choo choo

Did I tell y'all about the train yet? I don't think I did....

Herself LOVES trains. She gets so excited just to hear the train whistle coming from downtown. And when she actually gets to see at train...fugetaboutit! So a few weeks ago, we took our afternoon snack into town and ate outside the train station while watching the comings and goings of the trains. Hey, she's a cheap date, you know? We got to talking about the difference between freight trains and passenger trains, and she asked me "Emerson take turns riding train?" {Insert darling squeaky voice here} Who could resist? So I arranged with my mom to drop us at the train last Thursday and pick us up a few towns East of here so that Emerson could finally have her turn on the train.

On the morning of our great excursion, she was SO excited. We got to the station a bit early and took some pictures before our train came in.

The we hopped on and rode for about 15 minutes. I wish you had seen her...she was practically speechless, save for some barely audible squeaks of glee. And her eyes were as big as saucers for the whole trip. She was truly in awe. I'm SO glad we did it!

When we got off, we had a seat on a bench near the tracks and waited for my mom to meet us to drive us home. I asked Emerson "So, what did you think?" She sighed and said "Pretty neat." Sigh. Man, do I ever love that kid.

Happy first week of June. And happy birthday to two of my favorite people!

let's just say...

...that I'm OVERWHELMED by your response to my call to get running :)

Maybe you're all out running and are too busy to post. Yep. That must be it.

:)

another 13.1

Hello all~ I hope your long weekend was filled with fun times and warm weather. Jeff, Em, & I packed up the SUV and headed to Madison to stay with our Kothe cousins for the weekend. We ate, laid out on the dock, rode on the boat, ate, watched the girls in a water ski show, ate, and generally had a fun time. Oh, and I ran my 2nd 1/2 marathon of 2009.

I have to laugh...the first one was this huge, momentous deal that I wrote about all during my training. This one, not so much. I was MUCH more relaxed and low key for this race. In fact, I slept great the night before and had NO IDEA why my cousin was coming in to wake me at 5:15 am. I don't know if it's because I already had one under my belt, or because I didn't have a nagging injury causing me stress, or because I wasn't flying across the country to complete it, but this was a totally different experience. My cousin Amy (who ran Disney with me in January), her brother Joe (who ran this BAREFOOT and kicked all our butts with a sub-2 hour time!!), and her sister-in-law Sharon (on her husband's side) all ran. But we didn't run together at all. Joe caught me around mile 9, so we were together for about 10 minutes or so, but other than that, I was all by myself. The weather was perfect, and Madison is such a fun town. Kinda hilly for this flatlander, but other than mile 6, not too bad. It was just a great run. I was very proud of my time...I was shooting for a 2:10, and came in with a 2:11, but I had to make a pit stop @ mile 11, so I was right on pace. I'm more than a bit curious to know what my time would have been if I hadn't stopped, but at that point, it really wasn't optional for me :)

Would you believe that I don't have ONE picture from race day? We didn't have a camera with us before the start, and no one thought to take a picture at the finish area. Oh well. I know I was there :)

We were talking about how I got Amy running, and she got Joe running (as well as a lady who waits on her regularly @ Starbuck's), and Joe has gotten a few friends running, and so on. It's pretty neat to know that I've had a hand in helping people do something to strengthen their bodies and minds! With that, I have a challenge for you...get out there and run. Now before you say "no way," hear me out. If you're not a runner at all, run for 30 seconds and walk for 3 minutes. Do that 1 or 2 or 3 times. It will be hard at first, but trust me, it gets easier. If it didn't, none of us would run the distances that we do! If you can run for a few minutes already, find a 5K in your area this summer and sign up. It's amazing what a date looming on the calendar can do for motivation. If you're a 5K runner, stretch to a 10K. The point is, take that step to move out of your comfort zone. You'll be amazed at what your body can accomplish, and you'll feel so proud of yourself.

I would LOVE to hear about your running. Give it a try :)

a.

my sunshine

Just a little look at the face that makes my world go 'round.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, everyone!

lucky number 13

So we were awakened @ 6:40 this morning to the sound of Emerson counting from her bed. "One, two, tree, pour, pive, six, seben, eight, nine, ten, leben, twel, firtee" We both looked at eachother in amazement. We knew she could count, but we usually stop at 10! And although she knows all of the numerals, she frequently leaves out five or six. So to hear her go all the way to 13...WELL!!!

Quite a nice way to wake up, if you ask me.

Hope your day is grand~

her favorite things

When Emerson was 4 months old, I created a page in her scrapbook highlighting some of her favorite things. I guess I intended to continue that monthly, but here she is at 21 months, and I have yet to create another one.

That's where this post comes in. In no particular order, these are a few of Em's favorite things.

1. Balls. She seems to have a radar for them. If we out for a walk or at a friend's house, she senses them before she even sees them. Her she is today @ Lily's house with a snazzy pink soccer ball.

2. Her binky. This was also on the 4 month old list. She sleeps with 2 in her crib...one for her, and one for "herr buddies." Speaking of her buddies, she's a Disney girl (not that THAT'S any surprise with me for a Mama.) The fab 5 share her bunk nightly.

3. Sweets. She has the Girsch sweet tooth. She has a dessert rotation of cookies, pudding {pooh-ning}, and Popsicles. This lucky duck was treated to a cupcake the size of her head at a friend's b-day party. Oh boy!

4. Animals. She loves to play with these guys everyday. She positions them on one of the end tables in the living room, and then maneuvers them all down to the carpet to "eat grass." So sweet. And don't you dare call the kangaroo's baby a baby... it's a JOEY!

5. Flags. She is OBSESSED with them. At stores, in the car, at the zoo, around our house. She loves flags. She is particularly attached to the American flag and our Iowa Hawkeye flag. Smart girl.

I'm sure this picture breaks Uncle Craig's heart...twice. :)

Make it a great week~

three squeezes

When I put Emerson down for a nap or for bed, the last thing I do is take her hand, give her three squeezes, and say "I. Love. You." as I squeeze. Tonight, she did it to me. Three teeny squeezes and her peanut voice saying (with a binky tucked in between her lips) "I wov you."

This is the stuff they don't tell you about in the parenting books. This is the stuff that, if it could be bottled up it would more valuable than anything else on earth. These are the memories that I pray that I'll remember 80 years from now. (Yes, I DO know how old that'll make me!)

This is what it means to be a parent.

Have a happy night.

recognize this?

Of course you do. You see them every day as you scoot about town. And now, thanks to lunch there after the zoo on Sunday, so does my 21 month-old. We were on our way home from playgroup today when we drove past the ubiquitous Golden Arches and Emerson blurted out "McDonald's!"

Who knew marketing campaigns paid off at such an early age?

a jolt

I heard some sad news today, and it's been sitting heavy in my mind all day. The 32 year-old wife of a college acquaintance died suddenly of a blood clot yesterday. Just like that...gone. How can someone be posting on Twitter and Facebook on Friday and be gone on Sunday? It's hard to get your brain around.

Every once in a while, God sends little reminders that...
1. we are NOT in charge
2. life is so precious
3. live each day with love in your heart and make each moment count


I know this post is cliche laden, so forgive me. But it's a good reminder when your 21 month-old is being a PIA. I'm sure Jaime's parents and husband would love to have a good old-fashioned fight with their little girl right now just to have her back with them.

Go hug your people, K? And make it a good day.

happy mama day!

That's what Em is chanting over and over in her crib as she's falling asleep. Kinda wipes out any naughty behaviors, don't you think? Jeff taught her to say it yesterday as she brought me these.

Sweet little pea has been saying it all weekend. Sigh.

Hope you got to hug yours today. I sure do love mine! Happy Mother's Day, everyone.

May pics

The weather has {finally} turned to Spring, and we're loving it. Here's a few shots from the last week.Em LOVES to play with her baby. She's sure to make sure that Baby has eaten and takes naps. Here, she's putting her down for "sleeps."

I couldn't resist this adorable dress for Emerson. It's from Tea and I absolutely adore their designs. So stinkin' cute!

Eastern Redbuds have to be my favorite shrub.

{Is it weird to have a favorite shrub???}

Anyways, they're in full bloom here and I love seeing that vibrant orchid explosion as I drive around town.

Yesterday, we stopped by Grammy's to deliver some lilacs {my second favorite shrub.} It's so nice to be close by and stop in anytime!

Grammy, Emerson, and I had a girls' lunch at a train cafe in town. The food is served in little baskets delivered by model train. Em LOVES it there!

She also loves to ride the horse {which still costs $.25!} on her way out. What a fun place for kids to eat. We're lucky to live in such a darling town.

I'm off to listen to my new iTunes downloads {I'm obsessed with "Space" by Sarah Buxton} and catch up on Project 365.


Make it a good day~

a.

musings from 11 miles

I'm training to run my 2nd 1/2 marathon in a few weeks, and seeing as Saturdays are my long run days, I had about 2 hours to do lots of thinking this morning. Here's a few random thoughts from my 11 mile run:

* Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around Comes Around" is just about the perfect song to run to.

* The flowers and trees are all in bloom and look amazing. I love fall, but this spring is giving the autumn leaves a run for their money.

* Eastern Redbud trees are just about my favorite plant of all time. They're AMAZING right now!

* The sound of bullfrogs croaking in the marsh is unbelievably cool. I'm not a nature girl by any means, but I always turn off the iPod when I run through the marsh, just to listen to those little guys doing their thing.

* I burn about 100 calories/mile. That means I'm 1100 in the hole today. Yippee!!!

* The trees with the pink blossoms (crab apples? cherry trees? I have NO idea!!) smell the best.

* I could never run for 1+ hours without Lou Mongello's WDW Radio podcasts. If you're a Disney fan, are planning a trip, or just need to pass the time, check it out on iTunes.

* A blackberry/mango/strawberry/orange smoothie is a yummy post-run treat.

* It may be time for me to look into some new running shoes. These are beating the hell out of my toes.

* Member's Only jackets show up in the most unexpected places. Can you still buy these, or are they vintage relics? And why on earth would someone want one in poop brown?


Hope you take advantage of this glorious day. Oh, and I hope the day is glorious where you are.