Half Crazy

Well, I can't believe it is true, but I have committed myself to attempting the Fort Worth Cowtown half marathon on 2/27/11. I guess that silly husband of mine inspired me. Plus I needed a goal to work toward, or I knew I would never find the time to exercise with this crazy new life as mom-to-two.

I have to say that it feels very good to hit it hard, and I am enjoying this new sport. I have been running 3x per week, around 3 miles each time, to lay a good base before the training schedule officially begins in December. My leg muscle tone is looking pretty awesome, and hopefully the weeks of training to come will help to blast off the little bit of baby belly that is still lingering. I can already feel my heart and body getting stronger, and it's showing through improved times. Starting out, a 12 minute mile wore me out. Now an 11 minute mile is downright comfortable most of the time. Fingers crossed that my thirty-something body will hold up! Since my brother, sister-in-law and hubby have all completed one or more half-marathons, I figure I had better bring up the rear in accomplishing this goal.

To further coerce myself into doing this, I have also organized a group of friends and we have named our team "Half Crazy." Mainly, we are just encouraging each other through email and some of us are pairing off for long runs. It will be fun to have some girls to huddle up with on the big day.

Running is also a great way to maintain my sense of self... hitting the pavement with some great power music booming seems to be the only way I can forget about all the duties of mommyhood for 30 minutes.

Traditional Baby

Well, Tyler is more than 3-months old which I find completely unbelievable. Where has the time gone?! The day he turned 3 months he rolled from his back to his side, and it also seemed like all at once he was staying awake for much longer stretches of time. Plus he is using his hands to grab small toys and mommy's hair, and he is enamored with his Nanna-made taggie. He completely melts my heart on a daily basis with his smiles and he is starting to giggle now too.

I have borrowed some baby gear from family and friends that I never bothered to purchase with Katelynn, like a jungle gym mat and a bouncy seat with a toy bar. KK would have scoffed at these items...or rather she would have screamed ferociously until I took her out of them. I honestly could have purchased only the Baby Bjorn for her and nothing else; she lived in that contraption! Tyler, on the other hand, has been enjoying these entertainment items immensely and I use them nearly every day with him.

I commented to my mom that it is so strange to see my baby using traditional gear after getting used to Katelynn and her preferences. She commented that my view of "normal" was a bit...errr...skewed... and that he is my "traditional baby". Much in the same way that I call KK my spirited child, I have been calling TyTy my traditional baby ever since Nanna coined the term.

First Sibling Pics

Last week I took the kiddos for pictures together at JCPenney and killed three birds with one stone: (1) Tyler's 3 month pictures; (2) KK's 4 year pictures; and (3) First professional sibling pictures. Our photographer Emily was so wonderful. She is the manager and doesn't always take photos so I got really lucky. I will be requesting her from now on...there were so many good shots that it was very difficult to choose favorites. She was able to get a genuine smile out of KK, who has entered the stage of the fake-picture-smile. Sigh of relief...all that work to get them dressed and there was worth it!

Izzy's Auction

My miracle niece Izzy was born on 2/26/09 at only 23 weeks, 6 days gestation. It was a long, long road for our entire family as she struggled to survive in the NICU. I am happy to report that she is thriving today (as you can tell from the adorable pumpkin patch picture). Since Izzy was born, my brother Griff and sister-in-law Jen have been major champions for the March of Dimes. They had the top fundraising team in all of Fort Worth this past Spring... so proud of them!

Recently the March of Dimes Tarrant County chapter designated them the "Ambassador Family" for this year's major fundraiser, the Signature Chefs auction. It was held at the fancy Omni hotel in downtown Fort Worth and is normally $250 a plate. Griff and Jen, however, were given two tables to fill with friends and family! So it was with much glee that we attended our first benefit dinner.

It was a lot of fun. There were about 20 area chefs in attendance and each featured one dish. We wandered the ballroom sampling all sorts of fun delicacies. Then there was a big auction that was waaay out of our price range but fun to watch. The best part for me, though, was seeing my family's video featured at the end! Check it out here. And grab a kleenex.

TyTy the Bowhead

Having two kiddos has been lots of fun. KK is such a sweet big sister - she is gentle with her brother and likes to show him toys, sing to him, read books to him, dance for him, and generally entertain him. I really couldn't ask for more. Sibling interactions have also provided fun entertainment for mommy, such as when she stuck this bow on his head one morning.

As my friend Sarah said, the look on Tyler's face is already that of the ever-suffering little brother. Such a priceless picture!

Happy Birthday KK

I can't believe my little girl is four years old today, on Turkey Day. I have been informed by my friend Kelly, whom has certain rainman-esque like qualities, that this will not occur again until she is 33 years old.... or something like that.

It is appropriate that her birthday sometimes fall on Thanksgiving, since I am certainly thankful for my children more than just about anything else in the world! (Gene, of course you too, sweetie... heehee...) It is amazing to watch little Katelynn grow and develop, even on the hard days. She has captured my heart and I can't even begin to imagine my life without her.

Earlier this month she had a birthday party at McDonald's. (Side note: McDonald's parties are an amazing value... I highly recommend for the thrifty parent!) She never set foot in the play area which I thought was quite funny. She was very eager to collect and organize her gifts and to put out the place settings at the table. Despite her inability to loosen up and just play (perhaps a bit like her mom...), she seemed to thoroughly enjoy "her day."

My Little Ladybug and Pumpkin

This seems to be the first year that Katelynn really "gets" the fun of the holidays and has a great amount of anticipation associated with them, particularly with Halloween and Christmas. She has been obsessed with both and the questions are never-ending. We have entered those fleeting golden years where she has so much understanding and excitement about these fun days and she buys into the fantasy of it all - i.e. she still thinks witches and ghosts and Santa Claus might be real...

This was the first year she picked out her own costume. We walked into Target and she made a beeline for the ladybug costume. (Uh...no pun intended!) I was very pleased with her choice. She absolutely couldn't wait to wear her costume.

In the meantime, I figured Tyler would be dressing up as a baby this Halloween. Then I stumbled across $3 costumes at Babies-R-Us! So I promptly purchased an adorable pumpkin outfit, plus a giraffe outfit for next year. Seriously - a $30 costume for $3!! (Now I am lamenting the fact that I didn't clear them out and fully stock a dress-up closet...)

KK had a wonderful time going door to door with her buddy Anna and looked adorable in her girly costume. She was beaming the whole time she had it on. Tyler wasn't too keen on the pumpkin hood but he's pretty laid back and got over it. Mommy and daddy enjoyed our cutie pies, but I must say Halloween is a little frightening for even adults when you have a kid with a peanut allergy. Luckily KK takes it pretty seriously too and she was good about not touching her candy till we got home...

Drinking the Kool-Aid

This year Gene and I did not think we would make our annual trip to Aggieland because of having a newborn. We didn't realize just how much last year's trip had an impact on little Katelynn. Then one day she excitedly began asking us when we would return to the Promised Land - I mean College Station - and listing off all the fun things she got to do there.... getting her face painted, wearing her cheerleader uniform, getting ice cream at the stadium, etc. That is when we realized: at less than 3 years old she was already drinking the kool-aid! We would be terrible parents not to take her again this year! (After all, we are Aggies - once you do something once it is a tradition.)

So we decided to make a family trip and then we were up against a very big wall called there-are-no-hotels-and-we-don't-have-ANY-hotel-status-anymore. But God must really want KK to be an Aggie because he cleared the way there, and some friends opened up their home to us. (Thanks Cameron and Sonia!)

The final hurdle was how to deal with a nursing newborn in Kyle field. It is not the most sanitary place in the world, nor is it very friendly for tiny babies. As it turns out, the Alumni Center has a great set up where anyone can go watch the game free on a huge TV, in the A/C, in a comfortable chair at a table. Plus there were conference rooms galore and I had completely private quarters for feedings. So I hung out at the alumni center. KK attended half the game with daddy, then they came back and finished the game with me. She got to do everything on her "checklist" and she very enthusiastically yelled "Gig 'Em Aggies" to just about every person we passed. Makes a momma and papa sooooo proud....

And, we beat Texas Tech which hasn't happened a lot in the past several years. Whoop! So all in all, it was a great little family weekend...