Busy Weekend!

But SO much fun!!!  I got to have TWO play dates yesterday and had so much fun.  Mom forgot to take her camera, but here's the aftermath.  I was "resting" for a while.



After my rest, we all got ready to go to the State Park for a 5K that mom and dad were running!  It was a "Run Under the Lights" - they have the Christmas light display up, so it was pretty neat to be able to run through the park in the dark but under the lights.  I saw teddy bears, deer, angels, rainbows, candy canes and lots more cool things.  Mommy wasn't going to run because of her toe, but when she went to the orthopedist last week, they told her she could start running again as long as she could tolerate the pain (i.e. she wasn't going to do more damage, it would just hurt a lot).  She did 2 and 3 miles on the treadmill and it was ok, so she figured she'd be ok to run the race (well RUN it, just not RACE it).  Mom's doctor was also running it as well as a bunch of friends!  Daddy decided that he wanted to do his first race with me in the stroller, so even though the race officially said "no stroller running," dad gave it a shot.  There was a "walk" after the run, so he just held back a few minutes and started at the front of the walkers and just ran from there.  I had my hot chocolate and Cheddar Bunnies to munch on and the lights to look at, so I was happy as can be. 

Mom thought for sure that dad was going to pass her at some point (she's much slower than dad to begin with, but after a month off and on a broken toe, she figured he'd fly by).  When she got to mile 2.5 and we still hadn't passed her, she had a glimpse of hope that she might beat us.  Nope!  She heard daddy and I talking to each other and turned around and waved at me!  Daddy ran right by her and finished not too much ahead of her.  Only thing is that he probably started 4 or 5 minutes AFTER her.  So we legitimately beat her :)  Mom still finished in under 10 minutes a mile, so she was ok with that.  She said her toe REALLY hurt afterwards, though, so there's a big difference between running on the treadmill and running on the hills outside. 

They gave out glowing necklaces to all of the runners to make them more visible, so daddy let me wear his.  I ended up taking both his and mom's to bed with me last night.  I called them my "glowers."  How fun!

I woke up super early this morning and mom and I were both pretty tired.  Mom let me watch a movie and we cuddled on the couch and rested for a while after breakfast.  This afternoon we got to go to Gabriel's birthday party!  It was at a bounce place and once I warmed up a bit, I had a BLAST! 

Daddy's teaching me how to safely go down the big slide.


I look TERRIFIED!


But actually it was quite fun :)


Molly and Baby Jake seemed to have fun too! 


I love jumping!


Climbing out of the end of the obstacle course (my favorite).  I ROCKED the climbing wall.  Daddy was very impressed :)


Needless to say, I was exhausted by the time we got home.  I went to bed with no problems, but woke up with a pretty scary night terror about an hour later :(  Mom hopes it's just because I was overly tired today because it was really scary for her too!  Fingers crossed for a good rest of the night.  Only 3 days of school this week, then I get to go see my Great Grandma Jean!  I can't wait!

Hope everyone else had a great weekend too!

Another Boo Boo :(

I'll start by saying that I'm ok!  Mom got a call at work today saying that I had an accident and had a boo boo on my face :(  I was playing hockey at Jump Bunch and tripped over a hopscotch rug and hit my face on the door of the toddlers room.  My teacher said that I was crying (mom could hear me), but that it wasn't cut and that my eye and teeth were ok.  I hit my cheek and forehead and you can definitely see the line of the door. 

Mom called dad and he went over to school to check on me.  It wasn't too bad - purple and swollen, but I was happily playing when dad got there.  Dad stayed for a while and mom called the doctor to see if they wanted me to come in.  It didn't sound like I had a concussion, so they told mom what to watch for and said to keep me up or if I fell asleep to watch me closely and to check on me every few hours tonight. 

Daddy tried to go home to go back to work, but I got pretty upset and just wanted to go home.  It's been hard for my teachers to keep me awake on a normal day and they didn't seem to be able to convince dad that they would be able to keep me up today either (which was clearly more important than just preserving bedtime).  So I stayed at school for lunch, then mom came to pick me up right before nap time.  I was SO good and let mom work when we got home.  She even moved my puzzle board into the living room so she could keep an eye on me while she worked.  Mom and dad took turns watching me so the other could make calls for work.  It worked out well and I stayed up and they both finished their days. 

Mom and I sat down to watch Sleeping Beauty before dinner and I was getting really sleepy, so mom let me take a quick nap on her shoulder on the couch.  I was pretty tired, so mom and dad had a tough time waking me up about 20 minutes later, but once I got up I was fine and mom made dinner for us.  I even got to play a few games with daddy! 

We had a great dinner (Whole Foods' Tikka Masala simmer sauce is *really* tasty).  I devoured my cauliflower and even asked for more (mom constantly says she's so glad I'm such a great eater).  Then I got to pick a treat out of my pumpkin (which is almost empty much to mom's liking).  I even shared my treats with mom and dad - dad says mom got the better treat (I picked a peanut butter candy bar for mom and an orange tootsie roll for dad...), but they were both happy and I loved mine.  I took a nice warm bath, then brushed the sugar bugs off of my teeth, read a book and went to bed.  It didn't take long for me to fall asleep tonight and I think mom's going to check on me A LOT tonight! 

Here's my boo boo :(  Doesn't look too bad, but my cheek was pretty purple and shiny.  I told mom that it still hurt right before bed, but hopefully a good nights sleep will fix it all. 


Here are a few more photos from the past few weeks - it's been busy!  Daddy had a week long sales meeting, so mom and I were on our own.  I had a *really* good week and had my listening ears on the whole time (well, ok, most of the time).  But I sure was glad when daddy got home on Friday!   

Squash soup and veggies - my favorite (and yes, I ate that entire plate of broccoli).


Look how far I can jump!


Rockin' the piggy tails with my favorite breakfast (or breakfarest as I say for some reason)...English Muffin with peanut butter.


I came home from school the other day and told mom "I love my pet!"


Mommy and daddy's friend Jeff came to visit last weekend!  We had so much fun and he even brought me this awesome doggy from Carson and Sienna.  I named him Sirius (Siri) after their dog.  I've slept with Siri every night since and pretty much use him as a cover.  Thank you Jeff, Kathryn, Carson and Sienna!


I've learned all about the seasons and know that in the fall the leaves change colors and fall off of the trees.  I was helping mommy mow the lawn and rake some of the leaves.


My last soccer class for the season was last Saturday.  Daddy took me and let mom hang out at home with NOTHING to do for an hour.  How divine!  I got the coolest medal from Coach Sean!  I don't think I'm going to sign up for the winter session because our weekends are so busy, but I'll probably go back in the spring. 


I've really been enjoying my blocks lately.  I got a few new Matchbox cars the other day, so mom and I built a ramp out of the blocks.  I learned which shapes to put in which order to make the cars roll down.  Mom and I tried it out with several different cars to see how far we could make them go. 


I love taking my kitty for walks!


I'm so quick at my Fox in Socks puzzle now. 


I can't believe that Thanksgiving is next week already!  I'm so excited to be able to spend it with my great-grandma whom I don't think I've seen since I was 9 months old.  She asked me to bring some games with me so she can play, so I think I'll pack Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders. 

Take care!

Nutella is Yummy!

Today I discovered that Nutella is AWESOME.  Can you tell how much I liked it???



I "made" dinner for mom tonight (wearing my apron and chef's hat) in my kitchen.  I made her:  squash soup (my favorite), tabboulleh, grapes, bananas, cauliflower, crackers, cucumbers, meat and cheese.  Mom laughed and said she wondered where I came up with these things. 

Not much else new, but I wanted to share the funny picture from my snack today :) 

Fall Festival!

Today was my Fall Festival at school.  Mom was a little late getting there (boo DC traffic), but I did get to wear my costume one more time and I got my face painted! 

My friend and I were BOTH monkeys and we BOTH had rainbows painted on our faces.  You might say that we're kind of like the bobsy twins.  We have been in school together since we were about 4 months old :)  We were checking ourselves out in the "mirror" (aka one way window from the hallway, which mom LOVES). 



I was trying to see the rainbow before we took it off at bathtime...


There was a magic show after the face painting.  I didn't really care for it and mom and I left a little early.  I was SO excited to show daddy my rainbow when he was done working.  We had a nice dinner, then I got to take a nice warm bath and I washed the rainbow off all by myself!  It was fun to see the washcloth turn colors :) 

Mom and I read my favorite book "There's a Monster at the End of this Book" and I climbed right into bed!  I still didn't fall asleep for over an hour, but at least I got in bed by myself.  Tomorrow is my last regularly scheduled soccer class, but I think we have one more make up class.  I've had a lot of fun with it and told mom and dad that I want to do it again. 

Better get some rest...hope everyone is well!

Happy Halloween!

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! 

I had a fabulous day!  I went to school wearing my Halloween Hello Kitty shirt from my Great Aunt Jenny.  It was short sleeved and it was a little cold, but mom let me wear it anyway (it's WARM in my school!)  Mom picked me up a little early and we went home to get my costume, pumpkin, put out a bowl of candy, and pick up daddy.  We went to Ken, Marie, Belle and Cole's house and they had a pizza waiting for us so we could eat dinner before trick or treating.  Unlike my usual good eating self, I didn't eat very much (I haven't been eating much the last week or so...)  We had one last potty break and got dressed in our costumes. 

Arabelle was a T-Rex and daddy and I were Curious George and The Man with the Yellow Hat.  Marie even bundled baby Cole up and put his carseat in the stroller.  He was a champ and slept the entire time!  What a cutie! 

Aren't we cute???






We headed out through Ken and Marie's neighborhood.  It was my first time trick or treating other than at Boo at the Zoo (last year I still couldn't have dairy, so I hadn't really had any candy at that point).  Mom thought I might be shy, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly.  Belle did a great job showing me what to do.  We rang the doorbell (or knocked), said trick or treat and then said thank you.  And my pumpkin got filled with TREATS!!!  When the pumpkin got too heavy for me, I dumped all the goodies into a bag that mom was carrying and we went back for more.  We made it almost the whole way around the neighborhood before my legs hurt and Belle had to go to the bathroom, so we picked three last houses and went home.  One of the houses gave us glow in the dark bracelets which were a huge hit.  I even slept with my bracelet, but was pretty concerned this morning that it wasn't still glowing...

We got back to Ken and Marie's and got out of our costumes.  I really wanted a treat, so mom let me  have a Peanut Butter pumpkin (much to dad's chagrin - he thought those were for him, ha ha).  She said I could have ONE more when we got home, so we had to pack up and get home so we could sort through my pumpkin and bag!  Dad showed me how to sort through my candy. 

Sheer happiness on my face :)


I don't know where to start!


Can I have this one, mom?


Sorting my candy by color (note the backwards PJ's which I put on by myself).


After sharing with mom and dad (they took everything with nuts, gum and anything else that could be a choking hazard), I got to pick one last treat before brushing my teeth.  Yummy!!!


I did a great job brushing the sugar bugs off of my teeth and mom and I read one book before bed.  I was a little upset when mom put me in bed (this happens every night).  I talked to myself for about a half hour - I was pretending to be Snoopy from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.  Mom could hear me on the monitor saying World War I Flying Ace!  RAT A TAT TAT! RAT A TAT TAT!  Mom and dad both got a good laugh out of that. 

Of course I wanted a treat as soon as I woke up this morning - mom told me I could have one after breakfast, but I found a granola bar in my pumpkin and mom said I could have that.  Then I wanted a bowl of cereal, so I had that too.  OK, maybe I'm eating good breakfasts lately, I just haven't been eating dinner AT ALL.  After I finished my cereal, I asked mom for some pretzels, so she gave me those too.  I don't usually eat all this junk food, but she was glad I was asking for pretzels and not chocolate :) 



Completely unrelated to Halloween, mom broke her toe on my bed last Monday!  She was putting me to bed and stubbed her toe on the foot of my bed so hard that she fell down.  She asked me to go get daddy and ask for a bag of ice, so I did.  Her foot swelled up and turned pretty purple.  She ended up getting it x-rayed on Wednesday - sure enough - fractured toe.  Since she just went to an urgent care place, they told her to go to her orthopedist (which we know well, unfortunately).  She went to the orthopedist today and yes it is broken, but looks like it should heal pretty well.  They gave her a boot to make walking (to and from the Metro) a little easier, but there's not much else they can do.  She should be able to wear normal shoes again in a few weeks, but definitely won't be able to run for at least another month or so.  She's really bummed because she was signed up for a cool race - the Hot Chocolate 15K the first week of December.  That's clearly not going to happen now, so she's trying to talk daddy into running it (it's already paid for, after all)!  Now she's just hoping she can stay in reasonable shape and not lose all fitness so she can train for the Disney Half in February.  Follow up with the ortho in a few weeks to make sure it's healing ok, so fingers crossed! 

Mom has a lot of catching up to do on her pictures, but when she finishes, I'll post some more updates from the past few months. 

Hope all is well!

Busy Weekend!

Wow - I think we all need another day to unwind from the past weekend!

On Saturday, mom got up early and went for a run at the Soccerplex before my soccer practice.  She didn't get out as early as she intended, so she didn't finish her run until my practice was almost over.  I did a great job at red lighting my ball.  I got to kick lots of goals and am really enjoying playing soccer with my new friends.

When we left soccer, mom took me to Rockville to the running store to pick up my race packet for my first race.  Dad went home and went for a bike ride.  He's training for a triathlon, so has started biking and swimming more.

For once, the packet pick up was for me!  That's right - I got to run a 0.25 mile kids fun run!  My very first race and I got my own number (59) and goody bag.  After packet pick up, mom took me out to lunch for a special treat (I *love* eating in restaurants).  We went to Noodles and Company, one of my favorites :)  After her 7 mile run, mom really enjoyed a big bowl of pasta!  We even got to stop at Starbucks (or as I say, Starbox) on our way back to the car - mom got a Pumpkin Spice Latte and I got my yummy strawberry drink.

We went home, took a shower and got ready to pick Joe and Ruthie up for the soccer game!  It was the last DC United home game - they weren't in playoff contention anymore, but we wanted to support the team.  It was a gorgeous day for a tailgate.  I got lots of yummy food (read cookies) and even got to ride my bike around the parking lot.  I even got to toss some bean bags and kept myself quite entertained even though I was the only kid in our group.

At one point, dad looked up and told mom that Chris Pontius was there - my FAVORITE player!  Mom looked around and said "which one."  Dad laughed and said "the one wearing the Pontius jersey...".  So we grabbed the camera and walked over to talk to him.  He was SO nice.  He kept offering to hold me so mom could get a picture, but I would NOT go to him.  Mom was finally able to get a few pictures of me giving Pontius a pound it and finally one with me, dad and Pontius.  I was a happy camper!!!





I was a champ during the game too.  I was pretty tired (I hadn't napped all day), so mom carried me in the Ergo in to the game.  I've outgrown all of my DC United gear, so mom walked me up to the team store.  It was insanely crowded and I actually fell asleep on mom's back while we waited in line.  I got a new sweatshirt and we found a cute onesie and hat for Baby Cole who was born yesterday!

Mom and I stopped and got some hot chocolate on our way back to our seats.  I think I'm the only kid alive who wouldn't even take a sip of the hot chocolate!  Not even one.  At some point, I had to go potty, so we went out to the concourse and stopped to get a pretzel for a snack.  We got back to our seats and I kept cheering and singing - I had so much fun!  I got to sit on mom's shoulders for a while and I really enjoyed being so tall! 

Unfortunately, DC United did not win, but I still had fun and was so well behaved.  We walked back tot he car and I was TIRED.  Of course the GW Parkway entrance was closed, so it took us extra long to get home.  I ended up falling asleep in the car and thankfully mom was able to just carry me to my room and I fell back asleep.  We didn't get a chance to change my clothes, though, so I still had my daytime underwear on.  I'm pleased to say that I woke up dry this morning (as I have for the past few months), but mom was a little worried last night not having the back up of my "nighttime" underwear (i.e. cloth training pants).  Hooray!

Mom woke up before me this morning, but when I woke up, we ate a good breakfast and got ready for my race!  My wave was supposed to start at 10:15 (there was also a mile and half mile race before mine).  Each wave had two heats - the first without parents, the second with.  Mom and dad knew that they were going to run with me and they let me pick who was going to run with me once we got there.  Daddy helped me pin my race bib on my sweatshirt and I told mommy I wanted her to run with me.  We watched the half milers run and then daddy went to find a good spot to take pictures and mom and I lined up and stretched a little.  A few more minutes and we were OFF!



Starting Line:
 

I might be in this group somewhere :)


I had a death grip on mom's hand! 


Doing well more than half way through:


Crossing the finish line!


Check out my post-race granola bar and ribbon!


We stopped for lunch on the way home and then got ready to go to the zoo!  We got tickets to Boo at the Zoo at the National Zoo - basically safe trick or treating on the zoo grounds. 

On our way, we stopped to see Marie, Ken, Belle and Baby Cole!  He was born yesterday morning and is very, very cute!  I was good and kept my germs away from him.  Arabelle was so nice and shared her ponies and dolls with me!  I'm so excited to have a new friend to play with (well, maybe when he gets a little bigger). 

We drove to the zoo and it was crazy trying to get in to the parking lot.  Thank goodness we bought a parking pass, so it wasn't too bad once we got in.  Daddy and I got our costumes on, we loaded up my stroller and hiked across the parking lot.  Once we were there, they gave me a goody bag and we started Trick or Treating.  The first place we stopped had juice boxes - how cool!  I got lots of other treats (including some for mom and dad).  I even got a banana - how fitting for a monkey???  My favorite, though, was a lollipop that lit up - it looked funny in my mouth!

Like our costumes???  These were daddy's idea and we got LOTS of comments - kids (and adults) kept saying "Hey look - it's the man with the yellow hat!"  Dad says next year it's mom's turn :)







Till later - hope everyone is well!  

Fun Party!

Mom will post photos as soon as she has time to edit them, but we had SO much fun at my party on Saturday!  The forecast was for rain, so mom and dad ended up moving things inside to set up.  Better safe than sorry!  Dad stayed up all night on Friday to smoke two pork shoulders and a beer can chicken in the smoker (for Uncle Jay who wasn't there, boo...).  Mom made cupcakes in ice cream cones and got some cute ice cream bowls for my friends and I to have ice cream in.

My friends and I got to run around and play for a while.  It was so much fun to get out all the toys and not have to clean it up right away!  A lot of my family was able to come:  Aunt Terry and Uncle Mike, Aunt Laurie, Grammy and Grampy Clements, Grandma and Grandpa Coble, Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Coble, and my Great-Great Aunt Faye!  I'm sorry I didn't get more time to spend with them, but there were so many friends here!  We all had some snacks and then mom let me blow out candles on my cupcake :)  I loved eating it and got chocolate frosting all over my face.  Mom even let me have some ice cream afterwards - with chocolate syrup and sprinkles!

After we had cake and ice cream, daddy got the pork out of the smoker (a little backwards to have cake and THEN dinner, don't you think?) The BBQ was YUMMY!  Then daddy played soccer outside with us for a while with my new goal!  Then mom and dad tried to get me to open some presents, but I had such little interest.  How strange is that?  A three year old who didn't want to open presents?  I finally opened the present from Arabelle - she got me *three* princess dolls!  Belle, Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty (she had told me earlier that she got me Sleeping Beauty, ha ha). After that, I wanted nothing to do with the whole table full of presents!  I started to get fussy, so I said goodnight and went up to bed.  I got to sleep in mommy and daddy's bed so Aunt Terry and Uncle Mike could have my bed!  I was so excited to sleep in their room :)  I got to watch an episode of Diego in mom and dad's room (a real treat for me!) and then I went to sleep.  Dad said when he came to bed later that night, I was asleep on his pillow and when he moved me over, I yelled at him and said "But daddy, now I don't have a spot!"  Then I rolled over and poked mommy and told her that daddy took my spot.  We managed to all fall asleep no problem, though.

I woke up around 7 on Sunday, so mom and I came downstairs.  It was mommy's birthday and I remembered and sang Happy Birthday to her (totally unprompted!!!)  That totally made her day :)  The house was surprisingly clean (THANK you Terry, Laurie and Grammy!)  I had breakfast and we played quietly until other people got up.  When a few other people got up, mom went to Panera to get us all some bagels.  Yum!  I played with the Belle doll, but still wouldn't open any other presents.  So strange!

Grammy and Grampy left a little before noon to head back to their bay house so they could be there when Uncle Jeff got there (he was visiting Beanie in Fredericksburg, so came to the bay overnight to visit).  Laurie left shortly thereafter and finally Terry and Michael followed.  We left at lunch / nap time so I could nap in the car.  Worked out well and mom and I *both* got to nap almost the whole way there!  Uncle Jeff was there when we got there - I haven't seen him in a long time, but I gave him a big hug :)  I got settled in and finally opened a few new presents!  I got a really, really cute leopard vest from Aunt Laurie, Uncle Dan, and my cousins Courtney and Kaylee.  But once I opened it, I didn't want to try it on.  Again, so strange!  After being bribed with some crackers, I opened my gift from Jeff, Lee Ann, Jennifer and Beanie - two awesome shirts, a matching pair of pants and the cutest hat EVER!  Mom managed to at least get some photos with the hat on :)  I also opened my present from Aunt Terry - an awesome I Spy Snoopy Halloween book - I was *really* good at it!  I've kept it in the car since we got back, so I have it to look at every time I get in the car. 

It was raining, so we couldn't really go outside, but I at least got to see the bay out of the window and got to see a few boats go by.  Grammy got a lot of toys out for me to play with and I had a blast - a kitchen with some play food and a Fisher Price town!  It was so much fun.  We had a yummy dinner - pasta and meatballs!  And then grammy had a cake for mommy's birthday!  We all sang to her and I helped her blow the candles out.  I played for a little bit, then mom put me to bed on my cot.  It took a long time for me to fall asleep and I woke up crying a few times.  Mom ended up moving me to the bed until she came to bed, then moved me back to the cot.  I woke up pretty early again the next morning and of course woke everyone up much earlier than they wanted to be up :(  I had some oatmeal for breakfast and we played for a bit.

It had stopped raining, so I got to go out and play on the deck for a while.  I even got to go for a walk with Grammy, Grampy and Aunt Terry.  After lunch, we packed up the car and headed home.  Daddy had asked about his old wooden sleds, so we found those in the garage and packed them in the car!  Daddy was really happy to have them and I think Grammy was happy to be rid of them.  Dad says he'll fix them up so I can ride on them this winter!

Mom and I napped the whole way home again.  Mom and dad had some work to do when we got home, then mom went to do her long run for the week.  Dad had gone out earlier that day at Grammy's house - he's a champ and did 10 miles!  Mom only made it 8.75, which is her longest run since last October!  It'll have to do - the Army 10 Miler is next weekend, so hopefully they'll be ok with it!

Tuesday morning, mom took me for my 3 year well check up.  My development is "perfect" as my doctor says.  Mom and dad filled out my pre-visit developmental questionnaire - they're getting a lot more difficult to answer because some of the questions are SO specific, so we worked on that a little on Monday night.  Mom laughed at one of the questions - it asked if I spoke in 3-4 word sentences and asked for an example.  Ha!  Mom couldn't even come up with a good example since a lot of my sentences are well over 10 words and my language is pretty clear.  Mom's only concern was my sleep and the fact that it takes an hour to two EVERY night to fall asleep and then I wake up at least once EVERY night, but am usually not quite awake, yet very distressed.  The doctor told mom to cut my nap out and that should improve the nighttime sleep.  She said it sounded like I was having night terrors from not getting enough "good" sleep.  Fingers crossed!  My teachers kept me up today by putting my cot near the computer.  Mom's going to send a fun new book for me to look at tomorrow.  Bedtime tonight was still pretty rough, but it only took me a half hour to settle down.  I already woke up twice, but daddy got me to calm down the first time and I settled myself the second time.

I'm 30.8 lbs and 37 inches tall - 25-50% for weight, 50-75% for height.  Mom was super happy with my weight - I can stay rear facing in my carseat until 35 lbs, so that will probably get me close to the expiration of my carseat next December :) The doctor reminded her to keep me in a 5 point harness which clearly isn't a problem with a rear facing seat.  Mom and I both got our flu shots on our way out (well, I got the mist, but mom had to get the shot because she has a history of asthma).  When we got to school, the first thing I told my teacher was "I got the flu mist in my nose!"  Ha ha.  Hope it keeps us healthy this winter!

Pictures to follow when mom finds the time to get through them all!

Hugs to all!