Run, run, run

Ed set a goal and went above and beyond it today. He ran his first half marathon, which is 13.1 miles, in the Dallas Rock N Roll Half Marathon and set a personal best record at coming across the finish line at 1:44:05. Since the race was set to begin early in the morning, Nico, Daddy and Mommy stayed overnight at the five star hotel, Hotel Adolphus so that we would be ready to go the next morning. Since luxury hotel typically do not have a lot of activities for 15 mo old, we got creative and let Nico up and down the hallway to expel some of his energy! Here is a video of our little man running and running. Maybe someday he will be running his own half marathon!


The day of the race, Nico and I had a great time rooting and cheering daddy on and we were joined by our friends, Lisa and David, along with little Dawson who entertained Nico for quite some time. We all piled into one car and drove over to mile marker 7.1 so cheer Ed on as he ran through the course. I was able to shoot a video clip of him passing. He is wearing an orange shirt and you can see him crossing over from the far side of the street to run closer to us.









Just a short note: Crossing the finish line in any race is quite an accomplishment. Just seconds after Ed ran through the finish line, a man named Mark Austry, only 32 years old also completed the race; however, this man collapsed immediately after the race and died shortly after. He left behind a wife and two young daughters. Please pray for this man's family he left behind.

Wheee!

As a late Christmas present, Pops ordered a slide for Nico while we were visiting. The large delivery came yesterday and before the slide was even put together, Nico was climbing all over the individual pieces. It seems that our little monkey prefers to climb up the slide rather than going up the ladder, but he is figuring it out. Once the little guy makes it up to top of the slide he doesn't hesitate to share his excitement by shouting and camping out up at the top for a while before sliding down. For extra fun, the slide has a basketball hoop attached to it, which Nico has demonstrated he is now an expert at dunking. Great present Pops-thanks!
Here are some pictures I snapped quickly of Nico playing on the new fixture on our living room!

Plane time

Once again, Nico did fantastic on the plane even with all the choas that comes hand in hand with traveling these days. He is really becoming a frequent flyer, making this his 5th round trip via air travel! Here is super cute, but very short video clip of Nico on the plane watching and singing along with his favorite My Friends Tigger and Pooh. The captain came on the loud speaker so the video is shorter than I was hoping.

Another good trip

Nico and Mommy once again traveled down to the Rio Grande Valley for some warm weather, sunshine and loves of love and attention from Pops! Nico showed off his constant talking skills, climbing the stairs skills, and his walking/running abilities! He did a wonderful job flying again, however, this time Nico did have a little earache while the plane was descending in altitude. He had a great time exploring (and sweeping!-see the photo below) the Salzman museum as well as the jungle outback.

Thanks for a great trip Pops! Hope you come to visit SOON!

Nico's Chair

Just like his Daddy, Nico loves his "man" chair. Whenever, his favorite show, "My Friends Tigger and Pooh" comes on or it is snack time, Nico runs to his chair and plops down for some vege time. While he has this little routine down now, Nico hasn't always understood exactly what the purpose of the chair was. At first, he wasn't sure why this red monstrosity was always in his way or why he often got plopped down on this shorter then rest piece of furniture, but now I am pretty sure he would miss his "Nico-chair" if it were missing.

Trip to the East

Typically, when we travel, we head south, but this past weekend Nico and Mommy drove to east Texas, specifically, Tyler. We went to celebrate Mason, Nico's cousin, turning 1 year old. Aunt Shae threw a great party for her darling little boy, including lots of yummy cake balls to eat! We had a great time visiting Aunt Sterling and Aunt Jessica who we don't see as often. Then of course Gigi and Nanny were also there to love on their grandsons as much as possible. We had a great surprise guest show up who initially had not planned on coming...Daddy! Ed called and said he was heading east and was on his way to Tyler for the weekend. I think he missed us!









Aunt Shae took us to a great diamond in the rough in Tyler. The Discovery Science Place was a fantastic place for Nico and Mason to run around exploring and playing. There was a simulated grocery store and hospital, an ambulance and a car the boys were able to crawl into and play around, a puzzle area, a ball room, an exploratory cave and so much more. We will definitely have to make a trip back out there for some more fun soon!

One Night of Peace

Glen Rose, TX was our destination for one night and one night only; but it was one night in which we would be allowed to enjoy each other and have peace from the absence of drama and conflict. It was at the Ten Triple X Ranch, just outside of Glen Rose, where Ed was scheduled to run a 10K. Not only did he run the 10K amidst the snow covered ranch grounds, but he did it breaking a personal record. I was, and still am so proud of how hard Ed has worked at become not just a fit person, but a dedicated runner.



I love spending time with my boys and this one-nighter in Glen Rose was a great chance for us to have quality time together as a normal family. Nico had fun just wandering around the hotel room exploring his environment and jumping off of the bed into Daddy's arms. I am looking forward to doing this again next month when Ed runs a half marathon.

I really do have a toddler!

Two weeks ago Nico developed a strange fear of baths. He went from absolutely loving bath time to kicking and screaming when I would put him in the water. I have no idea how this switched happened, but it did. Scared of baths or not, Nico still needed to bathe, especially since the smearing food in his hair is typically a part of meal time now. We tried bubble baths, having a bath time playdate with Mason when we were in Houston, new bath toys, and even getting in the bath tub with him. Nothing work except time. Just as there was no apparent reason for the bath fear to begin with, the last two nights Nico was practically jumping out of my arms to get in the tub with no cause for explanation. I guess we have to chalk it up Nico just being a toddler.

Nico in the bath crying, while cousin Mason is having a blast playing.

Before the bath fear even began, Nico showed his true toddler colors in the eating department. Up until he was 13 months old, I spent precious time making all of Nico's baby food. Homemade, fresh, organic baby food, what could be more healthier? The best thing was that Nico ate everything! Now? Not so much. He began refusing the baby food at 13 months, so we made the switch to eating all table food. As soon as I mastered how to make and freeze enough vegegtables for at least a week, Nico decided he wanted nothing to do with them. In fact HE decided he only wanted milk, yogurt, Cheerios, and possibly a meatball here and there. Not the best diet. I continually keep offerring the little man all the foods I would have hoped he would still be eating. The strange thing is that Nico will take the various foods, put them in his mouth and even chew on them for a bit; however they do not get swallowed. Instead, out the food comes. So my great, healthy eater became a very picky eater! Well, knock on wood, but I think Nico may be expanding his food options a little more. He has been eating more of a variety of food in the last week. I just hope he keeps it up!

Family Times

While Daddy headed north to New York, Mommy and Nico went south to Houston for the weekend. There was a dual purpose behind Nico and I packing up for the weekend. First and foremost, Nico and I were unable to visit with my grandpa, his great-grandfather last time we were in town. Unfortunately, Nico came down with a yucky cold and I did not want to spread it around. My grandfather's last doctor's visit was not a very encouraging one; so with him getting weaker, I wanted to make sure Nico and I were able to visit sooner rather than later. We had nice visit chatting and everyone had the chance to see Nico walk around like a pro.


Shae, Mason and Mindi (Nanny) also met us Houston, and we were packed into Gigi's house for the weekend. I feel so blessed that Nico has a cousin he is going to be able to grow up with. Being only 2.5 months apart, these two boys will be able to experience so much together for many years to come. What is even more fun is that Shae and I get to experience being new mommy's together and our mom's get to spoil their first grand babies together. Between all of us girls, we had lots of laughs, ate way too much food, and just enjoyed watching our little boys interact with each other.