Dressing Herself

With Emma being the independent soul that she is, it's rather funny to see her pick out her own attire. As seen in this pic. When picking out her own socks she--of course--goes for the loudest, most "comfy" socks in the drawer. And as for the shoes? Well they've of course got to be her purple sparkly ones. So combined with the Hello Kitty top and the rainbow fleece jacket, she was quite the funny one. I just had to take a pic to capture this memory!

Drew's 12-Month Stats

At 12 months, Drew is a strong, healthy, and chubby little baby! He's 25 lbs and 31" tall. He shot up a few inches since his last check-up, and slimmed down. He had previously always been in the 95-99% for weight and 50-60% for height. But he underwent a little growth spurt and shot up a bit! This is pretty par-for-the-course at this age. Babies typically lose a little bit of weight once they become mobile. And although he's not yet walking, he's mastered crawling and is the champ at getting to things uber fast. He's scaling the perimeter of objects on foot, so it won't be too long until he's off and walking. I give it 2-3 more weeks and he'll be walking. Just in time for our family vacation.

Emma's First Movie

I took Emma to see her very first movie in the theater, Shrek Forever After. We are big Shrek fans, with Emma's favorite--of course--being Shrek's flatulence. Who doesn't love a big, green ogre who can blow huge bubbles in the water?!?

She had a great time. Only 1 bathroom break and 1 pit stop at the concession stand to get MORE popcorn. She made it through the entire movie, with no complaints. Can't wait for the next big blockbuster to come out this summer, Toy Story 3. Maybe I'll even get her Finish Line's exclusive footwear to wear to the premier. I mean, hey--a girl's gotta look her best, right?!?

Mini Marathon

Well, I know it's been a couple of weeks since I completed the mini. And I fully intended to blog about it but really--when it came down to it--I was just so over it. Everybody said that I'd have nothing to worry about. They said the adrenaline of race day would take over and I would be just fine. Well, let me just tell you: I WILL NEVER AGAIN RUN 13.1 MILES. That is one of the most stupidest things I have ever done. It was just all-over a miserable, non-gratifying experience. After I ran 15K (which is 9 miles), I just hit a wall. So I started walking. And walking. And then, when I tried to start running again, it was painful. So I was like, "Screw this. I'll just walk the rest of the way."

By the time I reached the finish line, I was feeling miserable and beat-down. I was not proud of anything, rather I was like "Why the HELL did I just do that to myself. Who DOES that?!?" So needless to say, I won't be doing that again. I'll stick to my 1-hour spinning classes and trampoline-jumping with Emma, thankyouverymuch.

Business Trip

Sometimes, I just really love my job. Well, I guess I shouldn't even say sometimes. Most of the time, if not all the time. And these past few days is why...BUSINESS TRIPS!

To see Nike and adidas' spring 2011 lines, we went up to Chicago. Normally, we take the trek out west to Portland, however we were blessed to not have to endure the 3 hour time-change.

Nike was up first. And everytime I go out on Nike's dime, I truly know why they are one of the top brands in the world. They are premium in every way. And this was just really a quick 2-day trip. Nothing fancy, in their minds. But to me, they put us up in a nice hotel, feed us fantastic food, provide all transportation, and give us goodies. Like a trip to Wrigley Field to check out the Cubbies. And beforehand, they even rent out a bar/restaurant (Wrigley Rockit)...which can't be cheap and provide us appitizers, drinks, and dinner. How great is that?!?

Although second-rate (sorry, adidas fans/readers), I kinda feel sorry for adidas at times. They're always after Nike, so our expectations are high. So when they show up with a limo, we're like, "What the heck?!?.....you expect us to all cram into THAT thing?!?" Almost like it's a bad thing. (Well, actually. It was horrible. Beyond horrible. Car sickness, nausea. Enough said.) But they still put us up in a beautiful hotel. I mean, the fact that it has a TV screen built into the bathroom mirror cannot make it too low-class, can it?!? [insert sarcasism here]

So really---I am truly blessed. Not only do I have the family that is amazingly beautiful, but I have a job that I truly love.

Drew's First Birthday, Take 2

Since Drew was rather sick during his birthday party, we decided to give it another shot on his actual birth date. And it was much more pleasant! He wasn't sick; he wasn't running a fever. So I picked up a little cake, and we sang "Happy Birthday" and Emma helped him in blowing out his first candle. He was a little hesitant at first. He didn't want to taste it. Emma, being the big sister that she is, tried to help him by sticking her finger in his mouth. It was actually kinda funny! Slowly, but surely he realized that he kinda liked and so he started digging in. So I'm finally happy! Drew got to experience his very first birthday cake and I got the pictures to prove it! Happy Birthday my sweet little man. Even though you're now considered to be a toddler by some, you'll always be my sweet little baby boy!

Drew's First Birthday

We celebrated Drew's first birthday with family this past Sunday. And poor little man: he woke up sick and not feeling good at all. He didn't nap very well that day, and was running a slight fever by the time the party started. So he wasn't in the best of spirits for the celebration of his first birthday. But nonetheless, we still celebrated. I got Drew his own personal slice of cake, complete with the number "1" candle. After having dinner and sitting in his highchair for about 10-15 minutes he started reaching his boiling point, especially given the fact that he didn't feel good. So I knew I only had a moment or two to capture some good pictures. We all sang "Happy Birthday" and he was fine.

Until we all clapped and cheered. And then he just lost it. "Why are all these people yelling and looking at me?"...I'm sure he was thinking. Heck, I'd think the same thing, too, if I didn't feel good. All little man wanted to do was just take a nap!

So we wrapped things up, put Drew down for a small cat-nap and finished our cake and ice cream within the birthday boy. I woke him up, though, for presents. The birthday boy has to see all his new presents, right? Well, he had no interest but his big sister did. So Emma ended up opening all of Drew's presents. (Don't worry buddy. Soon enough, you'll be opening up plenty of her things--I'm sure of it!)

Running Update

So I realized I haven't posted anything on my Mini training in quite some time. And there's a pretty good reason for that. I haven't been training. Truth be told, after I did my first long run of 9 miles three weeks ago, I lost interest. After running over 2 hours, I felt satisfied and even proud of myself for running such a long time. In my eyes, running for 2 hours straight is not normal, so the fact that I completed that task was victory enough for me. But, my dumb-butt told everybody and their mother that I'm doing this Mini Marathon, so I must follow thru.

Uggh. So I will. And I'll hate it. Every, single, stinkin' step of it. Everyone claims that I'll be fine, though. They say that I'll be motivated by the sure adrenaline that I'll have once I arrive. With all the hooplah and hurrah that will be happening throughout the race, people claim that it'll get me through the 13.1 miles that I'm trekking to do. So we'll see!

Drew's Sleeping Issues

Or should I title this: "Mommy and Daddy's sleeping issues." As of late, Drew hasn't been sleeping very well. Which means Mommy & Daddy haven't been sleeping well either. And I think there's a couple of factors that are causing this.

#1) He's teething. Has been for a few months now. With Emma, we were so lucky b/c her teeth came in relatively fast. It was like, BAM--there's a tooth. No time for her to feel any pain or discomfort. But with poor Drewbie, his teeth take forever to break through the gums. I can see the indent of his teeth in his gums, so I know they're on their way. But it just takes them forever to finally break through.

#2) (I think) He has allergies. About a month ago, he had a runny nose and cough for weeks, so we finally took him to see the doctor. I had suspicions that he has seasonal allergies, b/c I had them as a kid/young adult. Well the doctor had suggested we give him children Zyrtec daily. So we did and his "cold" cleared up almost immediately. So I'm pretty confident I've passed along my wonderful allergy to pollen, dust, mold, & mildew. Poor thing!

#3) He just doesn't require lots of sleep. And if this is true---well, we must medicate him ASAP. Put him on some tranquilizers or something--anything to get the kid to sleep at least 9 hours through the night! (just kidding!) I mean, Andy & I are exhausted...only getting 6 hours of sleep 7 days/week is not fun. I almost feel like I have an infant again! Plus, let's not forget that Mommy & Daddy need some alone time, too. Makes it kinda hard when the kid goes down at the same time.

So we'll see. He has his 12-month check-up soon. I'll see if Dr. Moore has any insight or recommendations.