EASTER goodies

Enjoying some new sunglasses from Uncle Matt, Aunt Melinda, Madeline & Meredith...too bad they broke shortly after this photo because they were so darn cute! Edwin has been asserting a little independence lately and pulled the arm off putting them on by himself...at least I have one picture!

Racin’

Ran the Heart Mini this morning. Here’s me with coach Edwin afterwards:

The race was a 15-K (9.3 miles), and my goal was to finish in under 80 minutes (about 8:36 min/mile). Well, I just missed, finishing with a time of 1:20:31 (about 8:40 min/mile). I probably could’ve hit my goal had I sprinted the last quarter mile. I swear I tried, but after 9 miles of running at that pace, sprinting just wasn’t happening for me.

Anyway, I’m still considering it a success. It was a stretch goal, as I’ve never run that fast for that long before. (Part of me thought I’d be lucky to hit a 9 min/mile pace). Coach Edwin considered it a success as well and here’s the high five to prove it:

It was a pretty fun morning all-in-all. Mindy & Edwin dropped me off near the start. (Mindy taught Edwin a new word: downtown, which he pronounces with 4 syllables, dah-uh-tah-uhn.) They hung out at First Watch while I ran (Tamara joined them), which was nice because I met them there to get a much needed cup of coffee & sausage omelet within minutes of finishing the run.

Now it’s time for an evening of celebratory beers and looking for my next race. Thinking something in the Mahoning Valley. Matt, you ready?

WEEK IN REVIEW

Getting the warm coats on again makes us really depressed! Most play time was indoors this week which gets boring. The warm weather was just a tease :) We tried to make the best of it. Matt took the girls to the mall for some play time there. He even agreed to let them ride this mini train. Madeline got right in her own car and Meredith ... well, she decided to cry b/c she was scared. She didn't like that it stopped so much. Whatever! So Matt got refunded for Meredith's ticket and they watched Madeline have fun. Meredith pouted on the chair.

Grandma volunteered to watch the girls for a sleepover on Friday. We all went to the final Fish fry at church. Matt and I decided to see a 3D movie after dropping off the girls. We were so impressed with the effects of Avatar that we thought that another 3D movie would live up to it. We were wrong of course. Alice in Wonderland was not as fantastic as I had hoped, but still impressed with Johnny Depp. The girls did a bunny art project with Grandma.

When we picked up the girls Saturday morning, I suggested we go to Dairy Queen's Easter Egg Hunt. I obviously was not thinking when I didn't bring boots for the girls to wear on the muddy hay field. Gross!! Madeline did a great job of hunting for candy and eggs beneath the hay. Meredith instantly cried when the chaos began. She didn't like all the people around her. I finally convinced her that it was ok and I took her around. What is her deal?

As we entered our garage, I made it clear that everyone was to strip down to put all the muddy attire directly into the washer. It was disgusting. After their naps, Madeline and Meredith were taken to the mall again. This time to visit the Easter Bunny. Meredith has been looking forward to this for a while; until, she was at the front of the line. Madeline went right up and sat on his lap. Meredith had the deathgrip on me and cried that she didn't want to do it. So she didn't. What an ordeal. Can't fault her for her behavior , though. She is acting just like I do with these crazy costumed characters HAHA.

*** On the way to the mall, we saw a man walking outside with a cowboy hat. Matt showed Meredith, "hey, there's a cowboy!" Meredith looks intently at the guy. "No, he isn't a cowboy. He has bags in his hands". Madeline says, "yeah, he needs a lasso in his hand, not bags!".

**** Madeline is supposed to have a one line speaking part at her Easter Program on Wednesday. Can't wait to see it. Matt has been kidding her to end her line with the $5 footlong move shown in the Subway commercial. Please NO!

Edwin's Expanding Dino Vocabulary

Edwin's (Practice) Baby

Since Edwin keeps telling everyone that he wants a Baby Sister...I thought it was time to start practicing...

The New Normal

So any of you that follow Mindy or me on Facebook should be well aware of Edwin's new found sleeping problems. Well, we're happy to say, he's pretty much back to normal. OK, sort of normal.

Naps have been restored. Bed time is back to being a non-event. I can take showers after my 8-9 p.m. runs without him waking. And Mindy and I setting off 100-year-old squeaky floorboards as we make our way to bed each night around 11 musters up nary a whimper from the sleeping little man.

But then there's the morning.

Here's the thing. For those of you that base your opinions of my lifestyle from knowing me in high school or college, this may come as a surprise, but I love mornings these days. I get up sometimes as early as 5:30 a.m. but usually closer to 6. It's me time. I eat breakfast, drink coffee, and either finish up last weekend's Economist or listen to a podcast (usually Adam Carolla). When the weather's nice enough, I'll take the dog on a walk.

I have plenty of time to do all of this because I don't get in the shower until 7. That gives me at least an hour to ease into my day (here's where any perception of me in high school or college doesn't conflict with the current me: I still like to ease into things). Anyway, during the week or so of Edwin's sleep trouble, his average wake-up time move up to around 6 or 6:30 a.m. And there it has stayed. So morning me time has tuned into father & son time.

He could probably use another hour or so of sleep, but Mindy & I suspect he just likes hanging out with me. During his sleep troubles must've gotten used to seeing me before I leave for work. And you know what? I'm OK with it.

We sit on the couch together. Edwin gets milk, and if he requests them, Cheerios in a snack cup. We listen to something on iTunes (no Adam Carolla, not kid appropriate) or watch YouTube clips (today it was this, don't ask me why). When it gets a little warmer, I may even start a morning walk routine with the little guy and the dog.

One of the many lessons I've learned as a young parent is that routines are important. Try to establish them as needed. However, don't get married to them. Whenever you get used to one, your kid will change it. Besides, whatever I get established with Edwin over the next couple weeks and months will sure get altered come late June/early July when another baby is added to the mix.

Pictures Updated

I finally added our Jan/Feb and Mar so far pics...take a look when you have a few minutes and ENJOY!!!

WEEK IN REVIEW

What a great week for Matt to have off from work! Nothing but sunny , warmer weather. On Wednesday, I had a seminar to attend, but I did wear my green in honor of St. Patty's day. They didn't serve us corned beef and cabbage at the banquet place. How rude! Good thing Papa gave me leftovers to eat that night. I had the girls go into school wearing their shamrock headbands. Matt said that everyone was just loving how cute they looked. I tried to complete the night with another Shamrock Shake, but THEY WERE OUT! Man that stunk. :(

Matt's funny story of the week involving the girls takes place at the Austintown Library. He thought that it would be nice to take them for story time. So they arrived and were told to make their Bunny name tag/necklaces while they wait for the program to start. Five minutes went by and the lady instructed them that the program was starting to go into the room. Off they went into the room and indeed the program began with a whopping attendance of 3! *** this includes Matt. HAHA. The woman needed volunteers for certain parts of the story, but the girls were too shy to do it. With no other kids, Matt was trying to do the moves to try to get the girls inspired. I wish I would have seen this. Then another 2 girls came in. Madeline and Meredith found it more interesting to stare at the new kids instead of looking at the poor library lady. They did finally warm up. As they were leaving Madeline informed Matt that the girl behind them was a schoolmate. SHE NEVER EVEN SAID "hello" TO HER!??!

I didn't have to work on Thursday so we decided to head over to the Grove City Outlets. The funny part of that adventure was the fact that it was "WELCOMING CANADIANS" week. There were maple leafs posted in the store windows. Strange!! There were several cars from Ontario that we noticed. I thought I would never notice a Canadian, but then a pair of them walked in front of us and said, "OAT"...really 'out', but they don't say it correctly.

Pretty much we spent every minute outside . The girls were loving the bikes and scooters. Saturday, Papa and Deb made a trip up and helped them with their Easter art project. They even stuck around to go to Fair Park for some playground fun. And to top it off, they suggested we go to SALSITA'S! for an early dinner. The girls were thrilled of course.

New Sunglasses

Ready for Football

Edwin enjoys a beautiful view of Paul Brown Stadium...anxious for football already!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Edwin and I met Dave downtown for our 2nd Annual St. Patrick's Day Lunch...nothing special - just the mall food court, but we love to see Dave during the day! Afterward, we came back home and played outside all afternoon...LOVING the sunshine!

24 Weeks - All Is Well

Had my 24-week Dr appointment today and all is well. The baby has a strong (fast) heartbeat. I go back in 3 weeks...


**for comparison...this was me 24 weeks prego with E**

Edwin Learning Dinos

WEEK IN REVIEW

I am finally getting to the blog, b/c we were busy little bees this weekend. For starters, I was working more hours at work. Getting up an hour earlier really affects my energy. And then to do that on Saturday, boo! And THEN, to have the time change on Sunday to permanently get me up an hour earlier , BOO! even more. I love my sleep, can you tell? The girls were thrilled to find out that Uncle Dave, Aunt Mindy, and Edwin were coming to visit! I haven't seen them that hyped up in a long time. They were these little balls of energy wanting to play, play, play! Poor little Edwin was a sleepyhead in the above picture. Uncle Matt was trying to hypnotize him to sleep. We met them at the Fish Fry on Friday. As soon as they entered the hall, Edwin went full force running towards Madeline and Meredith. Of course, I was fretting that he was going to trip on the floor and bust his teeth. I worry too much. :( We had the quickest service ever at the dinner. I think maybe we waited 5 minutes for our delicious food . YUM.

To celebrate Uncle Dave's birthday, Grandma brought a cake. We put on some candles and sang him , "happy birthday". The girls were allowed to pick out their own cards at the store. Meredith selected a sticker-containing High School Musical card (she couldn't find a Jonas brothers card). Madeline carefully picked out the President Obama card. She was so proud of herself.

We had Edwin practicing holding a baby so he knows how to be gentle with Baby Ross #2. He never cracked a smile, but he was quite delicate with the doll :)

Grandma volunteered to watch all 3 grandchildren Saturday night while the parents went out to dinner. An actual adult only meal ... it has been a while. It was quite nice and very tasty!

We were laughing at how funny Edwin looked in the St. Patty's Day hat. He could barely see out of it. After our company had left, we were off to Pittsburgh. The girls were wearing their Shamrock head bands for our corned beef and cabbage dinner at Papa and Deb's on Sunday. YUM! And that concludes the weekend!

Edwin's Girlfriend

This is a video from one of our playdate friends - Maggie...she is just a week older than Edwin and they are expecting baby #2 in just a few weeks...so much fun!!!

Outside Pics

First Attempts

So, I'm in love...my new camera is awesome. Of course, I've only had it a couple of hours, but I'm already having a great time snapping pics of Edwin! I can't wait until I actually figure out how to use my lenses!