Monthly Archive for September, 2009

A Family Affair…

Published on 9/29/2009. 2 Comments Tags: .

…for a good cause.

On Saturday we participated in the Hoosiers Outrun Cancer event for the first time. It was great to get out and do a fitness-y thing together as a family while supporting a good cause.

I ran in the 5K with a goal of finishing in under 25 minutes. Mission accomplished! I finished in just over 23 minutes*! I am very happy with this! I kept pace on my Nike+ SportBand and was amazed that I kept seeing times in the 7:15 range. I know I was slower going up hills but I think my slowest pace was in the area of 8:30 going up a big hill. WOOHOO! Although now this just makes me think that I should step up my training runs a little bit.

*I don’t know what my official time is yet and it’s causing me a great deal of anxiety. The race results are not completed yet due to a computer malfunction and I stupidly didn’t turn off the SportBand when I crossed the finish line. I checked it four minutes later and saw that it was still timing my run and my pace was just completely messed up at that point. I don’t have official race results. I don’t have SportBand results. It’s almost like it DIDN’T HAPPEN AT ALL! Obviously I know that the most important thing is that it was a good race for a good cause but… WOE is me!

Moving on…

Jason, Lily and Cameron got in on the action too. Since Jason ran a 5K a couple of weeks ago it was his turn to watch the kids while I ran. He signed up for the 1 mile family fitness walk that accompanied the 1 mile kids’ competitive run. Lily did awesome in this run! She crossed the finish line with a time of 11:34 and was 4th place in her age group! When she crossed the finish line she told Jason that she had a lot of fun! She had been so excited in the weeks leading up to the race. She was thrilled at the idea of getting a race shirt with a number on it and I don’t even know how many times she asked us how much longer until her race. Our little runner girl! Cam got out of the stroller to run across the finish line and happily accepted hi-fives from the football players who were handing out ribbons.

Cameron is TWO!!!

Published on 9/28/2009. 4 Comments Tags: , .

So…Cameron is two years old now. WHAT?

I think the most mind blowing thing about Cameron turning two is that he’s almost the age that Lily was when he was born. No matter how much they might deny it, I think that all parents compare their kids to each other. Until now, whenever we think of ‘what Lily was like at this age’ it’s always been before Cam was born. It’s been kind of a BC (before Cameron) and AC (after Cameron) world for us these past two years. In just a couple of months when we think of ‘what Lily was like at this age’ we’ll be thinking of AC Lily. For some reason this seems like a big deal to me.

Anyway…

Cam had is 2 year checkup today and he’s finally starting to beef up a little. He weighed in at 27lbs and is 34” tall. Only one more inch to go and he’ll be able to ride Goofy’s Barnstormer on our next trip to Disney! Just two more inches and a whole new world of rides will open up to him! I hope he’s ready!

Cam is the sweetest little boy and I swear his personality emerges more every day. I’ve been amazed recently by how much more outgoing he has become. Just a few months ago he would take hours to warm up to someone new and now almost everyone is his best friend. At his birthday party last weekend he gave hugs to everyone with very little prompting. Well, almost everyone. For some reason he was shy with Aunt Jessica! We’ll have to work on that!

He loves monster trucks, Mickey Mouse, ‘Dreams Come True’ and running “really, really, really fast!” He likes to jump and dance sing and talks more every day! He’s started using his vocabulary for persuasion and often tries to convince us to watch a show by asking “How about watch Dreams Come True/Backyardigans/etc” with his eyebrows raised.

He has become especially inquisitive lately and always wants to know what we’re doing and what things are. This is especially entertaining at the grocery store where he’ll walk down an aisle and touch every single item and ask, “Woo dat?” “Salsa, buddy?” “Woo DAT?” “More salsa.” “WOO DAT?” “Still salsa, pal.”

Cam listens really well most of the time and definitely knows how to follow instructions. He doesn’t always CHOOSE to do that which is why he has been spending more time in time out but I think he understands when he’s done something wrong. He’ll even tell the other parent when we walk by. “I time out, pull Lily’s hair.” He loves his big sister a lot but they are definitely getting to the age where they irritate each other after awhile.

I’m happy to report that Cam’s sleeping habtis are much improved over the past year. He sleeps through the night like a champ now but has decided recently that the morning comes at about 5:15. Mama does not agree but I haven’t had any luck convincing Cam otherwise as yet.

Over the weekend I got all mushy about Cam getting older and I picked him up for a cuddle and asked him if he would still be my baby. My sweet boy snuggled his head on my shoulder and gave me a big squeeze. I was comforted knowing that my little boy still loved and needed his mama. Then he said, “I go upside down, Mommy!” and tried to contort himself out of my loving embrace. Gotta love a two year old!

Happy Birthday sweet Cameron!


Five for Friday: Lily Loves…

Published on 9/18/2009. 1 Comment Tags: , .

1. Dance class: She is always asking when she gets to go to dance class again and she takes great pride in getting up really high on her toes. Seriously, it’s impressive.

2. Bonus features on DVDs

3. The way her daddy does her night time routine. On the off chance I get to put her in bed I always get in trouble because I don’t to it right. “No Mommy. Daddy always hands me my froggy music. He stays in the room when I shine the flash light on him and says, ‘bright light’!” *sigh*

4. The Spanish language: The girl rolls her r’s and d’s (?) in everyday conversation. She even makes up Spanish words.

5. The Dream Along with Mickey show: Jason found video of the ‘castle’ show at the Magic Kingdom and the kids beg to watch this every day. Lily RUNS to put on her ballerina costume and ballet shoes so she can properly copy the dance moves. I’m pretty sure she’ll know the entire routine before our next Disney visit in January.

Sick Days

Published on 9/15/2009. 4 Comments Tags: .

This is my second day home with the kids this week. Cameron developed an icky nose on Sunday and he’s still working through it. Lots of congestion and wattery eyes. He’s started running the other way when he sees me coming at him with a tissue. I’m pretty sure it’s part of his strategy to run away and nose dive on to the couch so he can wipe his snot away before I get to him. Not that I can blame him. We’re not a family that keeps tissues in the house on a regular basis for some reason. We’re more of the ‘toilet paper is a multitasker’ camp. Although, Jason did go out this morning and bring home some fancy lotion filled name brand tissues. Overall, Cameron’s mood seems to be fine. He’s just a touch more sensitive than usual and he’s definitely tired…though he won’t sleep. Go figure. Right now he’s building a tunnel out of the two little fold out couches so he’ll have a landing pad for when he runs the circle around the living room, kitchen, dining room. I expect him to keep this up for about 5 more minutes and then have a minor meltdown. Heh…as if on que, he just had a minor freak out about wanting milk instead of water. Everything is good now and he’s decided that water is an acceptable drink.

I’m hoping both kids will take good naps today. If so, I intend to kick back and catch a little snooze myself. I considered doing this yesterday but thought it might just make me crabby for the rest of the afternoon. Gah! I’m getting old! I could really use a little extra rest tonight since Cameron decided to wake up at 9:45 (yeah…15 minutes before I was heading to bed) and stay awake until 11:30. He was up bright and early at 6:00 this morning!

Despite all of the snot and the “Moooooommmmmaaaaaaaa” that have come my way for the past day or so it’s kind of nice being home with the kids. I found a little basketball for Cam yesterday and he picked it up and gave it a big squeeze and said, “Tank you, tank you, tank you Mommy!” AND…Cam pooped on the potty for the first time yesterday! Big happenings around here lately! And Lily…what else can I say about her except that she is pretty much just a joy to be around! She has her moments but she’s really just an awesome kid! She’s really been impressing us with her dining habits lately. Recently she has eaten tortellini soup, pork chops, salad and chicken pot pie without even a pause. If only Cam would follow suit…but that’s another story.

Five for Friday: Random

Published on 9/11/2009. 6 Comments Tags: , , , .

1. Cameron answers every question first with “I don’t know” and then he follows with his real answer. “Cameron, where does the trash can go?” “I don’t know. Right DUR!” Love this!

2. It frustrates me that Jason can run 5 miles at 7:30 pace and call that his ‘easy’ run.

3. Lily is loving her dance class! Every night she asks when we are going to go to dance class again.

4. My marathon training program started this week. No big deal so far. It’s pretty much like what I’ve been doing for a few weeks now. On Sunday I have 7 miles. This will be the longest I have ever run. Ever.

5. Lily is getting SO good with letters, spelling and sounding out words. She can tell us loads of words that start with ‘S’. So smart!

My Book List

Published on 9/8/2009. 3 Comments Tags: .

I just finished reading the Little House on the Prairie series and I find myself without a book to read at the moment. I’ve enjoyed looking over lists of books that other people have read so I thought I would go ahead and create my own list. This isn’t an exhaustive list. I know I’ve read more books than these but these are most of the books I’ve read in the past few years, I think. So, what should I read next?

The Red Tent
The Rabbit Factory
Heart Seizure
Life Expectancy
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn
Fifteen Minutes of Shame
Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth
The Happiest Baby on the Block
The Milk Memos
Water for Elephants
The Plain Sense of Things
Last Dance at the Jitterbug Lounge
The Wedding
The Notebook
Marley and Me
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Fashionistas
A Bend in the Road
Harvesting the Heart
Memoirs of a Geisha
Multiple Blessings: Surviving to Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets
Three Weeks with my Brother
The Guardian
Nights in Rodanthe
The Rescue
A Walk to Remember
Message in a Bottle
The Angel Experiment
The Year of Fog
This One is Mine
Flipping Out
Little House in the Big Woods
Farmer Boy
Little House on the Prairie
On the Banks of Plum Creek
By the Shores of Silver Lake
The Long Winter
Little Town on the Prairie
These Happy Golden Years
The First Four Years