Five

I do not believe in soul mates, a fact which wounds Morgan's more romantic sensibilites. I'm far too logical to believe that, out of the billions of people in the world, there is only ONE right person for each of us. I am not romantic at all. In fact when someone says romance the first thing I think of is schmomance. If you want to woo me, don't get me flowers, empty the dishwasher.

Morgan, on the other hand, believes that I am the one person in the world who was meant for him. Its interesting that we can have two such differing opinions and yet still be so happy together.

Today we have been married five years. And every day with him makes me believe just a little bit more in soul mates.

Happy anniversary, Morgan. I love you a real whole lot.

Run!

I've started running again. I was running quite a bit when I got pregnant with Finley and continued to do so for a few weeks into my pregnancy with her. but then I felt I needed to stop and I've just now started back.

Man! Its hard! Its hard to find the motivation to go for a run or spend 20 minutes on the treadmill. Its physically hard on parts of my body that are not currently in a position to accomodate running.

But I really feel good about myself after a run. Even if I can only run for about 10 minutes at a time today, I know next week I'll be able to run 12 minutes and the week after that...who knows?

My goal is to be ready to run the Run Like Hell 5k on October 24th. I ran the 10k last year and while I'm not quite ready to attempt 6 miles, I think I can be ready to log in 3 miles when the 24th rolls around.

I've been posting on Facebook each day that I run and I'm finding its helping to keep me motivated. Its like 200+ online "friends" are holding me accountable.

Wish me luck! Or, if not luck, than the emotional fortitude to keep on running.

Out front

We don't spend much time in our front yard. We have a big beautiful backyard and just spend most of our outside time out there. Not sure why but we ended up out front earlier this week. Its a whole new perspective out there.

Blue eyes

Brown feet

Small grins

Big eyes

Big kisses

Big yawns

Family shot

Off center

Tasty fingers

Peek - a - boo

So quiet

Just cute

Conor-isms

I did this once before but I think it bears repeating...

I love how Conor loves his little sister.  She has stolen so much attention from him yet he always wants to kiss and hug her and always (mostly) so sweet and gentle with her.

I love how he still calls raisin jzu-jzu's.  I actually don't know how to spell it so I so hope I will remember just the way he says it.

I love the way he watches Monster Jam on tv and then makes his monster trucks perform the same moves on the couch.

I love that he sings!  Everything from the Wheels on the Bus to the Black Eyed Peas Boom Boom Pow.  I got that boom boom pow, them chickens jackin' my sty-ulh.

I love how he is mostly fearless but still will hide behind my legs if he needs a little more time. I love how he still NEEDS me.  I love that Daddy is here for fun but I'm here for love and comfort.

I love how I can get him to say anything.  Anytime!  From "I love you, mama" to "Say, HISTRIONICS, Sweetie", he'll say it.  I have Michelle to thank for this fun game.

I LOVE how he gets so excited about BIIIIIIIIIIG TRUUUUUUUUCKS!  Still!

I love how he has memorized all his favorite stories.  He hardly needs me around to read stories anymore.  This also makes me a little sad.

I love how everyone loves him.  He's such a sweet, kind, friendly little boy.

I love his enthusiasm for sports. Soccer, golf, baseball, he wants to play. I love his enthusiasm for his friends.  Zack, Wyatt, Gwenie, Taylor...he loves them all.

I love how SMART he is.  Letters, numbers, shapes, colors.  So, so, so smart.

I love him!

A Cloudy Morning

We went on a walk this morning and I had somuch fun with my little boy. We walked over to the church that is near our house and

we looked for blackberries, we compared blue berries and red berries (don't eat the red ones!), we looked for dreys (squirrel nests in trees - we are talking a lot about squirrels as they begin to collect nuts for winter - we're seeing a TON of them outside our front window), we saw a kitty but didn't pet it because you just never know, we jumped over leaves, we walked parking lot lines, we jumped over parking lot lines,

we hunted for dandelions, walked AROUND mud puddles, went up hill and down hill, we sat on a bench, we looked at big trucks (that's a container truck, Mommy), we (I) wished we had brought money because we (I) didn't realize just how close the Dutch Bros. is when you cut through the church,

we raced Trocipal Funder (misspelling completely intended) and War Wizard off curbs, into walls, down a ramp and through the grass, we found a stick which started off as a microphone but quickly morphed into a sword, we (Conor) ran down the (Mommy want to run too?) and finally we came home and ate chicken nuggets and french fries with fresh green beans and frozen peas.

Today was a good day.

Man,I love that kid.

Two months old!

Finley was two months old last week.  It seems like she was just born yesterday and also that she's been part of our family forever.  She's a fiesty little girl and never afraid to let us all know exactly what she wants.  But she's also not at all afraid to dole out the smiles, grins and (almost) giggles.  Morning is her happiest time of day and its a good thing too with the way she keeps us up all night.  She's obviously trying to redeem herself.

She saw Dr. Gillespie last week and weighs in at a solid 10 pounds, 9 ounces and 23 inches long.  Her weight is in the 50th percentile and her height is in the 75th percentile.  She's just a perfectly normal little pumpkin and we couldn't be happier with her.

She already sounds like a girl when she cries.  While Conor's cry was high pitched and shrill, Finley's cry, even in the throws of an all out fit, still sounds like there is a giggle hidden behind it.  One day she's going to stop crying, look at us and go "Come on, guys!  I was just JOKING!"

She loves bathtime, her fists, and her Baby Vegas mat.  She loves to sleep in my arms, or Daddy's arms and thinks Conor's face is just FASCINATING.  She's got a gassy little tummy and the stinkiest farts you could imagine.  She'll clear a room with those bad boys.

She's just our perfect little princess.

Seriously, Mom?

Breathless

The love I feel for Conor is so strong I'm often surprised and frightened by it. I'm sure every mother feels this way about her child so this, in itself, is not news.   What is news is that today, for the first time really, I felt that same all consuming passion for Finley. 

What new mothers are not often told is that you may not immediately fall madly in love with your child.  In fact, you may feel a sort of vague apathy toward this little creature you have grown and birthed.

With Conor this feeling terrified the life right out of me.  Here was my helpless infant child and I didn't feel passionately in love with him.  Surely there must be something wrong with me?  I loved him, of course, and I would have thrown myself in front of a bus for him, but in looking at him I didn't find it hard to breathe at the sight of his face or the smell of his little head.  It was a scary time for me.

Eventually, of course, I fell for him.   And so, when I discovered that I wasn't yet passionate about little Miss Finley I was content knowing that in time I would be consumed by love for her.  And today, as I was sitting on the couch with Finley in my arms,waiting for her to fall asleep, I leaned down to kiss her little button nose and I thought, "Have I ever loved someone as much as I love you?"  And there it was.  All of a sudden that same love I feel for Conor came crashing down on my head for Finley and she took my breath away.