Shamrock Marathon: The Boston Qualifier

I ran my fifth marathon yesterday - the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach.  It was a great race - one I doubt I'll be able to replicate for a long time.  I ran it in 3:34:35 and qualified for the Boston Marathon, a long time goal of mine.  It was a beautiful day - mid-40s to mid-50s - perfect for running.  I ran a 'negative split' race, which means the second half was slightly faster than the first.  For the first time in all of my marathons, I didn't fall off the pace at the end of the race and was able to maintain my 8:10 pace throughout the race.  And when I finished, I truly felt like I couldn't run one more step.

The best thing about this race was having Josh and the girls there with me.  It was not easy for Josh to deal with the girls AND Blue for the 4 hours that I was gone Sunday morning.  And it is a lot of work for our family to go anywhere for a night right now.  Josh did it all without one word of complaint.  He was also 100 percent supportive of my training over the past few months.  I try to do most of my running when the girls are sleeping, but there are times when that doesn't happen and Josh never complains when I head out the door for a long run.   I'm looking forward to stepping back and relaxing on the running for the rest of the year and running Boston next April.

Some notable memories from the weekend:

• We got to see the Rapers for dinner Saturday night.  They were in town house hunting since they are moving to Virginia Beach in a few months.  We met up at Carrabba's and had fun catching up.
• The girls were great little travelers again and slept about half of the drive up and half of the drive back.  
• Blue was also a good traveler and seemed happy to be with his family.  I hope he becomes as comfortable as Jackson was traveling with us.  
• Some of my favorite signs during the race: "Duh...Winning" and "You're Pretty and Smart".  They made me smile.
• At about mile 10, the race took us through Fort Storey.  There were about 50 army men and women cheering us on and I high fived most of them.  Then about 20 yards later, there were a bunch of navy folks.  Slapped them five too. 
• At the half, the course took us down the boardwalk and I saw a yellow lab running on the beach and playing in the water.  It brought me to tears thinking about how much I miss my best pal, Jackson. 
• I had some good tunes for the race with some good recommendations from Brynn and Conor.  It's a good thing too since I ran this completely on my own. 

Pictures...

Josie and Piper waiting in the stroller for mommy to finish.

 At the end - just about to cross the finish

 All done, so happy to be done!

 Proof - and notice how far I really ran! 

At the race expo.  I really should have gotten some pictures with Josh!

Babies vs. Puppy

Blue is starting to settle in as the fifth member of our family.  He's getting better with the potty training and getting more free time outside of his crate as a result.  He is also getting a lot of nice walks outside in our spring weather.  Piper still loves him; Josie still isn't so sure.  We definitely have our hands full.  I wouldn't compare having a puppy to having a baby, but they do require a lot of time and attention at this age.  We aren't complaining though - we love having him and figure we may as well have all the chaos at once.

There have been some funny moments with Blue and the girls.  He is learning his limits with them and figuring out that he can't tackle them to the ground or put his teeth on them (although Piper just laughs when he does do that).  However, one thing I don't think he'll quite figure out for awhile is why he can't play with their toys.  They are spread out all over and look like the perfect chew toy for him!  The other day the girls were playing in the playroom and Blue kept running up to the gate to check in on them.  I heard Piper screaming and then break down crying.  I expected to look in to see her bleeding or something.  It turns out she threw her frog over the gate and Blue snatched it up.  Her beloved frog!  And Blue was happily chewing away. Another time, I spotted Piper walking around snuggling up to an old gross stuffed Turtle that Blue was playing with - an old toy of Jackson's.  Ewww! 

This is how it typically plays out.  Here the girls are luring him over to play.  

 And here are the toys they've thrown over the gate for him to play with...

 And finally, here's Blue who escaped to his spot to chew on a baby toy.

Stay tuned for more babies vs. puppy.

Beach time

It's officially spring here in eastern NC now, so we decided to take trip down to the beach.  We loaded up the car with the dog, his kennel, the girls, stroller and snacks, had some lunch at a pizza joint by the beach, and headed over.  We ended up pushing the stroller in the sand on the beach in the wind.  Sort of a workout!  The girls liked getting out and walking in the sand and Blue loved walking along the beach with us.  We can't wait to get down there a bit more this spring and summer.

Bath Time

The girls LOVE bath time.  They have 800 toys and daddy lets them splash around and have a blast.  Here's some video Josh took the other day of the splash fest.

Rise and shine

Every morning, we bring the girls their milk to drink in their cribs before they 'get up'.  It's like their morning coffee and they're a little cranky until they drink it.  But as soon as it's out of the way, they pop up for some playtime.  When I go in there to get them 20 minutes later, they have usually thrown both sippy cups into each other's cribs, as well as all the 'friends' they sleep with.  On this particular morning I decided to spy on their little game.

This is Piper's crib.  Both teddy bears that daddy bought while they were in the NICU ended up in there this morning, as well as Josie's doggy lovey.  Both sippy cups got thrown on the floor.  Sometimes I am not really sure who drank what milk.  I sat there and watched them pass everything back and forth to each other about five times.

Josie is ready to get up.

The one thing Piper won't give up is the green frog.  She loves that thing!  She usually brings it to her high chair with her to eat breakfast.  

15 Months

Here we are again - another month gone by.  The girls had their 15 month appointment yesterday and they have moved fully into the toddler stage.  Walking, starting to say words, and showing some attitude! 

Here are some updates on measurements and what they've each been up to:

Josie Bear
Weight: 20 lbs 6 oz (10th - 25th percentile)
Height: 30 3/4 inches (50th percentile)
Head: 18 1/2 inches
Words: Thank you (sort of), mama, dada, doh doh (doggy), bye bye, mmmmmm (supposed to be moo for a cow)
Favorite things: snuggling, eating,  sticking out her lower lip when she's upset, showing us her tummy

Piper
Weight: 20 lbs 2 oz (10th percentile)
Height: 30 1/4 inches (50th percentile)
Head: 18 1/2 inches
Words: DOGGY (said constantly all day long), daddy
Favorite things: DOGGIES, her green frog lovey, pointing at things, showing us her hair (random!), pulling my hair, 'pretending' to eat with a spoon and a bowl ( because she thinks she's so big), riding on her Winnie the Pooh car. 

Meet Blue

Meet the newest member of our family - Blue.  He is a Goldendoodle and came home to us last Saturday at 8 weeks old.  So far, he is a very good boy.  He is now used to his kennel (no more crying in there) and starting to 'get' the whole potty training thing.  He's also been on lots of walks already with our nice spring weather and has made it down to the road and back several times (1.3 miles).  We can already tell Blue is going to be a good boy.

The girls have had a mixed reaction to Blue.  Like so many things, they are approaching him pretty differently.  Piper's reaction was priceless.  To her, it was hands down the best day of her life.  Her favorite word is 'doggy' and she says it at least 150 times per day.  I don't even have to describe her excitement because it's all on video:

Josie is characteristically approaching him with a bit more caution.  She has figured out that he has sharp little puppy teeth and isn't interested in getting too close (while Piper repeatedly sticks her hands in his mouth over and over and then laughs hysterically).

Both girls think the kennel is pretty cool:

Welcome to the family Blue!

Utah Wrap-up

The rest of our trip went by so quickly.  We had so much fun and just like our last trip, I noticed how all the fun, the change of scenery, and lots and lots of love seems to change the girls a little bit.  On the way home, a random flight attendant picked Josie up and she didn't cry.  In fact, she giggled and played with her.  I think the travel and the change of scenery is really good for them!  It is hard traveling with kids, but in my opinion, it is definitely worth it.  Seeing them with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, makes me really really miss home.  I'm grateful we were able to make the trip.

Here's some more fun we had - Josh, Jer, and the girls with their cousin Riley

 EJ and me with the girls

 My parents with Piper one night right before bed

 Uncle Jeff came up for a visit and for some lunch.  The girls thought the bow was pretty funny.

 Brynn and Nate came over to my parents for dinner one night

We had dinner at Jer & Erika's and Jim & Rebecca and family came down too.  Look at those pretty Jones girls!  The girls jumped right into the mix with their cousins and had lots of fun playing. 

 Grandma Bubba and Piper.  We were eating at Brynn and Nate's house. 

 One night, Josie learned she was supposed to smile for the camera.  "Say Cheese!"

 Playing with Uncle Nate and Aunt Brynn at their house

 Grandpa and Josie

 Can't wait to go back!

Utah trip: Part 2

Tuesday and Wednesday in Utah brought more fun.  Tuesday my dad, Josh and I headed to the Hogle zoo with the girls.  I think the last time we were there was probably a field trip in grade school.  It was another nice, sunny day, so we enjoyed the time outside.  The girls liked the animals - especially Piper.  She pointed and spoke her Piper language.  Next time we come, we hope the BEARS are out! 

Later that day, we all headed up to Ogden for lunch with Conor and Scotty, and that night, I was lucky enough to have a night out at Bunco with my friends.

Wednesday we had a nice lunch with grandpa and Maryann in Ogden before they left for Hawaii.

Piper being sweet

 Josh and his dad with Piper

 Pretty girl

 Yeah, it's getting harder and harder to get pictures with both of them

We made it: Utah - Part 1

We all survived another cross country trip to the land of Zion.  The girls did really well.  Piper slept in the carseat for the entire leg from Atlanta to Salt Lake, and Josie slept in our arms for most of the flight, after starting out with about five minutes of screaming (had us a little nervous for a minute).  We got in very very late (12 midnight local time, so 2 a.m. for us), got our rental car, and headed to Draper.  We were all tired the next day, but the girls adjusted quickly and settled right into napping in their pack 'n plays. 

Sunday evening we met up with the entire Egan family at my grandparents house.  The girls got to see all kinds of second cousins - the family has exploded with babies over the past couple of years - and get some loves and kisses from their great grandparents. 

Josie mixing it up with Hadlee and Kruz, my cousins' kids. 

 Grandma Shirley and Josie

 Grandma and Piper

 Nate and Brynn helping a cranky and tired Piper out with her milk

The next day found us here:

Thanks to so passes Brynn was able to get us, along with some skis complements of the Lifthouse, Josh, Brynn and I spent Valentine's skiing - for the first time in two years!  It started out as a beautifully sunny day.  We had a great time - despite Josh's back pain. 

Can't wait to get the girls up here on some skis!