Spring?

This is the time of year where we wish it was warmer so we could play outside, but then we would miss out on this kind of fun. Connor's been working on a new face. You like?

Brooke likes having a mobile Connor to play with. So far they get along great.

Of course, Brooke loves her Mommy the most!

Tracie is really great about working with Brooke as she does workbooks, works on her numbers and her letters. As a result, Brooke is very good at writing her name. The impressionist self portrait is pretty good as well.

So we watched the news on Wednesday night and they promised a dusting of snow for the Denver area. No joke, for Castle Rock the forecast was 0.1 inches. Naturally we woke up to this on Thursday morning.

Brooke really enjoyed it.

So soft and fluffy.

Waiting for Connor to get bigger so the snow ball fights can start.

Maybe waiting for a sled as well...

9 months and growing

I can't believe it's already been 9 months.  I feel like I just blogged about him turning 6 months.  Crazy!!  Here are his 9 month stats:

Weight: 18 lbs. 5 oz. (25%)

Height: 28" (25%)

Head: 17 3/4" (50%)

There are days when I feel like he's getting so big and then there are days where I feel like he's still my little baby.  He's growing way too quickly!  Here are some of the things he's been up to lately:

As of right now, he has 4 teeth (2 lower, 2 upper).  As of right now, he's working on 4 more.  Regardless of how uncomfortable he may be feeling, he can always flash a smile.

Now that he has all these teeth, he's learned that he can put them to good use.

He's been crawling around since 7 months and can get pretty much anywhere he wants to go.  Along with that, he also wants to get into anything he can get into.

Trying to use his go-go gadget arms and his height to get the darts.

No luck. :(

Still loves his London.

Can't wait for these 2 to continue growing up together.

He's still an avid thumb sucker.  Hopefully this phase will phase out sooner than later (but I won't hold my breath).

He is a fantastic sleeper and has been from the very beginning.  He falls asleep very well on his own and barely makes a peep when he wakes up.  Love it!

He is so easy going and easy to please.  You can get him to smile and laugh at just about anything.  I think he has the cutest little laugh.

He can say mama and mum mum.  I'd like to think he knows which one is which.  When I go to get him from a nap or in the morning sometimes he'll say "mama" and he definitely knows when it's time to eat and he sees his food.

Lastly, he's starting to take his first steps.  For a while, he was showing no interest in cruising along furniture or even wanting to push his walker.  All that changed last week.  Now he's off and probably soon-to-be running.  Yikes!!

California Sun

Done and done!!!!  I did it.  Ran my second half marathon.  And it was quite a whirlwind to travel to do it.  The week before last there was mention that snow was headed out way.  It wasn't until Thursday that we and the meteorologists realized that the snow was not just a mere dusting but a full on dumping.  It was decided around 6:15 pm that we would change our flights from Friday afternoon to the last flight out Thursday night at 9:15 pm.  (It's a good thing we did because all the morning flights and our flight had been cancelled.  Can you imagine how panicked I would have been?  Also, by Friday Denver had received 12.5" of snow. )  We, quickly, packed and were on our way to the airport by 7 pm.  Our friend took us to the airport and as payment we gave him the dinner that we had made for that night.  I didn't get to breath a sigh of relief until we pulled up to the airport a little after 8.  Talk about stress.  It's one thing to pack for a vacation but it's another thing to pack for a specific reason for the vacation, aka-my race and fear that something important was forgotten.  Luckily everything that I needed for the race was packed.  The only thing we forgot was the Baby Bjorn for Disneyland.  We got into LAX and was picked up by my dad around midnight.  I thought that leaving the airport at such a late time we would be able to cruise on home without traffic.  I spoke too soon.  Part of the freeway was shut down for construction and there was traffic getting off the freeway.  Who drives at 12:30 at night?!?!?!?!?!?!  By the time the kids were settled down and Troy and I were in bed it was 1:30 am CA time meaning 2:30 am CO time.  What a night!!

Now onto the pictures!!

Friday was spent relaxing.  My aunt and uncle came down a day early before the Chinese New Year gathering and taught my mom and "I" how to make steamed buns.  I say "I" because one can only learn so much when one doesn't understand a lick of Mandarin besides the numbers 1-10.  Regardless of the language barrier, I was able to communicate to my aunt that the buns were delicious.

Saturday, Troy, the kids, and I headed down to Huntington Beach to pick up my packet.  Brooke loved walking in the sand and collecting as many seashells as she could get her hands on.

 After Huntington we headed to Uncle Jimmy's for the Chinese New Year gathering. 

Brooke had a blast playing with all the toys and Connor enjoyed meeting his cousins (however many times removed). 

Sunday was race day.  I was nervous but excited to do the race.  After 10 weeks of on and off running I was somewhat nervous that I would not be able to complete the race as well as I had wanted to.  I only averaged about 2 runs a week since week 4 of my training.

 I think there were over 14,000 runners that participated in the half marathon.  

My official time was 2:17:32.  I was thrilled with my time.  Only a minute behind my previous race.  If I do this race again I know that I can totally beat that time.

 Monday was spent recuperating.  We had originally planned on going to Disneyland on Tuesday but of all the days that we chose to go that was the only day that there was 100% chance of rain.  So we decided to head to the Ronald Reagan Library instead.  They've changed the layout of library since we were last there.

 Brooke liked seeing Air Force One up close and personal.

 Connor...not so much.  I think he was just bored and ready to get out of his stroller and crawl around.

 Wednesday was Disneyland day.  We went with my cousin, Rachel, and her 3 girls.  I'm so glad we waited to go on Wednesday instead of Tuesday.  It was a gorgeous day.  We didn't even need a jacket when the sun had gone down.  Can you tell Brooke was super excited go?  Along with Violet.

I borrowed a carrier from my cousin so that we had something to hold Connor in while on the rides.  This was my only chance to really snuggle with him since he never and I mean never falls asleep in our arms anymore.

 Brooke loved having control of the ride.

 I just liked these next 2 pictures.  I think this was on Snow White or Pinnochio.

Obviously there was something scary.  You can tell by the look on Brooke's face and that Ryleigh has her head buried in the lap bar.

 Brooke loves the carousel.  I spent my time on the ride looking at the floor to avoid getting sick.

 My other cousin, Anita, and her kids met up with us later in the afternoon.  There were 4 adults and 8 kids.  What a group!

 The kids were getting ready to ride Gadget's Go Coaster.  This was Brooke's first roller coaster and she had no idea what to expect. 

 Although she was a bit worried at this particular part of the 20 second ride, she loved it and wanted to go again.

 I think Ryleigh got scared at the same spot Brooke did.

We also got to meet Donald.

 Troy and I were able to finish off the night by riding Space Mountain.   

 Connor was pooped by day's end.  He didn't even stir when we brought him into the house.

 *Note: If you're planning on ever visiting Disneyland, you must go in February.  We practically walked onto every ride and if there was a line, it was a very short wait. 

 No trip back home is complete without a visit to the duck pond.  Brooke had a fun time chucking the bread out and the geese and pigeons were fearless.  It's a good thing we had Troy to protect us.

 Thanks mom and dad for a wonderful time.  Looking forward to our next visit!!!!!

Oh, and P.S.  Happy 9 months to Connor!!!!!!