Marisa, the baby book entry

Marisa does the cutest most amazing things. She loves to read and will easily remember phrases, and words in books after only reading them one time. She reads to anyone around and likes to hold the book like "the teacher" Can you tell she is reading a book about Curious George? Every other word is "George"

Those are the cute times... then there are the not so memorable moments. Like this one.

This one is definitely for the baby book.

They grow up so fast

People say that all the time, but I'm starting to notice it so much. When you do the same activity (like go to the toledo zoo) year after year, you can see the changes. We had a blast! We got there just as it was elephant bath time. Nate was worried that the elephants would be loud.

Marisa was in love with the penguins. She could have watched them all day, if Nate hadn't been yelling at us to get moving.

W also really enjoyed the tigers.

The toledo zoo is such an awesome place for young kids, they even have an entire kids zoo area complete with face masks. This one has a blankie just like Nate.

We did get lost a few times, of course look who was navigating!

Nate actually posed for a photo on the same tiger he did 3 years ago when we were trying to do as much with him as possible, for we had just found out he was going to be a big brother (Notice I'm already wearing a maternity shirt 5 days after I found out) He has changed so much!

Ugh... why do I sign up for these?

So I did it. Ran the first 5K in 37 minutes. Definitely not a stellar performance as I got a side stitch and did this kind of spastic run hop the whole rest of the way. Not to mention someone who ran with me thought it would be funny to slap me on the butt when she ran by. Duh...what was that Newtons Law thing... about momentum? Anyway she hit me so hard my Ipod skipped a song. Then I ran with what felt like a hand print on my butt pushing me the rest of the way.

So why Per Se did I decide to sign up for another one this weekend? Because I'm a glutton for punishment. And running these (subsequently training for them) is keeping me in great shape. So here I am 3 days before the next one thinking... why? Plus it's hotter outside, although it will be at 9am. UGH... whine, complain, whine, complain. Here are some photos from the last race...

My cheering section

Marisa holding my sign. Now it's in my garage, I feel so motivated when I pull in the driveway.

If you look hard you can see me coming down the road, I'm wearing a purple shirt.

And here I am running past my cheering section. It was actually chilly that morning.

So be thinking of me Sunday morning while you all relax, I've decided to torture myself once again. The Gallup Gallop, here I come!

Training Log Day One

Ok so I signed up for the Dexter Ann Arbor run. http://www.dexterannarborrun.com/ This is a 5K. I totally know I can do it, if I could just find time to train for it. Lately with how crazy work has been it's been beyond difficult to get to the gym. But seriously why is it harder to run outside than it is to run on a treadmill?

So my time on a treadmill is 35 minutes for the whole thing. Outside... more like 45. I really want to come in around 25 minutes. That is my goal. So today I have to wait until the kids are asleep and run on the treadmill. I'll update with my time.

OK Janna... been wanting to do this for awhile... Here it is

Friday Favorites...

1. GREAT WOLF LODGE!

Here's to family togetherness. We actually have far too little. This was the most amazing way to spend three days together. The kids had a blast and so did we. I couldn't believe how brave they were (or how bad my photos turned out). Will definitely do next year. 2. Nate's photo taking ability. I went to put the photos from our digital cameras on the computer this week and discovered that Nate has been photographing everything.... even the view up his nose. But along with that, his now cheesy smile and letting me take his picture, how great is that!

4. Again with Nate... Going pee standing up!!!! I don't think many people know what a huge accomplishment this actually is. I'm so proud of him, all we had to do was bribe with a few jelly beans. Yuck jelly beans.

5. Marisa. That child is seriously a bundle of energy right now. If she's going somewhere she is running, and not even running kind of a dance run. Hard to explain. She DOES remind me of me. She is passionate about everything. She is passionate that she wants JUICE instead of MILK. Passionate about wanting to be held, passionate about standing on the table. Ahh she does wear me down, but her smile and her imagination are so amazing I want to smooch her all day long. Wait until she sees the outdoor playhouse Mommy scored for FREE for her birthday present!

Lifetime Fitness. I'm in love with my gym. I'm so comfortable there. I'm so excited about the way my body, stamina, and energy have progressed. And thankful to my family for allowing me the time to go every morning. I'm really lucky.

Well there you have it. My first Friday Favorites.

How long do I leave her there?

Ok.... I need some Mommy help. Once I let my children "cry it out" (scream endlessly for 3+ hours 4 nights in a row) we've not had many sleeping issues. Ok, Ok, Chris did sleep on the floor of Nate's room for 3 months straight, until I finally said enough is enough. But really, what do I do about Marisa right now.

We put her down to nap at 1:30. Now I do realize that it's possible that the time change is messing her all up. BUT she's been in her room playing in her crib for an hour and a half now. She's fine, not sad or angry. But Nate will soon wake up from his nap, and she hasn't even fallen asleep. Do I leave her in there? Or go get her and risk that a not yet 2 year old doesn't take a nap today, the thought makes my stomach upset. Or, worse than all that she falls asleep at like 3:30 and wants to sleep until 6. Ahhhh what to do!

Believe it or not, that's Nate sleeping in there.

big like daddy

Sometimes Nate says the cutest things. I feel like I miss some of them, he's not the most talkative child. (Except when he needs me!)

Today after lunch we were sitting and had on CMT. Marisa was reading books in my lap. Nate was having goldfish and pink lemonade.

"Momma, I want to be big." he said

Me: "I like you the size you are, we have a lot of things to do before you get big."

Nate: "Like go to school, and eat healthy foods?"

Me: "Well yeah, that stuff, but we have a lot of memories to make before you get big."

Nate: "What is a Memoly?"

Me: "Things we do together, places we go, so we can remember and look back about it later"

Nate: "We have a lot of pictures to take before I get bigger."

Me: "Yes exactly"

Nate: "Well, I want to be big like Daddy, so I have to eat healthy food and sleep a lot, but don't worry Momma, I'll eat slow."

:-) awww...

Nate Almost 2 years old and Now (3.5 years)