6 a.m comes awfully early on a Sunday morning, especially for two little kiddos who love their beauty sleep. In the weeks leading up our first Kid’s Fun Run they were all jubilant. Come sunrise on race morning, however, some kids were not so quick to get up. Gavin didn’t complain much it just took a little prodding to get him out of the bed. Addison…..well, that is a different story. The short version is she complained for me to leave and then argued that the socks i was putting on her hurt……..everywhere (i don’t think she has worn socks in about a year).
We finally made it out of the house and on our way to Nana’s house. Nana was ready with her race wear and a smile and we headed for the open road. The race scene was lit up with the excitement of clowns, disney characters, and music. They were both taking it all in. Addison wore herself out with some wicked dance moves.
The five minute call for runners finally came and we made our way up to the start. They were both all smiles. Gavin wanted to start in the front. We got as close as we could and then listened intently at the instructions. The countdown began 5..4…3..2…1…go. Gavin hesitated for a minute but then got in his groove. Addison and Nana staid behind to make sure everyone followed the rules. Gavin slowed his pace for a minute but once we hit the turnaround he realized we were in the homestretch. He picked up his pace and left me to choke on his dust. We passed Addison with about 1/3 of a mile left. Addison and Nana smiled and waved and i giggled at Addison’s brilliant attempt to still bring home the gold.
As we we made our way up the final hill we saw the stoplight beckoning us to the finish. Gavin picked up his pace even more and smiled from ear to ear as family and the crowd cheered us on.
We crossed the finish line at 8:41 (third in the 6 and under age division) and i held him tight as he beamed with pride. He collected his ribbon (and trophy we brought from home—-glad i thought ahead to buy that at party city. He asked halfway through if he would still get one if he wasn’t the winner). We made our way to the finish line again to cheer on Addison and Nana. We waited. And then we waited some more. And then rising from the hill like one of the final scenes from E.T. (you know as they rise from the horizon on the bike ) came …..oh wait no that wasn’t them…just another cute kid and her running partner. A few minutes later there was a lull in the runners. Chad looked at me and told me i should maybe run back and see if i could find them. Addison may have decided to be one of those kids who pulled one of those stubborn dog tricks and vowed not to budge. I gave it another minute and then we saw the lights. The blue strobe lights coming from the poepoe. Just ahead of the lights was my girl and her Nana. I beamed with excitement and looked through the zoom lens of my camera. She was running but not fast enough for Nana to do much more than walk. It was so funny. The clown was just in front of her encouraging her along the way. A few minutes later she managed to make it down the hill without skipping a beat. She ran it in strong and smiled the entire way with a finish time of 16:40 (last in her age group and the race). They may have had to delay the start of the 5K because of this cute little girl. She wasn’t the least bit concerned. She collected her ribbon and Gavin delivered her trophy. I scooped her up and showered her with praise.
We had such an amazing time. I am so glad that I was able to run with Gavin and Nana with Addison. We all had fun and we were able to share it with Chad, MaMaw, and Papa G.
What a great way to spend Mother’s Day. I am so proud of the two of you. XOXO!
Too cute for words
nerve settling
Moments before the countdown
And….we’re off
Stirring up the dust
Look at that smile. He is so proud of his trophy
Found them..phew
Running from the law!!
Don’t give up…don’t ever give up.
Winners
Sweet Sweet Rewards
Stickers are a way of life these days. I have shown up to work and had people point them out because I had forgotten that Addison helped me accessorize that morning.
As if my latest race shirt wasn’t creepy enough, Addison decided to enhance it with these googley eyes.
We went on an excursion to Target just the other day. I am glad that I don’t grow out of my clothes like the kids do. It’s time for a new spring collection and Addison was all over it. She even gave up going to the toy section so she could make sure I didn’t pick out anything lame. It was quite a comedic exchange for most of the people within earshot of the children’s clothing section. Addison is in that in between stage. She can wear the largest toddler size and the smallest pre-junior size (whatever that’s called). We started in the toddler section. I found some cute shirts so we rolled over to them and i held one up. ”Do you like this shirt?” ”Yes”, she responded. ”OK! Will you WEAR this shirt”. ”NO”, she replied very matter of factly. *sigh* a few seconds later. ”How about this one? will you wear this one?” “UUUUUHHHHHHHH ……No. But that’s a pretty dress over there. Do you like that dress mom?” ”Yes honey, it is a very pretty dress but you don’t really wear dresses.” ”Yes I do”, she says. ”OK fine will you wear that dress?” ”Yes”. I go over to retrieve the dress and she says “NO, not that color the other color”. This went on for about 5 minutes. Two passerby’s and an employee giggled and made comments about her outspoken opinion on fashion.
We exhausted our options in the toddler section and went to the pre-junior section. I had really set out to find some jeans. She loves jeans and is in the process of having to suck in her little belly to get them buttoned. Target doesn’t sell kids jeans apparently. But you know what they do sell? Jean skirts. We passed a bedazzled jean skirt and i think Addison almost fell out of the buggy trying to retrieve it. She begged for me to turn around so she could feel the material between her fingertips and hold it up to her body to see if it was her size. Another passerby commented on Addison’s cuteness factor and I agreed that she is indeed very opinionated. She got the skirt. As soon as we got home she tried it on and paraded around the house.
Look at these sparkles!
See, it’s my size
We even got some running gear
Evidently, pasta night with a side of grapes and sugar snap peas does not provide my children with enough sustenance to get through the evening. Less than an hour after dinner they decided it was time for a picnic in the bonus room. It’s not a terrible way to spend a rainy night inside.
An entire loaf of bread, really?
Pringles…..are…..delicious…
Grape and pretzel sandwich. interesting choice.
I suppose it’s a growth spurt
He’s back. Our pet lizard has made his triumphant return. The kids and Aunt Beth found him hanging out around his usual spot on the deck. Addison decided to take their relationship to the next level. I wouldn’t be surprised if next year he ends up in an aquarium in her room.
During one of our bedtime chat sessions Gavin began asking me questions about dinosaurs. Some were quite specific and I didn’t have the answers so I said, “Why don’t we go to the library this weekend and find a book about dinosaurs.” Gavin was thrilled. He asked what day, where is it, can we get more than one book, can we stay for a long time, what if it closes, what if you forget, etc. etc.? Let me tell you, the last question was not a problem. I was not going to forget. He asked every day if we were still going.
Sunday (library day) finally arrived. But, the library didn’t open until 2pm. This meant i would get asked every 20 minutes from 730am until 150pm if it was time to go. Once we were on the road the car was extremely quiet. I am not sure if they were nervous about what their first experience would be like or if they were simply trying to imagine what it would look like inside.
Once we parked i barely got the car turned off before Gavin unbuckled himself and leapt from his seat. we started walking in and Addison explained to me the importance of being quiet and at what decibel level we should speak when we do have to communicate.
We made it to the front door and they automatically slid open for us to enter the vast land of knowledge and wonder. As glass doors parted Gavin caught a glimpse of what was inside and looked back at me to exclaim, verbatim, ”WOW. The library is SO.COOL.”
We made our way to the front desk to apply for our library cards…one for each of us (Yes, the last time i have been to a library was when i was pregnant with Gavin). We were approved and we quickly made our way to the kid’s section. The two of them did a quick tour of two or three aisles before doubling back to decide on their selections. Gavin looked at me and said “why have we never been here before?” He was right. I am not really sure why I haven’t taken them to the library before. It was a dumb move on my part.
At the end of our trip we had about 20 books in all, even one in spanish.Addison will have every right to steal that one from me for not reading the text as written. That book must have slipped by me. I had to start approving their selections after Gavin tried to put in a 400 page children’s dictionary. . 
Getting in the right frame of mind
This one is so cool
This looks like a solid choice
keeping me in check
overloaded
Everything i ever needed to know about pet goldfish…right here
Our new library book basket
I never know how bedtime is going to play out. Some nights it’s relatively easy. The kids are both tired so we head in, exchange kisses and I love you’s and call it a night. Some involve developing elaborate schemes to go alien hunting in the dead of night while being careful not to disturb any foxes that may be lingering.
Story nights are fun. It usually involves each kid picking 2 books (which sometimes takes 10-15 minutes) and then a heated discussion as to who gets their book read first. Once we have ironed out the details I begin reading. Most of the time i am able to get haflway through a book before Addison decides I am making up the story rather than reading the text so she removes it from my grip and decides to read it aloud on her own. I then proceed to read one of Gavin’s books as he tries to listen attentively despite the drama unfolding in the book being read beside him.
Usually story night ends with me saying “No, we read four books it’s time to go to sleep already.” The other night it was no different. After reading the books I was asked if they could read them on their own a bit longer. I was feeling generous so said “lights out in 5 minutes”. I came back to turn the lights out and of course rather than getting showered with appreciation for allowing them to stay up longer recieved the groans and pleas for more time. I told them no and turned the light out after stealing more kisses.
After 15 minutes of quiet giggling i finally went in to peak on them to see what was going on. The lights went out but they found a way.
Our walk tonight turned into a seek and find for the rare and highly sought after dandelion stalks. I am quite certain that all of the neighbors now hate us.
i wish i could find all the dandelions…. and also have all the toys in the world
cookies. i just want cookies
testing somebody’s sprinkler for wetness
Addison stole my crutch
My handsome, sweet little boy is 5. I have no idea how the time has slipped away so quickly.
This year we had his party a week early at Hillridge Farms along side his buddy Jackson (whose birthday is April 1). We had such a great time. There was a train ride, hayride, farm animals of course, inflatable pillow, a giant cupcake, and an abundance of friends.
Gavin’s actual birthday fell on a Saturday and also happened to be his baseball league’s opening day. This meant a solid day of scheduled activities that were not birthday related.
I decided to take the following Monday off to celebrate our annual mommy/son birthday extravaganza. We started with a trip to Defy Gravity for an hour’s worth of trampoline madness. That was quite the workout. We went to battle in the dogeball arena. Gavin had to save me from about 6 other kids who found me to be a nice target.
After bouncing around we went to Frankie’s fun park to waste some dollar bills. That boy and his claw machine. We should just buy one and put it in the garage. It would be cheaper than going to Frankie’s. I promised him $5 worth of claw machine attempts and the rest would have to spent elsewhere. He agreed. His first attempt was a ridiculously lucky strike. He scored the stuffed animal he had been talking about since his last visit to Frankie’s a few weeks ago for Jackson’s birthday.
After our score we played some air hockey, rode to go carts, and competed against each other in numerous skee ball tournaments (he won most of them without me even letting him).
We met Chad for lunch at Red Robin and then went home to fly kites for a bit before picking Addison up from school and giving her the special ring Gavin bought for her with his Frankie’s tickets.
As always, i cherish these special days we spend together. I am so fortunate to have you in my life.
The Big 5
Earthquake
Trampoline madness
Before the dodgeball attack
Big spender
First try
The one race we won this weekend
Reeeeed Robin (YUMMMMM!!)
I left him for two minutes and came back to find this kite catastrophe
I love you more than you will ever know (but i promise to try and show you every day). XOXO
