The Half-Marathon

Here I am, after hours of non-stop running. I did it. I ran a half-marathon. The time isn't important. Let's just say that I started slow so I have room for improvement for the next one. HA!

 I ran the race with 2 great friends. Jean and Stacy. They finished before me.. and we did another finish line photo together. It was sooo great to be able to do it with them. They really motivated me and kept me going!

 It was SO wonderful to be done. I wasn't so proud of myself that I had actually done it, but more that I took the time for myself to train and prepare myself to run. The prep work is the hardest part in my opinion. I'm also proud of myself that I ran the whole time, which was my main goal. There were times where I was another foot away from walking but I kept going. Just keep swimming..just keep swimming.. It was hard to be passed by just about everyone.. especially shirtless hairy old men, but I finished. That's what matters.

Friends! What an amazing experience. Have I run since? No.. but I will get back to it.

Still life - rare moments

 No one crying? Indeed rare.. they play well together..oh 75% of the time but Sarah has trouble mintaining her gentleness. Oh, and she likes to sit on top of him like a horse. He doesn't like it much.

Don't mind the naked toddler.. Sarah likes to take off her clothes lately. Potty-training is.. inconsistent at best.

 Scott LOVES the bathroom. He makes a beeline for it whenever it is open. Of course he loves the toilet paper. This picture is probably when he was around 6 months. He was quick to find it!

 7 months.. he is so cute! I just can't get over it. And a male replica of Sarah with those chubby cheecks and sqinty eyes

Taking a picture of Sarah is rare.. she always wants to see the LCD screen which is very annoying when I'm trying dilligently to take pictures of them!

My new car!!

My new rental car.

When Kurtis' family was here we rented a van to accommodate the masses. Oh how I wish it was for keeps. I drove out of the parking lot with it and decided I wanted one immediately. I've noticed it's quite a popular van as I've been driving around since... someday Chrysler Town & Country..someday

The butter-by

One thing I have loved about living in Minnesota is the fact that Monarch butterflies are abundant here! I am also glad to have taught because I am now an expert on Monarchs. Part of the 7th grade cirriculum is to raise and release a Monarch. How cool is that! So every summer I have been able to find a caterpillar (or egg) on some milkweed and we watched it grow as a family. My sad ode to the dog we never had continues...

 This little guy (or girl as it turned out to be) was raised from an egg. This was her home! Sarah LOVED watching it crawl along, eating the leaf.

When Sarah's cousin, Lucia was here, she proudly showed off her pet

 Then the blessed day came when we had to say goodbye! Sarah is finally starting to say more words and butter-by is one of her favorites! She says it with that break inbetween - "butter - by." I wish she was more articulate because she loves telling about how the butter-by walked around on Daddy and then flew on Scott's head...

And then flew away! 'Bye bye butter-by!'

'Til next summer when we find one of your descendents to raise.

Gillman Family Reunion 2011..Lombardo's 80th Birthday

At the end of June we traveled to Boston to my sister's house to celebrate my Grandparent's 80th birthday this year. We were sad to not have my brother Mark who was still in Afghanistan at the time.. but we were glad to see his family, my other brother's family, my parents and my mother's brother and his son. We all stayed at my sister's house.. all 26 of us.. can you say circus? It was actually really fun and everyone had a great time. I'm limited on my pictures but I've got a few here.. We went to an amory museum which was really cool, but we mostly just played, ate, wrestled, jumped on the trampoline and helped my sister pack because she was moving at the time too!

My grandpa..he and Sarah became best buds!

My mom, with Scott, my Grandpa with my niece Janelle

 My grandma with Scott

 The amory museum had a great kids floor with these awsome building blocks

We all ran a 5k while we were there. My first official race!

 My uncle with his song, Nicholas

 My sister-in-law Jana (Mark's wife) and their son Grant

 Every chance they got the kids all begged Uncle Kurtis to 'jump' them on the trampoline.. look close and see that most of them are in the air.

My niece Kate with Scott. She LOVED Scott and was so sweet with him.

Rochesterfest 2011

Our town has Rochesterfest every year. So we went to the parade Friday night.. saw all the marching bands and Shriner motorcycle brigades.

 Sarah got a Red Hot candy and tried to eat it. She lasted about 10 minutes before it got too 'hot'

 The next morning we went to a pancake breakfast on a local dairy farm. It was so fun! Breakfast was yummy and we got to see all kinds of farm animals and farm equipment.

 The corn-cob man... Sarah was afraid

 This is what the surrounding area outside of Rochester looks like..and most of Southern Minnesota. Aren't we just the little American family!

 We all loved the baby chicks. Who wouldn't!?

 This thing was HUGE. No idea what it was.

Scott had a great time. We pulled him out of the way just in time..

IBM's 100th Birthday

Sometime in June IBM celebrated it's 100th Anniversary. Quite the accomplishment for any company. So all of the IBM campuses everywhere had a celebration and invited employees and their families. We had hamburger, ice cream, a few blue-frosted cupcakes, played on the bouncy houses and walked through the maze of blue-box buildings where Daddy works.

Thanks IBM for a job, health care, an education and flexible work hours. :) Could we work in a state that isn't so cold?

 "I'm proud to be an IBMer because..." (Not sure what he wrote.. I made him sign it for nostalgic purposes)

 LOVE LOVE this picture of Sarah! Finally, she's smiling and looking at the camera!

 The front desk insisted we put this visitor sticker on Scott.. I guess so they'd know if we forgot him that he didn't belong there..

Sarah's 2nd Birthday

We had a small birthday party with our neighbors, the Robinson's for Sarah's birthday (in June). Sarah didn't mind..she had plenty of cupcakes and frosting and presents. It was heaven for her!

 Jan, our sweet neighbor, and Sarah are quite inseperable. Jan got Sarah some pots and pans, plates and food for the little kitchen I found for Sarah. She LOVES it!

This is a kiss.. believe it or not.. Sarah can't resist sharing her birthday love.

 

Can't believe she's 2!! We love you so much Sarah and are excited for things to come!

Let it snow!

PLEASE! Let it snow. Yes, we are still alive here in Minnesota and are VERY grateful for AC. It's in the 90s all week with 80+% humidity. Can you say sauna? What I wouldn't give for some snow right now... ahhhhhh. Never thought I'd be wishing for snow so badly. I'm keeping us inside and only venturing out for the most necessary trips. We tried to go outside to eat our homeade popsicles (yum!) and they were melting too fast. Ha!

Anyway.. I've neglected to blog forever for various reasons but am happy to say that we are doing well and thriving! Scott has been on formula for about 2 months now and is happy as a clam. I think he was hungry (that all the stress effected my milk supply) and has a milk sensitivity. He sleeps well and in a crib.. most of the time. He slept in his carseat for a while because it would keep him asleep, but we've got him in his crib now and put him in his seat if he's really fussy. Hey, whatever works right?! He's sooo close to crawling and is just surviving being loved to death by Sarah. He's gotten pretty good at pulling her hair and biting her because she's too curious and puts her finger in his mouth. It's pretty funny. He's sturdy enough that I let Sarah play with him more and he loves is, but she still can't control herself. So I have to protect him most of the day.

Sarah at the neighbor's with her new BFF, Tabby

Sarah has hit 2 and has got an AT-TI-TUDE! Whoa. Watch out. Sadly, she reminds me a lot of.. me in this respect. She's VERY particular and has to have everything perfect. Like, she HAS to have her blanky and her sippy cup of water in hand for bed. Otherwise, no dice. She's very attached to her blanky right now. She has to spread out the blanket just right to wrap her baby up in it. She has to have her food just right for her to eat it. ..........sigh. She goes to time-out a lot.. but is quick to give kisses and hugs, and that adorable smile. She is very helpful most of the time and will do or get me whatever I ask. She's very smart but stubborn and throws fits if she doesn't get her way. Oh well.. she's 2. I've got to learn patience somehow.

Kurtis is still plugging away at school and is almost halfway done! YAY! We're expecting to graduate next summer! After that, we have no idea what we'll do with all our spare time. Haha! He is still in Scouts and YM and is swamped at work. It's amazing that we ever see him. Poor guy! He's such a hard worker. But he loves it.

We went to see family in Massachusettes last month and will have pictures shortly.. we celebrated my grandparents' 80th birthday and got to see everyone in my family except my brother Mark who is Afghanistan..but should be home at the end of August!! It was a great trip.

Kurtis' family is coming HERE (YAY for not having to do another plane ride!) in a couple weeks. All the men and younger siblings will go to the Boundary Waters up north to canoe for a week and my sis-in-law and mom-in-law will stay with the kiddos. We are totally excited.

In other news.. I'm grateful for all the support I had during the first half of the year with Scott. I learned a lot and relied a lot on prayer. So grateful for prayer. I'm so thrilled to say that we are all doing well and are very happy as a family. I am trying to get a move on with my life and get some things accomplished! Like organize my house, clean, and take care of myself (on top of being a Mom!). I'm doing a little at a time but it feels great. I'm also training for a half-marathon at the end of August. Ugh. It's not fun to run in this weather.. but I did 6 miles on Saturday and felt great! I've never run more than 3 at a time in my life so this is a BIG deal!

So, this is us. I'll get pictures up as soon as I can get them loaded. Love to all! Stay cool.

4 months

HE ROLLED OVER! I just had to mention that first.. multiple times. Gotta watch out now! He's nearly 15 pounds and is so active. The Dr. even mentioned he looks like an 'active, alert' baby which is a term for some babies.. apparently. Great. Maybe that explains the not-sleeping because he wants to be in the party! He is drooly. He gets so excited when he sees you. He's responding to Sarah's interactions more. He's hopefully starting to sleep better.. but he's my little rolly polly. Look at those arms! So cute!

PS- I think he looks like Dobby. He's my little old man that Scotty!

All together now!

Here are some pictures of recent days.. it's amazing what precious moments the camera captures! Be sure to add you're own captions.. heaven knows I could use a good laugh!

 These boots were made for walkin'

 Daddy's girl. Seriously. This girl LOVES tools!

 My big boy! He loves the bumbo.. really. Even if  he can't sit up correctly yet.

 This is a daily occurance, which explains the face. Poor kid. He's loved so much it hurts! And look at Sarah, she's so excited to play with him. Half the time she's under there with him practically, or actually, on top of him.

 Regression? Or comfort?

 This is Emmy, Scott's girlfriend. Our friends the Weir's were over for dinner. She is a month older than Scott

 Pigtails!! I can finally do something with Sarah's hair! But yes, she still has a mullet.

 Regression..for real this time. Well maybe jealousy. I want a fun bouncy chair and something to soothe me too!

We go see the story man some weeks and he gives out balloons. And this playset is next door at the daycare. Sarah looks at it longingly most days. I don't like to impose unless they are out there playing already.

 This is what happens when daddy gets you dressed and you start acting like him.

Isn't he just so cute! I love to talk to him. He's just adorable. He is happy most of the time!

 This is what happens when Daddy takes care of you.

 This is what happens when Mommy just doesn't care. What? She was happy for a good half an hour!