Double Trouble!

With two little ones who are both very mobile (as in both walking), it is only natural that one or the other, or both are getting into things! I am sure it will only be a matter of months until they are both conspiring against me as a team! :-)

She's a climber.

Just hanging out on this small lego table.

Yep, he got a hold of the medicine (no worries, he can't open it...yet!)

He is sitting where my DVDs go.

Tupperware Destruction.

It always starts with just getting out one lid!

A little too close to Grammy's Christmas decorations!

Playing around in Papa's office!

For reals she does this all.the.time!

I love them...even their messes!

Brotherly Love

It just makes me laugh to see Greg and Maria play with each other. Greg likes to try new things out on Maria....like fixing her hair! :-)

Let me comb your hair with this musical instrument. Maria seems okay with this!

Perhaps, I could curl your hair for you, Maria.

Too Much?

And done. Please stop, brother Greg!

13.1 Challenge: Success!

Well...I did it!!! :-) And I didn't die! :-)

Thanksgiving morning was a change of pace for me for sure. Instead of sleeping in (as in waking up with the kids), I was up and ready to walk out the door at 5:30! We headed to pick up my dad, and off we went! It was cold. Much colder than when I normally run! We arrived at Turner Field with time to spare, and hung out in the car before heading to the corrals!

As we got into the corrals, I was still pretty chilly, although it was only in the low 40s. When the first corral started, there was so much excitement in the air...it was an awesome feeling. As we approached closer to the start line my adrenaline started pumping! They announced our corral would be starting in 1 min, so I turned on the music to get myself excited...what was the first song on my shuffle? "Build me up Buttercup" This song immediately made me smile and get excited! My dear friend Natasha and I (affectionately) would sing this song to one another. As the chorus started in the song...."WHYYYYY DO YOU...." I crossed the starting line. I forgot I was still cold, and got pumped up to run!

I was nervous how I would feel about running with 8,000 people. I am rather claustrophobic, but the people energized me and pumped me up! After a few minutes of weaving to get in to my groove, I settled on the left hand side on the edge for most of the race. I did not stop for water, but opted to carry my own. This was a good decision for me, as the 2:15 pace team stopped and I never saw them again after I passed them. It was great to be running and the first 9 miles were pretty great for me. I hit mile 9, and began to think..."this is getting a little tough" but I kept running through it! There were a million hills and it seemed that at mile 10, I had only been going uphill on a slight grade for the last 2 miles. I was hoping and praying for a downhill...or even flat land at this point. And then, from behind me, Greg comes up....yes, behind me...I had passed him and not even known it! This was a boost to my confidence. We ran together for a little bit, and then he had to walk again. Mile 11 came and I thought to myself, "I am never doing this again. I am an idiot." I saw Mile marker 12 on the top of the hill, and decided to walk the small hill. I made it to the top, turned the corner, and reminded myself...one.more.mile. The last mile was amazing. Most of it was flat, and then you turned the corner, ran up a small hill, and then....downhill to the finish line. Glorious. As I ran down the hill, I thought, "I can't wait to do this again!" Amazing feeling, as I stepped across the line. I got my medal, some water, powerade, and snacks!

Although I could barely walk the rest of the day...it was great! I felt so proud and accomplished. I had set my ultimate goal at 2 hours and 20 minutes. My official time was 2:14:58! My average pace was around 10:18 minutes per mile. I ran my 10K in 1:00:51.

My Dad did awesome! He clocked in at just seconds over 2 hours, and my hubby ran it in 2 hours and 22 minutes. Although he was disappointed in his time, I was so proud of him!

A special thanks to all of you who have encouraged me through this whole journey! I could not have done it without you!!

(the only pic from race day)

13.1 Challenge: 4 days out!

I can hardly believe I will be running my first Half Marathon in 4 days! I am anxious and excited to do this and to see my 3 months of training pay off! So how has training gone? I ran my last big run last Sunday! I ran 10.02 miles in 1:53:08! I was pleased with this, and hope to do as well on race day! My goal in to finish in under 2:30:00. I think that this is doable, and would love to be closer to the 2:20:00 mark...really, I just will be happy to finish, as this running thing is new to me! :-) I already have my eye on another Half in March! :-) Update to come after the race results are in on Thanksgiving!

On another note...I am done with GRAD SCHOOL! YAY!!! I will be receiving my diploma sometime in December! Not to brag, but I have graduated with a 4.0! I am thrilled to be done with this, and know that my hard work will pay off when I go back to work some day!

So what do I do with my free time? I read what I want when the kids go to sleep...or play on Pinterest! :-) I have also started selling Mary Kay! Check out my website

If you have any questions, want to try products at no charge, or order contact me!

So there is my quarterly update on myself! I will be back to posting about my sweet babies tomorrow!

Surprise, Eryn and Mark!

At the beginning of the month, the kids and I ventured out to Colorado to surprise my cousins, Eryn and Mark! It was awesome! Eryn's 16th birthday was the 5th and Mark turned 15 on the 12th! It is crazy how old they are now....I guess that means I'm getting old, too?!

My Grandma and Pap picked us up from the airport and drove us down to Ronda's (GARs)! Grandma walked in first, and I could hear Eryn ask her what she was doing there. Grandma just replied that her and Pap were invited for dinner. Eryn continued to talk with Jenni, Savannah, Ronda, and Ed...and in I walked! She looked at me quickly, and then continued talking. I looked at Jenni, and said, "did she not see me?" Eryn looked back over, screamed, threw the stuff she had in her hands, and ran to me! It was AWESOME! She had no idea, and it was a wonderful surprise!

Mark was at football when I came, so I surprised him when Eryn and I picked him up from football practice! I crouched down in the front seat and put my jacket over me. Mark saw the jacket and thought I was his Aunt Jenni since we have similar jackets. When he opened the door, I popped up and said hey! He jumped back and screamed, "Oh My Gosh! Alyshia, what are you doing here?!" Again...AWESOME!

It was so much fun visiting with everyone and sharing in celebrating Eryn's 16th birthday! I have never been able to celebrate any of their birthdays with them, so it was great to be at her party and go out to dinner with the family to celebrate! Not to mention...I got to hit up my favorite two restaurants in the world that we do not have in Atlanta...The Armadillo and Noodles!! YUM!

GAR took off work while I was there so it was so much fun to spend time with her just being lazy and hanging out! It is always nice to spend time with my Grandma and Pap and Great Grandma, and I am so glad that my little ones were able to spend time with all of these people, too!

Ready for the plane ride!

Time for take off!!

Both kids did AMAZING on the plane! They are great travelers in the car and in the air!! YAY!

It was 30 degrees and there were 6 inches of snow on the ground when we landed! We had to get bundled up before going outside to the parking deck!

Bundled up Baby Greg!

Smiles!

Walking through the snow with Eryn and Great Pap!

He had a BLAST playing in the snow while we watched Mark's football game!

Mark looked so grown up playing football, and their team won; beating an undefeated team! I guess I was good luck! :-)

Greg may or may not have run on to the football field during the game!

Checking things out with Eryn! Greg ate a lot of snow this day!

:-) 'Sup!?

Maria and Great Grandma!

Greg liked to play with all of GAR's cups!

Great Pap and Great Grandma!

Piano time! Both of the kids were obsessed.

Eating sopapillas at The Armadillo.

(Please note: GAR does not were florescent purple eye shadow! The light was reflecting from the window.)

We even had a great visit from Great Aunt Shelly!! It was so great catching up with Shelly and hanging out with her! We missed you, Great Uncle Porter!

Diaper bags are fun!

Night stick = cool stuff!

Great and Grand Ed with Greg!

Great Great Grandma and Maria!

Great Pap and Maria!

Great Grandma and blurry Greg!

Snuggled up on the couch!

It was such a wonderful visit! I wish all of my family lived closer, but it was great to be with all of them! I am kind of sad I didn't get more pictures with Mark, Eryn, and Dillon! Each time I leave my family, it breaks my heart and lots of tears are shed! Colorado is forever my home, but it is nice to be back into our routine here in GA!

Watch Me Grow...10 months!

It's official...the whole Tigger posing pictures are done. We can no longer lay her down to get a picture without tears, blurry pictures, or happy baby and Mommy. I think this was also about the same time we stopped with Greg! Crazy. I cannot believe my sweet girl is already 10 months old. I have started planning the first birthday party, and it just seems as if yesterday we were brining her home for the first time. Time flies...

So what is Miss Maria up to lately?

*Not sure what she weights or how tall she is...I will guess 21 pounds and around 29 inches.

*Maria wears size 9 months clothes.

*She is in size 3 diapers, but we will move her into the size 4s when we finish the 3s we have.

*Maria eats only table food now and her bottle. She has a bottle in the afternoon (6-8 ounces) and one in the evening with oatmeal in it (8 ounces). She no longer eats/wants baby food. She is all about table food and has loved everything she has tried. Some of her favorites: grilled cheese, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, bananas, applesauce, chicken nuggets...she really has not had anything she did not like!

*Maria still naps 3 times a day! :-) One morning nap for 45 min-90min, an afternoon nap for about 2 hours, and a later afternoon nap for about an hour! She sleeps through the night like a champ! We have never had issues with sleep! PRAISE GOD!

*Maria is a great crawler.

*Maria stands on her own. She pulls up on everything.

*Maria has taken 1-2 steps several times, but no more than that! She is soooo close to walking on her own. She can hold onto anything and walk very well. She can even push Greg's toy lawnmower and walk with it without a problem!

*Maria waves hi and bye! Whenever she hears the phrase bye bye, she starts to wave.

*Maria is getting more interested in books!

*She loves to play with Greg, and is beginning to show more frustration when Greg takes things from her.

*She also is very good at making Greg angry by taking things from him.

*She falls asleep to her dog Violet playing lullabies.

*Maria smiles all of the time.

*Maria does not really get it when we tell her no. We really have to move her away from the situation. When we just say no, she looks back and smiles.

*She is beginning to understands object permanence.

*Maria says and uses mama and dada with the correct person!

*Maria also says no, no, no....but does not always use it in the correct context!

*Maria has two bottom teeth...others must be coming soon, though!

*Maria had her first cold this month. She was all congested in her chest and coughing, but really never lost her sweet disposition...she just would not let you put her down. at all.

*She loves to have her teeth brushed.

*She gets excited and kicks when she gets into her high chair and we put her bib on.

*Maria is a climber.

(she pushed the chair over on her own, climbed on it, stood in it, and reached...all on her own!)

It has been a joy to be a part of these milestones. I can hardly believe it has been 10 months already! She is such a sweet, easy, laid back baby! We are so blessed to have her in our lives!

Halloween 2011

Yep...late in this post, as Halloween was almost 2 weeks ago! Better late than never, right? :-) Halloween this year was lots of fun since Greg had more of a concept of the whole trick or treating thing. Although we kept in simple, and just stopped by a few houses around us, it was a blast for Greg who could not eat enough mini tootsie roll pops! He just had a blast being outside and hanging out with our neighbors who set up shop in their driveway! My Peter Pan and Tinkerbell were pretty adorable!

Just walking along with his tootsie pop!

My cute little Tinkerbell! It was cold so we just put the costume over her pjs!

This may be the only shot we could get with the hat on.

This was at our neighbors...they had a HUGE cat inflated in their yard. Greg was fascinated!

Family shot!

Ready to get out!

First Halloween and first taste of a lollipop!

:-)

Mommy and her babies!