She Has Her Mother's Coordination and Agility

Oh, the poor child.  She's really in for it.

Gonzo has had it rough this week, as these pictures plainly see.  On Monday, she tripped in the hallway and hit her head on the baseboards on her way to school.  Once there, she tripped on a mat and bumped the same spot on her head.  The bruise is looking pretty good today.

Last night Gonzo pulled down a small chair onto her big toe, and it immediately turned purple.  She's walking on it just fine today, but I'm sure it doesn't feel very good.  Gizmo keeps saying that "Gonzo's toenail is going to fall off!", because I said that last night after it happened.  I actually think that freaks Gizmo out.

Oh, Gonzo.  Please be more careful, and please get over your clumsy nature sooner rather than later!

W.W.t.G.D?

Last night at the end of dinner, Gizmo was being a little too disobedient, and so Mitch put her in the doorway (her "timeout" spot) and told her to "not touch anything", as her hands were covered with food.

Less than thirty seconds later, she had her shirt pulled up to her chin and was banging on her stomach, taunting Mitch with "Daddy, I'm touching something!  Daddy!"

What would the General do in this situation?  We are convinced he would have just laughed.

Oh, Gizmo - how you make our life so much happier!

SPRING BREAK! The Rest of the Story

The rest of the week kept us busy, and I'm not sure who was more worn out - the girls or myself. We colored Easter eggs (complete with a dye spill all over my hand and shirt - that poor Rose Bowl shirt didn't see what was coming),

we played outside,

we had a picnic lunch at the park,

and celebrated Easter with a trip to church, an Easter Egg hunt with Aunt Katie and Uncle Boston, and a massive sugar high and crash.

Gonzo was oblivious to the whole thing,

but was very angry when she learned that the egg hunt was done during her nap. If looks could kill...

Something tells me that I'll see that look very often in the coming years.

And now, things are back to "normal", with me at work and the girls happy and content at home. Grama Poke and Aunt Cathy are in town this week to watch the girls while Grama Jersey Girl enjoys her vacation, and they are off to a very fun (and exhausting) start!

SPRING BREAK! Thursday

After a fairly uneventful Wednesday (a trip to the doctor for Gonzo and a few hours at work for mommy do not a fun day make), we were ready for our great adventure of the week. Auntie Al and Mr. Fix-It got Gonzo a family membership to the Children's Museum for her birthday, and it could not have been a better gift for two active little girls. Aunt Katie joined us for the trip, and brought her camera along to capture the morning. (Thank goodness Aunt Katie is better about remembering her camera than I am. She takes better pictures on her fancy new camera, anyway. If I could hire her to follow me and the girls around and just take pictures, I would. She wouldn't mind, as long as I paid well and offered benefits, I'm sure.)

Gizmo was true to her personality today, taking things in quietly and timidly, almost afraid to explore and interrupt other kids' fun. She did, however, have fun walking on the over/under circle,

hopping on one foot,

playing with turtles and blocks (in a room that was enclosed and quieter than the rest of the museum - this is where we spent most of our time this morning)

painting our own face (and Aunt Katie had some face paint, too - I wonder what the office thought of that when she returned to work!)

pressing pennies into discs, then adding different textures,

and building model train cars.

Gonzo got to enjoy her gift, too - she had a great time walking around in the blocks room and trying to climb this incline, which she was unsuccessful in doing. There were tears at the end, but she was easily distracted.

The poor kid was a trooper, since she had a runny nose and was well overdue for her nap when we left.

Today, as I was working in the house and enjoying the quiet when the girls were napping this afternoon, I, for a brief moment, wished I could be a stay-at-home mom so that the girls and I could have this type of fun all the time. Because we did have fun this morning.

The icing on the cake? Meeting Daddy for lunch at one of Gizmo's favorite restaurants, since Mitch's building is adjacent to the Children's Museum.

Life is good when McDonald's is the highlight of the day!

SPRING BREAK! Tuesday

Today started with baths and a trip to Kohls to purchase some new clothes for Gizmo. Today she and I went through her box of spring and summer clothes, and she really has only a few things left that will fit from last year. She was pretty OK with boxing her small things up and "saving them for Gen", but she would just not take off this awful puffy vest that was a hand-me-down from a neighbor. Barely fitting, she squeezed the buttons shut around her body and would not put it in the box. She and I made a deal that she could wear it for play in the house only, and not outside. We shook on it, so it has to stick.

We then went to the library for story time, which was the first time the girls visited this event. It was small and fun, and we then went into the main library to play and pick out books.

After lunch, it was by far the most calm of the day - the girls watched "Super Why" together.

Who says TV isn't good for kids?

After naps and a snack for Gonzo,

we headed over to Grama and Pomps for Lil' Missy's birthday dinner. She picked the menu, which consisted of pizza, broccoli, and strawberries. (And cake and ice cream, of course!) Gizmo's comment about the best part of the night? "The cake was the best part for sure!"

Happy 9th birthday, Lil' Missy!

SPRING BREAK! Day 1

On Saturday I took Gizmo to an easter egg hunt in our district. Even though my friendly weatherman told me it would be a beautiful day, it was cold enough for Gizmo to wear her winter coat and hat. (She elected not to wear her mittens so that she could grab more eggs and candy.)

The drive to the soccer fields: 15 minutes. Waiting in the cold for the air horn to blow? 10 minutes. The time to actually "find" the eggs and pick up the candy? 5 minutes. Waiting to leave the parking lot to run errands? 20 minutes.

She didn't care. Look how proud of her loot she is!

In other spring break news, we bathed the children together for the first time, and both kids and parents survived. Today we had a fun day of our ECFE class ("Mommy! You get to take me today!") and a not-so-fun nap time battle, which I am proud to say that I won.