Marathon Weekend

For the past several years Jason and I have gone to Ohio for the Akron Marathon. My dad and brother and Jason's brothers plus one other guy my dad works with have had a relay team. This year, for various reasons, it was just my dad and Ryan along with some First Energy employees who had a relay team.

For some reason it is fun to be a cheerleader for marathon runners!

So this past Saturday we woke Karla up at 5:40 a.m. (the only day of the year that I have to wake her up in the morning)! We were at the starting "line" before 7 a.m. to see Grandpa start the relay race! Karla was a trooper. I know she was tired but she did lots of walking (and riding in the stroller) and never complained.

Each year they have a "Kids Fun Run" too. My nieces have run in this but I've never gotten to see them because I'm always walking to different points of the marathon to get a chance to cheer for everyone on the relay team. This year we got to see the kids finish the 1 mile "Fun Run". Next year Karla is going to run it with her Daddy and cousins.

They also have other fun things for kids like face painting. I think that was the highlight of the morning for Karla!

That afternoon we all took a nap and then went to a new playground with Karla's cousins, Tia Beth, Tio Eric and Grandma and Grandpa. It was a FUN and tiring day! I uploaded some pictures to flickr. Too many to choose a few.... Click here.

Am I Big Enough?

We decided to have Karla try the 4-5 year old Sunday School class at church even though she won't be 4 for 2 more months. We talked to her about it and told her she'd be in a different class and have different teachers. She'd been in the same class for the past almost 2 years so she was pretty comfortable there. We talked about it a lot on Saturday so she'd be prepared and hopefully not nervous on Sunday. Saturday night she said "Am I going to be big enough to go to the new Sunday School class?" I guess she'd heard us talk about it enough to know that she was going to it even though she wasn't 4 yet. I told her that yes, she would be big enough. Then Sunday morning when she woke up I went into her room. She was just laying in bed looking at me. She said "Mommy, you said I was going to be so much taller." It took me a minute to get it. She thought "being big enough" for the Sunday School class meant she was going to grow....over night! I wanted to laugh but didn't because I could tell she was truly disappointed she didn't seem to be any taller. For some reason she is always wanting to be taller, taller, taller. I remember being the same way when I was little so many that is just how kids are. Anyway, I tried to explain to her what I had meant by "big enough."

She definitely is taller though because I tried to put a long-sleeve shirt and pants on her that she wore only a few months ago, before summer, and both were too short and tight! I couldn't believe it!

She went into her new class a little slowly...had to give me a big hug and kiss before I could leave (which is FINE with me!) and then she was totally fine. I am so proud of my "big" girl. :)

Summer Review Part 2

***Saturday night Jason and I got to go to a wedding. Karla stayed home with Grammy, Pap-Pap and Tio Kevin. For some reason she really wanted her picture taken with Daddy in his suit. I'm not sure if it is because we had taken it to the cleaners so she felt partly responsible for his nice suit or what. So here they are:

Of course I wanted it to be a family photo opportunity so I jumped in too.


***We've started something we call "table time." I decided we needed to try to have a structured time on most days where we could work on preschool type skills. I thought it would be a challenge to get Karla to sit down with me to work on things but surprisingly it hasn't been and if I forget to do it on some days she will remind me!

***A few weekends ago we went with my parents and brother and his family on our "annual boating trip". Grandma and Grandpa rent a pontoon boat and get out their jet-ski and we spend the day out on the lake. It is always lots of fun! I didn't do the tubing this year because of my wrists but Karla and Daddy did!


Last year Karla really didn't have any fear (that I recall) but this year she was a little more hesitant. She didn't want to fall in the water off the tube...which of course is inevitable. She loves the jet-ski and was happy to get on it whenever it was her turn. She had one of the first turns this year because last year when her turn came...the jet-ski quit working. So she didn't get to ride it...and yes, she remembered that. So, she hopped on with Grandma and Grandpa and away she went! How many kids get to do that with their grandparents!?!?


I love this girl...


***The past 2-3 weeks of August were not pleasant for our little asthma sufferer. Nothing major happened...didn't even have to go to the doctor but did have to increase her nebulizer meds for a while and give the treatments more often. There were a few days when I felt like all we were doing were breathing treatments. She's still on slightly increased doses but breathing much easier!


***I have been wanting to take Karla to Moraine State Park to the beach all summer. We finally went last week with our friends Dama and Elizabeth. Karla likes the sand! I can't wait to take her to a "real" beach someday!!

Dancing Again

I have been dragging my feet about what to do about a future dance class for Karla ever since her summer class ended. There were some things that I didn't like about where/who she took lessons from this summer so I wanted to find somewhere else. Everywhere else seems like such a huge commitment with dance classes going from September to May.

Today Karla and I finally went to the dance studio I had heard the most good things about and that was reasonably priced. I wanted to stop in and just see the place and get a feel for it. I'm glad we did! We got to meet the teacher she will have and she gave us a tour of the place. There are several studios and they all have mirrored walls and barres....our last place didn't have either of those. Karla got to see the studio she would dance in and see where I will sit to wait for her. I ended up signing her up and she and I were both excited when we left! Her classes start next week - glad there was room left in the class! She'll be doing ballet and tap again. It has been funny how at different times today she has started to talk about dance, the studio, or her teacher. She's thinking about it that is for sure!

We also went to the library today. I love how much Karla enjoys going there...mostly because I enjoy it so much too! She couldn't wait to get home to read ALL the new books we got. We spent lots of time reading together and she spent time looking at her books alone too.

Mammy and Pappy's house

Jason took his annual trip to San Francisco this week so Karla and I enjoyed our 2nd annual trip to Mammy and Pappy's.

My grandparents are pretty amazing. Mammy just finished radiation last week and was ready to host us this week!

Prior to going to Mammy and Pappy's I had asked Karla if she wanted to sleep in the bed with me for our visit (thinking she'd be excited about that) but she said "no, I want my own bedroom like at Grandma and Grandpa's." Last weekend when we went to Grandma and Grandpa's Karla slept in a bedroom by herself. It was the FIRST time she didn't sleep on a mattress in the same room as Jason and I. This was HUGE!!!!! This IS huge! :) I am proud of her! Also a little relieved to see some independence in this area. So, she slept in a separate room at Mammy and Pappy's house too! As most of you probably know, sleeping has always been and still sometimes is a big issue for us so this is great. We really haven't spent the night many places at all since Guatemala...so at least we are making progress and will feel less "nervous" about sleeping at a hotel or something someday.

Monday we hung out at Mammy and Pappy's house. Karla helped make home-made ice cream, did a taste test and then enjoyed two bowlfuls after dinner. She also learned to play Old Maid and we played many rounds of that!
Keeping an eye on the ice cream maker:

Taste test:

Karla and Mammy LOVE ice cream!!

Tuesday we went to the "Good Zoo" in West Virginia. It was in the nineties so it was quite hot! Karla was a trooper. She liked seeing all of the animals and was excited about riding the zoo train. When we first arrived at the zoo we were told they didn't know if the train would be running at all that day because it had caught on fire first thing in the morning! Karla was concerned about this but still wanted to ride the train. Luckily, right before we left the zoo they had their second train up and running and we got to go for a ride. Mammy bought Karla a souvenir...a stuffed lorakeet (bird) who has since been named Lora. Pappy and Karla played with Lora and Oso most of the way home.



After the zoo we went to Hoss's to eat. Karla enjoyed a juice box, pudding, and my mashed potatoes. She ate some of her hot dog too. :) And of course she also liked the ice cream with M&Ms on top. Next we made a stop at a farmer's market to buy some corn on the cob which we've (Karla) has been talking about since we first arrived at Mammy and Pappy's. The corn at the market was all gone! Karla was starting to cry (because she loves corn and was looking forward to it) when the farmer told us it was gone so he gave her a free little container of apple cider. She took a sip and then smiled and said "that made me feel happier!" I was glad crying was averted.

We hadn't been back to the house 10 minutes when the phone rang. It was someone Mammy and Pappy knew at the farmer's market who knew we'd been disappointed by the lack of corn. She said someone had just come in with a bunch of corn and that she was going to buy us some and we could come get it when we wanted to! Off Pappy went! :) We had corn for dinner - and more the next day!


We also spent time during our visit watching the Sound of Music. Mammy and Pappy had never seen it! Karla also learned to play Uno and Go Fish. She enjoyed following Pappy around to water his flowers and tomato plants....or even to take trash out.

Mammy and I worked on an idea for a shirt for Karla's birthday and/or birthday party this year. :) It is princess related...

It was fun to get away for a few days and relaxing! Not sure I can say the same about Jason's trip - except when he got to have dinner with my good friend Sara! But we all have the next 3 days together!! Yeah!

Summer Review Part 1

I've had a draft with a list of things we've done this summer. Things I wanted to write about in detail but probably won't....time always gets away from me. So here is a summary:

*In July we had a visit from Aunt Brenda, Uncle Russ, and baby Kiera. Karla and Jason got to meet Kiera for the first time. Karla still pretends to have a "baby" in her tummy frequently and she either names it "baby Oso" or "baby Kiera."
Here is a picture of me,K, J, and my siblings and their spouses and all my NIECES!


*Uncle Kevin came over and played with Karla for a couple days right after my surgery

*for my birthday we got a family portrait taken :) I was the only one really excited about that...it was my birthday so that is what we did!

*Jason and I got to go out to a nice dinner for our 10th anniversary. It felt like we hadn't had a relaxed dinner out in quite a while. We almost didn't know what to do. We ended up walking around downtown for a while and then the mall. It was nice to spend some "quiet" time together. We got new bedroom furniture in April as our anniversary gift. Jason promised me soon after we were married that he would get me bedroom furniture for our 10th anniversary. I thought it was funny because 10 years seemed like a long time away and I just knew I'd have new furniture before then. BUT as the years passed it became a joke...and then by year 8 and 9 it became something that I told him MUST happen on year 10! :)


*We had VBS at our church. Karla loved it again this year. It was neat to see how much she has grown and changed since last year! I talked the 4-5 year old class again so it was a busy week for us. Next year I'm going to teach a different class since Karla will be in the 4-5 yr class then! AH!


*Karla and I got to visit with my good friends Sara and Jennifer.

*Our friends invited us to their house on a lake so we went there for a weekend. It was a lot of fun. We got to ride on a pontoon boat and an electric golf cart. Karla went fishing for the first time and she LOVED it. She had a great deal of patience with it and caught 3 fish! There was only one other man that caught that many fish that day. I forgot my camera when we went to the lake so I didn't get any pictures! I will have to ask our friends for some pictures. :)

*Karla still loves to play Barbies. I have recently had to set limits on how long I will play them at one time with her...otherwise...I could go crazy!

*We still play prince and princess a lot too...even outside in the yard or at the park. I had hoped being outside would spark new ideas... :)

*We've enjoyed going to the library every two weeks and getting new books. Books could be Karla's second favorite "activity" behind Barbies/prince and princess.