Bath Time Fun

This girl is getting so much personality these days

and is doing so many new things

it's hard to keep up.

Enjoy a little bath time fun.

Happy Friday Friends!

Phone Photo Dump

It's a phone photo dump day.

Enjoy!

Awww, sweet napping photo.

She always looks so sweet when she sleeps,

and I am always compelled to take pictures of her,

but I'm afraid of waking her.

I guess on this day I wasn't worried about that.

She has taken to snuggling with a blankie when she sleeps.

Oh yeah! A cool van I saw in a parking lot last weekend.

It was painted all the way around with '60's bands.

I took the picture because I wanted to share with Cole.

Too tired for jumping apparently.

Not every little girl gets to enjoy gnawing on a dead rubber duckie during bath time.

We needed to try on Stella's swimming suit

before we took it to daycare.

Looks like she's ready for water days.

We had some storms here this past week.

I was trying to get to the grocery store

but it was pouring and hailing

but the rainbow was pretty.

We're still not fully mobile at our house.

Stella hasn't gotten up on hands and knees yet

but she sure does roll around the living room.

I left her on the blanket,

but she ended up under the coffee table.

The Outdoorsy Type

We are truly enjoying our new home.

The outdoor living is just awesome

and now that it has been nice we have not been spending much time indoors.

It's also a bonus that this lovely lady loves to be outside.

We have quickly learned that if she gets a little cranky

all we have to do is take her outside and she's instantly smiling.

We were outside last night during helmet-off hour

so Cole thought he'd let her give his helmet a shot.

No matter what helmet she's wearing, I think she's adorable!

*On a side note, check out the ridiculous armpit rolls on this girl*

A Happy Mother's Day

What a wonderful Mother's Day weekend we had.

This was one of the first weekends that we have been

able to spend working at our new house

and with the beautiful weather,

we took the opportunity to get some work done outside.

We planted and cleaned and clipped and mulched.

We even put in our very first family vegetable garden

with lots of peppers, tomatoes and herbs.

It doesn't look like much right now, but give it a few weeks.

That is, if the rabbits don't see it as a nice new buffet!

We also took some time to enjoy our beautiful new backyard.

Stella loves to be outside

and now that she can sit up on her own,

she can see the world from a whole new perspective.

Cole loves our new backyard too.

He's also seeing the world from a new perspective.

Look at this happy girl enjoying time outside!

Yes, she got to spent most of the afternoon breathing in the fresh air!

I hope that all of the Moms in our lives got to spend the day

doing exactly what they wanted to do.

Snaps From Last Night

With everything that we've had going on recently

we have not done a good job of grabbing the camera

and getting some snaps of our favorite girl.

So last night after her dinner

Jim gave her a Mum Mum and started snapping.

Here are some of my faves:

I should mention that we usually do her hour out of her helmet

during her dinner immediately followed by bath.

It seems like she would prefer to have the helmet off when she eats

and we avoid getting it coated in peas/sweet potatoes/applesauce

or whatever else she may be eating.

Stella had a full head of hair at birth

and then lost most of it on the sides.

She is currently sporting a faux hawk

but we leave it

because that one tuft of hair sticks out the top of the helmet.

Want some Mum Mum Daddy?

Whoa! Look at those cheeks

When she's excited, the feet go like crazy!

So So Silly

We're still working on proper cup usage

Almost got it...

Just a little more...

Whew!

Update- Marathon Finish Times

The marathon official finish times were posted:

Cole- 2:16:59

and

Jim- 2:17:43

Great job guys!

Race Day!

Eleven weeks ago, Jim & Cole began their marathon training.

They worked so hard and put in some pretty grueling runs.

This past week has been especially tough for both of them.

Jim has had a bad head cold since last weekend,

and yesterday found out that he had gotten an ear infection.

Apparently sometime overnight his eardrum ruptured.

So needless to say, he was not feeling as well-prepared for today as he would have liked.

Cole has also been battling some congestion.

Our day started at 5 AM.

We needed to get an early start so that the guys could eat

well before start time.

Jim pinning on his number.

Cole was so excited.

Cole's race day game face.

Jim helped Cole get his number pinned on.

A little silliness at 5:30.

Do they look ready?

Jim's looking like he wants to go back to bed,

and Cole's looking like he's regretting shoving the whole banana in his mouth.

Stella was a great race-day partner for Mom.

She was not too sure what was going on,

but she didn't seem to mind the cold

and she seemed to enjoy watching the runners.

After a while she got into it and was even cheering them on.

We decided to sit at mile one and watch the runners come by

and then our plan was to walk to the stadium and watch them finish.

Here's Cole with Jim right behind him.

Jim's parents got in on the marathon-day action

and saw the guys at mile 5.

They decided to take a different approach to race watching

and would see the guys pass

and then get in the car and drive ahead to catch them at different spots along the course.

They saw them again at mile 6

and then between 9-10

Here are the guys between miles 9 & 10.

(Photo courtesy of John & Pat)

Stella and I waited in the stadium

getting updates from Grandpa & Grandma

and then finally, who do we see?

Here comes Cole (to the left of the flag)!

Closely followed by Jim

(below the right-hand side of the clock)

Of course he turned his head as soon as I snapped the picture.

The guys felt good about their race.

And Jim battled his illness and had a great race.

They posed for the obligatory picture

and then they were anxious to get home.

I guess they were tired.

Cole thought the medal was pretty cool

and he wore it most of the day.

The jury is still out on whether they'll be signing up next year.

Thanks everyone for all of your well-wishes and support.

Special thanks to John & Pat for the updates and for braving the chilly weather

to watch these guys run.