Happy 85-month birthday, Joshua!

Joshua turned 85-months old on Friday, October 18, the same day his pictures were taken at school.

I can't remember the exact date, so I'll post it on the blog under October. Joshua received his first love letter this fall. I almost would call it a love book for how long it was. One of the little girls in his class gave him a stapled book of pages that had hearts all over it. In it, she asked if she could play with other girls but said she was "over Abe" and also asked Joshua to "never break up with her." WHAT?!?! He's 7!!! I asked what "breaking up" meant to him, and he shrugged and said he didn't know.

But, he wanted to write her back. I asked him NOT to draw hearts on his note back as to not give the wrong impression to her parents (did her parents know she had made this for him? And what do parenting books say on love notes? I have no idea. The Bible isn't real specific on love notes for little ones either...). He said that she wasn't allowed to play with anyone else and that they would break up if someone else came along. It sounded mean, but he also had no idea what breaking up really meant. So, I talked with Shawn and we talked to him together. We snuggled in bed in our PJs and talked about how we want to be friends with everyone at this age. His little friend is free to play with whoever she wants and so is he. It's nice to have friends and be a good friend to everyone. It's okay to have special friends but we're kind to all. He agreed, and he wrote her a nicer note back.

Here is where I have to chuckle because I showed Shawn the love note (maybe I should have taken pictures of it?) and she had drawn a picture of what I'm assuming was the pickle ball 'station' that's on the playground near the slides. While she's an okay artist for this age, and I knew what it was, Shawn thought it looked like the male genitalia. He was HORRIFIED until I explained and then we both howled. I guess you had to be there....

Not two weeks later, Joshua got ANOTHER love note in his back pack. This was from a different little girl. It said "I love Justin Beaver" (note the misspelling - I thought that was SO stinkin' cute) and it went on to say "and I love Brayden and Joshua." I know the little boy Brayden in his classroom, and I thought it was funny to list multiple loves and then give the note to a person. But, it is first grade.

Oh my! Two love notes in a month. I don't think I'm ready for the teenage years yet!!! I want to stay calm and just be aware. I'm glad he shares things with us and I'm hoping this is an opportunity to keep communication open. Because while it doesn't necessarily matter now at this age, it will be important to have a solid relationship to talk when he's older.

I love my handsome little man! Happy 85-months, Joshua!

Happy 63-Month Birthday, Caleb Luke!

Caleb Luke turned 63-months old on Tuesday, October 8. Caleb is one of the most creative kids I've ever met. Do you see the Mario he created in the picture above? He created each pant leg and shoe out of one sheet of white paper, then the body and arms, then the head and finally the hat. He drew it, colored them in, and then he cut them out. Then we worked together to take Mario to life - a much bigger version than if he would have just drawn him on a single 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. This wasn't my idea at all. In fact, I was grading papers when he brainstormed and created his new paper doll friend.

Caleb enjoys playing with legos, too, and thinks about how structures are made. He'll count the "dots" on the legos to make sure he has the exact right one for the task. And something I love about him is that he doesn't get easily frustrated. Where Joshua will lose his cool and become impatient if he doesn't get it right the first time, Caleb will sit and analyze to figure out what needs to be improved and then fix it. He is SO smart! And easygoing! Have I mentioned recently how much my middle child is almost exactly a replica of his Daddy?

Caleb looked at the clock and it said 6:56. He said, "In 64 minutes, it will be bed time!" It's little things like this that I think "How is he only in preschool and comprehending time and quickly subtracting and adding like it's nothing?"

Caleb enjoys the "Froggy" books that we read. In the Halloween edition that we borrowed, Frogilina tried to kiss Froggy to turn him into her prince. I asked both boys what they would do if a girl tried to kiss them. Joshua quickly answered "Bleh! I'd punch them away!" Caleb quietly thought about it and said "I'd LOVE them!" Haaaaa!!! Like I said, he's the spitting image of his Daddy.

Caleb is the first one to mention that I look pretty in the morning or that he likes something I'm wearing. He also noticed when the library helper at his school (one of the moms from my Moms in Prayer group) straightened her hair. He said to me "She's still the same person, but her hair went from curly to straight. It's also darker." I hadn't even noticed the darker, but she confirmed his suspicion. He is VERY observant.

Caleb isn't as likely to sit with me and be still and play puzzle books. He has to be in the mood, but he still enjoys crafts and new challenges and at times when we'll still sit together and work on things - in his timing.

There's more I could write, but I should run. Happy 63-month birthday, Caleb Luke! :)

Happy 28-month birthday, Ryan!

Ryan turned 28 months old on Monday, October 7 - the same day we carved our pumpkins as a family. One thing about being the youngest child is that you do things "faster" (or participate in more) because your older siblings are able to do them. So, you tag along for the ride and are expected to keep up as best you can. I think in a lot of ways it's a privilege (even if it's an inconvenience when you're a baby and are being toted around in a car carrier rather than snuggling your Mama because you have to get your siblings to school!).

One thing I think about for the youngest is that they are the completion of the family. If a family was compared to a fireworks display, the youngest child is the grand finale! Ryan definitely adds so much spice and fun to our family!!! The boys help him and constantly giggle at the cute things he says and does. And because he gets attention from all four of us, Ryan is a complete ham!

These pictures were taken sometime in September when the weather was nice. Ryan constantly asks to play in the garage (just like his older brothers!). His favorite thing to play is "basket-a-ball." He also will ride his scooter he got for his birthday. When he tries to ride his bike, which he hasn't really gotten the hang of yet, I insist on wearing a helmet. Most days he's not too fond of having it on, but on this particular day, he was okay with wearing the Mickey Mouse helmet.

Ryan also highly enjoys going for walks around the neighborhood. He loves to play "I spy with my LITTLE eye..." and name something. No matter what you guess, he says "That's right! I guessed it!" The boys think this is hysterical. Ryan always wins, even if he's not the one 'playing.' We laugh and laugh. Then we'll say "I spy with my LEFT eye" or "I spy with BOTH eyes" or whatever comes to mind. I was wondering if Ryan really understood colors, but by the end of the month, I was sure he knew them. And not just the 'typical' ones - he knows all of them, including white, purple, silver, etc. I always worry about my kids and they always do fine. I guess I should relax!

I took Ryan shopping for shoes and he's wearing an 8.5 sneaker now and has "the widest little feet" the woman had seen in a long time. Yep! That's my kids! She said a typical sneaker won't do but gave me a few models of the Tsikiohoshi (which run extremely wide to begin with) that would work. He always prefers certain shoes but he loves both pairs I bought that day.

Ryan is still wearing 2T pants but is in 3T shirts and I think we'll soon make the transition to all 3T. He is becoming quite the picky eater (watching his older brother Caleb) but loves meat, unlike Caleb. He REALLY loves meat, which neither of my other boys did at this age. He also enjoys cooked carrots and some other things my older kiddos wouldn't touch. Well, there's more I could write, but I'll save it for another time. Happy 28-months, my big little man! :)

Fall Soccer :) GOAAALLLL!!!

This was a picture of Caleb's soccer team this year. Soccer went from September-November. The boys had practices Monday nights and games on Sundays. On October 20, the same day as my race, Caleb scored his first goal at a game. In fact, he scored twice that day! SO exciting!!!

Unfortunately, Joshua didn't score during a game this year. He had what I would call a "ball hog" on his team who didn't pass and scored all the goals. He was really good, but the coach didn't encourage them to work on things like passing, etc. I know his coach from last year (whose son was on Joshua's team again this year) was also a little disappointed. BUT, Joshua still had fun. I'm not sure soccer is his thing, but he enjoyed the experience.

Sports kept us really busy this fall, and they'll be swimming in the winter and playing baseball in the spring. I guess I'll have to get used to it!!!

The Hershey Half Marathon

Back in May, I posted about my first 5k race and how I had joined a running group - some moms in Lancaster County who enjoy running for a variety of reasons. There are over 600 members in this Facebook group and I only know maybe a dozen or two, but we all live in the county and sometimes folks will post that they are looking for a running buddy or need some suggestions for socks that don't blister or any other topic related to running. It's been very inspirational as there are several ladies in the group (one of which I knew from MOPS before) who qualified to run the Boston Marathon this coming April - wow!

Well, the group has been inspirational and a little addicting. I ran a few times with two friends (Roseanne and Laura) as they were training for the Hands On House half marathon. I ran 11 miles with them the first time and did the entire 13.1 thereafter, which ended up being 13.6 when we got lost. But, I had no intention of running a race. I sort of just wanted to see IF I could even run that far. I even took my phone and had Shawn on alert in case I needed to call him. Then less than two weeks before the Hershey Half Marathon (which our friend Chris has run the past couple years), another mom that I met through this group told me that she had a friend who signed up to go and could no longer make it. She was hoping to get some money for her bib and was selling it for half price!!! I quickly asked Shawn his permission and he reluctantly agreed. I was amazed that I was able to get into this sold out race. I had run eight miles at 5:30 AM with a different mama friend that Wednesday morning (before helping with Caleb's "Community Helper" day at preschool) and found out that afternoon that I could run in the Hershey Half. I was ecstatic - and nervous!

I asked our friend Chris if he would be doing a long run that coming weekend and if he'd like company. It was the first time he'd ever run with company, but he let me set the pace, which was nice. Shawn feared I might die running with him because he's faster than me. But, we kept to between a 9-9:30 min/mile pace, which was comfortable for us to talk with. We ran the 13.1 in just over 2:05, which was only a minute slower than he had done it the previous week, so I wasn't cramping his style too much (hopefully!). I did some running in addition to my regular workouts that next week, but that was the only real "training" I had. Another mom I met at Caleb's preschool (who had a daughter in his class the first year he went) is part of the group and said she was riding up with a friend to Hershey and I could come with her. That was SO nice! Four of us rode together - Lisa drove and we met at Heather's house and Roseanne and I tagged along, too. Roseanne was so sweet and let me borrow her Garmin watch because she was going to stick with Heather (who had borrowed Laura's).

That morning was COLD for it being October. It was 40 degrees (which now feels warm but felt ungodly chilly that day). Oddly enough, I wasn't all that nervous that morning. I had asked people to pray for me and I didn't have to worry about parking or where to go, so I was feeling quite peaceful. Also, I had driven up the day before to get my bib and Shawn helped me get all set up. So I actually enjoyed a chatty morning with friends that day. We took a few group pictures (and there were even more taken because I see a couple girls missing who I knew jumped in a few at the end, but I obviously don't have copies of them). Below, in the pink jacket on the left is my friend Roseanne; my friend Jen who got me the bib is in the orange skirt between Roseanne and me; Heather is next to me in the pink running capris; and Lisa who we road with is on the end in the pink jacket. I recognize some of the other gals, but I don't really "know" them.The first couple pictures were a bigger group photo of some of the moms from the facebook group who were running this race.

We lined up and hit the porta-potties one last time before getting into a spot where we thought we should be pace-wise. I started with my friend Jen, even though she's a faster runner than me. My goal was to be at a steady 9 min/mile pace and I figured she'd work her way up to an 8 min/mile eventually. But, they had 8's and 9's sort of together, with 6's and 7's out in front of that and then all the slower paces by minute behind. It takes awhile with that many people to pass the chip timer, so our time was almost a full minute less than what the ending clock read.

I started off feeling really good. I was keeping to just below that 9 min/mile pace - just over 8:30. I felt like I could go faster, but I know all the books say to keep to a normal pace at the beginning or you'll burn out fast and not be able to make it to the end. I saw a guy who was JUGGLING! next to me. I was trying to stay focused on breathing and movement and he juggled literally the entire 13.1 miles going that pace. WOW! This race was to benefit the Children's Miracle network, so there were people in costumes and carrying flags and doing things to encourage the kids who were spectators from the Milton Hershey School.

Around mile three, I saw my man. I was listening to the song "Applause" and lo and behold, he had gotten a perfect spot to see me. He waved and I waved back, SO excited to actually see him cheering me on. I knew my mom was watching the boys, but I wondered if Shawn would make it on time to get in to see me or if we'd even be able to see each other with the thousands of runners and even more spectators. But, we did! I was beyond thrilled!!! He snapped this picture of me as I went by. He was standing there FREEZING in the cold (only wearing a hooded sweatshirt and NOT running) and he was there because he loved me and wanted to show his support. I was beyond blessed!!!

I continued to feel really good. When I hit the half way point, I was at 52 minutes - far better than my goal of finishing in under two hours. But, around mile 7-8, I started to feel crampy. I felt like I needed to use the potty, but I knew I was NOT going to stop. I was also starting to feel the fatigue from lack of training. But, I knew that wouldn't stop me either. We hit the first big uphill climb and I took the opportunity to sip some water. I passed up the opportunity to hit all the tables where people were handing out water and gatorade for a couple reasons. The first was that I hadn't trained to run while drinking - and it is a learning curve. I had my bottles which were easier to wrap my mouth around than a cup that I was afraid I'd dump all over me. Second, I didn't want gatorade because I'd never run with it before and I'd heard horror stories of it upsetting people's bellies. No reason to take a chance! I had eaten a banana and a small snickers bar before leaving and I figured my body fat could carry me through. But, I also knew that my friend Heather had passed out during her first from low blood sugar (or something like that). So, I wanted to be careful, too. I took a minute to stop and try to open a gu gel that I had purchased. But, I didn't count on my hands being so sweaty and I could NOT get it open. I tried not to panic. I tried and tried - even stopping and trying with my teeth. It wouldn't open. I just tossed it into the trash and kept going. I was annoyed that it took time off my run and I didn't even get the benefit of the energy from it!

There were cameras everywhere, and if the pictures wouldn't have been so expensive, I probably would have bought one. I told myself this was the only half I was ever going to run. I was hoping to do it in under two hours, but truly, I was just proud of the fact that I could run that far without dying. Not every person who weighed as much as I once did could accomplish this goal. I felt honored and blessed to be there!

This is one of the uphill climbs, and the pictures were terrible. I look like death warmed over. But, I was still going!

I kept telling myself to pass just one more person. At the end, I was struggling to even stay with the person next to me. I saw an ambulance around mile 10 and thought "I could just wave and they would take me back to my husband." But, I didn't. I saw Shawn again at mile 11.5ish. I thought about just running to him and telling him to take me home; my legs were done! But I knew I'd kick myself for quitting when I only had that far to go.

I remember following these girls in purple who were dressed alike. :) I told myself to stick near them and keep up. At the end, all I could think about was seeing Shawn at the finish line. "In 20 minutes, if you just keep going, you'll see your man. You can do this!" "It should only be 15 minutes if you press on until Shawn is able to help you to your car! Keep going!"

I was glad I had taken my ear buds. It's another area where I could have shaved off some time because I went to adjust the volume at one point and one of them fell out. Then it tried to call someone (since my music is on my phone) so I had to take the time to readjust them, turn the phone part off, etc. as I was sort of half slowly running. But, I NEEDED my music at the end. I am so thankful for my phone and for my wireless ear buds! They are great running company!

I had downloaded an entire new playlist just for this event. Here I was (behind the person in yellow) coming to the finish line. Unfortunately the chip in my bib didn't work (even though it had scanned correctly the night before). So it took me a couple days to find out my actual time.

Based on their rough estimate of when I started and the clock behind me as I finished, I completed my first half in 2:04:41, which is a 9:31 min/mile pace. It wasn't my goal, but it was GREAT for my first!!! Especially without any real training and the couple of rough hills!

My girlfriends finished at about 2:07ish. I was so impressed with Heather for trying another half after she passed out at her first one and never finished. And I was also impressed with Roseanne who was suffering from a severe cold that day and training for a full marathon in just a few weeks after this one. They did great!

I laughed at my medal photo because of the woman behind me. That's how I felt, even though I'm smiling! I was just glad to be done!!!

I called Shawn and he was right there. He had seen me finish - even catching me at miles 3 and just before 12! I got my medal, my goodie bag and my wrap to start getting my body temp back to where it should be and met him where spectators and finishers could meet. He had seen our friend Chris, too, who finished well under two hours (no surprise there!) and we didn't see my brother-in-law who finished a little more than 15 minutes after I did because he was struggling with his IT band/knee.

Someone asked if I would take a picture of her and her husband (or boyfriend?) and I said sure, and then I asked her to get a picture of Shawn and me. I LOVE this picture of us. I'm sweaty and nasty (Shawn even said "Wow! You smell really bad!" Haaaa!!!) But, it shows how much he loves and supports me. And I had accomplished a goal!

My legs were really sore the next week or two. I mean really, really sore. I tried to go to Attack, but my one calf muscle was really tight. Shawn bought me a deep tissue massage from Universal, and it really helped. My mom also lent me her foam roller, which also is AMAZING!!! While I threw on some compression socks after the race, I didn't take the time to stretch and I didn't have time to ice. We walked the mile (it felt like even more!) to where Shawn had parked the car and we picked up our boys from my mom's house. We ate a fast food breakfast on the way home (which I felt like I was going to vomit but kept down). I tried to rest with my legs up that afternoon, but it wasn't enough. There are some things I would do differently. But, it was a good day overall. I realize now that I shouldn't have pushed my body so hard to start working out immediately afterward but given it time. I lost three toenails in my long runs, too, which grosses Shawn out. But, they're starting to grow back. There are some things I need to adjust in general. But, live and learn! ;-)

School Pictures :)

Joshua's school pictures were taken on Friday, October 18. Thankfully, this was BEFORE he protested to ever wearing a button-down shirt or sweater to school. "Mom," he says "no one else wears 'church clothes' to school." UGH! How can he be so opinionated on what he wears already? I asked him if he'd ever been made fun of for wearing "church clothes" and he said no, but he'd rather wear jeans and sweatshirts. Sigh. I told him he could start a trend of looking nicer. I told him we have all these nice clothes. He'll [begrudgingly] give in some days, but most days it's t-shirts or sweatshirts and jeans or warm-up pants.

 

All that said, I think his school picture turned out nice.

Caleb's school pictures were taken somewhere around that time. This was the exact button-down shirt and sweater that Joshua had his 6-year pictures taken in. I LOVE it! Since they are both into soccer, this was one of my favorite outfits. But, now that big brother is protesting sweaters, I struggle to get one on Caleb, too. He's not as hard to convince, but he'd rather be in "comfortable" things, too. However, he loves turtlenecks. Only he calls them "Long Necks" (like dinosaurs) - isn't that the sweetest thing? It makes Shawn and I chuckle every time we hear him say it. ;-)

Waiting for Big Brother

Each day we go out and wait for big brother to come home. Each day, we are bored waiting (even though Mommy chats with our neighbors on the corner). So, we decided to make our own fun. We laid down next to the sidewalk and soaked up the sunshine.

Then we climbed on top of one another. We also chase each other in circles and giggle. We've met other neighborhood friends who are also waiting for their older brothers and sisters to come home. :)
 We are so happy to see Joshua when he comes out of the building that we both smile wide and wave at him! :) :) :) [These pictures were taken on Monday, September 29.]

Little Ninjas

Once school was back in session, I took Caleb to Little Ninjas one afternoon at Universal. The helper wasn't too keen on me sitting and watching, but I promised not to say anything and leave if I was a disturbance to Caleb at all. I had always watched in the other dojang, and she agreed that it was fine. I had already gone to the early morning pump class and ran, so I didn't need to exercise and just wanted to enjoy some time with my middle son while Ryan played in the kids' club.

Miss Jody set up stations for the kids. The first one had a manican named "Bob." The kids were allowed to hit Bob and take out some aggression on him with this pole. It seriously looked like SO much fun! I wish they had something like that for adults!

They hit him three times, then went to the next station where they army crawled under something and then rolled onto a mat (where Caleb rolled awkwardly and hurt his neck and hasn't had the burning desire to go back since...bummer, but I think we'll get him there eventually).

Then at the next station, they had to duck under Miss Jody's wand and squat down doing their punches. It was cute to watch.

The kids all love Miss Jody and have a great time in Little Ninjas!

Columbus Day - Hayloft Candles

 

On Columbus Day (Monday, October 14), we went to Hayloft Candles as a family. Joshua had off from school that day, but Shawn had to work, of course. Since it was absolutely lovely outside, I suggested we meet at lunch time and feed the animals some of the food we had left over from the petting zoo from Joshua's birthday. We also purchased food there for the ducks since the boys LOVE to feed them!

My boys also love the "swings" there. We enjoy that the goats come up and want to be fed!

As I was looking through my pictures, I realized I had missed posting about going the very end of September when we watched my nephew John for my sister. So, in a few of these pictures where the boys are in shorts, it's from an earlier visit.

They were feeding the deer and the sheep in this photo.

Caleb LOVES animals! He isn't scared to feed them and enjoys the interaction.

John gave the animal his baggy instead of the food - we had to rescue it!

As Caleb was sitting on the bench, Ryan was talking to the donkeys.

"Hello, donkey!" he would say. We laughed and laughed as he tried to carry on a conversation with them.

Back to Columbus Day. This time Joshua was able to come along with us!

He also enjoys feeding the animals there. I love that it's so close to Shawn's work!

The ducks and swans are always the thing the boys seem to enjoy most, though.

I tried to get a picture of Daddy and the boys, but Joshua refused to look because he was too busy feeding the ducks. When a woman saw my attempt, she offered to take a picture of our whole family (the first picture). It always feels a little strange to hand someone my phone. I don't naturally distrust people, but I did have a good friend give his phone to someone who asked to make a call and the guy took off with it. So, I do hesitate...but I thought it was a nice offer and I appreciate getting family pictures. It was the only one with me in it from the day! ;-)