Who cares if its raining...

...we are going out to play!!!!

Track Meet

We are regulars down at the trail.  When I have my two little "runners" with me, which is quite often, it is a must that we stop at the Pfluger bridge and the boys run across the bridge to the end.  Eli prides himself on being a  fast runner.  He has his fast running shoes he likes to wear, and likes me to watch as he speeds down the bridge, moving his arms side to side, a little bit too hard.
Lately my runs have slowed down A LOT, and usually consists of some walking.  But if someone asks Eli how his walk with Mommy was, he quickly corrects them and says "we were on a run."
So this weekend, I took Eli to participate in his first real run of his own.  The Manzano Mile was going on Saturday at The School for the Deaf hosted by USA Olympian Leo Manzano.  For the kids 9 and under there was the "Future Milers of America" 400 meter event.
I met up with my friend Traci who I have known for 10 years and who I worked with at Pure Austin and who I started my business SIT with.  She has a daughter named Tessa who is 6 months younger than Eli and they really like each other.  Eli was really excited about going to the "race tracks."

They watched patiently from the sidelines as others finished their race (it was an all-comers track-meet).
We got them all fixed up with their race numbers and walked to the staging area where they warmed up for the big race.

As a kid I was painfully shy, never wanted to do anything on my own, and was terrified of having attention on me.  Anytime we would go to a kids concert and they were calling kids up on stage they ALWAYS picked me out of a crowd and I refused to go up. I started making my mom sit in the very back.  I just assumed Eli would have some of my shyness and was anxious when it was time to go to the start line. You just never know with a 3 year old, they can switch moods instantly, and I was nervous he may not want to run anymore or get grumpy. And imagine my anxiety when they announced they didn't want parents on the track with the kids!!!! I ran a few track meets in my day, and I can still remember how nervous I would get when I stepped down onto the track! I immediately started coming up with a plan to have Eli and Tessa hold hands at the start to that they would maybe not be so nervous or intimidated.  As Traci and I were coming up with a game plan, Eli ran right up to the front of the start line like he was a pro.  It just about brought tears to me eyes to see him so motivated and confident to walk right up there by himself surrounded by a ton of bigger kids.  I could not believe it. You can barely seem him, the one in the black shirt, number 350...just waiting for the man to blow the horn to start.

They blew the horn and he was off.  I was running around the track in the grass trying to stay with him, all the while trying to keep my silly maternity jeans from slipping all the way to my ankles, I hate maternity jeans! He ran the whole way around the track!  I was so proud of him!

Here is Eli running to the finish line

And the proud finisher receiving his ribbon.

It is rare these days that I get special time with just Eli, so it was so much fun for me to be able to focus all my attention on him and to do something that we both love so much. I just look forward to more runs with him and hope he develops a love for running like his Momma.

Growing and Growing

A few weeks ago, we went for our 20 week sonogram. I would normally hate it when I go for appointments and have to wait a long time before seeing the doctor.  But something funny has happened since having kids, I actually enjoy, and savor the wait.  Sometimes I just enjoy the time without having to get someone a snack or clean up a mess, and just sit there and do NOTHING. If I am feeling frisky, Ill grab  a People or US Weekly and catch up on my gossip.  Doctor appointments don't feel like such a nuisance anymore, but more like a nice outing ALONE.

Anyway, Blaine and I went to our appointment and got to see the little guy and check everything out.  He looked super cute and absolutely healthy!  He was measuring a little early, but we will just wait and see as the time gets closer. He is already super active and doing what feels like martial arts in there.

He still doesn't have a name, not even close! Anyone with good boy names are welcome to share. We currently don't have a single name on the table! I am hoping we have an idea before he is born, but at this rate I am not so sure.

Eli Seems to have a pretty good idea about what's going on with Mommy's quickly growing tummy, and it is growing quickly. He told me he was "going to teach my baby brother all the tricks I know" and asked to give the baby a kiss last night and reached up and kissed my belly.
He is also very curious about how the baby is going to come out, and I'm trying to be as vague as possible at this point. Hopefully his enthusiasm for having a baby brother continues and he is still excited once he is here.

Owen on the other hand has found my growing bump only frustrating. He generally asks to cuddle while I sing him songs at night, which basically means laying directly on top of me in the rocking chair as he nuzzles his head in my chest and drools a little as he requests his favorite songs at the moment (today they are Hey Jude, Pinwheel, ABc's, Twinkle Little Star, Itsy Bitsy Spider and Row Row Row Your Boat). Lately he can't get comfortable around the big belly intruding his cuddle space. He gets so frustrated with it! I don't know if he subconsciously knows something is going on but he could not be more attached to me right now if he tried.  He pretty much wants nothing to do with anyone most of the time except for me.
He also requests using the potty at least two times a day, wants to take his diaper off, flush the toilet and wash his hands.  The thing is, is that he doesn't actually go, or hasn't yet. He likes to stick his head as close to Eli's, ahem, parts, while he is peeing to get a real good close up and make sure he checks everything out.    I'm hoping this means he will be easier to potty train that Eli has been but I would like him to wait a little longer because I dont think I can handle anything else at this point!

Berry Fun

My Aunt Carol had been wanting to take me and the boys to Sweet Berry Farms for a while now, and since it  was Spring Break, she had some time off, Eli was out of school, and Ethan was in town, so it was the perfect time to go.

On any given morning, I would say it is safe to say that getting out of the house around 8am is no problem.  Of course the morning that I actually needed to be leaving the house by 8am, my entire house was still asleep at 7:45.  It took everything I had to wake them up and end my quiet morning to myself, drinking coffee, and watching the Today show.
I waited until the very last minute which meant I literally plucked them out of bed, threw some clothes on them and hopped in the car.

We all met up and piled into my Aunts van-me, the boys, my mom, Rachel, Ethan, Aunt Carol and cousin Garett and made the hour drive to Sweet Berry Farms.

It was our first time there, so I wasnt sure what to expect. There were rows, and rows, and rows of strawberries.  This time of year, they only have strawberries, but they also have different fruits and vegetables throughout the year.

We all jumped right in and picked us some berries!

Owen lost interest first, quickly followed by Eli, so we headed over to see some animals.

When everyone else was done picking strawberries, we headed over for some yummy homeade strawberry ice cream and popsicles.

Check out those beautiful strawberries!!!!

 Owens new thing is jumping, off anything, at anytime, so before we left, we had to get a few jumps off the table in!

By the time we got home, the boys were pooped and slept for hours!!!!

And, we have strawberries to last us weeks and weeks!