Sunday, March 29, 2009

Easter Bunny Visit


This week was another action packed week for us. I will try to keep some of the duller items out of the blog. Highlights from this week include getting Keira registered for Preschool for the fall, visiting the Easter Bunny, some great weather for outdoor fun, and dinner out with Nana and Papa. Soren also turned 6 months old, and got rolling from back to front down.

Without a presidency meeting or free Kindermusiks this week, we didn't have a ton to do that was scheduled. Here are a few cute pictures of Keira and Soren from Monday and Tuesday.

We broke out the Easter decorations finally. Keira was happy to be allowed to play with some of them. Soren also enjoyed this bunny.

Tuesday evening, we went to the mall while Ryan was at scouts. I don't know who the little boy smiling in the picture is. Apparently, a new friend of Keira's.

Wednesday was pretty busy for us. We got up and went to get Keira registered for Preschool through the Novi High School. She will be in Miss Sheila's class next fall, provided we can get her potty trained by the fall. The line was a lot longer than I thought it would be, but we got into a class and then headed straight to the library for storytime. Keira and Soren will be featured on a poster at the library. I have a paper copy, but will be getting the digital file next week to post. It is super cute.



Soren also got really close to rolling over from his back to his front.

I ran on Hines Drive with Jessica tonight and it felt great. I was glad I ran with her because she really pushed my pace, and I am so glad she did.

Thursday, I had a visiting teaching lunch at Amber's. It was fun to socialize with Amber, Michelle, and Kimberly, and let Keira play with Sindney, Zach, and Paige. Soren also mastered his roll. It was funny, because he rolled onto his stomach while angry, and got even more angry when he ended up on his belly.

Keira was playing peek a boo with Soren. He turned his bib around "superman cape" style.

Since Soren is close to the 6 month mark, and happened to be wearing similar clothes to what he came home in the hospital, I thought it would be interesting to post these photos to show how he has grown. The bib is the same.



















Friday was really busy. We wanted to go see the Easter Bunny today at the mall and meet up with Nana. Valerie was also heading up to the mall, and we were able to link up with her as well. Keira was so cute. She was a little afraid of the Easter Bunny, but did manage to tell him that she wanted a bike. She even told Ryan later that she asked the Easter Bunny for a bike. It was pretty cute. We were photographed by a photographer for the Novi News, so we may even appear in the newspaper this week, so I need to keep an eye out for it.


Soren was super excited about drinking milk from his sippy/bottle. He wasn't as excited about it earlier in the week when it just had water in it. He was so crazy, trying to feed himself already. He doesn't quite have the hang of it yet.

On Saturday, the weather was beautiful. Ryan rode his bike with Kent and David out to Ann Arbor and back with the Wolverines. Keira, Soren and I played outside with bubbles and went to the playground to swing.





Once Ryan returned, I went on a run. I was happy because I was able to maintain a pace more similar to what I ran earlier in the week, for an even longer distance. Apparently I have been slacking, and need to kick it up a notch, since it was not as difficult as I anticipated. Afterwards, we met up with Kris and Linda for some dinner at Pei Wei and some ice cream at Oberweis. Yum! Linda also watched Keira and Soren for us so that we could catch a break for a bit.

Sunday is Soren's 6 month birthday. We can't believe that a half year has passed so quickly! He is so big already too. Here are a few pictures of him from today.



The weather today was such a contrast to the rest of the week. I think March may be going in and out like a lion. We had rain that turned into snow. We kept Keira home from church today because she had a fever off and on over the weekend. It responded well to Tylenol, and since we have Soren's 6 month checkup tomorrow, we haven't been too worried about her. Her spirits have been high for the most part.

For next week, we have Soren's check up and some dentist visits. Hopefully all will go smoothly, and the spring weather will return.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

My Review of BOB Revolution Duallie Stroller

REI

The 2-child BOB® Revolution Duallie stroller offers improved maneuverability and handling and a newly designed canopy.



Excellent Stroller- My only duallie

MelTeamStayPut Novi, MI 3/28/2009

5 5

Gift: No

Pros: Easily Stowed, Comfortable, Lightweight, Smooth Ride, Durable, Easy To Maneuver, Easy to Set Up

Cons: Small Basket

Best Uses: Toddlers, Newborn, Infants

Describe Yourself: Parent of Two or More Children

I love this stroller. I use it almost everyday, for both around the town and for running. It is so smooth, and it is the easiest stroller to steer that I own (I have 3 single strollers, so I wanted to do it right and only have to buy 1 duallie). We used the infant carrier attachment to be able to use it immediately. It fits easily in my trunk of my CAR with only removing 1 wheel, and if I remove them all, I can fit a ton more in for vacations. I was hesitant to buy just 1 double, and have 1 for the mall and 1 for running/outside, but this stroller has done it all. I had the ironman single previously from BOB, and it is just as good for running. It is big, but that was to be expected of a double jogging stroller

Stretching out post run

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: Using Product

The kids, enjoying the ride

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: Using Product

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If you enjoyed this post, please check out my running site, www.doublejoggerdiaries.blogspot.com for more updates on what I am doing.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Spring is Here, technically speaking


This week was another action packed week as usual. We experience St Patrick's Day as well as the official first day of Spring. We also had a couple birthdays, my brother David turned a quarter century and Keira's friend Haley from her nursery class turned 3. I did not feel super great all week, but we still managed to get a lot done.

On Monday, I woke up feeling not quite right. I had felt tired and groggy on Sunday, but figured it was just from the race. When I woke up groggy and congested, I knew it was more than just post race ailments. We didn't let it slow us down too much. Since it was just a cold, it is easier for me to keep Keira entertained by doing things outside of the house than try to keep her entertained inside.

I had a couple things to exchange for sizes from the weekend shopping, and we headed out to Laurel Park Mall, which does not have a play area. It does have some mechanical ride ons similar to the food court amusements at 12Oaks, so Keira got to play there.

After that, we hit Costco because we were in need of food after being gone. I can tell I wasn't thinking right because we forgot some major items (Keira's milk) and would need to go back later this week. It warmed up beautifully today. Linda stopped by for a quick visit and to drop off our carseat that was still in her car and a stroller for Valerie to try. Keira enjoyed playing outside. I was indeed not happy about not feeling well because it would have been a fabulous day for a run. Instead, Ryan went on a bike ride on Hines drive- yes, it was finally not underwater anymore.


Tuesday was insanely busy considering that I still didn't feel good. It was St. Patrick's Day, so we donned our green today. We got up and met up with Lisa and Dominic, Emily and Brooklyn, and Naika and Gabby for Kindermusik. After that, we headed up to 12 Oaks to do yet another exchange and got Keira a green balloon.




That afternoon, after naps, it was again beautiful outside and we walked up to the playground. It was a good thing Keira put her jeans on because no sooner did we get to the playground did she walk right into a pile of mudd/grass that had been snowplowed into a pile about 1 foot high and fell onto it covering herself with dirt. How she missed it I do not know, considering it came up to about her thighs. Keira and Soren enjoyed the swings, and Soren conked out on the stroller ride home.



We had a quick dinner once Ryan got home and when he left for scouts, we left for the library. They had a special "community" storytime. The Novi Superintendent of Schools read a story, as well as a woman from Community Financial (the sponsoring bank), Officer Tom (Novi Police) and Officer Barrat (Novi Fire). Keira had a great time, although she was a bit distraught that Miss Diane was not there, but got over it. Soren was also very well behaved considering that it was close to bedtime. He really seems to enjoy all the activties that we do for Keira.





On Wednesday, we kept things a bit more low key. We did start the morning early with a presidency meeting. Keira got to play with Lizzie, Elise, and Jared. I was glad she tired herself out a bit over there because I was indeed starting to get worn out from everything we had done this week, and was still not 100%. We had some decent weather today that was not forcasted, so Keira and Katie played outside a bit today when Valerie stopped by to pick up the stroller to try. Any visit from Katie always brightens Keira's day. We had our taxes prepared this evening, so that kept us occupied. We are happy to be getting a nice return.



Soren likes his feet.
On Thursday, we had no real plans for the day. We did have to go back to Costco to get the things we forgot earlier, and fortunately nothing needed to be refrigerated, so we were able to squeeze in a Meijer run on the same trip. It was another gloomier day today, so we stayed inside until Ryan came home. I was supposed to go to an enrichment activity this evening, but was just not up for it. Instead, we went over to the car dealership to look at Escapes and Soren and I took a nap before bedtime that was badly needed by me.
Soren wore his Ford clothes to the dealership. I located all the short sleeved clothes we have for him in the closet this morning as well.
This is what I did instead of enrichment.

Friday was another super busy morning. We started off the morning checking out the Novi Public Preschool. We are on the waiting list for another preschool at Ward Presbyterian, but are fairly high on it. We need to decide in the next little bit what to do, either enroll in Novi and have it be a sure thing for fall or wait to do Ward where she can go with Lizzie. Both schools are comparable on almost everything, with very little cons, so it is a bit of a tough decision for me. We did a lot more walking than expected, and then went over to the library for storytime. Miss Diane reminded us that today was the first day of spring, and all the stories today were about caterpillars. It is also the 40th anniversary of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and it is being re-released as a pop-up book (Keira recognized the butterfly from the book in the USA Today that I looked at earlier in the week at the car dealership, so I knew this going into the library). The book was unavailable to take home today, but they do have it already.


After the library, we went to Valerie's so that Keira could play with Katie and Ava (Katie's cousin). Soren and Luke just looked at each other. Valerie had a great lunch for all of us. That evening we went to REI and Running Fit to do some pre-birthday shopping for me.



On Saturday, Ryan had made plans to go biking with Kent. Of course, the weather was cooler today that it had been earlier in the week. I was sick of not being able to run, and even though I was still not 100%, I went for a short run anyway early, when it was still pretty chilly, before Ryan left for his ride because we had a birthday part for Keira to attend. It was not the best run, but it at least felt good to run again. While Ryan was biking, we ran out to get a gift and lunch. Once Ryan was back from his ride, it was almost time for Keira, Soren and I to leave for the party. Keira had a great time playing with Haley from nursery, as well as Ava, and the other guests. Ava, Haley (the birthday girl!), and Keira, waiting for cake and then eating it.
Keira really liked the basket craft that she decorated at the party. I loved how it had a lone bat on it, amidst all the flowers, and Keira called it her Halloween basket.
I felt like Ryan and I were a bit out of phase with each other all day, but we did manage to sit down as a family for dinner at home and just hung out the rest of the evening.
Sunday was a fairly typical Sunday. It was pretty much a day of rest for us. We had a lazy morning with a big breakfast of waffles, chicken sausage, and turkey bacon. We went to church and Keira was very good today in sacrament and I gave the closing prayer.
Keira loves climbing on the outside of the stairs. She doesn't go too high, fortunately.

For next week, we don't have many plans yet. Many weeks start off this way and end up being super busy so it will be interesting to see what unfolds. I am feeling a ton better and will hopefully get out and run, and maybe even do some biking too.