Megan and I went to her school's "Boo Bash" on Friday night. She was a little shy at first (of course) but once she warmed up all she wanted to do was dance. They had a DJ and a light show and she jammed out on the dance floor for at least an hour and a half. I danced with her for about the first 40 minutes or so and at one point she said to me, "Mom, this is just like Dancing with the Stars!". I went to get some water and she stayed on the floor until the last song (which was close to 9:30pm).
You'll also notice from the photo that she decided to be the same witch that she was last year. Fortunately, the costume still fits. More Halloween to come on Wednesday........
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Jake's Updates
Jake learned how to frown a couple of weeks ago - now instead of his big happy smile, he greets people with a frown first.
Jake's communication is getting pretty good. He uses sign language for "milk" and "more". And we understand him when he says ball or car, and his favorite lately -- pump pump (pumpkin). He's also really good at saying "cooka" and requests cookies without even seeing any. Megan used to call them cookas too. He actually began calling me mama in the past month or so. Before that, everytime we'd say "mama" to him, he'd say "dada" back. Megan would laugh and laugh and then it became a game to him and he used that every time to get a reaction out of us.
On Sunday, Megan, Jake and I went for a walk in our neighborhood. Megan was pushing her baby in the stroller and Jake was pushing his teddy bear in the shopping cart. He almost made it around the entire block before he requested to be picked up. He was also wearing his baseball cap - which he took a liking to that day. It was kind of windy out, so he kept checking his hat to make sure it wasn't coming off. It was pretty funny. I have some video of that and if I ever learn how to post video footage, I'll put it up here. Don't hold your breath.
Jake's communication is getting pretty good. He uses sign language for "milk" and "more". And we understand him when he says ball or car, and his favorite lately -- pump pump (pumpkin). He's also really good at saying "cooka" and requests cookies without even seeing any. Megan used to call them cookas too. He actually began calling me mama in the past month or so. Before that, everytime we'd say "mama" to him, he'd say "dada" back. Megan would laugh and laugh and then it became a game to him and he used that every time to get a reaction out of us.
On Sunday, Megan, Jake and I went for a walk in our neighborhood. Megan was pushing her baby in the stroller and Jake was pushing his teddy bear in the shopping cart. He almost made it around the entire block before he requested to be picked up. He was also wearing his baseball cap - which he took a liking to that day. It was kind of windy out, so he kept checking his hat to make sure it wasn't coming off. It was pretty funny. I have some video of that and if I ever learn how to post video footage, I'll put it up here. Don't hold your breath.
Megan's Updates
I haven't updated any kid stories lately.....we've been kind of busy! So here are a few of Megan's updates:
She likes talking on her phone - the other day she was walking around with it and talking to "someone" when I heard her say, "Wait, you're breaking up a little bit". I thought that was so funny - she picks up everything.....even when I don't think she hears me. Like last night she dropped a toy and said "Damn it". Yikes. I better watch my mouth.
Then, on Saturday, I was in the kitchen with Jake and Jimmy and she was in the family room. When I looked over she was swinging her arms (like a golfer). I said, "what are you doing" And she said, "I'm practicing my golf swing". She and Darin went to go hit some balls when he got home from work, but the clubs are still a bit too heavy for her, so they didn't last too long. Maybe we'll have to get her set up with a set that fits her. You know, work toward that golf scholarship.
On Sunday, Darin brought her these little Disney dolls - Cinderella and Ariel. She has been playing with them non-stop. She got all set up with the Fisher-Price Pirate Ship and she used a Prince Eric doll from another little mermaid set and makes them all talk to each other like they're at a party. She doesn't call Prince Eric by his name - she calls him Jonas. Don't ask me why. And she says that Cinderella and Ariel are really, really good friends.
She likes talking on her phone - the other day she was walking around with it and talking to "someone" when I heard her say, "Wait, you're breaking up a little bit". I thought that was so funny - she picks up everything.....even when I don't think she hears me. Like last night she dropped a toy and said "Damn it". Yikes. I better watch my mouth.
Then, on Saturday, I was in the kitchen with Jake and Jimmy and she was in the family room. When I looked over she was swinging her arms (like a golfer). I said, "what are you doing" And she said, "I'm practicing my golf swing". She and Darin went to go hit some balls when he got home from work, but the clubs are still a bit too heavy for her, so they didn't last too long. Maybe we'll have to get her set up with a set that fits her. You know, work toward that golf scholarship.
On Sunday, Darin brought her these little Disney dolls - Cinderella and Ariel. She has been playing with them non-stop. She got all set up with the Fisher-Price Pirate Ship and she used a Prince Eric doll from another little mermaid set and makes them all talk to each other like they're at a party. She doesn't call Prince Eric by his name - she calls him Jonas. Don't ask me why. And she says that Cinderella and Ariel are really, really good friends.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Race Recap
Yesterday, I ran the Chicago Marathon. If you've watched the news at all, then you know that it was 90 degrees and humid. It felt much more like a July day than an October day. It was 70 degrees when I got up in the morning, so I knew there wouldn't be much relief. I met up with some of the guys in my training group and made our way to the start. We had a plan that we were gonna try to stay close to our 8:30 pace and maybe modify it a bit if it was too warm -- but definitely not faster than that for the first few miles. I knew that goal of 3:45 might be unattainable when I was standing there at the start and sweating before we even started running. I modified my goal to 4 hours or under. I started the race with 3 guys. After mile one, Bill left us to try to run a bit faster. At mile 4, Mike decided that the pace was a little too fast and told us to go ahead. It was just Ted and I and Ted got cramps at mile 6 and slowed down to stretch (I found out later he was hospitalized overnight). So, it was just little old me for the next 20 miles. I walked a bit through each of the water stations to make sure I got enough fluid in me and not on me. The first half was fine...I was hot but not spent at that point. By mile 18, I was really seeking out shade or friendly neighborhood folks who had come out with hoses. By mile 20, it was really hard to start running again after taking those walking water breaks. At the 22 mile water station, I must have walked about the equivalent of a city block. Now, that took a monumental effort to start running after that. It felt so good to just walk. But, I had my goal and I wasn't gonna throw it away after going that far. I didn't even stop at the last water station. I was only a mile away at that point and I had ingested so much water and gatorade that my body probably stopped processing it. I also knew that it might be a walk to the finish if I stopped one more time.
The final quarter mile was tough but easy. Tough, because my body was totally spent but easy because I was so close to the finish and the crowd support was awesome. I finished in 3:56.
I did get to see quite a few people that I knew along the course. First, I saw Nancy, Jeff, Liz and Maddie at mile 6. Then, I saw Ona (my neighbor) in boystown. Then, Darin, Jenny and Megan were at mile 17 (see photo - I am in there...I'm behind the girl in the center who looks kind of like she's not wearing a shirt. You can just see my head and part of my blue shirt). My uncle Scott was out near the 25 mile mark. And, then Darin, Megan & Jenny were in the finish line bleachers (and I actually did see them among the crowd).
I know that my experience at the race was quite different than that of the folks that were behind me. I was fortunate enough to have plenty of water and gatorade. And, I made sure to run my first half at a pretty easy pace so as not to blow up in the second half.
It's a bit of a bummer because I had a great season of training and I'm probably in my best running shape ever. Looks like I'll have to choose my next race to see what I've really got in me.
The final quarter mile was tough but easy. Tough, because my body was totally spent but easy because I was so close to the finish and the crowd support was awesome. I finished in 3:56.
I did get to see quite a few people that I knew along the course. First, I saw Nancy, Jeff, Liz and Maddie at mile 6. Then, I saw Ona (my neighbor) in boystown. Then, Darin, Jenny and Megan were at mile 17 (see photo - I am in there...I'm behind the girl in the center who looks kind of like she's not wearing a shirt. You can just see my head and part of my blue shirt). My uncle Scott was out near the 25 mile mark. And, then Darin, Megan & Jenny were in the finish line bleachers (and I actually did see them among the crowd).
I know that my experience at the race was quite different than that of the folks that were behind me. I was fortunate enough to have plenty of water and gatorade. And, I made sure to run my first half at a pretty easy pace so as not to blow up in the second half.
It's a bit of a bummer because I had a great season of training and I'm probably in my best running shape ever. Looks like I'll have to choose my next race to see what I've really got in me.
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