Who says girls can't play with cars? And bears

A few times lately, while playing with boys (!), the girls have taken quite an interest in their friends' cars.  They get down on their tummies and race them around.  I don't know why I never thought to get them cars (gender discrimination), but we decided to fix that and bought some at target last weekend.  They have been having some fun with them:

Also, sometime last winter, the Koupals and Nana brought them their big brown bear back from a trip to Richmond.  We named him Joper.  Unfortunately, during a long weekend of household puking and pooping, Joper was repeatedly vomited on by Josie.  We got him cleaned, but he has never been quite the same.  Nana sent them two new big bears a few weeks ago.  They don't have names yet - just big bear - but the girls love them.  They throw themselves on them while playing and sometimes lie down on them to take a little breather.

Summertime and the livin's easy

The girls have been having lots of fun playing in the water.  On Saturday, we went to a goodbye brunch for Marc, Shana, Grady and Reese Arnold.  Marc (call sign Pig) was Josh's BFF during his Qatar deployment.  They are leaving the Marine Corps and headed for civilian life back home in Ohio.  We were lame and didn't take any pictures of them, but we snapped a few of the girls playing in their water play area outside.

And here's a picture of Josh and Marc with the babies before they left for Qatar.

Side note: Pig gave Josh a pen with Big Love (his call sign) engraved on it as a going away present, which I thought was pretty darn thoughtful.  Apparently, Josh wrote Pig's name on his pen in Qatar so he wouldn't lose it.  So he returned the favor.

Later that weekend, we ran out and got the girls their own water play area.  As much as I would like to take them to the pool during the week, they are too crazy and it would be DANGER with a capital D.  So we have to wait until the weekends when daddy is home for pool-going.  Once I got this blown up (and almost passed out from oxygen deprivation), we had some fun.  We invited the Cromwells over and Gavin splashed around with them a bit. 

The Cromwells are also leaving us for Quantico, Virginia.  They've been two houses down for more than four years.  It is going to be a lonely neighborhood without them around.

Another side note: At some point during the day, Piper fell down, apparently while she was sticking out her tongue.  Her mouth was bleeding for a short time, and I took a glance in there, assessed the situation, and thought she was okay.  So we continued on with our day of playing in the water.  Josh came home, took a look at it and promptly took her to the E.R.  She did not end up needing stitches (they don't usually stitch tongues; good to know), but it is a good-sized gash.  She also bonked her head in the tub the night before and cut right above her eye.  So now she is hardcore with two bloody wounds.  And I feel like a negligent mom!

Snip Snip

A few weeks ago, I took some scissors to Piper's hair.  She was starting to sport a bit of a baby mullet.  I did not think to get the camera, but Josh insisted we commemorate the occasion with lots of pictures and save her hair in a little baggy.  So we'll send that along with her when she leaves the house for college. 

 She was actually pretty patient.  I think she really wanted to play with the scissors. 

All done with a cute little bob. 

Father's Day 2011

Happy Father's Day Josh!  Josie and Piper (and Blue) are lucky to have a daddy who adores everything they do, who counts down the hours of every day until he can get home to these girls, who would gladly be a stay-at-home dad, and loves more than anything to make them laugh.

This girl gets her stubbornness and her intelligence from her daddy.

And this girl gets her sense of humor and her silly personality from her daddy.

And happy father's day to my own dad, who always has and still does support everything I do.  From schlepping me to early morning cheerleading practice, to driving me up a snowy canyon and dropping me off at a sorority house where it was clear NOBODY was going to class.  Dads rock!

Six months to 2

Josie and Piper were 18 months old on June 5th.  It seems like they just turned one and now here we are six months away from their second birthday.  We are fully entrenched in toddlerhood and their personalities emerge a little more everyday.

Piper is becoming fiercely independent.  When she decides she wants to do something, she works very hard until she figures it out.  Until she wants our help, then she wants it RIGHT NOW.  And she has been known to throw a fit or two if things don't go her way.  She likes to push the grocery cart at the store, push her stroller (rather than ride in it), use a fork and spoon even if her food doesn't require it, and drink out of a big person water bottle instead of her boring old sippy cup.  She is so funny and so exhausting.  When she wakes up in the morning, she is honestly delighted to face another day.  It's like "oh YAY!  Here I am again!  Being alive ROCKS".  She scrambles over to grab her bear and holds it up to show me. 

Josie is a bit more laid back and tends to go with things.  She doesn't get quite as frustrated when we make her ride in her carseat, or take her to the grocery store, for example.  She likes to observe and watch and seems happy to be out and about.  She also really likes to sing and dance.  Turn on some turns and she shakes her shoulders and sings a few notes.  She is still really cuddly and when we go to put her down for a nap or for the night, she quickly lays her head on our chest to get a few minutes more out of us.  She is very polite and her favorite thing to say is "tank you".  She says this whenever she hands something to us.  She also signs "please" whenever she wants anything. 

We had their 18 month appointment and they are almost exactly the same size.
Weight: Josie was 21 lbs 6 oz and Piper was 21 lbs 8 oz (about the 10th percentile)
Height: Both were 30 3/4 inches (about the 25th percentile)
Head: Both were 18 3/4 inches around (about the 90th percentile!)

Not sure what kind of face Piper is pulling, but believe it or not, this was the best picture we go out of them.  

Bossypants and Unbroken

I just finished two more great books.  The first one - Unbroken - is one of the best books I have read in a long time.  The story is the true (but almost unbelievable) story of Louis Zamperini, the famous miler who was shot down in the Pacific during World War II, then proceeded to survive for many days and months on a life raft and in a Japanese POW camp.  The NY times review has a better description than I can give.  Just go read it.  Josh has it on his list to read next - I think he will dig the WWII aviation references.  I think my dad would also love the history and background of what happened in the Pacific during WWII.  I learned a lot reading it, but the story was so engrossing it didn't feel like work. 

The next book, an obvious much lighter read, is Bossypants by Tina Fey.  I love her and pretty much everything she says.  She writes about what it was like to be a woman and in charge at SNL and her show 30 Rock, what it's like to be a working mom, and  how her famous Sarah Palin impression came about.  She's just funny and it's a quick and easy read.

I have a lot of books to get through on my Goodreads To Read list.  Josh and I get in bed between 8:30 and 9 every night with our Kindles.  We are such old people!!

YMCA New Bern Triathlon

I participated in my second triathlon last month.  The first one was nine years ago in St. George and I didn't really train for it.  Not surprisingly, it wasn't a great experience.  I felt like I was drowning in the lake and never wanted to do it again.  However, ever since I got my road bike five years ago, the triathlon has been calling my name.  After my marathon in March, I needed a change and started training for this race.  I didn't do a lot of swimming, but I swam twice a week for about six weeks.  I felt pretty confident that it wouldn't be a disaster (are you reading into the sense of foreboding I am trying to convey?).

The race was a 400 yard pool swim, 10 mile bike, and 5K run.  Easy enough.  I could easily cover the 400 yard distance, and thought I could be fast enough on the bike and the run.  HOWEVER.  I stupidly seeded myself way too close to the front during the swim (time to put the ego aside).  This meant that I started and immediately felt like I was being plowed over by people who were clearly much better swimmers than me.  This went on for about 150 yards, my panic increased, and I started thinking about quitting.  At some point, it got too strong and I hopped out of the pool.  Right away I was pissed.  Why did I do that?  I am perfectly capable of completing this distance.  I found Josh, had a little freak out, and decided to ask them if I could start over.  Luckily, this was a beginners-friendly race and the race official was fine with letting me start again at the end of the swim line.

Once I got back in, I did just fine.  I ended up with a total time of around 1:06.  My bike was fast, my run was just okay, and the swim was slooooowww.  I was 14th overall in about 45 females.  I think I can do a lot better with some more training and I haven't given up on triathlons yet.  I would like to try another couple races this summer and see how I do. Josh took some pics with his phone because he was having trouble getting the regular camera to work.

My sweet little cheering section

 Coming through the finish

Out on the run - it was a warm day and starting over at the back of the pack made for an even hotter run

Recent Happenings

Lots of stuff going on around here, there is never a dull moment.  First, to contribute to Josie's superhero status, Grandma Bubba made the girls their very own capes with hoodies to wear and play with.  This is a big hit because taking things off and putting them on again, plus putting stuff on our heads, is great fun.  Josie loves hers and wants to wear it all the time.  Piper loves hers too (it has frogs on it!), but she wants to take it off as soon as you put it in, then wants it on again.

Also, Blue got neutered last week and has been sporting the "cone of shame".  He walks around with a look on his face like he is wondering what the eff just happened to him.  Also, the girls have been using the cone to their full advantage.  Picture the two girls banging on it and pointing and laughing.  This only contributes to his shame. 

Finally, climbing is quickly becoming an obsession.  Maybe this is normal toddler behavior, or maybe we have a couple of gymnansts, or mountain climbers, or trapeze artists on our hands. 

Sticking it out

Awhile back, Piper discovered her tongue. Since then, she has been a little obsessed with it.  It is ALWAYS sticking out.  Sometimes it seems like she is concentrating on something, and then sometimes I think she just likes sticking it out.  What is this all about?  Does anyone know?  It is pretty cute. But also perplexing.  And the paranoid mom side of me wants to know if there is something wrong with her mouth ...

Captain Jones on the news

MCAS Cherry Point conducts hurricane preparedness exercise

Josh was interviewed for our local news last week for a hurricane preparedness exercise he was in charge of at Cherry Point.  I thought he did a great job.  I told him that I counsel people on talking with the media everyday, and I didn't really have any tips for him on what he could do better.  He seemed like an old pro.  The link above goes directly to both the print story and video clip of the segment.

And here's a recent picture we took of Josh the Marine with the girlies.

Jer, Erika & Riley come to NC

We had a lot of fun over the past week while Jer, Erika and Riley came to visit North Carolina.  They stayed down at the beach with Barb, but Josh took some time off work and we were able to make some fun day trips with them.  Some of the fun things we did:

All of us in our backyard before we had lunch and walked around downtown New Bern.  Josie warmed right up to Aunt Erika and they had a lot of fun together.  

At the beach again

Josh and Jer with Riley and Piper

Riley and Alden spent lots of time looking for critters

Visiting the aquarium.  Check it out - it's a frog!  Piper loved it

Saturday, we went down to Jacksonville for the New River airshow.  Josh got to show his family the Prowler and the kids got to crawl around inside some airplanes.

 Thanks for visiting!  We can't wait to see you guys again soon. 

17 months

I am a bit late posting this and another month has gone by.  Josie and Piper are 17 months.  The changes don't come quite as fast and furious as when I started with the monthly updates at six months, but they are still changing every month.  Both girls now love to use a fork with their meals.  They don't quite have the hang of it, but they think they are so grown up!  Our meal-time routine now is give them a fork, then go over and stab the noodle (or sweet potato, or whatever), give it back to them, so they can then put it in their mouth.  Repeat this process for the entire meal.  And then throw the fork on the ground a few times and say "uh oh!"

Both girls are talking more.  Their favorite words are bye bye, bear, baby, uh oh, Blue, and daddy.  They have also discovered climbing.  I glanced over earlier this week to find Piper standing on the steering wheel of her little car, while balancing with one hand on the wall.  She had apparently worked very hard at this and was pretty proud of herself.  They also love to throw all the toys out of their toy box and climb inside.  Piper has attempted to slam the lid on Josie's head a few times. Not cool!

Here's some video I shot the other day:

Also, our regular storytime before bed has been replaced with a session of tearing around the house at full speed, climbing on the couch, repeatedly falling off onto all the throw pillows, then climbing up again, over and over. Sitting still for a book is definitely not happening anymore!  Here's some video of that:

We are having a lot of fun!  We are also really tired!

Mother's Day 2011

I had a great mother's day yesterday.  Josh planned a nice brunch, I was able to sleep in a little bit (until maybe 6:45!), the girls took a long afternoon nap, so I was able to lay down and read.  It was great!  The only thing missing was my own mom.  We missed you Bubba!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there.  I am so very blessed to be a mom to the sweetest, most beautiful little girls!

Lady of Leisure

This is how I found Piper hanging out while I was getting Josie dressed this morning:

Things I Love Lately

Just a note to talk about some of the things I have been enjoying lately.  You know, to influence this HUGE audience I have.

My BlenTec blender.  Yes, it is pricey, but it is AWESOME!  This thing can blend anything.  We have been blending apples, carrots, celery, making muffin batter, juices, anything.  We all have a green smoothie every day with lots of spinach or kale in it, along with fruit.  This thing blends it up so well you can't taste the greens.

 Some good books lately: Cutting for Stone and The Imperfectionists.  Both read on my Kindle, which I am also obsessed with.  I would recommend these two books to just about anyone.

 The new Panic at the Disco album: Vices & Virtues.  Good for working out.

The Moosewood cookbook - full of vegetarian and low fat recipes, that are delicious.  We have been eating most of our meals out of this cookbook over the past few weeks and they are almost all good.