Our story, as it picks up now: November 2013

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Daddy's big day

Last Saturday was a day we'd been anticipating in our house for months. It was Russell's first half-marathon. He has spent many long hours pounding the pavement to prepare for his race . . . showing a level of dedication that, in my life, I have only applied to such arduous tasks as napping and eating brownies.

I am so, so proud of him. Just finishing the race would really have been an accomplishment, but he managed to do it in 1:50. That's almost two hours of running at an 8.5 minute pace, people! Thirteen miles. This is serious business!

The girls and I got an early start on the day and went down to mile markers 5 and 10 to cheer him on. Our friend Jason also came and was super helpful. He manned the camera, provided the donuts, and lugged half of the two tons of stuff that it takes to keep two little girls happy on a 45 degree morning for an hour and a half. Yeah, we owe you, Jason!

Awesome job, Russell! We are so proud of you!

Race day shirts that my friend Erin helped me make
Guess who picked the color!
Will they be appearing on the Christmas card?

Early morning donut break
I brought them hot chocolate and THEY DIDN'T LIKE IT. What???


Cold but proud!

The number is the year we each joined Team Joffrion.
The names reflect particular personality traits of each.

Going strong at mile 5
The girls were so excited to see their dad!

From mile 10, we barely made it to the finish in time to see him cross. But there is his back! (And his awesome time!)

He made it!


Caro decided it was time to rest. On her pom pom. Why not!

Both girls were totally excited about all of daddy's new fun accessories. Each finisher got a hat, a medal, and a tee shirt. Daddy kept the tee shirt.

I think Caroline just wanted to go run around. Seemed to be the thing to do at a half marathon.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Other random fall fun

So, is this my really my fifth blog post tonight? Um, I guess I was a little behind. I have put a few of these on Facebook, but I really prefer to have our updates here. It's okay if no one is still reading this. Actually, this will be the one that comes up first when you pull up the blog. So maybe my first post will be last. It's like the sermon on the mount. Okay, not really at all.

Anyway, I gotta show some Caroline love since the last few posts have been about Catherine's milestones.
Caroline is really starting to show us her personality. Fiercely loving, loyal and affectionate, this girl is all about the LOVE. Couldn't be sweeter. Except for the rare occasion where she doesn't quite get her way. But we're all like that, right?

And the relationship we are starting to see between the girls is just amazing. They really do love each other and it blesses this mama's heart. Neither wants to go anywhere without the other. And they just love playing together . . . sometimes even up in their rooms WITHOUT ME. Wow. Twenty minute stretches of play time. I only have to intervene when someone starts to cry. And though someone always does, those few minutes to get things done on my own are pretty AMAZING. :)

These pics are all from a September morning up on Monte Sano.

These next pictures are from our first attempt at gathering leaves for some serious jumping and crunching. Catherine read about this practice in a book and couldn't wait to try it. Caroline was less than enthusiastic about the leaves but loved being outside just the same!

Crunch!

Our happy little dreamer

Caroline trying to bury her sister. Catherine requested a sleepsack made of leaves. Huh? Oh well, Caroline seemed to understand what she was asking for.

Isn't this leaf great?

Helping daddy by adding a single leaf to his pile

Told you she was our little lover-girl

Harvest Hey Day!

Caroline was pretty sick, so Daddy stayed home with her and Catherine and I caught a little fall fun at our church's festival. Did you ever see such a sweet little owl?? :)

I had to drag her out of the bouncy houses!

Together on the hay ride!

Nana and Paw Paw visit in October

Nana and Paw Paw paid us a visit last week. We had great fun eating WAY too many fresh HEB tortillas, eating WAY too much Chuckwagon bbq, and drinking WAY too many Sonic drinks. We also had the chance to celebrate Catherine and Nana's birthdays and enjoy an evening at Tate Farms, our local pumpkin patch (and fall fun central!).

The girls and me making Nana's birthday cake - a Louder family classic! (German chocolate, yum!)

Add caption

Catherine and Nana blowing out candles together
We went with three candles . . . I'll let you guess why!

Nana and Paw Paw gave Catherine a balance bike for her birthday. Here she is trying it out!

Oh my. Is she like 15??? Ack. Gotta say, she likes the bike, but she really loves the helmet. Our girl loves accessories!

Below are some shots from Tate Farms. This is always a highlight of our fall here in Huntsville. Caroline liked the petting zoo area best. She wanted to hug and kiss the pigs!

Catherine's first haircut

Our girls have been a little slow to get hair. Now that Catherine was three, and I was having increased difficulty in taming her wildly random mane, we decided it was time to have the ends evened out a little bit. I have to say, I miss the crazy hair, but it makes school mornings easier! I don't think we can do the pigtails anymore, but hopefully it will start growing pretty soon and we'll be in pigtails and ponytails again!

Before her haircut

Before - crazy but adorable!

She was super cooperative. She thought it was awesome - they had Dora on the TV and she got to sit in a pink car and wear a pink cape. She LOVES pink.

After!

After - can you tell they sprayed glitter in her hair? I think it actually looked cuter the next day. It's winning me over - it just looks so grown up!

Catherine's Third Birthday

After returning from our trip, we began preparing for Catherine's third birthday. We celebrated with some friends up at a state park here in town. It was great fun! Thanks (a whole month later) to everyone who helped make this day so special for our little girl!