Daycare Christmas Program

Wyatt & Colton had their very first Christmas program on Monday night for daycare & they did GREAT!

The program was held at our local middle school’s auditorium, to accommodate all the parents & grandparents in attendance. Both the boys’ class (3 year olds) & the 4K classes performed.

They were super cute! We had been hearing these songs at home and practicing them for weeks now. The boys’ class sang 5 songs (plus said the Pledge of Allegiance) – Away in a Manger, Whisper a Prayer, Little Donkey, John 3:16 & Do-ah-Diddy.

They were brave little boys being it was their first time on a stage and singing in front of so many parents/grandparents. They stood nicely, sang all the songs & did the accompanying motions. Colton really surprised me by how much he got into the songs. Wyatt’s 100% a singer at heart – he tries to sing every song on the radio & is a great participant during singing time at Sunday School. Colton likes to sing along with some songs on the radio that he knows but usually covers his ears or just stands silently during singing time at Sunday School. This was a great surprise seeing both the boys so involved!

So proud.

Their daycare class.
(the boys are just left of the middle)

Trying to get a cute picture afterward...

...two crazy boys!
(but they are so handsome, aren't they??!!)

The Christmas tree is now complete!

After a busy weekend, we finally got around to decorating the tree on Sunday night. The boys were so excited and put most of the ornaments up on their own. Wyatt was even clever enough to grab his little stool to help him reach higher; Colton just had Daddy lift him up!

Wyatt & his step stool.

More decorating.

Wyatt's "pile up" of decorations!
(He just liked them all in one spot.)

Done!

Never say coldest race yet…

…because Mother Nature will take that as a challenge & prove you wrong!

I ran my last 5K of the year this past Saturday. The temps that morning were hovering around -5 degrees or so – not joking! I had debated back & forth whether to run the race or not but decided it was a good challenge, even though the temps were cold, the sun was shining and the winds were low.

A really good friend of mine “D”, who is an awesome runner, decided to join me that morning at the race. She normally would have run the 8 mile course but stuck with the 3 mile course because of the decreased amount of exposure in such cold temps.

The race turnout was great despite the frigid temps. The course was fairly clear for winter – the first ½ mile was snow/ice covered & slippery – but after that it cleared out nice so that we were running mostly on clear, paved roads. The last ½-¾ mile was dangerous again – mostly pure ice. It was more about keeping your footing & not slipping than running your fastest because that just wasn’t possible.

Even with the slowdown from the road conditions, I tied my time from the last 5K, so I definitely was running at a faster pace on the clear portions of the race route.

Yummy, warm chili was waiting for us after the finish – which was a wonderful way to warm back up.

It was a fun race & I’m glad I followed through and ran it!

That’s a wrap to my racing season until sometime in January or February. 6 races in 3 months. I’m so proud of myself for signing up for these races which has kept me active during the cold fall/winter weather. They have all been 5Ks and I’ve been happy with that distance. The training keeps me active & accountable but doesn’t take too much time away from my boys.

I look forward to starting back up in late-winter/early spring and hope to get some fun runs on the calendar for 2014!

Me & my friend "D" warming up!

The Christmas tree hunt

We were planning on going to get our Christmas tree on Saturday but the forecast early in the week wasn’t looking too good – highs only in the single digits by the end of the week through the weekend is not the type of weather I want to be searching for a tree in with two little boys. We made a last minute change of plans & headed out on Tuesday night when I got home from work.

It was a race against the clock since there isn’t much sunlight after 4 PM this time of year. It had also been snowing all day, so we knew there would be some snow-shaking involved in our hunt.

We’ve made it a tradition, since Cory & I have moved out on our own, to go to a local cut-your-own farm and I’m so excited to continue this tradition with the boys.

The temps were in the 30s and it was still snowing when we arrived but we were all bundled up in our snow gear & ready to hit the rows of trees. We found one we liked fairly quickly but it was also getting dark pretty quick too so we decided it was “the one” & cut it down. Both boys helped Cory do a little cutting but when they weren’t cutting, they were playing in the snow & throwing snow balls – mostly at Mommy.

After getting the tree loaded in the truck, we went into the warming house to pay for it & to get some hot chocolate and cookies/candy canes. Colton LOVES hot chocolate & had 2 cups! Wyatt had passed on hot chocolate the weekend before at the race but I talked him into taking a sip at the tree farm where he found out that he really did like hot chocolate and proceeded to have a cup himself

We brought the tree in the house the following day, put the lights on it Friday night & decorated the rest of it last night (pictures of that to come!). I love the smell of fresh pine in the house this time of year! We also put up the rest of the decorations in the house, so it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

On the hunt...

 

Found it - Colton helping Daddy.

 

Colton & Mommy!

 

Wyatt helping.

Trimming a little off the bottom.

Tree is down...thanks to these three!

Love.

Dragging it to the truck...

Run #3

Saturday after Thanksgiving we headed down to our local park, which puts on a beautiful lights display every year. The lights display is open Thanksgiving night through New Year’s Eve. They began a 5K/1-mile run/walk event last year to raise money towards the lights display. We missed it last year because of the weather, but not this year! It was low 40s & sunny during the day, cooling off slowly as the sun set…beautiful weather for a run. They started the run/walk near dusk. The 5K route went through the park and out through some nearby neighborhoods, ending through the lights display as the sun went down. BEAUTIFUL!

I ran the 5K course while my parents pushed the boys in the stroller (joined by my cousin & her 2 boys) on the 1-mile walk. As I was coming to the last leg of my run, I met up with the walking clan – so that was fun to say hi & wave as I went by. I ended up with my best pace yet!

After the boys & my parents made it to the finish line, we went inside the warming house to warm up & enjoy some hot chocolate. Wyatt decided he didn’t like hot chocolate that day (although he had some the other night when we cut down our Christmas tree – post to come!) so Colton drank both of their portions.

This will definitely be another tradition I’d like to continue every year.

This was race #5 that I’ve ran since October. I have truly loved getting into cold-weather running this fall. It has kept me active & motivated. I’m hoping I can keep some of it up through the snow & ice during the next couple months but only time will tell – otherwise it’ll be back to the dreaded treadmill.

Pre-race snacks!



Mommy & Colton

Mommy & Wyatt

Post-race warming up!
(Excuse the foggy pictures - cold outside vs. warm inside = foggy lens!)

Day after Thanksgiving adventures!

My sister & I have been doing the Black Friday shopping thing for quite a few years. We were never super crazy but headed out by about 5 AM or so to hit up some good sales. Even though the Black Friday specials have moved back to beginning on Thanksgiving Day, we’ve decided to enjoy Thanksgiving with family & continue to head out early Friday morning. All four boys stay with Grandpa & Grandma for the morning and then meet up with us for lunch. We didn’t hit as many great sales this year but still had a great time.

After lunch, the boys & I headed to attempt a visit with Santa in our downtown. I had asked both boys if they wanted to go see him, as last year they were not impressed with getting close to him but waved to him from a distance at the local mall. I’m not into pushing my kids into a Santa visit so I’ve just waited for them to let me know they were interested. This was the year!

When we arrived downtown, Mrs. Clause told us that Santa had just gone to grab a quick lunch and would be back in 15 minutes. We decided to kill the time at the shoe store and had fun doing it. Both boys were good listeners and even wanted to try on some boots…women’s boots…as I was browsing through them. They each picked their own pair and insisted I take their picture in them too!

Colton picked a brown pair.

Wyatt went for classic black.

We arrived back to visit Santa & were his only visitors at the time (that’s why I hit up this location, no lines and no pressure to rush through). Both boys were excited to see him but only Wyatt was brave enough to sit on his lap. Colton did sit on mommy’s lap next to Santa and, even though he didn’t want to get too close, was fine with getting a candy cane from him as well. After a quick picture, the boys were invited to choose an ornament out of a basket & help decorate the ‘kids’ tree, which they were more than happy to do.

Santa!

Brave Wyatt!

Adding their ornaments to the "kids tree".

We headed back to my parents’ house (where we were spending the weekend while Cory was up north hunting) for naps, relaxing & haircuts from aunt “K”. The boys also watched some of “Despicable Me” with cousin “I” before heading down for naps.

Movie time!

Turkey Day morning race

Awhile back our good friends invited us to sign up for a 2-mile/5-mile race Thanksgiving Day morning. Cory & I are both so glad we did because it, along with a few other races during the October-December stretch, has kept us very active this fall/early winter when normally it’s too cold to do much outside.

My friend “D” & I spent the Sunday prior to the race putting together some pretty awesome pilgrim costumes. The boys & I spent the whole afternoon at “D”’s house and we came out with some pretty nice gear to wear for the run.

The boys came with us to pick up our race packets the day before the race but the weather prediction was for highs in the teens on Thanksgiving Day so we decided, once again, that it would be too cold to haul the boys along. My mother-in-law again was so kind to come & spend a couple hours with the boys while we ran. The weather predictions turned out wrong & it was a bit warmer, so I’m sure the boys would have enjoyed coming along but it was also kind of fun for just Cory & I to attend the race alone.

I had jam-packed my Thanksgiving week with two other 5Ks so I decided to just run the 2-mile while Cory was ambitious enough to take on the 5-mile! Cory hit his goal of coming in under 40 minutes at 39-something…awesome job!

All finishers of the race receive a small pumpkin pie – so we made someone else’s Thanksgiving Day extra special by donating both of ours to a local food pantry. Also, our chiropractor was offering free adjustments & healthy, organic snacks just down the road from the race at his church – so we took advantage of that! (I just wish I could have that after every one of my races!!)

It was a great, healthy way to start our Thanksgiving Day & will definitely be a tradition we continue every year.

Pre-race pilgrim!

Post-race!
(Ready to relax & eat good food.)

The coldest race yet!

The Saturday before Thanksgiving I ran in another 5K – solo this time because Cory was out in the woods hunting and, with a high of only 15 degrees that day, it was way too cold for the boys to come along. I was lucky to have my mother-in-law watching the boys while I ran.

The temp was probably around 10 degrees at race start time and, although my fingers froze for the first ½ of the race and the roads were covered with snow & ice, the race went really well. It did take me until mid-afternoon to really warm back up again though.

The boys & I had no other plans for the day so we stuck around home, inside where it was warm!

A Children’s Museum Visit with old friends

We were able to coordinate schedules & set up a date to get together with two of my closest friends from middle/high school and each of their little girls last weekend. We see my friend “S” & her daughter “K” quite often; as they live nearby but my friend “L” & her daughter “H” live a few hours away so we only get to see them a few times a year.

We met up at my friend “S”’s house, as her Boston terrier dogs just had puppies. I thought the boys would have been more into the puppies…especially since they were barely walking. They both pet the puppies & Wyatt helped picked them up once and but then quickly lost interest. Oh well.

We grabbed a quick lunch out & then headed to our local children’s museum and spent an hour or so there playing & exploring. The kids had a good time and it was fun to see & catch up with my friends, as we don’t get to see each other nearly enough!

Grocery store!
("K" checking out with
Wyatt & Colton running the register.)

Restaurant time!
(All four cooking up some yummy food!)

 

Construction crew!

 

Halloween before Thanksgiving

I feel better that I’m getting this posting out before the next holiday rolls around!

The boys were pirates again this year for Halloween – yes, we were able to re-use last year’s costumes with even more excitement this year! As you saw in a previous post, we got a couple wears out of those costumes this year too with our kids run/costume contest and then on Halloween itself.

I picked the boys up early from daycare, which they were excited about, and we first headed over to visit my dad at his work. We trick-or-treated through his office (mostly for proud grandpa to show off his grand boys!) & took a break with him in his break room for some vending machine snacks – the boys’ favorite part! We headed over to a local veteran’s home after that to trick-or-treat and bring some cheer to the residents. (This was probably my favorite stop of the afternoon.) Afterwards we headed home to get ready to head out in our neighborhood. It was a cool evening but the rain they predicted did hold off, so that was great. We stopped at about a dozen homes up & down our street and then packed up in the truck to drive a few streets over to our friends’ that live near-by. It was dark by that point & they had a great fire going in their driveway – so we warmed up & visited for a bit before heading home for dinner.

We let the boys pick out a few handfuls of candy/treats that we kept for them to have on special occasions but we took the rest of the candy we collected to our pediatric dentist, who was paying $2 per pound for Halloween candy & sending it to “Operation Gratitude” which will be sent to our troops. A great cause & a great way to make this a fun holiday for Colton since he can’t have most of the candy we collected anyway with his allergy. Each boy walked out of the dentist office with $5 – that’s a total of 10 pounds we donated to our troops!

A Happy Halloween indeed!

Ready to trick-or-treat!

Pirate Colton

Pirate Wyatt

October Fall Fun!

"Helping" Daddy rake leaves & clean up the yard.

A blur of leaves!

Sunday, November 17th – World Prematurity Day

I like to post on this day each year to help raise awareness about premature birth and to give thanks for the two healthy little boys in our lives. Our two little blessings arrived about 5 weeks early but spent no time in the NICU. We were not without some struggles against Jaundice & feeding/weight gain, but those are very minor compared to what some parents & new babies have to struggle through in those first precious days, weeks and months of life.

Per the March of Dimes: “Each year, 15 million babies are born too soon, and a million of them die.”

Our thoughts & prayers go out to anyone who has walked down this path, no matter the final outcome. Our hearts especially go out to those who are currently on this journey, especially during this holiday season.

The March of Dimes is a great organization trying to fight this battle of premature birth. We support them & their efforts to research and raise awareness of this global problem.

If you would like to support the March of Dimes with a donation, they are matching donations dollar-for-dollar until the end of the year.

Donate here!

Another family 5k!

After we had such a blast at our 5k last weekend (and I got Cory hooked) we decided to sign up for another one this weekend, which included a pancake breakfast!

We decided to switch it up this time & have me push the boys in the stroller and let Cory run on his own. This race was less busy, which was nice. The course was actually fairly similar to the one from last week, only in reverse with a few differences. I haven’t trained much pushing the stroller and the boys have grown a lot since I pushed them in a race 2 years ago (I didn’t do any races last summer). Cory did great and placed #27 overall. The boys & I did well too and I was able to run more than walk, so that made me happy. The stretch that kicked my butt was a long, steep hill at the end of the course which slowed us down a bit (oh, as well as the quick banana snack break for the boys near the start of the race, even though I thought they were both prepared with enough snacks before the race started!).

The boys & I also won the unofficial stroller division (although I actually only saw one other stroller, maybe two)! My overall time was only 4 minutes slower than last week, so that shows you how much we were slowed down by the crowds of people last week because I definitely had a faster pace last week running on my own.

After stretching & recovering a bit…we made our way over to the free pancake breakfast – yummy!!

After the pancake breakfast, they had a kiddie 1 mile timed run, ¼ mile fun run and a costume contest. We ran with each of the boys (Cory with Wyatt & me with Colton) in the ¼ mile fun run all dressed up in their pirate costumes and they loved it. (What Colton didn’t love was one of the area team mascots that ran along with us – there was something about him Colton wasn’t fond of at all!!)

The kids costume contest winners were…..WYATT & COLTON! Who could resist two cute, little pirates?!

Fun. That is what we had Saturday morning!

We are now looking forward to, and continuing to train for, our next race which will be during the week of Thanksgiving. I’m also going to run one more that weekend following Thanksgiving…with another one possible in December before the end of the year. This cold-weather running thing isn’t so bad; although I might change my mind once the roads are covered with snow & ice!

Mom & dad complete another race!

Bounce house fun...

...after a long stroller ride.

Kiddie BOO run runners!
(They were so proud of their medals...
just like mom & dad got at last week's race.)

Colton.

Wyatt.

Family pic.
(Hey, 2 out of 4 with their eyes open isn't bad??!!)

Kids costume contest winners with their prize!

Colton sneaking...

...mommy's lemon!

Fire Station Open House

Our 5K race day was busy from beginning to end! After the race, we stopped for a yummy pizza lunch and then headed down to the local fire station for their annual open house. They always hold an open house in October since it is fire prevention month – but we missed it last year.

The boys were pumped! They got Halloween trick or treat bags filled with fire safety goodies, sat in the driver’s seat of a couple fire trucks and explored the back of an ambulance.

Wyatt even asked one of the firefighters where their “pole” was (fire pole) but the fireman explained that they don’t have a pole at this fire station but instead have a tunnel slide to get down to the first floor. (I’m not sure the boys quite understood what that was all about.)

Driver Wyatt.

Driver Colton.

My little firefighter - Colton!

A fun visit!