Even when they papoosed her in a contraption on her stomach. I think it was the nurse telling her she was about to become a super hero when they put the cape-like, pillowcase looking thing on her arms to hold them down. I could see it in her eyes..."finally! I get to be a superhero and not the designated villain like when I play with Lillie!" she was a trooper and I almost passed out. The staples were removed on Saturday and all is well.

Lillie is growing like a weed and has lost her 2 front bottom teeth. Mr. Tooth fairy is very generous ...$5 for each tooth. Surprisingly, she did not freak out when the first one fell out. I was impressed. The second one, even easier. Now she checks and hopes every day that more are loose...must be the anticipation of the cash. She has started taking tennis lessons and loves it. She is also swimming like a fish sans life jacket.

Pat...busy, skinny Pat. He is training for the Chicago marathon in October. For those that don't know, he had a more than impressive race in Eugene, OR on May 1. 3:22:29 marathon run. Just awesome. It was a fantastic trip, pictures to follow... So marathons will be his primary focus this season. That and his job, of course, the Lakeshore East retail space will be opening in September so he is keeping busy with that as well.

A lot of snow, a lot of fun

2011-02-04T12:05:00.001-08:00

Wow, look at that. The blog is still active. I thought for sure Google would have shut it down for lack of use. Oh, where does the time go?
Everyone here is doing well. Lillie is really enjoying Jr. Kindergarten and we just visited St. Barnabas to tour the rooms and building for Kindergarten next year. Hard to believe she is going... sigh.
Charlotte is also registered for preschool next year. Now this kid is ready. Generally about 2 times a week when I take Lillie, Charlotte is taking off her coat and ready to stay too. Charlotte is, to say the least, a character. Some days it's like a Broadway play-- she just sings everything with very dramatic arm movements and throws in a little dance, too. We're in trouble.
We made it through the snow storm this week. Lillie had 2 snow days and Pat had 1. Funny when you think about it- Lillie gets 2 days off, Pat gets 1 day off (yes, honey, aside from the snow-blowing, shoveling, etc) and mom gets... a full house. yay ;-). Thank goodness I had a supply of red wine handy.
Below are some pics of the girls and the snow. They had a great time. It's only the second time this year they have been able to actually enjoy snow. It's either been too cold... or there just wasn't any snow to play in/with.

Happy Birthday, Lillie!

2010-10-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our oldest little girl turned 5. She is about 3 inches taller and I think with each inch also came more personality.

She was as excited the night before her birthday as she was last year on Christmas Eve. She spent most of her day at school and after school we opened presents, had her birthday dinner of choice (pizza) and enjoyed some cake and ice cream.

Today, we followed it up with a trip to the doctor's office for some birthday shots! YAY! No, not tequila. I believe it was a booster for MMR and Chicken Pox. Lillie got 3 and Charlotte got 3. So much screaming.... so much screaming.... They have lollipops for the kids when they are done. How 'bout a little something for the parents?

Here are a few pictures of Lillie's birthday:

Happy Birthday, Lillie. We love you.

What?!?! Summer is over?

2010-09-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

Honestly, where did the time go? Wait, I know... parks, pool, pool, pool... you get it. It was a wonderfully hot summer and we definitely got our moneys worth on the pool pass.

Lillie's accomplishments this summer include: going off the diving board, swimming without her life jacket, swimming (occasionally) without her goggles, riding her "big girl" bike more confidently (with training wheels), figuring out she doesn't really enjoy soccer.

Charlotte has the following feats: talking, running, galloping, climbing the rock wall at crescent park (fellow Beverly peeps know this one), swinging (seriously, she will sit in a swing now- NEVER would allow it before), and she even squeaked in riding a tricycle before Labor Day.

It is hard to believe how much the girls are growing in all aspects of the word. They are a challenge at times... "It's MINE." "Mom, Charlotte (fill in the blank here...), "I'm telling Mom!"...but the majority of the time they are just fantastic little girls and each coming into their own.

Pat was able to take some time off and spend some time with the girls. Charlotte experience her first carousel ride at Navy Pier with Pat. Needless to say she would have spent all day on it if she could.

Lillie started Jr. Kindergarten today. It was a full day; 8:30am - 3:30pm. She admitted to me on the ride home that she fell asleep during "rest time." Now how does that work? How many times have I tried to get her to take a nap in a nice cozy bed and she won't...but will fall asleep at school on a mat? Hmmm...

It was weird having just Charlotte all day. A cakewalk, really. Probably just jinxed myself there...

We hope you have all had a great summer and here's to football season. Go Spartans!

One Borzenski working hard, the others playing

2010-07-20T13:57:00.000-07:00

Place: Racine, WI, Sunday July 17, 2010
Weather: Hotter than H-E- double hockey sticks
Event: Racine 70.3 Half Ironman
Participant: Patrick Borzenski (aka "One Borzenski working hard")

Patrick completed his first Half Ironman this past weekend. A HUGE congratulations to him and all the hard work he has done to prepare. Awesome job, Pat! His time was 5hr 56 min which is fantastic for his first race of this caliber. He swam 1.2 miles, rode 56 miles and ran a half marathon, 13.1 miles. 70.3 total hence the name of the race.

Above you see the "sleeping shirt" that Lillie made for him to wear on Saturday night before the race. Don't worry, Mom ironed on the letters. But all the other artwork is Lillie's. I particularly like the picture of "Daddy running" under the "R-U-N" on the back of the shirt. He is wearing the number "7" because that is Lillie's favorite.

Place: 9800 S. Hamilton Block
Weather: Mild, shady, nice
Other details: Plenty of cool beverages (no gatorade or recovery drinks) and chairs in case we got tired
Event: BLOCK PARTY!!!!
Participants: Mom, Lillie, Charlotte (aka "the others playing")

While Pat was traveling to Racine and preparing for the race Lillie, Charlotte, and Mom stayed back and played. We had our block party on Saturday. A fine time was had by all. Kids were exhausted after being in the huge blow up jumper all day long. We had it for 8 hours and I'm pretty sure they were in it for 7. They did take time out to eat, enjoy a visit from the CFD and to put on a fantastic bike parade. Of course Lillie had the pink princess them goin' on.

Here Roley Poley!

2010-07-10T19:26:00.001-07:00

Each and every day Pat and I learn just how much the personalities of Lillie and Charlotte are completely opposite. Maybe it's because Charlotte is the "fearless" younger one, I don't know. But sometimes I know that has nothing to do with it.

Take bugs, for example. I don't like them. You will never see me pick one up to show the girls or otherwise. I put up a strong front for Lillie who screams bloody murder at the sight of a fly and runs away as fast as she possibly can. I tell her "don't worry about the bees. If you don't bother them, they won't bother you" all while wanting to run in the house myself. Then there's Charlotte.

Every year we get some sort of volume of Cicadas. Ugly, noisy Cicadas. They leave their shells all over the trees...just hanging there. Charlotte has found it quite fun to pick them up and talk to them- "Hi buggy. Sleeping? Ok."- and puts them down. The other day she picked one up, talked to it and squeezed a little too hard- crunch. "Uh-oh. Mommy, bug broke." I was just cringing thinking how quickly I need to wash her hands.

Then on to the roley poley. She loves them....or rather to scare them into a ball. So on this particular day she got one and was carrying it around. (Lillie will join in as long as it stays in it's ball form. One small movement and that roley poley will go flying!)Charlotte squeezed it a little too hard and killed it. She continued to carry it around and finally put it down to see if it would unroll. Nope. She picks it up and prys it open and tries to flatten it out and put it down to walk. It somehow rolled/blew away. She then walks around saying "Here wo-wee po-wee. Where you?" Then she decides if she puts some evergreen down it will come back to eat.

Prying it open.

Looking for it.

Leaving some food in case it comes back.

Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes, and ....

2010-07-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

What fun is a sprinkler if you don't get every part of your body wet?

This past week Lillie and Charlotte got to spend some great times with Nana and Papa H. It's a joke with our neighbor that they have to come around Charlotte's birthday in late May because they bring the warmer weather with them and it generally sticks around. Well, THANKS!, Mom and Dad. You did it this time. 90+ degrees with about 1000% humidity for the majority of their stay. Child's play to them, I'm sure, coming from swampy-feeling land of Alabama where it's been that way since March.

Plenty of sprinkler time, pool time, and of course, bowling! Lillie really enjoyed bowling and even attempted holding the ball with fingers-in-holes a few times. Of course she took this direction from Nana and not from Mom. I had a few flashbacks from when I was a kid and my mom was not just my mom, she was also my bowling coach. There's a double-whammy for a kid. Many-o-times did I storm off saying something to the effect of "I'm not listening to you! I KNOW what to do." I'm sure had I been the one teaching Lillie life would have come full circle. Charlotte also had a ball... hee hee. Here are some pictures from the week.

Happy Birthday, Charlotte...one week ago today.

2010-05-29T20:14:00.001-07:00

As usual, I'm a little behind on posting what is going on with all of us. It's bad when I am wishing for a somewhat rainy day so that I can actually get stuff done IN the house. Oh well, I'll take the sunshine!

So Charlotte is now 2. Hard to believe and I've found it is true that you really lose track of time with the second child. 2?!? What?!?! That means only fun things ahead for Mom... potty training. Yippee. Can't wait. And, as time marches on I continue to find that Charlotte and Lillie are polar opposites. Lillie is sure to be voted "most shy" in school. Charlotte will be voted "class clown." It makes life fun. I mean who wants 2 of the same, right?

Charlotte received a gift that will hopefully keep on giving for years to come... a baby grand piano! Yea! The best part? It was FREE! Yea! Sure we had to pay to have it moved a whole 50 yards across the street but we'll take it. Our neighbor moved out a little over a year ago and the piano has been sitting in her house (which will soon be on the market). I asked our neighbor/realtor across the street "So what is Margie going to do with the piano?" to which the reply was "Why, do you want it?" So there you have it. Ask and you shall receive. The girls have been enjoying it-playing and singing. As soon as I get it dusted and cleaned out we'll have it tuned and hopefully begin some lessons for someone. Me? Pat? Lillie? Charlotte? Who knows! But Pat has a dream of Christmas carols being played and everyone singing along... well, I guess I'll check iTunes for some piano music. Ha!

These are all for me?

Twinkle, twinkle, little star...

Yes! New shoes!

60+ fantastic miles on the lake

2010-05-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Sounds like a really nice beach or vacation spot, huh? Well, it is actually the number of miles covered by the Borzenski family (Jake- face it. You are part of the family like it or not) on May 16, 2010. Pat gets a little extra credit since he ran back to get Brian, Jennie, and Dave when each of them were near the finish line. Everyone geared up and ran in the Magellan Development Chicago Spring Half Marathon or 10K. Everyone finished...not sure if everyone is still walking around yet. Pat beat his goal and finished in 1:36 - yay Pat!

A huge congratulations to you all. I must admit when you all "agreed" to do this around Thanksgiving after a few cocktails (Meghan and Jack excluded) I wasn't sure it would happen ;-).

Jennie and Dan made their first trip to our house which was fantastic. Oliver, Lillie, Sophia, and Charlotte got to spend some time together which included a trip to the aquarium. Jennie and I soon learned that the fascination with fish, mammals, etc quickly starts to fade when their is a gift shop around every corner. They had a great time anyway and that's what counts. Well, at least Sophia, Oliver, and Lillie did. Charlotte was a stereotypical 2 year old. I think she had the tolerance for about 5 fish, that was it.

We concluded the weekend with an early celebration for Charlotte's 2nd birthday. She was pretty much interested only in blowing out candles and eating cake (yum! Potillo's chocolate cake). And Mom was TOTALLY prepared as you will notice by the 2 tea lights on the cake. Oh well, I don't think Charlotte cared.

Meghan and Sophia

Jennie & Brian

Charlotte

72 eggs and few crawly friends

2010-04-07T10:31:00.000-07:00

This year the Easter Bunny decided he would hide the Easter eggs outside since it was promising to be a sunny Easter, something we don't get very often. Thankfully, Mrs. Easter Bunny talked the big guy out of hiding them the night before. The girls did a fantastic job finding all 72 eggs and it really didn't take long at all. It was a beautiful morning- a little windy - but sunny and warm.

Charlotte quickly discovered after she dropped an egg and it came open that there was candy hiding in there. You'll notice she takes a break to open a Hershey's Kiss before continuing her search. (We later experienced her first real sugar crash which was not pretty at all.)

When we decided to stop and count to see how many we had left to find we were pleasantly surprised to find some little ant friends among our eggs. While Charlotte still finds them fascinating, Lillie runs for the hills if anything crawls near her. Good thing Mrs. Easter Bunny in her infinite wisdom convinced Mr. Easter Bunny to hide the eggs in the morning and not the night before. Otherwise, we may have ended up a few short of 72 and had some very happy ants around our house.

Easter egg hunt snipit...

Happy Goopy Birthday!

2010-04-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

Pat recently celebrated his 38th birthday. Thankfully, I am no longer the "older woman"... well, technically I AM, but at least now we are the same age.

Since Pat's birthday was on a Friday during lent, a grilled tenderloin was not in the picture. Also, since Pat gave up chocolate for lent neither was the traditional chocolate cake from Portillo's. (boo-hoo)Instead, Pat feasted on Goop. For all of you non-Borzenskis out there (and I have yet to meet anyone besides a Borzenski that knows what Goop is)Goop is: Butter, onions, butter, mashed potatoes, butter, egg noodles, butter, full fat cottage cheese, and, what the heck, a little more butter. Patrick enjoys it although from what I hear it tends to slow down his running times quite a bit.

Here is Pat and the girls with his new glow-in-the-dark running shoes. Man, they even look fast!

What is she doing in there?

2010-02-24T13:28:00.000-08:00

Our little Charlotte is always full of surprises. Still a girl of few words, she is a master at animated movements, sound effects and just utter silliness.

We have an outdoor thermometer and the "base" is in Charlotte's room. For one reason only and that is to monitor the temperature in her room. It's tricky in this house in the winter thanks to radiators and multiple thermostats controlling rooms NOT on their floor (i.e. Lillie's is tied to the one downstairs and our downstairs bathroom is tied to the one upstairs). It's only taken us 3 years to figure out the puzzle.
ANYWAY...back to the original thought.

Charlotte loves to play with the base because it has buttons that beep when you push them. Unfortunately, one of the buttons turns on and off an alarm; conveniently set at the default time of 2:00am. On Sunday (rather, early Monday morning) the alarm started going off. Me, being the thoughtful wife I am shoved Pat and said "Go get it. It's the thermometer thingy." After getting it out of her room, we started to here a thump...thump...thump. It's Charlotte banging a leg, arm, some body part against the back of her crib. We didn't go in, just figured she woke up from the alarm and would go back to sleep. It was like counting "1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi,..." when your waiting for a thunderstorm to pass. Thump...thump...thump...long pause. Thump...thump...thump...longer pause. Yep, she dozing off.

Eventually it stopped just in time for Pat to fall asleep and Lillie to come in for a potty break. Sorry, honey. Did I mention Pat normally gets up at 4:45am and it is now about 3:30?

So last night about 2:15am the thumps start again. Only for a short time and she's done. Then at about 5:15am it starts again. OK, I am NOT, I repeat NOT a morning person. Knowing that my alarm is going to go off at 6:30am (not that I get up at that time, it just goes off) I had to put a stop to it. By this time, I'm thinking she's building wings on her crib and is getting ready to fly this cuckoo's nest. I can see why she's had enough. I'd better check under her mattress for a hammer and nails or something!

I go in, trying to open the door as quietly as possible, and find her sound asleep. Knee bent, banging on the crib. Maybe she has a recurring dream she is a drummer in a band or something. It's a pretty consistent beat... I move her over, straighten her leg at which point she removes her blanket from over her head, looks at me, points to her wind up toy and says "more?" Sure, why not, might as well listen to music and thumping on the monitor while I try to fall asleep.

Love you, Charlotte.

Saying goodbye to a friend

2010-02-10T12:12:00.000-08:00

When Pat suggested just over a year ago (Christmas 2008) that we buy Lillie fish, I knew this day would come. I was ecstatic when Pinky and Orangey made it one year! But, all good things must come to an end.

We noticed Pinky hiding out quite frequently behind the filter. I just assumed it was because Orangey (aka "the bully") would chase him around nipping at his fins. Nope. Poor little thing was sick. The day he met his fate he kind of resembled a puffer fish or some sort of bird-like fish. His scales were all feathery and poofy. I know, too much information...Anyway, it was this past Sunday when Pat made the call to give him/her/it the flush. Thank goodness, because there is NO way I could've done it.

It was so sad. Lillie cried and kept saying "I miss Pinky" and "Why did Pinky get sick?" She promised to take REALLY good care of Orangey so he/she/it doesn't get sick. "I promised not to feed him to much". I think she's referring back to the good 'ole Dr. Seuss book "Fish Out of Water" with little Otto. "Just so much and nothing more." So this went on for a day or two then...

Charlotte was looking in the fish tank and Lillie said "Pinky is gone, Charlotte. Pinky's not there anymore. We had to flush him down the toilet (laughing) with the (fill in blank) and (fill in blank)." Charlotte, being Charlotte then walked into the bathroom and pointed to the toilet and said "dis?" Lillie is laughing hysterically. Then in the next dramatic production pushes a tear out and says "I wish we could go to the fish store and get another Pinky." Oh, brother. All drama all the time.

The holidays have come and gone...

2010-01-11T12:32:00.000-08:00

And apparently so has my ability to get things done... like updating this poor blog. So sorry, blog. I promise to do a better job in 2010.

This holiday season we found ourselves in Michigan for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Lillie thought it was a hoot celebrating Christmas at Thanksgiving which we did this year since Uncle Kevin could not make it home for Christmas. Hey Kev, I don't blame you, really. Hmmm... 75 and sunny in Malibu or 20 and snowy... ;-). Pat and I and the other siblings exchanged gifts and had a good 'ole time. I witnessed my first-ever Snuggie given as a gift. Thankfully, I was NOT the recipient...and the winner is... Meghan! (See picture below)

Patrick and I then celebrated our 10 year (eek!) anniversary by ditching, oops, I mean letting Grandma B. watch Lillie and Charlotte for a couple of nights. We headed over to Holland, MI and stayed at the City Flats Hotel which was pretty cool. It is the first LEED certified hotel (aka eco-friendly)in the midwest. Very modern and very quiet at night which we found out the hard way. Who knew that the sounds of baby monitors could be so soothing. Of course, the kids were great for Grandma and Grandpa. It's true, they save their worst for the parents.

This year, Santa was quite good to the girls. It's nice that Lillie is at the age where she doesn't quite understand the "power" of Santa.
Mom: "Lillie, what do you want Santa to bring you this year?"
Lillie: "Hmmm. Maybe Play-Doh."
Mom: "Ok, are you sure?" (Knowing she has a gazillion tubs of Play-Doh untouched)
Lillie: "Well, maybe a little bracelet with one little pink heart on it. Yes, that's what I want."
Well, as easy as it sounds, I found myself out the weekend before Christmas looking for this bracelet. I have once again become acquainted with a little store called "Claire's". I am sure my future holds many, many, many more trips to this little gem that has (what I think) all the princess, Dora, Fairy, etc. things that little girls are sure to ask for. So, Santa delivered. Whew! Now I just have to prepare myself for next year when BOTH Lillie and Charlotte will have their lists ready...

We were lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa Hammonds here in Chicago for the days prior to Christmas; and an extra day thanks to an ice storm. The girls got an early Christmas which they thoroughly enjoyed.

Pat and I took the girls to the Country Club for brunch with Santa this year, too. Lillie would not come within 10 feet of him and Charlotte, well, let's just say Mom won (see below)and plopped her down on the big guy's lap. I kept telling Lillie how strange it is that Santa knew just what she wanted even though she didn't exactly tell him. Her reply "He sure is smart, Mom."

Here are some pictures summarizing our 2009 Holidays.

Lillie and her Gingerbread house

Meghan and her Snuggie

Kevin and Kristi

Lillie enjoying her guitar from cousin Wesley and backup singer, Emmie Grace

Merry Christmas, Lillie and Charlotte!

Grandma H. and Lillie

Mom and the girls at the Club

Santa meet Charlotte. Charlotte meet Santa.

A happier Charlotte

The cardboard box...elevated

2009-11-18T18:27:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-04T11:16:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-29T20:06:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-10-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-23T12:19:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-03T20:32:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-03T20:05:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-09-03T19:45:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-08-13T13:31:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-08-11T11:40:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-07-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

"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

2009-07-06T19:48:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-27T14:02:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-05-10T18:38:00.000-07:00

...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!

2009-05-08T13:57:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-06T18:24:00.001-07:00

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

2009-04-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

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!

A Sad Day...

2009-03-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

Today it was announced that the southside St. Pat's parade in it's "current form" will no longer exist. Had we known this was the last year maybe we would have rented that Porta-Potty for the front yard. Rats! Alas, it's true. So, you may want to call Pat and offer your condolences in the near future. Guess we'll have to have our own parade next year ;-). Here are some photos of this year... not too many to share. It's hard to remember to take pictures and watch your kids, and keep your eye on Pat.
Kellie Jo and Meghan (and Doug in front!)

Lillie and Emmie

Emmie Grace

I will be keeping the blog green. Go Spartans!!
Til tomorrow when Pat joins the league of the "late 30s" crowd.

Dance class dropout.

2009-03-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

So the Borzenski household has been a haven for sickness the past couple of weeks. Stomach flu. Everyone but Charlotte. That should be all I have to write. You all can fill in the blanks about what that is like as an adult; just throw in a toddler and it's that much more interesting...
Charlotte was a trooper (knock on wood). She somehow remained healthy through it all. Pat came to the conclusion that this is the first Fat Tuesday where he did not eat one single thing. Guess it was a Nonfat Tuesday this year.
Lillie has dropped out of her first class. There was simply no enthusiasm going to dance class and, quite frankly, the battles to get out of the house and there on time were wearing me out. Oh well, lesson learned, money spent. Anyone need some ballet shoes? Haha. Maybe we'll try again if she becomes interested. I'm pretty sure I should have just kept with music class. She might be the only person I know who wants to sit through the credits of a movie just to hear the music and will tell you what instruments she hears. Duh, Mom, Duh.
Pat's second Christmas is fast approaching and the house is decked out in green and white. Lillie is very excited because her cousin Emmie is coming. And Pat, well, he's just excited.
Not too many recent pics to add, just this one of Charlotte "exploring" carrots. Oh, my lazy baby... will she ever crawl? Maybe I'll start a pool;$5 a square! She is waving now and clapping. Which, incidentally, I recall spending what seemed like hours clapping in front of Lillie so she would "get it." Never clapped in front of Charlotte. Hmmmm...

And no...

2009-02-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

...the template color is not green in honor of the Spartans who, by the way, really disappointed me this week. We are prepping for St. Patrick's Day or as Pat refers to it, "The Borzenski's Second Christmas." Hope that's not blasphemous...
I also added a little item I will call (for now) "Quotes by Lillie." She just says so many funny things I have to document them somehow!

Chocolate milk, ice cream, and popsicles

2009-02-18T13:01:00.000-08:00

Treats for kids, right? Not in this household this week. These have been the "master" disguises for getting Lillie to take Tylenol and Motrin. She's had a fever since Monday. It goes away with the medicine but then comes right back. Today is looking up, it's been quite mild... keeping my fingers crossed!
Unfortunately, this sickness caused us to miss a trip to the pool on Monday. One of these days I will learn not to tell a 3 year old about an event until you are in the car en route to the destination. She was so sad that she missed it on Monday. So, on Tuesday morning she decided she needed to "rest." She crawled in her bed and I thought "Oh good, at least she'll get a little more sleep." 30 minutes later I hear patter of little feet upstairs. She then comes downstairs and says "Mom, I'm ready to go to the pool."

Just about broke my heart. Although, I'm pretty impressed that she got her PJs off and a two piece swimsuit on all by herself. I'm not falling for the "I can't do it!" anymore...
Meanwhile, Charlotte is sprouting her 3rd tooth. She remains my little "lazy baby". She shows no sign of wanting to crawl, just content on sitting on her tush. Here she is demonstrating her amazing ability to grab a toy 3 feet in front of her. haha. Not that far, but close.

And, just for fun, here are some pictures taken by Lillie. I think she's got some potential! Here are "Princess Bear" and a "Duck Party" (the hearts are their "treat").

The Curl Is Gone...

2009-02-09T19:38:00.000-08:00

It's gone away for good. Oh, the curl is gone baby. Baby it's gone away for good.

I think every mother out there dreads the first haircut. And I'm not talking about the time you frantically pull out the scissors because peanut butter, candy, or some other sticky agent is in your child's hair and you have no other choice. I'm talking about a conscious decision to lop it off. OK, maybe it's worse when you have little girl whose paternal side has not one curl on any one's head in the whole family and you know, you just know, with that snip of those curls... they are not comin' back. But I had to do it. The tangles, the screaming because of those tangles... it had to be done. Saturday after Lillie's bath I said casually, "maybe I'll cut Lillie's hair." Lillie said "Don't cut my neck!" Then I said "Well, maybe I shouldn't." Pat said "I'll do it!" Oh man, no you won't... let me get my scissors.
I bundled the curls and tied them in a pink ribbon and put them in an envelope. Someday, when Lillie is complaining about having straight hair (because girls with straight hair want it curly, and girls with curly hair want it straight) I'll pull out these little things and say "Blame your Daddy." Just kidding, Pat!

The cold, long, cold winter, competition for Yogi & Lillie's first report card

2009-01-29T18:56:00.000-08:00

The Cold, Long, Cold Winter
It's been what seems like a longer and colder than usual winter here in Chicago. On top of that, every time you turn around someone is sick. Yeah, you could blame it on preschool but when I'm the one walking around (rather, lying around as much as possible for a few days) and I'm sure I wasn't finger-painting with Lillie's class you have to come to grips that it's just all around you. No flu... knock on wood! But cold upon cold upon cold. You get the picture. If any stock might be up these days, my bet would be on P&G and/or Kimberly Clark because I KNOW the purchase of tissues has gone up in this household. Maybe this captures the season best.

A few weeks ago we did manage to sneak a walk in to CVS and Starbucks. On the way home, Lillie REALLY, REALLY wanted to stop at Hurley Park. We got in some swinging, including Charlotte's first swing ride.

Competition for Yogi

So we all know cabin fever hits adults. This year, I'm sure it has some sort of weird effect on kids, too. Some days, Lillie can give Yogi Berra a run for his money. Maybe it's lack of sunlight or just the simple act of stating the obvious which, seriously, I think the world needs more of right now. Her latest and greatest quotes include:
"Mom, that was the last show I watched because it was on last."
"It's not red because it's blue."
You truly can't argue with those statements. I love it.

Lillie's First Report Card

Today was a special day. It was my first parent teacher conference. I'm going to savor this one...and probably next year's, too, because Lillie is at her "sweetness peak". It can't last... can it? I hope so. The teacher had a glowing report for me saying that "when there's a conflict with other students, Lillie just sticks right by my side." Now, what I picture is Lillie pulling someones hair, pointing at someone else and saying "he did it!" and running to the teacher. Ok, maybe not. She is a sweet, well-behaved little lady and I am one proud Mommy today :-).

As for Patrick and myself (hey, keep reading!)we are doing well. Patrick is gathering gear for his triathlon training which includes another car. Boy, this whole "fitness thing" sure gets expensive! Truthfully, we are inheriting my mom's Explorer which should work quite well for Pat and his bike. I actually did get to see Pat in biking shorts. I PROMISE I will get pictures of the full outfit-- shoes, shorts, and helmet one day.

Twinkle Toes

2009-01-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow marks a new, exciting adventure for Lillie (ok, and for me too). I have enrolled her in a "Creative Movement" class for 3-5 year olds. I'm sure the title of he class will not do it justice. I took Lillie today to get her ballet shoes. Of course, she could not wait to put them on...and the rest of her outfit. Pat is putting her to bed as I type and I will be surprised if she doesn't wake up in this tomorrow.

Christmas, Baptism, Family

2009-01-04T14:07:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I am going to attempt to play catch-up yet again. I guess I will admit to everyone that my New Year's Resolution is to keep the blog updated.
The tree has been taken outside, the lights are down and I will still be sweeping up ("brooming" to some Borzenskis out there) pine needles well into August. But it's well worth it. Santa brought Lillie exactly what she asked for... a yo-yo. Mom and Dad, oops, Santa got off easy this year! Of course, it doesn't help when Mom and Dad don't quite know how to yo-yo. I guess I'll keep practicing.
!"
Santa was good to Charlotte, too, leaving her with some new, much needed socks that actually stay on her feet! I think her expression says it all..."Hey, thanks A LOT Santa!"

Lillie also received 2 fish and a small aquarium from Mom and Dad. Pinky and Orangey are the names of the fish. Can you guess what the fish look like? After a quick Christmas morning in Chicago, we headed to Lansing to join in the family fun. Oliver and Lillie shared some quality dance time together (with Grandpa B and Uncle Brian) and Lillie and Emmie played very nicely together. Which, if you have 3 year olds, that is the best present ever!!

We then headed to Lake Orion to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa H, Aunt Kim, and Wesley. Lillie had a fine time playing the guitar with Wesley and (I think) giving Grandpa H. some lessons.

The following day (December 27, 2008) Charlotte Amalie was baptized at St. Therese Church in Lansing, MI. Grandpa B., aka Deacon Dave, performed a beautiful ceremony with family and friends present. We headed home the next day and spent a quiet New Year at home. I hope that everyone had a happy and healthy holiday season! Here's to 2009. Cheers.

Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere

2008-12-19T10:09:00.000-08:00

Lillie enjoying her bubble bath. Patrick bought her a new bottle of "Mr. Bubble" because, apparently, the bubble bath stuff I bought was totally inferior. I guess he was right, because Lillie never wanted to submerge herself in bubbles before...

Thank goodness there's an architect in the house...

2008-12-14T13:36:00.000-08:00

...or this Gingerbread house would have been Gingerbread crumbs. Thanks, Pat, for the consultation and the fantastic structural reinforcements. Here we are decorating the house and Pat's handy work.

Catching Up

2008-12-14T13:22:00.000-08:00

Here are a few moments in time from this past week...

First tooth!
Charlotte is getting her first tooth! Yea!

When does it happen?
This past week I have been wondering when is it that suddenly my little toddler became a little girl. I know, it sounds silly, but all the sudden Lillie's manners have kicked in, she starts conversations about everything, etc. For example, we often play doctor/nurse with her dolls and stuffed animals. (I'm waiting for the day she wants to use Charlotte as an unknowing subject!) She will come up with an ailment for her "friends". On Thursday it was a stomach ache.
"Lillie, why does Teddy Bear have a stomach ache?"
"He ate too much cereal."
Then it was my turn to be the patient.
"Lillie, what do you think is wrong with Mommy?" (no comments from the peanut gallery out there!)
"You have a stomach ache."
"I do... why?"
"Too many coffees."
See, they don't miss a beat. I guess I'm thankful she didn't say "Too much Jack." or "Too many vinos." Whew!

He gave me a back massage
Early Friday morning about 4:30am, Lillie came in our room and said she was scared. Pat went in her room to find out she was afraid of a "face" on the ceiling. Pat moved some things around to get rid of the shadow. Lillie came in our room about 4 more times. I finally gave in and stayed in her bed for a few minutes until we were SURE the face wasn't there.
On Friday afternoon the conversation went like this:
"I came in your room last night."
"Yes, Lillie, why did you?"
"I don't know. He gave me a back massage."
"Who did? Daddy when he put you to bed?"
"No, the face on the wall. It wasn't a scary face. It was a happy face and he gave me a back massage."
Hmmmm.... Well, all I can say is I want that kind of happy face on MY wall!

Lillie Scissorhands

2008-12-05T11:34:00.000-08:00

For about a month now, Lillie has been asking me for "safety scissors" like she uses at preschool. Yesterday I finally remembered them and picked up a pair and some more construction paper. Since yesterday, Lillie has cut through about 1/4 of the pack of paper. Just cutting. "Look Mom, I can cut." "Look, Charlotte. Look at me." First words out of her mouth this morning when she got up? "Good morning Mommy, I love you." No, scratch that. "Where are my scissors?" So here is a partial pile of her work.
Since Charlotte was napping, I decided to join in the fun of 'craft day'. Here is... well... we'll call him "Art" short for "Artsy Fartsy" guy. I thought he needed a little Christmas cheer. Nothing some felt, cotton balls, and a glue gun can't fix! Hey, it's better than one of those geese dressed up on our front step, right??

And, lastly, for the Borzenski siblings...I'm sure you all remember this man in front of Grandma Sulzer's house. I've updated him and made him eco-friendly by putting in a compact flourescent bulb this year. He also stays inside because chances are he would soon be flying without he sleigh and reindeer if left outside in Chicago. HO! HO! HO!

I'm a lumberjack and I don't care!

2008-12-03T11:55:00.001-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving in beautiful (ahem!) Lansing, Michigan. Good food, family, and great fun was had by all. Well, except for Lillie shouting "NO! Not Oliver" each time he came near her. Didn't phase Oliver a bit. BIG, BIG hugs and kisses for Lillie. I think, like so many men do, he just kept doing it to get a rise out of her! HaHa! Here are some pics of the wonderful, crazy day.
Clockwise: Dave with all the fixins!; Meghan, Brian & Oliver; The West Family; and GGma & Charlotte

To bring our Thanksgiving weekend to a close, we joined Kathy, Dave, Jennie, Dan, Oliver, and Sophia on a trip to Anna Louisa's Christmas Tree farm to cut down our very own tree. It was cold and snowy... a perfect Christmas-tree-getting day. Who knew Pat was so handy with a saw? Here's Mr. Lumberjack contemplating which is the right tree. Oh yeah, with Charlotte in tow.Fell that tree, Patrick! (Seriously, I've never understood the whole "fell a tree" thing.)For those of you thinking, "oh, poor Charlotte",don't. She was fine. Just fine.

We made it home with the tree in one piece! Yea! We got it decorated, well, "we" started and Mom finished. Lillie became totally distracted by the jingle bell ornaments that I bought this year. So yeah, I guess it's my fault I didn't get any help after I opened those. Here are the girls enjoying them. And so Christmas Season begins...

Music, Macy's Tree, Nap

2008-11-26T11:38:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, November 22, was the annual lighting of the Michigan Avenue lights here in Chicago. The parade is led every year by the one and only (as far as the kids know!) Mickey Mouse.
This year, we took Lillie down to see Justin Roberts in concert. She was ECSTATIC!!! Seriously, we couldn't control her.
Lillie has always been a "wait by the sidelines" kinda gal until she is truly ready to dive in. She eventually warmed up to the idea when I told her that there was a puppet on stage talking. She climbed aboard Pat's shoulders and enjoyed the rest of the concert!

We then headed over to Macy's on State Street to see "the tree". It is absolutely gorgeous this year. I won't spoil it for anyone that has not see it yet and plans to. But I will say if you are on the fence, go. Lillie picked out a few ornaments, we had lunch, and I'm pretty sure we wore her out. Night, night Lillie.

Oh yeah, it was my birthday, too. The 8th anniversary of my 29th birthday. Any comments on the number of candles and you will be banned from viewing this blog!

Lastly, HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone. Safe travels if you are headed to a destination and enjoy! I am just finishing this up so we can hit the road ourselves back to Michigan.

Southpaw for Patrick

2008-11-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

Here's a little clip of Charlotte in "action." You will notice the ball is in her left hand. To quote my wonderful hubby... "Well, if I can't get a boy out of the deal, at least (maybe) I'll get a southpaw." We'll see, Patrick, we'll see.

What, Why, and How

2008-11-16T18:11:00.000-08:00

As I sit and type this tonight, it is really snowing for the first time. Not flurries, snow. It's trying to stick to the ground. I hope it doesn't succeed for too long. Just not ready for that.
So, as we've all witnessed, it seems that the "Christmas Season" gets started a little earlier each year. Pretty soon, Christmas in July will really be Christmas in July. To that note, Pat DVR'd "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" last night. Now, Lillie watched this (we actually have the DVD, but if you know any man he will record and/or watch a movie/show on TV 1000 times before he has to get up, find the DVD, and actually put it in the player...) a million times last year. And to our enjoyment she called the green guy "the *itch" which I KNOW she didn't mean to say, it's just how it came out in her 2-year old voice. "MORE *itch, MORE *itch" we would hear.
It's so different this time around... now it's:
"Why does the dog have a horn on his head?"
"Why he has scary eyes?" (Yes, that's 3 year old grammar)
"Why he is taking all the ornaments off the tree?"
"Why is the dog pulling the slay."
"What's he doing?"
"Wow, that's a long rope."
"Oh, look at the pretty houses. They are all decorated."
Can't wait for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer...

A Beautiful November Day

2008-11-08T12:56:00.000-08:00

We were lucky enough this week to have a few beautiful, 70+ degree days to enjoy. We took advantage on Wednesday and went to Lake Katherine. Lillie loved the waterfall. She was sure that it was warm enough to go swimming and kept asking if she could go in the water with the ducks.

It's the Great Pumpkin!

2008-11-04T11:57:00.001-08:00

Nope... just Lillie. Thankfully after telling me (in August) that she wanted to be a pumpkin for Halloween she didn't change her mind. Lillie talked a good game about going trick or treating, but when it came down to it she should have been dressed as a CHICKEN! Oh well, I guess I'm a little happy that she doesn't like going up to "strange" houses and asking for candy!

While Pat took Lillie around the block, Charlotte and I enjoyed a gorgeous Halloween night on the steps handing out candy. And Halloween 2008 is in the books!

A Pumpkin As Big As Daddy's Head

2008-11-04T11:47:00.001-08:00

Can it be? Well, I don't know but that was Lillie's goal as we set out on an adventure to Bengston's Pumpkin Farm.
First things first. A pig race. Here are Pat and Lillie looking as though they have just finished watching the last Cubs game or they are watching a pig race. It is just THAT exciting.

After the pig races (as if you could top that!)Lillie was ready to find a pumpkin. "I want to find one big as Daddy's head." Ok, here we go! It turns out not only did Lillie want a big one but she also picked every non-traditional (round, orange) pumpkin there was. I asked "Lillie, why do you want the bumpy one?" Lillie said "Because it's different." There you have it. I guess that reasoning will be ok until she brings home her first boyfriend. Lillie followed through with "different" into carving her pumpkin of many eyes and Pat's more traditional face.

3:51 To Finish

2008-10-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's a very weak reference to 3:10 To Yuma, but maybe some of you got it!
Patrick did it! Yea! 3 hours and 51 minutes. Fantastic time for a first time marathoner, I think.
Here is Patrick and Lillie proudly displaying Patrick's medal.
Lillie asked "Daddy, why you get a medal? Did you win the race?" Now, at this point I might have told her "Heck yeah, I won!" But Patrick was too honest and disclosed the fact that everybody gets one.
I asked Pat how it went since it was, once again, a very warm day here in Chicago (85). He replied, "It went well, although the last 4 miles were pretty tough." Well, if it was only the last 4 miles, here's to ya! Great job, Pat! We are all so proud of you and love you very much.

On Your Mark. Get Set. GO!

2008-10-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

And they're off! Patrick will be joining 44,999 of his closest friends tomorrow running the Chicago Marathon-- 26.2 miles. Good news is that it is supposed to be a very nice day. Bad news... well... it's 26.2 miles. So, here is a "before" picture of Patrick. Make sure to check back tomorrow evening for an updated picture. I'm thinking it will be Patrick on the couch, preferred beverage in hand and a bottle of Advil close by.

He has prepped this evening with his pre-long run meal of spaghetti smothered in butter with mushrooms and parmesean cheese. Mmmmm! He is staying downtown tonight with friends so they can just walk on over to the starting line.
Patrick has worked very hard over the past 17 weeks to get ready for this momentous life experience. Great job Patrick!! We are all routing for you (and feeling REALLY glad it's not us! Ha ha!).
For those of you that want to track Patrick online his bib number is 18208. Just go to www.chicagomarathon.com. Under "Spectators & Volunteers" select "Runner Tracking." Scroll to the bottom of the page and follow the link. You can elect to receive updates via e-mail, cell phone, or pager.
Good luck Patrick!! Good luck Daddy!!! WE LOVE YOU!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you,

2008-10-10T14:11:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 4am, temp of 102! And so Lillie's birthday began...
Despite the fever, Lillie was right at it with the questions while I prepared the Motrin: "Mommy, why don't you have socks on?", "Daddy, why do you have shorts on and not pants?" Their little minds just never stop.
Lillie slept until 11am which I'm sure most of us would love to do on our birthday. Here's our little sicky...
She woke up a little warm, gave her some Tylenol and within an hour her temp was back to normal. Good thing because Grandma and Grandpa Borzenski were on their way to surprise her!
Pat and I worked hard (a-hem, see below) to wrap her "big" present, a new dollhouse. Grandma Borzenski has the 1980's version at her house and Lillie never seems to get enough. So when Fisher Price released the sleek new 2008 version I couldn't say no.

And, here is Lillie with her new dollhouse and new doll, Suzy.
What was that you asked? "Where's Charlotte?" Well, she is just layin' around taking it all in. I'm sure she's taking notes in her head and wondering "Hey, when is it my turn?" All in good time, Charlotte. There's this really cool guy named Santa who will be coming your way very soon!

For my cousin Oliver

2008-09-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

Happy 3rd Birthday Oliver!

Maybe somebody spilled applejuice on it

2008-09-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

First, I have to start off by updating you on preschool. So much for no drama. I guess Lillie didn't realize that preschool was a CONTINUOUS activity. Day 2 proved that point. Crying, clinging, "mommy, don't go." Oh, what's a mom to do... leave, that's what. No, it wasn't easy. I went directly to my car, cried, called Pat, cried, and felt like the worst mother EVER! That feeling soon passed when I learned that after I left she said to her teacher, Ms. Podlasek, "You're going to teach me letters. Thanks." AAAARRRGGHH!
We have just completed the third week and Lillie has adjusted nicely. She even lets me drop her off instead of walking her to her classroom. Whew! She won't be a preschool dropout like her daddy.
"Mommy, why is the sidewalk a different color?"
"I don't know, Lillie. Why do you think it's a different color?"
"Maybe somebody spilled applejuice on it."
These are the conversations I have with my little curious-minded Lillie. Someone should really calculate how many calories you expend answering "why" questions. I probably wouldn't have to workout so much.

1,2 buckle my shoe. 3, 4 head out the door

2008-09-09T13:59:00.000-07:00

To preschool! First day of school jitters, anxiety, can't sleep the night before... and that was just me! I can't believe my little girl is off to preschool. Yeah, yeah, it's only 3 days/week for 2.5 hours a day but hey! It's a start. Then you start wondering -- what will happen when Pat and I leave the room? Will she scream? Cry? Both? Cling onto my leg like it's a flotation device in the deep sea? Well, in Lillie's case- neither. Kind of broke my heart a little. Here I am, almost an emotional wreck and Lillie just hangs her backpack on a hook, walks into the "green door room", makes a b-line over to the "house" section and grabs her favorite baby to play with. Humph!

She then simply looked up at me and said "you're gonna come back and pick me up?" That's it. Pat, Charlotte, and I left the room and this chapter in our, oops- Lillie's life began.

I picked her up promptly at 3pm. She said "Thanks for letting me go to preschool today." And here is her very first school project! Awesome job, Lillie! Not bad handwriting for an almost 3 year old, huh?

I don't NEED a NAP!

2008-09-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we took a little trip to Lillie's preschool so she could meet her classmates and teacher. We returned home a little after 3pm and I told her it was time for a short nap. "NO! I don't NEED a NAP!" Many of you know, you just don't try to reason with an almost 3 year old, much less an over-tired 3 year old. A short while later...

Road Trippin'

2008-09-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

Ahhh... Labor Day weekend. The close of summer with BBQ's, family, cold beverages, good times.

The Borzenski's set off on our first road trip with the girls Labor Day weekend. We packed the minivan and set off to Lansing, Michigan- woo-hoo!

I joined Uncle Brian and Patrick for a little golf... after a 3.5 year hiatus from swinging a club unless it was of the Fisher Price variety (boy I can hit a mean drive with those plastic clubs!)I can't complain. It was just like riding a bicycle, or maybe a unicycle? I managed to hit the ball so I guess that's all that matters for now. Patrick and Brian did very well and I hear tell that Patrick actually hit a green on a drive on a par 4. Dunno, I wasn't there to see it and it may have been after the boys had finished their six pack. Hmmmm....

We all celebrated Grandpa Borzenski's birthday which was wonderful. Lillie and Emmie were most helpful in helping Grandpa open his presents.

Lillie and Oliver also enjoyed some time poolside with Grandpa. Which, although he never stepped foot in the pool seemed to get the wettest.

We took the clan a bit further to Lake Orion to visit Kim and Wesley. Grandma and Grandpa Hammonds were also visiting from Alabama. What you don't see here is Lillie's little accidental dip in the lake... "daddy, the bottom of the lake is fuzzy!"

Last but certainly not least, Charlotte got to meet her Great Grandma Borzenski (G-Gma, as we like to call her)!

No! That's MY sister!

2008-08-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

Ahhh... a day at the zoo. Lillie opened up the greeting to her friend Henry with "NO! That's MY sister Charlotte!" when Henry wanted to see Charlotte... and so the day began!

It was a fantastic day to spend at the zoo with great friends. Henry's sister Claudia celebrated her 1st birthday and we got a free air show out of the deal, too. The Blue Angels were flying overhead practicing for the air and water show this weekend and Lillie enjoyed every minute. Charlotte was a little bit TERRIFIED of the noise but she quickly became accustomed to it.

Pssst... hey daddy! Look what mom let me have for lunch!

Hey, after all it was Claudia's birthday!

How you doin'?

2008-08-13T14:05:00.000-07:00

Didn't have any doughnuts...!

Can it be?

2008-08-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

Summer is winding down... rats!
Lillie is enjoying herself poolside and puts in frequent orders for drinks and snacks. The waitress (um, Jen) happily runs in the house in order to keep the princess happy ;-).

Lillie will start preschool September 9. She will be going 3 days/week, 2.5 hours/day. I'm sure it will be harder on me than her. She will be in the same class as her friend, Sean, which I'm sure will make her happy.

Charlotte is doing great. She just loves looking around, babbling and "laughing". Her eyes are still blue, but so were Lillie's until after her first birthday. We'll see.

Patrick will be participating in a team triathalon this weekend in Wisconsin. He will be running while his buddies Todd and Chris tackle the biking and swimming portion. I think it's a way for Pat to test the waters before he decides to do a triathalon on his own next year.

I am doing well. Getting out with the girls as much as possible. I am still involved with Mothers and Company (mom's group) creating their quarterly newsletter along with another member, Becky Healy, and arranging outings for moms and the kids. It's fun and I have met a ton of great moms in the neighborhood.

I hope everyone is doing well and look for another post soon!

2008-06-26T13:18:00.001-07:00

Hello All-
Things are going well at the Borzenski's. Enjoying summer with the girls. Some quick updates:
Lillie: Still adjusting to her big sister role. Of course all of the baby toys, blankets, etc. are "mine." She is a gem, trying so hard to quiet Charlotte when she cries-- rocks her, 'gives' her a pacifier (generally thrown in Charlotte's direction), and tells her "it's ok Charlotte." Lillie has become quite the little dancer and singer these days. Dances to her own tune most of the time and loves to belt out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" or "ABC's".
Charlotte: Growing, growing, growing. She weighed in at a healthy 9lbs 6 oz at her one month appointment. Becoming more and more alert everyday...
Patrick: Working hard, golfing a little, and beginning his training for the Chicago Marathon on October 12.

Happy Summer to you all!!

Borzenski-Chicago-01

2008-06-08T11:04:00.000-07:00

posted by Patrick -

My procrastination is famous. So I apologize to all of you who are learning about our new family addition now.

Charlotte Amalie Borzenski was born May 22, 2008 at 6:30 pm. She weighed 7-pounds 10-ounces and was 20-inches long. At the same age, she is a spitting image of her big sister Lillie Ruth. Plumper checks, but uncanny how similar they look.

Charlotte now weighs 7-pounds 12-ounces and is 20.5-inches long...Nice. She is sleeping, eating and pooping like a champion.

Jen is recovering nicely. The labor went well as she pushed for about a half-hour after about 10-hours of labor progression. Now all of her body parts are beginning to go back where they should be for which she is grateful. She is re-adjusting to the fact that she has become a human food trough once again. We are sleeping about 5 to 6 hours a night which is OK for now.

Lillie is a bit jealous of her little sister right now, but she is getting more comfortable every day. She is starting to understand that this "thing" may not be going back wherever it came from. We did tell her that Charlotte came from Mommy's belly, but she just shrugged that off quickly and said, "that's silly." Good job Lillie. Lillie likes to hold Charlotte and give her many STRONG kisses and hugs. Tough love from big sister from now until...well, forever. Lillie likes to comment on her "tiny" fingers and hands and toes and legs and... You get the idea.

Jen and my hearts ache for Lillie as she adjusts to this new "thing". It is a hard balance even for me who loves her so much and has tried to pour so much love and attention her way for 2.5-years now. We try to be patient and let this be as fluid as possible. However, Lillie has to work on her inside voice...now, please.

I am going back to work full-time tomorrow (6/9/08), so Jen is mentally preparing herself for baby X 2 boot camp. Let's all try and support the juggling she now has to do. I am sure she will get much help from her good friends in our neighborhood; some of whom are going through similar additions.

Thank you to Jen's Mom, Sheila. She was here for almost two weeks helping out wherever she could. This transition has been easier because of her.

That's it for now. Charlotte is stirring.

Love and peace to you all. Patrick.