Strike a Pose

He knows he's hot stuff!



Ready for the runway!

Rock n Roll Half Marathon

We did it! After many late nights and early morning runs for 3 + months, Ashley and I completed our goal....running the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in San Antonio on November 14! We had orignally planned on running the Harbor Half in Corpus in October, but kids, business, tropical storm squalls, and unleashed neighborhood pit bulls, delayed our training and we did not feel ready enough for an October run. Our friend and Stroller Strides Leader, Sara, did run the Harbor Half and was such an inspiration for 0ur run! She did fantastic!

Like all accomplishments, I would like to thank (haha!) my husband, my family and my friends for all their support! Seriously, Kris was Super Dad on many occasions. For the most part, I would try to run after the kids went to bed or before they were awake, but like I said before, kids are unpredictable and like the good Daddy that he is, he did whatever he had to do.

We had a fabulous time the weekend of the Half! Two glitches however.....(1) because of the crowds and us having children, we had to settle for a shady pizza joint for supper the night before the race and (2) Ashley and I had to put the kids to bed ourselves and miss out on watching the A&M/Baylor game while our husbands and my Mom viewed it at the Mi Tierra Bar right across the street from our "motel."

Race day was amazing and I've never felt so encouraged and loved by complete strangers who cheered us on along the way. At mile 2 I decided it was time to break out the Ipod, but it would not work!!! I decided to not let it bother me and the remainder of the race I just focused on thanking God for such a wonderful day and experience and enjoyed conversations with many of the folks running along beside me. It truly was a refreshing run for my soul! Crossing that finish line was the coolest feeling ever and I finished in 2 hours 11 minutes and 34 seconds. I averaged 10:03 minutes per mile which was very close to my goal!

We are seriously contemplating the RnR Half Marathon Dallas to take place March 27, 2011. Call us crazy! We are seriously that addicted!

Rockin' it at the Expo the day before the race! Ha!

We HAD to pose with the KISS guys promoting the Hell Run! We didn't quite catch where the run is actually at! I wonder why! Check out our boys checking out the dudes!

After the race! The best family shot we could get!

My Mom was part of the entourage! She is always my biggest fan!

We did it! Neither on of us were very pleased with how we looked in this pic. We had to remind ourselves we had just run a half marathon! Ha!

Celebrating!

Keaton....oh so cute!

Keaton.....oh so tired!

November 14 also happened to be Sydney's 3rd Birthday! We had a fabulous time celebrating at lunch after the race complete with a mariachi band. I will have a seperate post for this special occassion!!! :)

Halloween 2010

Our good friend Lance and cousin Ashlyn met at our house Halloween. As you can see, Lance was the cutest train conductor EVER! Ashlyn was the beautiful Princess Belle and Sydney was the very petite and pretty Tinkerbell. Keaton was good grief Charlie Brown. :) My camera pooped out on me, so Paula was very kind to send these pictures to me! Thank goodness!

A bunch of characters, I tell ya!

Birthday Par-tay!!!

We celebrated Keaton's 1st and Sydney's 3rd birthdays with a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday bash on Saturday, November 6th. The weather was PERFECT and we had a fantastic time celebrating with family and about 20 other wonderful friends. We rented a moon bounce from our good friends that own Emma Lu's Bounce House Rental. We celebrated at the neighborhood park just a block down the street from our house. It was PERFECT! I think I mentioned that already! :)

Keaton Turns 1!!

Keaton celebrated his 1st Birthday on October 16th! I can't believe he is 1 already! He has grown into such a handsome little boy who is oh so close to his very first haircut! I may be biased, but this is one awesome little boy! He started crawling around 8 months and walking at 11 1/2. There's no stopping this guy...he's like a bulldozer who just goes where he wants to.....pushing his weight around with his belly. His belly is HUGE! Despite his 12 month stats of only being in the 10th percentile (20lbs), this is one fat little boy.

We think he may be a lefty! He eats with the left, grabs for toys with the left and waves with the left. I think this is pretty cool.....Daddy does not. Apparently, left handed quarterbacks are not highly recruited. :( Anyways, so far he says, Mama, Dad, Duck and Bye. He eats most everything except pasta and rice. I guess it's a texture thing. He has 10 teeth that I know of! I'm not keeping track anymore.....that's too dangerous!

I was fortunate to nurse him for about 11 1/2 months and in that time I could count the number of times he had a bottle probably on one hand. But since then, he is IN LOVE with his bottle of milk. I know I should probably start offering the sippy cup more, but he is too darn cute walking around, holding his bottle and "turning it up."

On his actual birthday, we just celebrated among the four of us. I made his favorite meal of roast with potatos, carrots, broccoli and rolls. (Actually, this is what big sister Sydney eats the best ;) We enjoyed Garner's Chocolate Cake for dessert and he gave the birthday cake gig a good run.

We had a big birthday celebration on November 6 with friends and family to help celebrate Keaton's AND Sydney's birthdays. I will post that later.

Below, pics from our family birthday! Happy 1st Birthday Keaton James!

Mommy, I'lllllll do it!

So we are a big girl now and don't need Mommy's help anymore. :( Anytime I try to help Sydney do ANYTHING, like unvelcro her shoes, clean her face, brush her hair/teeth, go potty, get in the car, etc. , she confidently says, "Mommy, I'llllllllllll do it." All I can do is throw my hands in the air and say, "Yes ma'm" and let her do her best to finish the task! It's wonderful to see such a confident little person, but I think I can see a stubborn little toot starting to develop as well. Actually, she's always been stubborn from day -2. Who am I kidding?? We tried for two days to get her out into this world, but she insisted on making it hard on us where we had to go in and "get her." WE had to be patient with her just like we do now. But, she is the most amazing challenge I have ever been faced with and I love each new day with her!

At a recent MOPS meeting, we had a wonderful speaker who reminded us how God created each of our children just the way He wanted. God planned our children long before the thought of them ever entered our minds. Isn't that an amazing reminder??? No matter how different our children can be (stubborn or not) they are how God wants them to be.

Parenthood is such a wonderful adventure and how much a child changes within the first few years of life is absolutely astonishing. I think I'm getting a little sentimental since Keaton is about to turn 1 and Sydney will be 3 next month. I'm realizing these years are precious and the changes they go through will pass us by if we don't pause for a moment and soak it all up.

Anyways, I really didn't mean for this post to turn sappy. Just wanted to document a recent example of my child's confidence and show the world how much I love my children! Gag if you want.....you have my permission! Ha!

Who made the Sunshine?

I had the sweetest conversation with Sydney this morning. Just like her Momma, she doesn't do mornings. But today, she actually woke up before sunrise and this was quite out of the ordinary for us. :) We always talk about how at night, the sun goes down and the moon comes out. She is obsessed with finding the moon in the sky whenever we have been out late at night. For some reason (because we are always still asleep), we haven't really emphasized the mornings and the sun coming up.

Well, this morning, while we were getting breakfast together and opening curtains, I pointed out that the sun was waking up and getting ready for the day as well. She literally stared out the window for the longest time watching the sun slowly rise in the sky. It started out behind our neighbor's trees. And as it rose into full view, she yelled so excitedly , "Mommy made the sunshine! Mommy, you made it!" Oh my gosh, I melted! But, we all know who really makes the sunshine, so I had to correct her and say that God made the beautiful sunshine. We said a quick little prayer thanking God for such a wonderful gift and the promise of a new day.

It was a wonderful morning and makes me so thankful to be her Mommy!