Big girl turns 6

Hayley turned 6 this year!  Can't believe how big (old) she is getting!  It is going by so fast!  For her birthday Jeff and I took her to lunch at Friendly's... just the three of us.

After lunch we opened presents and then after dinner we had cake and ice cream. 

A couple days after she turned 6, she lost her second tooth! 

Such a big girl, can't believe I have been blessed to be her mom for the past 6 years!!! 

Trip to NJ

We took a trip to NJ from June 29 - July 8.  Friday evening when we got there, crazy storms rolled in, with very high winds.  At about 6:30 AM we lost power.... for 4 DAYS!!!!  It was a reminder of how much we have and how much we rely on modern day conveniences.   Considering we had no power, no AC, no running water... it really wasn't that bad.  We spent a lot of time outside... luckily my mom had bought an awesome tree swing that entertained us a lot.  My Aunt Ruthie and Alan, also let us sleep at there house, so that made the days more bearable too, knowing that we would be able to sleep in a bed and enjoy some AC.

We never made it to the beach because after we got the power back, Blake came down with a high fever and ended up with Roseola.  He was such a good baby, considering he wasn't feeling well.

We did make it down to the boardwalk one evening and enjoyed the rides. The girls love rides!  Hayley even went on a pretty decent size roller coaster.  When it finished she said, "I was so scared, that was so much fun!"  Too Cute!  Cole wanted to try the "little" roller coaster, however a few minutes in he started saying, "me no like, me no like".

We also had a delicious feast of crabs and clams!  We also took the kids to the fireworks for the 4th of July.  The girl enjoyed them, however Cole was not a fan.  Once we were in the truck and they were not as loud, he like them.  He was calling out their colors and saying "pretty". 

All in all it was a great time visiting with the family!

10K

On June 16th, Jeff and I ran our first 10K race.  It was the Canton Liberty Fest.  Not only did we run the 10K, but we also were part of a large group of people that assembled ourselves as the Statue of Liberty to be entered into the Guinness Book of World Record.  Pretty Cool!

It was a CRAZY hot day and the race did not start until 8:30, which is late for a race.  I ran the race in 1:15mins and Jeff ran it in 55:08... he ONLY had to wait 20 mins for me to finish!  HA!  

Today is the Day

On May 16th, both girls had the privilege of singing up on the "big stage" at church with about 20 other kids to the opening song of our Wednesday Night New Life service. 

Neither of them acted like they were nervous or anything and they both did a great job!! They sang a version of Lincoln Brewsters, "Today is the Day".

So proud of them!

Our first 5K

On April 14th Jeff and I ran our first ever 5K race!!! We ran this as part of my training for the marathon. To read more about that check out http://iamrunningthechicagomarathon.blogspot.com/

It was a fun time, and it was made more fun just because there were so many people there that we knew and they were cheering us on!

For this being our first race, I think we both pretty much rocked it! Jeff especially! He is a natural runner!! He had a goal of wanting to run it in under a 9 min mile and he crushed that by running about 8:20 min/mile! Chip time of 25:49 He came in 15th out of 56 in our age group and he finished 99 overall with 783 runners!! Top 100 baby!!

During most of my training I was running an average of a 12 min/mile. I was still doing a run/walk combo until my last training run. The Wednesday before the race I tried to run my first 5K with no walking and I did it and my pace was about 11:50. as for the race I ran somewhere between an average of 10:16 - 10:30 min/mile! Woo Hoo!! I guess it does help to run with others! I can't believe I ran that much faster! As for my results I was 29th out of 72 for my age group (in the top half!!!) and was 399 out of the 783 (almost top half) Very Happy!!! My chip time was 32:38.

Our next race is June 16th and that will be a 10K!!

Easter 2012

We had a very nice Easter this year. On Friday, we did the annual Marshmallow Drop - however, I think we have decided that we will be forgoing that from now on. It is a shame, but unfortunately people do not "get it" and when you run out to get a marshmallow and there are none left - how much fun can that be!!!

Thankfully, this year instead of inviting people over for Easter Dinner we decided to hold an Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday and I think we will now be doing this as a yearly thing. We had some friends over and the kids had a blast doing the hunt together. Growing up we always did Easter dinner with a lot of family, but I always remembered the Easter Egg Hunt with all the cousins! It is such a blessing, that even though we don't have any family here in MI - that we have our "Friemily" Friends who are like Family!!! It was a great day!!

Mom Mom and Pop Pop's Visit

At the end of March we had a visit from Mom Mom and Pop Pop!! We had a wonderful time and thankfully - NOBODY got sick! Woo Hoo!!

Jeff and I were able to get out for some runs together and even had a date day of getting massages and going out to a nice dinner.

Mom Mom and Pop Pop took the girls to Chuck E Cheeses for some fun and to dinner at Red Robin and then brought ice cream back. Cole missed out because he refused to nap and by time he did, he was still sleeping when it was time to go.

Also, we went to Oakland Mall and checked out a Butterfly exhibit since the girls were studying Butterflies in school.

Drive IN

This past weekend our church held a "Drive-In Movie" for the K1 kids and their families. They were showing the movie "CARS" and the kids were to come and watch the movie in homemade cardboard cars. Jeff and I had fun time making the cars and the kids thought the whole thing was a lot of fun!!

Happy Birthday Daddy

Jeff just had a Birthday on Feb 25! It was a Saturday so it was a nice day. We celebrated cake with the kids after lunch and did presents and then Jeff and I went out and did a little window shopping and then went to dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. It was a great day! We are so thankful for Daddy!!!

3 Months

Blake was 3 Months Old on Feb. 23! He is still a good baby, however, he is not sleeping as well as he was. He was giving me almost 7-8 hour stretches at night, and now he gives me about a 5 hour stretch and then a 3 hour one. It is a bit frustrating, but he is still good and goes right back down to sleep after he nurses.

He is really starting to talk... aka babble a lot. He saves it mostly for the evening after the other kids are in bed. He's shy like that! : )

Nothing else too new... he is getting a bit better with tummy time, but still not a huge fan of it.

I am Running

So, I have decided to train and run the Chicago Marathon on October 7th! You can read all about WHY I decided to and follow along my journey here:

http://iamrunningthechicagomarathon.blogspot.com/

Blake Two Months

Blake is two months old today!!! Can't believe how fast it is going!! He is still a good baby. Not sleeping through the night yet, but will give me a 6 - 7 hour stretch most nights. Now if only I can go to be at 9 to really get that whole time!! He has started to smile and is cooing a ton. He's goes to the Dr next week and I can't wait to see how much he weighs because he really seems like he is packing it on. I had to pack up all the newborn clothes a couple weeks ago, because he just couldn't fit into them. Going fast!

Happy 2nd Birthday Cole!!

Cole turned 2 on January 10th. He is becoming such a big boy!! (and not just in age, he is only 2 lbs shy of Alyssa!) He is starting to talk a lot and tries to say anything I ask him to say. The other night I put on a pair of pj's and he said, "blue". Wasn't shocked that he could say it, but was surprised that he knew they were blue all on his own. So then, I got an Elmo doll and asked him what color was Elmo and he said "red". Such a smart boy!!! Since Cole couldn't tell me what kind of cake he wanted, I went with a chocolate cake with a cream cheese frosting! He approved! We got Cole a workbench and he has been enjoying it!

Moving On UP!!

Blake is still sleeping in our room, but in preparation for him eventually moving into Cole's room we had to do some bed switching. We got the girls bunk beds which they had been asking for, for almost a year! Hayley started on top and they will rotate every month who gets to sleep on the top bunk.



WE moved the toddler bed that Alyssa was sleeping in into Cole's room. Cole was still in the crib and we wanted to start preparing him to get ready for the bed. The night we put the bed in his room he pointed to the bed and said "this". I asked him if he wanted to sleep in the bed and he said yes, and he has slept in the bed since. I can't believe he transitioned so well. He is doing great too. He has never got out of bed at night time, and only a couple times has he not gone right to sleep at nap time. Such a big boy!!!

Happy 4th Birthday Alyssa

On December 29th, Alyssa turned 4 years old. We started the day with going to the mall to play at her request and then we came home and had lunch and she blew out her candles on her cake. Her cake was specifically requested as a white cake with pink icing, colored sprinkles, and different colored candles! She is such a spunky little 4 year old and still almost a month later, if she sees you for the first time, she is sure to tell you, "I'm 4!"

Merry Christmas

we had such a nice Christmas. Christmas Eve morning we Skyped with my parents and opened Christmas presents from them. Later we went to Christmas Eve service and then came home and let the kids open one present which was a new set of pj's. Jeff's parents were able to be here for Christmas too, so that was nice. The kids are at such a fun age now. Cole thought every present was for him and wanted to open them all. After we had dinner we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.

Blake One Month

Blake was One Month Old on December 23rd!! He is such a good baby. He sleeps really well, only gets up once a night to nurse and goes right back to sleep. He only really fusses if he is hungry or tired. We have adjusted to being a family of 6!