I think I can pretty much gather what everyone’s top favorite things were from this year’s Hilton Head trip (besides the obvious things like eating to our hearts content and gossiping poolside, etc)

Lizzie:

1.  The “Hershey Hotel” (every hotel to her is the Hershey Hotel and for some reason she really likes hotels)

2.  Going underwater…definitely a favorite

3.  Playing Pokemon with her boy cousins

Daniel:

1.  The Pool - Learning to do flips and other such things

2.  Biking riding all the way to Harbor Town - One tough kid, I must say.

3.   Being Ball boy for the Tennis Tournament

Eppie:

1.  Playing Tennis

2.  Jammin’ to the new New Kids on the Block song Summertime practically for the first two hours of our trip down.  Oh so cool.

3.  Watching Elizabeth scream “Underwater” every time she went to jump in the pool.  It was truly hilarious, I must say.

Holly:

1.  Bike riding all over the island - Always the favorite, so I guess it shouldn’t count

2.  Ladies Day Brunch

3.  Watching Eppie pretending to do stuff on his laptop, but secretly watching The Disney Channel with Addison (which was always on in our room).  But I must say, those teeny-bopper shows aren’t that bad.

These first two are taken in Charlotte, NC where we stopped for the night. We went to Chili’s to grab some dinner and thought we’d have the waiter’s sing to Elizabeth, which she thoroughly enjoyed…not really. She was like, “Who are these people and why are they singing my favorite song?”

When we arrived in Hilton Head, we had some dinner and my mom got a little blue cupcake (why blue, I don’t know) for lizzie to blow out her two candles. It was a fun time watching her open up her presents and I just knew that the 99-cent bag of bouncy balls I got from target would be her favorite present. I don’t know why I even bothered to get her anything else.

My Little Lizzie-Lou turns two in three days. How we LOVE this girl!!!

I write this now because we will be en route to Hilton Head Island on her birthday (Hurrah!!!!) We’ll probably be in North Carolina at some Motel - So I’m not too sure how we’re going to keep our Vojt tradition of eating birthday cake for breakfast. I’m thinking maybe just putting two candles on a blueberry muffin from the free continental breakfast thing - and maybe even encouraging some of the guests to sing Happy Birthday to my daughter. How awesome would that be?

(eppie has taken over writing now) - Lizzie’s first two years have been quite fun for us - especially lately.  Even before she started talking, Lizzie was quite the comedian, but now that she speaks more, she’s become exponentially funnier.  She has some very interesting mannerisms (that probably don’t translate all that well into writing) that just crack me up.  The first, is that whenever you explain something to Lizzie, she responds with a drawn out “Ohhhhhhh!” as if suddenly everything in the world makes sense to her… even if she clearly didn’t comprehend what was being explained.  Always cracks me up.

I also find myself frequently laughing at the extremely random collection of words that comprise Lizzie’s lexicon (her lizicon, if you will).  Example (50 cents - I know, you don’t get it… long story… perhaps it will be blogged about soon):

Tonight, Lizzie climbed out of her crib and was calling for mom.  I came up the stairs instead (not usually a happy moment for her when she realizes the footsteps are not moms), but tonight, she was kind of cool about it (since I did carry up her beloved pacifier).  I gave her the passy, put her in the crib, and told her I loved her.  She said “atch you dad” which naturally means “thank you dad” and I started to make my way out of the room.  As I’m closing the door, she inexplicably says “dora backpack.”  She didn’t fuss as if she wanted the Dora backpack before she would go to bed or anything.  She just felt like saying it… almost as if it was some new, hip way to say goodnight (because our kids are like that - always making up their own words or shortening things… Daniel drinking some g’ade).  So, yeah… Dora backpack to you too, little Lizzie.

I’m writing this post in an effort to make sure that when Lizzie reads a hard copy of this blog a few years from now, she won’t be like, “You didn’t love me as much as Daniel because you never wrote about me.”  (Trust me, I was like that growing up, so if she has my genes, she will definitly do the same thing….but then again, she will NOT have six brothers and sisters to compete with)  So here it goes…

Tidbit #1 -

Elizabeth accidently locked herself into our house one evening last week.  It was one of the longest 45 minutes of my life.  With the help of GREAT neighbors, we were able to break the lock on one of our windows, and Daniel (the hero - and he won’t let you forget it) climbed in and unlocked the door from the inside.

We went to Lowes the next day to get a spare key!

Tidbit #2-

Elizabeth has the coolest bed head.  One of these morning I need to take a picture of it.

Tidbit #3-

Elizabeth has taught me and Daniel some new variations on certain words.  No longer do Daniel and I say the words Milk, Juice, Book and Socks.  Those words have completely disappeared from our lexicon and have been replaced by Lizzie’s variations:  Milk-ah, Juice-ah, Book-ah, and Ocks. 

Strange how that happens.  I’m 28 years old and I get a kick out of saying, “Okay kids, let’s put on your shoes and ocks!”

Tidbit #4-

She still has to go to bed with at least one book.  But now, she also has to go to sleep with her winnie the pooh which is the same size as her.  She reads to him and gives him some of her milk .  It’s quite cute.

Tidbit #5-

Elizabeth hates church nursery. 

Tidbit #6-

Elizabeth has the most awsome fake life you’ll ever hear.

Tidbit #7-

Elizabeth’s nickname is Bean.  In fact, we probably call her this 90% of the time.  Other nicknames are Beany, Beaner, Beany-Baby, Lizard, Lizard-Breath, Lizzie-Lou,  and Lizzy-Tizzy.

Tidbit #8-

Elizabeth has started potty-training herself.  We have a long ways to go, but at least there’s interest.

Tidbit #9-

Elizabeth is the easiest child.  But once we leave the confines of our house, all hell breaks loose. 

Only if I’m desperate will I take her to the grocery store.  Forget the library - I only go on Saturdays with Daniel now.  Church is the longest three hours of our life.  Public bathrooms are disasterous - she crawls under all the stalls…and what can I do to stop her? And unless I plan on running out of a dressing room half naked chasing after a one-year old, I will never take Elizabeth clothes-shopping with me. 

Tidbit #10-

Elizabeth is a chocoholic.  If she sees chocolate in any form, she will rant and kick and scream until she gets it. 

Like mother, like daughter.

(And no, I do not always let her have it!  I’m a some-what decent mom)

Tidbit #11-

If you can drink it and it’s not milk, Lizzie thinks it’s juice.  Kind of funny watching her desperately point to a bottle of Sprite and say “juice,” like that should make it okay for her to drink it.

I love to read books to Daniel.  I could do it all day.

I was really sad that Elizabeth wouldn’t last for more than three seconds on my lap when I tried to read to her.

But that’s all changed…drastically.  These last few weeks, all Elizabeth seems to want to do is read.  And it really makes me so happy reading to her! 

What I love the most is that Elizabeth now has to fall asleep with, not a doll or a blanket, but a book!  Any book!  And the more the better. 

Yeah!  I love my little book worm.

I write a lot about Daniel because I have great conversations with him. But Lizzie doesn’t really talk yet, so she doesn’t SAY anything that I can write about. But she did DO something pretty funny today.

We were coloring with markers and Lizzie kept wanting to color the table. I said, “Lizzie, if you do that one more time…”

“YOU’LL GO TO YOUR ROOM!” screamed Daniel.

Lizzie laughed. Colored the table one last time. Got off her chair and walked upstairs to her room and stayed there.

Maybe I should think of a harsher punishment for her in the future

I haven’t been writing much about Elizabeth, so here’s the latest:

-She said her first three-syllable word today: Pineapple

-She should have been born with a leash.

-She won’t sit in a grocery cart anymore.

-She loves dogs, shoes and chocolate

-”Moo” is her default when she doesn’t know what an animal says.

-She has to do everything herself.

-She sings to Timbaland’s “Apologize” every time it’s on the radio.

-She closes her eyes real tight when you take a picture of her…just like Daniel did.

This is what I (Holly) tell everyone about my kids:  Daniel looks like an Aldous, but he is all Eppie.  Elizabeth looks like Eppie, but she is all Aldous.  What’s an Aldous?  (Actually, you’re probably asking “What’s an Eppie?”)  Aldous is my maiden name, and while I can’t speak for all of my siblings, this is what an Aldous is - Hence, this is what Elizabeth is:

She walks around the house all day singing “Happy Happy birthday, daddy dear” (But more like “Happy happy day dada de”) 

She is very strong-willed - Making sure she always gets her way….by pulling Daniel’s hair all the time.  She doesn’t understand it hurts because she loves to pull her own hair and thinks it’s great.

She’s a morning person and so not a night owl.  Thank goodness.  Night people are wierd - I married one. 

Shyness galore around strangers.   No church nursery for her, thank you.

Lizzie Dances like there’s no tomorrow.  The song I choreographed for the e-dance show is “Walk like an Egyptian.”  Lizzie, all the time, sings Way-o, Way-o, Way-o and does the egyptian-head-bob thing.

 Oh, the hair.  Poor girl has crazy hair.  After years of frizz and unmanagable hair, I finally figured out a way to tame my own hair.  Now I’m working on Elizabeth’s and I just can’t figure out what to do with it.  Is it straight?  Is it curly?  What do I do with this mullett?  How in the world do I stick these things in your hair?  Oh my.  This was one of the reasons why I wanted all boys.  I’m not a “girl mom.” 

That’s it for now - Maybe I’ll think of a few more later