December 2009

Merry Christmas everyone! Luke's first Christmas was a blast! Some of his favorite gifts were a John Deere Tractor, a fire truck walker, a soccer ball, an animal train, and a box of craft supplies (from Aunt Sarah of course!) We had a great time visiting Aunt Jeanine and Uncle Burgess in Dayton, OH -- their new house and neighborhood are beautiful! My mom, brother, and sister-in-law are visiting over New Year's. Luke can't wait!

Mommy's Little Monster

Happy Halloween Everyone! My little monster Luke had a great time hanging out with his buddy Graham and helping with yardwork at Grandma's house.

A Day at the Races Part Two

Detroit Marathon 2009! Drew and Luke registered me for the race as my first Mother's Day present. Five months later, and I am officially a two-time marathon finisher! Drew and I spent Saturday night at the Ren. Center and enjoyed the finest beer, pizza, and potato skins Greektown had to offer. Perhaps not the perfect pre-race food, but halfway through my first beer at the Detroiter Bar, watching the Notre Dame-USC game, Drew and I decided that my best race-day strategy would be to just ''wing it''. Best strategy ever! I finished in 4:22 -- slower than my Grand Rapids time of 4:08 -- but I have no blisters, no black toenails, and minimal muscle pain. I had a great time running with 19,000 amazing athletes and taking a fantastic tour of D-Town. I loved running past the Joe, Comerica Park, and Ford Field. The best part -- watching the sunrise over the Detroit River as we crossed the Ambassador Bridge into Canada.

I'm currently enjoying a few days off, but I have my sights set on next spring and the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati. My goal is to someday finish a marathon in under 4 hours, but that would probably involve a more complex training strategy than just ''winging it''. We shall see!

A Day at the Races

Luke and I had fun hanging out at Drew's mountain bike race at Pando on Sunday. The weather was great, and Luke had a blast watching all of the crazy riders. Luke also discovered that grass does not taste as delicious as it looks.

Drew had a good race and finished in the middle of the pack. The celebratory post-race meal at Buffalo Wild Wings was the best part of all. We and a bunch of other broken-down Lions fans cheered the boys on to the end of their 19 game losing streak! The perfect end to an awesome weekend.

Puppy Love

Two neurotic dogs + one adorable baby pie = priceless photography. Ziggy semi-hates Luke, just like he semi-hates anyone who isn't me. He happily pretends that Luke doesn't exist, but if we try to force interaction, hilarity ensues. See attached photo as evidence. All Luke wants to do is yank Ziggy's incredibly yankable whiskers, and all Ziggy wants to do is slink away in horror. On the other hand, Fitz thinks Luke is the tastiest treat since bacon bits and cheese. Whenever Fitz thinks we might not be looking, he sneaks in a snakey lick -- eye balls, lips, chubby cheekies -- Fitz loves them all. Luke, however, does not find this amusing.

Another Post! Now I am super blogger! Yeah right. I'm sure you won't see another post until Christmas. But I digress. Here are more pictures from Luke's summer shennanigans. A few from his baptism pre-party, one of cousin Joey, one of his handsome Daddy at the aquarium in Milwaukee, and one of his best buds, Fitz and Ziggy, kickin' it on the couch.

Wow. I've learned that I am not a very good blogger. Full time job + full time mom, wife, runner, reader, and avid televison and movie watcher = no time to do anything else! Oh well.

Here are some photos from Luke's fun-filled summer. He was baptized, went swimming in Great Aunt Terri's Pool, Lake Michigan, and Lake Huron, learned to eat cereal, fruit and veggies, learned to roll over, and is now sitting up on his own. I also think he will be crawling very soon. Right now all he can do is slink worm-like across the floor, but I'm sure he will be crusing in no time.

Luke's favorite pastimes include watching football and Tiger's baseball with Daddy, bouncing in his excersaucer, smiling at himself in the mirror, eating anything and everying, and watching Fitz and Ziggy run around the living room. His dislikes include bedtime, naptime, poopy diapers, and for some reason, a stuffed dog toy that strongly resembles Fitz. Luke is terrified of it! He loves Fitz but hates the toy -- not sure why!

I making a pact with myself to do a better job keeping up with this blog. We shall see!