Hopscotch, soccer, & pizza

When NanaB, Granny Great,  and Grandpa Great swung through town last weekend, they brought the kids some sidewalk chalk.  I thought there was no way it would work with our bumpy aggregate sidewalks, but it actually looked good!  As soon as Granny busted out the chalk, Charlotte started asking her for "some hopscotch".  Little did we know that Charlotte has some mad hopscotching skills!  She doesn't hop very well on one leg yet, but she does a good three-year-old's approximation of what hopscotch is.

Go, Charlie, go!

After that, we got out Charlie Jo's soccer goal.  Peter did not quite get the concept of keeping his hands off the ball.

Connie played goalie.  She was fierce and intimidating.

But Flash Gordon zipped right by her.  Don't you love how only about 2.5 inches of leg is exposed when Petey wears "shorts"?

The only way to finish off a night with such beautiful weather was to make personal pizzas and eat outside on the back deck.  It's a whole lot less stressful watching Petey fling food on the ground outside, so we plan to dine al fresco as much as possible this spring!

Soothing the savage beast

Peter has finally followed in his sister's footsteps.  Or thumbs.  Something like that.  Most kids develop a security habit like thumb-sucking early on in their first year.  Petey decided to wait until after his first birthday to develop his.  Does he such his thumb like a normal child?  Of course not.  He has decided his right index finger is the way to go, almost always coupled with some sort of plush animal (which he calls a "buh-buh", no matter what animal it is) clutched in his left arm.

What I've learned so far this weekend

1. How to make a Kix breakfast sandwich. Take two pieces of honey wheat bread and toast them. Liberally spread Land O' Lakes Whipped Butter on each slice. Take the Kix cereal (dry) off your 3-year old's plate after she starts throwing them around the kitchen, put them between the pieces of toast and enjoy. It turns out to be a crunchy, sweet breakfast sandwich!

2. If you leave a 15-month year old alone long enough with a hose twist nozzle, your 15-month old will figure out how to turn it on. YIKES!

Rip Van Charlotte

Both kids have been sick since Tuesday, but it hit Charlotte a little harder than Petey.  She ran a fever for a few days, and it peaked on Thursday.  That day, she was super cranky -- especially when I pinned her down and attempted to force her to take some ibuprofen.  After an abbreviated afternoon nap, she was being a total pill.  Even Peter was looking at me like, c'mon Mom, you gotta do something about my whiny sister!  Charlotte told me that she thought she wanted to go back down for a nap, so I carried her into her room and tucked her in.

That was at 4:45 pm.  I heard her stirring and whimpering a little at 5:30, but she didn't want to get up.  Corey came home and we had dinner without her.  At about 7:15, she whimpered again but fell right back asleep even though Corey went in to try to rouse her.  We didn't hear from her again until 4:15 am when she woke up bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and ready to party.  All traces of a fever were gone and she downed two sippy cups within an hour.  I asked her if she wanted to watch some TV so Mommy could snooze a little, but she actually refused to watch her beloved Huckle Cat, Diego, or Dora.  She said she just wanted to play with me.  Aww . . .

It would have been a lot more fun had it not been before the butt crack of dawn, but I played with her happily.  It was kind of freaky to be without her for the evening.  Petey had a great time being an only child, but I suspect even he missed her a little.

Here is Charlie Jo on day one of the fever.  I was getting the clue that she was sick from her lack of interest in anything -- even her beloved art projects.  I can tell by looking at the picture that she was a little droopy and not quite the little spitfire she normally is.  Thank goodness she and Petey are better now -- I am a wreck when the kids are sick.  It kills me that when I am most in need of a field trip to get out of the house for a break, we need to stay home.  I wish someone would market his/her services as a baby-sitter for sick kids.  Parents would pay a serious premium for such a service.

Charlotte, Madison, & Mitchell in Busytown

Charlotte's latest obsession is the Busytown Mysteries show, based on the characters created by Richard Scarry (who wrote and illustrated many of my childhood favorite books).  So, when we were at the mall last week with the "M" crew (my friend, Melissa, and her kids Mia, Mitchell, and Madison) and spotted Lowly and his famous apple car, Charlotte got super excited.  (Okay, okay, so maybe it was me who got super excited.)  Unfortunately, my camera was running out of juice and I only got a couple of pictures before Charlotte and Madison climbed inside.  Once they settled in, they refused to leave until we lured them out with promises of food.

For some reason, my photo program won't let me correct Mitchell's scary red eyes in that last photo.  Here's a better shot.

Good thing there wasn't a ride featuring Huckle Cat and his little red car, or else we would have had to drag Charlotte kicking and screaming out of there.  She is seriously smitten.  Don't tell Diego, but Charlotte's new favorite thing is to solve mysteries and look for clues instead of rescuing animals.

Not my favorite way to start the day

A substantial portion of a box of Kix on the floor.  Both kids in their high chairs, nowhere near the scene of the crime (thus, no one but myself to blame).

This may not have been my favorite way to start the day, but it sure amused my audience.  And no, Connie wouldn't help me clean up.  She is a surprisingly picky eater for a dog.

Scenes from Crazytown

As seen by my cell phone camera over the past week and a half or so:

1.  A firefighter (or as she calls it, a "fighter-fighter") wearing cowboy boots.

2.  Grandpa Spike teaching Charlotte the ABCs, Dr. Seuss style.

3.  Peter worrying about the safety of his giraffe rocker.

4.  Peter actually keeping a hat on his head!

5.  A new way to bathe?

6.  Pigtails on the potty.

7.  The kids doing their best "Edith Ann" imitations at the Nashville Airport while we waited with Grandma JoJo for her luggage.

Doctor day

Yesterday was an exhausting day.  First, we all headed to the dentist so Charlotte and I could get our teeth cleaned.  Charlotte did a little better than last time in that she let the hygienist check out her teeth with the scraper thingy, but Charlotte was NOT about to let any cleaning occur.  Oh well.  Maybe next time.  Meanwhile, Petey got a little antsy being cooped up in the stroller  and was more than happy to toddle around wreaking havoc while I tried to comfort Charlotte during her exam.  At one point, he decided that he was going to brush MY teeth with the toothbrush we had given him to play with.  Unfortunately, he thought I also had teeth at the back of my mouth in the gag reflex area.  I'm lucky I didn't lose my breakfast.  We got out of there without a major incident, but just barely.

Next, we had a double appointment for both kids at the pediatrician's office.  Petey had a 15-month check-up and Charlotte had her three-year-old one.  Charlotte weighed in at 30 1/2 pounds (the 50th percentile) and measured nearly three feet, two inches (the 50th to 75th percentile).  Petey needs to bulk up a little because he only weighed 22 pounds, five ounces (the 10th to 25th percentile), and he only measured two feet, six 1/2 inches tall (the 25th to 50th percentile).  Otherwise, they both got glowing health reports.  I'm supposed to relax about the potty-training issue for Charlotte and try to get Petey to drink more milk.  Will do!

Here are the mugwumps, having a blast in the exam room.  For some reason, Charlotte decided she needed to wear her sunglasses at all times at the doctor's office.  What a goof!

Birthday disaster at Pancho's

I know I already posted these on Facebook, but they were too funny not to be memorialized on the blog. Here is Charlotte on Monday night, celebrating her birthday one last time at Pancho's during Trivia.

Step 1: The waiters tunelessly sing "Happy Birthday" to her.  She's not thrilled with the hat, hence the hesitation in her smile.  Notice the waitress' hand scooping up a dollop of whipped cream.

Step 2:  BAM!  The waitress slops whipped cream on Charlie Jo's face.

Step 3:  CHARLOTTE IS NOT PLEASED.

Step 4: Charlotte only picks at her sundae.  After the trauma she endured, do you blame her?

I still tipped the waitress, but not very generously!

More fun at the Discovery Center

The rest of Charlotte's birthday party went by in a blur.  There was a fire engine to climb on:

A play house to pretend in:

Rocking giraffes to ride on:

A tree balcony to climb up:

And of course, a tantrum to throw when it was time to leave.  Too bad we took this photo outside her party room on our way out the door.  We really did have a great time, as evidenced by Charlotte's disappointment upon exit.

Happy birthday, my sweet girl!

Peter makes a new friend

For some reason, there was a person dressed up as the mouse from the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie at the Discovery Center during Charlotte's party.  Despite feeling so cruddy from his ear infections, Peter took one look at the mouse and decided he was in LOVE.  He has recently developed an affinity for stuffed animals, and he apparently thought this must be another buddy for him to cuddle.

Petey toddled right up to the mouse and grabbed an arm to snuggle.

"Can you come home with me?  Please?!?!?"

"Mommy, I think this mouse wants to come home with us.  We can just strap him to the top of the Big Red Van.  He can sleep in my crib with me!"

We had to bribe Peter with his beloved monkey blanket to peel him off of the mouse.  Most kids are afraid of people dressed up in animal costumes, but apparently not Peter.  I guess this means a trip to Chuck E. Cheese may be a little dangerous, since Peter might storm the stage and try to cuddle the animatronic band!

Charlotte's 3rd Birthday Extravaganza!

We figured out the perfect birthday party for our little animal lover.  The Discovery Center in Murfreesboro had a party that seemed specifically designed for Charlotte -- an opportunity to pick out five animals to come to her party (in a controlled classroom setting) and then free play in the Discovery Center itself.

We started in the party room with an amazing cake made by the fantastic Alicia.  She and Charlotte developed the concept over many discussions the past few weeks.  Charlotte was very certain about the elephants, but the colors were only nailed down in the 11th hour because every time you asked Charlotte, her answer would change.

Watching through the window at her guests arriving.

Shlurping on her favorite treat -- lemonade!

Charlotte has a distinct affinity for Baby Gabe.  Sometimes, we have to hold her back from loving him a little too much.

I bet she wished for some animals to meet.

But first, we opened some great presents, like this cute elephant skirt from Faith Carol.

A play cooking set!

Next, we got to sit down on rainbow mats and have the animals brought out to us.  Charlotte had gone in before the party and viewed all the possible animals.  She asked each one she chose, "would you like to come to my bihfday pahtee?"  The young gal from the Discovery Center then listened in and told Charlotte that yes, indeed they would like to come to her party.  Charlotte chose a bunny, a gecko, a chinchilla, a snake, and a tortoise.

The bunny was a big hit!  Too bad Peter was knocked flat by a double ear infection that subdued him into a dazed stupor during the party, or else he would have had a blast seeing the animals as well.

Hi little gecko!  (Madison petted him too.)

NanaB and I were NOT excited about the snake, but she was very pretty colored.

Odie and Luke were braver than me.

The chinchilla took a hilarious dust bath in a little bowl to get all the oil from our hands off his fur.

Charlie P. wasn't too keen on the animals until the tortoise came out.  Everyone really liked her.

More fun from the party to come.  This post is too long as it is!