Blog? I have a Blog?

Wow! I have a Blog! Maybe I forgot, maybe I got busy, or maybe all of the above. I am a horrible person :(

Here is the thing, I was talking with my sister Katie about how she has decided to document the life of her new little baby Quincey (yes, she has a new baby. Oh yes, and I do too...) and she told me that she has decided to document with her Blog. What a great idea, right?! I thought she was so smart, and mentioned that I should start a Blog as well. She was kind enough to remind me that I do in fact already have a blog.

Needless to say, I have slacked off on this. I went back and re-read my posts thus far, few and far between as they are. It is really great! It is so great to look back on these memories. I love the idea of documenting things this way. Not only can I keep my friends and family in the loop of what is happening, but it will be great for my kids and me to read it some day as well.

So here it is, I am committing to keeping this Blog up to date. There is major catching up that we need to do, so I will work on that over the next few posts, but here it goes. Lets BLOG!

The big #1

Well, we made it!  Sydney turned 1 this past week, and we have made it thru the first year.  There have of course been some very minor mishaps, but for the most part I consider it a success.  We have all our limbs, I think Sydney still loves me, so what is there to complain about, right?  In all seriousness though, it has been a truly amazing year.  I never knew what it would be like to love a child.  I know I have said this before, but let me say it again, there is nothing like it in the world!  Time has flown too quickly.  The special moments happen too fast, and the next big event is here before we know it.  What are we left with?  Amazing memories, brilliant photos, but most of all, better knowledge and a greater love for one another.

Some of the best memories include:  

-Your first cry

-The day we came home from the Hospital

-The first airplane ride

-Completing our first marathon together

-Visiting NYC for the first time together

-The daily run with the stroller

-All the firsts:  First tooth, first roll over, first army crawl, first steps, first laugh

-Being the cutest turtle in the world for Halloween

-Your first Christmas, and how terrified you were of Santa

-The crazy Aunts and Uncles (Amy, David, Derek and Jared included) that love You to death!

-That first smile that you know is for you

-The first hug

With all of Sydney's accomplishments it was definitely time for some celebration.  What parent does not want to throw their first child the best first birthday ever?  Well, we decided it had to be at Chuck E. Cheese's.  Granted Sydney had no clue what was going on, but his cousins sure thought he was cool.  It was a great night of endless tokens, funny games, messy cake and one really scary rat.  

The day was a success!  Sydney had a great time, as did his cousins.  Maybe next time he will be able to enjoy it as much as everyone surrounding him.

Congratulations Sydney, you have made it thru your first year!  We love you to pieces!!!!!  Thanks for being the joy of my life and bringing such happiness to our family!

Everything This Year...

Being the wonderful, on top of it, mother that I am, I have absolutely failed in keeping my blog up to date.  It was LG's first Christmas, and I have not even posted anything yet.  So here is, my attempt to summarize the Holidays and bring you up to date on our other goings on. 

From this photo you may think that the trip to visit Santa was nothing but a success.  The truth of the matter is, we should have kept the shot when he was hysterical and pulling at Santa's beard.  I thought that he would love Santa!  After all, it is his first Christmas.  Little did I realize, he is just too young to appreciate all the good and happiness that Santa Clause will some day bring to him.   I do have this question, why is it that Christmas becomes a million times more enjoyable with little kids around?  Their excitement  is so contagious, it brings such a new and different level of enjoyment to an already festive time of year.  Maybe I should start a business called "Rent-a-Kid for the Holidays".  It would certainly bring something new to those who don't have little ones to enjoy their Holidays with them.  

There is no better way to say it other than, Christmas was magical with our LG!

 

After recovering from the Holidays, we went out to visit TJ on the road with "Ain't Misbehavin'"  Visited some good friends, had some good times. Froze to death!  You know the things you do on the East Coast during the winter.  We played in Philadelphia, took the bus to NYC, played in NYC and then back to good ol' Utah.

 Now for the really exciting part of our lives, Sydney has finally decided that he can walk on his own.  Back in mid December he took his first steps on his own.  We thought he would be walking all over the place within a few days, perhaps a week...but for some reason he just got scared.  He made up his mind that he could only walk if he was holding on to someone's finger.  Not just anything, it had to be a finger.  With that finger he would go anywhere, at full speed!  But yesterday he finally got the confidence and decided that he could venture off on his own, sans finger, sans walking aid.  He is awesome!  We now have a walking maniac on our hands :)  But he is cute, and we LOVE him!!!!

It is absolutely crazy to think that this year has gone by so fast!  Sydney will be 1 year old on February 12.  I really can't believe it.  I think of myself at this time last year, as big as a house, hoping and praying that this guy would come join us on this earth a week early (only to have him show up 9 days late :( ).  Every time I look at him I do so in complete and utter amazement.  TJ and I created this beautiful human being.  He is a wonderful blessing from heaven and the complete joy of our lives!  We love you LG!!!!

Too much!

Life is too much, that is really all I have to say.  But really though, that statement pretty much sums it up for me.  The past couple of months (and yes I say couple of months, because it has been that long since my last post) have been as crazy as ever.  Still hanging out in Utah, still wishing TJ would come home off the road, still wishing I was training better for my next big adventure (whatever that may be), and still finding simple joys in my everyday life that keep a smile on my face.

I was just reading my sister Katie's blog where

 she recounted her experience in her first Triathlon.  Way to go Katie!  Thank you so much for joining me.  I can't tell you how proud I am of you!  It is a scary thing to take on, but something that is so wonderful and gives such a feeling of empowerment.  In fact I was in the gym the other day feeling bad for myself because I thought it was too cold to run outside, so instead I cozied on to the elliptical with a nice flat screen TV in front of me and watched some footage from the Kona Ironman.  Now something must be wrong with me.  I felt my heart rate getting faster and faster and found myself getting very emotional as I sat there watching the journey these people were on.   I was enthralled getting lost in this amazing feat that these incredible athletes endeavor.  It just made me want to do one myself!  So I decided to set a goal, or at least save it so I have a good new years resolution.  I really want to complete an ironman.  Granted it may take a year or so before I am ready, but I want to have that experience.  

In addition to completing the Telos Turkey Tri with Katie,  Sydney and I did have our first Thanksgiving together.  That was awesome!  TJ was in China, so we  joined my family.  The day was beautiful!  I am not sure how we have been so lucky to have such an amazing Fall!  The day was nice and relaxing.  I would like to say that I have a tradition of running a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day, but really I have only done it once.  This year I begged and begged for someone, anyone, to join me on a Turkey Trot.  I was not successful.  So instead we took a, not so Turkey, Trot down to the favorite "swing" park and enjoyed some time there.

One of my favorite adventures was the trip to Wyoming to chop down a Christmas Tree.  Now that was fun!  Katie and Elliott go on this excursion every year, and every year they invite us all along.  Well stupid us that we have never gone before.  It was so much fun!  When we got to the location that we would call base camp, we gathered the goods, loaded the kids up in the sleds and hit the trails to find our Christmas Trees.  You would be surprised how hard it is to find the perfect tree.  Maybe I am just expecting perfection out of a mere Christmas Tree.   But you know what, it was so much fun, who cares if the tree is perfect or not.   

So here is to working towards something hard that you want to accomplish, tree chopping, and fun holidays. 

 

I wish you peace, joy and finding adventure and happiness this holiday season.  Happy Holidays!

Well, here I am again.  A good month since my last entry.  What can I say, being a single parent of an extremely lively 8 month old child is hard.  Still. that is no excuse.  So here I am finally writing with so much to say, and no idea how to organize my thoughts.  So here it goes: 

The past month has been full of good and bad times.  Difficult moments of soul searching, confusion, heartbreak, and well you know what I mean.  TJ has been off in New York working to get his show "Ain't Misbehavin'" open.  You know what that means, single parenthood for me.  How people do it, I will never know.  I suppose it is only possible with the support of loving family and friends, which I have an abundance of (thank goodness).  Still, that doesn't make it easy.  For me, the thing that gets me thru are moments like our child's first Halloween.  

                                                          I asked myself if it was ok to have so much fun dressing up my helpless little guy.  I figured it is fine only because children continue to enjoy Halloween as they get older.  So that is my justification for making him wear the ridiculous turtle outfit, and showing him off like he is a toy.  (At least he is a cute toy!)

Thanks Sydney for making me smile bringing so much joy in to my life!  I love you LG!

Have a Chariot Day

It is hard to see, but on the back of the bike trailer which our little LG rides in, you will find flowing in the wind, a flag that reads "Have a Chariot Day".  What exactly is that supposed to mean?  Well I will tell you what it means to me.

I have always loved the outdoors.  It is true that I am very content and happy with almost any situation as long as it involves being outside and somewhat active.  Well, when I had Sydney I thought that my outdoor activities may be cut down a bit.  But what has really happened is after investing way too much money in all sorts of little baby contraptions, about 3 different strollers, and multiple carrying systems, Sydney has been able to join in all of the outdoor adventures that we continue to enjoy.

Today as we were riding thru Snow Canyon State Park, one of my favorite places on earth, I looked up at that flag flowing in the wind and saw those words, "Have a Chariot Day", and I couldn't help but get a huge grin on my face as I thought about all of the fun that I have with that Chariot carriage and my LG riding in it.  

As many of you know, I have been training for the St. George Marathon and a Triathlon.  (Both of which I am happy to say I have completed.) 

Training for these events means pushing or pulling an extra 40+ pounds as I jog with the stroller, or pull the carriage behind my bike.  In my training I had to remind myself  how beneficial these activities were for both of us.  It really is great!  It gets Sydney out, and he loves it!  He will usually spend the first 15-20 minutes checking out his surroundings, then doze off and just enjoy the ride.  To him, I think that is what it means to have a Chariot Day.  For me it is having my LG with me as I continue to enjoy the great outdoors.

I think we should all commit to make at least one day a week a Chariot Day.  It is amazing how that fresh air lifts your spirit.

Here's to the Chariot!

I Love You

Who in the world decided that they would make three simple words carry so much weight? I ask this because these words have come to mean so much to me in the past several months. I believe that up until recently I may have used the phrase fleetingly. Maybe more of a salutation than the truly deep meaning that it holds. Letting someone know that you love them is so important and meaningful, and really should not be taken for granted. It is so important to express love to the people we care about. We all need to know that we are loved. There are few things as wonderful as being told and knowing that someone loves you. I know, for me, there is no such thing as being told too often that I am loved.

So, when the words "I Love You" come out of my mouth, it is because I have chosen to express and share that special feeling with the person/people they are directed to. It may be said in a lighthearted way, or as a farewell, but still the words are true. I feel like my heart has so much love to share, and I want to express that love to the people I care about. Mostly to my Son and Husband, I Love you! I Love you with all my heart!