Run, Mommy, Run!

Tiffany and I finished our second half-marathon on Saturday, April 18th. We started at the U and ran way further than we ever expected, beating our Vegas time by over 10 minutes! We were less than 30 seconds behind Dane from the Biggest Loser, and beat an 85 year old dude by like seconds. Overall it was a really gratifying race. We were quite surprised at how fun and fast the race felt....seriously are we at Liberty Park already?! There were great people cheering all along the way and it was awesome.

Our dear friend Natalie ran it with us, on her birthday, and she kicked butt for her first long distance run! She's almost too funny to run with! But seriously, she really pushed us to run a faster pace than we might have otherwise. We have got to stop inviting people who beat us! Lori and Brad did the marathon course on their bikes and Scott sprinted to the finish line with Tagg in a stroller so that they could be there to cheer us on at the finish line. It was really awesome and Tagg loved the medals!

We were very grateful that we managed to squeeze on a packed Trax train, that Lisa's vitamin I kicked in, that the weather was beautiful and the free bands were willing to get up at the crack of dawn to play for us, that little kids were standing in their front doors in their PJs waving flags for everyone, that my friend Carrie gave us VIP treatment on our gear check, for coffee, and that our friends and loved ones were there to cheer us on for those last, painful few hundred yards. 13.1 miles baby!

After the race, we all went to Nikelle's 4th birthday party at "Bouncing Off the Walls" which is as crazy as it sounds! The bounce house has slides, climb walls, and all kinds of inflatable fun. Of course, that also means a few teeth through lips, bloody noses, potential athlete's foot... were we supposed to know that socks were required?! We had gotten Nikelle a cute little princess crown and scepter in Catalina and it seemed like a hit. She is a little princess after all! Maybe she'll see that picture where Ana and I were trying it on (just to see) and think her crazy ol' "aunts" are really cool. Tagg was a little overwhelmed by his first birthday party, but he sure loved going down the slide with Daddy.

After that, we ran home for a costume change and went to a wedding reception in Provo. It was really beautiful and there were kids and chocolate fountains and gorgeous pictures of the newlyweds everywhere. Congratulations Brett & Stacey!

What a crazy, crazy day. I'm tired. We need another weekend!

Happy Easter!

Easter egg hunts? With candy? Are you kidding?! Just put me in the tub with some stuff to splash at! We had a great holiday with Tagg, even though his favorite parts were mostly thing we do every day.

We went to brunch at Log Haven - a beautiful, award winning restaurant just up the canyon from where we got married - with Lisa's family. The food was lovely, and Tagg was very well behaved. So much so that he actually fell asleep in the high chair. So dang cute! Aunt Tiff will be sending more pictures of him sacked out in a chair soon, so check back!

That evening, we went to Scott's parents and had a traditional ham dinner and dyed Easter eggs with his cousin Ashley who he loves dearly. Tagg got a bunch of super cute Easter clothes, a crazy singing Easter bunny, and lots of candy (thank goodness Alice the dog was rotten and ate all of it before we...I mean, WE... got to it! maybe next year he'll be a little more interested in finding the eggs. Today, the fake grass was pretty much the big hit (after splashing in the bath!)

The day was beautiful, the flowers were blooming and it finally smelled like spring! It was a beautiful Easter Sunday and we are excited for spring!

More Kodak Moments

Could we take any more pictures of this kid?! Maybe, but I'm not sure how! Bath time is such a wonder. Mom was asking if we love taking pictures of Tagg in the bath like they used to with us kids. The answer? Yes!! He thinks the bath is a riot and we do too.

We went to Texas Roadhouse for Lisa's unofficial pre-birthday dinner. We never really had an official one, so maybe this counts since it's the only one with pictures. At least they didn't sing! Ugh. Tagg got to sit in a high chair and try to grab everyone's meal or water glasses. We've actually been celebrating all month...starting with a trip to piano bar on Lori's actual birthday and then an evening with the Irish-ska band, the Young Dubliners the next week. When you're dancing, you kind of feel like you're in the basement of the Titanic in that one scene. You know the one. Yeah, like that! The girls from work took me out for a great, incredibly fattening lunch with an Everything Bundt Cake for dessert. Evil, evil girls. I love them!

Last week was the start of March Madness. So Tagg had to don his fancy basketball outfit and shoes in honor of this great sporting event where 3 Utah teams and West Virginia were well represented. Until each and every one of his teams got booted in the first round. That's it. No more letting the baby pick the winners in the basketball pool.

I had to include this photo. With all the crazy stuff going on in the world - AIG bonuses, Wall Street bail outs, recession, layoffs, wars, crushed hopes for the final four - it's lovely to have a baby around. With a healthy heart, warm arms to hug you and people to love you...the world is at peace. A good reminder for us old folks. Sweet dreams everyone!

On the Move!

Well it's official. Little man is on the move! Tagg made his first official foray into crawling on March 8th. We were celebrating Lisa and Uncle Kent's birthdays and ta-da...there was a little present from Tagg! It was a just a few short spurts at first, but it was just a day or so later that we took this video. Now, just another short week later and he's already aiming straight for the stairs. He's already made it up to the second step. Just a little scary! And he's fast! It's time to double button down the house for sure!

Happy Birthday!

For Lisa's birthday, we decided to head to Lake Powell for the first trip of the season. The weather promised to be good - sunny and fairly warm - and it was! Well, mostly. We still had to bundle up to go walk the docks and see where all the boats have moved around during the winter. It was a great excuse to put Tagg back in his cute hats before spring settles in for real. ;-) Tagg seems to enjoy the dock walks as much as his dad!

We had a last catching up on movies that we've been too busy to watch, and playing goofy games with the baby. Mark, Jennifer and Nikelle came down for the weekend and we found - I mean, made - a super fabulous sand castle. It was so great to spend time with the Landers. A little different trip than we used to have, and infinitely better! The water was definitely too cold to do more than dip a toe in unless you're 4 or he dog chasing hot dog bits.

Tagg just loves Nikelle! He's a little too big for her to hold these days but he sure tried to get at least a hug out of her, and a kiss. Nikelle is such a sweet, funny girl. She even jumped in on our family picture and, I have to say, kind of steals the show! Mark and Nikelle taught us a new game called "Let's have corn." Corn (where Scott pretends to eat Tagg like he's a corn cob) is Tagg's new favorite game!

We did another photo shoot this week and got some great pictures. It gets expensive because they're all so dang cute and we're kind of running out of wall space. Eventually, we'll have to get a bigger house just to hang all the pictures, but really...with those eyes, can you blame us?!

Kodak Moments!

Yes, two posts in two days. I'm on a roll! I can't help it! Look how dang cute these pictures are! Little man was having a "play date" with his I Love You bear. It's kind of amazing that the bear was bigger than him the day we brought him home and now look at them. He did take the bear's ball away from him. Steal! Look, he can even palm the ball. Kind of. He only threw it at me twice. He's a pretty good shot.

Tagg and the bear look like little buddies, don't they? And you should see him grin when the bear says "I love you." So cute. It's so special...hence the 40 pictures!

We had a super fun weekend enjoying some springlike weather. We took Tagg for a bike ride in his new bike trailer, went jogging and took Morgan and Alice for a few walks. We are really excited for more sunny, warm days!

This little snow suit picture is left over from Christmas, but what a crack up. Can you say Christmas Story? Anyone?! I don't think he could have put his arms down if he tried. Good thing we didn't get him anywhere near a frozen pole or a leg lamp.

This picture is Scott's new screen saver. Can you believe those blue, blue eyes? The smile with the tongue is his new thing this week! Is that some kind of "I just turned 7 months old" milestone we haven't heard of? Who cares! He's just freaking cute!

Our Little Valentine

We had a hugs n' kisses filled Valentines Day! This hasn't been one of our favorite holidays in the past. Forced romance was not our big thing. Forget roses (although Scott actually bought some...so romantic!) and chocolate (wait, mom and dad gave us some ). But this year, we really had fun with it! Not only did we get to celebrate the new love of our lives - Tagg! - we also got to have a great date night.

Tagg is a very, very sweet little guy. He’s got the best temperament. He’s so mellow, very rarely fussy and always in a good mood. Well, almost always. He sleeps like crazy...10+ hours every night, and always with his little bum up in the air. Sometimes we’re tempted to keep him up past 8:30 so we can play with him more! He’s very intent on figuring things out. He likes to study his toys, books, anything he can get his hands on. I swear his hair is growing like a weed all of a sudden. It kind of looks like a mohawk and we’ve tried greasing it up, but now it’s long enough that it looks kind of silly. He’s awfully handsome with those dark blue eyes and the dimple, that’s for sure!

He’s taken to eating baby food like a champ although broccoli is not his favorite (personally, I think Scott had something to do with that ;-). We’re working on the sippy cup and he’s getting the hang of eating puffs, although he ends up with more of them stuck on him and his high chair than probably make it into his mouth. I know we’ve said this before but he’s really, really close to crawling. He scooches around and rolls everywhere...if he sees something he wants, he’ll go right over and get it. He’s been getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. It’s not too long before he figures out how to move forward without face planting...and then we’re in trouble! He’s really fascinated by the dogs, especially my parents’ Sheltie. We can’t decide if it’s the long hair or the fact that Gamble is more his size but he squeals like crazy and reaches out for him all the time. He's getting pretty good at standing up while holding on to things and, boy, does he think that's the coolest thing ever!

We’ve been really lucky with his health. They’ve had a nasty bout of RSV around here. A couple of our friends’ babies actually ended up in the hospital which is so scary. He had one little stuffy nose that lasted about 2 days and that’s it.

Scott did OK at the boat show. It definitely wasn’t as good as last year but they had more sales than most of the other dealers and we’re hoping they can continue hanging in there till the economy turns around. Tiffany and I just started training for another half-marathon a couple of weeks ago. It’s been tough with the weather. I hate getting up in the dark, cold mornings to go run...the snooze button is always calling! I’ve taken Tagg on a couple of jogs in his new running stroller. He likes being outside but it’s definitely harder to run with no hands! Good training I suppose. Bring on spring!!!