Spring Break!!

Spring Break has sure changed a lot. All of our high school friends just got back from Panama City Beach. That's where I spent Spring Break from 5th-12th grade. If you've ever been to PCB, you know what it's like down there...and i'm very thankful that i came back every year in one piece (and very glad all of our high school friends made it home safe, as well).
Well, life has changed a lot since high school and so has spring break..and i can honestly say that i am so thankful for that. we just got home from an extremely fun trip to the lake. emma had so much fun playing in the sand and water...and liam loved eating sticks and dirt. and it was so nice to just relax and be together. there's just something about getting out of town and spending time together as a family with no agenda, no TV, no cell phones, nowhere to go and nothing to do. I'm thankful we were able to do that...and i'm mostly thankful that there is an amazing Lord who has so changed my life from those spring breaks in high school.

Here comes Peter Cottontail...

Every year some of our good friends have an Easter Egg hunt. It's always so much fun to get together and see everyone's kids...and of course racing around trying to find Easter Eggs.
I think this was the first year that Emma really understood what was going on. And she was definitely part of the hunt..although after she gets a few eggs all she wants to do is stop and eat the candy. But that's still better than the first year when she would just steal eggs from other kids' baskets.
Liam just enjoyed watching big sister and all of the other kids...and crawling everywhere.
I wish I had a picture from every year to see how much all of these kids have grown.
It was a great day! Can't wait til next year.

I finished!!

So, I finished my first half-marathon. I started running in January. Mostly it was to get rid of lingering baby weight. I've never been a runner, and I actually have never enjoyed it at all. But I decided that I needed to set a "goal" and picked the Marine Corps Marathon in DC. I had no intentions of running a half-marathon this early in my running, but one of my good friends called and asked me to run with her...after much debating I gave in.
Before Saturday I had never run more than 5 or 6 miles, so I was a little nervous. As I hit each mile I felt more and more excited because it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be. Granted by mile 12 I was beginning to hurt and it took a lot of mental energy to tell my body to keep moving to make it to the finish. But after passing mile 13 I was able to sprint to the finish.
I finished in 2 1/2 hours, which I was pretty darn proud of...granted I got passed twice by two Kenyans who finished the full marathon in less time than it took me to run the half..and they made it look so easy.
It was crazy how good it felt to cross that finish line. I felt so accomplished and proud! And I felt great...mostly because the pain didn't set in for an hour or two. I did have an hour on the couch where I thought I might not ever move again, but I recovered.
Now I'm just nursing these crazy blisters that appeared in between all of my toes...brad says my toes are too close together. Not quite sure what that means? And I'm trying to motivate myself to get up and start training for the marathon in October. Even after running the half I cannot imagine running a full marathon. I'm so glad I have 7 months to get ready!

Hope he's not doomed!

I guess this is what happens when you have a big sister.
Emma has a drawer of "princess" stuff. She really doesn't play with it very much, and she's really not into princess stuff..but I walked into the play room the other day and this is what i found. Liam didn't seem to mind.
Sometimes I do get a little worried because Liam plays with so much of Emma's stuff. It's hard to want to go buy new stuff for your 2nd child to play with when you already have so many toys..but then I start to feel bad that all he has to play with is babydolls and "sister's leftovers". i did recently buy him a john deer tractor, so i guess he's good for a while.

Gosh, I love this man!

Enough said!

Yep, I'm lazy!

So, Emma got a bike for her birthday..on January 7th. She has been riding it around inside for a little over a month now. Mostly because I've been too lazy to let her take it outside. See, that would mean that I would have to go outside and follow her up and down the street while she rides it. (Yep, I know that's pitiful). So, we've been making her ride it around inside, which she really has enjoyed.
But yesterday after bumping into furniture for the 100th time and almost running over Liam once again I finally broke down and took the bike outside. She had a blast! And so did Liam. And the weather was perfect! It was a lot of fun...guess I can't be lazy anymore.

Growing up!

Ever try to get a 3 year old and a 10 month old to sit still? to sit still and smile?
Emma has been a challenge for quite a while, which is why I haven't had her picture professionally taken since she was a year old. Liam has just started to become difficult. You kind of get used to them not being mobile...then the crawling begins! He's been crawling a while, but I guess I hadn't tried to take any posed pictured before today. UGH!!
Emma actually did well. Liam did not. He was far too concerned with grass, leaves, dirt. Emma continues to say "Liam, you were not good in the pictures. You do not get a treat." Guess we're in for years of this to come!

It seems as though Liam is just growing up overnight. I think it goes by quicker with the 2nd child. He is everywhere! He's just conquered the stairs, which makes me very thankful that we have a baby gate at the top and bottom. He has started to stand for about a minute or so but still not steps. Brad thinks he's gonna walk soon cause his toes are so long. But I remember when emma was little and people would always say "She's gonna walk soon"..and she didn't walk til 13 months. But we're in no hurry. He's quick enough just crawling.
And he's so much fun. He's so happy and loves his sister. It's a joy to watch the two of them together. I feel so blessed every day that I get to stay home and watch the two of them grow together!