Why I am a ROCK STAR!

So my neighborhood buddy, Uyen, & I started running together months ago. Maybe October? I am not exactly sure. We typically run 3 days per week, in the mornings (6:30am!), somewhere between 3 and 4 miles. Uyen is such a great running buddy, sets an awesome pace and is very motivating! Late (LATE) December, we decided we'd try and run the 3M Half Marathon. We keep running during the week and tried a couple of longer runs, our longest being 5 miles. We didn't have high expectations going into Sunday's 3M Half Marathon, but we were ambitious! We started running with the 1 hour, 30 minute group (mostly because we had JUST ran out of the hotel bathroom and realized the race had started). It wasn't really our fault. The race was postponed over an hour due to windy conditions creating "holes" in the course. Those speedy ones quickly passed us & we kept our steady pace. By mile 6, we were shocked to still be running. By mile 9 it was official. We KNEW we would finish & run the entire 13.1 miles. We did. It was SO INSPIRING to read messages on others shirts. "I am 50!" "Running in memory of ___" "Blind Runner". It was so awesome to hear people cheering us on... random strangers would call out our numbers or say "You Go Girls!" during our run... such encouragement! I loved it! My official time was 2:47:54. So proud of Uyen! So proud of myself! It was an awesome accomplishment!

New Pictures!

Enjoy pics from our afternoon at the park, Matthew with Monkey, and Nicholas after his surgery!

Family Update

Nicholas turned 5 earlier this month... his 5 year check-up was fairly uneventful. Do you still post stats for a 5-year-old? Well, I'm going to because I love it! He is 45 inches tall and weighs 49 pounds. He's in the 90-95%ile for both... as usual. We did find out that he has a hernia (since birth, undetected previously) that needed repairing. On Monday, January 18th, he had surgery to repair it and is now back to his "normal" self. Nicholas still loves his brother more than almost anything. They play together all the time, especially "chase" around the house. Sometimes they will find a string, cord, belt, etc. and each hold and end and run around the house. We do have problems with toy sharing... Matthew wants all the cool Nicholas toys, Nicholas doesn't always want to share. He is a great big brother though, encouraging him in many ways including speech. He coaches Matthew on how to say words and phrases, Matthew often complies. Nicholas still enjoys his "workbooks", especially BrainQuest (we were finally able to find Grade 1 at CostCo last week). He spends hours a day reading, his favorite books right now are Frog & Toad, Magic School Bus (chapter books, he'll tell you), and anything to do with what he's learning at school (Polar Bears and hibernation right now). He is pretty "bored" at home though... school days are fun-filled days. Nicholas enjoys "doing crafts" with me and cooking anything and everything in the kitchen. We often make banana bread, coffee cake, or just dinner! He's a great helper in all ways. Nicholas is still a stubborn kiddo... he definitely wants everything just his way and is rarely willing to compromise. This is difficult to manage at times, but we know stubbornness isn't all negative. He loves playing board and card games, his favorites being clue, Yatzee, Guess Who, Crazy Old Fish War, Monopoly, or any other game in our closet.
Matthew is 19 months old and still into everything! He is our little tornado, making messes everywhere! His new, funny "thing" is carrying around items. Now this changes daily, sometimes hourly. It usually involves monkey, but other items dragged around include a (play) saw, a broom, small watering can, books, phone, someone's shoes, the popper, small gladware containers, and so much more. Matthew gets so frustrated that he can't carry them all at once!!! He also slept with several of these items... I just can't explain why he must sleep with a monkey & a saw. Odd. Matthew is still quite a little eater. I think he ate his lunch today in 5 minutes flat. It may have been the plethora of fruits and veggies on the plate today (green beans, carrots, bananas, grapes, blueberries). Matthew just loves to eat! There is hardly a word Matthew won't trying to say... he's even started putting words together (pretty basic though). Ownership of objects is very important to Matthew. He will walk around the house and show me an object & tell me who is belongs to. It is a fun game that takes hours. Matthew is in love with Dora (DuhDuh) and Elmo (high-pitched "hahahaha"). He is a fun kiddo, becoming fiercely independent, frustrated by his limits.
Jason is still enjoying his job at Dell. It is challenging yet interesting at the same time. I think the weather we are having right now makes it hard for Jason... it is 75 degrees outside today and he is missing someone to golf with! The weather is unbelievable for January! We have a "date night" Saturday night thanks to the MOMS Club & Babysitting Co-op! Not sure yet what our big plans are... but I'm sure it will be fun! I am insane. I could just leave it at that and most people would agree, but I won't. I am (stupidly) running a half marathon on Sunday morning. Some people might start with a 5K or 10K. I've never done either. If I don't require hospitalization after Sunday, I will post and let you know how it went.
Still missing KC a bit... especially this week when I just wanted to call _______ to see if they wanted to watch Matthew or just come sit with me or go out to dinner the night before surgery. It's also hard knowing that baby (toddler?) schedules are aligning at this age, playdates would be easier, we are more portable than we were last May. Missing my friends. Missing time together. Wishing you were here to enjoy the beautiful weather with us. Lots of Love.

One more picture...

One of my favorite Christmas pictures of the boys...

Nicholas is 5!

I can hardly believe it... how on EARTH is my little guy 5 years old? Wasn't it just yesterday there were 30 or so people in the delivery room ready to wait on you hand and foot? Now here you are... nearly ready for Kindergarten!
A typical Nicholas day starts with you in bed... reading. You enjoy spending 30 minutes or so lounging around in bed with a good book (just like your Mom!). Around 7:30 or so, you get up, take a shower, and get dressed for the day. You come running down the stairs, searching for someone to help you make breakfast (favorites are oatmeal, yogurt, cereal - cheerios or Daddy's cereal, waffles, coffee cake or banana bread - if we have any).
You are in preschool from 9 - 2 three days a week. You LOVE school & your teacher is great with you. You are rarely in trouble, and love to help out (telling me all the time how much you pick up at school).
The two weekdays you aren't at preschool, you hang out with your Mom & Matthew. We like to go to the park, play with friends, or just hang out at home. You totally love your brother and teach him new things all the time. You entertain each other and we trust you guys to play alone - with only a few incidents.
You love to play with your superheroes (especially Batman or Spiderman) and you LOVE to read. Your favorite books are Magic School Bus Chapter Books, Magic Tree House, and A to Z Mysteries. You also LOVE to clean. When we have friends over, you spend LOTS of time helping Mommy clean and get ready for friends!
This year, we had several parties for you. Our first celebration was at Grandma & Grandpa Harris' house - Uncle Jon & Aunt Shannon were there too! We also celebrated with our Kansas City friends - a puzzle-themed party! Finally, we celebrated in Texas with our new friends - a Buzz Lightyear party! What a great birthday!

Our Christmas Adventure!

We left the warm, sunny Austin weather behind this Christmas and drove north to Missouri! Our adventure started in the middle of nowhere (a.k.a. my parents' house). We spent 5 days on the farm - playing with Uncle Jon & Aunt Shannon, riding the tractor with Grandpa, celebrating Christmas & Nicholas' birthday, cooking with Grandma, and doing many crafts. The boys had a great time and Jason enjoyed seeing the new house for the 1st time.
We left the farm to head to KC on Christmas Eve. We knew bad weather was coming, so we left the farm early... or at least we tried to. Jason drove the van into a ditch not 100 yards from my parents' house (still on their 1/4 mile long driveway). After many feeble attempts to get out of the ditch, we had to call a tow. The drive from that point was awful. Pouring down rain, thick fog, and strong winds. We made it to KC okay - before the SNOW! It snowed so much we were homebound on Christmas Day! In KC, we celebrated Christmas with Jason's family (including Great-Grandma & Aunts & Uncles), celebrated Nicholas' Birthday, and ate at some of our favorite and much-missed restaurants. Jason & I went out on a "date" with Tatiana & Craig - so wonderful! Nicholas had a birthday party with many of his KC friends (he LOVED seeing all the kiddos!).
Back in Austin, we had our family Christmas on December 30th (better late than never!). Santa even made an extra trip to our house on December 29th! We are so special, you see!
We had a wonderful Christmas & our children were spoiled beyond belief!