Faith Carol flirts with danger

What else would you call dyeing Easter eggs with a toddler?



Hey Alicia! Is it okay if I splash colored dye all over your kitchen? It is? Great! Let's get to it!!



First they wrote on the eggs with a special magic crayon. Faithy asked CJ what she should write, and CJ said "egg!" So FC complied. Then they dipped the egg in blue.



Even Peter was worried about Alicia's kitchen. Or the dude singing on "American Idol." One of the two.



Look Mom -- I colored on this egg myself!



CJ pronounced them "gorgeous!"

PLAY-DOUGH!!!

I finally worked up the courage to make some play-dough for Charlie Jo and now I'm wondering why I waited so long. CJ has been playing with it at school, so that's what finally reminded me to try it. I had memories of stained hands and clothing from a childhood full of home-made play-dough (both at home and at friends' houses), so I chickened out when it came to coloring it. CJ doesn't seem bothered by the lack of color so I'm just going to hang tight until she asks for it.

I put her in the high chair with a big glob of it on Thursday afternoon and she sat still playing with it for TWO SOLID HOURS. The only way I got her away from it was by bribing her with a snack. We busted it out again Saturday morning and Skyped with Corey's parents while she played. It was the first time in months that she actually stayed still in front of the computer for more than a few minutes. She made "snakes" to show NanaB and Granddad and used all sorts of my kitchen utensils to wreak havoc with the dough. The garlic press was a big hit -- she loved making "baby worms" with it.

This is the basic recipe I used:

No Fuss Play Dough

1 cup cold water
1 cup salt
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
food coloring

In a large bowl, mix together water, salt, oil and a few drops of food coloring. Mix flour and cornstarch and add 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly (you may need a little more or a little less than 2 cups flour so make sure you stir in until it is the right consistency). Knead for a few minutes with flour on your hands.

It stores really well in a ziplock bag. Maybe we'll tackle the food coloring another day...

Just hangin' around

I busted out CJ's old doorway jumper because I realized PJ had finally reached the age at which we started CJ in it. He lasted in it for a lot longer than I thought he would -- maybe about five minutes or so. Of course, I had to hold CJ back to prevent her from mauling him in it. I used the jumper with CJ for months and months. It kept her captive while I showered and entertained her to no end. CJ was a jumping maniac. Let's hope PJ is as big of a fan!

St. Patrick's Day peace

For some reason, on St. Patrick's Day Charlotte asked to sit in her booster seat with a bib on while she colored with her new animal figurines. She also wanted Peter to sit in his infant seat bouncy thing (I have no idea what the real name for those things is), and he sat there happily playing while she colored. It was so nice and peaceful.

Yes, it only lasted for about five minutes, but I was able to unload and reload the dishwasher plus start a load of laundry without Peter clinging to and drooling on my shoulder. That's all the luck I can hope for at this time. Happy late St. Patrick's Day!





(Yes, the purple balloons are still up from Charlotte's party. They're just so happy that I can't bear to remove them. Either that or I'm just being lazy. You be the judge.)

Peter goes to work on the farm

PJ is finally old enough for his farm-themed exersaucer activity center thingy! Well, sort of. The box says four months, but we're just ignoring that. PJ loves it for a few minutes at a time, and Charlie Jo loves to "help" him play in it. CJ never had one, but I have a feeling that soon I won't be able to imagine how I lived without it.

The 2nd birthday party extravaganza

Charlotte through the years

At her first birthday party...



And at her second birthday party...



I guess it's her party and she can cry if she wants to. Or something like that.

An afternoon in the mud with NanaB

Corey's parents were in town this weekend for Charlotte's second birthday party. NanaB and I didn't take Charlotte outside Friday afternoon intending to play in the mud, but it just sort of happened. I'm still shocked that the dirt came out of her jeans and jacket. Charlotte was just so happy digging in the muck. It was really sweet to see.



The new gardening set from CJ's Great Uncle Dave, Great Aunt Lisa, and cousin Ellie was perfect for digging up wormies.



NanaB and CJ pretended to plant flowers and water them.



I was carrying a sleeping Peter in the Baby Bjorn carrier, and I eventually needed to take him inside to relieve my poor back. [It's a known fact that sleeping babies weigh about twice as much as awake babies.] In my absence, NanaB watched in amusement as CJ (aka Elmer Fudd) poked a stick into the juniper bushes looking for bunnies, saying "not here -- how 'bout dis one?" as she moved from bush to bush. Poor bunnies.

Photo essay: PJ's love affair with the dangly animals on his carseat

Two-year check-up

Hijinks at the doctor's office -- first she jumped repeatedly from square to square on the floor.



CJ kept asking PJ if he wanted some "tea".



It looks like I let rats gnaw on her hair. I swear I paid a professional to do this to her!



Who's that handsome guy in the mirror? I love that hedgehog outfit (a gift from Joslyne, Zoey, & Demetri).



CJ is 2 feet, 10 1/2 inches tall (50-75th percentile) and weighs 25.5 pounds (25-50th percentile). It was the first time they measured and weighed her standing up, just like a big girl!

Wrapping up the birthday

Last night, Charlotte Skyped with both sets of grandparents so they could wish her a happy birthday. Skyping with the Stringers was uneventful. Skyping with Grandma JoJo and Grandpa Spike got a little exciting while Charlotte was opening a present. She started coughing (she is getting over a cold) and acted like she was going to cough something out. I stupidly held out my hand. She then threw up her entire dinner all over me.

Was Charlotte upset? Nope. She blinked twice and then reached out again to keep opening the present. Grandma JoJo just about laughed herself silly and Grandpa Spike chastised JoJo for her lack of sympathy. [We took Charlotte to the doctor this morning for her annual check-up and Dr. Hood opined that Charlotte did not in fact have the flu, but rather just triggered her gag reflex with all the coughing and phlegm. Thanks, kid.]

ANYWAY, once we got the puke cleaned up, we moved the present opening party into Peter's room and got back to business. Charlotte instantly fell in love with her new sleeping bag (from Corey and me) and pillow (from Grandma JoJo and Grandpa Spike).



She threw her new clothes all over the room and then started running around like a maniac.



Then, we declared the second birthday celebration to be over and started running water for bath time. Peter, undressed in preparation for his bath, decided to challenge his cousin Sonia to a sexy legs contest.

A vision of sleepovers in years to come...

Happy 2nd birthday, Charlotte!

After school, Madison swung by for an impromptu birthday lunch with Charlotte and Zoey. They left us moms behind, obviously. Here they are, heading to Mellow Mushroom for some pizza.




Charlotte kept running Madison, who was looking down at her sparkly shoes and couldn't be bothered to look up, into walls. They held hands for two whole blocks!

Charlotte's official birthday party is on Saturday. Cross your fingers for good weather so we can have it at the park!

Who needs a neck? Not me!

School girls

Charlotte finally had her second day of school (after a nasty cold caused us to miss last Wednesday), and she was joined by Zoey (who had to miss all of last week due to a nasty cold of her own). I'm sure Joslyne will write a beautiful and moving post on her own blog about the first teeny step toward Zoey leaving the nest (using much better imagery), but I'm just going to steal a few photos off of her picture share and report just the facts.

CJ and Zozo were not bothered in the least seeing us leave them alone with Miss Lola and Miss Denise (not sure of the name of the second teacher, actually). Apparently CJ grew concerned about the absence of Mommy about an hour into the two-hour class, but the teacher encouraged her to hang out with Zozo and that calmed CJ down. Both girls smiled huge smiles when we came to pick them up, and I think they are officially grown up. Well, as grown up as they can be when they still aren't potty trained.

Isn't Joslyne such a good photographer?