Running a Half-Marathon

So, I've signed up to run the Salt Lake City half-marathon in April. I'm crazy, I know. Thing is, I've had a desire to run a marathon ever since I helped out with the St. George marathon while I was in nursing school. I remember thinking all those people were nuts. Half of them looked like they were about ready to pass out and it was only like 5 miles into the race. But then I began to admire all of those people, running their little hearts out, faces all sweaty and red, jaws hanging open...running a marathon is definitely no small feat. So, in my ambitious, gotta-do-everything, gotta-show-everybody-how-tough-I-am attitude, I put running a marathon on my mental list of things I wanted to accomplish in my life.
And here I am, training for a half-marathon. I ran 8 miles yesterday; I think it's the farthest I've ever run in my life, and I felt like I could have kept going. I feel really good; I feel like I can finally get back to my pre-pre-pregnancy weight (my weight before I got pregnant with Kylie). I have that whole-body soreness where it hurts to get out of bed in the morning, but at the same time it feels good to hurt like that because then you know you've worked your butt off. Hopefully, it will be literal before long. ;)

My Baby Is Growing Up!

I can't believe my "baby" is over a year old! It's crazy to think that only 1 year ago Cooper was a helpless little infant whose only wants in life were to be fed, changed, and rocked to sleep. Now, Cooper's a complicated little fellow. (Okay, not so much, but compared to 1 year ago...) I'm constantly amazed at how much a baby can learn after being on this earth for only a year.
Just the other day, when Kylie and I were playing "school" in her room, Cooper took off towards the stairs saying, "Da-da" over and over again. Neither Kylie nor I realized that Daddy had come home, but Cooper knew the sound of our garage door going up to mean that his Daddy was home. I walked over to pick him up before he reached the stairs and started telling him that Daddy wasn't home yet. I was wrong. There was Daddy walking up the stairs!
Cooper also loves playing "Catch Me If You Can!" He'll run away from us as fast as his little legs can carry him whether we're in the grocery store, at home playing, or when Daddy comes home. Sometimes he'll try to climb all of the stairs before we can get to him. We'll say, "I'm going to get you!" and he'll squeal and start running or climbing as fast as he can. Soooo cute!
Our little man is also starting to expand his vocabulary. Besides "da-da," "ba-ba," "ma-ma," he says "dahnk goo" for "thank you;" "mah" for "more;" "bah" for "ball;" and "yah," for "yeah." He knows when to put things away and when Mommy's says it's time to shut the fridge door or dishwasher door, he does it all by himself! I swear, everything he does is so gosh darn cute and I constantly have to restrain myself from picking the kid up, smothering him with kisses, and squeezing him to death! Man, I love my baby!

Snow, snow go away!!!

Snow, snow go away; come again another day. (Or better yet, just don't come at all)...I can't even begin to tell you how much I'm starting to hate snow. I hate playing in it, I hate driving in it, and now I'm starting to hate looking at it. Sure, it's all nice and pretty when it first comes down, but then it gets all dirty and slushy after the snow plows come through and push it all up on the sides of the road. I know we're supposed to be thankful for all of this moisture, but sometimes when we're saying our prayers I feel like saying,"We're thankful for the snow and moisture we've received, but please don't send anymore. We're good, thanks." I mean, we're not in a drought anymore, are we???
I almost cried when the snow started coming down Wednesday afternoon. There was so much I needed to do that day, but I had to put it off because it was really windy and it was coming down really fast. For those of you who didn't watch the news that night, they said that it took about 2 & 1/2 hours just to drive 12 miles in many parts of Utah County, especially around Point of the Mountain where traffic was pretty much at at standstill. I was soooo glad I didn't have to go to work that night. Instead, I stayed home and ate some yummy stroganoff made by my DH (dear husband), watched "A Bug's Life" with Kylie, did some scrapbooking, and went to bed early.

Hoppy Birthday Cooper!

Cooper's 1st birthday was on January 30th. We had his birthday party on Friday, February 1st. It was a frog party complete with a "pond" with lily pads, beach ball frogs, blue, green, and light green streamers, a frog cake, and guests dressed in green. We sang "Eight Little Speckled Frogs." Someone had to jump into the "pond" with each round we sang. Then we played musical lily pads with Scott playing songs like, "It's Not Easy Being Green," and "Who Let the Frogs Out?" on the computer.
The party dinner included bug dip with crunchy bug wings (7 layer dip with tortilla chips), frog-eye salad, frog log mix (chex mix with extra stick pretzels), and swamp water (frozen punch with ginger ale mixed in). Dessert was frog cake with homemade buttercream frosting and green fly ice cream (mint chocolate chip).
After dinner Cooper opened his presents. He got a lawnmower, two dump trucks, a bus, legos, a new hammer (he lost his last one), a Leapfrog
fridge farm, clothes, an Elmo phone, a stuffed bear, a horse light, and a Pooh outfit. A funny moment was when he opened a present from his Nana and Papa that had the exact shirt he was wearing inside it! He lost interest in opening presents about halfway through when he found a hanger to play with.
After all of the presents had been opened we brought out the frog cake and sang Happy Birthday to Cooper. Mommy blew out his candle for him. Everyone had cake and ice cream while Cooper and his cousin, Amber, played with all of his new toys. We took some family pictures and then everyone went home. Everyone got a green gift bag that had a frog beachball, frog bath squirts, a green frog bath fizzy, frog suckers, frog bubbles, a party blowout, and "toadally" gross gummy toads.
To right: This is Cooper's cute little cousin, Amber. She was putting on a show, dancing to the Elmo jingle on Cooper's new phone.


Cooper with his Mommy. He was not feeling well. He had been throwing up all day long. But he was still a happy, sweet boy, just for his party.
To right: Cooper and Grandpa Pete.
Aunt Becky, Uncle Nathan, and soon-to-be new baby girl cousin!
Aunt Sarah, Uncle Adam, and Cousin Amber.
The Freitas and Wilson Bunch.
Funny faces everyone! Grandpa Pete must already think he has a funny face!

Our Magical Adventure in Disneyland

So, we went to Disneyland!...thanks to my parents, who got our entire family three-day tickets to Disneyland for Christmas. We left for Disneyland Wednesday, January 23rd, with our fam, Jill, and our cousin, Elizabeth. I have to mention that Cooper did really well in the carseat for 9+ hours. I was really dreading having to entertain and keep him happy for so long, but he was a good, happy baby. It wasn't until the last hour of driving that he started getting tired of being in his carseat. While we were driving in, it was pouring rain and we were beginning to think that our Disneyland adventure was going to be really wet. Lucky for us, it only sprinkled a few times, and it only started to really rain on the last night we were there.

The first day Scott was really sick; he rode the Disneyland Railroad over to Fantasyland and then ended up deciding to go back to the hotel for the rest of the day. We never did figure out what made him sick. I blamed it on IHOP's greasy fare we had the night before.

It was a different experience to be able to "do Disneyland" with two kids in tow. Last time we went, Scott and I had only been married for a couple of years. While it was certainly less stressful then, (think no diaper bags, no strollers, no one to watch out for, no changing diapers, no having to look for a bathroom right in the middle of Disneyland parade...), I thoroughly enjoyed coming to Disneyland with our little family. It seemed so much more magical and exciting this time around. Seeing Kylie get all excited about going made me almost giddy! We all agreed, however, that while California Adventure Park was cool, it didn't hold the same magic as Disneyland.

I enjoyed spending time with my family and it was nice to get away and forget about work, bills, the house, and all of the other responsibilties that come with being a grown-up. It was really nice to be a kid for a few days! It was, as Cinderella would say, "completely wonderful," and I can't wait to come back in a few years!

Here are our individual memorable moments and favorite rides, shows, etc. I also want to make a note that if you click on the slide show above and then put your cursor over the lower part of each picture you will be able to read the captions I wrote for them. Not all of the pictures have them, but most of them do. You can make the slides move faster or slower using the buttons in the left lower corner. To see more Disneyland pics, you can click on Adam & Sarah's and Nate & Becky's blog links on the left.

Kim's Memorable Moments/Favorites: Soarin' Over California; Hollywood Tower of Terror; the Aladdin show; Pirates of the Carribean; the cheddar broccoli soup in a bread bowl at the French Market restaurant (yummy!); watching Kylie's reaction with every new ride, show, or Disney character we saw; Scott not being sick for the last two days; trying to see who could make the funniest face for the Splash Mountain camera; watching the Disneyland Parade of Dreams; exploring California Adventure Park for the first time; and having a churro for dinner.

One memorable moment that was not my favorite was when I was told by one of the Soarin' ride workers that I did not need to loop my seatbelt through the middle loop. It was only for smaller riders; this I knew, but I just wanted to feel like I wasn't going to fall out! Everybody was sniggering at me. Embarrassing!

Scott's Memorable Moments/Favorites: Not being sick for the rest of the vacation; Hollywood Tower of Terror; Space Mountain being open (last time we went, it wasn't); the Muppet show; and getting to ride Splash Mountain three times in a row without having to get out.

Kylie's Memorable Moments/Favorites: The Dumbo ride; Gadget's Go Coaster; Goofy's house; Minnie's House; Mickey's House; Chip 'n' Dale's Treehouse, (okay, so Toon Town in general); Buzz Lightyear's ride; getting her picture taken with Mickey and Minnie Mouse; Soarin' Over California; Heimlich's Chew Chew Train; Ariel in the Disney parade; the Aladdin show; and picking out her baby Minnie as a souvenir to take home.

Cooper's Memorable Moments/Favorites: Getting ice cream from Aunt Jill; getting pushed around in a stroller; falling asleep in the stroller; riding Dumbo and Astro Orbitor with his Mommy; and walking around in his new shoes.