Turkey Trot

Gobble, Gobble!  On Thanksgiving morning I trotted across the finish line to complete my first 5K EVER!  Yeah me!  I actually did it - I completed the entire 3 miles in 20 degree weather - running, no walking and I finished with a time of 30 minutes and 26 seconds - Not bad for a lady that just started running 8 weeks ago!  I am not going to lie - it was hard - especially since the last 10th of a mile was up hill and I truly felt like giving up, sitting down and throwing up - but with all those people cheering you on - and not to mention the 80 year old man who was speed walking as fast as I was running, there was  no giving up - I just kept on going, and I am so glad I did.  It was such a great feeling to cross the finish line and have all that hard work pay off.  The whole training process has been fun and challenging.  I have a new found LOVE for running - not only is it great exercise but I am enjoying the Colorado outdoors like I have never experienced before.  It is so fun to find a trail and just run down it...never thought I would say that, but now I love it and can't wait till my next 3 mile run - where will I go?  Again, I thank Laura for inspiring me and for all the support along the way!  Now I just have to keep it up, so I have already signed myself up for another 5K in January - Oatmeal 5K in Lafayette!  My goal next year is to run the 10K at the Anthem Turkey Trot, so hopefully that will be enough to keep me motivated.  I think I can now call myself a runner - yep, I am a runner...

Here is me after my big race enjoying the best prize EVER - my Starbucks, YUM!

So in LOVE...

...with this little man!  The more Eli discovers the world around him the more I adore and love him.  How can God possible make something so perfect..

My mom bought Eli this little Elephant Train which moves on its own - Eli thought it was so COOL!  His eyes would follow the toy as it went around the room and if it would run in to him he would kick his legs, try to reach for it and let out a little scream!  So FUN!

We finally found a way to enjoy Sunday night dinner - We put Eli in his chair, but up high so he can see the whole table - he loves it - I guess if he feels apart of the action he doesn't have a need to fuss!

The other day I had to get the phone, so I laid Eli down right here while I got up to get it, and he ended up falling asleep before I got back - he is just about the most precious thing EVER!

Mommy loves you so much - Bubba!

STRIKE!

We had the best day on Sunday - once we finally got out the door at noon (It seems to take forever these days to pack us all up to enjoy a couple hours away from home.  I truly get exhausted just thinking about it...)anyways!  My friend Shannon always comes up with the best ideas for all of us and on Sunday we decided to go bowling - Yeah - LOVE bowling!  This was Ashtyn's first time too, which made it even more fun.  They even had little shoes for her, size 8...

Here is me showing her how to roll - or throw- the ball down the lane.  She did well and of course had the bumpers to help...

Ashtyn ended up bowling a 58 for her first game ever - not BAD!  Maybe she will follow in her mother's footsteps and become a fantastic bowler - I was the WINNER for the day!  Thanks to my high school bowling classes...

Eli and Payton were great little babies!  No fussing, no crying - nothing!  We actually were able to enjoy our afternoon out - But I will say the first game we bowled - literally - was the longest game I have EVER bowled - I am sure it had something to do with changing diapers, potty breaks, burping, spit up, picking up a toy, feeding a bottle and so on...But what fun would it be without all that chaos - it is basically the norm now!

Ashtyn said in the car ride home how much she LOVED bowling and wanted to bring her "buddy grandpa butch next time" - So adorable!  We had a wonderful Sunday afternoon spending time with our best friends ever - thank you Shannon for always coordinating all of us - we would have no fun without you!  Love you Harms!

Thriving at FIVE!

My baby boy is five months old!  It's been quite a month - let's just say that!  A bit difficult and exhausting, not going to lie.  At the beginning of the month Eli decided to return to his newborn habits of not eating - so for another week and a half he literally would only eat about 15 ounces a day!  You could imagine my frustration and concern, since we are barley on the map with his weight as it is, so this was not helping the situation.  Tried feeding him oatmeal - but that ended in a disaster as well.  Then his sleeping habits reverted back as well.  He decided to wake up between 1 and 3 in the morning to eat - WHAT, why couldn't he eat during the day?  But I figured at least he is eating, so I better just suck it up - but no sleep after having sleep is a horrible reality!

I will say though the last two weeks have been much better - Eli is eating better, still having 4 ounces every 2 hours.  He refuses to drink more then 4 ounces at a time - not sure why, maybe he gets bored but 4 is his magic number.  We are holding solids off for another month - maybe he will be ready by then.  Although I will add he is starting to watch me eat and drink, so at least he is observing how it works...

I think he's put on some much needed weight the past couple weeks despite the eating issues - he feels thicker and his clothes are not so baggy.  He still is getting up once through the night wanting to eat - with Ashtyn I broke that little habit early on, but since we is so little I will - for now- continue to feed, I just hope it doesn't go on forever.  He is starting to take longer naps during the day - typically two, 2 hour long naps - morning and afternoon, but is then at full attention and awake the rest of time - which requires a TON of attention on our end!  He loves to play peek-a-boo and loves when I sing Itsy Bisty Spider - as long as I include my famous hand movements.  Still smiles all the time and has the most precious laugh when you tickle him or when I do jumping jacks!

Eli LOVES his toes - he is constantly putting them in his mouth - sock or not, they are in his mouth.  Very flexible!  Along with his toes, everything else he can get his hands on go into his mouth.  Ashtyn really hates this - especially when he grabs one of her toys - she will scream "This so gross" referring to all the slobber with a sad face - oh it is already starting...

Eli also loves water bottles - holding them, sucking on them and even drinking from them - although most of it lands on his bib.  He is definitely at the active stage and wants to be apart of the action all the time.  He loves to watch Ashtyn - especially when she is jumping from the ottoman to the couch - he kicks his legs and raises his arms with a scream when she lands!  Give it a year and I will have 2 little monkeys jumping around.  I have discovered Eli has a very short attention span ( I know this is true with all babies, but I think Eli is the extreme) - We are constantly having to change him from one activity to the next until he just screams and wants to be held - but not sitting held, walking around held making it very difficult to do anything else.  Yesterday I decided maybe the Excersaucer would keep him busy for awhile so I could empty the dishwasher - I could leave Ashtyn in there for at least and hour and she would be content - not so much with Eli - after 15 minutes he was over it.  Let's just say we are exhausted after having to entertain him. 

Eli's sweet little purring sound has now developed into full on screaming - Ashtyn used to babble never scream!  And it's not because he is mad - its just his way of talking!  It's cute for about 2 minutes and then it becomes very loud and annoying - actually produces a headache!  He will scream for a good 20 minutes, just laying there sucking on his toes.  I am now discovering - everyday - the difference between boys and girls!  All in all, Eli is doing good, finally putting on some weight and becoming quite a handful - but still absolutely adorable.  I am pretty sure the next month will be just as challenging as Eli continues to become more active and interested in the world around him, but I couldn't ask for anything better!

Pammy Turns 50!

Happy Birthday Pammy!  My favorite aunt ever turned 50 last week and we had a surprise dinner party for her on Saturday night to celebrate.  We had delicious food as usual - homemade Italian and plenty of cocktails.  My Aunt Pam is such an amazing person - she reminds me so much of my Great Grandma with her outgoing personality and unconditional love for everyone!  She truly reminded me of Grandma when she brought party hats over for everyone to wear and then had us all hold hands as we sang her "Happy Birthday!"  It was quite a site - especially seeing Papa Bill wearing his party hat!  Oh how I love my family...

Little Eli was extremely tired for the celebration but was still able to put his hat on and pose with his Aunt Pam.  Happy Birthday Pammy - we love you so much, you Old Fart!

Romantic Getaway!

What a GREAT weekend!  Matt and I were finally able to get away for a night - Thank God for grandparents (again)!  We snuck off to Steamboat Springs for one night to enjoy some quality time together - alone!  The three hour drive was totally worth it.  We enjoyed a nice dinner by ourselves, where we actually were able to have a conversation, and then we headed to the "Strawberry Hot Springs" - this place is amazing.  It's located way up on the mountain side and has these natural hot spring pools which are all different temperatures!  It was so relaxing - just what parents of a newborn and a 2 year old need.  Probably, the next best thing of the whole trip was the ability to sleep all night and wake up at 9:00 in the morning - and then being able to just hang out in bed without having to worry about anything or anyone else!  We did miss our babies, but it was so nice to just have 12 hours all to ourselves.  It was just what we needed to recharge so we could get back to our crazy, hectic everyday love!

Potty TRAINED!

WHOO!  Ashtyn is FINALLY potty trained!  Matt and I are so proud of our little girl!  We can't take much credit for this huge accomplishment though - my mother-n-law is the one totally responsible and deserves all the credit.  We tried a couple months ago to start the process with Ashtyn, but she wanted nothing to do with it.  So, I decided that until she showed some interest I wasn't going to stress us all out over it - well my mother-n-law never gave up and kept on trying day after day to get Ashtyn to go potty, and sure enough a week ago when Sandy asked Ashtyn if she wanted to use the potty she said "Sure" - so Sandy sat her on the potty and ever since then Ashtyn has been out of diapers- YEAH!  Matt and I have of course been offering every incentive possible to get her to use the potty and one of those many incentives was a trip to Chuckie Cheese - her fav!  It was so cute, after the first time she went potty with Matt, she said "Ready go to Chuckie Cheese now!" - Matt said we would take her, but she had to go potty seven days in a row with no accidents.  Well, Friday night was the seventh day - we have had an occasional accident (more our fault then anything) so we kept our promise and headed to Chuckie Cheese to Celebrate - along with Sandy, Butch and Emily. 

We had so much fun celebrating, playing games and running around with Ashtyn!  I think she totally enjoyed her prize for being a "big" girl.  We were all able to win 500 tickets, so Ashtyn was able to pick out some "treasures" for herself which she thought was so cool.  Now that she is potty trained she seems so grown up!  Matt and I are so proud of her and we are so thankful for Sandy - she is an amazing grandmother to our babies and we couldn't do this whole parenting thing without her - Thank you so much Sandy - we love you so much!  So many more doors open up now that she is potty trained - Ashtyn's talking about going to school, so now maybe I can find her a little class to join!  We love you Ashtyn - Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you!