New Year's Goals

I'm not generally one for New Year's resolutions, but this year is different. The way I stick to goals is by writing them down on a list. It makes me feel accountable to that little piece of paper. Sometimes I tell people my goals, then I somehow feel accountable to them. So...blogging my resolutions, two birds with one stone. Here goes:

1. I will run three times a week
2. I will work my way back to 15 miles per week by April
3. I will run a 5K every month from May to September (I'm counting on my friend to keep this one with me - she knows who she is).

Considering we bought a new treadmill last night, I think I better stick to this. I get one out - if I have kid number 2. That is NOT an announcement.

I suppose I should have deeper, more spiritual goals on here. But let's be honest, I have to work on those year round.

Christmas Dinner

The Pulley's are always kind enough to open their home to friends for Christmas dinner. We were joined by the Shelton's and her parents the Parry's, the Gregory's, as well as the Storheim's who moved away a few years ago. It was great seeing them again.

The food was so good, the company was great. Thank you, Pulley's! We are blessed to have you in our lives.

Merry Christmas!

The theme this year for the boy was trains!

We got the Boy a train table. So the Man and I spent the late evening on Christmas Eve putting it and a rocking horse (which he loves, Nanny) together. Check out that hair. This kid gets serious bed head. I'll explain his face further down.

He played with his new trains and tracks (thank you Mamie and Papa) most the day.


He realized later in the day that crawling inside the table made it much easier.

Aunt Jo and Guncle also got him a stacking toy in the shape of a train among a list of other things like, music, blocks, and puzzles.


Last year, Grandma and Grandpa Finkle got him this Nativity Set, which I think is adorable. This year they added to it with sheep and shepherds. So cute! He loved his little Mickey Mouse pull over from them also.

Incidentally, the Man got me an iPod shuffle. So now I don't have to hold the giant one when I run. Yay! AND...did you know that you can have your name put on those? He had them put my first and middle name on the back. Love that! He also took me out to the mall last weekend and let me go a little crazy on clothes shopping. He did good, yes?!


I got the Man a monstrous computer monitor. I am currently enjoying the fruits of that gift right now. This thing is big! Ok, now the face...

After all the presents, the Man took the Boy sledding. I was a slightly worried about that only because this is what happened when they went out sledding yesterday. Isn't that sad looking? Like a rabid cat got a hold of half his face? Actually, it was just some bushes. Apprently that did not deter him from wanting to go again and again, though.

We hope your Christmas morning was as nice as ours.

Chistmas Eve Caroling

Christmas Eve we joined the Jensen Family tradition and went caroling with them and a large group of friends.


It wasn't all that cold.


It wasn't snowing...


...and it didn't really start raining until the very last house we visited.


We had a really great time. It is the perfect way to spend Christmas Eve night.

Major Snow

Within a matter of hours on Friday, we went from being able to see the grass to this.


The boy loved playing in the snow with dad. Being the smart lady I am, I stayed indoors and just stepped out onto the porch to snap a few pictures. Roxy was out there with the males...takin' it like a real woman. Traitor.

The Boy giggled so hard when dad would literally toss him into the snow...

...and he would laugh and yell "faster!" when the Man pulled him on the sled (which incidentally was borrowed from a friend over a year ago and I still haven't returned it- thank you, Dorothy).

I'm glad someone enjoys this weather.

Sick Elephant

When I was about seven or eight I got sick with what was probably the flu.  My sister, Jodie, bought me a stuffed elephant which I named Dudely E. Phunt.  I was seven. Give me a break. I kept that stuffed elephant and pulled it out whenever I felt really sick.  

Now the Boy has it. And we do the same thing. He hasn't been feeling so hot the last couple of days - just ask my carpet upstairs and my husband who had to get the shop vac out last night and clean up the mess.  I didn't quite get him over to the hardwoods in time.

On the bright side, the Boy is a very good sick kid. He doesn't know and he barely seems to care that he's sick.  Plus, he sleeps a lot more.  The night before last he slept 14 hours (I had to go wake him up) and then took a 4 hour nap that day.  Not bad. Not bad at all. I think that is the magic of Dudely.

Three Posts in One

I've been meaning to post a few things, but just havent gotten around to it. So, here they are...all in one.

Oreos are goooooood!

Testing out the snow boots for the first time.

New hiding place - right next to the garbage can. Oh joy.

He thinks we can't see him. We won't spoil it.

Thanksgiving

This is my sister-in-law. She is SuperWoman. With two girls and one on the way in a few months, she hosted Thanksgiving for three families (all the relatives on the Eastern side of the US).

We had steak AND turkey! The food was absolutely delicious. The weather, despite being chilly, was beautiful. The company was perfect. And I am thankful for all of those things.

Here are some of the things I learned on this trip:

1. The Boy gets car sick. Three times in five hours. Yeah. I'll remember that one.

2. The movie "The Dark Knight" feels incredibly long.

3. Movies in Blu-Ray really are significantlly different. It was like being in the same room as the actors. I'm actually not sure I like that.

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was as enlightening as mine.

Mama Mia

I went and saw Mama Mia last night with some friends. We all agreed we had to YouTube the closing credit scene. This is just so incredibly wrong and hilarious.

I Didn't Know He Could Do This

Usually when we say our prayers at night, the Boy just repeats whatever we tell him to say. This morning I was sitting on the couch and he came and sat next to me. I remembered that I needed to say my prayers...so I told him, "Mommy is going to say a prayer", which I proceeded to do in silence.

After about ten seconds I hear him say, "Fader (Father), tank (thank) thee...for day...mommy...daddy... Roxy...family..." So I started to repeat after him this time. Then there was a pause. He wasn't quite sure where to go from there. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye and he was surveying the room. He then continued, "...chair, pillow, light. Jesus name. Amen."

Amazing. I just about cried, but it was so dang cute I just giggled instead.

Halloween

I realize I'm a little late with this. But here we are anyways. Halloween was surprisingly busy for us. Here's the boy at our Ward party in his cute lil turtle outfit courtesy of Mamie...
...and at the museum longing to take a ride on the train.
We spent Halloween night at the Talbot's and then the Pulley's. The Boy loves their dog Winnie... partly because she will let him attempt to ride her, and partly because she doesn't growl when he gives her loves.

Election Day!

Did you?

I Must Boast

This is what I can do by myself with 45 minutes and a rake (plus the side yard which you can't see).This is what I can do by myself with an hour and a half and a rake.And this is what I can do when I make the Family Home Evening lesson be about hard work and the activity is help mom finish raking even though it is completely dark outside. I should have used the wide angle lens this morning, but funny enough, I was too lazy to swap it out. Just know that the whole front yard is finished.We have a leaf blower, but for some reason I just felt like doing it the old fashioned way. I'm sore today. I wonder why.

Pumpkin Carving

Every year since we've been married, the Man and I have hosted a pumpkin carving party at our house. My friends seem to find it ironic that "the cleanest person they know hosts the messiest party of the year." I'm glad I have managed to fool them into thinking that I'm clean.

In any case, we had a good time this year. Unfortunately, the Man is on night shift and couldn't be there. But the Boy was having fun stealing other people's boots (top left corner picture) and I was amazed at the size of the pumpkins the Pulley's brought. Check out Bea's in the bottom left and right corner.

Thanks everyone for coming! Hope we see you all (and then some) next year!

My Dog is a Wuss

Roxy ran out back last night and then started barking. I tried to get her to come back inside, but she was too much of a chicken. That's because this little fella was lurking behind the back door in our sun room.

I'll admit it. I wasn't about to go out there and get her because, yes, I'm a wuss too.

A Little Comparison

The Man and I have talked about who the Boy most resembles. That was until we got a picture of The Man at 15 months old from his mom. The Man is on the left, the Boy is on the right also at 15 months.

Then my mom gave me one of myself at around 2 years old - it's a bit grainy. Picture the Boy with longer hair.





















What do you think?

Why the Boy is Small

Because...this is how he eats....

Yes, those are Cheerio toes.

Fall Means Football

Down, Set, Hut!

This may be the closest he ever comes to playing football.

How to Watch Sesame Street

A Year in the Making

I started running last year after my friend, Amy, came up with the idea of participating in the Tunnel to Towers 5K Run in NYC. The day finally came this past weekend. I went with my very good friends April, Joanna, Nicole, Seleta, Amy, and little Addy.

We decided to drive down. I reluctantly volunteered to be the one to drive into the city. It was a little scary, but luckily I had Seleta there to navigate and tell me how to be a "NYC driver". It wasn't long before I caught on that if pedestrians are crossing against the light, then they aren't really people and I'm allowed to plow through. Seleta left a wonderful comment on April's site: "according to my NY Book it states 'Driving in Manhattan is not for the timid, clueless, or otherwise emotionally fragile.' I guess you all saw my true colors come out."

About an hour after getting there, we were casually walking down the street to grab dinner when we ran into Matt Dillon. Mhm. Matt Dillon. For more on the driving and Matt Dillon saga, see April's post.



We rented out an apartment right on Central Park. We visited Times Square the first night, hit Chinatown the next day, and finally the race came on Sunday. It was incredible. Seleta, April, and Addy cheered us on from the sidelines. At the starting line, we had members of the Coast Guard in front of us, an Army company dressed in full fatigues WITH their packs on behind us, and firemen from all over everywhere else. In total, there were 15,000 runners. It was incredibly moving to hear the Star Spangled Banner sung just before the race began.

The run went through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and let me tell you, it was hot! And crowded! Oh my gosh was it hot and crowded! And when you finally came out of the tunnel, you were greeted by not only fresh air, but firemen lining both sides of the street holding American flags and pictures of all the firemen who died on September 11th. It was a once in a lifetime experience of which I was so honored to be a part.

http://wcbstv.com/local/tunnel.to.towers.2.827550.html

Aside from all of that, the girls I went with were fantastic. It would have been a great weekend even without Matt Dillon. Thanks girls! And thanks to The Man for watching the Boy while I was gone.

Standing on One Leg

Here's how The Man stands on one leg.

Here's how the Boy does it.

I don't know why I didn't think of that. Duh.