First (solo) race since Will was born!

Today marked my first running race since before I was pregnant with Will (and, man, that's a loooong time!) I did a women's half marathon in Bend, so it was also my first women-only race. While the weather was super windy, it was a nice temperature for running and, at least, there was no SNOW like there was in flurries on Saturday. (Seriously, is this almost JUNE???) Anyhoo, it was not a course to set a PR on since it was extremely hilly, but it was so fun to be back in a race again. I ran it in 1:40 and some change, which is a few minutes over my best time, but it was good enough for 10th overall and 3rd in my age-group. I can't complain about that! Best of all, Ryan, Kate, Will, Grandma Connie and Grandpa Bill came out to support me and cheer me on along the course. Seeing them definitely gave me a boost when I was lagging! It is a fun few weekends around here with PPP last weekend, today's race and a duathlon next Saturday. Ryan and I are teaming up, which will be our first race together. Some (maybe, most) would not call these things fun--I believe Grandpa Bill asked Ryan, "Do you PAY to do this?"--but we love it!

Baby laugh of the day!

Because, in my opinion, baby laughs never get old!

PPP

No, I promise, this is not yet another post about potty training. It was a different kind of 'P' entirely--three of them, in fact. It was Pole Pedal Paddle weekend!! One of our favorite events and weekends of the year. This year we did the ski, bike, run and paddle race as a family team. We had Grandpa Bob on the downhill ski, Ryan on the skate ski, Uncle Jay on the bike, me on the run, and Grandpa Mac and me on the paddle. Despite some slightly chilly and somewhat rainy conditions, we had a GREAT, great time. AND we did pretty well for ourselves: 6th place in our division (out of 67 teams!) As usual, strategy talk for next year's race began as soon as we crossed the finish line, so thanks to Grandma Connie, Grandma Star and Aunt Cyndi for putting up with all the PPP babble (and for watching the kids while we raced!) And thanks to Grandpa Mac for participating this year--his first year and I think he's hooked now, too! After everyone left today, we went to a neighbor's garage sale and bought some awesome kid's skis and pole for Kate. They'll be perfect for her next winter, and she was pretty excited to get them. She said she's ready to do Pole Pedal Paddle and she wants to do "the skiing and then bike uphill." It won't be long, Kate, and we'll get you out there!

Yes! Yesss! YEEESSSSSS!!

Okay, I'm trying not to get my hopes up here but it might just perhaps be that Will has FINALLY discovered how to sleep well. Please don't let me be jinxing this right now (if you know any un-jinxing tricks, kindly insert them here!) If he has turned the corner, it will be a bit wild because he will have followed the exact same sleep pattern as Kate did. They both started out as good sleepers and then got thrown off by a trip taken around 5 months. From then on, both were erratic and difficult. Some nights were great, others not great AT ALL. We started bedtime routines with both of them early on and they both went down to bed easily, falling asleep on their own. From there, though, all hell could break loose. They both would wake up during the night repeatedly. Then, miraculously, at exactly 9 months Kate rolled to her stomach one night and slept 9 hours. She continued to wake at 4 am until 11 months when I cut out that feeding as the last one to wean her off breastfeeding. Thinking we were being smart, we tried putting Will on his stomach about a month ago, but he wasn't having it. Then, two nights ago, Ryan put him to bed (awake) and when we checked on him later, he was on his stomach. Just like Kate, he woke up at 4, I fed him and he went right back down. Last night, he was turning over before Ryan even left the room and slept until 4 and is sleeping peacefully now!! Oh, PLEASE, please let this be the beginning of good sleep (for all of us!!) And, yes, I realize that this is completely uninteresting as a post but it is VERY, very, very, very exciting for me!!

Will + blueberries = true love!

Will's love affair with food continues and his current obsession is blueberries. To say that he adores them is an understatement. He's completely caught on to the sign for "more" in the last few days because he is so insistent on getting more and more of that squishy blue goodness. I no longer dress him for blueberry sessions since they get EVERYWHERE. I found some in his belly button yesterday. Aside from blueberries, Will is still into any and all food. He's still eating purees and mashes, but he's also eating almost all our food too. He gets MAD if we don't share with him. Quite a difference from our picky first child! He also likes to feed himself (giving me another reason to keep him naked during mealtimes!)

Wild Saturday night at the Singleton's house!

Who needs bars and parties when you've got a wagon and kids?!

Kate & Jim: This one's for you!

It's not really her best rendition since getting her to do something on demand is as close as I get to moving mountains, but here you go! I hope your goal of daily usage is going well. :) If wedding planning starts getting hectic, just breathe and remember "It ain't no thang!!" (Well, actually, it's a big "thang" but I have NO doubts that it is going to be perfection!)