Brainwashing Complete

Well in a few weeks Brent and I will celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary and it took that long for me to finally warm up to the idea of running my first race :) For those who have known me the longest, I am not a huge fan of running. I love supporting Brent and my dad but it has always been this unattainable and undesirable idea for me. About a month ago, I decided I wanted to try getting in better shape to keep up with Blake :) We were signing up to walk a 1-mile fun run to help support CHKD. I guess I came up with the idea of training for the mile, keeping it a secret, and then surprising my family the day of the race. Today was race day and everyone was surprised! It was blazing hot but with my wonderful supportive trainer beside me (Brent, of course) I completed my first mile race. I am very excited and proud to have made this accomplishment. Being honest, I don't think I have the crazy running bug yet but I did enjoy myself and will have to wait and see what comes next :)

Brent ran ahead to catch an action shot. Proof I actually did it :)

Blake was pushed in the stroller by Mimi so he got his own medal. He loved it!

The whole crew of runners & walkers...Mawmaw, Blake, Uncle Joe, Anna, Aunt Jen, Erin, Mimi, Brent and Bobble

Red faced and happy to have finished! I am so thankful for Brent and how he keeps challenging and supporting me :)

The Quiet Book

For Christmas, Blake got a very special present from his great grandma, Nana. Nana is Brent's grandmother and when Brent was young, she started making him this quiet book. The book has cloth pages filled with fun activities such as matching the color of the balloons and shapes, counting button wheels on the train, counting beads or using a shoestring to practice tying a shoe. Well, Nana never finished it for Brent but after Blake was born she found it and completed it. Just recently, Blake has really began to love his quiet book. Whenever we are in his room he goes straight for that book because there are so many fun things to pull off and touch. It is also the perfect book to quiet him down before nap and bedtime. He loves it and what makes it even more special is the love with which that book was made. We will always treasure our Quiet Book! Thank you Nana!

"P" and that stands for Pool

It's that time :) POOL TIME! This weekend Mimi & Poppy invited us over to enjoy a cool dip in their pool. They had one especially for Blake which he liked but by the end of the weekend he was enjoying the big pool with the adults. Mimi also got Blake a new sandbox to play in while he is over. One thing for sure, Blake will never be bored at Mimi and Poppy's.

Checking out the baby pool

No sand yet...but Blake & Millie were very curious about that turtle

Trying out the big pool

Blake loved the water

My sweet boy all cuddly in a towel. Don't you just want to squeeze him!

Holiday Weekend in Review

After a full beach day on Saturday, our Sunday and Monday were filled with parties & cookouts.

Celebrating Bobble's Birthday on Sunday w/ the Cousins

Celebrating our buddy Ethan's birthday Sunday night. Blake loved the water table. He was soaked and covered in dirt. I love having a little boy :)

Happy Memorial Day! This is Blake's first Old Navy Flag Tee.

Blake showing his patriotism or maybe just doing his chin-ups.

Saying goodbye to Cousin Rachel & Aunt Lori

After a weekend of cookouts, we went to Chick-fil-a for dinner. The place was empty so we let Blake crawl up into the play place. To our surprise, he took off and crawled through the tubes all by himself without us being up there. At times we couldn't even see him, we could just hear him laughing and babbling. This is a picture I caught of him through the plastic :) What a silly boy!

Beachin' It

On Saturday we went to the beach with the family. When I say the family, I mean our WHOLE family. It wasn't planned to be that way but sometimes the best days aren't planned. It ended up that Brent, Blake & I met up with my parents, my sister & her family, my brother & his family, and Brent's parents & sister who was in from out of town. Needless to say, we took up a lot of real estate at the oceanfront but had a great time. Blake had all his cousins to play with and the weather was perfect!

Blake & Anna (Double Trouble)

The big kids playing in the frigid water

Being an Uncle can cause you to do crazy things for the nephews

Our real estate

Anna brings her baby pool so she can play in the water too. Blake wasn't to sure about it.

Mommy & Blake relaxing in the shade

Blake & his buddy Noah

Cheese!

Aunt Jen makes the best sandcastles

No more toddle-ing..just walking

Official Toddler

Watch out! Here comes Blake :) He is practicing his walking more and more everyday and is quite proud of himself as you can see in the video. For some reason, he has decided to take his time on the whole walking thing since he will be 14 months on Thursday. It won't be long now!