Oh, To Be Young Again!

So, last Saturday I ran a 10K with some of my friends. I have to say, I thought I was getting to be in pretty good shape. I guess I'll just have to use this race as a starting point, because apparently, I have a ways to go...If it hadn't been for Brynn, I would have given up or walked at some point. Thanks for pulling me along!

(Me, Jamie, Brynn, and Tarah)

P.S. Gone, are the days where I can run a race without having to worry about wetting my pants. Apparently birthing two kids will do that to ya. :)

One of Those Days...

So, in my efforts to get back in shape (that is, if I'm not to far gone), I have started running in the mornings. This morning was no different when I had to drag myself out of bed at 6:00 a.m. to go before Nate had to leave for work. When I left, it seemed that all my little babes (including Nate) were tucked safely in their beds. Well,...when I returned an hour later, the door was locked, which was weird because I left it unlocked. Nate answered the door with an odd look on his face, and he wasn't at all ready for work like I expected him to be. Apparently, Soren had followed me out the door and went looking for me, unbeknownst to me and Nate. Thankfully, Drew, our neighbor, saw him a quarter-of-a-mile away as he was driving out of the neighborhood, headed for work. I'm confident that there were angels looking after Soren when I think of all the things that could have happened to him in this scary-hairy world of ours. Needless to say, we will be making some changes to our locks ASAP. Even if I had locked the door this morning, it wouldn't have stopped him. He knows how to unlock even the dead bolt.

Well, to say the least, the last couple of days have been rough between me and my little guy. So, I think I need a little reminder of all the things I love so much about him. Here are just a few:

First, he gives us an overflowing, constant stream of free entertainment. I'm sorry the video appears a little blurry and muffled. Keep in mind that it was also taken 6 months ago.


Second, he is so incredibly smart. I realize that every parent thinks this about their child, but I am constantly amazed at the things he knows, especially when I don't even remember teaching them to him. Sometimes, I worry that I'm a little too hard on him for that very reason. I have to remind myself that he is still only three years old.

Third, he really is such a sweet and thoughtful boy when he wants to be, especially to his little sister. She loves him so much. This last picture is of her parking herself outside of his bedroom just waiting for him to wake up for the day. Don't mind the fact that she is in only a diaper. That seems to be pretty standard around our house these days.

P.S. I don't know how I would survive these days if it weren't for the friends, who it seems, are inspired when they call at the exact right times. THANK YOU! You know who you are, and may the blessings of heaven be poured out upon you....and may I strive to become more like you....:)

9 Months

We took Sofie in for her 9-month check-up today. Wow! I can't believe that 9 months has already passed. I feel bad, like I haven't really been able to enjoy Sofie's baby stage like I did Soren's. It's like she grew up overnight. I'm far enough removed from it now, that I can honestly say, I was miserable for the first few months. She was not an easy baby. I loved her nonetheless, but she was very fussy and had a major temper. However, she is more than making up for it now. I have never known a baby to be so pleasant and happy all the time, even when she's tired. She is very social and loves to interact with people, especially her brother. I love watching the two of them together. While we were on hiatus in Utah, she finally started to crawl forward (as opposed to backwards) and her first two teeth came in. I will try to get a good picture of the two teefers later and post it.

Sofie weighed in at 17 lbs, 4 oz (25th percentile), and measured 27 1/2 inches long (45th percentile). She's a growin' girl, and I love it!

Tagged

So, my computer crashed about three weeks ago, which would partially explain the huge gap between posts. I quickly came to realize just how much I depended on my computer/the internet. It was a little depressing. I was also heart sick about all the pictures I had lost. Word to the wise...back up your photos regularly. I hadn't done it in a about a year. Luckily, I have a superhuman father who knows computers better than anyone! He managed to save our hard drive and even get us up and running again. Thus, I reenter the blogging world after such a long absence. I still can't post any new pictures yet because I need to re-download some software first, so in the mean time...I was tagged....

10 years ago, I was...
Planning what I would wear to my senior prom, preparing for graduation, and gearing up for my freshman year at BYU. I think I'm in denial because it feels like yesterday that I was walking the halls of good ol' Mesa High. Sometimes I swear I still feel 18 at heart. Well, the truth is out, I'm an oldie.

5 things on my to-do list tomorrow...
*Clean my house
*Learn to sew
*Clean my house
*Do my laundry
*Clean my house (I need a little motivation if you can't tell)

4 things I would do if I were a billionaire...
*Furnish and decorate my house....a girl can dream
*pay off our debts
*invest some...kind of mandatory when your husband is a numbers guy...he keeps telling me what a great retirement we'll have
*donate all the rest to the Church

3 bad habits...
*I'm a zit picker; a shameful habit, I know, but I do it without thinking, leaving scars on my face. Nate will tease me and tell me that I look like I've been a fight afterwards.
*I drink Diet Coke like it's a bad habit. If there were an AA equivalent for DC drinkers, I would be in attendance. However, Nate and I have a deal, if I quit "the sauce," we'll use all the money I'll save to buy my a gym membership. I'll let you know how it goes...
*I'm a collector. I have a hard time throwing things away that I know I might need someday, no matter how far away that someday might be.:) I guess that would explain my need to clean my house. However, Nate is a purger, so I like to think we balance each other out in that department.

5 places I have lived...
Logan, UT-I was born to an Aggie
Bountiful, UT-till I was 9
Mesa, AZ-till I left home for College
Provo, UT
Gilbert, AZ

5 jobs I have had...
sales clerk at Zakly's (least favorite job of all time)
summer temp at a mortgage company
assistant to an Admissions counselor at BYU
Office Manager in Housing at BYU
High School English Teacher

6 things most people don't know about me...
*I have a phobia of driving on bridges. When we were in San Diego, crossing over to Coronado, my palms would get sweaty and my heart would beat faster. It sure didn't help things when that bridge collapsed in Minnesota last year.
*I'm obsessed with Hollywood. I check People.com on a daily basis and I know more about the stars than I should. It's people like me that keep the the shameless paparazzi in business.
*Food makes me happy! I love food! I genuinely look forward to going out to eat (preferably without the kiddos). That would explain my need for a gym membership. One of my favorites is Thai food. My local favorite Thai restaurant is a small mom-and-pop shop called the Siam Orchid. Just thinking about it makes me happy. So, if you're ever in the mood...
*My nickname all growing up was Beezer. To this day, I still get called that name on occasion by family members.
*Technically, I never really got a honeymoon. Nate and I took turns being sick right after we were married. Now, when I say right after, I literally mean right after. As I was feeding Nate our wedding cake, he whispered to me, "Better make it a small piece. I'm not feelin' so hot." It pretty much went downhill from there. We were supposed to go to Mazatlan. It's actually a pretty funny story from start to finish. It felt like it was right out of a Ben Stiller movie.
*I write with my left hand, but I do pretty much everything else right-handed (i.e. play sports).

Nothing too exciting, I know, but there you have it.

I tag....Lauren, Tarah, and Iliana

A Wedding Weekend

My brother did it! He managed to find the perfect girl! This weekend he will tie the knot and I couldn't be happier about it. I joke that he's marrying up. Now, that may sound a little harsh, but it's my way of emphasizing that he really did pick a good one. The celebrating starts tomorrow and will continue on through Saturday. Let the festivities begin...

Skyler and Jenn

Shocker!

I know, two posts in one day, let alone one week! It's gettin' crazy! I mainly just wanted to experiment with adding video. I was looking through some of the pictures and video clips from the past couple of months and I thought I would add this one of Sofie and Soren talking. Sofie squawks and squeals when she talks, almost like a bird of some sort, but I still think it's cute. This video is a little over a month old. Oh, and yes, that is a chocolate chip cookie in Soren's hand. Yes, my child is taking after his mother in the sweet tooth department.

How Did I Get So Lucky?

So, after talking to several fellow mothers and hearing their stories, I know that I am lucky when it comes to Soren and his 'big-boy-bed.' It probably goes back to when Soren was in a crib. Never once did he ever attempt to climb out of it. So, when we put him in his bed this past December, I was curious to see what he would do without the bars. I was nervous to see how naps and bedtime would go. Glory be--the transition went well! It started out that he didn't even get out of the bed until Nate or I came to get him. In fact, one morning, Nate found him reaching for his Spiderman, but he didn't think he could quite reach it. As soon as Nate walked in, he said, "I can't reach it. Help me!" Eventually he dared to climb out of the bed, but he will still play quietly in his room until one of us comes to get him. I hope it lasts, at least for a little while longer...