This week we experienced yet another round of eventful weather. When things get bad outside we sometimes go to daddy's gym (that's what we call it) and play with his classroom equipment. Maura absolutely LOVES to go! She loves to run, jump, kick, catch, you name it, she does it. Here she is trying out her bowling skills.

Gary even put on a show too. He did fairly well, but admits that age is catching up to him.

For some reason Maura thought this was hilarious. She actually fell over once because she was laughing so hard.
Just look at how tiny she looks.

See below for Sophia's most recent achievement. She's on top of the world.

Here was her first bite of rice cereal.

She was a champ. It was the normal spill out the front routine, but once again so exciting!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Maura and I enjoyed making her valentines this year. What a simple idea that we found on familyfun.com. Great website by the way!
Gary and I gave her a balloon bouquet and boy has it been a hit. Her heart broke just a little when we told her she couldn't take it upstairs for bedtime. She has since recovered.
And can you believe this? (I know I can't.) Sophia Grace is already in the exersaucer! She has been having oodles and oodles of fun.
Lastly, I thought I would share a whiff of the beautiful flowers that Gary gave me. I think I have stopped to smell them at least five times today. Thanks sweetheart.

Oldies but goodies!

Our Valentine post should be up by tomorrow, but first I want to share some "after the race" photos from last weekend.
Here's Maura taking a gulp. We took our lunch to one of our favorite parks and had a bite to eat.
There is a massive pond with ducks, geese, and even a white swan. The birds LOVE bread and it's obvious that they don't miss too many meals.
Maura's testing the waters a bit here.

After being outdoors for most of the day, we then headed inside to watch my cousin Stefan play basketball. He is #24 and plays for Truman State University.

Whew! What a day!

Mission Accomplished!

I am smiling ear to ear to report that we did it! For those of you who don't know, let me explain myself. On Saturday morning, Maura and I attended the 29th annual Polar Bear run in a nearby town.

Considering I have just recently got back into running, we opted for the 1 mile family fun run. I ran while pushing Maura in the jogging stroller the entire way. Maura and I ran neck and neck with another mother and little girl who was maybe 4 or 5 years old. The young girl was all decked out in pink-- I mean pink hat, pink coat, pink everything. After the race was over, Maura and I were talking and I asked her if she would like to run with mommy someday. And of course she said, "uh-huh". And then all on her own she asked me, "Wear pink momma?" I couldn't help but smile and say "Yes sweetheart, you can wear pink." All of the proceeds from the race were donated to the Strong Kids Financial Assistance program. So it was extra cool to have a fun day with my daughter and to help out a great cause.
Pic right before the race--Maura enjoying a light snack.
Maybe someday Gary and Sophia Grace can come too-- It was kind of chilly so they missed this trip. Hopefully there are many more races in my future to come. Slowly, but surely, I hope to increase my mileage. For now we are pleased with this small accomplishment.

Polar Bear Run

Maura and I are planning on participating in the Polar Bear Fun Run tomorrow morning. I normally don't post about things before they happen, but this is serving as motivation to me. Hopefully, we'll have photos to share in the next few days. Wish us luck!

Guilty! Read post below to discover why.



Considering our noses were plugged all week, we enjoyed the sensation of taste once again while attending our favorite mexican restaurant. Yum!

Sophia Grace--now five months old.
Pa Pa had his 58th birthday this past Sunday. The girls are enjoying a pony ride--one on each knee. Happy Birthday Dad!

Super Tuesday!

My husband and children have no idea where I'm at right now.

I have escaped for 8 hours. Just enough time to enjoy some peace and tranquility. You might be asking yourself just what does that entail?? Well so far I have voted, had my teeth cleaned, and enjoyed a meal at one of my favorite college eatery's. And now I am blogging while sitting next to a first grader at the local library. It looks like he is playing some race car game (he doesn't have a care in the world--must be nice).

I'm going to be brief this week. Sometimes I tend to blab a lot.

Our week got kicked off with some coloring on the walls. I was out of the room for 5 seconds and Maura had managed to fancy up the walls with a black crayon. Obviously, we weren't very happy with her efforts. Just look at the picture...she's so guilty. But the good news is she's holding onto her little Bible. Already asking for forgiveness.....and no we don't have her do this.....she just happened to grab it right after all of this happened. Thanks to dad for removing it with an eraser.

Sophia Grace is beginning to roll over more and more. The other night I counted a total of 4 accomplishments. We are eager for her to become more mobile. She is already 5 months old. I know I say this over and over again. But things go so much faster with the second baby. I mean it just seems like yesterday that Gary and I were driving down to the hospital to deliver.

Hmmmmm what else. We have all recovered from a round of recent colds. I just hate having the old hippopotamus in the nose effect. The girls had a slight touch of the bug while Gary and I missed a day of work because of it. We took turns taking care of each other and the kids. Thankfully, we have all recovered.

And then we ended the week with the Mac Daddy of all football games on Sunday. Wow what a game! Way to go Giants!!!

I sure hope that everyone who is reading this has already voted today and if you didn't, you should be ashamed of yourself. I'm usually not that way, but when it comes to voting, I am. I'm excited to see the results during the local news tonight.

Well this was me trying to be brief. :) I better get home to FAM. Eager to start my shift.