Half Marathon Training in progress

Kelsey asked me if I would be interested in running the Bellingham Half Marathon at the end of September. I said yes, eager for something to motivate me to get out the door and running on a regular basis. I underestimated how much work it is to get two little munchkins out the door for a run!

I have a fabulous running stroller that I absolutely love (thank you Grandma Kelley!) but convincing Annaliese that sitting in the stroller for any amount of time usually requires a bit of bargaining. I found a great 4 mile trail nearby that starts and ends at a park with a great playground...she also likes to go to the beach. I don't take the girls to the beach often because it is not in the least bit relaxing and Annaliese loves the water but doesn't understand the power of the ocean... but she's been asking to go so I decided to try it after our run through Pismo Beach last week. 

 I told Annaliese I wanted to take her picture and she looked at me and said "wait" and then ran a little ways away, stopped, turned around, and said "Cheese me now. Cheese." 

And then came running back towards the water!

On this particular day, after our run, I put the stroller away and carried Haleigh in the Ergo so that I would have both hands available for Annaliese and wouldn't get the stroller all sandy. I was very impressed with how well Annaliese did!

Today, after our run, I gave Annaliese the choice of playing on the slide at the park for a few minutes or coming home and having a picnic lunch outside on the grass. She picked the picnic. Of course, once we were in the car on the way home, she screamed the entire way about wanting to slide:) But once we were home and had lunch ready, she loved it!

(I might add that as far as actually training for this half marathon, I have yet to run more than 4 miles and only average 1, maybe 2 runs per week. I'm counting on the 'I push two kids in a double stroller' to provide some extra benefit!)

Day in and day out...

As I mentioned in the last post, I returned to work at the beginning of June. My computer also decided to quit working and my phone is definitely not functioning at its best...all of which combine to make it difficult to do my weekly post! Fortunately I have been able to capture some of our daily activities on camera still and will attempt to do a quick recap here to share some of the cuteness that I experience every day!

 Tea party...I think this was their first time playing together:) 

 Sometime during May, the Amgen Bike Tour of California came through town and went past our house. We walked to the end of the driveway to watch the race. I'm pretty sure Annaliese was way more impressed with all the motorcycle cops that were on the course before and after the bikers!

 Story time

 Collecting eggs. Annaliese is very polite and always tells the chickens "thank you" as we walk back to the house!

 Haleigh's not quite sure what's going on here:)

Watching VeggieTales...Annaliese gets to watch one every morning while I pump...and since Haleigh was only wearing a diaper, Annaliese undressed herself so she could be just like Haleigh!

Happy Father's Day!

3 Months!

As of yesterday, Haleigh is now 3 months old! Time goes by so quickly, and I am constantly reminding myself to cherish the times that I get to cuddle with her, the hours spent nursing, and that baby smell that I love! Haleigh continues to be an easy baby, full of smiles and giggles. It is such a joy having her in our family:)

3 months old! (Yes, the 3 is missing from the picture...I can't find it around this house!!)

The biggest change over the past month has been that I just returned to work. This past Monday was Haleigh's first real experience with a babysitter...and she was there all day long! It sounds like she did pretty well...wanted to be held a bit more than normal, but adjusted quickly. And on the way to drop the girls of Tuesday morning, Annaliese was very excited to be going to Amy's house again!! She kept saying, "Mom, you go to work? Annaliese goes to Amy's again? And play with Kailey? And Madison? And Haleigh's coming too?" And when I didn't reply, "Mom, talk. Talk to me." So we've all adjusted to my going back to work pretty well!

Here is a glimpse into the life of Haleigh at 3 months old: 

Sleeping: She loves to sleep! She continues to sleep through the night, going down anytime between 7:30 and 9 pm and sleeping until between 6 and 6:30 am. On days that I work, I wake her up at 6 to give us enough time to nurse and get to work. She naps multiple times throughout the day, usually going to sleep about an hour after she eats. The eat/play/sleep cycle continues to repeat itself every 2 1/2-3 hours!

Eating: Haleigh continues to be an excellent eater, and doesnt seem to care if she is nursing or taking a bottle. Good thing for us because we only tried a bottle a few times before my return to work. I have discovered that she doesn't like chocolate nearly as much as I do and I have cut it out of my diet completely. Although now that I write that, I'm thinking that all the milk she gets from the freezer has chocolate in it...and she seemed to handle that just fine. So maybe chocolate isn't a problem after all!

Clothes: Everything is either 3 months or 3-6 months. Although let's be honest, she loves to be naked!

Activities: Haleigh loves having her diaper changed, taking baths, sitting up and watching the world around her, riding in the car, and having the bottom of her feet kissed. She doesn't like loud, abrupt noises, being ignored, and we are still working on the tummy time too.

Memorial Weekend Fun!

Memorial Day weekend is also the weekend for the Strawberry Festival in Arroyo Grande. The past several years I have run in the Strawberry Stampede, running either the 5K or the 10K. I debated doing the 5K this year. And then I remembered that I can hardly run 3 miles at this time...reality sunk in. I would not be running in it this year! 

So instead we decided to go closer to lunch time, eat hot dogs sold by the church youth group and wander around looking at all the interesting things people sell at these sorts of things. And of course, eat a few strawberries. 

 Drinking freshly made Strawberry Lemonade!

 Annaliese was fascinated with the camels...they sure are stinky, rather ugly animals!