Ellie Belly

This week I started letting Gavin go outside and play at the park in front of our house by himself and he is loving it. I look out the window every few minutes, but he is my first born and obeys pretty well. :0) Ellie doesn't quite understand why she isn't allowed to go by herself just yet. Today I told her she could play with a friend but that I had to go with her outside and before I knew it, she was no where to be found. So I searched the house and finally looked outside....and this is what I found...

She took it upon herself to NOT wait for mommy and decided to go to the park by herself instead. I think she felt like a big girl as she was swinging with her doll all by herself at the park. It was so cute seeing her there that it was hard to get mad.... That's my independent little Ellie Belly.

First Camping Trip.

Well a little over seven years ago I got Frank all kinds of camping gear. You know... a tent, lantern, sleeping bag, etc. He has NEVER used it until last night. He got a new car this week and has a dream of camping regularly with the kiddos on road trips in his car. It was COLD last night so we decided to go "test" camping at my sisters. She lives in Montgomery and has lots of land so we pitched a tent in her backyard. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins and when it got too cold could go inside to warm up. They were really excited about the campfire and Mitchell and Larry didn't want to disappoint. It was more like the Aggie Bonfire in their backyard and the kids thought it was AWESOME!! Their neighbor drove over and came running in the back thinking one of their trees was on fire and she was wanting to see if there was adult supervision in the backyard. Anyway, as they slept outside, my sister and I slept inside with Hadley. We were laughing as we said goodnight to them as we thought for sure we'd be the one's with a good night sleep. Haaa...Hadley is cutting her top tooth and was a complete BEAR ALL NIGHT LONG. I slept for about 2 hours and then my sister who heard her crying for the umpteenth time came and got her at 5am and told me to go to bed. Needless to say Momma was in need of a long nap today. Anyway, the kids slept tight in their sleeping bags with their cousins and didn't wake all night. They loved it and can not wait to go back. They love going to their house and riding the golf cart, playing on (riding) the security gate to the neighborhood and running around all that land with their cousins. Here are a few pictures...

11 Months Already

Hadley Faith turned 11 months old yesterday. Can you believe one more month and my baby girl will be a year old?? Every month is big the first year, and this last one was no different. During this last month she got two new teeth, had her first Christmas, First New Years, folded hands to pray at dinner, gave kisses, learned to push up off the ground to stand back up, mastered the art of walking (NO MORE crawling for this girl), started to repeat words, and her vocabulary includes, "all done," "park", "puppy dog," "Hi," "ba bye," "duck," "dada," and "mama."

i run 13.1

What a day... what a day. It was awesome. Today I participated in my first 1/2 marathon. I have been training for it since July 4th weekend and today all the hard work paid off. Second times a charm I guess. I trained for it for a few months two years ago but hurt my knee and got pregnant so I never finished. Made it to the 10 miles for Texas race and then pretty much quit.

But not this time. Today I did it! The day did start though with some tears and a pep talk from Frank. We stayed downtown last night and the lady next door had her t.v. up on full volume and I only slept for 45 minutes. Yep...45 minutes..2:30 am-3:15 am to be exact. At 1 am I was crying because I had been laying in bed since 8 pm and was so mad that I hadn't slept. I think my first breakdown was about the time I had heard the Gallery Furniture commercial for the 5th time. The kids slept great, but Frank and I just tossed and turned. At 4 when I had to get up I was bawling and Frank quietly gave me a pep talk telling me I can do it, I've trained hard, and I'm ready.... sleep or no sleep. It was really sweet. So, I met my neighbor and friend Traci, and another friend Mary downstairs and we caught a cab to the George R Brown. My stomach was feeling very sick and I was worried, but once we were off and running I immediately felt better. Seeing Frank, the kids and our neighbors helped keep me going. They were so cute holding signs, cheering and running along side of me as I passed. The last mile was the best as crowds of people are cheering you on, and screaming your name. Our bibs had our names really large on them and strangers were screaming, "Go Lacey!" "Keep it up Lacey!", "Finish Strong LACEY!" It was awesome! And passing that finish line made me almost cry. To think that I have never been a runner and just finished 13.1 miles in a race was a great feeling. If someone would have told me three, four, five, 30 years ago that I would ever do a 1/2 marathon...I would have laughed. So exciting to accomplish a goal that seemed far out of reach.

Traci and Mary...WE DID IT!! I am so proud of us that we did it and finished the season!

Here are a few pictures from the day:

Part of my cheerleading team with their Go Lacey sign:

Mile 4.5: Mile 7.5:

Gavin greeting me at water station Mile 8:

Mile 9:

Seeing the Fam after finishing and getting my medal:

Traci and I stoked to be done with our Finisher Shirts on:

WE DID IT! WE DID IT!

Happy 34th Birthday

To the Man

Of my Dreams!

Words can not express how much you mean to me, how lucky I feel to be your wife, and what a wonderful husband and father you are. I am so thankful God chose you for me. I love you with all of my heart. Happy 34th Birthday!!

A Night With Mema

My mom called me yesterday giddy with excitement BEGGING me to let the kids come spend the night. She wanted all three of them. My dad had gone out of town for the night and she wanted a night with her grandbabies. As you can imagine...they were VERY excited. When I pulled into my mom's driveway she was waiting outside for us bouncing up and down and the kids were squealing in the car with excitement. They had fun playing games, playing with toys, getting in the hot tub, and snuggling Mema all night in her bed. Frank and I went to the movies to see Marley and Me. It was not as good as the book- but still REALLY good. I boo-hoo'd like a baby. After the movie we decided we should probably get Hadley and have her sleep at home just in case she got up in the middle of the night. I didn't want her waking my mom, G and E and my mom being stuck with three awake kiddos. Luckily we did because she was up at 3am. She is working on two new teeth and they are almost in but not quite. I nursed her, got her to bed and then of course stayed up with insomnia until 6am. And then my Marley was barking at 7am to go out. Go figure on my day to sleep in. Doesn't it always work out that way??

Anyway, the kids got up and had a BIG breakfast with Mema and then she took them to the park where I met her this morning. The kids had a BLAST. They had so much fun and keep asking when they get to go spend the night again. They are already talking about what they will do next time. Thanks Mema for having them over!! They loved getting to spend time with you and Frank and I enjoyed our free night. :)

Here are a few fun pictures I took when I picked them up at the park:

I love this picture...not the quality..just the moment..Gavin kept tackling her down the slide and they thought it was hilarious:

Happy 2009!!

So I thought I should start the new year with a few goals (or as most call it- resolutions). So, here it goes....

1. Finally participate in the Chevron Houston Marathon. (should be able to check this one off next weekend as I'm signed up to run the 1/2).

2. Get back to eating healthy. Been in a "holiday rut" lately. Too much sugar...need to get back to veggies, fruits, and some raw healthy stuff. Not only for me, but for my kids. Back to my organic co-op.

3. Keep exercising after the marathon...my goal is 3 times a week...we'll see....

4. Drink more water...I can go all day with nothing to drink...and I am NOT kidding. I forget to drink. Apparently it is somewhat hereditary as my sister and Grandma are the same way.

5. Spend more quality time with the kiddos. Especially before Gavin goes to school next year- Wahhhhh!!

6. Spend less time on the computer.

7. Learn how to use my new Mac to the fullest (may make goal #6 hard)

8. Get more sleep. Lately I stay up late because that is my only "me" time and my only time with just Frank and I....which leads me to my next two resolutions..

9. Make more time for me

10. Go on a date at least once a month....(this shouldn't be hard now that we found an awesome babysitter!!)

11. Take another Family Vacation with the kiddos.

12. And maybe just maybe...a trip for just Frank and I.... we'll see....

I can only hope that 2009 will be as good as 2008!! Happy New Year to all of you!!