Marathon Relay

Today was my second time participating in the car2go Marathon Relay with Team LIVESTRONG. Once again I was team captain and once again I gathered 5 awesome women to run with me. A few highlights included having the sole of my shoe come halfway off just before my leg of the race and using yellow duct tape to keep it together; having our 5th runner show up about 3 minutes before her start time (serious excitement!); bringing Aurora and letting her color and play with the other kids and families while we all ran (she had a great time); and best of all was coming up on mile 4, so close to the finish line, and seeing my team, our girls, and my PARENTS cheering me on in the crowd!!! I did not expect them to come and it was awesome. Maybe the BEST part was handing off the baton when my 1/6 of the marathon was up.

My goal was to raise more money, train better and run faster than last year. We definitely raised more money, winning an award and lots of great incentives for being a top fundraising team. I feel like my training went better (though I didn't really start training until a few weeks ago) and my final time ended up being almost exactly the same as last year. A couple weeks ago I decided that I want to keep training even after this event is over, so next week I'm starting up a new training plan (more to come on that) and my next goal is to run in the Austin Half Marathon in February. WHAT!?

Gone with the Wind

During my sabbatical I stopped playing games on my phone and started reading books. Real books, Kindle books, lots of books. My favorite genre used to be young adult fiction but these days I'm more into historical romance, so I decided to read Gone with the Wind. I put it on hold at the library not realizing it was 1472 pages - definitely one of the thickest books I've read! If it were published today I'm sure it would be a trilogy. Regardless, I loved it and finished it in just over a week. Afterwards I found out that a local museum was going to have a Gone with the Wind exhibit to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the film. When I heard, I had a conversation with Aurora that went like this:

Me: Aurora, remember that book I told you I was reading?
A: You mean the one about the Civil War?
Me: Yes! Well, they made a movie about it, and a museum nearby is going to have an exhibit with pictures and storyboards and letters and dresses from the movie!
A: Well mommy, I would be interested to go to that with you.

So, today we went! My mom and dad have been gone in Florida for the last month or so, but they came back this week and were more than happy to come along.

I think the exhibit would be awesome no matter who you are, but it was especially cool after just reading the book and watching the movie. This has been a hard act to follow so if you have any book recommendations, please leave them in the comments. And if you happen to be in the Austin area, stop by the Harry Ransom Center and check it out!

Better late than never...

Clark's been 2-years old for 5 weeks now and today I finally took him in for his 2-year well child check up. If it was up to him, we would've skipped it entirely. He didn't like the change in his morning routine, he didn't like the sun in his eyes during the drive, he did not like getting weighed or measured or having the doctor look in his eyes, ears, or mouth. In fact, he kept getting down, opening the door and leaving! Thank goodness he didn't need any shots. He did cheer up a bit when I put him in the little hospital gown...

Our little guy weighs just 23 lbs, putting him under the 25th percentile for weight (maybe closer to 5th). He's 34" tall, putting him just over the 25th percentile for height. He's behind where Aurora was at this point with speech, but he's right where he's supposed to be - and his motor skills are above where Aurora's were, meaning he may not be able to say as many recognizable words but he's never once had a face plant the way she always did. The doctor pointed this out to me after asking a few simple questions and she said that's very common. I think it's amazing that there are such obvious differences between boys and girls!

I also remember Aurora wanting to do things independently, but she usually wanted to do the right thing. Clark just wants to do what Clark wants to do, and that usually doesn't include doing what he's told. Oh well, he may be a little more "terrible" at two than she was, but we sure love him anyway.

Achievement

This weekend was completely packed with outings, parties and awards. I'm sure many people think it's silly how we reward kids for every little thing these days, but I love it. I love that Aurora got a "Certificate of Achievement" for making a birdhouse at the Home Depot kid's workshop. I love that Girl Scouts has started back up and she gets a badge every month for learning something new. This month they made a chore chart - what's not to love? I love that she got a prize for volunteering 5 hours over the summer at the Little Helping Hands end of summer picnic, and she loved telling people that her favorite volunteer activity was Meals on Wheels.

As for me, my greatest achievement was getting the family to all these events and a birthday party with very few meltdowns. While he's not in many pictures, Clark came along whenever he could and had a great time. He even got to hit the piñata!

The Zoo

After a fun and busy week of school, work, running, reading, errands, and selling on eBay, we started our Labor Day weekend with a trip to the zoo.

Three day weekends are great, but for Aurora, well, she's been waiting SO long for first grade to start and she loves it SO much that a long weekend would be pure torture if we didn't find interesting ways to fill the time! Clark was just getting used to the new routine and the weekend's throwing him off a bit, but I'd say feeding the animals and taking a ride on the zoo train was good for both of them. Now, what to do for the next two days...

First Day of First Grade

Today the boys came along to send Aurora off on her first bus ride of first grade. We got there a few minutes early and it was great seeing some familiar faces. Clark got so excited when he saw the bus, he waved and said: "Bye bye Wawa, I yuv you!"

Today's also her first day doing EASY care after school at Valley View - no more CCOA! Of course, she'll be back every day as we go pick up Clark on our way home. Yes, I'll have two separate pick-ups after work now, but I'm ready. Here's hoping my brain doesn't just go on auto-pilot and forget...

Back to School

It's been such a busy week that I haven't had a chance to blog. First (and most importantly), Aurora and Clark are moving on up in school! Earlier in the week we had a Curriculum Night at CCOA and got to see Clark's new classroom. He's moving out of the infant center and into a toddler room. Starting Monday he'll be in the Starfish class with a new teacher, new toys, and a sink he can wash his own hands in. Wow!

Today CCOA was closed and Valley View was OPEN for Meet the Teacher Day. Aurora starts 1st Grade on Monday and her new teacher is Ms. Zaroba. Ms. Zaroba got her undergrad at UT then went to New York for her Master's Degree. She's been teaching both Kindergarten and 1st Grade for 5 years. Her favorite color is black and her favorite book is Harry Potter! She just moved back to Austin last week to start her job at Valley View, and I'd say she's just as sweet as Mrs. Parolini. I know Aurora will love being in her class.

Speaking of UT, I spent some time there myself this week as the LIVESTRONG Foundation announced a partnership with the Dell Medical School in order to create a new model of patient-centered cancer care. It was an exciting day!

The next day I presented at our team meeting, and yesterday was fall intern orientation. It has been a VERY busy week, but in the best possible way. Having a forced day off with the kids before they go back to school on Monday has been a welcome break...

Good Night!

Today I was telling a friend how sweet and silly Clark gets right at bedtime, and she said I had to take a video. So I did! This has been happening for awhile now, and afterwards (like right now as I type this), I can hear him singing songs in his crib...

 

My sweet little guy. I'll miss this when he's a big boy! 

Airplanes

We had a fun weekend celebrating Clark's 2nd Birthday. Yesterday we went to the movies and saw Planes: Fire & Rescue, and today we threw him an airplane themed party.

It was super fun. Well, except for when Aurora fell down and was sure she'd broken her arm. Oh, and that time when Chuck opened the fridge on Clark's head... OTHERWISE, it was a fun party and I think everybody had a good time and enjoyed the pizza and cake!

Clark got some great gifts and clearly loved having everybody sing Happy Birthday (seriously, the death glare he gave when we sang was hilarious). It was a great weekend. We sure love you, sweet little buddy! Enjoy being 2-years old.

Toothless

After weeks of anticipation, Aurora's second front tooth is finally OUT! I never thought I'd be so relieved to have her smile look like this. Saturday I offered to match the Tooth Fairy's payout if she could pull it out before the photo session, but no luck. Last night she really didn't want anybody to touch or pull her tooth, but it was so loose and it got bonked so it was bleeding and she was so upset until finally, it happened. Phew!

As nerve-wracking as it was for her to finally loose that tooth, it was equally stressful for the tooth fairly! Aurora asked for a book (again) and when the tooth fairy did come (with $2 and a note saying she hopes Aurora can buy a wonderful book with her money), she went to get the tooth and Aurora ALMOST woke up. I wonder how different Clark will be when it comes to losing teeth? Ah well. If you run into Aurora in the near future, do not attempt to sing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth." She is not amused...

Birthday Boys

Chuck's birthday was Friday and Clarkie's is coming up in a few days, so we've been finding lots of ways to celebrate. I brought home cake and wine for Chuck on Friday, we had a nice family dinner with my parents last night, then the two of us went out for a margarita and movie date night! I figured we could focus this whole weekend on Chuck, but it made sense to get Clark's two year pictures taken before his big party weekend. So, step aside Chuck because Clark is dominating the blog. Sorry!

Clark wasn't quite as cooperative as Aurora has always been with the photo sittings, but I'd say we got a few sweet pictures here. I cannot believe our silly little boy is turning 2...

Oh, and Happy Birthday Chuck!!!