It sometimes feels like we're racing through life

Monday, July 22, 2012

I just stopped to think about it and realized that Maddie will be 1 year old in 2 weeks.  My heart stalled for a second.  It is so bittersweet: I am so excited for her birthday and so happy to have spent the past year with this beautiful, precious, little girl, but I am sad to think that the past year is over.  Looking back, it seems to have gone by so fast. 

 

Maddie sits up in her crib every time she wakes up now.
She is pulling herself up onto everything! I am just waiting for the day when
she realizes she can stand up in her crib.  She is growing too fast! 

We are preparing for Maddie’s birthday party, which will hopefully be a lot of fun.  Since Maddie doesn’t really have friends of her own yet, I invited mine.  Haha! And Phil’s of course, and our family.  The RSVPs are starting to roll in and I am getting to work early on preparing the decorations. 

The past few weeks have been busy! We had several outings with some boys, Jacob and Anthony, that we met at the library and their mommies, Vicky and Stephanie. We had a blast at the Petting Zoo and the splash pad.  

Maddie's more interested in the kids next to her than the kid that's trying to eat her stroller.

Maddie and I also went to the library’s summer celebration and met Elmo!

 

One day, she will be excited to meet Elmo.  Apparently, today is not that day. 

Last week, Maddie and I volunteered at our church’s vacation Bible School.  I was interested to see how Mads would do in the nursery for 4-hour stretches, so I kept peaking in to see her.  I hope I didn’t annoy the volunteer nursery staff too much! Well, to my surprise, Maddie seemed content; she was happily playing with toys on the floor with the other kids or calmly napping in a bouncer seat every time I checked on her.  It made me really happy to see how she is able to cope with other people when I am not around. 

This weekend was a big one for me. I ran my first race since October 2011: a half marathon! It was a brutal 88 degrees out when the gun went off and those first few miles were BRUTAL.  I was feeling pretty good, though, and just ran at a pace that felt comfortable to me.  After a few miles, a cloud rolled in and it started to cool off, thank God! It started to rain when I was at mile 8, but it was refreshing.  The most motivating part of the race, though, was seeing my family waiting for me at the finish line cheering me on. Phil was yelling my name and little Maddie was clapping along with the crowd.  I crossed the finish line at 2:13:45, a 10:13/mile pace and a personal record for me! With me over the finish line, the sky opened up into a downpour! It started POURING! I mean…this was a monsoon.  A very nice man offered us his towel to cover up Maddie’s stroller (Thank you!!!) and we walked to our cars as quickly as possible. Even in our cars, it was hard to see out of the windshield through all of the water.  I felt so bad for the people who were still out there running, but grateful that I finished before the weather got really bad. 

 

Ready to head out for my first half marathon since 2011. 

"YES! You did it, Mommy!" 

"Now, how does this medal taste?" 

We also got our first zucchini this weekend and there are tomatoes ready to pick today.  BLTs, here we come! 

Our First Family Vacation: Door County, WI

Tuesday, July 9, 13

Welcome home, Joneses! We just returned from our first family vacation up in Door County and we had a wonderful time! We drove up there early on Wednesday morning and met my parents and nephew, Brandon at the hotel.  We really enjoyed our time and couldn’t get enough of all of the sites. The peninsula is just gorgeous!

Wednesday: The drive up was just ok. We didn’t know what to expect having Maddie in the car for such a long period of time, but she wasn’t bad. She understandable got upset when she went potty in her diaper and needed to be changed. So we had to stop for that and then we stopped again after the 3 hour mark because she was hungry and lonely.  I sat in the back with her feeding her snacks the rest of the way up. We checked into the hotel and departed for a local dairy farm with my parents and Brandon and got some of the most unbelievable ice cream I have tasted in my life. Then, we drove just a few more minutes away and got come coffee from Door County Coffee Company where they roast the beans right there in the building.  It was so yummy.  Then, we went grocery shopping and back to the hotel to relax and order pizza.

Maddie and Daddy at the Dairy Farm

Me and the kiddos, Brandon and Mads, at the before digging into our yummy ice cream

Lounging at Door County Coffee Co

Thursday: Thursday was the Fourth of July! We went to visit The Farm and fed the goats and other animals. We really enjoyed walking the trails and Maddie seemed very interested in all of the animals roaming the grounds.  Then, we drove up to Egg Harbor and watched the fourth of July parade with some sandwiches. Maddie clapped along to the music, but soon fell asleep in her stroller.  Boy, was it a hot day! While the parade was still going on for what seemed like hours, we walked down to get some ice cream at a local shop, and then down to the piers to look at the beautiful lake.  Later that night, we went outside of the hotel and watched the fireworks over the water. Maddie was really interested in the pretty lights in the sky!

At THE Farm

 

The whole crew down by the water

Maddie taking a nap during the parade

Friday: This was beach day! I expected Maddie to love the sand, but it was quite the opposite. I think she was overwhelmed by everything around her: the new textures, the rushing water…etc. So, when I sat her down in the sand, she did not like it one bit! Poor baby just doesn’t like the beach, I guess.  We still had a nice picnic on the sand. Brandon enjoyed playing in the water and my mom hiked up and down the shore while we hung back with my dad and played with Maddie. We walked around Cave Point and saw the water rushing against the rocks and then visited some wineries and shops later for wine, olive oil, cherry and cheese tastings.  Yum! Back at the hotel, Phil and I brought Maddie to the pool to see what she thought of water in a different atmosphere.  She absolutely hated the kiddy pool area, but when I brought her into the big pool, she loved it! She splashed around and squealed with excitement.  That night, Phil and I watched the kids while my parent’s went out for dinner.  We had such a fun time with Brandon chatting and playing video games.  He’s such a sweet kid.

 

"Get it off of me. Get it off!"

Grandpa and Maddie goofing off

Ready to hike around the rocks

Beautiful scenery

So much to see! 

Saturday: We started the day with breakfast at Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant where they have goats walking on and eating the grassy roof.  So cool! The food was delicious, too, and Maddie liked the Swedish pancakes and meatballs.  Brandon and I were partial to the hot chocolate.  Then, we drove up the rest of the peninsula and saw the very tip.  We were surrounded by water and so gorgeous! We visited a cute lighthouse and ventured through Peninsula Park to climb their tall tower.  The view from the top was extraordinary. We stopped for more ice cream, too, which Maddie just loves, and then went back for more swimming at the hotel.  Phil and I went out for dinner and left little Maddie in my parent’s care.  We had such a nice time with delicious food and returned to a cuddly baby curled up in my mom’s arms, sleeping soundly. 

I love whipped cream and chocolate 

YUM! 

We made it to the very top of the peninsula! 

The tall tower. So many stairs! 

We ate ice cream every day

And that was it! The drive back on Sunday went really well.  Maddie slept for three of the four hour drive and we arrived to a house full of animals anxious to see us.  (Thank you to the Ishikawas for watching over our pets!).

Other updates: I officially have a crawler on my hands! If you have kept up with my posts, you know that I expected Maddie to not crawl, but shortly before our vacation, she proved me wrong.  On July 29, she got up on her hands and knees and cautiously moved forward to retrieve a pen that she saw me using and, of course, wanted because it is not one of her toys.  We were so excited! Time to baby proof!

Mads has also been teething like crazy! Her two front, top teeth popped through the gums last week and we noticed a third bottom tooth on our way up to Door County, on Wednesday.  Now, it looks like she is getting more on the top.  Whoa! The poor little girl seems so sad and in pain and just wants to be cuddled.

Well, I think that’s about it for now! I want to thank my mom, again, for such an amazing trip. She planned everything and acted as our tour guide, showing us all around the peninsula in northern Wisconsin.  And thanks to my dad, too, of course for driving and showing us where to go.  We had such a great time and are so happy to have been able to share our first family vacation with Nonna and Grandpa (and Brandon, too!).  

PS: Maddie sucks on her broccoli. That is all.