Hello Out There! Running, the Big 3-0, Easter, Etc.

The Olympics were wrapping up about the time that I posted my last post. Bedtimes were forgotten for all 4 of us as we watched the most Olympic coverage possible. Here's my favorite three people crashed out.


It didn't take Caleb very long to pick up on the Olympic theme.

As I've mentioned in past blogs, I have been training for the OKC Memorial 1/2 Marathon, which is next Sunday. Since I last updated, I was diagnosed with a small tear in my meniscus (knee) and couldn't run more than a mile for about 3 weeks. I was quite concerned that I'd not be able to do anything but walk the 1/2 (and, of course, I'd already paid the entry fee for the race). After much PT, rest, and prayer, I am happy to say that my knee is just fine with little to know pain and swelling. Here's a picture of part of the group that I run with. We're slow but steady :)


As you begin to add miles, one common recommendation is to take an ice bath after your longer runs. After a particularly grueling 9 miles of hills (the toughest in the history of the Fleet Feet training program, according to most), I bravely attempted the ice bath. I think Aaron and Caleb got a very sadistic joy out of adding more and more ice cubes to the bath!


Harper talking up a storm. My personal fave phrase:


Caleb and Harper working on "parallel play" (aka not screaming and fighting while in the same room).


One thing I love about Riverfield is the concept open-ended materials. For example a piece of plastic birthday cake can really only be a piece of plastic birthday cake but an empty spool can be a number of things. And apparently, so can an empty tampon box :) It is very handy for carrying around his Cars.


I signed up for e-mealz.com to help with dinner planning and grocery budgets. Some people (hint hint, Aaron and Caleb) are too picky for about 1/2 the week's suggested menus but they are super simple recipes, like this pizza roll that Caleb helped me with.


We finished another season of soccer, this time with several friends from church. Very fun, especially now that the moms (and dads) can sit on the sidelines and chat instead of being out of the field with the kiddos.


One thing that became clear during soccer is that Caleb will probably not be a champion sprinter. The odd thing is that I swear he's faster at home when I tell him it is time for a bath. Maybe he'll be more of a distance runner like me!


One day after soccer, several of us went to Incredible Pizza. Caleb and Owen loved the simulator ride.


A new experience for us - finger painting. And, shocking, Caleb wanted to use only the yellow and green paints.


The same trip to Michael's that produced the finger paints also included this special hat for Harper G.


Caleb has picked up an eclectic mix of "favorite" songs - Benny and the Jetts, All You Need Is Love, Life Is a Highway, We Will Rock You, and this little gem:

Caleb demonstrates his "cranky face." Funny when he does it when you ask; not so funny when
he's trying to be a real cranky face.


For as cautious as Caleb was in his younger years (like 3 is SOOO old!), he is growing more and more brave. Aaron was grilling out and came back out to the back porch to find Caleb climbing along the outside of the decking.


Harper chatting it up:


Well, I survived my 30th birthday and lived to tell about it! The day itself was great - shopping with mom and the kids, then dad joined us for sushi lunch. That night, we were going out to dinner with my family and, much to my surprise, Aaron had coordinated to have a group of friends join us. This was no easy feat, especially since I didn't decide where I wanted to eat until about 3:00 that afternoon. He called everyone to invite them that day, decorated with lots of balloons, and even found a bakery in town that would make a truly black cake (not just dark brown). It was beautiful! And it was a mess for adults and children alike.


The weekend after my birthday, a group of girlfriends headed to Edmond for a girls night out at a place called Nothing But Class. As you can tell from the picture below, the evening included dinner, a few margaritas, and a pole dancing class. It was a lot of fun!


What those pictures don't show is that I actually was fighting a stomach virus. Aaron and Caleb were down with it as we left town. I hadn't been feeling great but was thinking "mind over matter" (thanks, mom, for that hint growing up). Unfortunately, my stomach didn't get what my mind was trying to say and I threw up several times in my friend April's Land Rover on the way to OKC, recovered enough to enjoy dinner and some dancing, then threw up again on the way home. It was still a blast of an evening though!

Many of Caleb's church friends have spring birthdays (crazy that his friends are FOUR years old) so this is the start of birthday season for them. One of them was a super-hero birthday, complete with handmade capes and masks and a special super-hero name for each attendee. Caleb was Shape Fire. He wasn't too sure about the costume at first, then really got into it. And, I'll admit we've worn the mask to Walmart - it just wasn't worth the fight.


Easter was great this year, with wonderful weather and healthy family. We woke up and checked out our Easter Baskets. Incidentally, is the Easter Bunny the one that brings the basket of goodies, like Santa and stockings, or is that from parents and the Bunny hides the eggs?

One tradition is for our community to have an Easter potluck breakfast and everyone brings their children. After all, you've paid good money for their cute clothes and you have to show them off to more than just the nursery workers :) Caleb and his buds had lots of fun, even starting a mambo dancing line through the class at one point.


Our god-daughter, Ellison, who is getting soooo grown up.

Caleb waiting oh-so-patiently to take family photos before he can go hunt for eggs at my parents' house.

On the hunt:

Harper initially wasn't aware that there was anything inside the eggs. Once she figured that out, she switched to the "find an egg, open it, eat what's inside, then go find another egg" method.


Harper G is a total parrot. Our friends Bob and Mimi taught Caleb this when he was about Harper's age. She loves to do it now.


Trying to get HG to wear her sunglasses since it is full-on spring time now.

Caleb wears his glasses all the time - at school, during nap, in the car, etc.


Harper is perfecting many animal sounds. But her cat impression gets the most requests by us and everyone else.

Yesterday was my sister's 1 year anniversary. Happy 'Bershrey, Mo and Brian. To celebrate, I'm posting this photo taken at their wedding that I just found on my FB photo page today. I am pretty sure it's the last photo taken of just the two of us in like the last 6 years - ha!

This morning, Caleb goes in for extensive dental work. Turns out the one cavity we could see was only a part of the problem. By noon, he'll be the proud owner of 2 silver caps and at least 3 other fillings. Thankfully, he'll be out under an anesthesiologist's care and all teeth involved will fall out at some point. For the record, I did not put soda in his baby bottle or anything. He rarely even gets juice! The dentist says it could just be genetic; perhaps I should take Harper in before it gets out of control. I'm sure she'd be sooo cooperative!

Valentine's, Dry Bedtimes,and Other Accomplishments

The weather has been all over the map (pun intended) lately. Warm and springy one day, wet and rainy the next, then cold and snowy. We've not received the snow that many areas of the country have but the general consensus around here is that it is TIME FOR SPRING!!

Caleb received his bike for his birthday but hasn't had much of a chance to ride it, unless you count going around and around in circles in the garage. One nice day, he and Dad took it out for a spin. So far, the tricky part is that, unlike the trikes at school, these pedals don't go backward. On this bike, if you push back, you brake. Frustrating to him, funny to us :)


The snow started coming down one afternoon and just kept coming and coming. Very pretty. There were lots of birds flying around and Caleb was worried that they wouldn't have any food so we put out some pieces of bread. The birds were not impressed. That, or they didn't want to come near the crazy howling beagles that were running around the backyard. Because I only have a point and shoot (like I'd have a clue how to use anything fancier!), this photo didn't come out like I'd hoped, but can you see the cardinal hanging out in the tree?

In true "good mom" fashion, I found a recipe for snow ice cream and Caleb and I made it. It was very yummy, and, of course, we had to add a few drops of green food coloring.


Harper didn't "harvest" the snow with us, but she did enjoy the feel and texture of it.


Since Aaron didn't get to play in the snow with Caleb when it was on the ground at Christmas, this recent snowfall was all about the boys playing in the backyard. It took forever to get bundled up and Caleb didn't have his "real" mittens because they were at school, so we improvised, wearing some fleece ones that are too big for Harper and putting Ziplocs secured by rubber bands over them.


Dad helped stake Caleb's claim on the fence. We are working on identifying letters. So far, Caleb prefers non-vowels as he says his name is spelled "CLB"

I'm not sure who had more fun, Caleb or the dogs.


What better way to warm up than with some hot (or in Caleb's case lukewarm) chocolate?

I noticed a few weeks ago that Caleb had a dark spot on his tooth. We scheduled an appointment with a dentist. Despite his nervousness, Caleb did a great job letting the hygienist count his teeth then polish and floss them. The dentist said he did have a cavity and referred us to a pediatric dentist. We visited her this week and, based on the dental work he needs done, you would think I gave him Coke in his bottle when he was a baby or something. Lovely. This office does recommend putting kids Caleb's age completely under with an anesthesiologist. So that is scheduled for later this spring. I think I'll start taking Harper Grace now, if we're gonna have these sorts of dental troubles.


In late January, Caleb mentioned one night that he didn't want to wear Pull-Ups to bed. Aaron and I exchanged looks like "We soooo don't want to be changing sheets in the middle of the night" but we gave it a try. He was a pro! We gave some incentive the next night, saying if he could keep his underwear dry for 7 nights in a row, we would go to Incredible Pizza. I personally thought it would take forever to make it happen. Nope, he has not had one accident in the bed and it has been almost a month. Way to go, buddy! Incredible Pizza was very fun (and very crowded) on the night we went. Grandma and G-Dad joined us and they spent time with Harper Grace as we helped Caleb with his games.


Get those Gators!


Harper is into everything, exploring and nearly giving me a heart attack on a daily basis. She has no fear and tends to not watch where's she's going. She, like her brother, can get very focused and intent on figuring how things work.

She loves the stairs, so we're always on guard to make sure the baby gate is closed.

When I first downloaded these videos, these were a pretty accurate representation of Harper Grace's walking ability. It is fun to see how far she's come in a few short days.

Have I ever mentioned that Harper Gracie loves to eat? With the exception of mushrooms, we've yet to find a food she won't inhale. Not only does she out-eat Caleb, she out-paces him too. At a recent school meeting, Harper ate two pieces of pizza. Caleb ate 1 1/2 and was still eating when it was time to go.

For Valentine's Day, we made some cupcakes for our family. Caleb was a big helper in the making and in the decorating...and in the swiping of frosting off the top of cupcakes. Now you know why they were for family only, too many germs to share with anyone else.


For our Valentine's date, Aaron and I got a sitter and went mattress shopping. My mom did point out that there was a connection between Valentine's Day and mattresses but I quickly changed the subject. We upgraded to a king (and will never go back!!!) and were so pleased with the products and customer service at Mattress King, which sells Sealy and Stearns and Foster. It has come in handy lately as, more often than not, at least one kiddos winds up in our bed by mid-morning.

I am continuing to run, talking two good friends from school into running the OKC 1/2 marathon in April. We are training with Fleet Feet and LOVE it. I swear that I never never never thought I'd be running like this and actually enjoying it. We run several short runs throughout the week then a long training run at 7am on Saturdays. Two weeks ago was the Sweetheart Run 10k (6.2 miles). Alissa and I finished at about a 10:54/min pace. Not too shabby. It was very very cold, as in so cold that the iced-down beer at the finish line was actually about the same temperature as my hands.

To end this blog, let me just share a special little excerpt from a day in the life of our family. Anyone wanna join in our craziness??

CHRISTMAS and NEW YEARS!!

Here's post-birthday December through New Years in a nutshell :)

Caleb's class visited the Philbrook Museum's annual Festival of Trees. We had never been and it was very neat - all sorts of trees made of all kinds of materials plus an entire floor of gingerbread houses made by local schools, churches, Girl Scout troops, etc. It was a challenge to explain to a group of 2 and 3 year olds why they couldn't eat the candy off the houses though.


Caleb and his friends play spot each other on either side of one tree.


One pre-holiday purchase was a stuffed dog that danced around to Jingle Bell Rock. He was an instant hit with Harper G.


We had several Christmas parties to attend this year, including our church community, Covenant. It was a tasty dinner at Ti Amo's and then, because so many of us had babysitters for the evening, we headed to a casino to dance. (Don't I love being Methodist!!) In all actuality, we didn't stay long - I've been spoiled by all OK restaurants being smoke-free that one step in the casino nearly did me in. But we did dance a bit :)


We tried four different times to get a good family picture to use for Christmas card purposes. My friend Alissa was so kind to meet us and tons of pictures just to make triple sure there were a couple decent ones in the bunch. Never a good one of the four of us but this one's pretty priceless.


Because I work at Riverfield, I had a two week Winter Break just like the kiddos. We took part of that time to travel to very west Texas to visit some of Aaron's family. Along the way, we spotted this truck with our friend Lauren (former Miss America) on it. I had seen it on a billboard but never speeding down the highway. Caleb was pretty excited to see the face of someone he knew on the side of a truck.


Our first stop was in Brownfield, which is close to Lubbock to see three of Aaron's great aunts. Though they are all getting up there in years, they still each live independently and were very hospitable to us. It was a challenge to keep Caleb away from all the breakable things but he and Harper Grace were very sweet and the aunts were good to put up with the increase in volume and activity for the day. Aaron's parents met us in Brownfield then we all headed to Farwell, TX - home to Aaron's half sister Lori and her family. It is so far west that it's about 10 minutes away from Clovis, NM. Lori, Gary, Stacey, and Bri live on a farm; it was a different experience for Caleb to not see any other houses around and to get to ride in Uncle Gary's big red tractor. We celebrated early Christmas with Aaron's family then headed back to Tulsa, just in time...


...because the next day bad weather began to move in, but not before Caleb could make his first trip to a movie theater to see the Alvin and the Chipmunks sequel. His friends Owen and Aidan joined him and all three were quite well-behaved.


The bad weather moved in on Christmas Eve day but we already had plans with some friends to go to early Christmas Eve service then to dinner at our favorite Mexican place, Arizona. You'd think I would get a clue when my sister, who was coming in from OKC, said she was glad they made it in one piece. Or when Asbury canceled the late services, then all services. Or when the restaurant we were going to closed early. Pshhhh...it's just snow and we have a 4 wheel drive truck, right? So we arranged to still meet our friends at the only restaurant that we could find that was still open. The snow was coming down but nothing horrible...until we sat down at the table and looked outside to see snow blowing HORIZONTALLY across the window. We quickly ate our dinner and the 10 mile drive took us about 90 minutes. OK, maybe I won't be so brave next time.

Once we were safe and sound, Caleb and Harper Grace put on matching pjs for yet another photo session. A few cute ones but we never did get both of them to look at the camera at the same time.

Caleb and I wrote a note to Santa and made cookies (or, in the spirit of truthfulness, placed cookies on the baking sheet).

Before he went to sleep, Caleb confirmed that when Santa came, he would put presents under the tree. I told him that, because we didn't have a tree up this year, Santa would put his presents around the piano, with all the other ones that were already there. That seemed to satisfy his 3 year old brain and off to bed he went. But apparently Aaron was sure Caleb would be scarred for life without a Christmas tree so, once the kiddos went to bed, we went about setting up the tree and all the 100+ ornaments that went on it. Plus "Santa" had several presents to assemble so we didn't go to sleep until 4am on Christmas. Once we did go to bed, we didn't sleep very well because we didn't want to miss Caleb's reaction when he came in and saw this:

He was quite excited (but not quite as excited as our aching bodies and sleep-deprived eyes would have liked). There is a great video clip that should go RIGHT HERE but it is long enough that I can't get it to upload but I am ready to post this blog so I'll keep working on it for next time. (Anyone know of any free editing software? I just need to cut out a few seconds of the video for it to upload?)

Christmas day got off to a slow start because my parents and Morgan and Brian couldn't get here as early as they would have liked due to the foot of snow on the ground. Once they got to our house, we enjoyed stockings, brunch, presents, appetizers, and dinner in the space of a few hours so that we could stay on schedule. He was very eager to open his stocking but had to wait until my family arrived. He had asked Santa for "lots of cars" and was concerned when they weren't left along with the trampoline. We explained that Santa might have left some surprises in his stocking. Whew! There were cars in the stocking...Santa does exist!


Caleb was a great present-distributor, making sure all the presents were placed in the right pile.

G-Dad helps Caleb open a gift.

Harper initially slept through the gift-opening time but had her own extravaganza once she woke up.

The day after Christmas, we did some shopping. After returning home, it was warm enough that Caleb and I went to play in the snow. He had a blast, but mainly tried to eat it.

Harper's good hair day: This is what it looks like after I take a ponytail down. YIKES!

We enjoyed our annual Christmas gathering with our "other family", the Wilsons after they returned from a Caribbean cruise (must be rough, eh?). Caleb was stoked to get his marble race track!

Harper is pretty much fearless, walking around everywhere and climbing anything she can. I told Aaron that I'm willing to bet we go to the ER with her before we do with Caleb (aka Mr. Cautious).

My big big boy. He looks 3 going on 13 in this picture, I think.

We had some friends and their kiddos over for New Year's Eve. It was a lot of fun, especially because C and his buddies are now old enough to play upstairs and keep themselves entertained. Now Harper, on the other hand, was a bit of a pain - unsure of all these people in her house and needing a nap. She fell asleep sitting on the couch between Aaron and me about 11:30 and Caleb was still going strong when we finally insisted he go to bed about 1am.


Harper on January 1st -looking a little worse for the wear!

Caleb and his fancy green New Year's hat that he picked out. (What?? Caleb pick out something green? That's odd! Ha!)

Well, that's it for now. Now I just need to download, sort, upload, and document the last 5 weeks (is that all!?!?). Happy belated 2010!