Addition to my list

I failed to mention that another reason that I should not have signed up for the Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon is that I am old and my knees don't work as they used to.

In the first two weeks I logged over 28 miles and felt pretty good. Then, Saturday the 14th I attempted a 5.5 mile run. My knees were a bit sore at the beginning but I kept running and was impressed I finished the run. Afterwards though my knees were really sore and since then I've had a lot of swelling and needed to ice off and on and take a lot of Advil. I'm so sad! Hopefully I will heal soon so I can still run the race, but I'm taking this as a sign that I need to slow down and not rush into training.

So, you can continue to ask me how things are going, but note that I'll probably give you a sob story about my old, achy knees and how I hope to start running again soon.

April 4 months old

We had April's 4 month appointment and she is staying high on the growth charts! Her pediatrician said she is doing all the right things developmentally and commented on how smiley and cheerful she was. I asked about suggestions for getting us a full night sleep one of these days and was given the green light to start some sleep training. Her reflux is still there and that might be part of the issue, but the Dr still felt she should be able to put herself back to sleep even if it does wake her up periodically. So, we'll be looking for ways to start that soon. Likely it will be a slow process but letting her cry a little at night won't hurt her and in the end we will all sleep better. Eventually April can move into her cute little room and out of our closet then!

April is doing great at tummy time and keeps her head up and legs and arms moving like she's swimming. She still loves to stand when given the chance and so we've pulled out the exersaucer and she really enjoy looks at all the toys within her reach. Bethany loves to "show April" how to do things and sometimes it is much quicker and louder than she is used to and she gets surprised. She has also been laughing a little... mostly at Bethany but loves to giggle when we're changing her and she gets to wiggle around naked for a few minutes. Her favorite time is cuddling in our bed with just her diaper on. She loves touching the sheets and blankets and wiggling her back against the soft texture.

You are so smiley and love to be talked to! Still so easy going and as long as you are held you are one happy baby. You do fine laying down and playing, but get so excited and bat your bouncey chair toys so hard when you see someone coming to get you. We love you so much sweetie!

4 month stats:
Height 25 in. 75%
Weight 15 lb 8.5 oz 90%
Head 42 cm 75%

Still gotta love those cheeks! We'll post a 4 month picture in her onesie soon! I was looking at my baby book and at 3.5 months I was over 15 lbs too and started off at almost 7 lbs, so I'm thinking the high calorie milk must be hereditary! I love my chubby baby :)

What did I get myself into?

So, Amber emailed me last week and said that Brent and some friends were thinking of running in the Lake Minnetonka half marathon on May 6th and she wondered if I would think about running it too with her. I looked up the course and saw that the half-way point is literally .5 miles from our house and that much of the run is along the lake and would be beautiful. I thought to myself, how bad could 13.1 miles really be? I'm SURE I can do that! Then, for some strange reason I convinced Dan he should do it, a few co-workers and friends are in on it too. We all signed up, I came home, ran 3 miles, went to bed, woke up and said to myself... what have I gotten myself into?

Here are the things I didn't think about:
1. That it would not be easy to find time to run with 2 small children at home
2. That waiting until they go to bed means that I have to run after dinner and I'm tired by then!
3. That having a baby that doesn't sleep through the night yet means that I should really be sleeping when she is sleeping, not running like a crazy person.
4. That I really don't like running.
5. That I have never run 13.1 miles before... well I guess if you count the 3, 3, 3, and 4.25 miles I've run since I signed up I have, but I don't think you can run the half marathon over 4 days.
6. That I'm super competitive and even though this seems like a really bad decision, I probably am not going to give up very easily.
7. That it is the middle of winter and I will be training on a treadmill and not outside (boring)

But, despite all my complaining here are the few things I do know:
1. Running makes you feel awesome - the next morning after running I always feel great... a little sore, but awesome. There really is a runners high.
2. That I'm really going to love having so many people to keep me motivated towards my goal - really, I want you to ask me how I'm doing!
3. May 6th is right before summer and maybe I'll actually be able to wear fun summer dresses after being hugely pregnant last summer!

So, that is what I have gotten myself into. Wish me luck.

Photo session

Funny girl

Sisters.... I don't know, is April going to catch Bethany soon in size??

Love :)

Serious

Our church recently had an opportunity to get your photo taken for the church directory. I'm really excited to get a picture directory so I can get better at people's names that I don't know! The timing we had wasn't the best as it was right before nap time, but the person after us cancelled and we got a lot of pictures taken! Scrolling through 100+ photos to see Bethany's different expression in each one is hillarious. Thanks, Daniel for all the pictures!