Helper and Handyman

Oliver loves to help out around the house. He recently picked out a scrub brush of his very own at IKEA so he can help me wash dishes. :-)
















And of course, he wants to help with anything involving tools! Here he is cracking into the box holding Buttercup's new bookcase:





























I wonder what Buttercup will like to do when she's 3 years old? :-)

Kids in Action

Lunchtime Conversations with Buttercup

Oliver was very tired at lunchtime today and I ended up putting him down for his nap before Buttercup and I finished eating lunch. After he was tucked in, Buttercup and I had a very interesting conversation, mainly about cheese and crackers. She was imitating sounds and repeating words so well that I thought I'd get out the camera and try to catch some on video. She cooperated a little bit for me as you can see here ... enjoy!

Running and Rolling Pins

I'm in the process of training to run my first marathon. I am so very excited and thankful for the opportunities that God has given me! I began an 18 week training program over the summer -- about 40 weeks before the actual marathon. What can I say, I like to be prepared! Good thing for my early preparation though, because I ended up with a running-induced injury last month, the week before I was going to try my first 20 mile run. I've had to take the last 2 weeks very easy, so I haven't been getting in all of the mileage that I was hoping to at this point. But God is good and His plans are the right plans! I haven't lost very much fitness because I've been running consistently for so long, and it just so happened that we were at my parents' house during one of the weeks that I couldn't run, and my dad (a massage therapist) fixed me up with a daily massage and my leg pain was gone!

But on the long drive back to our house, my leg started bothering me again. The first night back at home, I tried to stretch it out, but I just couldn't stretch it out where it needed to be stretched. I really needed another massage! Then the next evening, the light bulb went off -- I could use the rolling pin! The kids were in bed and Dennis was watching a movie on the couch, so I got out our wood rolling pin and rolled all of the kinks out of my leg. Sounds funny, but it really worked! I've been using it every day since then and I haven't had any trouble at all while running, praise the Lord! I've even tried a little bit of speedwork this week, and was pain-free! God is good! I just need to trust Him and wait for His plans!

16 days until the 3M Half Marathon! I'm hoping to get a new PR (personal record). The time to beat is 1:34:54, so we'll see how I do!

Pictures from our Trip, Part 3

We went to see Mike the Tiger on the 2nd to last day of our stay with Grammy and Granddaddy. Oliver loves going to see the tiger. He talks about him a lot at home and regularly picks out his "Mike the Tiger" shirt to wear. :-)


















As you can see, Oliver was very excited. Rooooooooooooooar!
















Buttercup liked looking at Mike, too! She barked at him ("ruh ruh ruh!") almost every time he walked by.















Before we left, we all had to take our pictures sitting on the tiger statue. Oliver was a little reluctant to pose at first . . .

















. . . but he perked up when it was his turn to sit by himself. Geaux Tigers!

Good to be home!

We had a great visit with everyone, but 2 weeks is a long time to be away from home! The kids have been so happy to be home. There have been very few squabbles or tantrums for the past 3 days.

Oliver has been so loving with Buttercup. He voluntarily hugs her and says her "I love you" -- but don't be fooled into thinking he's not a tough guy! He has mastered bike riding on the bumpy, cracked, hilly sidewalk and it took several hard spills to get to that point, but he handled it with as much tenacity that a 3 year old can muster. What a big boy!

Buttercup is still working on walking. She takes steps randomly throughout the day, but crawling is still her 2nd favorite way to travel (1st choice is being carried on my hip). She's really funny though, and is so tolerant of Oliver roughhousing with her. Yesterday she let him "amputate" her limbs with his saber saw, and both Oliver and Buttercup giggled the whole time. :-)


Here are some pictures from this morning.

Carefully mincing onion with his knife















Coating the onion in flour

















Smiles in the sunroom! We were repeating "cracker?" to each other, which Buttercup apparently thought was the funniest thing in the world. LOL!
















The next Kareem Abdul-Jabar, maybe?
















Her shirt says, "It's not easy being this cute" She is such a cutie!

Pictures from our Trip, Part 2

We had a great time at the beach! Many thanks to Dennis' family for inviting us to come. Here are some pictures!