July 2013 Recap

A big chunk of July was our week's vacation to New Smyrna Beach that I wrote about here.  We kept plenty busy before and after that too, of course.  I'll attempt to recall the highlights:

We began the month with our long-awaited Peachtree Road Race.  David and I left the kids with his parents on the afternoon of the 3rd, then drove downtown and checked into a hotel near the start line.  We endured the rain to ride Marta to the expo at the World Congress Center.  We picked up our numbers, walked around checking out all of the gear, and bought a couple of t-shirts.  We got back to our room, changed, and went out to an early carb-loaded dinner at Maggiano's.  (Side rant:  I must admit I was less than impressed with the food and, frankly, the clientele.  Maggiano's used to be a really nice place where people bothered to dress up.  I can't tell you how many pre-prom, pre-homecoming, Valentine's Day, and anniversaries dinners we've eaten there.  It was where David took me the night he proposed and where we had our rehearsal dinner.  That night, however, just about everyone there was in shorts and t-shirts as if they just came in from the beach.  In their quest to draw more customers, they let their standards slip across the board.  We'll probably elect to spend our money elsewhere next time we're near one.) But ANYWAY, we ate and then went back to the hotel and got in bed.  Yes, it was about 7pm.  It was awesome.  We talked, I edited pictures, we watched tv, etc. :) and went to bed around 9:30.  

We woke up around 6am.  It was really neat to be lying in bed watching the race as it started!  We took our time getting ready, took some pictures, and made our way downstairs to walk the 3-4 blocks to the start line.  It was a way better experience than getting up at 4:30 to drive to a Marta station, ride downtown, and fight our way to the back like we did when we ran it in 2008.  We attempted to get David in my start wave, but they were spotting bibs that were out of order and sending them back, so we got pulled out and had to wait on "X" group to start.  The race itself was really good.  Because of the threat of rain, it seemed less crowded.  It was muggy, but the cloud cover made it much less hot than it would've been.  We made it to the finish in 1 hour and 12 minutes...right on our 12 min/mile pace and 3 minutes ahead of our goal.  Hey, we were slow, but we ran the whole way and we finished!  Just as we were walking back, the rain started and we got a little wet getting to the (very crowded) Marta station to get back to our hotel.  We showered and got dressed, then went to David's Great Aunt and Uncle's house in Buford for the annual family reunion and a baby shower.  David's parents met us there with the kids and we ate and ate, having earned every calorie.  The night of the 4th, we put off sparklers with the kids and went to bed early amid the gigantic booms outside of the house from neighbors' amateur shows around us.

Saturday the 6th, my brother and niece came over and hung out.  We ate lunch and the girls played and played, which is always so sweet to watch.  My dad and stepmom came by after the kids' naps and we visited until dinnertime.  It was great to see everyone and catch up without me running around playing hostess at a birthday party.  

Audrey finished her last ballet classes and we celebrated with a play date at the fountains (big water fountains in a nearby park that kids run around and play in) and a picnic dinner with her friend Audrey.  We had several other play dates this month, one with our favorite twins, Eli and Madeyln, who are friends of my best friend from middle/high school days.  We also (finally), had our neighbors over for a cookout.  They have a boy starting first grade and a girl Audrey's age, so it was great to hang out and get to know them and the kids.   

Unfortunately, David did have some traveling at the end of the month.  The first trip was for pleasure - he had a guys' golf weekend from Friday the 26th to Sunday the 28th, came home Monday, and left for the second trip for business to Colorado on Tuesday the 30th.  On the first Friday he was gone, my friend Kara came into town with her two girls.  I kept them while she had an OB appointment for #3 and then she came back and we hung out, went to the park, and had dinner.  It was a wonderful time.  That's the one consolation to her moving:  I know that when we do get to see each other, it's going to be for much bigger and more quality chunks of time.  At least, that's what I'm telling myself to ease the pain.  

As you may have calculated, David was out of town for our anniversary.  The poor guy did attempt to send me flowers, but they had to outsource the lavender rose request and the second company didn't get the message in time.  Once David realized they weren't going to arrive on the 31st, he canceled them.  Oh well.  We got to celebrate when he got back in town with tickets to the Matchbox 20 and Goo Goo Dolls concert.  The kids spent the night at his parents' and we went out for appetizers and desserts before driving down to Aaron's Ampitheatre at Lakewood.  It was a great concert, but boy did the singers look o-l-d!  As I wrote on FB, the music and the experience made me feel 16 again.  Getting in at midnight, however, reminded me that I am not!

So that was our July.  Now for what you're really interested in - news on the kids:

Audrey had her 4 year old check up and is in great health.  It looks like she will take after David's mom's side of the family and be petite, which worries me a little because I don't want her weight to become a struggle.  The doctor said that her borderline-high BMI would be perfect if she were two inches taller, but really, isn't that the case for all of us?!  He wasn't concerned and I'm not either for now.  Just less treats (she gets very few as it is) and smaller portions.  As I mentioned in a TT post, we will have to get her eyes checked, and I'll be sure to update with any news there.

Her vocabulary, imagination, and intelligence continue to amaze us.  She also has an astounding memory.  Last fall, we were messing around at a park near our old house and "planted" an acorn.  When driving down the road last week, she blurts out, "Mommy?  How do you think my oak tree is doing?  You know, the one that will grow from the acorn we planted?"  Crazy.  She loves to do all things craft - paint, color, draw, complete mosaic sticker scenes, lace beads for bracelets, etc.  We still don't allow a lot of television, but when she does watch, it's mostly Doc McStuffins, Veggie Tales, and Barney.  She still loves to read and has actually been doing some on her own since I started doing reading lessons with her a couple of months ago.  It's awesome to see how quickly she picks up on things and very exciting to be "formally" seeing results of what I teach her.  (But, lest you get confused, no, there will be no homeschooling.)

At 17 months, Luke has started to talk a lot.  We try to keep his "bauble" (his word for his paci) out of his mouth to encourage more practice.  He will say all of our names, something close to the names for Grandmom and Granddad, "no", "banana", "mo" (more), "up", "stairs", "poon" (spoon), "dink" (drink), "dough" or doggie (dog), "baby", "nigh nigh" (night night), "dank ooo" (thank you), "peas" (please), "pah-ee" (potty), "bu" (bug), "tee" (teeth), "knee", "bonk" (his word when he hits his head), "boo boo", "ouch", "daw" (draw), "ball", "dow" (down), "eye", "tash" (trash), "duce" (juice), "eeee" (eat), and about 5-10 others that only I can decipher at the moment, but I get them!  He's also getting good at animal sounds and can do dog, cat, elephant, monkey, sheep, and horse as well as lion, camel, and a few others with less accuracy.  My favorite is the pig snort, which is hilarious.  

We just discovered Sunday that he repeatedly deciphers between his right hand and left hand when asked!  He's shaping up to be a really funny toddler with a great sense of humor and loves to make us laugh.  That's good, because he sure doesn't listen well when told "no" about something.  When Kara's girls were here he disappeared for a moment and when I went to find him, he'd climbed all the way to the top of the stairs.  With Audrey, a stern no-no and a hand-flick would've taken care of that.  With Luke....well, he's tried at least five times since.  He also made some beautiful artwork on our playroom wall.  Each time he sees it (because no, I haven't cleaned it up yet!), he points and says "no no, no no".  I have no doubt the kid gets the concept.  I think it's just more of a struggle to get him to obey because A) he sees Audrey getting to do things that we tell him no about, which is confusing B) I don't have the time, patience, or energy to follow him around all day and reiterate the rules and C) he's just a different kid who likes testing the boundaries a little bit more.  Let's hope that stops before adolescence!

So, overall, the kids are doing great.  We're really proud of them and amazed at how quickly they're growing and changing.  Here are some funny quips I'll leave you with.  Some of them are from a while back, but since I am just now getting back into recaps, I wanted to include them:

 - AJ: "Mommy, why do you call me 'Sugar' or 'Honey'"? Me: "Because you're sweet like those things..most of the time."  AJ: "Well then when I have bad behavior, you should call me 'Brussel sprouts' or 'Broccoli'". 

 - AJ to Luke, after I scolded him for touching something and he began crying: "Luke! Luke! It's okay! She just doesn't want you to get hurt! She still loves you, buddy! Wait...Mommy, 
you still love him, right?! (I respond yes, of course)..Okay, yeah, she does!"

 - Audrey's prayer one night: "...and I pray for Luke, that he will grow up fast to be big and strong just like a real life big person so he can walk to me and talk with me and we can play together a lot. He's just my favorite snuggle-bug, Lord..."

 - After a rough morning at home, getting wet in the rain running errands, and Luke getting his 15 month shots, Audrey says: "Mom, I'm gonna be sarcastic. Ready? This is the best day ever."

 - While waiting in the nursery line to pick Luke up from his class, I peeked around the person in front of me to watch him.  I saw him pick up a huge firetruck and waddle over to another kid.  "Oh dear Lord, please, please don't let him nail that kid in the head with that truck," I silently prayed.  He squats down, gets the kid's attention, and hands him the truck.  Double sigh of relief - he didn't injure the child AND he shares!  Yes!

 - We've had an ant problem lately, so I find myself squishing a few throughout the day.  Last week, Luke came out of the bathroom with a square of toilet paper and said "bu" "bu" and handed it to me then said "tash".  I opened it up cautiously and, sure enough, there was a tiny dead ant inside.  He'd walked by, seen an ant, got some toilet paper off the roll by himself, squished the bug, and brought it to me to throw away. 

 - Whenever Audrey is in trouble or upset, Luke tries to console her.  During one recent timeout episode, I went in to talk to her about what she'd done and he was right there with me, rubbing her back and leaning his head on her chest to give her hugs.  Such a sweet, tender heart!  

So that's it for now!  Shew - now you're caught up on our latest.  I'll post a note when I get the July pictures edited and uploaded.  

Have a great weekend!