Fun Times

We went to the park on Sunday b/c it was such a beautiful day. Shelby got to swim (boy what a difference 1 year makes...she doesn't run off anymore after swimming). Natalie and Melanie enjoyed the playground and Clint and I got our exercise walking around Tribble Mill. I also took the girls for the annual picture day at Portrait Innovations. They did great and I of course bought a ton of photos. I will try to post some of them. Remember, the picture girl edits/crops them so you are seeing the raw picture. Natalie had her 1 year dr. appointment today. She did great. Her head is in the 96th% (remember it was so tiny when she was born) and her height shot up. Last time (3 months ago) she was in the 49th%. She has gained 3 inches and shot up to the 89th%. Her weight stayed on the big side 23lbs 11 ounces and was in the 84th%. Boy I have some big old girls! We had to have a talk about Natalie's biting (it is happening alot!). Also, I asked for any advice with her pooping in the tub almost every night (even if she poops in the potty before hand)...well he had none. Oh, well, we'll just keep cleaning. She did great and only 2 shots. (They used to give 4 at this appointment but now they split it up and she will go back in 3 months for the other two- I like it better this way!) We got a reprimand b/c we don't brush her teeth enough (well, 2x per day seems a bit silly at this point but we'll shoot for it), and she doesn't say words that "outsiders" would understand besides "mama" and "dada." She is quite different than Melanie in her talking for sure. She doesn't even want to sign- she would prefer to scream. Again, we're working on it. But, she got props for table food, no bottle or sippy cup(well only sometimes) (she prefers a straw cup), she is SOOOOOO close to walking and took a couple of steps and sleeping well. So, some things great, some areas to improve. All in all a happy appointment. Melanie and I have been doing lots of crafts together. I will post the pics when today's dries. She is really fun to do things like that with now- it was a long time coming but fun. I got the job I was hoping for!!! I will be working at a great childcare facility in Lawrenceville that is NAEYC accredited and has low child:staff ratios. They seemed very kind and my tour/interview with them left me smiling and happy for my girls. Not only do I think they will have such fun I really think they will learn alot. They get Spanish, music, science from "specials teachers" and can sign up for Karate, Dance, and PlayBall. There are 3 GA PRE-K classes there (I was concerned b/c I don't want to one day have to teach my girls) but all looks great. I can't wait to start. The video is Melanie's latest learning activity...she is too cute!

St. Patrick's Day

Well, I decided to let the girls (Melanie) have a little fun with St. Patrick's Day. We made green blueberry muffins with green sprinkles, made a little craft project by making gold coins and a "pot" for the the gold and ended the night with green rice to accompany our roast. Melanie had lots of fun with it all and when I told her she had to wear green or the Leprechaun would pinch her she said, "Is he in or attic?" Overall quite a fun day! Is anyone else having issues with Cutest Blog on the Block? I can't find all of the cute choices we used to use....

My Baby is 1 :(

I can hardly believe that Natalie is one year old today! It seems like I was just pregnant. Now, I am not pregnant, I don't have an infant, I have the beginning (okay very beginnings) of a runners body (well, at least the flat chest!), and I have a toddler...I can't even believe it! Natalie came into the world at 12:05 AM on March 9th last year (it was a Sunday) and daylight savings time had just gone into effect (making the staff question exactly what time she was born). She was the product of a relatively easy pregnancy and an extremely easy labor and delivery (though not as easy as Melanie...). She has been a delight this first year, though not without it's difficulties. She was not the easiest of sleepers at times (there were many nights I thought I would lose my mind nursing constantly...or driving aimlessly through pouring rain in the middle of the night- it's a wonder we survived!). There were days where she was an infant needing constant care and holding but, oh yeah, there was a 2 year old I was suppose to be caring for...and a job (at the time 2), graduate school, a life, and a husband (poor husband-on the BACK BACK BACK burner!). However, we managed it all and we all survived and though Natalie is into EVERYTHING these days and is in CONSTANT motion things get easier and easier. Melanie is almost self-sufficient and actually quite a big help when she wants to be. Natalie is now drinking out of a straw, eating all table foods and can get to whatever she wants without my assistance. She also, believe it or not, goes to the bathroom on the toilet on a semi-regular basis now (appx. 4 times/day!). So overall, life is amazingly wonderful and I couldn't ask for it to be any different. I nursed Natalie for the last time last night (the 24th month of my life devoted to nursing!) and got teary eyed. It is a hard thought that I will never (well at least not on purpose) nurse again. It was a stressful task. It was EXTREMELY time consuming and required a lot of diligence on my part. I have nursed in almost every conceivable place and if I didn't nurse there I pumped there (driving down the road, in parking lots, on airplanes, in bathrooms, in closets, etc.) I think more people have seen my boobs or the side of my boobs than ever wished to. However, I can take pride in knowing that my minimal amount of sleep at times (well, nursing babies only sleep 1-2 hours at a time at first b/c they are constantly nursing) has really paid off and created brilliant, healthy babies. Natalie's birthday party was super fun. It was a small gathering of close friends and family and we enjoyed company and children. Natalie started to get tired part of the way through and we hurried through presents (at a record speed) and then onto cake. Like predicted Natalie was THRILLED with her cake and dove right in. She ate until I had to take it away. She was too funny. The cake was beautifully decorated from Publix by the same lady that made Melanie's. Natalie then went down for a nap while the rest of the kids played and the parents, ate, drank, and enjoyed everyone's company. It was an amazing day between my race and the party and I am just in a happy place right now. I couldn't ask for anything more and I'm so proud of my family. Well, enough of the gushiest post I possibly have ever done...just a little sentimental at the end of my mom to a tiny baby days. Some of these are just random pics from the past week at our house celebrating Natalie's first year. The cake pics without a hat were taken today, actually on Natalie's bday where she literally ate all the cake we gave her in two bites/fist fulls.

My RACE!

I had my race on Saturday morning. I was so excited. I had trained just as my program had called for, I was healthy all week...I was ready! It was not a huge race (maybe 100 people). We started out running through a very hilly neighborhood around Central Gwinnett. We made laps in the neighborhood about 3 times which was kind of silly. But, I didn't know how silly the course would actually get. I ended up running laps around buildings, parking lots, workmen areas, etc. Also there were no mile markers so I had no clue how I was doing. I was getting kind of sentimental towards the end b/c I was thinking this weekend last year I was in labor. I was telling myself if I can do labor I can run this race, however I was pushing less time than the race :) Then as I round the corner for the finish line I see Clint and my girls and I was so happy. In one year I had become a mother for a 2nd time and set a physical goal and completed it... in one hour and 1 minute!!! (It was 10.5 K) Then to top it all off...I won my age group! Wahoo!! Like I said, it was a small race but still, wahoo!

In the pics Clint took all of the action shots including my friend Elizabeth, who I coerced into running with me, finishing.

Snow Day

Well, the girls throughly enjoyed the snow. Natalie was so funny just looking out the window and pointing. She didn't know what she was seeing but knew it was great! Melanie, on the other hand had listened to the news and knew it was suppose to snow. So when an attempt at sleet started to fall she insisted in playing in it. Well, it was basically rain but we gave in and let her. (Enjoy the video of us laughing at her). Later on the real snow came and the girls loved it. We made a snowman, Melanie made snow angels, yes, it was REAL snow and lots of it. It was a nice 1-2 day adventure.