Chris does a half marathon

Two weekends ago, We all went up to Phoenix so that Chris could run a half marathon on Sunday. It was the Rock n Roll half marathon in Phoenix. He finished at (approximately) 2:07:30. His goal was to finish at 2:10:00, so he met and surpassed his goal! He had actually started training for the marathon up there, but due to Izzy being born, he didn't have enough time to do all the intensive training, so he kind of winged it up there. (My "winging it" would have been to say let's go eat some wings!) But he did great and he felt great, and after, he wasn't so drained that we couldn't do some shopping. Another great part was that the hotel that we had booked at was right by the finish line. (That's not the great part.) Because it was so close, it was really in demand, so they offered to pay for our stay at another hotel. So, we stayed for FREE at a Residence Inn, which came with a kitchen and a separate bedroom. It was awesome! (That was the great part.) Izzy did really well the whole time, except that while we were at our "nice" dinner, she decided she wanted to be awake, held, rocked, and generally not in her carseat, sleeping. But she's a baby...What are you going to do. Anyways, here are some pictures of our weekend.

This is at mile 3. I had expected Chris to run by about a half hour earlier, but with the wave start, he came by right on pace (I saw the pace runners go by, so I could tell he hadn't quit or got lost). He wore his bright orange Wheaties shirt so that I could pick him out of the masses.



This is at mile 3 1/2 (they did a loop around a block). I also saw him at mile 7, which was right across from the hotel that we stayed it (which ended up being a problem later when we tried to get back to our room after the race, but there were still walkers on the course, so we had to park across the street. Yes, that's right. Walkers at mile 7 of 13.1 still going 3+ hours into the race.)


Here is where a picture of him finishing should be, but I didn't get a good one because the gentleman who was literally 6'7" thought that he should stand at the very front.

Chris told Izzy that he would get her a trinket while we were up there. Instead, he bought himself some nice race shirts, and let her wear his medal.



She was so happy to be the winner that she couldn't stop smiling. That, or Daddy was finally paying significant attention to her. During the race, he would only stop by long enough for a quick kiss.



And here they are again. Super cute!

Izzy, Raisin, and Eden...best friends

So, Izzy is just over 4 months now. When she first arrived, our dogs were really interested in her. They wanted to sniff her and lick her fingers and all that. But it's been awhile, and now, she's nothing new. They still like her a lot. They especially like to sniff her while she's in her jumperoo, and sometimes, they'll even play with her and her toys while she's in it. They also like to do drive-by sniffs...where, as they are walking by, they just turn their heads towards her, and give her a wet sniff. And they like to be near her. They've even become calm enough that she can sit by/with them and they don't jump up or paw at her. (Of course, we are always right there, just in case.) For example, the other day, we laid Izzy down on the floor to see what the dogs would do. Eden ignored her (probably because Izzy doesn't smell like a treat). But Raisin went up to her, and sat down right next to her. They, he proceeded to put his paws on either side of his body, and tried to lay on her, resting his head on her chest. We, of course, didn't let him, since he's a 60 lb dog, but it was sweet to see him try to cuddle with her.

This is a picture of Izzy sitting with Eden. Eden will turn her head and sniff Izzy, but for the most part, she won't move. Please notice that Chris's leg is right in the background...we are NOT endangering our child.



This is one where Eden is just watching Izzy.



Here's Rai, doing a drive by sniff. Izzy is now getting to the age where she actually notices the dogs, so she has started reaching for the dogs, to touch their noses and ears. It's pretty cool.



Here's Rai, in heaven. When we first brought the papasan chair out into the living room, Rai was always trying to lay in it, but wasn't allowed because he is not an "on the furniture" dog. But for pictures sake, we let him climb in and lay down, and then sat Izzy on his butt. He didn't even pay attention to her, because we also had the camera out, and he LOVES having his picture taken.



Here's Rai, posing for the camera.

Administrative Note...

Chris has informed me that it is difficult to read the captions that go with the pictures, because it is hard to tell if the caption goes with the picture above the caption or the picture below the caption. He says that they should go ABOVE the pertinent photo. Therefore, in accordance with his wishes and his supreme knowledge, captions will now go ABOVE the pictures that they relate to. Thank you for your time and attention in this matter. We will now rejoin your regularly scheduled program, which is already in progress.

Tummy Time

Izzy doesn't get enough tummy time. I admit that up front. She gets lots of time sitting and standing and lying down, but tummy time always seems to escape me. I usually think to do it right after she has eaten (which would result in a whole lot of spit up), or right before nap time (which means she isn't in the mood to hold her head up). So, she just misses a lot of chances to be on her tummy. Chris is way better at giving her tummy time. And since she has gotten more head control, and a stronger neck, she even enjoys it a little if she gets lots of praise. Here are some recent pictures of tummy time with Daddy.

If we push her little arms under her, she can push up pretty well.



She likes to have people tell her "Yay, Isabelle!"



Sometimes, she can even follow us as we walk around her. She has pretty good neck control so far.



Also, please notice the nice bedspread that she is lying on. I made that! A long time ago, I made it, and christened it "The blanket bundle" because it actually folds up into itself.



Izzy is so happy to have tummy time with Daddy.

Wolverine-abelle

For those of you who don't know who Wolverine is, he is a member of the X-men. I won't go into the many complicated details of his life, except to say that his hair is kind of one of his trademarks (along with the metal that is fused to his bones...adamantium...and the way it shoots out of his knuckles...very cool). Anyways, Izzy has learned to wiggle around in her crib, and often ends up with her head pushed up along the side slats. If she stays that way long enough, it pushes her hair down, so that the middle of her fuzzy head is flattened, while the sides stick up...looking crazily, like Wolverine.



This is Wolverine. The sides of his hair are slicked back, while the front comes forward, like a valley between two hills.




And here is Wolverine-abelle. We did her hair just like the original Wolverine, and the resemblance is uncanny. (For those of you who DO follow X-Men, I said Uncanny on purpose...)



This is a side view...Notice the nice point in front? Young wolverines often have that look.



This is a real wolverine. See the point on his/her forehead? Wolverine-abelle is even more like a real wolverine, than the X-Men Wolverine!



And here, Wolverine-abelle is lunging at the camera...very ferocious.

Izzy's future...

Isabelle has so much hair, that Chris and I decided to see what she would look like with LOTS of hair...like a real person does (because she's a baby, not yet a "real" person. Here are the results...


In this one, she has shoulder length hair, with some bangs. Kind of like you'd see with a headband.



This one is short and shaggy. The ends were expertly arranged to flip AWAY from her head. Very trendy.



And this is the punk look. One side is longer than the other. It all curls away from the head. Kind of like Kelly Osbourne (but korean). Please let us know which one you like best!

Izzy's first Christmas!!!