Friends in Fort Collins

After a couple of snowy, fun-filled days in Steamboat, we packed up the SUV rental and headed east towards Fort Collins. Our friends Christian and Briana live there with their three kids, Annabel (5), Henry (3 – our Godson) and Claire (5 months).

A very windy, snowy drive through the mountains, bound for Ft. Collins

It’s amazing how time flies. You realize it when you see children growing. We saw them last at Henry’s baptism when he was only three months old. They were living in Bend, OR at the time and we were in LA.

The kids get along really well and we all enjoyed relaxing and catching up. Little Claire is a sweet, sweet baby.

Annabel is the typical big sister, helpful and kind and motherly.

And Henry, well Henry is a pistol. This is the child who recently refused to take off a football helmet for an entire day and he even napped in it. And just a few weeks ago he swallowed a nail, failing to tell his parents until they were 45 minutes away from home on a trip to Denver. Let’s just say, we’re praying extra hard for this kid. He’s not bad, just energetic times ten, very bright, and ultra athletic. His first words to Matt when we entered their home, “Hey, Matt wanna see my shot?” as he dunked a small basketball into an “over-the chair” hoop.

Henry, showing us his moves on his "court" in the basement

According to Briana he’s almost never without some sort of ball. He’s also always wearing a jersey of some sort or team colors; CU, CSU or Wyoming. We’ll have to send him some Auburn gear.

Annabel, Henry and Ella walking along a wall in old town Ft. Collins

Henry, being eaten by a fish

At any rate, we had a great time. It was so nice seeing friends and being back in the Rocky Mountains!!

Now we’re back home and busy catching up on laundry, even though I did plenty on our trip. And Ella apparently had a little too much fun with other kids’ germs…she’s sick AGAIN!!

Waiting to sample Briana's chocolate cake!!

A Little Ski Getaway

EagleRidge Townhomes -- Steamboat Springs, Colorado January 2008

As if Ella had not seen enough snow so far this winter, her first real winter on record, we decided to pack up and head to Colorado.

Our friends Mark and Kelly, parents to Zach and Ryan, invited us to join a group of other families in Steamboat Springs. Matt had business in Denver and Ella and I could fly on frequent flyer points so we excitedly agreed. Ella and I flew out a day after Matt and had no major problems. I have to say customer service really stinks these days so I relied on the kindness of strangers when it came to getting two bags, a stroller and a two year old through security.

Ella and Ryan looking out the window with juice

Ella rode a choo choo train (the tram) and then a big airplane. She is so much her father's child. When we got to our gate she ran over to the big window, pressed her little hands and face against the glass and screamed, "Airplanes, airplanes!!" When we finally took off she became really miffed when we got above the clouds. She even asked a flight attendant if we could fly through the clouds again. On the way down she said. The pilot signed her little Delta log book and we landed without incident.

Ella and Zach, relaxing on the nice comfy leather couch

Daddy was about 30 minutes behind us so we were ready to go when he got there. Our townhouse in Steamboat was awesome. We joined our friends and another couple with their three year old daughter. Steamboat is amazing. It's at lower elevation than other places in Colorado so there are great big, beautiful pines all over the town and even on the ski runs. There has been a ton of snow lately so we had lots of nice fresh powder, better to fall on if you ski like me.

Matt, covered in kids: Zach, Ella and Haley e
We had a lovely young lady come and babysit for Ryan (one) and Ella (two) on our first full day there so we could enjoy skiing. I hit the slopes for half a day and then went back to relieve the sitter. It was just enough for me. Plus, Ella and Ryan play nicely together.

this works a little better than a cookie sheet

Ella's first icicle!!

On the last day we took Ella sledding and then packed up for a three hour drive to Fort Collins to visit our friends from my days in Cheyenne, Christian, Briana and their crew of three, including our second Godson, Henry......

Twice In One Week

The snowfall of January 16th was nothing more than messy wet roads come the following morning. Fortunately, this made the morning commute less of a nightmare than I’d expected.

However, the following Saturday we got walloped. Well, for Georgia anyway. Our neck of the woods, along with most of metro-Atlanta received a respectable 2-3 inches of snow. We had already dredged out the ski gear from the basement (in preparation for our ski trip to Steamboat Springs) storage so we suited up for a little play.

So, we had the mittens, boots, coats and hats but we didn’t have sleds or saucers for riding down snowy hills. But we did have Grandmom Majoli’s cookie sheets. They worked great!

Enjoy the video of Ella’s first sledding experience, which she shared with neighbor friends Anna and Evan, and the shots of the Majoli home all covered with snow.

Snowin' In tha A-T-L

This is going to cause a lot of craziness tomorrow morning, but it sure is pretty. Ella and I went outside when the snow first started to fall but she didn't seem interested. Occasionally she would come sit next to me and watch, I more mesmerized than she. Once she quietly observed, "Pretty snow." But then her attention turned once more to a Thomas the Train DVD.

There's a nice blanket over everything and we're supposed to get a little more precipitation through the night. Big news for people in Atlanta. Everything will probably be shut down, but CNN will still have to feed the beast so I'll likely be headed downtown with all the idiots in the morning.

It's Potty Time

During an afternoon poopy diaper change today Ella looked up at me and said, "Mommy, Ella wants to go potty." Yes, she refers to herself in the third person. So instead of putting on a fresh diaper after she's been wiped clean, I let her little bare bottom run to the bathroom.

I quickly busied myself with disposing of the dirty diaper, etc. A few minutes later I noticed Ella was running around again and calling my name. I figured this was just her usual, Mommy I'm running around without a diaper and you can't catch me routine. So I mostly ignored her and picked up a few toys. Then I went into her bathroom to get something out of the linen closet. She was standing proudly over her potty. I did a double take. There was about half an inch of the yellow stuff inside the potty.

I can't believe how excited I was. Truly, it's crazy to think how exhilarating that moment was. I did a dance, clapped my hands, said good job about 100 times. I called Daddy who was not home at the time and called all the grandparents. Ella told all of them, "Ella went poo poo in the potty!" I jumped in for a quick edit, "she meant to say pee pee."

After much excitement and congratulations we went downstairs and prepared ice cream with chocolate syrup and sprinkles!!

Later in the day, when the pomp and circumstance had dwindled, I went to the bathroom. When I returned Ella said, "Mommy, did you go potty?" I said, yes. "Good job, Mommy, good job!!" exclaimed Ella.

Under Construction: Big Girl Room

Don't sound any alarms. There's no need to hurry Ella out of the nursery and into her big girl room, but we've started on it anyway. In my absence from blogging we reached a crucial turning point in Ella's young life. She got out of her crib.

It was right around her birthday when she started showing signs of a jail break. She's always been a fearless climber and quite frankly I'm surprised she hasn't done it already. At any rate, I went in to get her from her nap one afternoon and she was standing in her rocking chair. I exclaimed, "Ella!" To which she gave a matter of fact response, "Ella got out," as she pointed to her crib.

Matt immediately grabbed the tools and converted the crib to a toddler bed. Thank Goodness we got that feature.

A few days later, Matt went to Home Depot with a fist full of gift cards and bought supplies for Ella's big girl room. I bought the bedding on sale this summer, really cute lavender and green. I got my old furniture from my mom, which needs to be painted but is in pretty good shape for inexpensive Sears furniture from the 70's. And my friend, Gerin just gave me some butterflies that once hung in her daughter's room; she now has a bigger girl's room, complete with a surfing theme.

Anyway, Matt was busy painting one day recently and Ella wanted to get in on the action. I forgave him for not changing her out of a good outfit, which now has lavender smears on it, because the end result was just so cute!

Old Friends...New Friends

I got together with a few of my oldest and dearest girlfriends a few days ago. Having grown up in what used to be a relatively small town, many of my friends are people I've known since elementary school. Fortunately, they all still live around here. I was the black sheep who left and moved about the country. But then, that has afforded me another group of fantastic friends.

(L-R Maddie, Abby, Max, Cale (sp?) Steele, Kaelin, Ella, Ashlyn)

Anyway. We usually get together over the holidays but this year it just didn't work. So we met at a friend's mother's home because it seemed centrally located. It's a strange feeling looking at these girls I've known for what seems like forever. We've shared gossip, heartache (real and perceived), drama and bliss over many, many years. It's a true treasure, friendship.

And we are all taken aback when we look at our offspring. We used to think WE were a force to be reckoned with, and now we're four plus seven (eight if you count my girlfriend's niece). Many of the kids are only six months apart so really no one seems left out. It took Ella a little while to warm up but when she came around she really seemed to enjoy hide and seek. She's the third youngest so it was sweet to see the older ones watching out for her, and quite vocally informing me when she had a dirty diaper. So while I caught up with my old friends, Ella was busy making new ones.


We are a strongly estrogen bunch, Max and Steele are doing their part in the effort to make up for that. God bless 'em.

Whatever's in your hands as you're reading this, bottled water, coffee, tea, Cabernet, toast those near and dear. What would we do without that bond that brings us back to who we are, were and want to be. I can only hope Ella is so blessed.

Daddy Needs a TuTu

So, as I mentioned in an earlier blog entry, we've signed Ella up for a dance class at the YMCA. Nothing major. It's called twirling toddlers. Basically they learn coordination and practice following directions in a group setting and they get some exercise. I was looking for a gymnastics class which I didn't realize they offered until after I signed her up for the dance class. That's fine though we figure dance now, swimming lessons this spring and gymnastics this summer. Well, maybe I'm being too ambitious.

Ella loves music and dancing at home, she should do well, right?

Well there's more to the story.

The class is every Wednesday over the next several weeks from 9:30 until 10:00. I usually don't work Wednesdays so it was set to work out fine. However, Matt's not traveling this week so I picked up a Wednesday shift. Soooo....he had to take her to her first class. I spoke with the teacher the night before and had her tutu, leotard and tights laying out in her room so daddy didn't have to question what a tiny dancer might need.

They get to the Y, Matt finds the classroom, meets the teacher, waits a few moments and turns to go. I told him he'd be able to drop her off and get in a nice 20 30 minutes of work out time. But as he's turning toward the door the teacehr says, "Oh, sir, we need a parent to stay and participate, it's a new rule." OOOPS!!

To make a long story short -- Matt was reportedly doing the bunny hop and riding a feather duster around like a pony along with three two year olds, a mom and a teacher. I wish I had been a fly on the wall!!

Yes, she's sticking out her tongue, I'm so proud

I insisted he take pictures. It's just too bad we can't see him doing the bunny hop. As you can see, our Ella is already a non-conformist. She didn't really want to do what the others girls were doing and refused to wear her hair clip. She looks like a raggamuffin. But this is the stuff that provides fodder for all those graduations, birthdays and future, future, way down the road, wedding rehearsals!!

Grandmom's Dress: Years One & Two

Some of you may recall I've started what I think is a beautiful tradition suggested to me by my friend, Gerin. Aunt Barbara was kind enough to give the dress Grandmom Majoli wore to our wedding. Each year I'm taking Ella's picture in the dress, or being draped in it at this stage, in a rocker she gnawed on when she was cutting her front teeth. Over the years I hope to document her growth into the dress and the chair. Gerin's been doing this with her daughter who's now six. She's also begun the tradition with he one year old son who's wearing his dad's high school letterman's jacket. How cool is that?

Anyway, here's a year to year comparison. I am in love with the early results.

A little dancing

We just signed Ella up for a dance class at the YMCA. After her stint with the break dancers at Babci and Granddad Christmas Party and this little number she performed a while later while standing beside the pianist in the lounge, we figure she needs a professional guiding her young ambition.



Stage mom, here I come! I'm totally kidding, I watch E True Hollywood stories, I'm not about to raise a freak, just encourage anything she truly loves.

Potty Peer Pressure

Ella moved up from the toddler room to the early preschool class at school about a month and a half ago. Many of the children in her class now are either potty trained or in the process. Beyond explaining how mommy and daddy go to the potty and illustrating that mommy and daddy don't wear diapers we have not touched the potty issue AT ALL, until now. Our pediatrician told us not to even venture down that road until Ella's 2 1/2. Fine with us.

But we figured we should start getting our props ready for the big show. So, we took a gift card from Papa and Nana and bought two potties, one for upstairs one for down. The poor 16 year old cashier at Target nearly swallowed her gum when she rang them up. She had a horrified look on her face when she asked, "Are you potty training two kids?" No, I'm just all about convenience. I figure this potty thing is not going to be easy.



At any rate, cousin Emma (6 weeks older) is going to the potty. And she's doing a great job! Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Rob and Emma were over this weekend to drop off some warm weather gear for Ella and our upcoming ski trip! Yeah!! Aunt Stephanie being from Wisconsin is better equipped for those things.


But back to the potty. Ella became very intrigued by Emma's adventures in potty land. I watched her and figured this dialogue was going on in her head:


Okay, so you strip down and sit on that little chair. A few minutes later you get up and there's some yellow stuff in that little cup and your mommy and daddy give you high fives and hugs. I should get in on this action...



For the first few days after we set up the potties she was more than willing to sit on them after or before diaper changes and before bath time. But lately she's been very adamant the potty is not for her. We didn't push because we don't want to associate anything negative with the potty.

So, Ella watched, craned at times, as Emma went potty. She even tried on her own a few times. She didn't pee or poop but at least she was enticed. Emma's visit has rekindled an interest. We're still not going for the potty with gusto yet, but we may have taken a crucial turn. Who says peer pressure is bad?

Terrible Twos? DEMON Twos!

Like a switch, my sweet child has entered into the terrible twos. I call them the demon twos because she has developed this throaty screaming cry when she's pitching one of her new, Oscar worthy, tantrums. I half expect her to start saying red rum!

Tonight, her latest documented "episode" began at the end of bath time. She didn't want to get out of the tub but I tried to put on a happy face and lure her into her room by doing a little dance and singing a Wiggles song. While I stood there flailing around tooting and chugging to an imaginary "big red car" Ella, much like an angry puppy, stood looking at me with disdain and proceeded to pee on the carpet. Leaving the wet spot behind she took off running with her hoodie towel blowing in the breeze behind her. Once I got her up on the changing table she back arched so hard she nearly flung herself off the table and into the reading lamp.

It was about this time Matt entered the room with a horrified look on his face. Of course he must have thought I was beating her because of all the commotion.

So he tries to take over. She pulls away so hard she bangs her head on the wall. Finally he holds her while I blow dry her hair, she's screaming all the while. An attempt to brush her teeth almost put out everyones eyes.

Finally, a little rocking calmed her down. We put the baby dolls in their beds and she crawled into hers, quiet, peaceful and sucking her thumb.

I'm growing more convinced this stage of childhood is, instead of a developmental, test your boundaries, self-awareness phase, a psychotic break. That's it. My child is psycho. I'm not closing my eyes in the shower until she's 18.

Welcome 2008

Like many newsies, I worked New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, but luckily I landed a 9-5 shift on Monday so I was home for the intended festivities.

When I got home we had a quick bite to eat and headed over to do sparklers and fireworks with Ella's Godfather and Godsister, Abby at their family farm.

Ella got smoke in her eyes right off the bat and spent the rest of the time covering her eyes from all the pops and exploding colors. My California baby also wanted to go inside where it was warm. But there were lots of dogs to play with and she did enjoy watching Abby play with the snap and pops (those things that pop when you throw them on the ground). We were home by 9 p.m. and Ella went straight to bed.

Matt and I fell asleep watching the Auburn/Crimson game. We were awakened at 11:45 by a screaming child. We were consoling her and giving her juice when the clock struck midnight and all the neighbors started shooting off fireworks. Happy New Year! we said to each other between yawns. My how life has changed.