Memorial Weekend 2012

Ellie is our little shark after bath time at Grandma's house

Hadley, Ellie and I walked up town to shop

Hadley had to bring her stroller along to push Annie and Kitty

We had our first garage sale with kid stuff. Sold all our 0-12 month items.

Hadley's enjoying her favorite bakery item before the start of the garage sale

Ellie loves to climb as well as eat snacks

Spent lots of time with Parker and family

Onesies and PJ's for sale

Bye Bye dresses

Grandma and Hadley relaxing by the bonfire

Uncle and Hadley!

Hadley & Mommy

Hadley enjoying some Mommy time by the bonfire

Ellie is 14 months!

Tomorrow Ellie is 14 months old. It is already the 22nd of the month... I am shaking my head, because I can't believe we are almost done with May. But, time moves by and we seem to go with it and that is just the way it is. Ellie is a spitfire, she has a spirit in her that I think speaks perseverance. She is strong willed, stubborn and knows what she wants. She has a scream that pierces, a laugh that rumbles and a silence that speaks volumes.

She is a shadow to her sister, she follows her around, tries to do what Hadley does. Often times she can, sometimes she can't, many times she just destroys what Hadley has created. Hadley gets mad and wants to push Ellie but we remind her she can't and that Ellie is little and she just wants to be like you! It is so cute because Ellie is so advanced because she has Hadley to follow around, also we are more laid back as parents because she is baby number two.

Ellie has 8 teeth. She is a great eater. She enjoys noodles of any kind. She also loves to eat rice hotdish that Grandma makes. She loves corn!

She is an outdoor gal, she loves tools and isn't scared of noise. She will watch Uncle Andrew drive big trucks, watch Papa till the garden, ride on the the lawn mower... it doesn't matter, the louder the better in her world, as long as she is outside! She knows how to open doors, she can go up and down the stairs, she can open drawers, she knows that crowns belong on your head and that shoes belong on your feet.

She can say... more, baby, shoe, boo, mama, dada and ball. She can clap, give high five, point and do "so big!"

The other day when I ran, I told Cassie that Ellie was determined, that she could probably run a half marathon on 2 miles of training just because she was a strong person and I truly believe it! Ellie is a pretty special gal and she will shock us all... she already has! Happy 14 months little gal! We love you so much! Thanks for being so amazing and special!

Brown Bear

This morning Hadley (3 years and 6 mo.) read me Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See by Eric Carle. I was so surprised. It was the cutest thing ever. We have a new version of the book with little flaps showing what the animal sees and I suppose she finds that pretty interesting. But of course she read it by memorization which also made me feel great because I was reassured that we did something right by reading to her all the time.

This also gives me motivation to keep reading to both Hadley and Ellie as well as just talking to them.

Then as I was talking to her about her big accomplishment, I pointed out to her that we read that book a lot while she was little and she said yes and I read it to Ellie. She then said, "And, Ellie will read it when she gets big. And, I want to be a Mommy too!" I said, "Well you can be a Mommy but first you are kid, being a kid is soo much fun, you don't want to rush it." She said, "Yes first I was a baby and now I will be a kid and then after that I can be a Mommy." "Sure," I said, "That works!"

She forgot adolescence and teenager and college kid and late 20's and early 30's and than Mommy!

It the little things that make being a Mom so wonderful!

Can we make it Saturday afternoon?

It is going to be a hot one today... highs predicted to reach 80 degrees. The girls and I are enjoying our Friday morning by relaxing. We just had some waffles for breakfast. Now Ellie is making a mess of the crayons. She is fascinated with those little bins, she likes to take the lids off and try to put them back on. Hadley is upstairs in her room, she is currently humming a song of unknown origin. She likes to bee bop around and play dress up. She will one day make a great actress on stage. I know this because she can turn the waterworks off and on in lightning speed. Now Ellie is eating a glue stick, not too nutritious. Now a green marker... probably should put this away but it keeps her content, as long as I can watch her. Seriously now a red marker... I just put the bin away and gave her the play doh one instead.

Cassie and I after she ran the TC Marathon and I ran the TC 10 Mile.

I am getting ready for a road trip I am feeling a little unprepared for, the Fargo Half Marathon. I am a little excited but mostly nervous and I wish I would have had the time to train. I really dropped the ball on my training, it wasn't like I didn't want to go out and run, it was more like I didn't have time amongst everything else. I know I can run the first 6-7 miles but I am fearful for the final 6... So I think I will do the walk/run method and make sure to hydrate at each water station and walk while I drink my water. I also will not start out too fast because this kills even the best trained!
So we will see how I do... 
But the exciting part is the buzz I will feel in 10 hours when I am surrounded by 1000's of runners at the expo. As well as the excitement that looms race morning, along with the cheers from the crowd. This is why we runners sign up again and again, there is this high we feel from Friday night into Saturday afternoon that masks the pain in our muscles.
So my cousin Cassie will be here in around 2pm. Then off to Fargo...
Also thanks to Katie Heinsen for letting us crash with her college roommates for the night. We have a great location, walking distance to the Fargo Dome where the buses load and the race ends! I cannot wait for that moment!

Heinsen girls are Park Fans!

Love....

These two girls are so adorable! I just can't stand to be away from them...
Everyday, Ellie does something new and Hadley surprises me with either a new attitude or a new word. I am so happy to by a Mommy to two beautiful gals! Wow, times flies... Ellie is 13 months already, she has 6 teeth and can run.
Hadley is 3 years old, she can take care of herself. She loves snacks!