COWTOWN

This will be a short post because, but I just had to share my big accomplishment. Last weekend I went down to Fort Worth, TX with a couple friends and participated in my first ever race. I ran a HALF MARATHON! Since high school I have wanted to run a marathon, and last weekend I got half-way there! I'm definitely not the fastest runner (Someone finished the marathon a couple minutes after I finished the half!), but I came in finishing 2:18:18. Not too bad for a first timer running in 30 degree temperatures and winds blowing 20-30 mph. You'd think it'd be warm in Texas, but not that day! I had a great time, and am planning on running my next race in May!
My friend took some photos before we started the race then her camera died so we didn't get any as we finished, but here is one of me back at the hotel after it was all over!

Growing like Weeds

We have had an eventful three weeks here. I have been meaning to sit down and make a post for quite some time, but just can't seem to remember to do it when I sit down at the computer after the children have gone to sleep. Here I am tonight though finally getting it done!
Halli has been moving around like crazy. Three weeks ago she finally got the real crawling motion down, and has been finding her way around our apartment since. She comes and finds me when I leave the room she is in...most the time crying after me, but it is cute all the same.

The same day she learned to crawl she also finally sat herself up. She had been almost there for so long, but has definitely mastered that in the past 3 weeks. On my birthday (Saturday the 24th) she pulled herself to standing for the first time. Then the following Monday she got her first haircut. I finally decided to just take off those few remaining long hairs on the top of her head. Carson and Ryan also got haircuts that day...or as Carson says "a shortcut!". So since I had the clippers out I took them across Halli's head too. Here is a cute photo of all the shortcuts.

A couple days after the haircut Halli's second tooth finally broke through after about a month of teasing. So I am pleased to say, after all these accomplishments, she is finally a happier baby! (At least for now). These past couple of days she has been so much happier- playing on the floor, not demanding that I hold her all day, not chasing me around the house crying, sleeping better, and playing with Carson more. They love to be together. I love waking up in the morning and watch them say hello and smile at each other-it is the sweetest thing in the world.
We have been enjoying the nice weather we have had here. Saturday was such a perfect day-mid 70's, sunny sky, and a slight breeze. We went to the zoo this weekend with some friends and enjoyed getting out of the house. It's been a busy couple of weeks, but tons of fun!

Should Have Stayed In Bed

You know those days where you wish that you'd never woken up. Well today is one of those days for me. Both of my children are screaming in the other room right now. They are driving me CRAZY!!!! The day started off just fine-actually really great. I slept in until almost 8! Then i decided we would run some errands this morning. Obviously this was a bad idea. Carson threw the biggest fit in the world while we were at Target, but I had to get some stuff there so I couldn't leave. He kept crying and screaming while we made our way to the front of the store, and then while we waited in line at the ONLY checkout that was open. He screamed all the way home so when we got here I just put him in bed and told him to stay there. After about 15 more minutes of crying he fell asleep. While he was crying I fed Halli in the living room which lately has been so difficult. All she wants to do is play with the bottle and not eat the food. It take forever to get her to eat. Then she wanted to play after eating, but she was super sleepy so I laid her down. She started crying when I put her in the crib which woke up Carson and so now he apparently thinks it is time to get up. He came out of the room 5 minutes later and I sent him back in so now he woke up Halli who had fallen asleep, so they are both screaming at me in there. Is there anyone out there who can come save me from this madness?!?

New Starts

We went home to Michigan for Christmas this year and had such a great time. Everyone's blogs are talking about their holidays so I thought we should probably post about ours too. We got to spend 2 wonderful weeks with our families, and had such a great time. It was a really nice vacation-the perfect amount of time too. Here are a few photos of things we did. While we were there we got to see our friends Jon and Becca.  We were so excited to get to spend a day with them, and had a blast-just like old times! We also got to hang out with my sister Aubry, and her fiance Michael, as well as his family. I'm glad Aubry's in-laws live in Michigan too so we'll probably see her more often.

Carson on Christmas morning

Erin-Ryan's sister-Christmas morning

Carson as a hotdog at the Henry Ford Museum

Other new news...Carson is finally potty training. People kept telling me he would do it when he was ready, but I finally realized that he's been ready for a while...it was me that wasn't ready. I thought it would be this really hard, long, drawn-out process, but it has been fairly easy, so far. The first day was rough, but Sunday he had 2 accidents, yesterday 1, and today none! So we are working on having only one child in diapers-hooray!

Halli is 7 months old-as of Saturday and is doing pretty good. She welcomed in the New Year with a tooth, and her second one looks like it is about to poke through any minute. She is sitting on her own really well, army crawling, and trying to prop herself up to sitting. We took her to the doctor last week and she is a whopping 19 pounds 3 ounces already....and she makes me carry her around all day. I'm not quite sure why I'm not super buff by now. Maybe I should try arm curls while I walk around-that might help get rid of the extra pounds I'm still carrying around from her!

We are all doing well and happy for the coming year, and the exciting things ahead. Hope you are all well and happy too! I wanted to load some more photos, but my computer is refusing to do so-three is all you get for now!

Too Fast

Time flies by way too fast. The days are so long sometimes, but the weeks, months, and years just go so fast. It amazes me almost every day that I have 2 children, and one of them is 3 years old! How can I have a three year old...I swear I JUST graduated high school! Not the case though-it has been almost 7 years since I graduated. I officially just realized how old I really am! Three years ago though we brought this little guy home from the hospital.He made us smile then, and he's still doing it today. He fills each day with laughter and DANCE. He brings a smile to my face when the day has been a hard one, and it seems like Halli hasn't stopped fussing. He makes me giggle when I should be disciplining him. I love how he snuggles with me after he wakes up in the morning, and afternoon naps. I love the way he can cheer Halli up-even when she is crying. I love how friendly and outgoing he is, and how he calls everyone a friend. He teaches me things each day like how to enjoy the little things like ladybugs and ducks. He shows me how to shake my thang and not care what dad thinks of us cause we're having fun. I love that he tells me his best friends are mom, dad, and Halli. I LOVE how much he loves me.I could go on and on about how much I love him. I just wanted to say enjoy each moment. The good, and the bad. The happy, and sad. The hard, and the easy. I am trying to appreciate each day with Halli (even through the fussiness and crying) because I know that in a moment she will be 3 then 5 then 10. Live in the moment...live for today!

Carson's Birthday

Carson turned 3 years old yesterday, and Halli will be 6 months old tomorrow. These kids just grow like weeds! It is amazing how much they both have grown in the past few months. I was able to get home early from work yesterday so we could spend some time playing some games that Carson got for his birthday. He was so excited about presents and we just love seeing him get all excited about stuff. Besides games, Carson got new shoes and PJ's that he definitely needed. He also got a couple movies and a some toys. I think all the gifts got him ready for Christmas.



In other news, Halli started eating baby food and we discovered that she really likes squash. I even had a little (Its not bad). But i guess anything tastes better than that nasty formula. Halli has been rolling around like crazy and is attempting to crawl. She hasn't figured out what to do when she gets up on her hands and knees. I'm just surprised that she can lift those chubby legs up to get on her knees in the first place. She needs to give some of that chub to Carson... he's turning in to a little stick.

What I'm grateful for most

Naturally this time of year my thoughts turn to all the things I am blessed with. Like many of you, my family is what I am most thankful for. This Thanksgiving we expected to spend it here in Kansas alone-trying things on our own for the first time. Sunday night I got off the phone with my parents and Ryan and I decided to leave right away and drive to Utah. It was totally a last second, spontaneous decision, and we had such a great time. We didn't tell my family we were coming so it was a total surprise when we showed up Monday morning on the door step. We surprised my mom, and then my dad and brother when they came home from school-theirs was by far the best reaction! We then surprised my sisters and soon to be brother-in-law Tuesday evening. They kind of expected something, but were still surprised to see us.We had a wonderful week together with them! Carson and Halli loved all the attention and the fun games we got to play. They learned how to play duck-duck-goose, and both loved it. Halli loved bonking heads and running with me. Aubry also took some family photos for us the day we left. We went out later at night than we planned too, but they turned out really good for almost being dark! Thanks to her for getting us all together in a photo, and some of the kiddies together!We drove back to Kansas Saturday night/Sunday morning and have enjoyed the week back here at home. We sure are looking forward to being in Michigan for 2 weeks during Christmas break! We'll get to see our family, and some of our best friends Jon and Becca. We are really excited to sleep in for a couple weeks too! Hope you all have an enjoyable season!