Monday, November 18, 2013

Birthdays, Anniversaries and the End of the World

The boys, who usually fight like rabid dogs (no exaggeration there), played very well together last night for about 40 minutes. Gavin wanted to go to bed and we made him stay up later than usual because they were playing so nicely. I mean, they were running through the living room trying to smack each other with balls, but I guess that's what playing looks like when you have boys?

So anyway - boys playing well together means the end of the world must be near. Or hell is freezing over. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Trying to give you all a week in review on the regular since we up and moved. I've not been terribly successful, but I'll keep trying!

This weekend Sam had indoor soccer training and Gav had his state xc meet. Chad has a bum ankle so is taking some time off from running - which meant he got to take Sam to soccer and I went to a Zumba class at the Y. I have not been to Zumba in years and it was so much fun and such a great workout. 

It was beautiful weather here on Saturday and I think the kids spent at least 5 hours outside playing with all the kids in the neighborhood. I say it all the time but it's such a great little community here for the kids. 

Sunday we headed to Omaha for the Nebraska state xc meet, the last big race of Gav's season as we are not making the trip to a national competition this year. It was a little windy and chilly but much better than the nasty weather we had last year in Iowa for the meet. He was hoping for second, but got out a little slow and never could close the gap. He came in third with a time of 12:36 for a 3k. The two boys that beat him are 10 yr olds and they will be moving up an age group next year. Gav is positioned well to be the one to beat next year. 

Gav and I are going to do a turkey trot on Thanksgiving day, a 5k. I'm coming off down time due to a femor stress fracture, so it'll be interesting to see where my fitness is. We have a wager going - if Gav beats me by more than a minute, I owe him $20. The kid is fast, so it may be an easy win for him, but I am hoping all the marathon training that I put in, and the spinning and weight training I have done during this recovery phase have not shot my fitness all the hell. 

Friday we celebrated our 10 year anniversary, which is to say, we told each other "Happy Anniversary" and marveled at "holy crap, we are old". Today is Chad's birthday - but after hearing him analyze the pro's / cons of a Keurig coffee maker while looking at the Sunday ads yesterday, we brought his gifts out a day early. Including - you guessed it - a Keurig. He's turned into quite the coffee drinker these days. We are planning on hitting up a restaurant with the kids tonight for a birthday dinner.

Gavin starts chess club today. In Mexico there was a huge chess board by the pool and now the kids are obsessed with chess. So I bought a cheap $6 set at target and they are always wanting to play with Chad. But sometimes Sam steals the pieces and plays his own game "ultimate chess wrestling". Hysterical.

Aaaand....here are some really random pictures from earlier in the year that I don't think I have posted. These are all from May 2013.











Wednesday, November 6, 2013

The Baby-er Baby and Other News

November is always an emotional time for me, somehow most of the best and worst moments of my adult life are all wrapped up in November. It's the month we grieve losing Ella, wistfully wonder what life would have been had Gav been born on his 11/27 due date, remember his scary surgery, celebrate marriage, Chad's birthday and Gav's homecoming from the NICU. I can't believe it's been ten years that I have been on this journey - I feel like life as I know it started ten years ago at my wedding, when everything changed so suddenly just days after. Time doesn't heal all wounds, but it does make them less fresh. November used to have me on the brink of tears for a whole month, and now it's (almost) just another month. It is also prematurity awareness month. While I would never choose for things to go the way they did, I have to be grateful for the journey and how it has shaped me. I find myself oddly thankful for prematurity.

So there is my November thankful moment, since let's be honest this is likely the only post you'll get from me this month!

Life continues to be good for us here in Lincoln.

Outdoor soccer has wrapped and Gavin has been tearing it up on the local road racing scene, he even won a 5k in Beatrice a few weeks ago, as in was the first runner to cross the finish line, not just age group. His first youth cross country race was this last weekend where he took 3rd out of 8 kids in his division. We just got his report card and I am excited to start seeing 4's pop up - they use a 1-4 scale with 3 being on track for expectations and 4 being above. 2's need some work and you don't want to see a 1. He's been a solid 3 student, so seeing those 4's is a great accomplishment!

Sam is doing indoor soccer and continues to do well at pre-school. This kid's brain amazes me. His vocabulary is out of control, and he is getting into math, choosing to play flash card addition problems on his Kindle. He is also a major SASS.

Last night he told me "Mom, Gavin was a baby-er baby because he had a binky and I didn't, right?"

I said "yes, but you are definitely way naughtier"

In a reflective tone, he simply replied "yeah..."

Sam cracks me up on a daily basis, he is witty and smart and he knows it. Gavin is working hard at school and sport and becoming more and more responsible all the time. Weird how they have to grow up? I tried to pick him up this morning (just to see if I could) and it was not easy. One of these days I'll look down at him and realize he's no longer smaller than me!

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Mexico, in case I never get around to recapping it. Who wants to take bets on that?

Gav enjoying a bubble bath at the hotel


Beach bum

The parasail

The boys

The fam


 And a few pictures from our trip to the nearby Roca Berry Farms - pumpkin patch. This place had tons of things for the kids to do!





He's the King of the World Haypile