Friday!

Thank goodness! Work has been crazy, and I haven’t had a second to do anything at home either. Days are just flying by. I wanted to post a quick update on our new little wordsmith... she's added all kinds of new vocab the past couple of weeks (finally!). My favorite? Mama, of course. I bawled like crazy when she first said it. Still do occasionally- if you must know. Some other new ones… Dada, Papa, Ba (my brother’s nickname), ball, balloon, bubble, purple, blue, Elmo (pronounced ‘Melmo’), moon, milk (pronounce ‘muh’), bye-bye (pronounced ‘duh-duh’), hello (pronounced ‘oh’), up, and a few others I can’t think of at the moment. She’s also currently obsessed with shoes, crayons, and reading. And she’s beginning to pay attention to television, so we watch Sesame Street on occasion. It blew her mind the first time she saw it. I don’t think she knew those creatures moved and talked! Pretty cute. Too much other stuff happening to even begin, so I’ll end there.
Happy weekend.

HP

Some of Hattie’s new things…
Drinking cold water and saying ‘bbrrrrr’ when finished
Shaking her booty like crazy
Saying ‘dodle dodle dodle’ for a rooster (just about the cutest thing ever)
Running
“Jumping” aka crouching down and standing up quickly
Using a ‘big people’ fork like a pro
Blowing kisses, giving fives, giving hugs and Eskimo kisses
Lots of other things I can’t think of at the moment.

This weekend we are going to a little resort outside of the city and staying in a cabin for a night. The resort is very kid-friendly and I can’t wait to get away. I’ll post more about it next week. In the meantime, Brian and I will be heading to the Elvis Costello/Police show that I WON tickets to tonight. Can’t wait!

Camp Out

Last weekend the whole gang went camping up at Clinton Lake. When I say whole gang, I mean whole gang…there were 23 of us, including 11 kids under the age of 9. So, the dynamic was just a little bit different than college camping. It was a blast – we had our own private site with picnic tables, a couple of fire rings, bathrooms, sand volleyball court, horseshoe pit and a trail to the lake. I think everyone had a good time, despite a rather chilly night. We hope to make it at least an annual thing, if not semiannual. I’ve included a couple of pics of Chloe and her new crush, Nicko and Hattie and Luke chillin’ in some camping chairs. I really wanted to get a pic of everyone, but it just didn’t happen. Maybe next time…

5 Years

I’ll begin by wishing my better half a very happy anniversary. We are now at 5 years! I can’t believe it - its gone so fast. I guess good times really do roll! Love you, B.
Wanted to give an update on my changes on the health front. I am now down 6 pounds. Not exactly earth-shattering loss, but I do feel good and can tell my tone has improved immensely. I’ve had a few set-backs…I hurt my calf over a month ago now, and cannot do sprints or any jogging so my cardio has really suffered. Also birthday and anniversary celebrations have taken a toll. I am not going to deprive myself of everything, so I eat what I want and try and get back to it the next day. Guess I’m the tortoise and not the hare. That’s a good thing, right?
Happy Monday.

Birthday Wishes

Last weekend, Brian and I went out for an early birthday dinner. We ate at Room 39 and were totally blown away, as always. We were served champagne and an amazing amuse bouche while we perused the menu. I had halibut with a saffron cream, on a bed of roasted cauliflower and oyster mushrooms. It was absolutely sublime. Every single bite was heaven. Ted knows what he’s doing, that is for certain, and we decided that when we win the lottery we will hire him as our personal chef. After dinner, we headed down to the River Market Brewery to watch the Stolen Winnebagos, who also did not disappoint. It’s highly entertaining to watch someone do pelvic thrusts to Take On Me by A-ha. We were rolling, and figured we laughed much harder than if we would’ve joined Jude and the bunch at the comedy club. Plus, they are actually very good, and their harmonies are spot-on. After our delicious meal, bouts of laughter, and too many oatmeal stouts, Brian took me home and put me to bed. I slept like a baby until 9:00 on Saturday. All and all, a wonderful evening with my most favorite person.
By the way, Hattie played until the wee hours at Grammy and Grandpa's, too. She was up until 10:30! What a partier. :-) We got our proofs from the big photo shoot and are very happy with the way they came out. The hard part is going to be choosing just a few! Here's a couple of 'sneak peeks' from Kayla our photographer...

Rock Chalk

This is Massachusetts Street after the title win on Saturday. Beautiful.
To all of my college friends....wish it happened while we were there.
To all of my Missouri and K-State friends....ha!
To my hundreds of cousins who are all rabid KU fans....we are the champions. Bask in it.
To my brother - I am so thrilled you were there!

On The Farm

Saturday was Hattie’s big photo shoot. She did pretty well at first, but then mostly wanted to run around and explore the lights, props and mirror nearby. I do think we got a few good ones and I am super anxious to see them! The photographer said it would only take a week or so for her to edit them and we’ll get a password to check them out on the website. Yipee!
After the ‘shoot’ we went to Deanna Rose Farmstead out south and played. It was the first time we’d gone and we will definitely go back…it’s so cool! Plus, it’s free. They had tons of goats to feed, ponies to ride, ponds to fish, ‘cows’ to milk, and birds to see. I loved it. We mostly just walked around and looked at things and observed the kids running around. I do love that Hattie finally got to see some real farm things and animals. Now she can associate real animals with her toys, and her tractor with a big one. If you live in KC and haven’t gone, you must!
And I guess I’ll end on a down note for me…I failed to lose any poundage this week. Boo! Not sure why (although I won’t mention the loads of margaritas and Mexican food I partook of on Friday). My weekend was filled with a little more splurging than I planned on, but I thought my good week would’ve at least had me down a pound or two. I am taking it in stride though, and promised myself to work out harder this week. I am already feeling better, and I swear I can tell a difference in my tone after just 2 weeks. Really!