I was tagged by my sweet sister Lalani, and I am glad because I can't think of anything else to write about

I usually: have bran flakes and bananas for breakfast, though boring is my favorite cereal, and I am ready for them this morning the tummy is a growling. Try them they keep you full a long time.
I wonder: what my second little boy will look like, and I can't wait to see what his personality will be.
I love: to be outside. I especially love to ride my bike, and am glad Lucas is starting the same habit.
I am not: good at planning things ahead of time. I tend to do things in the last two days before I need them done.
I believe: that I am where I am supposed to be, doing what I ought, and that makes me happy.
I sing: whether I am good or not, and I really enjoy it.
I don’t always: remember the right day for other's birthdays.
I argue:well, I don't enjoy arguing, and I am not very good at it.
I lose: my keys almost every time I put them down, but Adam is doing his best to retrain me.
I wish: the gestational period of a human child was a. shorter or b. more comfortable.
I listen: to Lucas play the piano while he begs for me to sing.
I am scared: people hurting my family.
I forget: half of the stuff I am supposed to do, so I have to write nearly everything down.
I am happy: most of the time, but especially while watching my family play together. Oh, and when Lucas makes it the whole day without an accident, we have gone two consecutive days with no problems! Yay!!!! Who knew it could be so quick and easy?
I tag: Kristen Hobson, Erin Bastian, and Rachelle Casebeer

There is nothing better to knock you out at the end of a day than to try to spend your day being patient with a child as they learn to obey, control their temper, learn new words, to eat what ever they are given for lunch, even if it isn't the cookies they so desperately think they need etc. It turns out that all that learning is really tiring for them to. Lucas was so pooped the other day he fell asleep upright in his chair after, or rather towards the end of lunch with his apple in his hand. Instead of worrying for his safety, I ran for the camera (now you know my priorities). I am really suprised by his balance, he does very well with catching himself when he mis-steps and doesn't usually fall. Cheerios for lunch you say? Yup, I gave in to all the earnest pleas for cereal for lunch, He even got to pick out his spoon; which is a very important mealtime step for him. It made for one pleased little boy.

All in the Day of the life of a Mom

First, Happy Birthday to my Mom. I am so lucky to have her support. Thanks for being there when I have all my strange questions, and I realize that despite my terrific, finely tuned memory of being the best child in the whole wide world, who practically raised herself and never, ever, ever complained or misbehaved, that sometimes you would have rather not dealt with all my missteps, but did it anyway and did so cheerily so I felt your support and affection. I love you. Thank you for cleaning up all my messes. I am pretty sure that I gave you my fair share. It has been on my mind a lot lately because of my own experiences. Lucas has been doing fantastically at potty training. He made it twenty four hours without any accidents, and will go when sent to go to the bathroom. (a huge, huge YAY) Unfortunately he got sick yesterday with explosive tummy disorder, and almost threw up all over his close friend. In our little bike trailer (which was a considerate place to do it since I just have to hose it out and disinfect--much, much easier than carpet or car or even tile floor. Luckily she is really smart and picked up her feet. But even with a wild tummy, he still made it to the potty, and warned me if I needed to hand him any accessories. I hope you catch my drift because I don't want to spell it out completely. Well, So in one day I have cleaned up a lot of bodily fluids, and didn't even gag. I never thought this day would come. And Lucas never thought yesterday would come because he finally filled up his potty chart and got the special toy he was working towards. Ahhhhhhhh, sleep at the end of the day is a great reward to all the hard work that comes before it.

My Final Run of this Pregnancy

So I finished my running season a little early this year because I am bigger than usual. I have been having problems with a huge belly getting bounced for an hour and then being able to walk the next day. I have talked to some doctors and they suggested I quit before I hurt myself. So, I did one more race and have hung up my running shoes. I ran the Mulvane fun run (four miles) in 39 minutes and like 15 seconds ( I haven't been mailed the official results yet) and got second in my age group. In case the name Mulvane didn't tip you off, the town is really small and only about two hundred people ran the race. Nevertheless I was pretty happy with my time, and a little medal is just a bonus. The winner of the over all race came in just after sixteen minutes. There are a couple of guys that are from Kenya that have competed against each other the last few years at the little race. My running partner Kristen won in a time just over 28 minutes, and our new friend Becca ran it a little slower than that, but finished great with the gold in our age group. The weather was perfect. It was really nice to know that at six months I can still go a ways on my legs. It was a little hard to not overdo it because I am so competitive. I just thought of my promise to Adam right before I left that morning that I would take it easy. I included some photos for your entertainment. Try not to imagine this hunk of woman jiggling too much.


Before the race

Coming towards the finish line

My nerdiness showing because I was excited Lucas was waving and cheering for me, all caught on camera by my dear husband. Thank you Babe.

The girls after the race. Can you tell how much earlier they finished than me? Their faces aren't even pink anymore. Oh, we need suggestions on a team name so please post any ideas you have.

When it is wet and rainy like it is today what do you do with a two year old you ask? Well we get a little creative. Lucas' close friend, Raegan often provides a solution. They get along really well, and Raegan isn't afraid to stand up to Lucas when he gets a little too rough. This day they were a little cold so we found them jackets. We have a lawn mower and a vacuum cleaner in our closet. When one of them thinks of playing with them they both have a mad dash to the closet to get to the lawn mower first. I am not sure why it is the favorite, perhaps because it makes more noise. They are learning to share, and do a great job at it.

Lucas has taken to stacking things. He will collect all the throw pillows from around the house and try to stack them up. Here he got super creative with the ever popular vacuum and lawn mower. Dad made a good base I guess. After he got it all balanced, he tried to climb up on top. We convinced him that that was a dangerous idea for both him and Dad, and game him lots of encouragement about building such a big tower. You can tell he is proud of himself. Adam is good at being patient with being part of the tower.

Today looks like it will be rainy too, so we may have more creative ideas later.

Pregnant Life.

Yup, I think it's official I have passed the not just chubby, but looking pretty pregnant line. I have been asked several times for photos of me while pregnant, so Sunday (usually the only day I do my hair) I had Adam take a few pictures. I am feeling pretty good, though running is almost out of the picture, my ligaments just can't take it for much longer. I have a race this Saturday, then I think I will call it quits and become a walker (eek) for the next few months. I will miss it because I really enjoy running and so does Lucas. When I take him for fitness walks he tries to pump the stroller to make me go faster or will just come out and beg me, "Faster Mommy, faster." I'll aslo miss it because I don't want to loose my gains completely. Oh well, I have to find something else to do. Anyways. Here are the photos. As of this week I have almost sworn off pre-pregnancy jeans because little boy is needing things extra roomy, but I am clinging to more options in my closet. Oh, sometimes I can be so vain. Lucas and I still get around in with our "motorcycle". I am the engine on my bike, and he hangs out in our Burley bike trailer and cheers me on. It has been a great way to keep a lazy and getting lazier pregnant girl active. The baby is doing great, and measuring healthy, I have a great OB, and can't wait to see this little tyke's face.

View of the front

3/4 veiw. I didn't realize it until after we were done that black on black doesn't show a belly very well, but I hope you can make out what is me and what is the fireplace. Oh, and I got a new haircut last week too. I like it. It is really easy to do, and as a plus with the humidity I get a tiny bit of a wave, yay! Out west my hair had no body.

Here are some of our favorite things to do in the Summer. We haven't included any photos of the water park because I don't dare take my camera and have it stolen or ruined. It has been such a great summer, and I wish it could go on forever. We have learned a lot. Yesterday Lucas and I went for a run. After about three and a half miles, Lucas asked if he could push the stroller. I let him out and he walked and/or pushed the stroller for almost a mile. I was very proud of him for being so desirous to help mom.

When it gets hot out we head to the basement to play baseball. I guess he thought he needed a batting helmet. Mom is freaking out about spiders less because she had a bug guy attempt to kill them all.

We went to a children's play two weeks ago. Here he is with Pinocchio. HE really enjoyed the play and was on the edge of his seat the entire time. It was a good learning experience for me because I had two of my friends children with me and was able to juggle all three with the help from Chrissy, a friend we attended the play with. It was great fun to try to keep them all under my wing. I did get some strange looks with a pregnant belly, a four month old and two toddlers.

Lucas loves drawing diggers with mom. We also love to trace hands and feet, mom took it to new heights when we traced his entire body. He thought that was very cool, and lied on it face down when I was done. Silly boy. We also draw roads for the diggers to drive on, that is usually Lucas' favorite job.