Adding on to the house by two feet!

I've been meaning to blog about our upcoming addition to our family for a while now, but time is just flying by! I feel like just yesterday I found out about the baby and now suddenly I am 19 weeks! We are so very excited about our new addition this December. So I'll start from the beginning:

We have been talking about adding baby #2 for a while now, and we decided to start trying after my marathon in March. Little did we know that one month and one day after the marathon, I'd be staring at this:

I went into the bedroom and told Kevin "It was Positive", and he said "Aww, man!". We knew that getting pregnant on the first try meant that the baby would be due right around Christmas- and neither of us wanted the baby to share a birthday with Christmas! Plus having a baby by the end of the year is kind of scary! But nonetheless we were excited. I think I felt the same way that I did when I found out we were expecting Luke- shock and surprise!

I went and got an ultrasound a few weeks later and got to see our little baby's heart beating away...but other than that it looked like a little blob! We found out at this ultrasound that the baby would be due on December 20th, only 5 days before Christmas!


We waited a little while to tell our family and friends! We told Kevin's family by wrapping up some Christmas themed newborn outfits and giving them to his mom as birthday presents (that we took back!). I thought they'd be expecting an announcement so we were trying to catch them off guard. What fun! We told my parents by putting Luke in a "big brother" t-shirt and just letting him "tell" the news. That was also really fun! Here's a picture of Luke in his big brother shirt!


Now things have been floating along smoothly as we are nearing the halfway point. I have had some nausea this time, which I didn't have with Luke. But it wasn't too bad, but Zofran was my friend!! I've also had headaches but I had them with Luke so I was not surprised to be experiencing those. I've been feeling the baby move for a few weeks now but in the past few days it's gotten a lot more consistent! That is my absolute favorite part of pregnancy. This baby seems very active compared to Luke, I hope that trend continues!

We go for our big ultrasound in a week, and I'm very excited. However, we won't be finding out if baby W is a he or she! At least I hope we don't accidentally find out!! We have already bought fabric to make some adorable gender neutral bedding and have a great neutral nursery planned. Everything else can be bought after baby comes!

Please keep us in your prayers especially with the ultrasound coming up! We are praying for everything to look just the way it should and that baby W is nice and healthy!!

My first race report!

After a long winter of training, I now can call myself a marathoner!! Yesterday was the Little Rock Marathon, and it was awesome! I am so excited to get to write a race report, I hope you enjoy reading it!

Our journey to the race started a little later than we had originally expected. We went to a birthday party on Saturday and then had to run home and get our things together, and after a few "oh no, I forgot to get something" moments, we were finally on the road. Luckily Kevin's cousin had generously offered to go pick up my packet for me so I didn't have the added stress of trying to make it into Little Rock in time to pick up my packet before the expo closed. That made the trip over nice and relaxing!

We got into Little Rock and drove downtown to check out where we needed to go the following morning. Neither Kevin nor I had ever been to downtown LR before, and we thought it looked pretty cool! It was very easy to find the race area, so I felt pretty comfortable about the next morning. We got some pasta for dinner at a small Italian restaurant (after seeing the HUGE crowd at Olive Garden) and I headed to bed.

Getting to the race the next morning was very uneventful, which I was thankful for. I got there in plenty of time to walk around and check out the starting area, warm up a little bit, and visit the porta potty. It was around 32 degrees, but I knew it was going to warm up so I didn't want to overdress- I definitely had to keep moving to stay warm!

We started right at 8am to the song "Ballroom Blitz"- a pretty good starting song- definitely got me ready to run! I had my iPod but I didn't want to wear it at the start, I wanted to absorb the experience of the crowds cheering and the bands we ran by. I had it mostly as a backup in case I got bored or needed some extra motivation!

When I was planning the race I knew I would try and run with a pace group. I didn't want to go out too fast and since I was all alone I wanted to have someone to chat with and try to keep up with. I just wasn't sure if I should run with the 4:30 or the 4:45 pace group- I ended up going with the 4:45 after deciding that I wanted to run the race a little slower and just enjoy it! I also left my Garmin at home- I didn't want to be constantly looking at my watch or worrying about my time. It was so much more relaxing that way. I found the 4:45 pacers pretty quick. I ended up following a guy named Reid for the first little bit- he was really fun! He was probably yelling for the crowd more than the crowd was yelling for us! He'd say "We run for cheers!" or "We run for Cowbell!" or whatever else he could think of. I knew if I stuck with him I'd enjoy the race!

Miles 1-10 were pretty smooth- we winded through North Little Rock and back into Downtown. I was pretty impressed with downtown Little Rock. There was great crowd support and I felt really good. I talked with random people here and there and was having a great time. The half marathoners and the full marathoners were still together at this point, so there were a lot of people around.

I ended up ahead of my pacer Reid at mile 10 and never got behind him again for the rest of the race. It was nice knowing he was back there though and that I was on track to meet my goal of 4:45.

We got to the split where the half marathoners would head to the finish while the marathoners would keep going at mile 11. This was the part that I had been so nervous about- would I be able to keep going? Luckily when I got there I felt that there was no way I could go to the finish now- I was just getting started! I felt great! So crazy that I used to be so ready to be done by that point!

After we split off we headed to what people called the "hilly" part of the race. I was nervous because I had not even checked out these hills before- I had no clue how big they were! They really weren't that bad though and were offset by a really pretty neighborhood. Miles 13-16 were rolling hills followed by a huge downhill at mile 17. That was actually harder than going uphill! I still felt great though and was excited at mile 17 to know I had only 9 miles left- single digits!

Miles 18-23 were very flat but were challenging because that part of the race was so boring! It was an out and back through a park. The interesting part was seeing the people who were ahead of me- I could see people that were an hour ahead of me. I was inspired by the fact that they were almost finished with the race and I knew that I would soon be where they were.

Around mile 19 I had the first time where I didn't feel good- I started feeling a little dizzy and sick. The sun had come out and I think I just got hot. My legs and my feet were feeling fine, I didn't feel tired, but I got a little worried at that point! It lasted for about a mile and then we hit a turnaround and were greeted with a nice headwind. Normally I'd hate running into the wind but it made me feel so much better!

Before I knew it I was out of the dreaded out and back portion of the race with only 3 miles left to go. At this point I knew I was going to finish strong- and I knew that I was still on target to meet my goal of 4:45 because both of the pacers were behind me! I saw mile 23 and I thought to myself "How many times have I run 3 miles? I can do this!".

During the race I had been walking through the water stops but at about mile 24 I found it just hurt more to walk than it did to run. So I decided I was done with water stops! Around mile 25 there was a huge hill ahead and I was so nervous! I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to run up the hill but I knew walking it would hurt worse! So this lady and I took off up the hill together. We ran the whole way encouraging each other and congratulated each other at the top. It was definitely a highlight of the race!

After the hill it was all downhill to the finish. And nothing can compare to that feeling of running through the finish chute and across the finish line. Little Rock boasts having one of the largest finisher's medals and they weren't kidding! I knew I had to finish just to get that huge medal! A guy put it around my neck and it felt so heavy, but I was so proud! As I walked down the finisher's area I spotted Kevin and Luke and I was so happy to see them. Luke greeted me with a "Hi Mama" and it just melted my heart. Seeing them made it all so worth it!

I had signed up for Marathon Tracks on Facebook and email so my friends could keep up with me during the race. I mostly wanted Kevin to get updates so he'd have a better idea of when to pick me up! I didn't know it was going to post to my facebook a million times that day but that's OK. What was nice about that was shortly after I finished Kevin got an email letting him know I finished and I got my official time: 4:43:12- right under my goal time! I was so excited!





My first marathon experience is something I will never forget! I honestly can't think of one thing I would do differently. I enjoyed every bit of it and I felt great the whole time. I am pretty sore today but not regretting running it at all! I can't wait to do another one.

Aside from finishing, this was the highlight of my day! Sporting my finisher shirt while my little man slept in my arms...he hadn't done this in forever and it was so sweet!

Running, Running, and a bit more Running

I have wanted to run a marathon for a long time! Ever since I saw my good friends Carla and Amanda run one in fact. They ran the 2003 Country Music Marathon after training together for months. I spent their entire race traveling from point to point, ready to cheer them on! I think i got to see them run by 6 times and it was so exciting. My love of running was born that day!

Now 8 years later I am finally getting around to doing that marathon. Since seeing them run that day in 2003, I have been doing 5k's, 10k's and half marathons, but I am just now making the leap to full marathon. I think the sheer amount of time it takes to train for one has been my main roadblock up until now. That and the idea of covering 26.2 miles just didn't seem fun! But as I run longer and longer distances I am finding out that it's just getting more fun! I love how it feels to be 12 miles into a long run and feel just as good as when i started.

My main motivation to run in the past has been races. I just love the excitement of attaching my number to the front of my shirt, attaching my timing clip, and waiting for the start in a crowd of people. At the bigger races, there are people on the sides cheering for the runners and you feel like they are cheering for you! I love the feeling of turning a corner and seeing the finish line ahead and sprinting for the finish. Crossing that line is a feeling like no other. I can only imagine what it will feel like to cross the finish line of the marathon. I am so excited I can hardly stand it!

A lot of the half marathons I have done in the past are paired with a full marathon. At some point those full marathoners have to split off from the half marathoners. In the races I have done that has been around mile 11 or 12, where the half marathoners have only one or two miles left to go. I have watched the marathoners go past that split off point thinking those people were crazy, wondering who would want to keep on going when they could be done if they just went with the half marathoners! Now I get it! Those crazy marathoners have done the training and probably actually feel like they're just getting started at the same point the half marathoners are ready to be done. I can't believe in just two weeks I'm going to be one of those crazies that doesn't take the split off and keeps trudging forward with 15 miles to go.

I can't wait until race day!

Staycation

Last week Kevin, Luke and I enjoyed an amazing week! Kevin was on vacation and I took last weekend off...and we did absolutely nothing! Well, that's not completely true but for the most part we stayed at home and enjoyed some quality family time. It was so nice to just be at home! I even let the housework slide a little bit :)

Our weekend could have been a little better but Kevin was sick with a nasty cold. The weather was beautiful and I really wanted to get out to the dog park or something but settled for just playing in the yard a lot with Luke. He loves going "outsiiide, outsiiide" and he says it in such a cute way that it just makes you want to get your shoes on and take him out. This spring we are planning to do a flower bed in the backyard and I can't wait to make it look all pretty.

Saturday night Becca and I went out for a girl's night. It was so nice to sit around and chat with a dear friend- I have missed getting to do that! We talked for 3 hours, mostly about our kids!

Monday was my big 20 mile training run for the marathon, which is in 2 weeks!! I can honestly say I felt great until about mile 16, and then I was feeling more of an "are we done yet?" kind of feeling. But the last half mile I was able to pick up the pace and finish strong, so I was proud. I rewarded myself with an ice bath afterwards, and boy did that hurt! After a few minutes though my body went numb and I really felt like it paid off the next day. I had no soreness and felt pretty good!

Tuesday we took advantage of the wonderful weather and took Luke to the zoo. Kevin hadn't been there in a while and he was impressed with how much Luke gets into the zoo. He loves naming the animals and telling us what sounds they make. We also let him walk most of the visit, which was a first. He was exhausted when we got home and took a 3 1/2 hour nap!

Thursday we went to the Children's museum. As we pulled up we noticed several school buses parked to the side- and got a little worried! There was a HUGE school group there, and the place was loud and crowded. But Luke is a tough little guy and didn't seem too bothered by all the kids going wild all around him! I did have a "momma bear" moment when this kid wanted to sit on him because he was sitting where she wanted to be. But he never seemed to notice. I just love taking him to the Children's Museum though. I just let him roam free and I just follow him and let him do his own thing.

We had such a great week, I was so sad to return to work Friday. One of the bonuses of the week was that Luke got to spend tons of time with Kevin and you could tell he had become a bit more attached to him! There were times he preferred Kevin over me, which I actually thought was pretty cool. I wish we could both be home all the time!

It has been brought to my attention...

...that I have not updated my blog in 4 months! So to appease the masses (of one), I am updating! As much as I love reading other people's blogs you'd think I'd do better with mine!

Life at our house hasn't changed much in the last 4 months. Luke is still the center of attention and the topic of most of my conversations! He is 19 months which is a really interesting age. It is amazing to see how fast he is learning. He learns new words so fast and I am constantly surprised at his comprehension when I talk to him! I sometimes test him by asking him to do new things just to see if he knows what I'm talking about. I was floored the first time I asked him to throw something in the trash and he did it- and was so proud of himself! He has this fish puzzle that has 10 different colored fish and can name them all! That doesn't always translate to him knowing his colors away from the puzzle but it's a start!

Luke had his 18 month appointment a few weeks ago and he was a whopping 20 pounds 8 oz and 31.5 inches long. That's less than 3rd percentile for weight and 20th percentile for height. He's just now getting into 18 month clothes! He is a very active little man though. We constantly comment on how he never stops moving!!

Look how grown up he is :)


Last November a friend from work and I did a half marathon and it got me motivated to train for my first full marathon. For the past two months I have been running and running and running! The best part is that I am really enjoying it! I have been doing long runs while Luke is at Mother's Day Out and have made it up to 18 miles at once. I never thought I could enjoy running 18 miles, but I really do! The race is one month from yesterday. I am nervous and excited already!

I sometimes take Luke with me on my shorter runs, sometimes even when it is cold. He really likes it, but mostly because I have an Elmo movie and a Thomas movie on my Iphone and he gets to watch while I run. He got a snowsuit for Christmas so he won't get too cold.

Here's a pic (not the best quality) of his running gear!



Kevin is doing well, just plugging along in his residency program. He is now officially over halfway done (2.5 years into a 5 year program). I am really proud of him and how hard he works. Next week he gets to take a well earned vacation week, and we don't plan on doing anything exciting! I am taking the weekend off as well and can't wait to just be at home together and enjoy being a family.

Well I hope that's enough to satisfy those that have been anxiously awaiting a new post!

Here's some parting pictures of Luke from the other day when we went shopping:

He had a blast playing on this little ride on toy!

And here's after I took him off of it!


Ah, the joys of a toddler!!!

Camping Trip

Ok, I know I'm a total slacker on blogging! I'm going to try to do better!! Last week Kevin was on a well-earned vacation and we decided to take Luke on his very first camping trip! We didn't have really high expectations but I really thought Luke would have a good time. And he ended up having a GREAT time! We went to Lake Ouachita State Park in Arkansas, which is near Hot Springs. Here's a little summary of our trip!

We got there at 11 on Tuesday morning after spending the night in Little Rock. We had bought a new tent and were excited to get it put up. We tried it at our house first and after a little trial and error, we found the tent very easy to set up. We got it up in about 20 minutes while Luke played around the campsite. He was really good about staying right around us. Here's a picture of our new tent!



The tent is really cool, it has 2 rooms but the best part is the "screened in porch" area. We loved sitting in there and being protected from the bugs, especially at night when we had our lantern on. Luke really liked the tent as well.

Here's the view from our campsite!


We spent the first afternoon just hanging around, reading, and playing. We also checked out the playground at the campground, which was very nice. After a fun afternoon we started cooking dinner. We had Polish sausage and corn on the cob. There was a "burn ban" so we had to use the grill. We were pretty disappointed but it was probably for the best because we didn't have to worry about Luke trying to get into the campfire!

As you can tell, Luke really liked the ketchup!

We then got showers and put Luke to bed. I was pleasantly surprised because he actually went to bed just as well as he does at home! After he went to bed we read some more and then made smores (my favorite!).

We woke up the next morning and I was surprised to see that Luke slept until 7, which is a bit early for him but he wasn't up with the sun like I expected! We ate breakfast and then got back in the tent under the covers because it was cold!! I was glad I had a sweatshirt! It warmed up quickly and we took Luke to play in the sand and at the playground that morning.





We came back and had lunch and then spent more time playing at the campsite. We bought Luke a new toy lawn mower for the trip and it was put to good use. He also just spent a lot of time walking around and looking at everything. Later that afternoon we drove into Hot Springs and drove around. We ate dinner at Cracker Barrel (roughing it, right?) and Luke at more than I have ever seen him eat in his life. Apparently he really likes Cracker Barrel! We headed back to the tent and put him to bed which was just as easy as the night before!

The next morning we got up at 7:45 and just hung around some more. Around 10 we started packing up and had everything loaded up within an hour or so. It's amazing what you have to take even for a short camping trip! I couldn't have been more pleased with how everything went. I think we have more camping trips in our future!

Here's a picture from our last morning!

Catching up!

The last few weeks have been some of the most exciting weeks we've had here in a while. My little man, the love of my life, turned 1 on June 22nd! It was an extra special day because Luke and I share our birthday! I just can't believe that it has already been a year!

The week before the big day Luke decided that crawling no longer suited him, and he's now a full time walker! It still surprises me to see him walk around a corner. He's so small that he looks so funny walking around! Of course knowing how to walk has led to him wanting to walk all the time, he gets annoyed when we try and carry him around, especially at church! He also wants to walk all over our back yard! My mom and I celebrated by taking him to the mall to get "big boy" shoes (his birthday present from my mom), and we got some very cute stride rite shoes. He was just starting to grow out of his size 2's so he got size 3's and even a pair of 4's that looked small. I'm glad he was able to wear the bigger size because they don't really make many good sturdy walking shoes in size 2!

Last Saturday we celebrated the big birthday with a party with family and close friends. It was really fun! Luke was cranky right before people were supposed to come over so we got him to take a nap, which surprisingly he went down well and was able to rest up for his guests! When we brought him downstairs he seemed a bit overwhelmed by all the people but he warmed up pretty well. We had hamburgers and hotdogs as well as the standard cookout sides. Kevin did a great job with the burgers! After we had lunch we opened presents, or should I say that I opened presents while Luke played! He wanted to play with the toys and not give them up to see what was in the next package. So I got to do all the opening. He got some great toys, his favorite being his very own remote and toy cell phone. He also got some cute clothes and a backpack with his name on it! His big presents were a Pottery Barn Anywhere chair from us, a Cozy Coupe car from Kevin's parents, and a wagon from my dad. We have already been on several wagon rides and I have pushed the car around the house numerous times.

After the presents we had cake, and I must say I was kind of dissapointed that he didn't dive into the cake. He mostly just licked the icing. But you could tell he thought the icing was pretty tasty. The cakes were done by Stephanie Price, and they were yummy! We had an elephant for the adults and a lion for Luke (I forgot to mention we had a jungle theme). After the cake we all just hung out and watched the US Soccer game (what a bummer!).

My mom stayed for the week after the party which was so fun! It was the first time she's stayed with us that I haven't just had a baby or was having surgery. We just had the opportunity to hang out together and have fun. We went shopping and went to the zoo, but also just spent a lot of time at my house just enjoying playing with Luke! I was sad to see her go home today.

So since turning 1, my little man has become quite the little toddler. Not just in walking, but he's also becoming more opinionated and independent. He loves to go outside and it's a big ordeal if he doesn't get to go outside when he wants to! He has also really started pointing to what he wants and he keeps pointing until you get it right. He doesn't have many words but he walks around babbling all the time. He can point to his ears, belly, toes, nose (although he prefers to point to my nose), flowers, the dogs, dada, and nana. He occasionally points to me when asked "where's Mamma?" He also just started saying "nanana". I think that's because Nana was here this week!

We stopped nursing the week before his birthday, and I am proud to say we made it a year and never had to buy any formula. He transitioned fully to whole milk the other day and he's doing great with it. We are struggling with getting him to drink milk from anything other than a bottle though. Right now he will drink sips here and there from a sippy or a straw cup but won't take in a whole lot that way. This week I've been giving him a sippy in the morning and afternoon, and a bottle at nap and bedtime. He takes a whole lot more from the bottle than the sippy. I figure we'll keep this routine up a little longer.

Well if you've made it to the end of this I'm impressed! I don't have a lot of time to write so I end up writing one big novel in one sitting!!