Blogging Failure

So, I guess I am a blogging failure. Four and a half months since my last post? FAIL!! That is some serious less effective blogging there, Alicia.

But will this make up for it?:

 
Oh, the chub! The delicious, delicious chub! So I get to spend all my time with this tasty morsel and his equally stunning sister. Here are some pictures of her from her ballet performance last month)

 And in case you missed it on youtube, here are the videos of her:





So since we have been out of the loop so long, here are a few things by way of catchup:

Evi:
* Misses her ballet class
* Likes dressing up in all the clothes Auntie Judd gave her. Like these:

 * Also, she loves contorting for her pictures. All the pictures I have of her are with her leg sticking out or bending to the side. Weird
* Is so big and tall, no one believes me when I say she is only 3. But that will change very soon!
* Still wakes up some nights and does wild things through the house just because no one is awake to tell her no. (watches youtube, eats food, reads books, plays Barbies, makes messes, changes her clothes, opens the front door to let the dog out. Oh, the list goes on and on)
* Speaks great Spanish and decent English.
* Is sooo persistant, tenacious, strong-willed.
* Is obsessed with all birthdays and especially the fact that her birthday is very soon. Whenever we meet someone, she says, "I'm Evi. I'm 3. It's my Happy Birthday." Which it isn't!!
* Has started to really like her brother and resent him a lot less. But you'd better believe she will be jumping in if there is a camera around!

* Has the biggest feet. I am talking massive. Think Sasquatch. Or Hobbit. And she grows out of shoes almost faster than we can buy them. Thank heavens for cousins and friends that give us hand-me-downs.
* Is so sweet when she wants to be. Loves hugs and kisses and being silly. Loves to meet new friends and play with them. And loves to help mommy through the house

And now for the tub-o-love. Presenting Sebastian in all his 2-teeth glory.

 Here are some facts about him:
* Loves to snuggle and cuddle.
*Sleeps especially well through the night
*Loves to bang things. i.e. clap hands, hit table, bang computer, smack dog or your face. 
*Likes to coo to himself, and blow super spitty raspberries
*Has a 3 day "perfection" period. Meaning that once he learns a skill, he perfects it in 3 days and then moves on to the next skill. This happened with holding his head up, pushing himself up off the ground, sitting up, crawling, (first on knees, and then on the balls of his feet) pulling himself up on things and independently standing alone in the middle of the floor. And then he did this about 2 weeks ago:



(Notice the bewildered look on his face. He isn't so used to everyone staring at him. He is confused by all the attention.)
Yeah, we have a walker. a 7 1/2 month walker. It's that 3 day period! He just wants to move onto the next thing. I just need to stop being surprised by it. But if you saw the size of his chunk legs, you would be surprised too! (Next post will be all about the chunk legs. I must record them before they melt away with all the walking)

So that is us, that is our life. I hope you forgive me for the long absence. I won't make any promises that I will be better at posting here, but I am going to try!

Work Party and an Owie

WARNING!! GOREY PICTURE BELOW!!

On Wednesday, we had a work party for being held at Marcelo's bosses' house. I was super excited until I realized I had nothing to wear. For all of you women who have the baby fat just MELT off of you while you are breastfeeding, I HATE YOU. You know, those women who get progressively more emaciated as their children plump like little kernels of corn? Yeah, those are the women I am talking about. My sister in law is one of them. After 3 months of feeding her babies, her pants hang off her now non-existent hips. She told me that she is even skinnier than when she was in high school. Where as I have started running and cutting back on my eating and it is making no difference at all. IT IS NOT FAIR.

Ok, enough about that for now. The point was that I was going to a Christmas Party and I had noting to wear.

I knew I would have to worry about that soon, but first I needed to make some cookies. I decided to use my mom's oven because it is about 1000 times better than mine. As I was waiting for the last batch of cookies to come out, Bibi decided to dance around while singing "I know you" from Sleeping Beauty. She was really spinning and having fun and then she got too dizzy and lost her balance. She fell and hit the side of her head on the TV stand.

I didn't think anything of it, until she crawled on my lap and I saw the blood. A Lot of blood from a long gash by her ear. My mom and I quickly decided that she would watch Seba and I would take Evi to the Doctor (which is only 5 min away, luckily). My pediatrician said I could see the nurse practitioner immediately if I came now, and so it was decided.

I thought he would say, "just a bandage will be fine" and I would feel silly for over-reacting. That is what I expected. I did NOT expect six stitches! Which is what she got.


Getting them in her, however, was not very easy. She is a super strong 3 and a half year old. It took 4 of us to hold her down so the doctor could stitch. And she screamed the whole time. Not just screaming, but spitting, scratching, and trying to move her head the whole time. After it was over, we had doctor after doctor come in the room and come to see the kid that was making all that racket!

She got 3 stickers and a sucker for her troubles and she went home and got a well deserved nap.

And then 2 hours later, Husband and I got a well deserved break and went to an amazing party. They had food brought in from Tucanos, they had lots of games and Marcelo got his first experience at playing the "white elephant" game. He caught on very quickly that the whole fun was stealing gifts, and he made himself quite known as being the "gift stealer". And then we played a game that involved dice, a gift wrapped 4 times, and using gloved hands to open it. It was crazy suspenseful, and so much fun to play and watch. Marcelo and I decided that for sure we are going to play it next time we have a family reunion.

We got some awesome white elephant gifts, and also some crappy ones. But that's the way it works, right? It was a great night and then we got to come home to this.



















How blessed are we?

Halloween

Last year I didn't plan a cute costume and I regretted it. But as soon as we got home from trick-or-treating last year, I made a decision: Evi would go as Belle next year and Raya would be the Beast. When I told Marcelo the plan he smiled and said that would be cute, so it was decided.

Now, the thinking behind choosing the blue "peasant" outfit instead of the more well known "gold ball gown" is very simple: IT IS COLD IN UTAH IN OCTOBER!! The gold gown doesn't allow for many layers or a jacket if you want to see the costume. But the blue gold gown can be worn with pants under it to keep her warm and layers of shirts under the blouse if needed. And since I was making it, I wanted to make something I liked.

That's right, I sewed her whole dress, and I think it looked awesome!














Maybe it's just the hair that really makes the difference.





























What a ferocious Beast! Look at him roar!

We went to the ward party the Saturday before Halloween, and then we went Trick-or-Treating in our old neighborhood on the 31st. I don't know how to top this one next year! She is just too cute!

Photo Shoot

My friend and neighbor Amy started a photo business. She is really good, and she gave us a free photo shoot to build up her portfolio. Sebastian was just a week or so old, so he wasn't so happy about some of the positions he had to go into. But they turned out pretty good, right?





























































And of course, Bibi couldn't let the spotlight be taken from her for a second. She jumped in while I was feeding the baby. For the fact that I didn't do her hair or pick out cute clothes or even take the gum out of her mouth, I think she looks amazing.



You don't have to agree with me. But you can if you want!

(If you want Amy to take awesome pictures for you, go to her website: http://amymonroyphotography.blogspot.com)

Worst mother of the year. . . .3 years running

It's 9:16 pm.

My child has just run back to the bag of generic Apple Jacks to grab a handful for the 3rd time.

I am annoyed with her because I am trying to put her to bed.

And then it hits me.

My child didn't eat dinner.

FAIL, Alicia. MAJOR FAIL!

I have been told this frequently happens to children during a move, but it didn't make me feel any better.

She ate a whole quesadilla and a bowl of corn flakes after I realized she was starving. Serves her right for not telling me she was hungry!

P.S. I really don't blame my child for not telling me. Just so you know. That was a jok

Held Hostage

So Bibbers has this new thing that she likes to do She holds me hostage by locking me out of the house and then demands a ransom to be let back in. The ransom thing is really my fault. Let me esplain.

So a few weeks ago, I had to take Raya down to go pee in the rain. If you will remember, Raya turns into a PRINCESS when it rains. The snow she deals with. But rain? OHHHHH. She'll pace by the door whining, nearly wetting herself because she doesn't want to get wet. She won't go out in the rain unless you walk by her side coaxing her the whole way. And then she goes and basically finds the part of the grass that is under the roof overhang and pees there as fast as possible so she can get back up in the dry part of the house. Like I said, princess.

So I had to walk her down. And I didn't worry about leaving Bibi alone in the house because Marcelo was in the back bedroom dozing before his soccer game. WEEEEELLLLL. Bibi decides to lock me out (with no jacket and no bra on, in the freezing hail/sleet/rain) and then LAUGH at me as I beg her to open the door. Seriously, I begged her for a full 3 minutes! I rang the doorbell. I knocked on the door. I pulled on the handle. I tried to use Raya as bait and pretend to have Raya open the door. But she just looked at me and LAUGHED OUT LOUD in a pretty clear mocking tone. And then she decided she wanted to go back and get on the computer and she was going to leave me there. (Marcelo was of course useless. He stayed comatose on the bed through the whole ordeal)

I finally got her to open the door by telling her I would give her a fruit snack pouch if she did it. Bribery,pure and simple. Well now, she has taken to "tricking" me to go outside for some reason or another and then she locks me out demanding I give her a fruit snack or a piece of gum to be let back in. Sometimes when we go down and are walking in the park, she will tell me to wait (she actually says "es-pay-ya, mami" which is pretty close to "espera") and then she will run up ahead of me and lock me out of the house.

So, as you can see, the ransom idea was mine. All due to that first situation where I was bra-less and desperate to get inside. Now she thinks that the best way to get a fruit snack is to kidnap mom for it. What a little turd.

I love her so much.

Here is a picture of her in her favorite outfit. I actually bury these close in the BOTTOM of the hamper, next to stinky towels and pairs of pee underwear. But she has a 6th sense about where they are and can find them no matter where I have put them. The good thing is that the moment they are clean, she puts them on, and they are usually dirty within the first 2 days. So then they go in the hamper and I don't have to deal with them until the next wash day.















And here is Bibi in a side hat. We took this camera with us on vacation when we left her behind and we would see it as we were flipping through our pictures and get sad just looking at it.
















I need to post about our vacation, but I don't think anyone really cares about what we did each day in Hawaii. So maybe I'll just post a few pictures and some stories. Because oh, do I have the stories!

Family Updates

Dear Readers:

I started this post back at the end of Feb, and I am just now getting around to posting it. So sad! I don't know why I waited so long. But here it is, and I will add more at the end:

Here are some of the going-ons around our house. Kind of like a roundup, but encompassing more time than a month:

Bibbers:
The baby's eye is all better. A few days of anti-bacterial drops and things are looking good again (pun intended). However, she got sick a few days later, and now we are dealing with the coughing/vomiting that always hits my poor girl. She coughs so hard, that she makes herself vomit. She hasn't had very much food for the past 3 days, and whatever she eats, she pukes up, usually at night. And sometimes in our bed (delightful). Or sometimes in her own bed (revolting). But the best is when she can make it to the bathroom and puke in the sink or toilet. We are very proud we taught her that one. Saves lots of time and laundry. But she always seems to coat her hair! Oh well, can't win them all.

She is super funny and so stubborn/determined. She knows what she wants and she has NO problem telling people how she's feeling. When she wants to say family prayers, she lets us know. And then if we (heaven forbid) try to prompt her, we are brusquely met with a "SHHHHHHH" sound while she puts her finger to her lips. She shushes us! And frequently. When we want her to listen to us, and she's not interested, she turns around and shushes us and goes back to what she was doing. When we try to take something away from her, she tucks whatever she has behind her back and tries to shush us. The problem with the shushing is that it's just SO DANG FUNNY. Usually Marcelo and I have to turn away and laugh before we turn back to her (serious now) and tell her that she cannot do that and continued shushing with get her in timeout. I hope I can get a picture or video of her shushing, because it really is the funniest thing you will ever see.

As for her language, she is definitely progressing. Back in January her speech therapists asked us to name all the words she could do. It was 10. In a year of speech therapy and only 10 words! Shortly after that, she was tested (they test her every 6 months or so) and she tested almost off the charts for every other category but her verbal communication. Problem solving, adaptive communication, understanding, everything like that she was testing in the 4 year old range. Her ability to dress herself, wash her own hair, pour her own juice go to the bathroom 100% alone things like that were all very advanced for her age. Not only that, but her understanding of prepositions (on, beside, under) and possessives (Daddy's baby, Mommy's daughter) was very startling to the testers. And remember, the test was all in Spanish! So it made me happy to realize and really see that even if her communication was slow, she was understanding so much of what I said to her.

However, even with those 10 words (and other non-verbal communication she was doing) she tested exactly at the level where she doesn't qualify for their services anymore. I was very sad to see them go, but I had a good surprised waiting for me. 2 weeks before they called and told me the test results, something clicked inside of her. She started to imitate so many things that I was saying. Words that I had said for months (and maybe years) she started to attempt to say. I was not prepared for it, and it caught me way off guard. My husband was much MUCH better at deciphering what she was trying to say. And slowly I got it too: she only says the last 2 syllables of whatever word she is saying. Estrellas turns into "ellas" Biblioteca becomes "teca". Conejo becomes "nejo". I don't know why the husband got it sooner than I did, but I am so thankful he did! Because she would start getting very frustrated if we didn't understand her two syllables.

The speech therapists told me that in order to put 3 word phrases together, she needed a minimum of 50 words. And I sat down and counted them all out, and she definitely has 50 words now. And while I wouldn't say it was an "explosion" of speech, she definitely is more willing to try to say new words. Sometimes I have to remind her of a word, but once she hears it again, she's pretty good at remembering it and repeating it. I think that's the best part. She will attempt to say what I say to her. It makes me feel like she's not going to be a total mental defective he whole life. (I of course kid about that. I am aware that she is not at all below normal intelligence).

Marcelo:
2 months away from graduating and now looking for a job, Marcelo is in full busy mode. Oh, plus he is working at a job every hour possible. And he is looking for a car to buy. These weeks are super busy for him, but I am hoping that his car search is a priority. HA HA! As soon as he gets a car, then I GET MY CAR BACK! Hello trips to Jump on It!. Hello trips to indoor play parks. Hello trips to parks. Hello play dates. Hello to driving myself to Scouts. Hello Life! It's been almost 3 years with only one car. And let's just say I'm very excited to get my independence back. And very excited we got a good tax return this year to help with the down payment. We couldn't do it without you, IRS!


Marcelo plays soccer about 2 times a week and has won 2 or 3 tournaments now. He saves the medals and trophies like he's 12 and just got his first Little League participation award. I don't know what he's going to do with all of them, but I think they will eventually get thrown away. I know I eventually throw all my medals away. Is that crass and unappreciative? I don't know, I just don't want to crate it everywhere. But he loves his trophies. He usually plays at night (like 8 or 9 or even 10!) so he is here at night to help with bath time/bedtime.

But I do feel badly for him because he is Bibi's favorite. You would think this would make me jealous, but at 3 am, when she is calling HIS name, I really don't mind. He goes and lays next to her and I get to sleep on in peace. It's really not a bad situation for me. And when she is sick (like in these days) she only wants her Papa. I frequently wake up alone in our bed because he has gone to answer her cries in the middle of the night. He's a good Papa.

Raya:
A super sweet dog that loves to run. She's also a "scaredy cat" who stays close to us because she's pretty fearful of the world around her. She loves to poop in the neighbor's yard which I get to clean up every couple of days. She loves that yard because it smells like quail and deer. Which is like crack for my bird flushing hunting dog. She loves to lay in the sun and snuggle up to you with her head on your shoulder. She is the sweetest dog in the world, and it's hard to get mad at her when she breaks out of her cage and eats the chicken I was defrosting for lunch after church. Seriously, how does she break out of that cage all the time? She's the Houdini of dogs. Luckily raw chicken isn't damaging to dogs as it is to humans. (I looked it up.) She was in doggie heaven, you can't blame her for eating what she can get.

Alicia:
I am having a hard time maintaining my exercise routine. But having a sick child will do that to you. I'm hoping she'll recover soon so I can start going back.

That is where I ended. Things have pretty much been the same since then. I am still bad at exercising but I DO have a car now (hooray for me!) and the baby still shushes us, but not as much now because she can tell us exactly what she wants. "no mama! No vayas!" (meaning, don't go) or "tu, mama" (meaning, it's your turn, mom). She can also ask for her favorite shows and videos by name. She still does that syllable cut off thing, but are are getting much better and making her try to break down the word and say it all.

Here are some awesome pictures for you to enjoy:

She wanted her picture taken WITH raya, of course














And here her lips were really dry and they cracked and bled a little bit. Of course, a band aid will fix that!


She looks smashing in that band aid!

Here are some pictures of Halloween

It was cold, so she's got the jacket on ready for massive candy begging


I don't know why I never posted about Halloween. Maybe because Marcelo was feeling sick so I had to do it alone in the rain. But she did look cute. Next year I want to make her a Belle costume and dress Raya up as the Beast. Quite ambitious of me, but I think it will rock.

I have lots more, but who really cares about someone else's kid, right?

Anyway, I hope you like reading about what we are doing these days. If not, stop reading my blog!

Just so you know

Just so you know:

It takes 4 grown adults to hold a 2 and 3/4 year old child down to examine a scratched eye.

And if anything needs to be dropped into this eye to make it glow like a radioactive particle ala the Simpsons, make sure all 4 of your are wearing protective gloves, because she will pinch, and scratch and spit and kick and do everything in her power to get away from you. And it will make you cry. And you haven't cried at the doctors office since you watched her get her first set of shots.

Oh, and if she needs to get anti-bacterial drops in her eyes 3 times a day for a week, make sure that your husband is present for the administration of of those drugs. Because if not, you might have a scratched eye yourself from the fighting.

But you will feel better knowing something is being done about it. Because seriously, when you pried her eye open after hours of crying and saw the VERY VISIBLE scratch that went the whole length of her iris AND pupil you nearly died of fright for the sight of your child.

But seriously, that radioactive stuff they put in her eye glowed neon green in the special black light? That stuff was cool. Made me miss the day-glow fashions of the 80's.

I demand a re-count!

Yesterday was the ward Halloween Party. It was a pretty good one. Awesome decorations, sinful cornbread (with honey butter AND raspberry butter!), music and dancing for the kids (and my husband. Yes! Marcelo came! Shocking!) and a chili cook off between ward members. People really participated in this one! There were tons of pots of chili to choose from and you could tell that people really liked showing off their different styles of chili. I bet there were about 25 different kinds of chili, but only 19 of them participated in the "contest".

Andy let me tell you why I participated in the contest: I hate beans. I know most people find them an integral part to chili, but I hate them. And I hate having to meticulously sort through my bowl of chili to pull out all the beans. So I signed up to bring a pot of chili so that I for sure knew that there would be something palatable for myself. And after about 3 minutes of searching online, I found this awesome recipe for a Pumpkin Turkey Chili that I wanted to try. I love pumpkin! I love ground turkey! AND NO BEANS!!! This one was it. I made it really fast (I didn't leave myself enough time to do everything after my run, and taking a shower and getting the baby ready. I'm such a bad procrastinator!) and we ran off to the church for the party.

Like I said, it was a good party. Even if it did start really late. But it let everyone get there on "Mormon Standard Time" and find a place for their chili. So after I had eaten my weight in cornbread (Seriously, I had 6 of them. And while they were quite small-1 1/2 inches squared- that didn't justify the whole cup of honey butter I put on as well) I watched as my child ran around and found her new best friend: The girl dressed up as the Little Mermaid. Seriously, my kid would've followed that little girl into highway traffic, that's how devoted she was to her. Or should I say to the Little Mermaid.

And then it was time to award the prizes for the chili winners. And I don't know how to say this, BUT I WON!!!!! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL!!!!! Seriously, how did that happen? I demand a recount! There is no way I won! My chili was NOT spicy (but maybe that helped?) nor did it have beans (but again, maybe that helped?) but it was the winner. The only thing i can think that put it over the top was that I added sour cream and cheese to the top of my "judging cup." But I don't think that was cheating. It's what the recipe called for! But seriously, anything with sour cream and cheese on top is going to taste freaking awesome.

We won a $20 gift card to Pastorero, a great taquitoria close to our house that has pictures of Guanajuato inside. It makes me reminisce. Anyway, I think that many MANY people in the ward feel robbed.. Because hardly anyone was like "Oh, congratulations!" I'm sure they were expecting someone else to win. Like the lady in our ward that owns Sweet Tooth Bakery, or the professional caterers in our ward. Yeah, maybe one of them. Not someone who found a recipe off the internet and who had never made chili before in her life. Oh well, I WON!!!!!!

So I know you are all DYING for it, so here is the recipe for the chili:

Pumpkin Turkey Chil
From allrecipes.com
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
* 1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 pound ground turkey
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 2 cups pumpkin puree
* 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 dash salt
* 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup sour cream

Cooking Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Stir in the turkey, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, and mix in tomatoes and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, pepper, and salt. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Serve topped with Cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Serves 6
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 303
Total Fat: 18.1g
Cholesterol: 76mg

***My own changes***I actually added more salt than it asked for. I tasted it and it was a little too bland and so I added some more. I also added some of my special blend of spices I call "Alino en Polvo" It has cumin, garlic salt, pepper, salt and onion powder. And a little oregano. I added a bit of that too. Not too much, just like a tablespoon. If you want me to make you a batch of "Alino en Polvo" I will be happy to do it. I add it to EVERYTHING. It's my own creation and it reminds Marcelo of home.

So that's my exciting news. I ousted the whole ward in the chili challenge and made enemies of the whole R.S.BC.

Here is the link for allrecipes.com. So you can see a picture of the food:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Turkey-Chili/Detail.aspx

Go make it! And then tell me how it went for you. What contests did YOU win?

Kansas City Half Marathon

So on the 13th of October, I packed up the baby, a suitcase and a backpack full of movies and we headed off to Kansas City. I was very excited and quite scared to be doing my first half marathon, but I was excited to be able to do it with family.

Traveling was uneventful. Oh! Except that on NO of our 4 flights were we assigned to sit together. What? She's 2! Sometimes we were on completely different rows. Most of the time we both had window seats on the same row. It was quite annoying. And no matter how early we got to the gate, they couldn't seem to figure it out. People were nice about sliding over, though. Especially when I would say "Hey,I don't mind if she sits over there, You can watch her for me!" That got them moving in a hurry.

Oh, and because my child is 95% potty trained (on some days. On other days she's only about 25%. She chooses her compliance level based on if there is something better to do, anger at a punishment she has to endure, blood sugar level and her desire to piss me off. I'm not kidding on that last one.) I didn't have her wearing a diaper on the plane. It was never ever a problem, until I tried to take her to the bathroom in the airport before we left, and I didn't take her pants off all the way, and you know the rest. Baby with legs in awkward position + placed near edge of bowl = arc of pee shooting out of her and covering her pants. Totally my fault. But we had to get on the plane, so with a little wipe down and some heavy blotting we were on our way (yes, I forgot to bring a change of clothes. Again, my fault. If I had been better prepared this would've been a non-issue)

She never peed her pants on the plane. Why should she when we went to the bathroom a minimum of 4 times on every plane ride! Because plane bathrooms are so fun! They smell like a latrine and are so closely cramped, but yes! let's go again!

Once we got to Kansas city, it took me less than 24 hours to offend my sister in law. BOO-YAH!! I'm pretty good at that. Not like I *TRY* to offend her, but I know I can be judgmental sometimes. And I am pretty easy to read, and I have a big mouth. So basically, I would be surprised if I DIDN'T offend her. But luckily my sister in law is one of my favorite people on this early and so easy to talk to, and so quick to forgive and make you see why you are such an ass. And I always learn something new and important from her every time we talk. Lesson for the day: Don't raise your children for the approval of others. If you raise your children to the eyes of everyone around you, you will have morally confused children who can see your hypocrisy. If you feel like you are doing something with your kids just so outsiders don't look down on you, you might need to re-think it. It was a good time.

My sister Julie arrived 2 days later. She and her husband drove from Texas, and they got there just in time to go pick up our packets from the race coordinators. They had a whole bunch of fun stuff to see and buy. Disney was there pimping their marathon through Disney World. And that sounded like fun! My sister in law said she thought about doing that some year in the future. And I think that would be so much fun to do as a family again. I would do the half marathon, of course, but to be there and then enjoy Disney World after the race would be great, I'm thinking. I'm just dreaming, of course, but I think it would be a great goal.

I resisted the urge to buy anything, and so I went home and started getting really nervous for the race. And I mean really really nervous. My sister in law started laughing at me that night because I was just so stressed about what to wear. Should I wear a jacket? But I know it will be warm, I don't want to run with it around my waist with the zipper slapping me for 10 miles. What about gloves? Will I need them at the beginning? I didn't bring a good shirt to wear. What will I wear? Seriously, it was nuts. I was going nuts. She thought it was funny. Mostly because marathons (and half marathons) are nothing for her now. And she hardly even trained for this one! She just thought it was funny to see me all anxious and worrying.

So the next morning, I woke up and put my 10 year old niece in my bed and locked her and my baby in there. She was to be my primary babysitter, and she was great. Actually, all of the girls were great with the Bibbs. And Kyrie got to wipe her butt after an especially big poo. My kid will bend over and stick her bum in the air for you to wipe her. You don't even have to ask. The kids thought that was great! Anyway, they all babysat my girl while I ran.

And now, a sad story. Because my brother had Volleyball games on that day, and we needed Julie's husband to be at home with the girls in case something happened and he needed to drive someone to the hospital, this meant that there was no one to cheer us on and take pictures of us at the end of the race. (or during) But I got a few pictures before the race. While we were sitting in the car preparing.


Where did Julie go? Ahhh, she was bending down. And Tina is typing on the phone probably saying "We are leaving our phones now. Talk to you in 3 hours". But then they were ready for the next one:
Ohh, not a good one of me! A LOT of double chin action going on. We all looked at this picture and decided that we needed another one.

SCARY EYES!! ALICIA IS DEMENTED! SHE WILL RUN HER RACE. . .AND THEN TAKE YOUR SOUL! And then I decided that I should stop looking at each pictures after I take it, and just keep snapping pictures. And so I did:

This is the best BEST of Tina and Julie. But I'm halfway gone. . .And I still have some crazy eyes. . .or some crazy eye, I should say.

Tina is looking half squinty. And I have a weird tip on the end of my nose. But I think this is the best of all of us. The best I could get. But why stop there?
Me with more double chin, and Julie looking off at something else in the distance. Maybe looking at where we SHOULD be? Like at the race?














And now Tina is just laughing because it is getting ridiculous. And somehow the flash got turned on to make me look all Casper-like. But we were having a good time. Everyone has a good time before the race STARTS, right?

We tried to stand in line for the potty. But we realized that people were cutting in front of us, and we all were only semi-dedicated to peeing. So we walked away like 2 min before the starting gun went off. We all laughed later that we were all willing to go before the race, but we never bothered to stop and pee DURING the race. I guess the nerves made the need not so great once we got started.

And start we did! Tina ditched us before we even crossed the starting line, but we thought she would. She turned around and said "see ya in a couple of hours!" and she was off. And Julie and I started slow and slowly. But we had a good time! We got to chat with one another all the way until about the mile 10 1/2. Then she felt like she was going too slow and she was cramping up, so she went ahead. The funny thing is that she didn't go THAT much faster and I could see her up until about mile 12 or 13. I think she only finished a few minutes ahead of me. They had bands playing music along the trail, and people had signs and noise makers to cheer you along. It really was a fun time

The Kansas City Half Marathon is HARD. It's up and down about 45 hills. No joke! If you aren't running up, then you are running down. There are very few level places. The last mile is ROUGH. Especially for me because I didn't know where we were going. If I had known where we were and when we would turn I think I could've done better that last mile. Especially because you tend to get down on yourself when the marathon runner passes you. (happened for me on mile 12.5). I'm happy that I finished in just over 2 1/2 hours.

Anyway, I'm going to wrap this post up. Tina tried to run back to get the camera at the car so she could photograph us. And she made it! But then the camera was on "play" not "take" pictures so it didn't happen. But we took a picture after the race of Julie and I together! Which Julie accidentally deleted. BOOO. I told you the picture situation was a sad story.

We went right home after the race, because I had a baby that I needed to get back to, and we all needed some good food. I think next time I would like my family to be there at the finish line for me and we can stay around and see what all there is going on at the party. But I'm not sad I went home. My body needed rest! I got a well deserved Thai meal later that night, and then the rest of my time there was a vacation!

I had a great time, and I loved being with my family and just making a goal and finishing it. I definitely have another one in me, but I don't know how soon I will do it.

Thanks for reading, people!

P.S. They had people taking pictures along the trail, and you can buy them. But I am cheep. I have the sore muscles and the memories of my first half marathon. I don't think I need much else. But here are some of the horrible grainy shots: I'm in the yellow shirt and gray pants behind tank-top girl.





















If you want to see more pictures of me running, I think for a limited time you can go to this link:

http://www.backprint.com/view_user_event.asp?S=20&PID=bp%18yG&EVENTID=72309&PWD=&BIB=7573

There you can see bigger MUCH better pictures than what I've blown up here.

Dinner Al Fresco

I gave the baby some dinner the other night and this is where she went to go eat it.


She decided an al fresco dinner would be nice this evening. Don't you love how the rabbit is always included in whatever she does?

They were checking out the view of the "Y" this fine summer evening.

Jealousy

I get jealous when I read the blogs of others and their children who are the same age as mine (or even younger!) are speaking in full sentences.

And my child still screams for an hour when I can't understand that she wants milk based on her pointing and grunting.

Makes me want to kill someone.

No wonder jealousy is a deadly sin.

Sure your child is great, but can they. . .

I know all of you think you have the greatest child in the world. You think they are the smartest or the most clever. You think they are the cutest and that when they learn to sing songs they hear they are going to be the next Beethoven.

I mean, we all have bragging rights. My kid walked at 8 months. Your child probably could put together whole sentences with complex prepositional phrases at 13 months. (oh, on a side note my child now says "si" every once in a while. Actually, it's not really "si". She says "gee" or "dee". But it's something!!! The funny thing is that she can TOTALLY make the "sssss" sound. We ask her " what does a snake say" and she does a little lispy "sth sth sth" sound. Adorable. But she won't put it with the "eeee" sound. Strange. Back to topic) And some of you boast a child that taught themselves how to play the piano or read at age 2.

I say this is all well and fine. But I trump you ALL. Case closed, pack it in, this show is over.

My child can fart on command.

She does it to make me laugh. Whenever we hear her fart we say "gasiosa"! and she knows what it is. And so she makes herself fart just to hear us say gasiosa and laugh. She usually does it in the bath or just getting out of the bath. And one of these days she's going to strain herself too hard and poop in my arms. I just know it.

But until then I'm not going to stop her. Because seriously? A child that can fart on demand before her 2nd birthday? This kid has "going places" written all over her. Just you wait.

. . . Can You?

So after nearly 3 months of speech therapy I can tell you that she's had almost no difference in her speech. Oh, I know what you think when you look at those videos. And that's pretty much how it goes around here. Babbling non-stop her nonsensical words and wildly gesticulating. And yet, no words.

I mean, we are talking basic things like "yes" and "milk". I think I read somewhere that by 2 years your kid should speak like 100 words. I have heard her say 2. They are "no" and "esta". But she's great at recognizing words. She knows around 20 animals and can point to them. She knows colors and shapes. And she knows hundreds of commands. I would say that when it comes to recognizing and responding, she can recognize over 200 words and phrases. But what good does that do me when she's hungry and she won't tell me but instead whines non stop? I mean, I can ask her if she's hungry, and she makes a "uh huh" sound (again, she doesn't say "SI" but just makes a sound) but that's not what we are going for! We want words here!!

Sunday I asked her nursery teachers about her language. We are very blessed that one of her nursery teachers got back from a mission to Argentina less than a year ago and loves speaking Spanish to her. And so I asked him if they notice that she speaks when not around me. They said that she just babbles and babbles but nothing recognizable comes out. They said that last week she went and sat down next to Elissa (a little girl about 1 year older than her) and just blabbed and blabbed for minutes. After she left, the teachers asked Elissa what Bibi said to her. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't know". Nice

But the real kicker is what happened a few weeks ago at the park. A little boy was playing with her and she was running around and just generally not talking. And he said to her "I can talk. . . . Can you?" OHHHH!!! BUURRRNNN!!!!

No, junior. The answer is no. She cannot talk. But if you want someone to show you how to destroy the house while your mom is in the shower, she's your girl

Butter

Today before Marcelo left for school he said, "what is the baby eating"? And I said, "butter". And he jumped up shocked and ran to where she was eating on the counter. As he was running I further clarified, "well, she's eating a piece of bread with butter, but she picks all of the butter off and just eats it plain."

Here is some video attesting to that fact. While I was in the shower, she got into the freezer and found the butter that I keep frozen there. And here is what I found when I got out:



Seriously, if I let this kid eat nothing but dairy all day, she would be in heaven. Cottage cheese, ice cream, yogurt, milk, cream cheese, string cheese, or just plain cheese from the bag. Actually, I buy cheese in bulk and use my food processor to shred it and then I freeze it. And again, while I was taking a shower she got in the freezer and was eating the frozen cheese straight from the bag. That wasn't a problem. I mean how much cheese can a 2 year old eat in 7 minutes?















That is a picture of here enjoying the frozen cheese, and then she's telling me to "back off" so she can eat more. And, if she has an accomplice in the form of a constantly ravenous dog, well, then this is the kind of damage she can do: That whole bag was emptied in 8 minutes. Disgusting.

More food related news: Here is what happened when I was vacuuming the other day.

















She found this little bag of flour and seasonings (some dredging flour) in the freezer. Are you seeing a pattern here? I think we need a freezer lock.

Some cute pictures of a baby in a crock pot? Why yes, I have those too!
















(She's eating cold, day old rice right from the pan. She loves that!)

And finally, my last "food related" presentation is what happens when you decide to make pooping "me time". I still maintain that I should get to poop in peace, but it's difficult to rationalize that when I come out and find scenes like this.



Happy eating!

Here's some extra credit: If your child goes silent for a while, you can assume she has found a tube of chap stick and is trying to eat it slash apply it.















And if it's cherry chap stick it counts as a fruit in your daily food pyramid.


Delicious!