Mr. Marathon!

Kyle ran a marathon yesterday and I am so proud of him!!!!

This is his second marathon since March and he made it! His was so happy because he improved his time and I think that he actually just enjoyed this one a bit better because he knew more of what to expect. He ran with my brother, who has done several marathons and really is the one who inspired Kyle to give it a try. We had a great time yesterday cheering them on and watching them cross the finish line.

I am so proud of you honey, you are awesome!

Margaret and her Papa.
Kyle and my brother resting after the run.

The girls maybe like it most because of the freebies at the finish line...

yummy yogurt!!!

Kyle looking a little pale but very determined.

Isabella and her cousin:)

Princess #2 is Two!!!!!

Margaret's First Birthday

11/24/07

Margaret Mary

11/24/06

Today is Miss Margaret's 2nd Birthday!!!!

As I awoke this morning I was reflecting on the last two years that the little bug has been around. I just feel like time has gone too fast. I remember the exact moment when she arrived and it just feels like it was yesterday, or maybe I am just remembering Walter's birth 6 months ago:) I just remember she had so much hair and the sweetest little face. She was such a laid back baby full of smiles and the most contagious giggles.

She has grown into quite the little lady who knows exactly what she wants and doesn't bother telling us, even though it is usually in her loudest voice. Margaret, bless her heart, has no volume control. She is just this little thing with lots of hair and lots to say. What I love most about Margaret is her ability to smile in any situation. When she is woken from a short nap, she smiles; at 3:00 in the morning if she wakes and can't get herself back to sleep, she smiles; when things are chaotic and crazy in our house, she smiles. It just seems that no matter what she has a smile waiting for me and this is what I cherish most.

We had a "Little Mermaid" birthday bash yesterday with family and friends and it was a big success. She had a smile on the whole day and I could just tell that she felt special!

Thank you Margaret for all of your sweetness,

Mommy loves you to the moon and back!

Margaret enjoying her birthday breakfast!



Blowing out her candles.

We finally have her convinced that she is two, not five:)

Mommy and Margaret!

Mimi made her special cake!

Hanging with my Sistas...

It is a gorgeous day outside and after a play date this morning with our cousins we decided to play outside and enjoy the beautiful fall weather.

Here are some random pics of the little ones. Walter was so curious about the leaves, he of course kept trying to put them in his mouth like he does everything else. We can see the very top of a tooth coming in on the bottom which would explain the high temperatures that he had last week. Maybe we will see a tooth here soon!

This is the face he makes when his teeth are bothering him. He sucks on his lower lip.
Boy mom, these leaves don't taste very good!

I love my big sissy!

And of course my other one is pretty darn great too!

Am I ever going to have any peace and quiet around here????

Thankful

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Roller Skate

My niece celebrated her sixth birthday at the skating rink this weekend so Isabella and I got to go and try out our skills. This was Isabella's first time with skates on and she loved it! In fact I thought she was going to cry when I told her it was time to leave.

She has seen my rollerblades from my college days in the garage and has always been really curious about them. In fact a couple of months ago I put them on to show the girls what their mommy could do. We went around the neighborhood with the double jogger and Isabella was so scared she thought I was going to crash. I had forgotten what a great workout those babies can be! My legs reminded me the next morning!

We had a great time skating and I must say the roller rink has not changed a bit from the 80's. Same fluorescent carpet, same trinket toys to buy, and same creepy guy working there! As you can see in the pics they gave Isabella starter skates, the kind you put on with shoes. The wheels are a bit tighter on them so they don't go as fast. Once she got the hang of it she told me to stand against the wall so that she could go around by herself. This lasted a few seconds when a couple of older boys whizzed by her and scared her to death. We decided we need to go back again and this time put the skates on daddy. It is kind of scary, but I remember Kyle in roller skates when we had our elementary school skating parties. Of course I doubt he noticed me, but I always thought he was a cutie!

My First 10K!

Last Saturday morning I ran my first 10K! I ran in the "Pilgrim Pacer", which is a race that supports the Food Harvesters. This is something that I have always wanted to do but never thought that I could. Thanks to the loving support and guidance of my husband, the marathon man, I was able to complete the race in 59 minutes and fourteen seconds which is my best pace yet. I told Kyle it was because it was so cold outside, it made me run faster=) I don't know if this is true but boy was it cold! About ten minutes before the race began the first snowflakes of the year landed on my eyelashes and I thought oh great, just my luck.

As I was waiting for them to send us off I was feeling a bit nervous because everyone around me looked so professional about it. People were running sprints, on the ground doing push ups, and doing all of these fancy stretches. I, of course, was just standing there wanting to conserve all of my energy for what lie ahead. I did meet several nice women who were doing it for the first time as well. We stuck together to cheer each other on.

Overall it was a great experience and something I plan to do again, who knows maybe a half marathon is in my future. It is just hard finding the time to train with the little ones so we will see, that may be in the distant future. For now I am just happy that I was able to complete this challenge.

I am very excited for next weekend when I get to cheer for my hubby as he runs another marathon:) Good Luck Sweetie!!

Me taking photos with my fan club:)

My mom was there too just not in the picture.
Me in the final stretch.

Look Who is Sitting Up!!!

My baby boy can sit up and play with the big girls!!!

While we were in Chicago Walter started sitting up for short amounts of time and then he would fall forward or on his side. Since we have been back he can do it without falling. It is so cute to see my boy sitting up and playing like a big guy. He also can now roll from his back to his tummy. It is hard for me to believe that he is already old enough for this. He is almost five and a half months old and I just don't know where the time has gone!

We are very proud of you my sweet baby. Don't grow up too fast!!

Mommy can't get my hair to stay down. Don't I look cool?
Look at how well balanced I am.

I can even do it with toys in my hand!

Hey, give me that toy

(Not too long and I will hear another "Mine" throughout the house. YIKES!!!)

Lincoln Park Zoo

Here are some random pics of our Chicago trip. We had beautiful weather while we were there so we got to enjoy trips to several parks and the zoo. We walked to Lincoln Park Zoo, which to my amazement was free. I was skeptical when Krista told me it was free because there is just not much out there that is free anymore, but it actually was free with lots of great animals to see.

Margaret playing at the park near Krista's house. Isabella and Walter fell asleep on the walk there so she had mommy all to herself=) She also was able to keep up with the Chicago kids. One little boy who was on a hitting spree with anyone he could get his hands on hit her and pulled her hair. Boy did she let him have it!
Walter enjoying a swing ride while being pushed by big sissy Margaret.



Look closely behind her and you will see a huge gorilla! Don't worry there is glass in between them.

Isabella enjoying a carousel ride at the zoo.

Walter loves his Godmother Krista!

Thank you so much Krista, we loved getting to see you! You are an amazing friend for putting up with all of us!

XOXO

American Girl Lunch

Since we were already in Chicago I figured what would a trip be without lunch with our babies at the American Girl Store. I know my girls are pretty young for this, Isabella will definitely remember it but I am not counting on Margaret, but at least I got some really great pictures of them enjoying it.

As a child I loved the American Girl book series. It was a series of books of girls my age who lived in an era before my time. What I loved about them was how old fashioned they were. I never actually owned a doll of my own, had I known about them I think I would have liked them.

Several times I have been to Chicago and have been in the American Girl Store and have been amazed about what a big deal is made of these dolls. I actually remember thinking it all a bit silly, borderline ridiculous. You can get your doll's hair done, get a picture taken with your doll, take your doll to the hospital, and even enjoy a lunch or tea with your doll. Plus there are tons of overpriced outfits and accessories for each doll. I just remember looking around thinking I would never let my child get so wrapped up in this sort of thing.

Well, then I had two girls...

My girls have always been into babies. Isabella was playing baby at 9 months old. Nursing them, playing with them, and changing them. I don't know if Margaret is like this because she sees her sister playing it all of the time or what, but really their favorite thing to play is baby. For their first Christmas they each got a Bitty Baby, which is the baby version of the American Girl doll and they still play with them like crazy. Isabella's looks like it has been through a war it is so well loved. So I caved and we had lunch with our babies at the American Girl Store. I must admit it was a blast. I tried not to draw too much attention to all of the highlights of the store (the salon, photographer, and so on) and I figure with age if they are still interested they will ask.

Lunch was fun. As you will see in pics they had special seats for their babies with special little cups for them to drink from. Margaret thought this was amazing, she kept her baby well hydrated throughout the meal. Isabella loved the desert, chocolate mousse in a flower pot with crushed oreos and a flower!

Margaret teaching her baby her nice table manners :)

Krista met us as we finished our lunch.

Margaret making sure her baby doesn't get thirsty.

Isabella's so excited she can't stand it face!

Lunch with the girls!

Me, Isabella, Mimi, Margaret, and Babies

Train Ride to Chicago!

My mom and I recently took the kids on a train ride to Chicago. It is something that I have wanted to do for a long time but never really had the nerve with three children. We went to visit my good friend Krista, who bless her heart let us all stay in her one bedroom apartment! Let's just say I have nominated her for sainthood! Kyle would have liked to come with us but with his schedule so crazy at the hospital we could just never get it to work.

So the train ride was seven and a half hours there and six and a half hours back (we made less stops on the way back). I know this sounds like an awful long time but time actually went by quickly. It was really ideal for the kids because they were amazed at the fact that they were on a train so just looking out the windows was great entertainment for them. When they started to get antsy I would take them on walks from car to car and they loved sitting in the observation car where we sat in a booth and colored. There were a few times when Margaret insisted on lying in the aisle with her blankie, but other than that I think it went pretty smoothly.

Our trip home was a bit more comfortable than going because we were able to sit on the first level. Going we sat on the second level (it was a double decker train) and there was just more commotion and you could feel a lot more movement on top than on the bottom. Anyone thinking about a trip like this with kids I give it a thumbs up as long as you are not in a hurry and you bring plenty of snacks!

Enjoying our lunch on the train

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!!!!

We had a beautiful night last night celebrating Halloween. I can't remember a Halloween with better weather. We are talking clear skies and around 70 degree weather! Okay, enough about the weather let's talk trick-or-treating.

We actually made it out of our cul-de-sac this year! In past years Isabella is just so excited to see candy in her bucket that she wants to rush home and start eating it. This year was no different for her. After a few houses and treats in her bucket she was ready to go home. Margaret on the other hand kept telling us she wanted "more". Kyle and I took her to another street in our neighborhood so she could get some more candy.

Both girls did a great job of saying "Trick-or-Treat" and did really good with their thank yous. I was a little nervous because earlier in the week I slipped and sang the "trick-or-treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat" song and Isabella was very interested in the words. She thought it was a great song, once I realized what I had done I tried to play it off that we just sing that song at home to be silly. It must have worked because I didn't hear anything about feet or pulling down underwear as we went from house to house. Whew!

Nana and GranStan came to eat yummy chili with us before we headed out.
I LoVe suckers!

Our annual picture with our friends


Nothing gets in this Bumble Bee's way!

Bumble Bee, Sneaky Black Cat, Pea in a Pod, Some Crazy Witch, and my honey. I tried to get Kyle to dress up and he said he was dressed as a doctor (ha ha honey)