Graduation, Yardwork, Anniversary & a Shower

It's been a very busy week in our lives, to say the least. My summer work hours started (work more Monday-Thursday to get Fridays off), Mike had class, Izzy had gymnastics & pre-school graduation, we celebrated our anniversary, Mike did his Spring yard work and I had a baby shower. Phew! Busy, busy.

Tuesday was Izzy's end of year brunch / graduation from the 2's class at pre-school. These are her two teachers, Ms. Sachs and Ms. Arnold. It's always fun to see her in her element...and it was sad to say goodbye. We'll see them again in the Fall, that's for sure.

Ms. Arnold made silhouettes for the entire class and they had us parents try to guess who was who. I picked Izzy out immediately but there were some moms that chose the wrong silhouette for their kids - funny!

I am just in awe of how spot-on this piece of art reflects Izzy's profile. Needless to say, I have already bought an 8x10 black frame and it's on the mantel. I just love it!

Mike was in the yard the entire weekend spreading mulch, planting flowers and a fruit / veggie garden. Of course, Izzy wanted to be out there with him to help...so the two of them spent a lot of quality time together. The above pic is of Izzy showing me her gymnastics (parallel bars) while daddy plants tomatoes, peppers, jalapenos and grapes.

Here Izzy is discovering worms.

She played with the worms for a long time. I had to walk away. Ick!

While Mike and Izzy were outside, I crafted a few projects. The "a" and the "P" were for the babysitters that watched the girls while Mike and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary (THANK YOU Sarah, Mark & Lauren...and Jack, too!). And the "t" was a shower gift for Molly, who is due with Tess in a few weeks.

Me, Molly and other Molly at the baby shower

Just a cute pic of Delaney

Sunday Mike was in the yard again and Izzy was doing some more "helping." She would follow her daddy around the yard digging, watering, spreading...it was really so neat to continue to look out the window and watch these two together. They have such a close bond and it simply melts my heart.

Watering the flowers (or the mulch).

For our anniversary, Mike got me a necklace from here: http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/. Mike had already gotten me a necklace from here with the girls' and his first initial on each tiny charm. However, this necklace has the girls' nicknames (what I call them) on it: Lou & Bug. I melted. Such an endearing gift and one with such meaning to me. And we got a piece of wall decor that I'd been eyeing for a long time with our name and wedding year on it. It's a combo birthday/anniversary gift. It's not hung yet, but it will go in our living room above our wedding guest photo:

I'm sorry to say we didn't get a picture of us together on our anniversary. But we dropped the girls at Brenna's house (her and Scott's anniversary is the same day and year as ours...so we were able to "share" their sitters/sisters) and enjoyed a delicious dinner together. Was so relaxing and enjoyable and we relived some stories from when we met. Great memories. Happy Anniversary, Mikey!

Mother's Day 2010

Since the girls were gone the entire weekend, I basked in their presence all day today...soaking up every ounce of their attention. Don't get me wrong, it was nice having an "adults only" weekend; however, my girls are my favorite part of my weekends! I was overjoyed to see them this morning and sit in the backseat with them laughing and playing the entire ride home. As soon as we arrived home both girls went down for naps (Bobo & Grandma Laura wore them out!). The moment they woke up we were out the door headed for the park.

Was a perfect Mother's Day and I'm so happy my girls are back sleeping under my roof. Mike and I kept on tip-toeing around the house while they were gone, thinking they were sleeping in their rooms. Was hard to adjust to them NOT being here. Very eery to be in our house without the pitter patter of their feet (in Delaney's case, her hands and knees).

Swinging

Climbing. Izzy is a huge fan of the rock climbing wall; her gymnastics class does this as well and she looooves it.

Teeter-tottering

And Delaney has been finding herself in several "pickles" as of late. She will climb into the bottom of her saucer and not know how to get out.

And she is also learning to climb the stairs!

Strategizing

Pulling up to success!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mini Marathon 2010

The weekend started out with Mike's cousins, Steve & Amanda, arriving into town on Thursday night. Friday afternoon Mike met his dad halfway to drop the girls for the weekend (this was the very first time we'd left the girls overnight for the entire weekend). We had a relaxing night at home watching movies and going to bed early in preparation for the morning's race.

The day's weather was VERY windy; winds were 35 mph and the temps were chilly in the 40's. This was by far the coldest Mini I've run in. Mike and I ran the first 2 miles together until he shifted into a higher gear and took off. I finished with an all-time PR (personal record) of 1:54:51. This was 13 minutes faster than my previous PR at the Mini (I ran the Monument Marathon in 2008 in 2:03:42)! My goal was 1:50 to be seeded for the Chicago Marathon...so I may try to run in another half marathon in two weeks to reach that time. I also placed 343rd out of 2,770 women in my age group (30-34), which is the top 12%. Pretty happy with that!

Mike finished with a time of 1:45:12...pretty darn close to his PR back in 2002 of 1:42:05.

Steve and Amanda finished - they ran/walked the entire way and I must say that Amanda got "participation points" with our family. Ha!

We returned home to HOT showers, naps, and then Amanda and I ventured out to the salon (Mike and the girls got me a gift card). Amanda got a pedi and I got a highlight and cut. Then all of us met the Falciones out for dinner at Mama Carolla's in Broadripple and drinks at the Library in Carmel. One word about dinner: YUM! It's my absolute fave and we just had a blast being with such good friends.

Amanda & Steve

Sandi & Katie

Almost Famous...

Almost. But not quite. Actually, not even close. But a girl can dream. I believe this is as close as I'll ever get.

The company I work for is an athletic retailer. Maybe you've heard of it - The Finish Line. We sponsor many athletic events around the country (Nike Outdoor Nationals, various Nike races, etc.) including Indy's very own Mini Marathon. Part of our sponsorship includes a t.v. ad that runs during the race (and will air only locally, so most of you won't have the opportunity to see the commercial). I very much enjoy working for a company that supports both athletics and athletes, as I have a passion for both.

I was asked to participate in the filming and I had so much fun being a part of this project. The portion that I filmed (with a co-worker) was on the Monon Trail in Broadripple and then in a neighborhood near Meridian Hills. We filmed on a Friday (my typical day off from running) and I'm pretty sure we ran several miles with all the footage they took of us. It was so much fun running for pleasure...yet it was a bit difficult to not smile or look at the camera. Regardless, I think the final product turned out fun and I hope you enjoy it. Don't blink; it's 30 seconds long. Or 30 seconds short. Enjoy!

Silly Laney, Vera Bradley Sale & Family Time...

All in the last week or so I feel like Delaney has become an ENTIRELY different baby. She is mobile. Her life has changed and so has ours. She can now get to anything she wants to play with (read: we don't have to bring her toys and pick them up when she drops or throws them) and can pretty much entertain herself by movin' and shakin'. She's experimenting with crawling on different surfaces such as carpet, wood floor and tile (and how to maneuver each of these). She's also starting to pull up and attempt the (two) stairs from our family room into our kitchen. Delaney is VERY brave and quite resilient; she doesn't cry when she falls. It's just so much fun to watch her discover new things...we're all getting such a kick out of Laney these days! So. Much. Fun. This age is.

Not so sure about the cold wood floors
Trying to get her knees and legs off of the cold floor. Or as we call this pose: Downward Dog.
Crawling
Some mornings Delaney gets up when I get up and she plays while I get ready. This particular morning she discovered herself in the mirror (and mommy's shoes!).

We packed everyone up and headed to Ft. Wayne on Friday night to meet my dad and step-mom for a weekend visit. Here is Anna with Delaney.

And dad with Izzy

Saturday morning Mike and I went on a 12 mile run and then Anna and I ventured off to the annual Vera Bradley outlet sale. I have been wanting to go for years and the timing has never worked out (the Mini Marathon is ALWAYS the first weekend in May; however, this year the 500 Festival has shortened the entire month of festivities by a week...allowing me to hit up the sale!). I had been warned of the mayhem that would ensue at this sale: long lines to get in, running shoppers looking for their pattern, fighting over items, long lines to check out, etc. Both Anna and myself had to remain calm and keep our anxieties in check; we would survive the sale and make it out with some good deals. And, boy, did we conquer! We walked right into the sale - no line. We shopped the entire sale - twice - in one hour. We got into line (which wrapped around the Coliseum almost twice) and the line was moving. Quickly. As we got to what we thought was the end, we were sadly mistaken and shocked; we were walking into the basement to where the real line started. And there were hundreds and hundreds of shoppers in front of us. We waited in line for a total of 1.5 hours. Insane in the membrane. Anyway, we both got FUN stuff and will definitely be going back again! It's quite the experience! (I just read online that there were 65,000 shoppers in attendance - a record for their sale. Phew!)

This was when we were waiting in the line upstairs and quickly moving. We were thrilled!

And this was the line just entering the basement. Anna kept on saying we were being herded like cattle. Indeed we were...right to the checkout lane!

Izzy getting kisses from Jazzy

Grandpa Bob & Grandma Laura returned from 10 days in Florida on Saturday

Izzy always loves playing the piano at Bobo's house. This time we learned that Laney also loves playing it - with her feet! We just hold her over it and her legs start kickin' away!

Grandma Laura always has fun crafts...these were new Crayola crayon/markers for windows. We couldn't drag Izzy away!

Delaney walking with Grandpa. I swear she is going to be walking on her own very soon! Quite the opposite of her big sis!

And just one more of Bug playing the piano...it just never got old how funny it was!

Delaney is 8 months old...

This little piggy is 8 months old and I can hardly stand it. WhereEVER has the time gone? I feel like just yesterday I was waddling around in a bathing suit wondering if I'd be pregnant forever. Nope. (Thank goodness!) Delaney is as active as ever: crawling, scooting, cruising, and sitting up (from her tummy) on her own. I am in disbelief that she is almost a year old. Happy 8 months Laney Bug!

3 Years & 301 Posts...

Yesterday marked the THREE YEAR anniversary since I started this blog. I cannot believe in 3 shorts years how much our lives have changed. But let me just tell you how happy I am that I have documented nearly every other week for the past 156 weeks with photos! I will forever be looking back at this blog with the fondest of memories and hope our girls will someday do the same. Let's take a brief walk down memory lane, shall we?

This was taken at my 30th birthday party in February 2007 and was our very first picture on this blog. Izzy was about 5 weeks old in my TUMMY here. Love this pic. Single (no kids). Long blonde hair. Little bean in my belly.
Isabelle's birthday: October 7th, 2007. Man, do I look tired or what? We had no idea what tired meant!

Izzy just a few days old in our front yard

A few years pass by and Delaney's birthday: August 27th, 2009

My first baby is no longer my baby, but she's always going to be my lovey!

Delaney just a few weeks old and already full of sass

And here we are: a family of four. Every day brings a new adventure. And every day I love these three more than the next. Here's to another 3 years full of memories to blog about!

Delaney is crawling!!

Delaney has been working on her crawling for the better part of the last 10 days. She's getting so confident and so happy with her mobility; it's so fun to watch her discover her new talent! Here are a few videos:

High School Girls Visit

Two of my best friends from high school (elementary and Junior High school as well!) came down to visit: Erin & Jenny. I hadn't seen either in almost a year (!) and I had been looking forward to this visit for a long time. Per our usual, we played with crafts the majority of the time. We eat, we drink, we chat and laugh while we put together a project. It's just our tradition. Friday night we stayed in and crafted, as I had a long run Saturday morning (in the icky rain). The girls stayed home with Izzy & Delaney all morning and played. By the time I got home, we resolved to NOT go down to the museum, but rather to go to the craft store to buy MORE supplies to make more fun projects. We crafted ALL DAY Saturday. I kid you not. Saturday evening we went out for a late dinner and drinks in Broadripple and had such a fun time. I climbed into bed at 2am and am paying for that tonight. Regardless, I'm so fortunate to have such good friends that have been in my life for 20 years. I love these girls and can't wait to see them again soon!

This is what we did ALL DAY Saturday: Craft!!!

Just a few of our final products

Closeup of what I made for Delaney's nursery

**I'm sad to say that I took ZERO pictures of the girls playing with Izzy & Delaney :(