When you get really behind, you start grouping big events together. Hence, we are going to cram our Halloween costumes and Edyn's 11 month celebration into one blog! Let's start with baby girl- 11 months?!?! WHEN did this happen? In just a few weeks, our baby will celebrate her first birthday. I am so thankful for all of the joy and happiness she brings our family every single day. I could never feel unwanted or unloved because this sweet girl will not let me out of her sight! I love her snuggles and cuddles, and am thankful I have two big cuddlers now. She is starting to act more and more like big sister each day, we have two strong willed sisters!
Edyn Rose absolutely adores her big sister and puppy brother, Bo. She wakes up asking for Bo every morning and will cry her little heart out if he tries to hide under the blankets from her sweet loving- I can't imagine why. Besides "Bo", she can say "thank you" and the usual "mama" and "dada". She is SO sweet. She has the sweetest little cackling laugh! In the nursery at church, she lives in an umbrella stroller being pushed around until she falls asleep- I guess we can blame all of mommy's runs on that! She thinks Mickey and Elmo are great, but nothing can compete with her adoration of her big sis. She loves baby dolls and brushing her teeth. Her happiest time of day is in the bath tub! She wants to grow big like sis way too soon, but mommy wants time to slow down a bit!
Halloween was this past weekend, I really can't stand avid Halloween decorators. We have had to avoid a certain route to the doughnut shop-stop that judging, we are marathon training here- this past month because a car wash down from our house that has a giant, waving monkey out front (who Em is convinced is her BFF) had a scary mask on that made Em cry! On our running route, I had to distract my girls so they didn't notice the GUILLOTINE in the front yard- seriously, people! However, we do love candy and it is such a fun age to dress up! I couldn't bring myself to a store bought costume, because in my fantasy world I am really crafty :) Like every other time, though, Wei came to the rescue with precious little costumes that jumped right out of my mind and into her sewing room. Our girls were Curious George and The Man in the Yellow Hat (I guess that is his proper name?!) They were super cuties, although once we began trick or treating, the yellow hat girl wouldn't wear the yellow hat. They are so much fun! So glad that holiday is over, bring on Christmas (yes, our tree went up Nov 1!)
I am always hesitant to post anything related to this marathon training, afraid to "jinx" the ease of the training thus far. However, it's gone well and no matter what happens from here on out, I'm confident we will make it to the start line on December 13!
I always get a lot of questions about how I train, what plan I follow, etc- some of you guys think I know what I am doing, I really have no idea :) I simply run, and try to make each run productive. I don't do "junk" miles, what mom with 2 little ones has time for "junk" miles?! Not I. I don't follow a plan created by a marathon master, my husband creates a little excel sheet with a rough training plan and I loosely follow that. My runs are dictated by my two little bosses- when they are happy, tired, well, and more all plays into when/if our runs happen.
Despite all of the uncertainties of training, it has actually gone really well. Now, I am NOWHERE near the speed I used to be, a PR is certainly out of the question this time around. Speed work will go into the equation if we have a "next time". I have managed to avoid injuries, and am recovering remarkably well. I ran 18 miles last Saturday, and was able to pick up on Monday with a 9 miler pushing the girls in the jogger. I don't feel like I am over-training, so maybe I have found my mileage sweet spot.
I would not post this if it really was not what I feel is my secret to recovery and injury prevention- ESSENTIAL OILS. I am not kidding, once again they are amazing. I take an epsom salt bath with oils post long runs, use a massage oil after every run and keep my Achilles lathered up to prevent injury there- it got tender when I started increasing mileage, however the pain has almost completely disappeared. Seriously amazing. Here's a little glimpse into my favorites. If you need these (if you are active at all, I promise you do) let me know :)
I was hesitant to train with my girls being so little, but I am glad I accepted the challenge. I love the conversations and sing-a-longs we have on our runs and hope they accept physical activity as a norm in their own lives. I don't feel like I spend unnecessary time away from them logging miles, they get special time with Lance on the weekend while I get a long run and quiet time, which is therapy for a mama! I am anxious to get over the 20 miler hump and see what this marathon has in store!
The past week at our home has been blissful (minus the baby coming down with a NASTY cold- hallelujah for the oils!). Wei and Peeps have been visiting and it has gone by extremely too fast. We are so thankful we got to visit with both of them and Peeps now has a much healthier back and is back in full fun mode :)
The girls adore Wei and Peeps, and speaking on the grandparent's behalf I am pretty sure the feeling is mutual. Our big girl has been asking Peeps for a bike for a while now and Peeps was not going to disappoint. After big girl mailed her pacis off to the "little babies" and filled up a sticker chart for being a good girl for a week, a bike was the first thing on the agenda for the visit.
Oh my goodness, my big girl grew up so much climbing on this big kid bike. She rides it like she stole it, she is so strong! She has slept and eaten dinner while wearing her bike helmet, I would say she loves it. We have had some rain, mud, and cool weather so we have turned our garage into an indoor bike riding facility :) I would guess there's a few miles on the bike already!
Baby sister has had a blast this week, too. Although we are finishing it up with a pitiful sick baby, I am so thankful for the extra hands to help out. She is coming out of this visit with a whole crew of new baby dolls :)
Baby sister recently hit her 10 month milestone, and is such a big girl! She gets a little sweeter with each day that passes. She loves to play with her big sister more than anything, I love the little bond they share :) She is taking more consecutive steps before falling every day, she's going to be running in no time! Big sister taught her to say "thank you" and she is a pro at doing "touchdown!" with her arms (we like football just a little in our home ;) ) We are getting better with night time sleep, but naps are getting shorter. This girl loves baby dolls so much, and will pick them to play over anything else. Every day is such a joy watching our sweet baby grow up into such a big girl. I am so thankful to be this girl's mama!
Today has been hard. Really hard. No naps, a baby who is cutting a lot of teeth at once, and the sibling wars have begun. In the midst of all the madness, I had both of the girls in the bathtub letting them play to their heart's content and my heart was just filled with sweet memories of today. Nothing less than grace, our day has been full of it. Actually, every day is, but some days, the hardest ones, seem to have the greatest abundance. It does usually take a still moment, and some of these days, I don't realize our treasures until I am lying in bed rewinding all of my failed mom moments. But today, today was different and just what I needed.
I failed all day. Miserably failed. My big girl has been needing more mommy time, and my baby has just really been sad. The girls have been fighting over Every. Little. Thing. It's a growing and trying time for all of us. Even during the tears and tantrums, I am reminded of what little blessings my girls are.
Today, our little dose of grace came at our attempted nap time (we completely failed at nap). We were all piled up in my bed when Emersyn rolled over and folded her hands and said "Thank you Jesus for EE, mama, daddy, Wei, Peeps, and Lllll (that's Uncle Luke for those who don't understand "Emersyn") I love you, Jesus. Amen."
Somewhere along the way, we must have done something right.
My BABY turned 9 months old on Sunday, WHERE has the time gone? We had our well check-up yesterday, sweet baby weighed in at 20 lbs 12 oz and is 28 1/2 inches long. She is clearly not missing a meal! She was a little rockstar for me at the doctor's office, and I am in shock that at our next well check-up, I will be visiting with my 1 and 3 year old. Unreal. Completely unreal.
Our little Edyn is such a sweetheart. She absolutely adores her big sister and wants every single thing that Emersyn has. She wants her toys, her food, and she wants to run around with her. Edyn is crawling, standing, and taking little steps when she is holding on to something. She said "baby" a few nights ago while reaching for a baby doll, which happens to be her favorite toy. Unlike her sister who prefers cars and trains, Edyn always chooses babies and dolls :) She is so, incredibly sweet and mama is her favorite person, which I am treasuring while it lasts because I know it won't be forever!
Emersyn finally quit calling her sister "eck" and now refers to her as "E-E", and the whole family has adopted this nickname for her :) She has 3 teeth (two on bottom and one on top) and is a fantastic eater. She loves all fruit and will eat anything you put in front of her, and she can drink water from her straw cup. Big sister teaches her all kinds of fun things and they share such a special little friendship.
Although it is happening a little fast, I love every second of seeing this sweet baby grow up!
Amidst all of our daily physical and mental running around, this has been on my heart and mind steadily for the past couple of weeks. Babies definitely don't keep, they grown like little weeds! I have been in a joyful heartbroken state over how fast my little ones are growing up lately. I am joyful and thankful that they are healthy and growing like they should (maybe even a little too much!), but so sad that this sweet, precious time is just fleeting!
Our big girl is completely potty trained- we had about 2 days of training and that was it, she's a little rock star. Granted, she will be 3 in a few months, but I think she just had to be ready. When that time came, it was easy peasy. She has grown up so much since potty training, in so many other areas. It seems as that was our breakthrough into big girl-dom. Our baby girl, who isn't too much of a baby anymore, is crawling, pulling up, taking steps, you name it- she's into it! And, boy, has her personality blossomed- she is a go-getter!
It's as though one day they were babies, the next they were little ladies. Such sweet blessings in so many ways. I know just as quickly as these growing up days have passed, the ones in the future will fly by even faster. I'll take the madness, the fits, and the tears because I am learning tomorrow will bring more challenges with babies who are even further from their baby days :) With each day that passes, I am more and more in awe that God chose me to love and nurture these sweet girls! I sure did nothing to deserve being a mom at all, especially not to these two!
By the way- if you've been waiting for more of the "Blog Hop Wednesday" posts, let's just be real one moment. I totally skipped week #2, I couldn't get past the post to think of any more to write, then I quit getting the topics- maybe they kicked me out?! Who knows, but I am horrible with keeping up with moms who are disciplined enough to think it, blog it, and write something decent enough to present it to the world in a decent time frame. I am convinced everyone else doing this study has grown kids....FAILURE! But, I am loving the devotion :)
