JAMES' 3-YEAR STATS

At 3-years-old, James is 34 lbs and 39". He's a big boy with a big heart, a big vocabulary, and a big personality. He can make us laugh and he can make us crazy. His emotions swing the pendulum dramatically these days. He can run and jump and roll down hills. He glides his bike and pedals his trike. He knows his ABC's and sings a variety of preschool songs. He can draw circles and train tracks and trace his letters (though he's still not a big fan of 'seat work'). He loves school, going to the gym, swimming (well, wading more so than actually swimming) and running and playing ball ('base-ket-ball', raquetball, soccer ball), and hanging out with the great group of buddies that he calls his own (between new school friends and old school friends and our friends' kids, he is lucky to almost always have someone to play with at a moment's notice, not to mention the strong friendship he is developing with his sister). He is a social little guy, but he can play shy, and he knows just how to work his charm to get what he wants. He can be really bossy (with his friends, his 'Sissy', AND his parents), but he also listens really well (most of the time). He is quite compassionate, always showing concern and willing to help in anyway he can if someone is sad or hurt or scared. He is always happiest when outside, running free, learning and growing and exploring. He's one smart little cookie and he has a mind like a vault. The kid never forgets a thing, and he shocks us on a regular basis with the things he remembers and talks about at random times, as well as the associations he makes. He's still our little snuggler, full of love and hugs and kisses and 'I love you too's. We are SO lucky to have such an awesome son, and we know it - we love you James Henry!

WE HAD A BLAST!

James is THREE!

He picked a rocketship theme for his party this year (though "Night Train" from his still-favorite show Dinosaur Train was a close second), and it was, of course, Out Of This World!

We made lots of kid-friendly foods (since it was an evening/dinner-time party), snacks and finger foods, and served cake pops, mini cupcakes, and rocketship cookies. And instead of goodie bags, I made t-shirts for all the kiddos using the Silouette. (James' shirt was an ETSY purchase, as were his Happy Birthday rockets and the rocketship cookies.)

I think a lot of the kids ate well. Cora did for sure!

(Check out Azure's gorgeous hair! Pretty sure Cora and Emma had major hair jealousy. Or at least their mamas did...)

Dawn brought a present for Cora - sunglasses and a "neck-ase"

The Lego table was a big hit with all the kids (and James received some awesome new Lego sets from his buddies and his Gramma, so he has lots to play with now). Have you ever spent a couple of hours with 5 rowdy little boys? It was wild!

James had his own personal cake, with a #3 candle that he picked himself (he was VERY into helping with his party planning this year, and has been talking about it for weeks).

Did I mention it was a pajama party? All the kids wore their jammies, and quite a few adults did as well. James specifically requested that I wear my purple rocketship jammies.

The cake pops (unlike the planets I envisioned, they looked more like asteroids...) and chocolate-covered Oreos were a hit!

James had so much fun opening his presents! He got a few books (he LOVES books, much to our approval!), a kite, a big basket of craft supplies, a rocket, skates (Mama will be trying those out with him, not Daddy!), his first remote-control vehicle (a train!), and some new Legos. Oh, and cool dude sunglasses!

We played a quick game of "throw all the 'big' kids on the couch" so that I could attempt a group shot. Have you ever seen a cuter bunch of munchkins?

(Cora, Gabriel, James, Will, Emma, Manu, and Azure. Let's see if I can get everyone's ages recorded here for posterity: 20-months, 34-months, 36-months!, 25-months, 12-months, 39-months, and 31-months)

Coltin refused to join the pile-up...

...so we unfairly attacked him by throwing all the kiddos from one couch to another so that he couldn't escape! (Sorry 'bout that dude, we had to do it!)

Little Leo and Grady were in attendance as well, but weren't subjected to the photo shoot.

And did I mention that we had 3 pregnant mamas in attendance (and we would have had 4 if Team Mitchell hadn't been out of town)? Michelle, Christina, and Amy are all due with their second babies this summer!

Just like Cora, Emma is also not keen on going to folks other than her Mama and Daddy. Therefore, Jay was pretty proud that Emma willingly crawled into his lap and snuggled for 15 minutes. Then wanted more hugs before the party ended. She's so cute!

Thank you ALL for coming out tonight and making James' birthday so very special. He was thrilled to have all his buddies at his house to play with and was plenty spoiled with love and cuddles and presents and birthday wishes. We love you guys!

10K, 5K, 1 MILE, DONE!

(Pretty cool to have your race start with a rifle blast! That's what we get for running in the National Military Park!)

This morning was my first running race since college. It's been over 15 years, I kid you not. And as I woke up early, ate, drank some coffee, stretched, jumped around, pulled the kids out of bed and fed them, and managed to get us all to the event well before the start time, I still had that old familiar feeling of anxiety. The difference was that rather than worrying about winning the race, this time I was just worried about finishing it. My how things have changed!

By the time my toes hit the starting line though, my adrenaline was pumping and I was ready to go! (I'd have to ask my friends, but I might have even crossed the line to annoyingly peppy...) I grabbed one last good luck kiss from Jay and the kids, smiled through gritted teeth, and took off with Cari, Sophie, and Sandy. There were plenty of others I knew in the group (Al, Jim, Kristy, Dave), but I knew I wouldn't be seeing them again until the finish line.

The race went well. The first couple of miles felt great and my first mile came in at 10:32. I finished the upper loop without needing to walk (even up the monster Louisiana Hill, which actually felt fine for once!), but needed a break as we entered the south loop, just as the first 3 male 10k runners were coming out and heading down the final half mile or so to the finish line. They were flying! I ended up walking short stretches of 3 other hills, was at 53:00 even at the 5-mile mark, then had a bit of a panic attack right before we exited the park and headed for the finish chute. I was SO nervous! I'm sure I looked crazy at the end (see picture below to judge for yourself), but I ran with everything I had left to hit that finish line. (That's Cari directly in front of me, keeping me moving!)

My official time was 1:05:51, giving me an overall pace of 10:36/mile. Since my main goal was to simply finish the race, with a loose goal of getting 12:00 miles or less, I was REALLY happy with my results. And while I don't care what place I got (this time, anyway!), for the record, I was #274 out of 347 total runners.
Thank goodness Cari stayed with me throughout the race, coaching me through the hills and the weird sternum cramp I got, reminding me to stand up tall and BREATHE, and pushing me through to the end. I am so thankful for her! And for Sophie and Mike for training with me. And for my BBC friend Victoria who was my main inspiration and motivation to pick up running again. And of course for Jay, without whom I never could have gotten back into the habit of training, due to his encouragement and helping me make time to run each week.

Jay walked hard and fast in his race and placed 3rd in his age group (placing 114 out of 381)! All while pushing that giant stroller (around 95 lbs of kids and gear) and fighting the wind (which makes the giant stroller feel like a sail). He had lots of fellow walkers (and race officials, volunteers, and police officers on the course) encourage him and marvel at how well he was doing during the race. He felt good (no knee issues, thank you very much Vibram FiveFingers!), and the kids were REALLY well behaved throughout the 43:13 minutes that they were on the course (and before and after as well - we were really proud of them)! He walked with Christina and Alex, each pushing their own giant stroller.

Then is was time for me to stand tall and proud with Cora while Jay ran alongside James in his 1-mile fun run. Little man ran about 2/3 of the race, with Jay carrying him for 1/3 of it (up the hill, and when he complained that his leg hurt - possibly a cramp?), and finished with a time of 13:12 (67th place out of 73)! Right before the end, he spotted me crouched near the finish line with my camera, snapping photos, and he ran over to give me a big hug. I had to tell him to go back to Daddy and finish the race. He's such a little sweetie!

(Will, Manu, and James, right before their race)

After James' race, we headed up the hill to the awards ceremony and beer/snack fest. The kids had a great time running around and expending the last of their energy before naptime.

Cora even shocked us all (and maybe made a few of our friends jealous) by connecting with Sandy's friend Jenny. You know how she doesn't normally go to people she doesn't know? And even those she does know, if she hasn't seen them recently, she'll be really shy? Well, apparently Jenny had the magic touch, since she had Cora in fits of giggles for the longest time!

Of course, James being his usual sweet self, asked me if "I can hold Mr. Mike?" (meaning, could Mike hold him). I think he liked being up super tall, able to see over the crowd!

This was Jay's first race EVER, and he got the coolest trophy (it has a canon on it)! It is currently holding a well deserved place of honor in the center of our mantel. I'm SO proud of you Jaybird!

(Yes, Cora was already asleep by this point. We had just left the award ceremony and were headed to the car. James wasn't sleeping, just squinting against the wind though).

So how do I feel? I've been back to running for 8 weeks now. I've lost 5 lbs and gained (I think) a good bit of muscle. My belt buckle cinches 2 notches tighter these days. My strength and stamina are increasing, and so is my confidence. I am really looking forward to the Warrior Dash next month, for the fun and excitement that I know it will bring. And the weekend before, which we just learned will be the date of the annual Run Through WES (a race held on station where we work). It will be a pi run (3.14 miles). In the meantime, I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing, with a goal of adding miles to one long run each weekend while I increase my pace. I think 2012 is going to be a very exciting year!

TODAY IS THE DAY!

Come on over and play!

HE'S NOT OUR BABY ANYMORE

Tomorrow James turns 3. He's a little boy now. No longer a baby or toddler. When I lay in bed with him at bedtime, stroking his cheek and playing with his hair and kissing his nose as he smiles and giggles and kisses me back and tells me that he loves me too, I know there is nothing babyish left. And I am proud and excited and more in love with him each day! But I do sometimes miss that Mississippi Mudflap-sporting, Buddha-bellied, thumb-sucking little man:

* 2009 (3-months), 2010 (15-months), and 2011 (27-months) *

SPANISH SUPPER CLUB

We had a slew of cancellations for this month's Ethnic Supper Club, but we banded together with Sandy and enjoyed a very relaxed evening with some new foods. Can I just say that I love chorizo? I really do. Menu items included baked orange chicken and new potatoes, and lots of yummy tapas: chorizo and chickpeas, anchovy-stuffed olives, cold cuts (lomo, sobrasada, and fuet) and manchego cheese, tuna empanada, and mixed nuts. And wine, of course.

And while I don't have our traditional food and table photo, I have lots of cute ones of James in Sandy's lap. Reading his new Thomas the Train book. And playing games on her iPad.

At the end of the night, I asked James if he had fun and he told me "Yes, 'cause Aunt Sandy came to my house and read my Thomas book with me!" So thanks once again Sandy, you totally made James' night (and ours as well)!

B-BALLERS

As I was herding the munchkins toward the racquetball court this afternoon, they escaped! And somehow managed to pull open the heavy doors to the gym. Where there happened to be one lonely highschooler playing, and 5 extra basketballs laying around... James was convinced he was going to play with the older boy ("I wanna play with that boy! I wanna play with him! I need to play basketball with him!"), but after giving the poor kid a look to let him know I would keep my babies as far from his practice zone as I could, I managed to keep them on the other end of the court for 15 minutes or so until the daycare room opened up. They were completely adorable running around in that huge gym! And James learned to throw the ball underhanded from between his legs, and Cora learned to "catch" a bouncing ball. Such b-ballers. They don't get that from their mama...

(And in workout news, I've been "tapering" this week. After the 5.5 mile run on Saturday, I took Sunday off, ran about 1.5 miles on Monday while I was still SUPER sore, took Tuesday off - more due to my nasty congestion and exhaustion than any other reason though, and came back with 3 miles at a 10:30/mile pace on the treadmill today. And it felt GOOD! I felt strong and fast and happy. Hooray running endorphins! The plan is to take off tomorrow and Friday in prep for Saturday's 6.2 mile race, which I am now really looking forward to!)

"NO, MY DAMAS!"

Little Miss "I do it!" has been all about dressing herself lately. And not just the shoes (she's had that figured out for months and months). She knows the difference between pants and shirts. And pajamas. But apparently not the difference between pajama tops and bottoms. She insists on putting the shirts up around her waist like a skirt, and it cracks me up! If you try to correct her, she will sternly tell you "No, MY damas! (AKA pajamas)" while running away from you. And she's obviously had plenty of time to perfect her fashion sense, what with all the half-nakedness lately due to potty "training". We can't wait to see what kind of outfits she comes up with as she grows up...

CHALK IT UP

Upon returning home from the grocery store this afternoon, Jay headed upstairs to continue our bedroom painting project (we're getting close!), and I needed a way to put the groceries up without having the kids underfoot. So for the first time ever, I sent them outside alone. Well, together. But without an adult. I opened the kitchen windows, handed over their giant bag of chalk, and told them in no uncertain terms that they had to stay in the driveway and carport. And it totally worked!

I went outside after 7 minutes or so and took some photos of their handiwork...

A lovely train track (he was being the tunnel):

A bit on the carport wall:

And some on the basketball hoop:

I really wish we had a fenced yard, but at least now I know I can trust them for a few minutes here and there if need be. Good job kiddos!