Vacay!!

I am officially on vacation until December 28th.. and it could not have come at a better time. I am ready for a break. I am sure not too many people have sympathy for me since I only work 3 days a week.. but my goodness those three days are crazy. In the past it has been hard for me to enjoy Christmas because people are always so grouchy this time of year.. obviously I deal with the public and almost everyone I deal with is sick or has sick kids so it is understandable.. but when they are grouchy it makes you grouchy too. Josh and I have been off these past two years around Christmas and it just makes us enjoy it so much more.

Brynn is so excited about Christmas. I don't think she really understands the concept but she loves the lights and the trees. When we are in the car she will point out all the lights to us. She will say "Ho,Ho,Ho" when she sees Santa on TV.. it is so cute! We are suckers and already gave her one of her presents.. her kitchen set. We have other presents for her to open closer to Christmas but Josh was putting it together and we just decided to go ahead and give it to her. I think it was money well spent.

'Tis the Season!!

This weekend is crazy busy for us.. we have party after party!! Today my cousin's bridal shower was at 1 in Vincennes.. she was nice enough to be understanding enough that Brynn and I didn't come. We had originally planned on it but then found out Brynn had to go to the doctor this morning to get her booster since this is the 1st year for her getting her flu shot. Thanks Jenny!! We will be at the wedding with bells on!!

This evening is my works Christmas party. I am looking forward to it. There will be lots of little kids. We are a 24 hour store which means we NEVER close so someone is always workings.. so we aren't able to get together very often throughout the year. We get people to work at our store so everyone is able to come to the Christmas party. I am excited for Brynn to get to play with the other little kids. I hope she doesn't bite anyone.. she has been a little bully lately. I will have to keep my eye on her.

Tomorrow we have a birthday party to go to. One of Brynn's friends and my co-workers daughter's 2nd birthday party. It is at Tumble Express where they take gymnastics so it should be a good time. Addie, the birthday girl, has more energy than anyone I have ever met. Every week at gymnastics it is entertaining to watch her run around and I am sure tomorrow will be no different.

Then tomorrow night we are hosting Josh's work party here. I am a little nervous. I have had lots of things for my co-workers here but nothing for his yet.. so I always get nervous when I am hosting a group for the 1st time. I think I am ready but I always feel like there is something I forget.

After this weekend we don't really have any parties.. our friends are having a holiday party next weekend in Valpo but Josh is going to Alabama for the weekend so we won't be able to go!!

Does it ever end?!?!

I know I should just be thankful I have a big home to clean.. but honestly I don't think the cleaning ever ends! Every day I feel like I am starting all over. I guess that is the joys of having a 17 month old!! Honestly if someone knocked on my door right now to come over for a surprise visit I would be so embarrassed. I told myself when we moved into our new home that I was going to keep it spotless. I would swift or mop the floors every day... well lately that has been falling to the wayside. I did good for almost 2 years.. that should count for something, right?!?

I Wuv You Too!

So Brynn talks more and more with each passing day. It is so fun to hear the new words she learns and ones she attempts to say.. but I have to say that my favorite things she says now is " I Wuv you too!" It just melts my heart. You have to say it to her about ten times before she catches on and says it back but it is so sweet when she does. When I have a bad day at work and I hear her say that it makes all my sorrows go away!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I know it is a few days early.. but I have already had my Thanksgiving dinner. Josh and I both work on Thursday and I have been down in the dumps about it but then I realized rather than sitting here feeling sorry for myself I need to reflect on all that I have to be thankful for.

First and foremost that we have our health.. Brynn, Josh and I have had a great year other than Brynn's flu scares at the beginning of the year we have all been extremely healthy as well as our parents and siblings.

I am thankful that I have a job to go to. In today's economy so many people have lost their jobs so I should just be thankful I am in the health care field and have a secure job to go to even if it is on Thanksgiving. I have to keep telling myself someone has to do it and I am setting a good example for Brynn my going to work when I am needed.

I am thankful for my family.. Brynn and Josh. Josh and I had a great marriage to begin with but Brynn has brought so much more to our life. Every day with her is a blessing.. she learns new things as we do to. It has been so much fun and hopefully soon we will be able to add to our family. I am also thankful for our wonderful parents, siblings, and their significant others and our wonderful friends. You all bring so much to our lives with love, friendship, and laughter.. without you our lives would be dull.

I am thankful for God, without him none of this would be possible. He has given us many blessings and for that I am forever grateful.

Happy Turkey Day everyone!! Be safe!!

Go Colts!

So I went to my 1st NFL game on Sunday and what a game it was. The Colts vs Patriots.. what more could a sports fan want. It started out a little rough.. and looked like the Colts were going to lose.. but yet again Peyton Manning marched the Colts down the field for two touchdowns in a matter of minutes to put the Colts on top yet again. It was probably one of the greatest come backs of all times and I was there to see it, right?? WRONG!! We left the game with 7 minutes left to go in the 4th quarter and missed seeing them win. It wasn't even like we had to drive back that night.. we had a hotel room and everything downtown. Josh was not too happy with me and he said that he will NEVER leave a sporting event early again because you never know what can happen.

We had a great weekend. My mom's 60th bday is in December but not all of us siblings(her kids) will be together again til Christmas so we did a lunch for her on Saturday with some of her siblings. She was surprised and had a good time.. she even did a tequila shot. I love my mom to death but she has gotten more uptight over the years so that shocked me to see her do that but it was funny. Then Saturday night everyone came here to spend the night before heading to Indy Sunday morning for the Smith family pictures. We got our pictures taken downtown by the canal.. I can't wait to see them. Then we tailgated and went to the game.. it was a busy, exhausting weekend.. but lots of fun.

This weekend is the IU/Purdue football game.. which is always a good time. All the Canups will be there so that will be fun to hang out... we don't get together over Thanksgiving so I guess this will be our Thanksgiving!!

Fall Back!

So I still haven't adjusted to the time changing. I can't get over the fact that when I get off work at 6 it is dark.. it is so depressing. Brynn hates it too.. used to be when I got off early(which isn't often) we would come home and play outside for a while before getting dinner ready but now that isn't an option. I think it is making her a little stir crazy.

Halloween was fun.. she looked so cute in her football costume. I know to some people they might think this is a little boy's costume but it is so appropriate for our family since we spend every fall tailgating and going to football games. We didn't take her trick or treating.. my parents were in FL and Josh's parents came up that day to watch the Purdue game so they saw her in her costume then. We did go to Suzanne's(Brynn's babysitter) for a party that night and she had alot of fun. There was so much food there and for those of you that know Brynn you know that makes her very happy.

This past weekend I worked Saturday. Ashley and Pete kept her Friday night and watched her Saturday day. Then when I got off work I drove down to Loogootee and Brynn and I spent the night with Phillip and Amber. We were their 1st house guest. They were wonderful hosts. Brynn of course was a little rotten after spending all weekend with her uncles that never tell her no... but we always whip her back into shape after a few days. (Yea right!)

She is getting at least one of her molars right now if not two of them. At her 15 month check up the doctor said she would be a teething nightmare because none of her teeth look to be coming in at the same time. She only has five right now the way it is and sure enough they have been one by one.. but she hasn't been too bad so far so I hope it says that way but obviously the molars seem to be a lot tougher on the kiddos.

This weekend Kristine and the Lincoln's are coming home.. we have a busy weekend planned but I am super excited.. then the following weekend is the IU/Purdue game which is always a good time. Can't wait!!

Hug your loved ones!!

So I keep realizing more and more how precious life really is and how it can just pass you by in the blink of an eye. Some pretty sad things have happened over these past few months and it just makes me realize you can't take anything or anyone for granted.

I am sure almost everyone that reads this knows about Alecia and her baby boy Parker and what they have been suffering through for this past week and a half. This is honestly one of the saddest things I have ever had happen to someone I know. I just admire Alecia's strength in all of this. I have known Alecia for a long time and I have to say I have earned so much respect for her in how she has handled this situation. It is a parent's worst nightmare to have something happen to their child and for poor Parker to be so young. I know God has a plan for everyone and often he works in mysterious ways that none of us understand but I just ask that he gives them the strength that they need to make it through this trying time.

Also, for my dear friend Fix.. his mom lost a long hard fought battle with cancer on Tuesday. We went to her funeral services today. She was a wonderful women. She had two sons but she took all of us in as her own. She always made you feel so welcome in her home and always wanted to take care of everybody. She will be greatly missed.

On a happier note.. I was able to go to Chicago last weekend with my oldest and dearest friends. Six of us went.. we met in downtown Chicago and had a great time. We are all friends from high school(except Kaycee but she fit right in) and we don't get to see each other very often but we make up for lost time when we are together. We can't hang like we used to as far as the night scene goes and bouncing back the next day but we gave it our all..Jill especially.. I was very impressed with us old fokes!!

This weekend is Halloween. The weather was crappy tonight so we did not have 1 trick or treater and tomorrow night we won't be home so I guess I will have to eat all the candy I bought.

I hope there are a few of you out there that still read my blog. I know it has almost been two months.. so let me know if you are still interested or not.

Where have I been??

So I decided I pretty much suck at this blogging thing... I have only posted twice in the past couple of months. I don't know where all my time goes but I am going to try and be better.

August was a busy month.. going into it we did not think we would be that busy, but we had something going on almost every free day, but it was a lot of fun.

I wrote that we went to Looogootee the 1st weekend.. then the next we went to a wedding and a Beach Party at the Country Club in Terre Haute with some friends. The next weekend we worked all weekend.. which of course was no fun. Then we went to a Colts preseason game on the 20th and took Brynn to the Children's Museum on the 21st. She loved it. We met my friend Jenny there and her little girl is 5 weeks older than Brynn, they had a ball. Brady and Jana met us too.. he was a little trooper while we did all the baby stuff.. but after lunch he got to go do some of the big boy stuff, just him and mommy. We rode the carousel 1st which she absolutely loved but then of course that is all she wanted to do.. we had to go to the next level so she would quit hearing the music playing.

This past weekend was a pretty inspirational weekend for Josh and I. Josh's twin brother, Jason, rode in the Pelotonia in Columbus, OH in honor of his friend Tyler who passed away in December due to cancer. Tyler had only been diagnosed 6 months prior, and unfortunately was only 24 years old when he passed away. We got to meet Tyler's mom and his long time girlfriend of 6 years, Lisa. Tyler's mom rode 25 miles and Lisa committed to riding 180 miles in Ty's honor. Lance Armstrong was affiliated with the ride and he spoke Friday night at the opening ceremony and then led the ride on Saturday.. it was pretty cool to be 10 yds away from him. Anyone that knows me knows I love celebrities so Josh was surprised I didn't tackle him or something since he was so close. Just meeting Ty's loved ones and seeing the committment they all made to train and ride in his honor really really touched me. It made me realize how blessed Josh, Brynn, and I really are. Cancer effects Josh's family big time, on his mom and dad's side of the family. His grandma died when we 1st started dating.. she had breast cancer when she was younger but later it came back and had spread to her bones. Josh's uncle passed away of lung cancer when he was in his 40's. Most recently it was Josh's sister, Jana, who had breast cancer 3 years ago, luckily now she is cancer free.. but it is something she will have to deal with and fear for the rest of her life. Things like this just really put every day life into perspective.. why do I sweat the small stuff. We are healthy, happy, have a great family and friends that surround us and support us, life is good.. enjoy it, because you never know what tomorrow will bring! If you can make any donation, big or small.. go to Pelotonia.org and click on riders and search for Canup, Jason.. he has to raise 1000 dollars by October.. he is getting so close to his goal!!

On a happier note.. Brynn is all over the place and talking up a storm. She now tells us when she is ready for bed by telling us "night, night" and laying her head down on our laps. It is the sweetest thing. She is a mama's girl..that is for sure. When I am not home she will walk from room to room saying my name looking for me. I love it of course, but Josh hates it. He just plays and plays with her but she still wants her mama.

Football season is here. We are heading to Purdue for our 1st tailgate of the season tomorrow.. it will be a long fall but fun. We are trying to sell the bus.. so if you know anyone that wants to buy a full size school bus with Purdue Boilermakers painted on the side let us know.

Next weekend is my 1/2 marathon. Josh, Kristine and I are all doing it. I am in much better shape and mental state this time around so hopefully it will go much smoother.

We have a Walker!!

Brynn finally decided to walk on Friday.. I guess she knew I had been bad mouthing her on here. It is the cutest thing ever.. which I am sure every parent feels that way when their child starts to walk. She looks like a little drunk person walking. She gets so excited that she still falls forward some but for the most part she gets around the house on her own. Now I am sure the real fun begins!

We had a nice weekend. We went to Loogootee. Josh hadn't seen Phillip and Amber's house yet so we went down and spent the weekend hanging out with them and Pete and Ashley. We ran 9 miles on Saturday morning.. my mom rode her bike again and gave us water. Thanks mom!!

I have a friend from work coming over today. She is on maternity leave right now so I haven't seen much of her lately. She has two adorable little girls so they are coming over today. I am excited to sit and visit, especially since the weather is bad outside.

I have been in cleaning mode lately. I have been cleaning out all our closets.. they were pretty bad. I feel alot more organized now. I still have a ways to go to be where I want to be but at least I am making progress.

Our Baby is 1!

Brynn turned one on July 14th.. I can't believe it. Where has the year gone. We celebrated by having a 1st birthday party on July 11th. We had a cookout at our house and she was surrounded by so much love from family and friends. She is one blessed little girl. We call her our little peanut, so my sister-in-law Jana made her birthday cake in the shape of a peanut and decorated it so so cute. I know, I need to post pictures.. I never upload them any more to the computer.. hopefully soon!! Brynn loved eating the cake and loved playing with all her new toys.

We flew to NY on July 15th and spent 5 days with Kristine, Lincoln and Lincoln.. it was so much fun. We went to the new Yankee stadium while we were there.. it was an adult only day which was so nice to get a break other than going to work. It was so cool to go into the city to the game and see the old stadium as well. Most of the other time we just boated and relaxed. It was so nice and we did not want to return to work.

Brynn is being stubborn as ever. She will walk all over the place if you let her hang onto your hand.. she just has to be holding your pinkie finger but the minute you let go of her hand she freaks out. Who knows when she will start to walk on her own!

This past weekend my cousin Jason and his long time girlfriend Casey got married. They had been dating for 12 years so of course everyone was so excited that they finally took the plunge. They are honeymooning in the Bahamas this week.. wish I was there too.

Other than that I have been training hard core for my 1/2 marathon on September 12th.. I have to run 9 miles on Saturday. I did 8 last Saturday.. my mom was so sweet and rode her bike and brought me water along my route.. I couldn't have made it without water.. not in this humidity. I will be glad when the race is over. I am hoping to improve my time from the one in Indy and then be done with the races for awhile.. maybe just do some 5k races along the way.

Football season is right around the corner. I always have mixed emotions about that. It is something that Josh absolutely loves and that I enjoy.. I just hate being gone every weekend in the fall and never getting to experience anything else. The best part is getting to see family and friends every weekend that come.. now that I enjoy!

Hope everyone is well.. I can't believe it has been a month since I posted last.. I hope you all didn't give up on me!!

Refocusing!

It has been along time since I have written. Alot has happened since I wrote last and I just feel like I could write forever but I will try and minimize what I say.

On a very sad note my best friend's dad passed away a few weeks ago. It was so sad and my heart goes out to her and her family. They have been dealing with a lot this part 4 years and I hope now they are able to find peace with the situation and start healing... it has been a long road for all of them!

Brynn turned 11 months since I wrote last.. she still isn't off and running yet but getting closer everyday. Her 1st birthday is July 14th so we have been busy planning her 1st birthday party. I am so excited to see her eat the cake and icing.. I am sure it will be a mess but well worth it. We are going Friday to get her 1 year pictures taken. We are meeting the photographer at the zoo so I am so excited to see what kind of shots we can get. We are finally getting a family picture taken. I haven't had hardly any pictures taken with her since she has been born. I know I will regret that one day but I wanted to lose more of the baby weight before I got a bunch of pictures taken but I figured it is her 1st birthday that we should get a family picture taken.

Jason and Kelli came to visit a few weekends ago. It was so nice to visit with them. We hadn't seen them since March.. three months is a long time for us to go without seeing them. We went to Bob and Linda's for a Father's day feast on Saturday and then Linda kept Brynn so we could hang out with Jason and Kelli. You can tell we have all aged.. we were kid less and still at home in bed by midnight. It was so nice to hang out and catch up though.

Last weekend Josh and I had date night. It ended up being with two other couples but it was great nonetheless. We went to dinner at this nice little place in Paris, IL in the middle of a cornfield but it was amazing. It was the best filet I have ever eaten. Sunday we tried to take Brynn swimming at Suzanne's mother-in-laws but she wasn't having any part of that.. so we packed everything up to be there for 1/2 hour to turn right back around and come home.

This weekend is the 4th of July. We are both working all weekend.. what fun, right? My parents are keeping Brynn. My dad is super excited because he Hans't seen her in over a month.. so at least they will enjoy her.

I need to get refocused.. I set some resolutions at the beginning of the year and I need to regain my focus and get back on track. We were doing soo good about going to church and have missed quite a bit lately.

I also need to start reading more and watching less TV. Any good suggestions??

Everyone have a happy and safe 4th of July!!

Spoiled!!

Josh and I have talked alot lately about what a good baby Brynn has been.. in the beginning it was pretty rough because she was colicky, but after the 1st 8-12 weeks she has been so good. We will go full days without her crying at all about anything. I guess we didn't realize how lucky we really were until more recently other people have been telling us how good she is. I am not trying to be one of those parents who thinks their child can do no wrong, because I know that isn't the truth. I am just spoiled in the fact that we got such a good baby the 1st time around. Plus, she is a great sleeper, it is 9 am and she is still sleeping. I was able to get up and run on the treadmill and get my kitchen cleaned before she even wakes up today. I think this is a trap though, our next child will probably be a living tear!

Am I crazy?

So I have decided to run another mini marathon in Terre Haute in September. I figured it is the only way to hold me accountable and make me workout. I haven't done hardly anything since the Indianapolis one so I think the only way I will continue running is if I sign up for another. I convinced my sister to do it too.. she will be home that weekend for a Colts game on Sunday so we will run it together Saturday morning. I think Sarah is doing it with me again and possibly Suzanne(Brynn's babysitter) so if anyone else is interested let me know.

I picked Kristine and LL up Wednesday night after work in Carmel. They flew in earlier that day and I picked them up at one of her friends house. We headed to Loogootee for a busy weekend. Thursday my dad watched Brynn and LL while us ladies went to Vincennes to get mani/pedicures with my cousin before her wedding. It was alot of fun.. there were about 30 people there. Then Friday my friend Jill and her little girl Mara came over to my parents house. My parents had gotten a new swing set delivered and we had a baby pool and Elmo sprinkler set up. The kids had a blast. Brynn was like a little fish in the pool.. she loved it. I had to keep reapplying sunscreen because she didn't want to get out. Saturday was the wedding. It was a Catholic wedding so it was a long ceremony.. I was worried sick about how Brynn would do but she was very well behaved.. I just kept feeding her snacks the whole time to keep her occupied. Bob and Linda took her for the night after the wedding. If she had been walking we would have taken her to the reception but she isn't quite there yet so they took her for the night. Sunday we had LL's 2nd birthday party at my parents. I can't believe he is two. It was nice to get to celebrate with him.. since last year I was big and pregnant and didn't get to.

This week has just been trying to get things back in order.. it is always hard after being gone for a long weekend. Brynn has been sleeping a ton the past two days. I think the weekend caught up with her and I think finally she might be getting another tooth.

This weekend Josh is doing a 40 mile bike race Saturday morning and then later that day we are going to Jocelyn's 1st birthday party, which mean Brynn's is right around the corner. I can't believe it and can't hardly talk about it without tearing up.



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Super Excited

So I have been wanting a bike trailer so that I can pull Brynn behind me on my bike. I have been doing research for a while now and couldn't believe how expensive they can be.. but today I took the plunge and made the purchase and I should have it by the end of next week.. I can't wait. I got a great deal on it and justified it even more because it can be used as a jogging stroller too. Brynn is going to be traveling in style.. I will post pictures once I get it.

I am watching the Big Ten baseball tournament on TV right now. My cousin Matt is a freshmen at IU and is on the baseball team and he got his 1st collegiate start tonight. I am so excited and nervous.. I can't imagine how his parents feel. I never thought I would say this but "Go IU!"

New Found Respect

I knew my mom was remarkable growing up, but I don't think I knew how much until I had a child of my own and still working full time(well 30 hours counts). I don't see how she did it with 4 kids. I ask Josh all the time how his mom did it with twins. It just seems like there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done.. I feel like I am scrambling alot of time to get the necessities done and have to let the other things slide. Josh thinks I am crazy 1/2 the time, but I think he has always thought that and has nothing to do with having a baby now.

Last weekend Josh and I had a three day weekend off together.. it was so nice. It has been a long time since we have done that and not been going out of town.. we loved every second of it. Friday we got alot of stuff done outside. We cleaned out the gutters, well it isn't fair to see we, I should say he and my dad cleaned out the gutters, pulled weeds, and washed the windows. All things you hate to do but have to be done. That night we went over to Dan and Sarah's and they grilled out for us.. it was nice to hang out and watch Brynn and Olivia play. They are so cute together.. Olivia is motherly to Brynn, it is so sweet to watch her bring her juice or her pacifier.

Saturday morning we ran a 5k race. It was at the Feline Rescue Center in Centerpoint. It was really cool and crazy to think that something like that exists in this part of IN. The cats were beautiful. It was a pretty tough run because I had taken time off since the mini to let my legs rest, I didn't taper down like I was supposed to so basically I was running that after not running at all for two weeks but for me I did good. I finished right under 30 minutes and Josh finished at 22:30.. pretty sad that he finished 7 minutes ahead of me in a 3.1 mile race but I was trying my hardest. Now I am contemplating running the mini marathon in Terre Haute on September 12th. I am trying to convince my sister to do it with me.. she will be home that weekend for the Colts game on Sunday so I told her we should do it.. anyone else interested?

Later that day I went to my great-aunts 50th wedding anniversary celebration. I took Brynn because my mom loves to show her off.. it made me realize how hard she is to contain at some place like that where she can't crawl around. She is so close to walking.. I am hoping it happens soon. I know everyone says then you are chasing them even more but at least she can walk around and tired herself.. but I can't let her crawl around at a place like that.. she will get stepped on. It was nice to see cousins I haven't seen forever. It made me really miss my grandma and grandpa though.. I feel like they would have been the life of the party if they were there. It was sad to see them in their later years in life because I feel like they were robbed of so much when they had their strokes and couldn't get around as well, but they used to be social butterflies. Big family things like that always make me miss them that much more.

Sunday we had a cookout at our house for two of the rph I work with.. one is pregnant and the other ones wife is pregnant. We had about 30 people here.. lots of kids. It was so fun to see them all play together. I love having people over. I stress til they get here making everything is set up and if I have enough food or not and if the house is clean enough.. then I stress when they leave about cleaning everything up.. but I love every minute they are here.

Wednesday night after work Brynn and I went to watch Bailey graduate from pre-school. I can't believe she is old enough for that. She looked pretty darn cute.. it was so funny to watch all those kids sing their songs and recite their pledges.

I am off the next two days and then work Sunday. Not to much going on over the weekend.. I know alot of people get super excited about holiday weekends but unfortunately we work alot of them so it doesn't mean too much to us.

Before I go.. I just have new found respect for all of you mothers out there.. I love every minute of being a mom but I just don't think I have figured out how to balance everything yet. I shouldn't complain because I only have 1 child and a great support system around.

It has been awhile!!

So I haven't written in two weeks.. I have been so busy.

The weekend of May 2nd, Josh and I ran the mini. It was alot of fun. I never thought I would say that about running 13.1 miles but it truly was.. it definitely was one of the hardest things I have done in my life but the whole time I was running I kept telling myself that I delivered a 9 lb 7 ounce baby, that this was nothing. I did pretty well for my 1st time.. I finished in 2 hours and 28 minutes. I was on pace to do 2 hours and 20 minutes but at mile 10 I cramped really bad and had to walk some, but the main this is that I finished and was so happy to cross the finish line. Josh finished in 1 hour and 53 minutes. I was so proud of him. That day I said I would never do it again, but I am already thinking about how I am going to improve my time next year.

We spent that weekend downtown Indy. My mom and dad had Brynn so it was so nice to have the weekend away. Josh felt horrible that afternoon.. I was ready for a night out on the town but he didn't feel to well. He had worked 13 days straight leading up to the race so I think it just all caught up with him. He finally started feeling better later that evening so we were able to go to dinner and grab a drink.. it was so nice to have adult conversation. It made us realize that we need to make an effort more often to have "date" night. It doesn't ever happen because we work opposite schedules to limit the amount of time Brynn is at the babysitter so we very rarely have an evening during the week at home together and then the weekends seem so busy with everything else, plus we work every 3rd, but we realized we have to make the time.

This past weekend, Brynn and I flew to Long Island, NY to visit my sister and her family. My mom and two of my aunts went as well. It was the 1st time Brynn was on an airplane, I was a nervous wreck about how she would do but all and all she did very well. She was fussy a few times but it wasn't for very long and other passengers made the comment about how well she was behaved. Kristine and I went to the spa on Friday afternoon and got facials while the others shopped. Then later that day we went out on the boat for a ride and then to dinner that night, Saturday we got pedicures and went to church later that day and then just visited Saturday night. It went by so fast but I was happy to be home Sunday. It was my 1st Mother's Day... Josh was sweet, once we got home he could tell I was beat so he let me lay on the couch and be lazy while he took care of Brynn.. it was the best Mother's day present ever.

Brynn is starting to walk more behind her walker toys.. I think she will be doing it on her own in no time. She will be ten months old on the 14th.. I can't believe it. She is babbling alot and starting to say more and more words.. it is so fun to listen to her carry on a conversation with herself.

Big Girl!!

We have been giving Brynn table food for awhile now, slowly introducing new things to her. She has had carrots, peaches, strawberries, pineapple, apples, bananas, green beans, yogurt, pancakes, french fries, and the list goes on and on. She loves it.. but not the problem is she doesn't want us feeding her anything anymore. She only wants things she can pick up and feed herself. She hasn't used any utensils yet so I am having a hard time coming up with enough vegetables for her to eat that are small and soft enough that she can chew with her gums basically because she only has 1 and 1/2 teeth. Any suggestions? I thought maybe some of you moms out there that read this could help me out.
Thanks!!

Surprise!!

Sunday my sister called and said they had frequent flyer miles that were going to expire at the end of this month if they didn't use them so her and little Lincoln flew home yesterday. I have to admit I was super excited for my parents but also sad because I have to work this week and usually when they are home I try to arrange my schedule to be off the majority of the time they are here. They did come up to see me today and took Brynn back with them so that she could hang out with her cousin since they don't get to see each other very often. There is only a year difference between them and although Lincoln is alot bigger than her he plays so well with her. She was chasing him up the stairs while they were here. That is her new thing, she loves climbing the stairs. Needless to say we don't have a baby gate yet so we have to keep an eye on her all the time. That is one of our projects for this weekend. It hadn't been a problem til this past weekend when she discovered she could do it and now that is all she wants to do.. it is nice because it does wear her out so she takes good naps during the day now.

We went for her 9 month check up today. She is 18 lbs 14 ounces and 27 1/2 inches long. She is 50th percentile for weight and 25th for height.. she keeps decreasing in that department but I guess what do we expect with Josh and I as her parents. It was nice because no shots this time around... but her year appt will be a rough one.

Say Cheese!!

We took Brynn to get her 9 month pictures today. She did pretty good. It is hard to get her to sit and pose for a picture, she would much rather be on the move but we managed to get a few good ones. I wanted to share a few of them.

Indy, Here I come!

I ran 13 miles this morning.. I did it! I was so proud of myself. I did not feel great when it was done.. I did feel a huge sense of accomplishment but physically I was hurting. I had ran 11 miles about a month ago but had not run any long distance since then so I knew going into it that it was going to be rough. I felt great at the start, better than I usually do. It was such a beautiful day and I thought this is going to a great run. The hills didn't bother me like they usually do and I felt like I was in the zone.. and then mile 10 it hit me. It started with my knee just throbbing and then I started cramping. I was so upset because I didn't know what I was going to do.. I had to finish. I walked for a little bit and then just told myself I had worked too hard to just give up.. so I made myself run the rest of the way. I finished in 2 hours and 21 minutes which is better than my goal for the mini and that was with walking almost a mile total distance so I think I could do pretty good race day. Now we start tapering down so that we don't exert ourselves too much over the next couple of weeks and have fresh legs for the mini. I am looking forward to it.. I think just so it is over with more than anything but still looking forward to it.

Josh went up to Purdue today for the Spring game. Brynn and I have just been hanging out. My sister got her this Fisher Price Learning House for Christmas and we just put it together a few weeks ago and she loves it. It has alot of bells and whistles and it seems like daily she figures out what another button will do. It is fun to watch her. She rings the doorbell at least 50 times a day and then I always say "come on in" and she laughs.. so we have been doing that for about an hour now.

Nine months old!

Brynn is 9 months old today.. she is taking her nap right now and I keep catching myself staring at her wondering where the time has gone. I can't believe my little baby is growing up so fast. I see why people want another one so soon after the 1st because they grow up way too fast and become independent and you almost feel like they don't need you anymore. I know I am getting way ahead of myself but it is true. Josh and I have been talking more about when we will be ready for our next, he tells me lets make it through Brynn's 1st birthday and then we can talk more seriously about it. So I guess no big announcements from us any time soon!!

I went home Sunday after getting off work.. I was excited because the Easter bunny did find me at CVS. On old coworker came in to see me at work on Sunday and brought me some Easter treats. Just what I needed but I ate them nonetheless. I got to Loogootee about eight that night and was able to visit with Phillip and Amber for a few minutes before they headed home. It is so cute to see my brothers with Brynn, they just fall all over her. She is one lucky little girl to have such great aunt and uncles on both sides of the family. I know she doesn't know it now but one day she will know how blessed she is.

Monday was my dad's birthday. He is 62 now.. I can't believe it, aging gracefully of course. We just ate lunch at Los Bravos, the weather was too nasty to really do anything else. Then I met Amber at their house after she got out of school. It is so pretty.. it sits up on top a big hill and just looks amazing. I can't wait to see the finished product. They are moving right along and hopefully will be able to move in some time in June.

Josh was glad to see Brynn when we got back last night. He hadn't seen her since Friday. She was glad to see him too.. she gave him some kisses and they played with her new ball. I was glad he could entertain her so I could start on her laundry from the weekend. It is amazing how much laundry kids have.

Today we had music class.. we only have 1 left for the semester. I think Brynn has really enjoyed it. I am ready for it to be over until the fall. I have enjoyed taking her and have met some really nice moms but with the weather getting nicer I am just ready to be outside with her on my days off.

We had another lady come today for the landscaping.. I am excited to see what they sketch out for us. We will see one Friday morning and then the other one early next week.. I hope they are what we are looking for and the right price as well. Wish us luck!!

Easter at Nana's!

Happy Easter!

I have to admit I am a little sad typing this post. Brynn is spending the weekend with my mom and dad! It is her 1st Easter and we have to work so we don't even get to take her to church. We did put her in her Easter dress this morning so we could take some pictures of her. Growing up in my household we always took a family picture Easter morning before we went to mass. Out of us 4 kids at least one of us was always mad about something in the picture which would show by our facial expression, but nonetheless, every year dad would set the tripod up and set the timer on the camera and we would get the Smith family Easter picture. I wish I had some of those pictures to post, now those would be a sight to see. We did give Brynn her Easter basket from us this morning. She enjoyed going through it, she liked the ball we got her the best. It was 1 dollar at CVS so I am glad she doesn't have expensive taste.

Josh and I are really trying to get things going with our landscaping. We are meeting with a couple different designers over the next couple of weeks to get some ideas and estimates. We keep contemplating doing it ourselves but our time together as a family is so limited that we don't know if we want to take more time together away from Brynn to do it ourself or not! I am guessing depending on what the estimates are is what will scare us into doing it ourselves or not.

Brynn will be nine months on Tuesday! She is trying to start and talk more.. she says "dada", "nana", sometimes "mama" and now she is trying to say "ball" and "uh-oh". She is developing quite the personality and unfortunately has quite the little temper. I hate it but it is true. She waves her little arm when she gets mad and has started throwing fits when we put her in the carset.. I am hoping it is short phase she is going through. It makes me nervous because I had a Taro card reading back in February and she told me I would have my hands full with this child, I think it is already starting. Honestly for the most part she is a very sweet little girl.. she loves her mommy and daddy. I think she can already tell daddy is the soft one. Josh has told me since the beginning that I am going to have to be the disciplinarian.. he can't tell her no~ I understand though because that is how it was with my dad too!! I still use that to my advantage at age 30!!

I have to go for now, I can't get the spell check to work so don't judge me if every other word is spelled wrong!

Proud wife!

We ran a five mile race today.. Sarah and I ran together and ran it at a ten minute mile pace so I was pretty proud of ourselves for that. I know to some people that may seem like we are crawling but to us that is our Olympic speed. The race was called the Swamp Stomp and it was at the park across the street from where we live.. it was pretty fun to run on the trails thru the woods. I was scared I was going to get hurt though because there was gravel and big tree roots all over the place, plus it has rained so much the leaves were all slick.

I am so proud of Josh though, he finished 2nd in his age group and 8th overall, it is sad but he finished over 14 minutes faster than Sarah and I did.. he got a trophy and it was so cute because when we got home he gave it to Brynn. He is such a good dad!!

April Showers!!

I can't believe it is April.. Brynn will turn nine months soon, where has the time gone since last July when she was born. I swear every day I look at her at the end of the day and think she has gotten bigger. It is just so much fun watching her try new things every day. We have been feeding her more and more table food and she does so good feeding herself, not so much with a spoon or fork, but with her hands. She is an absolute mess afterwards but that is alright, I think it bothers daddy way more than mommy. He always makes a comment about how he is a much neater feeder than I am.

Last weekend we went to Cincinnati to see Jason and Kelli. It was a good time. We got there Saturday afternoon and immediately went to IKEA, Josh and I always want to go there to get things for the house. I love that place, it has alot of contemporary stuff for pretty cheap so you can do fun stuff to the house for not that much money. Then that night we ate wings, which we all always seem to do when we are together. I think the cutest thing of the weekend is how much Brynn loved Biscuit, that is their Boston Terrier, it was so cute. He would come right at her and lick her face and it didn't phase her a bit. She would be in her chair eating and be looking around at the floor for him. It was so cute. I told Josh we might have to get her a puppy for her birthday.. I don' t think he was sold on the idea. Sunday, Bob, Linda, Jana, Jeff, Bailey and Brady all came over to their house and we had our Easter celebration since the majority of us are in the health care field and work on Easter. It was nice to have all of us together, it doesn't happen too often, maybe just a few times a year.

This week was a crazy week at work.. always is at the 1st of the month. I left things in shambles last night when I left there so I couldn't sleep worrying about it. Josh didn't go in to work til 2 today so I went back into work this morning to try and help them get things caught up. I looked pretty scary because our power went out at 3 am this morning due to the storms so I couldn't take a shower because it was still dark out and I had no blow dryer to use. I probably did more harm than good by scaring customers away with the way that I looked.

I am looking forward to the weekend. We are running a 5 mile race tomorrow.. hopefully the weather will cooperate. Other than that not much planned.. we are getting ready to try and do some landscaping so we might start getting things together for that.

I need to post pictures of Brynn soon.. I haven't posted any in a long while. I will try and do that over the next couple of weeks.

March Madness!

I love this time of year.. mostly I think it is because Spring is here but I also love March Madness! I am a huge sports fan and probably a good thing I am because I am married to the biggest Purdue fan ever.. well maybe not individually but as a family they are the biggest group of Purdue fans I have ever met. Those of you who know us well know exactly what I mean. Every year Josh and I feel out our brackets and always have a competition to see who can get the most right.. I usually beat him which he probably won't admit but it is true. I think it is because he knows too much about the teams and I just sort of fill it out blindly not knowing much going into it. This year has been fun also because Purdue is still in the tournament. They plan UConn tomorrow night, the #1 seed in our region, but that is okay, we have nothing to lose, all the pressure is on them so I am hoping we can somehow pull off the upset. We are having people over to watch the game so I am excited to have all a bunch of Purdue fans over to watch and cheer on the Boilermakers!

Brynn is doing so much better this week. She is back to her old self. She finally got her 1st tooth.. it broke through this weekend. She is also starting to pull herself up, she climbed up the bottom two stairs yesterday so I think I am going to have to break down and get a baby gate. She is so much fun right now, developing quite the little personality. She definitely has a temper, she must get that from her dad(he he).

We are heading to Cincinnati this weekend to see Jason and Kelli and Biscuit. We haven't been there since September.. so we are excited about going. It is always nice to just hang out and catch up. We have to run 12 miles Saturday before we can leave so I am not looking forward to that but at least I know fun is waiting at the end of the 12 miles!

Boiler up!!!

Finally!

So I wrote last weekend saying how Brynn was sick again.. well it turned into her getting dehydrated again and having to get admitted to the hospital AGAIN! It was awful. I just feel so sorry for her. The thing is when she is sick like that she won't drink anything. We try pedialyte, gatorade, juice, and she won't drink any of them. She just lets them run out of her mouth, down her face, or just pushes the bottle out of her mouth with her tongue. So the only thing she will drink is her regular bottle but then you can't give her that because she throws it up, so it was a losing battle. We would try to just give her like 10 ml at a time in a dosing syringe but she wouldn't swallow that either.

So Monday we went to the doctor after her throwing up since Thursday night. They did blood work and her electrolytes were low so they left it up to me as to what I wanted to do.. she wasn't as bad off as the time before but they were afraid it was heading in that direction. Of course I didn't want her to be admitted and have to go thru getting an IV again.. so the doctor let us leave the office but said if she got sick again to call the office. So around three that day she got sick again so back to the hospital she went. It was so sad to have to take her back. We were there for 24 hours and then got to come home. That was Tuesday evening.. and she is finally starting to act like herself again.

She is with my parents this weekend because Josh and I have to work.. I hated to send her away after being sick but I have missed work more this year than ever before in my life with her being sick so much. Plus, I think the break is good for both of us. She got very clingy during all of us, understandable so, but wanted me to hold her all the time. She hasn't been to the babysitter since the Thursday before last and I don't think Suzanne would enjoy having to hold her all day long with two kids of her own.

I want to wish my friend Jill, a happy 30th birthday!! We have been friends our entire lives. I can't believe we are both 30. We have been thru everything together.. and I am blessed to have her in my life!

Again?!

Brynn is sick again.. she has thrown up since Thursday night. I just feel so bad for her... she is too small to understand what is going and just cries and cries after she throws up. We have done so many loads of laundry cleaning everything up each time. Please pray that she gets healthy and stays healthy soon!

Family and Friends

We had a busy but fun week. I worked last Sunday and Monday and have been off work since then. I picked my sister and Lincoln up at the airport on Tuesday morning, they came to visit for a few days. I was so excited to see them, it had been since Christmas so we were due for a visit. Lincoln will be 2 in June, but is about 3 x the size of Brynn, but it is so cute because he is so good with her. He knows to be gentle and even has sympathy cries for her.. when she gets upset he would get upset too. I just wish they could see each other more often.

Tuesday afternoon we went to the ISU/IU baseball game. My cousin Matt is a freshmen at IU, and he is on the baseball team. We got to see him pitch for a few innings. It was pretty cool, even though it was for IU. It was so cold though, Josh took Brynn and LL back to the house so they wouldn't have to suffer through it. At one point I had a pair of mittens on my feet to keep them warm.

Then Wednesday we headed to Loogootee to see the rest of the family. We were just there for 24 hours but I hadn't been there since Christmas. We of course had to eat at Dairy Master, but it wasn't the same since I gave french fries up for Lent. I will have to go back after Easter and make up for it.

Then Thursday on our way back up to Terre Haute we went to Bob and Linda's to see the pony and cows. Lincoln thought it was pretty cool, at first he didn't know what to think but then he warmed up to the idea. He also got to sit on the tractor, he doesn't see too many of those in Long Island.

Then Friday morning they left to head back to NY. It never gets any easier to say goodbye. I think my mom, Brynn and I are going to fly there mother's day weekend. I am so scared to fly with Brynn but an extra set of hands will definitely help.

Then yesterday morning we ran our nine miles, yes, I did it! It was so hard this week.. it was warmer, which was nice, but the wind was horrible the last two miles. I felt like I was running as fast I could and getting no where.

Then yesterday afternoon, Garrett and Abby, and their two kids, and Dan and Sarah and O, all came over and we grilled out. I lived with Abby all thru pharmacy school and now that we have kids and they are in Evansville it is hard for us to see much of each other. It was so nice to catch up. We had a good time.

Today we are just getting the house back in order and doing some Spring Cleaning!! I am so ready for it to be here. I think ski season might finally be over for Jason, so I am super excited for him and Kelli to get their lives back!!!

Home at Last!

It has been a long three to four days for us, out of the blue Sunday Brynn got sick. She had shown no signs or symptoms throughout the day that she didn't feel well. Dan, Sarah, Josh and I met Sunday afternoon to go running while Chelsea watched Brynn and Olivia. They played and everything was fine. Later that day we ordered pizza and watched a movie and Brynn still seemed fine. Then that evening around 530 or 6 she threw up all over Josh, he always seems to be her favorite target. We thought it might of been a fluke though because she seemed fine after that. We gave her a bath to get her cleaned up and then she played for awhile and seemed fine so we decided to go ahead and give her cereal and her nighttime bottle. She ate both and kept it down. Then about 2 am she woke up coughing and puking everywhere again. So we got her and her bed all cleaned up and I went out and got some Pedialyte. I know now to keep it on hand so I don't have to make runs to the drugstore at 3 am ever again. So we were up with her til about 430 am. Then Monday morning she had diarrhea and still wouldn't eat anything so my parents came up to watch her so I could work and took her to the doctor and she had lost 11 ounces since last week when she was there. The doctor had them feed her two ounces and wait 20 minutes to see if she kept it down, which she did. So then two hours later she got another 2 ounces and kept it down. So she waited to daddy got home and fed her to throw up again. I had to hold her all night Monday night, that is the only way she would sleep. So she wasn't keeping anything down so Tuesday morning we went back to the doctor and she had lost another 6 ounces so they admitted her to the hospital due to dehydration. I knew it was going to be the quickest way to get her better. He said it is just so hard for them when they are that little to get caught up again without the IV fluid. It was just so sad seeing her get the IV put in and to make matters worse they had to do it twice because it got infiltrated. She was there for 24 hours and you could tell she started feeling better by last night. She wanted to play but just didn't have much energy. I stayed at the hospital with her last night. She kept waking up and you could just tell she was scared.. she would calm back down when she would see my face. We got to come home this morning. She was so happy to be home. She is still pretty puny but you can tell she feels so much better. She is still sleeping alot and pooping alot but not near as runny. Hopefully this is the last we see of the flu bug in this household for this season.. now we are just hoping Josh and I don't get it this time around. Brynn is the one that started it last time too!

Winter Blues

I am so ready for winter to be over with. I can't wait for it to be warm and I am able to take Brynn for strollers rides every day. I can tell the cold weather is getting to me and her. Not to mention as soon as it gets warmer we are moving her up to a convertible carseat, she is too heavy to carry around in the infant carrier anymore, but we do it because it helps keep her warm.

Yesterday I went to Indy and got my haircut. I used to go there all the time before I had her, but once I got pregnant I quit going because it was too much of a hassle to try and make it there. I love the girl that cuts my hair there though and she sent me gift certificate a few weeks ago for a free cut and color so I had to take advantage of that. My mom and dad went along as well to watch Brynn while I got my hair done. I got alot of it cut off. I was just ready for a change, I think that I was starting to feel "momish", so I wanted to do something different. I kind of feel like a punk rocker now, but it is fun.

We were supposed to run 7 miles this morning but skipped out because of the nasty weather. We are hoping it is half way decent out tomorrow so we can run it then. I hate being behind but I was not about to run 7 miles on a treadmill this morning.. that is just too far.

Josh went to the IU/Purdue basketball game today. Brynn and I are being lazy. It is 430 and she is still in her pj's. I will just give her a bath and put her in another pair of pj's later. Tonight we are going to an art show with Dan and Sarah, Josh and I neither one know anything about art but it is for charity and it will get us out of the house for alittle while. Grandma Canup is going to babysit Brynn.

7 months and counting!

We had a nice weekend. Saturday morning we ran our 6 miles and I was so proud of myself, I ran the whole way without stopping. I didn't know if I would be able to do it because it seemed as if I was a mile behind of where I really needed to be, but I guess it was pure determination that got me through. It is so nice training with the group here in The Haute because they have coaches that run with you that encourage you the whole way, Josh is at the very front of the group so he is no help back where I am, so it is nice to have the coaches along the way.

My parents came up Saturday afternoon. The plan was for them to babysit while Josh and I went out to dinner for Valentine's Day, but we both decided we didn't want to fight the crowds at places( I know we are fun) so we just stayed in and all cooked dinner. It was nice to visit, I know they were only gone for a week but it had been two weeks since they had seen Brynn and since they hadn't been in the US I wasn't able to talk to them that whole time so it was nice to catch up.

Sunday we went to church. Brynn was flirting with the boys sitting behind us, I already think we are going to have our hands full with her and the boys. She always seems to flirt with them. I have no idea where she gets that from. Then Sunday afternoon I hosted a baby shower for one of my co-workers. I work with mostly women and we all seem to get along so well so it is nice to hang out together away from work sometimes. It was alot of fun having people over to the house, I love cooking and getting things ready for things like that.

I took Brynn to the doctor today just to make sure she didn't have an ear infection because she has been so congested and pulling at her ears. Everything with that was fine, but she does have some eczema and then the doctor noticed that she tilts her head to one side alot, which I had noticed before too. I can't spell what she called it, but basically the muscles in her neck are stronger on one side than the other and so that is why her head tilts. So we have to go to some physical therapy to try and work through it. She will go for an evaluation on March 10th and then we will know more from there. She did weight 18 lbs 4 ounces so that was a big gain from a month ago. The doctor said 6 months is the chubby stage, she doesn't seem chubby to me but considering she gained almost 2 lbs in a month, I think she does have more chubb than I am admitting.

She is still crawling all over the place and now pulling herself up on the stairs and furniture. She definitely thinks she is hot stuff. We have still been going to music classes on Tuesday mornings which she loves and I enjoy visiting with the other moms, so it is nice for both of us.

Surprise!!

So I wrote early in the day on Friday, little did I know that night there was a surprise birthday dinner planned for me. I knew we had plans to meet Kelli and Jason for dinner. We always try and get together with them in February because my birthday is the 6th and Josh and Jason's is the 11th.. I knew Bob and Linda were coming to dinner as well.. but I didn't know when I got there that there would be a bunch of other friends and family there too.. it was so nice. I was truly touched that people came that far just to meet up for dinner. It was so special so thank you to everyone that made it.. I really appreciate it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! and Kelli thank you for planning the whole thing. I am sure it took quite some time to get ahold of all of those people and coordinate something!

Brynn started crawling over the weekend. It is so cute. I know she is old enough to do it, but she just seems so little to be on the move. I love watching her crawl. She watches you the whole time to make sure you see what she is doing, like she is so proud of herself.

My parents and sister, brother-in-law, and nephew have been in St. Kit's for a week now. I am ready for all of them to get back.. I forget how often I call my sister or my mom to talk to them on my way to or from work.. I haven't been able to do that since last Tuesday. I feel like I have so much to tell them.

Josh's birthday is tomorrow, he will be 28.. I like them young what can I say!! Of course every year at this time he teases me about how old I am until his birthday rolls around, this year is worse of course since I turned 30.

So far 30 hasn't been too bad.. I am just going to keep telling myself it is the new 20 like all my 30 year old plus friends keep telling me!!

The Big 3-0

So I am thirty today.. I can't believe I am thirty. I am having a hard time with this birthday for some reason... 30 just seems so old. I apologize to everyone out there that reads this that is over thirty, I don't mean to offend anyone. I guess I just feel like I am no longer a young adult, but a full blown adult now. I guess I knew I was always going to have to grow up sometime but now I feel like it is official. So I have made myself reflect on what I have in my life and then I get so happy. I am healthy, I have a wonderful husband that is healthy, and I have an adorable, sweet 6 month old baby that is healthy. I still have both my parents alive that are healthy, two wonderful in laws that our healthy, siblings, neices and nephews, friends and tons of family that are healthy.. so I need to not pout because I am thirty and just be thankful for what I am so lucky to have at thirty. Thank you to everyone for all the birthday wishes! Love ya!

Can't believe it is February

It seems like 2009 is going so fast.. it is already February. I feel like the month of January flew by. We have been busy so that is probably why, but still I want time to slow down for two reasons. One being, I don't want my baby girl growing up too fast and the next being I am not ready to turn 30!! Yikes!!

Brynn and I have been going to music classes on Tuesday mornings. It is alot of fun! I think she really enjoys it. She is definitely ready for a nap by the time it is done but she loves every second we are there. I also thinks she likes the fact that there are a lot of little boys in the class, she is already a flirt. I don't think Josh is going to be prepared for this.

We went to Lafayette yesterday. Josh went to the basketball game and I went and visited my friend Mary from pharmacy school and her new baby boy, Will. He is so cute and so cuddly, that is one thing Brynn was not... she never liked to cuddle. I just loved how he w0uld fall asleep on you and you could hold him for hours.

Wednesday morning( I know I am not going in order), I got the car stuck in the driveway. It was 630 in the morning and I didn't want to wake Josh up because he had worked 14 hours on Tuesday so I just left him a note telling him the car got stuck and to call me when he got this message. I think he really appreciated the fact that I left a note. Luckily, the yukon is 4 wheel drive and I could take that to work.

Winter Wonderland

Really not much to report, it is just one of those days where I am doing things I shouldn't be doing to keep from doing the things I should be doing. It has snowed alot as everyone knows, so we went to Kindermusik class this morning but have been inside the rest of the day. Brynn likes to be on the go so she gets cabin fever very quickly. I had to use the old carseat trick to get her to nap today.. I swear she is going to look weird when she is 3 or 4 and I am trying to get her to sleep and am rocking her in an infant carrier, it has worked ever since we brought her home from the hospital so I guess whatever works we will keep doing.

This weather is making it hard to train for the race though. I have just been running on the treadmill but that isn't the same. I guess it is better than not doing it at all.

We have been getting some estimates to finish the floors in our basement. It is one of those things that we want to get done but don't know if we want to spend the money on right now. We are trying to justify it.. made it is hard. It is a big basement so it will not be cheap, but I think we would use it alot more if the floors were finished.. decisions, decisions.

Brynn thinks she is a Dog

So within the last week or so Brynn must of discovered she has a tongue or something because it is constantly hanging out of her mouth, then she will start panting, so I think she thinks she is a dog. This might seem a little more normal if we actually had a dog but we don't and she has hardly ever been around dogs, so we are not for sure where this is coming from. We went to get her six month pictures taken and she had her tongue sticking out in so many of them. The photographer was cracking up, I guess at least it made for a good laugh. Then today at church she kept staring at the man behind us and doing that to him. She would stare at him, almost in disbelief that he wasn't staring back, until she would get his attention and then stick her tongue out and start panting. I guess that is what I get for some of the weird things I did to my parents when I was a kid.

Caught Up

I am finally caught up on the training schedule for the mini. It is weird because I know just last week I was writing asking if it was going to get easier, but it already is. I am still not running long distances yet but we are scheduled to run three miles tomorrow but the thing is I know I can do it, and I am also enjoying it. It is just a little time out of the day to clear my head, I have to admit I am thinking of everything I need to be doing while I am running and then I think that makes me run faster so there is more time to do the other things, but whatever gets me thru it. I have a friend, Andrea, who I just recently reconnected with thru our blogs and she ran a full marathon a few weeks ago, now that is something I could NEVER imagine doing. I am so proud of her for doing this and I think in a way it is inspiring me to do the mini, since I know it is just half the distance.

6 month Check up

Brady's birthday party on Sunday was fun. We got him clothes so of course he wasn't too excited about those but he got plenty of toys to play with. It was a good turnout. Jana made him a Thomas the Train cake that was so cute. I hope she is planning on making Brynn something when she turns 1 because I am not that talented. I will try and post some pictures some time soon. Never seems like there is enough hours in the day to do everything.

Today was a busy day. We started Kindermusik classes today. Brynn is in a newborn to 18 month class. Gavin, Suzanne's 1 year old, is in the class also. I think she liked it. Now that she is sitting up on her own she enjoys sitting and playing and is content for long periods of time. There was 2 other six month old girls in the class and then the rest of the kids were 15 months and older, so they were all walking. Brynn was fascinated by all the movements and sounds.. it was so much fun to watch her.

Then I got my haircut, when it is short I have to get it cut so often or else I am a shaggy dog. I always feel so much better after getting a haircut though.

Then we had Brynn's 6 month check up. She weights 16 lbs and 9 ounces and is 25 and 3/4 inches long, so 50th percentile for both. I guess we knew it was a fluke that she had been in the 75th percentile for height, with Josh and I as her parents she doesn't stand a chance. I just hope she is taller than me. She had to get more shots today, which is never fun, but she managed. Now she is snoozing, I think the busy day wore her out and mommy too.

I have to run tonight. I have been doing good, sticking to the training schedule they gave us, over all I am only 1 mile behind and plan on making that up on Friday. It is hard on the days that I work til 8 to get it is because in the mornings I have her so there is no time and then when I get home I am tired from standing 10 to 12 hours, but I am managing to squeeze it in, and honestly always feel better after I do.

It's Party Time

Today we are going to Brady's 3rd birthday party. My parents have had Brynn since Friday. I miss her sooooooooooooo much. Josh and I both had to work yesterday so we met them Friday in Vincennes and then we both headed home. Needless to say it has been pretty quiet around here without her. We go to the doctor on Tuesday for her sixth month checkup and then pictures on Friday so I am sure I will write how all that turns out. She is so much fun now. Sitting up pretty well by herself and so so close to crawling, she is just trying to figure it all out.

I think I can, I think I can!!

So I knew this wasn't going to be easy, especially considering I haven't worked out in honestly over a year. Everyone told me to work out when I was pregnant, and I would occasionally get on the treadmill but no hard core stuff. So this week started the training for the mini-marathon and boy oh boy, can I tell how out of shape I am. I know it will get easier, but there first few weeks are going to be pretty rough until my body can get over the initial shock of actual doing physical labor again.

The New Year

New Year's Eve was fun. It wasn't crazy by any means, I hope the other couples that were here weren't bored out of their mind but Josh and I had fun. We built our home to host alot of things but really haven't had that many get togethers here yet, just really our baby shower and that is about it. The kids were all so cute and it was so nice for us to be able to catch up with old friends. Bailey and Brady were here and they were troopers, they stayed up until 1 am. I was having trouble staying up til then.

Since the New Year it has been the usual. We have made it to church both weekends. We have had to go on Saturday night both weeks because of work and then today there is a Purdue basketball game that Josh is going to. It is at 6 pm on Saturday nights and starting around that time is a rough time for Brynn, the day just sort of catches up with her and she is sort of a bear until she goes to bed. So needless to say she hasn't been that well behaved but we are dealing with it.

Our training starts this week for the mini. I went to a meeting on Tuesday night that explains what we need to do to be ready on May 2nd. I have to admit I am really scared. Mentally I hope that I am tough enough to do this. This week isn't too bad.. just have to run a mile a few days this week, but by week 3 or 4 we are already running 5 miles or so on Saturday and then it keeps increasing from there.

Our nephew, Brady, turned 3 on Friday. His birthday party is next Sunday. I can't believe he is 3. I tried to call him the other day and wish him a Happy Birthday but he didn't want to talk to me. Josh says he is smart already since he knows not to get into a phone conversation with me.

Wish me luck with the training!!