Gideon in the Jumperoo

I got his out about a month ago because Gideon is so squirmy and isn't happy on the floor for too long or in his bumbo for more than a few minutes.  This little man is so big and so squirmy that my arms just get tired!  When I got it out there were a few inches between his feet and the floor so I had books underneath him, as you can see, the books aren't needed anymore.  Little man keeps growing!

Now that his feet reach the ground he has discovered his love of jumping.

 Happy Baby = Happy Mommy

 It can be hard work though, jumping so much, sometimes we have to take 10 minute cat naps.  

He falls asleep for a little bit, wakes back up, and starts jumping again happy as a clam and this mommy gets her hands free for 45 minutes.

FitOne 9k

This morning I ran the FitOne 9k with several friends from my running club, Moms RUN This Town.  If you are a woman and you like to run, look it up, there are clubs nationwide!

I've been working really hard to get back into my old running shape.  While I ran...ahem...shuffled...my way through my pregnancy it has still been a lot of work to get myself back to the point where I can handle the long distance runs again.  Before Gideon was born I registered myself for the FitOne 9k, knowing that it would force me to get back to training after he was born.  I was excited when they added the 9k option to this 21-year-old 5k and I was even more excited when I saw the course.  It started up at the Old State penitentiary and moved down to the greenbelt where it met up with the standard race course up Capital Blvd and across Americana to end in Ann Morrison Park.  I love a good point to point race, especially in this cooler fall-like weather.

There were 7 people from our local MRTT chapter running the 9k this morning and I started out with 2 of them.  We barely made it to the starting corral in time!

We stayed together for the first mile and then met up again at the finish line.  The after race fare was AWESOME!  The bagged breakfast was fine, but in addition to that there was Chobani Greek yogurt and CHOCOLATE MILK!  In case you don't know, chocolate milk is the perfect post-race fuel out there.

 Eventually we were able to meet up with most of our Moms Run This Town group for a fun group photo.  We had gotten together earlier in the week to make our shirts and skirts for the race.  A perk that I hadn't anticipated, it was so easy to spot everyone after the race because of the bright, sparkly skirts.

It was so fun for me to get to run with these friends here.  They are my fellow playgroup moms.  Our children are all so close and behave like siblings and I'm beyond excited that they have all chosen to take up running!

 Tyson met me at the park with our children since I wasn't going to make it home in time for him to go to work.  It was a rough night, they were all up a lot and early and I was only able to get about 3-1/2 hours of sleep.  I was a little excited when we got home and they were all asleep, I thought that I might just get a little nap.  But that wasn't to be.  The girls stayed asleep as I moved them into the house, but Gideon did not.

  The best part about the race, other than an instant PR because I've never run a 9k before (though I missed my time goal by 24 seconds) was the great medal!  I love getting racing medals.  If you really want to know what I am working my way back to half marathon shape, this is it.  I want to earn more medals for my collection.

My next race is in two weeks, on my birthday!  It was my last 10k before I dropped down to shorter races for my pregnancy and my first 10k coming back.

Four Months

Our little guy continues to get bigger and bigger.  Today he is four months old.  He started rolling over both back-to-front and front-to-back a couple of weeks ago.  He scoots a tiny bit, but he isn't making it very far, which is great!  I'm not ready for this kid to be really mobile yet.

 He sure is a happy kid.  He talks and talks to us and smiles at everyone, eventually.  He is also ticklish, very ticklish.  His laugh gets caught in his throat, but every now and then he lets it out and it is so sweet.

 I can't say how big he has gotten because my scale is dead and we haven't been to the doctor for his check-up yet, but he is growing and growing.  My arms are getting tired holding him, I can say that much.

 Gideon is a very curious child.  He examines everything very carefully and takes in the world around him.

 His little mohawk is adorable!

Babby Farms

This month in preschool the children have been learning about farms and farm animals so for playgroup this week we went out to Babby Farms so they could see some farm animals.  While we waited for our guide the kids played on the little playground.  They have the perfect sized see saws!

Ever cautious, Lily would not take her eyes off of the ground.

Charlotte liked to be up high though.

And of course, Gideon chilled in the stroller, for a little while, and then insisted on being carried.

 This is not a typical farm, they have animals from all over the world.  Lily was concerned that this yak would hurt Andrew so she is jumping in to pull him back.

 The sweet little sheep were fun though.

 The girls enjoyed getting to feed them.

 This goat intrigues me.

 The miniature horses were a hit with the girls.

 This animal is a cross between a donkey and a zebra, I think that our guide called him a zonkey.

 Camels are taller than I remember.  Charlotte fed them with me, but lily didn't want to get too close to them.

 The little goats were fine though, she happily chased them town to feed them. This little guy took some persuading though, he was much more interested in chewing on the tires to my stroller.

Creative Fours

Dance classes started up again today for Lily.  This year she is in the Creative Fours class.  She was so excited to go this afternoon and also thrilled to have the same teacher as last year, Miss Tamara.

 The class started right where they left off last May and they even learned a couple of new steps.

 I love the itty bitty ballerinas!

Charlotte can hardly wait until it is her turn to be in class.  She stood in the doorway much of the time mimicking the moves that the girls in class were doing.