Our final stop in KC

Ok, so I'm making our trip to Kansas City seem like it lasted more than the 3 days it did, but we had one more significant stop I needed to share about =)

Our final afternoon/evening in KC we stopped in to visit my great-great Aunt Inez and Uncle Dwayne for a delicious meal, a walk to the park and some pool time for the boys. We had so much fun with them and are looking forward to heading back sometime later this summer.

Inez and Dwayne are some of the most delightful people we've ever met. So hospitable, so hilarious and down-to-earth! I really wish you could all spend some time with them.

The boys & I with Inez & Dwayne!

Todd & Dwayne pushing the boys on the swings!

Carter & Turner are Inez's great-great-great nephews!

Todd & the boys taking in the neighborhood pool!

Many thanks to Inez & Dwayne for having us!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!!

The boys asked me to post this for them....

Daddy,

We think you are the bestest daddy in the whole world.

We love when you do tricks and dogpiles with us.

And we think it's so fun when we get to go outside with you.

Being home with mommy all day is pretty fun, but we are always so excited when you get home from work!

Thanks for being our daddy,

love your boys,

Buzz and Teba

I think you're pretty great too!

Say it ain't so

I'm a full-time, stay-at-home momma and self-admitted naptime-lover.

No, I'm not a napper. But I LOVE naptime for the kiddos.

It's time for me to relax, read, get chores done un-interrupted, snack, blog, you know the finer things in life.

When Carter was born, he slept all the time for about the first 3-4 weeks (less a few days of intense tummy-pain before I eliminated dairy from my diet). Then it set in.. the 45-minute nap monster. The child would NOT sleep past 45 min (less a few or more than a few road trips back to Lincoln). It was like a clock, put him down, he'd go right to sleep (this was a blessing) and bam... up 45 minutes on the dot! Much to my joy he outgrew this around 9 months and began taking some nice, long 2 hrs naps - ah, it was bliss. Pretty much he's been a good napper ever since (less a few weeks transitioning from 2-1 nap).

Then came TW. I was convinced that God would NEVER give me another "tough" baby. Boy were we wrong. TW decided that he'd top his brother's 45-minute nap monster and broke me in on the idea of the 30-minute nap monster. I can't even remember when it started, sometime after the first month where I thought having 2 was going to be so easy!! Thankfully TW wasn't as consistent and would sometimes throw a little longer nap here and there (you know like an hour or so). I finally gave up staying home for 2-3o minute naps and tried to move him to 1 nap around age 1. This was a difficult transition, but around 14-15 months he was finally doing 1 nap of 1-1.5 hrs - which seemed like bliss.

At first, their 1 naps didn't coincide. TW was going down at 12/12:30 and Carter at 1:30 - which meant 0 time with no boys for momma. (sometimes when TW was on 2 naps they'd overlap by about 15 minutes - boy were those good days). But now, in the past THREE months they have both been doing 1 nap, both going to sleep at 1:30 and sleeping 1-1.5 hrs. So, for the first time in my life as a mother of 2, I've had some "me time" back to relax, read... you get the picture.

And now... this week... Carter is thinking he's done napping..... I really hope it's just a (QUICK) phase.... because he really can't be done... can he??

SAY IT AIN'T SO!!!!

(do any of you think this has anything to do with the fact that I'm not a napper and a catnapper if I nap at all?? Is this hereditary?? Their dad sure knows how to nap! I want to know about you - do you nap? do your kids? is there a connection here? )

A visit with the Isaacson's

So I told you a little about my run in Kansas City, but did you know why I ran in KC??

Well maybe you don't care, but here are my reasons for those who do!! The first reason was because I wanted an extra month to train (the Lincoln Marathon is the beginning of May), the second reason was because I had a friend crazy enough to do it with me and the third reason was it seemed more fun to say "I ran a half marathon in Kansas City" rather than in podunk Lincoln again (I'll write more on my comparison of the two in a later post)!!!

Cassie & I after the race!

So, not only did we go to KC for the race, we also went for the opportunity to spend some time with Chris and Cassie Isaacson (fellow Nebr Wesleyan alums) and their two beautiful girls, Claire & Ava!!

The time was wonderful, the boys just loved playing with the girls, not minding the pink at all and Todd & I were so thankful for the adult fellowship with our dear friends!!

The crew lined up for a photo (sort of!).

Birthday buddies, Ava & TW!!

Remember seeing them together before??!

Claire & Carter, along with Chris holding baby Esther (whom also visited for a while during our stay!) The kids seemed to flock to this guy!!

Thanks Chris, Cassie, Claire & Ava for welcoming us into your home and spending the weekend with us!!!

xoxo,

Swimming Lessons: Take 1

Last week Carter started swimming lessons, he absolutely loves being in the water however we are still working on the face under the water part. Hopefully over the next few lessons he get more comfortable with it.

Blowing bubbles - first step to going under!

Carter's friend, Savannah, is also in the class - here she is with her dad!

Playing with a rubber ducky!

Loving the water!

Taking a break to tell Momma how much fun he is having!!

Turner is not very happy watching on the sidelines, he really really wants to get in too!!

Carter's favorite part, jumping in!

More to come...

A visit to Grandpa T's

Memorial Day weekend we took a quick visit to Grandpa T and Judy's "ranch"!

In the course of 2 days we explored the great outdoors, helped Gpa T plant four trees, ate lots of yummy food (mostly prepared by Judy who is a fantastic chef/baker/cook!), celebrated Mya's 2nd birthday, witnessed an amazing downpour of rain and overall enjoyed the wonderful time together!!

A BIG THANKS to Gpa T and Judy for having us, we can't wait to find time to come again!

Lots of Love,

Runs in the family

This year Todd and I both set a goal to complete a half marathon.

Todd completed his on Sunday, May 3rd here in Lincoln.

I completed mine this past Saturday, June 6th in Kansas City.

I got the boys up and set out for the finish line in Lincoln only to miss Todd finishing (due to the boys getting impatient and me deciding we must have missed him).

Todd got the boys up and set out for the finish line in KC only to miss me finishing (due to a downpour that started just as I was running my last 400 meters).

I think the boys still enjoyed the experience even if they didn't actually see either of us running!

Though the 2nd picture of Turner below may indicate otherwise.

I think Todd and I both enjoyed experience even though it would have been extra special to see the kiddos as we finished, oh well!

Goals completed!