Our 4th of July weekend

On the 4th, we went to Bonanzaville where there was a parade and a whole lot of "old stuff" to look at. It's pretty awesome that we have this little historical site to check out right in our city. I had also run that 5k in the morning which also took place here.

Daddy was thrilled to explain every little thing about every little tractor, car, or train that went by. The parade consisted of some of the old vehicles that Bonanzaville has so of course he took full advantage.

Audrey was more impressed with the true signs of patriotism all around. She waved her flag proudly.

We headed out to the lake the next day and the weather was perfect. Spending time in the sun with family is pretty much the best we could ask for! I finally took some pictures of the property and not just the kids. When we drive in, we get this awesome secluded-from-the-world feeling because the trees hide the driveway perfectly.

As you turn the corner (not far off the road but tucked down and back a little ways so you aren't driving hardly at all before you get to the house but still feel far away from the busy highway) you get an awesome view with the house straight ahead and the lake right off to the side.

There is nothing like the feeling you get when you open the doors of the vehicle and step out. It's shady yet breezy enough to keep most bugs off, and the sun manages to slip in just the right amount. Seriously, I don't know if it's the angle of the property off the lake, the trees, or just our imaginations, but it's wonderful. A gift from God for sure.

Josie got to go on another boat ride, this time with mommy and daddy and daddy's boat. We've hardly used this poor boat since we got it, so we tried to make up for it at least a little. Although it was pretty late for Josie girl, we headed out to a lake nearby that was a little bigger with a public access location. It was a lot of fun, even though we weren't sure that we were going to get off the lake when the motor just quit part of the way through our ride. It came back to life, though, and we did make it safely home. I managed to keep smiling and not show any sign of panic and for that I am quite proud.

We also got to go strawberry picking. We did this last year too but this time around we had to battle the rain. Interesting experience, picking strawberries as fast as you can so you can run out of there to avoid the downpour. We didn't avoid it, by the way. Not even close. But we didn't mind so much since Josie loved it again. She ate a lot of them and maybe put two in the bucket. She probably took at least five out of the bucket too...

Here she is last year:

And this year:

We didn't mess around this time. Straight up body-suit bib so she could eat as many as she wanted without staining a single piece of clothing. Brilliant move, Grammy. 

"Can we ride da boat plleeeeeease?" Who can say no to that? Off we went on another boat ride the next day...

Hubby managed to get our boat in the small lake my parents live on which is no small feat since there is no public access and the shores are quite shallow. Proof! (See below).

We also just spent some time playing quietly indoors because the humidity level sky rocketed. Ick. Josie and I had yet another tea party and she took care of her only-at-the-lake daughter "Ida". Seriously, though. Still loving that name for her baby. She's a clever one, that Josie.

And finally, Josie and I finished out the weekend with a walk through our own enchanted forest. The area around my parents' lake home is full of trees in undeveloped lakeside property. My dad has lovingly created walking paths throughout it so that we can go on adventures around the lake and not just on the highway. It's awesome! Except the mosquitoes which are everywhere. I shudder just thinking about them. Have I mentioned that there is something about me that draws them directly to me? I do. It's awful. Anyway, we walked through, me braving the bugs while Josie seemed unaffected. She didn't even have any bite marks while I was covered in welts. I digress again, though, because what I meant to point out was that this is such a cool path and I actually took pictures along the way.

the entrance

*I apologize for the wonky font sizes. What is up with that, blogger?*

 

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Josie Grace, Two Years Old

Josie is two. She's full of spunk, a huge talker, and right in the thick of the tantrum years. Her giggles and smiles light up the room and her sweet little voice is always carrying a tune. She loves to give hugs and kisses, play with her sister (such a great big sister) and look at all things motorized (boats, trains, tractors, you name it). She gets really serious when she's figuring out something new, but jumps right in when she's ready. She always keeps us on our toes with her crazy antics. We love her so so much. 

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5k details and a fitness update

I ran a 5k yesterday! It must be noted that I haven't run a 5k since right after I got married, almost four years ago. I've had intentions to, but pregnancy and being extremely out of shape have prevented me from actually doing it. 

So... running a 5k, at this point, is a huge accomplishment for me. While it used to be my average run, now it is definitely a stretch for me. Let's be real here. Running is a lot harder when you are carrying around an extra 40+ lbs. I definitely could feel that right away. I also have been having ridiculous problems with my feet, something I also contribute to my weight. It's a lot more stressful for them to be pushed that far than it was when I ran this much before. I still want to run because as always, the more I do it the more I love it, but the extra weight is making it much more difficult. If only it just fell off as I ran? That'd be great. Thanks.

I also PR'd this run, although my "official time" is unknown and not accurate because this race was tiny, a bit unorganized, and was a little over an actual 5k distance. So... according to my Runtastic app, my stats were:

Time: 34:38

1k: 6:50 min

2k: 7:15 min

3k: 7:07 min

4k: 6:48 min

5k: 6:35 min

Notice how I started out strong, slowed down a bit, and finished strong? That was a huge mental battle, but I knew I wanted to finish strong and I knew wanted to run the whole thing. I also made a friend along the way. There was a girl (much more fit and clearly more active than me) that was alternating between running and walking just enough that she was staying right ahead of me. I made it a goal to catch up to her and we talked a little (as much as one can talk while running farther and faster than usual). She hadn't run in a long time and was more or less there to support a friend, but I think she was feeling discouraged that she couldn't just run the whole thing. I told her that we were on track to get in under 35 minutes, and that we had just hit 4k (since I had my app talking to me - best motivator ever!) and she paced with me for most of it before taking off ahead of me right at the end. It was awesome to have someone to run with and distract me on that final leg.

If I remember correctly, my other 5k was ran in about 35 minutes. I remember being extremely disappointed with that but not surprised. I had just gotten married and had been on a week long honeymoon food binge with no exercise. I hadn't run in over two weeks and my serious training had ended over a month before. I had a few side aches as I ran (my kryptonite) and just didn't do my best. Now, remember that I was a lot smaller then than I am now. Me getting done with this race in less time is a huge accomplishment. I need to remember that when I am feeling discouraged.

My foot pain, on the other hand, is so frustrating. I limped around all day yesterday and can already tell that today will be similar. I'm on track to buying a pair of hiking sandals, you know the ones, that you see older ladies wearing with dressy shirts and shorts? Always cracked me up, but now I can relate. Anything to make my feet feel better! I so wish I could pull off the fit mama hiker lady look and just look athletic, but unfortunately I cannot fool even myself into believing that's possible at my current size. Oh well, yet another reason to shed the lbs. So on that note, some pictures, some motivation, and some weekend. Maybe some good eating habits will form over the weekend instead of the usual "blow it and start over Monday" attitude I end up with. Happy Friday everyone!

I recruited my friend and her husband to run the race with me, although they are super fast and were waiting for me at the end. It was great to have someone there with me though!

Hubby brought the girls with and hung out on the sidelines. Audrey was due for a nap and finally fell asleep just before I got done (typical). She looked so cute in her little checkered dress (same one from hubby's birthday if you remember) and polka dot headband. I could eat her up.

This girl. Ahh I love her.

Okay but seriously. too cute.

Audrey Joy, Seven Months Old

Audrey Joy turned 7 months old on June 18th. I took the picture shortly after that and never got the post written up. I'll do my best to remember! I do have a lot more pictures than updates, though. 

Audrey's upped her game with eating. While she was picky and just starting to eat at the start of last month, now she'll eat anything and everything I set in front of her.  We are doing mostly baby led weaning now that she knows how to use her hands and I love it. I hated pureeing food and this is so much easier. She eats quite a bit before getting bored and screaming loudly (in fun, no sadness) and I love that I can now count on a solid 15 minutes of kitchen time while she eats in her high chair. There was a while in the beginning of the month when she'd have an all out meltdown while in her highchair because she wanted to be held while she ate, but thankfully that passed quickly. This mama couldn't get a thing done that way.

She sleeps pretty well, waking up once for a bottle. Thankfully her early morning wake ups seem to have leveled out around 6:15-6:30. I can do that. I am usually up making hubby lunch at that point anyway, so we get up together. One thing to note, though, is this girl is not a morning person. She is ornery, loud, and wants it her way when she wants it asap. We have many stern talks about letting her sister sleep and being polite before most people are even awake. I hope this means she'll sleep in longer when she is older... wouldn't that be nice?

She sits solidly almost all the time and therefore doesn't spend a lot of time on her stomach. Crawling hasn't made an appearance and this mama is fine with that. I love that she can sit and play nicely for 20-30 minutes (longer if her sister is right next to her) and she can't crawl into mischief yet. It's a perfect balance. Of course, when she is on her stomach, she is practicing getting up on all fours and she can wiggle her way about two feet any direction so the mobility is sneaking in, just not too quickly.

Seriously, though, when Josie will play right next to her, hardly anything will upset her. She will go from grumpy and crying to laughing and smiling in seconds if Jo will just give her a little attention. I've been working on teaching Josie to help Audrey and love her in many different ways and it's so fun to watch her carry that out while they play. Watching them play together is the best part of every single day. I love watching them be sweet sisters.

She's started nuzzling into my shoulder and giving me little hugs on her own. I haven't seen her do it to anyone else but she has no problem being held by others. While she loves her mama, she's great with others too. Again, perfect mix.

I don't know how big she is now but she hasn't really changed much with her clothes. She is wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes with some 6-9 month summer items thrown in. Now that it is hot and summery out, she usually is either in just her diaper, a romper, or just a onesie. I haven't had her in pants for almost the whole month so she might be longer but I'm not noticing it as much without pants to give it away.

Based on this month, you'd never guess that she used to hate her car seat because now she is absolutely fine. She plays with anything she can get her hands on and is content while in carts at stores because she people watches like crazy (a girl after both parents' hearts!). 

Audrey's hair really cracks me up.  She still has the long "rat tail" in the back (that will be getting trimmed very soon, it's getting ugly) and the front is so long and dark, much more so than the rest of her head. The rest is growing in much lighter, just like Josie's, so it'll be interesting to see how much they look alike when their hair is the same. I do think that Audrey's hair is a little bit straighter naturally, but only time will tell that.

 

I know I'm biased, but she's just the cutest thing. Her personality is finding its way out and her sweet spirit is the greatest thing to discover. 

Love that girl.

Its hard to see their size difference here because the camera is closer to Audrey than to Josie, but to keep it in perspective, Audrey is about the same length but at least 2 1/2 lbs lighter, and she's in a 3-6 month onesie while Josie is in a 6-9 month onesie (and its kind of tight already). And look at the hair difference! Not looking so much alike anymore...

Read her other updates here. 

To watch her grow, click here.

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Happy birthday Josie!

Newborn

One year

Two years

More pictures to come. I can't believe my girl is already two years old.

We have a low key day planned with a birthday party tomorrow (shared with her cousin whose birthday is only two days later). 

You can find us playing at the park, making a yummy birthday dessert, and swimming in her "pool" on the patio. 

Happy birthday Josie Grace!

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Weekend update plus running progress

You know those mornings when you try so hard to be productive and start the day out on the right note? No matter how hard you try, you fail. The day is tough and things keep going wrong. That's the day today, and last Monday, and the one before that. How do I break this cycle?? Note that it is only 9:09 AM and I am already saying this.

Mostly, this morning hasn't been awful; I think I'm just frustrated because my running progress has slowed considerably due to my calves not keeping up. As you know, this is nothing new, but I'm just tired of it and today it really got to me. I probably only ran half of the two miles I did, and while my calves are aching, the rest of my body is wondering when the work out begins.

Did you catch that? I went for my run at 7:30 this morning with the girls and Hannah, my parents' dog who is staying with us this week. I also purchased a kettlebell this weekend, but now realize that I got too small of a weight and will have to buy at least two more. I know I will like them and enjoy using the one I have, but man I feel like I am constantly spending money all the time. Hubby said, "why don't you just go to the gym?" in which I laughed and said, "will you stay home with the girls so I can do that?" He stopped making suggestions at that point. 

On to the weekend.... we spent some time outside (although it wasn't very hot and was about to rain so our timing was a little off) and my parents gave Josie her birthday present. They got her a sandbox that is a whole lot classier than the turtle shape I was planning on getting for her. It's the shape of ... a castle maybe? with a sun design on the cover. The cover is my favorite part because I'd prefer the girls to avoid cat liter boxes that take over sandboxes. Way to go grandparents!

We also had to say good bye to friends of ours that are moving all the way to the east coast. They happen to also be Josie's godparents, so we made yet another attempt to get a picture of the three of them. I don't know what the deal is, but I have never gotten even one good picture of them. This one is grainy and I had to be in it (cropped out later of course) to keep Josie semi happy. Ridiculous, yo!

We also went for a bike ride with auntie Lara and daddy even came too. Audrey was not having it so we stopped at a park to pull it together. It was too wet to play much, but we made the most of it.

Not pictured: Hubby and I had a date night on Friday night, we helped our friends above pack up for the move on Saturday night, we went to church on Sunday morning, and had more quality time with auntie Lara on Sunday afternoon. 

Looking at a calendar, the weekends are filling up so fast! It's crazy to think that we only have a handful of them left before we are moving and getting situated in a new home that will take up all of our time and energy. 




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