Merry Christmas 2011

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas! 

We will be celebrating the birth of Christ...remembering that He showed up in the most unexpected way.  And, celebrating that He continues to "show up" in our lives everyday. 

10 & 11 months...

Dear Benjamin,
With your first birthday just around the corner I find myself in complete disbelief at how fast the time is going.  I am savoring these moments and days when I can still refer to your age in months!

The last 2 months have been a blast.  You are learning and doing all sorts of new things.  You are not walking yet, but you are an expert cruiser!  You can crawl with speed, and you can stand without help for quite a while.  I suspect that walking is just around the corner!

You have a few words and use them ALL  of the time.  I think you are going to be a talker because, just like your siblings, you seem to always have something to say!  You say "mama" and "dada," and "no-no," and you point to things and say "there."  You have such a sweet voice.  When you crawl over towards the floor lamp (which you try to pull over) you shake your head and say, "no no no no no no."  And, then you proceed to try and pull it over one more time!  You've got the word, now we need to work on the concept.

You continue to be a great sleeper, and a flexible guy that can adjust to our busy family schedule that sometimes messes with your naps.  One of my favorite things is greeting you in the morning.  You reach your chubby little arms over the crib and just beg to be picked up.   You are also a big snuggler.  You lay your head on my shoulder often and it melts my heart.  I hope you hold on to that for a while.

You have finally decided that you'll eat some real food, but are pretty discriminating in what you'll eat.  You are a big fan of graham crackers, and a bigger fan of throwing food off of your tray!  You have 5 teeth...4 BIG ones on the top, and one little one on the bottom.  I adore your big toothy grin.

You are a blessing to our family and I am so excited to celebrate your first Christmas!  A year ago I could not have dreamed the amazing ways that you would touch my heart, complete our family, and bring joy to those around you.  I tell you this all of the time, but you can't even imagine how much I love and treasure you. 

love,
mommy

Shocking...I know.

Today I ran a 5k...shocking..I know!  Not only did I run, but got a personal record for finishing in 30:45 and running a 9:55 pace.  It's a personal record because I've never actually run a 5k.   I know you're laughing because you think I'm kidding...but as my friend Annie said, "hell has obviously frozen over" cause this is true!  See, I have a picture to prove it.

McKenna, Annie, Me

So here's the mildly short version of how this shocking event came to pass.

Back in Sept/Oct I kept looking in the mirror and thinking that I was fatter than I want to be.  In my case, 4 babies in 6 years left me with several extra fat rolls pounds that I'm not loving.  Unfortunately, I have the self-control of a 2 year old, and much to my dismay, you cannot just wish the pounds away.  (believe me, I keep trying)

I knew what I had to do, but there's two things that I really hate...getting up early and running.   I  have always hated running. I was a fairly decent athlete up to college, but NEVER EVER did I run distances...ever.  I distinctly remember feeling sorry for the kids who ran cross country.  And as I drive around and see people running, I always assume they are miserable!  So naturally, that's the exercise I chose.   I talked with a few gals (that I knew weren't already running) and convinced them to join me.  BEST-DECISION-EVER! There is no way that I could have done this without them.

We started the first week of November.  Our first run was twice around the outside of our neighborhood...it was 1.6 miles and I walked 4 times.  It's embarrassing.  BUT, we quickly increased our distance, and before I knew it, we were running over 3 miles.   We faithfully meet up at 6am, 3-4 times a week to run.  A now, a month and a half later, we always run over 3 miles, and have increased to 4 and even 5 miles on occasion.  And, I kind of like it, because now, instead of gasping for air, we can chat and that makes the time go faster.

I'm a novice runner.  I'm sure the real-runners snicker behind my back.  But, I'm out there in the dark, cold, and rain, and I'm proving to myself that you can teach this old dog, some new tricks.


So, the question remains, am I a size 4 yet?  Sadly no.  And, unfortunately, my thighs still touch.  But I'm on my way to a healthier (thinner) me, and I feel great.  And, if I can say it, I'm pretty damn proud of myself. 



Have you seen this...cause I love it!

PS...Here's a little something I learned at the 5K today.  A lot of the "real" runners wear their old marathon t-shirts.  I'm pretty sure they do this to let everyone else know just how awesome they are.   In which case, I'm contemplating making my own t-shirt that says, "I barely made it through the 5K."  I like to keep people's expectations really low. 

Christmas is coming...kind of.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year.  It's magical!  I like Thanksgiving too, but mostly just because it marks the day when I can start the Christmas festivities.

We visited with Santa, and much to my surprise delight, everyone made the "nice" list again this year! Natalie still wasn't sure of the big guy, but she didn't scream in terror this year, so we call that a win.  And, as you can see, she was even willing to stand near his chair.   The boys rattled off their Christmas wishes, and Santa is so cool that he didn't ask for hugs, but instead gave them "knucks."  Luke told me that he was looking really close, and when he saw that Santa's beard was real, he knew that it was actually Santa! 

Our tree is up, and well protected from the little hands that are constantly pawing at it.  It is also tied to the wall with fishing line...doesn't everyone that has kids do this?  I was shocked to learn that they don't.  Oh well!  We'll see who's laughing in the end.  Aaron could do a trapeze act from a branch on our tree and that sucker isn't going over.

My Christmas decorating and festivities came to a screeching halt on the day that I bent down to fix the baby gate and noticed water trickling out of a downstairs electrical outlet...Panic..Panic..Panic.  I ran upstairs to find a small pool of water coming from behind the kids' toilet and obviously running down the wall, which happens to come down into the kitchen.  And that's where I noticed that the hardwood floors were warping, and I knew the fun had just begun.  Let's just say that our house has been completely torn apart, and is in the slow process of getting put back together.  Hopefully by Christmas, it will be back to normal.  Not that cooking on a single burner hotplate isn't fun, cause it is, but I'd love to have my kitchen island, actually in my kitchen.

So, in honor of this holiday event, I wrote a poem...

Twas the season of Christmas and all through our house

water was falling, first a drip, then a douse. 

The plastic sheeting was hung by the ceiling with care

In hopes that the contractor soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While the droning of fans swirled dust 'round their heads.

And daddy was calling to file a claim

While I canceled all plans for us to entertain.

Out came the ceilings, the bathroom, the floors,

The kitchen, the pantry, the carpet, the doors.

So instead of decorating with lights and the glitz,

I booked a few nights for us to stay at the Ritz. 

The insurance adjuster  came to look at the scene

And wasted no time letting us know what kind of idiots we might be. 

But what to my wondering eyes did I find

A check to cover the damages arrived just in time.

So, our season will be filled with our traditions and fun,

But the decorating scheme is a slightly new one. 

Drywall and sanding and many repairs

Are happening all over the up and downstairs

So instead of a gift that comes from Fred Meyer,

I'll have some new hardwood floors to admire.  

We like to keep life interesting, and live without regret.

But, the year of the leaky toilet, we’d like to forget.


***I'm not really a poetry kind of girl, so I hope you see the humor in this!