September Catch-Up

Here are some highlights from September:

Note: Since I was adding several pics, they are smaller than usual but if you click on any picture, you can view a full-size version.

Wedding Shower:

We started off the month of September by hosting a Wedding Shower for Phillip (David's Brother) and his fiancee, Christy. It was a fun evening of food with friends from VA, MD, DC, & NJ. It was a great opportunity for many of their friends to meet and get to know each other a bit before the wedding. We also had the chance to bless them with gifts and prayers as they entered the last month of preparation before their wedding day.

4yo Preschool- 1st Day of School:

Sept 13th was Sybella's 1st day of school (sorry no pictures of the boys...I don't know how I missed that!). She is in a 3-day a week program from 9am-Noon this year. She loves her preschool and we are so blessed that her BFF, Kylee, is in class with her again this year!

Sept 27th Haircut:

I have to admit, I thought that Sybella was past this stage...but, she cut her hair. I was shocked. She loves to use the scissors, she cuts paper almost daily, I just didn't think I would ever have to write another blog about Sybella taking scissors to her hair. I think she had just turned 2yo and I was pregnant with Cooper the first time she did this. This time it was particularly painful to me for several reasons:

1. I was standing RIGHT next to her. Seriously, I was about 12 inches away.

2. I was looking right at her and I couldn't react fast enough.

3. When she was 2, she didn't really know better, now she should.

4. When she was 2, she did very little damage. You couldn't even tell that she had cut it and I didn't do anything to 'fix' it.

5. This time, she had a bob on one side and long hair on the other side--- required a MAJOR hairstyle change. We cut her hair into a bob at the point where she had used the scissors. She ended up losing about 6-8 inches of length.

6. Sybella made her flowergirl debut, 12 days after her haircut, on Oct 9, in her Uncle Phillip & Aunt Christy's wedding (I had envisioned the dress with lots of long curls).

Ok, I wasn't thrilled to have Sybella switching to short hair (especially right before her flowergirl debut) but, I have to admit that this cut is cute!

Cooper's 18-Month Stats

These are the statistics from Cooper's 18-Month Appt:
Weight: 22lbs 15 oz, 20th Percentile
Height: 31 1/2 in, 25th Percentile
Head Circ: 18 1/4in, 15th Percentile

Fat Matt's

What more can I say?

Every year Sharon and I go to Atlanta and we NEVER miss the chance to eat at Fat Matt's. In recent years this joint has become even more famous as it gets mention in movies like "Up In The Air".

Half-Marathon

Pam, Kate, Lauren, Sharon, & Lexi

Thanks Ladies for a Great Race!

In September, I had the opportunity to run a Half-Marathon (13.1 miles) with some gals from our church. Thanks to Lauren for getting us started by sending out an email to see if anyone would like to get together and do some longer runs on Saturday morning. This was a relaxed (show up when you could, with no guilt over missing) way to have some companionship on what is a mentally grueling process of training for a race. The plan to do the 'Half' together didn't come up until later but it was the perfect way to celebrate some of our results at the end of summer. We chose the Wilson Bridge Half-Marathon. It starts at historic Mount Vernon, goes up the George Washington Parkway, across the Wilson Bridge (and the Potomac) and into the new National Harbor Complex in Maryland. (It's a 2 state race.) There was quite a bit up "uphill" running, I am glad I didn't look at the elevation map until the morning of the race. The view was amazing though and made it worth the hills!

I have run one other 'half'...it was 11 years and 3 kids ago. Colin was just 1yo at the time. This was a fun opportunity to prove that I still have 'it,' whatever it is. I didn't tell anyone but my secret goal was to finish this race faster than I did the other one. And honestly, I was convinced I could do it until about a month before the race when I started struggling with runner's knee. So on the morning of the race, I figured I'd give it my best and be happy about however it turned out.

Long story short, I ran the first 6 miles at a GREAT pace which saved me on miles 10-13 where my knee was really hurting. The last mile was absolutely no fun, I couldn't even enjoy the last mile 'high' because we were running on gravel and it made my knee hurt worse. But, I am happy to say, actually I am THRILLED to say that my official time was 36 seconds faster than my time 11 years ago!! Apparently, I still have it. :0)

**For those who are curious, I have deferred the Marathon until next year. I had enough time to train in a perfect world. But as you can guess, with a husband who worked very long hours this summer and 4 kids (one who was teething and not sleeping thru night most of the summer), it is not a perfect world. The marathon is coming up in 2 weeks and I could have done it but I would not have been happy with how much I probably would have needed to walk (vs. run) and I would have risked injuries. Ultimately, I started not to enjoy training b/c I knew I was pushing my physical and mental limits. The pressure of the process by far outweighed the pleasure in the pursuit. So, in a VERY TOUGH decision, especially for a first-born, type-A, who doesn't like to ever quit anything, I decided deferring to next year was best. I am happy with the decision that I made and I hope that the training goes better next year with a few extra months to build distance and prevent injuries.

Army Intelligence Ball

On Sept 18, David and I again had the opportunity to attend the Army Intelligence Ball at the Crystal City Hyatt. It was the 30th Annual Ball and it was a spectacular time. We like the chance to get all dressed up and you can't beat hanging out with a table full of people that you enjoy spending time with! This year I did leave just a tad early, I had a half-marathon to run the next morning-- Staying out 'till midnight in 3 inch heels doesn't match well with getting up at 5am to run 13.1 miles (post coming soon).

He doesn't always smile for pics. :0)

Music Man

OK- It's definitely time to start some catch up blogging. So over the next week I will try to post some new stuff, starting tonight:

Cooper is our "Music Man!" This child has music IN him.

Music moves him, connects with him, and can change his mood in a way that is amazing.

He loves music in a way that has made every person in our house love music more.

There isn't a time when music is on, when Cooper isn't dancing (and of course, everyone in ear shot is encouraging him to dance more).

His favorite toy has become the iPod. He has an iPod? No Way, but there are several iPods and iPhones in the house and Cooper is always trying to find and 'take' one.

Tonight while I was giving one of the kids a spelling test, Cooper snuck off, found an iPod and speakers, dragged them up the stairs, turned them on, and hid under the counter to enjoy his music.