Birthdays and Yoga Class

This week was a fun but short week with the holiday. We had 3 birthdays in the family this week, including the birth of a new niece/cousin. We are also trying to figure out if Keira needs a nap or not. She didn't nap much towards the beginning of the week, but by the end, was taking some huge ones. I think as long as I keep her up late into the afternoon, she will take one.

Tuesday was a typical recovery day of sorts for me. We didn't have to get up early or do a lot today. We did go over to the Steoger's for a visiting teaching playdate. They are moving, so Keira won't get to play with Averie anymore in nursery. I got a run in while Ryan was at scouts, and we had time to stop at the swings. However, while Ryan was at scouts, I noticed a big puddle of coolant on the ground where Ryan's truck was parked. Not good. By the time he got home and I ventured out to investigate, the reservoir was totally empty. Needless to say, this meant that I would be taking the truck into the shop the following day. This also meant that I had to call everyone from my presidency to ask if we could move the meeting to my house. Since a meeting usually turns the hostess's home upside down, no one hardly ever has a problem when someone else volunteers. I also learned today that our crib was recalled. I guess it is a good thing that Soren hasn't slept in it more than 2 nights. Keira was fine, though, but she has always been a lot smaller/lighter than Soren.



Wednesday was a crazy day, to say the least. It was Kris's 60th birthday today, so Ryan took him balloons and out to lunch. We started the morning with the presidency meeting, which was attended by 2 extra children this week, so things were extra crazy. We had an amazingly short meeting, which was great because I needed to take the truck in. We also managed to catch a break in the rain to take it in, since I planned to walk back so I wouldn't have to switch the carseats for the shuttle. A few hours and a couple hundred dollars later, we had our truck back in working order. I also got our crib partially disassembled and our recall packet completed while we were stuck at home. We should be able to get a brand new crib of our choice out of the deal, provided it is equal to or less than the price of our crib. Keira is standing "inside" our crib with the mattress support removed. I needed to remove the mattress support plates and bolts so that the pieces cannot be used as a crib if someone were to remove it from the trash. Click here if you are concerned that you may be affected by the crib recall to learn more information.

Later that evening we met up with Kris and Linda at Pei Wei for his birthday celebration. We had a great time, and went back to our place for some great desserts.


A lot of things happened on Thursday. We welcomed Riley into the world, daughter of Tyler and Minde. Congratulations on your beautiful baby girl! All are doing well.

I also had to run around and try to get everything done that I hadn't been able to do on Wednesday being stuck at home. Ryan went out to Planet Rock in the evening for a long overdue climbing session. I had to cancel my riding plans due to the rain, but was able to go running instead with Soren in the single jogger. He was being a bit crabby and in need of a nap, and I knew he would sleep better on a run than in the house with Ryan and Keira. It was AMAZING how much easier it was to jog with just the single stroller and not the double. Here is Soren sucking on Keira's arm. We all thought it was pretty funny.

Friday was a really fun day. We had a relaxing morning, and then I took Keira to Itsy Bitsy Yoga, a free class at the library. Keira really enjoyed it. I was worried at first. On the drive over, she said, "I don't want to eat yogurt" and had seemed unhappy about going. Once she got warmed up in the class, she had a blast with her friend Katie. Click on the pictures to enlarge them.







After the class, we went to the Novi Sports Park for the first time this season. It was pretty hot, so we didn't stay too long, but still had a great time.


It was also Soren's eight month birthday today. He is not quite able to pull himself up, and still not quite crawling. He rotates and rolls to get things. He also gets really mad when he is removed from the bathtub or a toy is taken away. He is really developing a little personality, but he is still such a happy low key baby. Here are some pictures.



Saturday was a big day for both Ryan and I. I started the morning off at the Book 'N 5K in South Lyon. I ran this race last year with a family from our ward that also runs, and they were running it again. I met them at their home, and dropped off Keira and Soren with their oldest daughter, Emma, who also needed to watch their youngest daughter, Paige. This was Soren's first experience with being watched by someone other than a family member, and it went great. Keira also had a great time playing with Paige. It was also my first experience with using a youth as opposed to an adult to watch Keira as well. Dale, Kimberly, and their two sons, Cameron and Parker, ran the 5K. I was happy to have a great time of 23:36, which was good enough for a first place finish in my age group. Dale was second overall, and first in his age group, and everyone in his family that raced received an age group award as well.

While we were running, Ryan was riding with the Wolverines. Due to the threat of bad weather, they rode a shorter route to Brighton and back. Upon their completion of this, a good number of riders felt that they still had more in them and the weather was holding up, so Ryan as well as his friends rode an additional 20 miles on Hines Drive. This brought the total mileage to 67 miles. Great job guys!

While Ryan was still riding, I got these pictures of Keira leaping on our bed. I kept reminding her to watch out for the footboard. These photos all went well, but we had an incident on Sunday with the footboard that resulted in a fat lip.

I passed up the opportunity to go road biking so that Ryan could help move the Steogers to their new place. While Ryan was doing more work, I was able to get Keira and Soren to nap together so that I could nap too. We were both pretty worn out in the evening, and didn't do much else. Soren's new favorite toy is the wipe container. He LOVES it, and gets so crazy looking when he plays with it.

Sunday was a very lazy day for us. Ryan didn't feel the greatest and stayed home from church today. He took some cold medicine that probably should have been reserved for the nighttime, and it knocked him out. Fortunately for me, Linda had already planned to go to our sacrament meeting, so she helped me with Keira and Soren. Once Keira is in nursery, it was a breeze. Today is also my sister's birthday. We were unable to celebrate with her, but we wish her happy birthday!


Up for next week, we have our second and final yoga class at the library, and hopefully will make it to Maybury for some riding. I am also going to attempt road biking outside with Valerie B. I am sure it will rain or something, since I feel destined to ride my road bike inside only.

Detroit Zoo, IKEA Adventure, and Happy Memorial Day

This week was jam packed! We were able to get a lot of things done and have a great time. We had our first trip to the Detroit Zoo, as well as went to IKEA for a great deal, and my parents came to visit for Memorial Day. We had a bit of trouble with Soren not sleeping much this week, but hopefully it will pass soon, and Keira is now pacifier free, so she hasn't been sleeping quite as well either, but overall it was a great week.

Monday was a slow recovery day from the weekend which consisted mostly of a trip to see Nana and create a potted plant from flowers purchased earlier. I was able to get in a run while Ryan rode at Maybury.



Tuesday was Kindermusik, which was quite fun as always. We also did a lot of playing outside. Keira walked very far with her mower today, about a half mile.



Wednesday was a big day. We spent most of the day at the Detroit Zoo with Valerie, Katie, and Luke. It was a great time. Keira was very excited about most of it. She was very afraid of the animatronic dinosaur exhibit and the water fountain, but loved almost everything else. The highlight for me was the Giraffe Encounter, where we had the opportunity to feed a giraffe a wafer from a platform. It was very cool! Keira and Katie both didn't want to do the actual feeding, so Val and I gladly stepped up and did it for them.




As if we had not yet done enough, once Ryan got home, we went to Lakeshore Park. Ryan did a lap on his mountain bike and I played with Keira and Soren on the playground. Everyone had a great time, and I was able to squeeze in a run after we got back.
Soren LOVED the swings. He is just like his big sister in that way.

Thursday was another big outdoor day for us. I had arranged to go biking with Kristel and Cristina at Maybury after Ryan got home from work. They were shocked when everyone showed up with both bikes, but Ryan took Keira and Soren for some errands while I rode, and then I played with them on the playground while he rode. It worked out great, and we will probably continue this arrangement on days where we can start early enough to ride in sequence. These are just a few pictures from inside, and one from Maybury.



Friday was our last library storytime for the school year. It was fun, and not too crowded so Keira and Soren both really enjoyed it. We are looking forward to some of the different activities that they have planned for the summer. Keira is practicing her twirling/jumping below.
Soren is trying to give the camera a hug while we wait for the storytime to start.
Soren was really in to this storytime. He had to have his own book to look at and got mad when we had to give it back.

We also received a call from Nana offering to watch Keira and Soren at Maybury. I jumped on this opportunity and turned my fastest lap time yet! This was my first time riding 2 days in a row, but I couldn't pass it up and was so glad I didn't. Thanks so much for letting me get in such an awesome ride.


On Saturday, we had our big IKEA adventure while Ryan rode 65 MILES with the Wolverines. Ryan felt strong as he finished, and was able to track his progress with his Garmin bike computer and heart rate monitor (early father's day present). We had received a flyer in the mail earlier in the week about the IKEA Poang chair being on sale for $39 from $89. This is a great chair, and we had been wanting one for about as long as we have been married, so even though we weren't sure where to put it, I felt like we HAD to take advantage of this deal. A few minutes after Ryan left for his ride, I packed up Keira and Soren and headed to IKEA, about 45 minutes before they opened, even though it was just a 20min drive. I totally did not feel guilty about taking a close parking space in the "family" section, since it was practically empty as I was one of the few crazy enough to drag 2 little children to this sale. They were very well organized, and I promptly got into the "chair" line, which was moving better than it looked. I waited in line for my ticket for my chair and received tickets for the color combo that I had wanted, and had a few minutes before the store opened, so I got in line to go in the store. Then, once in the store, I got in yet another line to pick up my chair from the warehouse. The nice thing, was that once I got everything, there was no line at the cash register, and was done with the whole ordeal in just over an hour. Not bad! I promptly put the chair together once we got home, and Keira loves it. She thought it was her chair, and had to have Soren sit with her in it.

The other accomplishment of the day was we got our last plant in the ground, and I ran 6 miles.

On Sunday, we went to church and then met up with my parents at Ryan's parents house immediately after. Keira was so confused when Grandma came out the front door of Nana's house. We had a great dinner outside and lots of fun. Keira was also able to play with Becky's grandchildren who were also visiting next door.


Monday was Memorial Day. We had a super full day. We started by attending the Novi Memorial Day Parade, which goes right by our neighborhood. We just had to walk to the end of our street to see it, and we are the start of the parade, so there wasn't much waiting that we had to do.

After the parade, Ryan and I were able to ride at Maybury together, which has been rare lately, but very fun. My parents and Kris and Linda met us at Maybury while we rode. After that, we initially planned to take everyone road biking on Hines drive, but when we went home to switch bikes and feed Soren, he had conked out in the car. I stayed back with both Keira and Soren while everyone else biked. I was a bit unsure about having Soren ride in a bike seat/trailer due to his age, and it turned out that we didn't have a helmet small enough for him anyway unless he wore Keira's pink bunny helmet and Keira wore the larger neutral one. I was able to meet back up with everyone after the ride/nap for some dinner before my parents headed back to Ohio. It was such a fun day!


Up for next week, Keira has a yoga class at the library with Katie, and just a few other things planned. I am sure we will find some other interesting things to do as well.