Still running

I have to brag about myself a little bit today. I am still running 1-2 times per week. Granted, I'm running a little slower and mixing in some walking breaks to keep from getting really out of breath, but I'm still doing it. I'm only covering 2-3 miles at a time now. But the dog still needs his exercise and my goal is to stay really fit for as long as possible this pregnancy. I have my doctor's blessing to run as long as I am comfortable. The last 3 runs have been a little less comfortable with my growing belly, so I'll be curious how much longer I will continue. This weekend we spent our Saturday afternoon on a nice bike path south of town. The kids rode their Strider bikes, Greg rode my bike, and Casey and I had a nice jog. It was a beautiful day and felt so good to be outside enjoying the fresh air as a family. That night after baths, Garrett crawled into our bed and I tucked him in while we finished getting Avery ready for bed. He was such a tired guy that he fell asleep! He hasn't fallen asleep like that (outside of his regular bedtime in his own bed) since he was 1 or 2 years old!

But the baby wants it...

We made a family trip to Target this weekend because we were out of all of the necessities at our house. Avery got to do a little birthday idea shopping to see what she might want for her big day. To our pleasant surprise, she was really into the big dollhouse that I've had my eyes on for awhile now (sigh of relief...my little girl actually wants a dollhouse and not a monster truck...). After that she got to pick out some plates/napkins for her party. She spotted the Tangled plates right away and added them to our cart. Then she spotted the Spongebob Squarepants cups. She said, "Mommy, the baby likes Spongebob. Can the baby get Spongebob cups?" Nice try!

Fooled

Happy Belated Valentine's Day by the way! We had a nice relaxing evening at home. The kids came home with lots of goodies from daycare and a favorite neighbor of ours stopped by with delicious sugar cookies (frosted - my favorite!). Lynette had given the kids frosted sugar cookies at daycare too. When we walked in the door after school that day, Garrett said, "Mom, can I eat my cookie, because the other kids ate theirs and I didn't have time to eat mine." I pulled it out of his goody bag and let him dig in. A little bit later as I was sorted through Avery's goodies, I realized that she had a cookie too, so I seriously doubt that the other kids ate theirs without Garrett! I think every kiddo came home with one and he managed to get his before supper!

No Petting the Baby

I showed Avery how much bigger my belly is getting these days. Her response was, "I don't want to pet her, Mommy." I smiled and told her she didn't have to touch my belly! She still says that she has 2 babies in her tummy. The last 2 times that she talked about them, she called them her "Garrett babies." How do they come up with these things? Garrett overheard this and was NOT happy!

Is He Real?

Garrett asked me a few weeks ago if the Easter Bunny is real. I said, "I don't know...what do you think?" He said, "No, I don't think he is." Maybe he has heard this from the big kids at daycare? A few days later he asked if Superman is real. My response was the same, asking what he thought. He said, "I think he is." I smile when I think that my little boy doesn't believe in the Easter Bunny but he does believe in flying superheroes.

Leave the snow ON

We've had a lot of snow lately. It snows, it starts to melt, and it snows again. I'm beginning to feel like I just really want to see the ground and the grass again. I remember feeling that way last January too. Avery loves the snow. She loves to look outside at it. She likes to play in it too, but she gets cold quickly and she's usually ready to come inside right away. Garrett, on the other hand, could take up permanent residence outside. The last two big snows, Greg has kept busy helping the city plow the streets after his regular work day. When Avery learned about this last week, she became genuinely upset. She said, "I don't want Daddy take the snow off. I want Daddy leave the snow ON!" She seems to think that her Daddy is working against her love of the snow. She was almost in tears. The next day she witnessed Greg snow blowing the driveway. She stood in the garage yelling over and over, "I want you leave the snow ON, Daddy!" Of course, with the loud snow blower, he couldn't hear her and kept on going. She eventually came inside and then watched him from her bedroom window, yelling the same thing!

My Avery

I had a cute conversation with Avery today. I referred to her as "my daughter," a term I guess I don't use often enough, because she looked at me, puzzled. She said, "I'm not a daughter." I replied, "You're MY daughter." She said, "No, you're MY daughter! I'm not your daughter. I'm your Avery."