40

I guess a lot of people dread the idea of turning 40. I don't. I've been looking forward to it for several years now. I've seen so many of my friends enter their forties and looking at them and their lives, it seemed like a good place to park myself for 10 years.

The only downside to today is due to timing. It's not my mom's fault -- I was 3 weeks past my due date, mind you. But in addition to having my friends scattered and otherwise occupied during the Christmas holiday, working in global cash management at the end of the fiscal year stinks, quite frankly.

This year, my husband and co-workers made a special effort to mark the day for me, which was much appreciated. Jonathan is good about making sure that my birthday is not lost in the Christmas celebration, so he had a gift waiting for me downstairs before I left for work. I got a Lindt "intense orange" chocolate bar and a gift certificate for a massage. Later, he had a dozen roses delivered for me at the office. These are a few of my favorite things!

At the office, they arranged to get a Godiva Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory (I dropped some major hints the past month) and we took a break in the afternoon to indulge in the chocolaty goodness. This was a perfect finale to my sushi lunch where I feasted on salmon rolls of various kinds.

The wind chill factor was something like 10 below so I didn't want to go out for dinner. Instead, Jonathan picked up an Uno's deep dish pizza, something I'm only allowing myself to have once during this pregnancy. So tonight was the night...mmmm was it good.

I don't really have a lot of big goals for this decade -- at least not concrete, measurable ones. In the very near term (3 months) I want to finish bearing children. I'd like to do a triathlon. Other than that, I think my goals are more on the abstract side. Not being shackled by over consciousness; learning to pause before blurting the first thing out of my mouth; expecting God to provide instead of worrying about the worse-case scenario playing over and over in my mind. Not that I think these things can be conquered, but just to see improvement and live more at peace, would be a great thing to experience in the coming years.

I'm not convinced this is the start of middle age for me as I have 3 out of 4 grandparents still alive (ages of 88 - 92) and the 4th died at 100. With the disease-resistant genes they gave me, coupled with a healthy lifestyle, I have a good shot of living into the triple digits. That wouldn't be so bad if I'm living a life that I love. I don't remember much of my first decade of life, but I can say that each succeeding one has been better and better. Here's to keeping the momentum going and embracing the adventure that lies ahead.

I'm looking forward to it!

Shelby

christmas 2009

This year, we had a low-key family gathering in Connecticut with Jonathan's family. We went to Mom Berg's church for Christmas Eve services and came home to feast with his brother Drew and Bruce and their families.














They surprised me with a birthday cake as I'll be marking my 40th on Tuesday. I had a huge chocolate cupcake-shaped cake with whipped cream and raspberries and mmmm, it was good! Here are my nieces singing Happy Birthday with gusto:














The next day, we slept in and eventually got around to opening gifts later that morning. Mom and I were getting anxious to see Riley open his presents (he didn't give a hoot), so with J's encouragement, he went to work. He got a play vacuum from my parents that we forgot to bring batteries for so it didn't get use until we got home (see last picture):














His current favorite gift tho' was the laptop that we bought him. He has been enjoying that immensely, tho' he doesn't really understand the various games yet. He's happy to hear the letters being called out as he punches the various keys:














Here he is checking out his funny face bath toy:














Unstuffing the stocking was fun...G'ma got lots of little toys for him to play with, the favorite being his Cars stampers and 4 mini monster trucks:














It's funny how the cheap toys from the dollar store capture so much of his attention:














That afternoon, we enjoyed a lazy one of watching Julie and Julia (loved it!). Riley didn't last very long tho', he preferred Nick Jr.














We got home Friday night and today, Riley went to work with his new vacuum:














(Such a manly man, working in his undies...)

Riley's biggest gift was a train table and Thomas the Tank Engine set that we bought off of Craigslist. Once we get around to getting it set up, we'll post pics on the blog. It's getting set up in stages, as we have time. He also got several Leap Frog toys from G'ma Berg & us which will help encourage his word-building now that he knows his letters.

J and I decided to upgrade our iPod Nanos from the 1st Gen to the 5th Gen. That was our big gift to each other. Riley's now going to have his music totally digital as he'll get J's old nano as well as a docking station for his room. He's such a millennial now.

While we enjoy the gifts that we are able to give to each other and our son, we are most thankful for the extraordinary gift of Jesus coming to earth and living the perfect life we were incapable of living. His perfect record, and willingness to endure the punishment for our sin and rebellion is the Gift of all Gifts. We praise him for his mercy and love to us, knowing that He is the reason for this season. Soli Deo Gloria!

Shelby

decking the walls

I'm so excited about the beautiful new stockings I had made by a textile artist I found on Etsy:



















This picture doesn't begin to do it justice. These stockings are large, expertly crafted and coordinate beautifully together. The fabric is hand-dyed and thick. It was worth the extra money to buy something unique for each of us that we will enjoy for many Christmases to come. We also have one for Kendall that is a gingerbread pattern that's waiting to be finished until after her birth.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas 'round here!

Shelby

portrait of a modern husband

I have the great fortune of having a husband who can take care of the house as well or better than I can. With both of us working outside of the home, it's a necessity to share the duties. So, here's a slideshow of my sweetie as he helped clean the house before our Thanksgiving company arrived, made the Thanksgiving meal and and made sure we had clean clothes and dishes to boot.

I love my homemaking hubby!

Shelby

miscellaneous stuff

There's a bunch of stuff that I've been wanting to put down in a blog entry that I just haven't gotten to. So I'm going to make up for some lost time here. A long and kind of all over the place post.

Puzzlemaster

Riley has shown a talent for puzzles. He started with the big peg puzzles and has moved on to 24 piece jigsaws. He's at a 3 and up level now, and it's amazing to watch him figure the things out. Here's a video of one of his most recent conquests:

He's a climber

It happens with boys I guess and Riley is no exception. He's started to climb. On anything and everything. It's terrifying sometimes because he has no concept of the fact that he might fall and that it would hurt...a lot. Here's a picture that showcases two of his favorite things in one, climbing and playing with forbidden technology (the thermostat.)















Halloween

Halloween was kind of low key this year. The day was warm and sunny, so Riley and I spent some time out in the yard playing in the leaves. We also got our annual "Leaf Shot." That night we had a small number of Trick or Treaters come by. Riley greeted them at the door with the pumpkin full of candy. He was dressed as a hiker in case you don't get the costume... I discovered that five Junior Mints are enough sugar to have Riley bouncing off the walls...he doesn't get candy often. Thankfully. Here's a slide show from the day:

Drawing on his blackboard

On the way home from church one day we saw something we've been wanting to get for Riley: A blackboard. It was sitting out on the side of the road with a few other things someone was trying to get rid of. Pottery Barn Kids blackboards are a rare find roadside, so we stopped and threw it in the car. Riley loves it. He and Daddy draw things together like monsters:

Riley 'embellishes' Daddy's drawings















Ugly Monster!















Bye Bye Monster!














Another thing Riley loves to do on the blackboard is letters. Here Mama goes through part of the alphabet with him, which brings us to another topic. Riley knows the alphabet.

The Alphabet

A while back Shelby got Riley a small knob alphabet puzzle and we started going through the letters with him. The puzzle quickly became one of his favorites. After a session with Irma from early intervention where Riley played mostly with two alphabet puzzles I got out the foam alphabet play mats that we had stored a while back because he wasn't playing on them. They quickly became one of his favorite things. Irma told me that Riley would know his alphabet within a month. I was skeptical, although I thought it would probably be within a couple of months. It took him three weeks. On Shelby's last blog entry she told you about Riley spelling his first word. It's amazing how fast this kid learns.

Playground Time

In early November we had a sunny Sunday with temps in the 60's. Shelby had found a great playground in Medford so we stopped by for a while to let Riley have some play time after church. He particularly loved hanging from a bar and then letting go and dropping to the ground. The bare chested picture was while he waited patiently for a shirt change (too warm) and the last shot was right after he told us that he wasn't tired. Right. Here's a slide show:

Riley's Bed

One of the bigger pieces of news lately is that Riley has transitioned to a 'big boy bed.' He was very excited when we got the frame and would walk by it in the hall pointing and saying, "Bed!" Once we got the mattress and box spring and set it up he was beside himself. It's been a mixed bag as to whether he stays in the bed after being put in it to sleep. Sometimes the toys, books and stuff that he can pull off the dresser and throw around are just too much of a temptation for him (even in the dark.) And he has been getting up much earlier now that he can just get out of bed... It's better than having him climbing out of the crib though, which he'll do if we put him in there. Here's a slide show and some video:

No More Rileys Jumping On The Bed!

The Kitchen

Next on the update list is Riley's favorite pastime of late...playing on the kitchen counter. He loves playing with his plates and bowls, the microwave, the coffee maker (cause for discipline...) and anything that Daddy has up there while he's making lunches. We finally got a stool for him to stand on, but he's just as happy dragging a chair over from his table. Here are a couple of videos:

Riley, his chair and the kitchen

The kid has a hundred great toys...

Riley's Truck

One constant over the last year and a half or so has been Riley's truck. Grammy and Poppa bought it for him when we visited Anchorage in July of '08. He LOVED it. They then probably spent more than it cost shipping it out to Boston for him. Well, it was money well spent. He plays with the thing all the time and has gotten quite good at steering it around. He STILL loves it.



Daddy's Office

Last but not least, we have the latest trip to Daddy's office. There was no daycare yesterday, so Riley came in to the office with me. I love these days, it's kind of like having a day off since I only have to do the fun part of my job and then watch after my son the rest of the time. Easy duty since I love spending time with him. My patients love having him around too, and as always he 'helps' me adjust people and get them ice.

The cool thing to me is that he really loves coming to work with me. He has a ball and of course gets a lot of attention. He also LOVES getting adjusted and is always hopping up on the table, getting in position just like he sees everyone else do. It makes for a fun day for both of us and really takes the pressure off of us on days that we don't have day care coverage. So I'll end with a video from yesterday. It was a good end to a short work week.




Jonathan

they really are smarter than we think...

Now that Riley has learned his alphabet, we're beginning to show him simple 2-4 letter words and how to sound them out:

Stop
Go
Hot Dog
Moon
Car
Bat

You get the picture. We do this on his chalkboard, with his puzzle pieces or his playmat letters. I haven't been too certain of how much he was really grasping yet. But we're trying to show him that by putting letters together it represents something that's meaningful to him.

Well, last night we're sitting on the couch watching Cars when he jumped off and started playing with his alphabet puzzle. Before this we had been playing on his alpha playmat and I had been showing him how he could put different letters in front of the "at" sound to create words -- "Bat", "Cat", "Hat" ect... so maybe word-building was on his mind.

Anyway, he comes over to me with an O and declared "O!", to which I replied, "You're right, that is an O! Can you find another letter to put with the O?". I figured he'd bring some random letter over and I'd try and sound them together for him. I really wasn't expecting him to be deliberate in his letter choice.

Well, as kids often do, he surprised me by bringing over a G and proudly said "GO!"! So my Little Sponge is taking it in, after all. I guess it's time we get him his Fridge Word Builder that's been sitting on his Amazon wishlist for awhile.

I'm so proud of my little budding wordsmith!


Shelby

healing mercy

Quick update on the sore shoulder: After a week of chiropractic adjustments and not sleeping on my left side, I'm pain-free again! Many thanks to my husband for his good work and oh-so-thankful for a comfy couch that I could sleep on at a 45 degree angle.

And most of all, thanks to God for healing me of this rather than letting it drag on for another 19 weeks! I know more aches and pains are still to come and having the full use of my left arm again is a huge blessing.

Looking forward to hitting the pool again tonight!!

Shelby

19 weeks & counting down...

It seemed high time for a quick update on my pregnancy now that I've passed the half-way mark. This pregnancy seems to be going faster, which is wonderful since I really don't enjoy this part of parenting. I'm one of those strange people that looks forward to labor & delivery since it signals the end of the gestation period that I'm more than happy to be done with.

Officially, I hit 20 weeks last Sunday and before I got up for church, Kendall let me know that she was alive and kicking, literally. I had felt periodic movements over the past week or two but nothing consistent. Since last Sunday, she's making her activities known on a daily basis, which is reassuring.

Overall, I'm feeling good and I've regained my pre-pregnancy energy level after getting over my week-long cold which usually arrives around this time of year. I felt like I was 8 months along -- I was so wiped from the internal battles going on.

The only condition ailing me now is a mysterious pain in the front of my left shoulder that began on Monday and by Wednesday had pretty much incapacitated me. I guess I should be thankful that it wasn't my dominant arm, but geez, I had no idea how much I use my left arm until this happened. It means I can't lift Riley into his car seat, drive a car, put my hair in a ponytail or get dressed without pain. I have to do each movement very slowly and awkwardly to get through it.

Thankfully, I have a chiropractor in the house and he's been giving me daily adjustments for my neck, back, shoulder and elbow. This has afforded me a slightly greater range of motion, but the tenderness in the shoulder is still there. Additionally, I have stopped sleeping on my left side as I've suspected that this may be due to my preference to sleep on that side (which faces my alarm clock). Anyway, J thinks that it may not be the joint, but rather the muscle that is inflamed. So it leaves me with acupuncture, massage and my Doc to find relief. I'll be looking into #1 & #3 next week if nothing changes this weekend.

I'm now at the stage where things started spiraling out of control with Riley -- mainly weight gain. So I'm trying to be better this time with my food choices and staying more active. I'm still running 2x times a week and up until last Tuesday, was swimming 3x per week. I'm really bummed about having to give that up due to the shoulder as I've been able to work up to 16 laps in 30 min. A big improvement from 6 laps when I started 2 months ago. I have to give up my weekly weight workout too until the shoulder gets better. So, I'm having to add machines to my weekly regimen, mainly the elliptical since I get the hardest workout on those.

After much fear and trembling, I decided to get the H1N1 shot on the advise of my midwives. I'm not a big fan of non-natural ways of dealing with disease, but in this case I made an exception due to my pregnancy. Since it's going deeper into the lungs and I'm losing lung capacity by the week, they convinced me that the risk associated with the disease may be worse than the risk of the vaccine. I've gone back and forth on my choice ever since, but what's done is done. Even though I have a natural immunity to the flu, I'd never forgive myself if the worst case scenario played out and J had to make the awful choice of saving me or Kendall if I succumbed this particular strain. I just pray that Kendall isn't adversely affected by my choice and entrust her to the Lord's care.

Emotionally, I'm both excited about expanding the family and yet wondering how we're going to manage two kids along with job, home & church responsibilities. I hear from others that you just figure it out as you go and keep adjusting the priorities.

(Housekeeping will remain on the lower end of the list...I'm sure of that.)

So, in conclusion...here's the 21-week belly shot:



















Shelby

couldn't resist...

I saw this on sale at the store and loved it, so I broke down and bought my first outfit for Kendall:


















Notice the bright splash of color and predominance of red?

Shelby

story time, part two

When fall comes a number of things start back up after a summer break. One of these is Story Time which is a program of the Wakefield Public Library. Riley has been going to Story Time since last fall at about this time and he absolutely loves it. Stephanie, the woman who leads it does a great job and has a great connection with the kids. Here are some pictures and video of the festivities:

Great fun, especially if you like to clap!


Jonathan

it's a girl!

Today was a day we had been waiting for with anticipation. Shelby's ultrasound appointment...we'd get to find out if we had a girl or a boy. We're happy to announce that our baby girl was very forthcoming!

I took a few minutes of video of the ultrasound. You'll hear the tech talking about what we're seeing as well as the excited parents. So without further delay, here is Kendall Acadia Berg!

She looks beautiful!


Jonathan

acadia 2009

Last weekend we took our annual Columbus Day Weekend trip to Bar Harbor, Maine and Acadia National Park. It blows me away that this was actually my sixth trip and Riley's third! Shelby was there for the tenth time. I guess you can tell we love the place.

Riley has been big enough for the last two years that we can do just about anything we want. He's also small enough that we can do just about anything we want. A long hike with him in the backpack is still possible and we can put him in the trailer and do whatever bike riding we have in mind. He loves the kayak, popovers at Jordan's Pond House and hiking on his own when he gets the chance.

Things are going to change a lot when baby number two arrives on the scene next year, so this is our last "unrestricted" year until at the very least 2011. We took advantage of the situation.

Our weekend started with the l0ng trip up to Mount Desert Island on Friday. The car and our boy were both ready for travel:

Not a totally full car, but close















Plenty of toys to keep him busy















The trip was uneventful until we got a few miles from the entrance to MDI. It took us about an hour and a half to travel that distance because they were doing road construction on the one intersection that lets you on the island. On a holiday weekend. On Friday after 5 pm. Right.

Riley was amazing as usual, and actually we had a lot of fun saying, "Stop!" and "Go!" with hand gestures, hiccups and hands blocking mouths. Two year olds are so much fun when you get them laughing. Here's some video of Shelby getting him laughing earlier in the trip:

Ponytails are fun

Once we got on the island it was too late to do much, so we just unpacked and headed into town for some dinner. It was early to bed so we'd be ready for the next day's activities.

Saturday morning we took our annual trip to Bar Harbor for breakfast at Cafe This Way. Cafe This Way is a funky little restaurant that serves an awesome breakfast. There is always a line to get in, even this late in the season. We love the food and the atmosphere (original art is always on display and for sale) so it's worth a wait. Riley displayed some new skills for us as we waited, saying, "Stop!" and putting out his hand was the first. He also demonstrated jumping off a curb:

Jump!

It was a sunny day and we were ready for biking. We headed out from the Jordan Pond House for some riding on the beautiful carriage roads. We did a new route this year, and it ended up giving us some very long climbs (one was 1.3 miles long.) It made for an extra good workout, especially for Daddy who was toting an extra 60 pounds or so of trailer, boy and misc. The views were great even though the foliage was not yet at peak. There are pictures in the slideshow below. One of the places we stopped for a photo break was a stone bridge that Shelby and I had stopped at on our first trip in '04. We took a picture of us and I also took a picture of our bikes (OK, to me it had meaning...) This time around I took a new picture of our bikes and progeny:

Bikes '04















Bikes and progeny '09















After a hard ride we returned to the Pond House for some well deserved popovers. It was too cool and windy to eat outdoors like we usually do, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. Riley enjoyed not only the popovers, but the tea as well. Our boy has very mature tastes.

Dinner was with the cousins who had made the trip in the morning and were out hiking during the day. All in all a great day.

Sunday was our hike day. We planned a hike that was much like the one we did in 2006, which was my favorite hike I've ever done. It was a little different this time around since Shelby is more pregnant than she was that year and I was going to be carrying a 30+ pound boy on my back, but expectations were high. The trail didn't disappoint, it was as beautiful and fun as ever and an extra good workout. Some video:

Riley and Daddy take a hike

Exposure with a boy on my back

We ended up going longer than we thought (these things can be hard to judge) and had to bail after about four hours. We walked the last 2.5 miles back to the car on the road. Riley and I had fun dancing and finding ways for him to get tickled on the way back. Altogether it was over five hours of hiking. It was a fun and exhausting day.

We had dinner with the cousins at Poor Boys Gourmet Restaurant in Bar Harbor. After that it was an early night for some very tired folks.

Monday is always a short day at the park since we have a long trip back home. We decided (as we had the two previous days) not to do any kayaking due to the chilly and quite windy weather. It wouldn't have been fun, but kayaking was definitely missed by all.

We were still tired from the previous day so we decided to do an easier hike before heading home. We picked the Jordan Pond Trail, which starts at the rear Pond House and loops around Jordan Pond before ending in front of the Pond House once again. Jordan Pond is where we did our Monday kayak trip last year. It is a beautiful place.

I have to say that I'm the last person who should be writing about that particular hike. I was pushing Riley in the jog stroller for the first half of the hike, which was to be about 4 1/4 miles long. It started out with a nice easy crushed stone path. But then came the log bridges...1.8 miles of them. Walking them is easy and fun. Pushing a jog stroller (which is wider than the bridges) is torture. We just kept thinking that it couldn't go on for very much longer... The bridges ended in a boulder field where Shelby had to carry Riley and I had to throw the stroller over my shoulder while I picked my way through the boulders. Not fun. When we got to the halfway point the trail turned back to crushed stone and Shelby took Riley in the stroller. With the exception of having to listen to me gripe continuously through the first half of the hike I think everyone (but me) enjoyed it. We did get a chance to get some video of Riley hiking though, that was fun.

Hiking boy

With our hike completed it was time to say goodbye to the cousins and head back home. The trip home was uneventful except for getting caught for 45 minutes at the same intersection that caused all the problems on the way in. Riley once again was great on the trip, but he was happy to see our house again (much like Mom and Dad.) We always love the trip to Acadia, but it's always good to be back home again.

The Acadia trip is a great one for pictures. The 40 pictures I was able to cut things down to are still too much for a blog post, so here's a slideshow. Enjoy!



Jonathan

boy's weekend - 3

This was the annual weekend for the gathering of The Four, Shelby and her closest friends from her days in Nashville. What that means for Riley and I is another Boy's Weekend.

I miss Shelby when she's gone, but I love having such a large amount of one on one time with my son. I find him to be great company, and we really do have a lot of fun together.

This time around it was four days. More than a weekend, Shelby left early on Thursday morning (they met in West Virginia) so Riley and I were on our own for the duration. This means that I had a helper at work for a couple of days. Always a fun time for all involved, even my patients.

The days at the office were fairly typical if you've read one of my past entries about Riley coming to work with me. One difference is that Riley is showing more of an interest in buses, especially school buses lately. Well, at 3:09 pm every day the elementary school down the street lets out and the buses come by the office. We went out to watch. Riley also had some playmates when patients brought their kids in. Some pictures and video:

Riley playing with his toy bus while waiting for the buses















Bus!

Kaz plays the recorder for a rapt audience















Riley and Henry















Having Riley in the office for so long (and the fact that he's my son) means that there are some things that he gets away with that other kids don't. He plays with my electric adjusting instrument and runs the battery out for instance. I don't even let other kids touch the thing... He also gets to climb on the furniture and amuse himself with stuff in the office:

Climbing on a traction table















Sliding anything flat he finds into the desk drawer. I don't know why either.















One thing that drives me crazy is that he always want to stand by the front door and look outside. I don't really blame him since there are trucks across the street and you can see the commuter train when it goes by, but the last thing I need is to have him bolt out the door (or worse.) He pushes the discipline envelope on this one, either ignoring me when I tell him to come back in the room or taking two steps and then stopping, looking me in the eye the whole time. This, of course, while I'm treating patients.

Drives me nuts!















Over all though I love having him there and it was a really fun two days. The days ended with a very tired boy (who can't nap at the office) falling asleep in his car seat on the way home.

Dressed for bed and ready to go home!















Next up was the weekend. We had plans to sit around in our underwear drinking beer, eating chips and watching sports on TV. But since Riley doesn't drink beer and we don't watch TV when Mama's not home we decided to do other stuff instead. Riley started the day on Saturday by doing one of his favorite puzzles (since he is the puzzle master.)

Fire Engine puzzle - It plays the siren when you finish it















After a morning hanging out and a failed nap attempt (shaking the cage) we did what we should have done in the first place, ride bikes! We took turns, Riley riding first and then Daddy pulling him around after. Some video:

Riley Rides!

Daddy's perspective

When we got home Riley took some time to practice up for the upcoming arrival of a sibling. I think he'll be ready for stroller duty:

Stroller practice















The rest of the weekend was typical with his normal bedtime and getting up and going to church on Sunday. Daddy spent his evenings getting some much needed work done on his mountain bike. Ask me about riser bars some time (if you care about mountain biking that is...) Mama was back Sunday afternoon...for 30 minutes. Riley ignored her at first and continued playing with the puzzle he had been working on. I think he was mad at her. Hmmm...our boy is showing a little more personality. 30 minutes because Mom and Dad were then off to see U2 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. But that's another story.

Another fun weekend for Dad and boy. As always I'm really happy to see Shelby when she gets back home. The concentrated time with my boy is priceless though. I love it!


Jonathan

the ollie

I learned a few tough lessons after I became pregnant with Riley in the fall of 2006. I went into my pregnancy in the best shape of my life, but the fatigue that came along with the first trimester was tough. I gave in to it and exercised less and spent a lot more time on the couch. I didn't eat as well either and it left me with a lot of work to do once the pregnancy was over -- 50 lbs to lose to be exact.

After a year of eating healthy and exercising, I was finally able to lose the pregnancy weight. I then focused on my endurance training to see if I could improve my fitness from where I was at in 2006. I was encouraged to hear the women atheletes peak in their late 30's - early 40's. It seemed to prove true when I ran my Mother's Day Marathon in May, beating my best time (set at age 28) by almost 30 min. My way of thumbing my nose at middle age...ha.

When I got pregnant in July, I decided that this time around things would be different. So, despite the nausea and fatigue, I've been watching what I eat and exercising at least three times a week. I've continued running, trying to maintain as many of my recent fitness gains as possible.

Each September, I enjoy running the Ollie 5 mile road race. This year's race was my fourth. In 2006, I had just become pregnant and although my legs felt heavy I ran a pretty good race at a 9 minute per mile (mpm) pace. The next year, I was 3 months post-partum, and I ran an 11:22 mpm pace. Last year I ran the race at a 9:27 mpm on a hot, muggy day. This year at 12 weeks pregnant, I was just hoping to run at least a 10 mpm.

I wasn't sure how fast I would run it this year. I am running noticably slower than earlier this summer, but since I run trails, I don't get a good gauge of my mpm. Since my two runs earlier in the week felt slow and labored, I figured that a 10 mpm pace would be reasonable under my "delicate" condition.

One of the things I love about running is that you never know what kind of a run you'll have until you start. I have been sleep-deprived and had a great run and I've run in ideal temps and conditions where my usual course felt really hard. It's such an intricate and complex thing, that it's just this big unknown until you get going.

This year's race took place in conditions that are well suited for running. The temp was about 60 degrees and there was light rain for most of the race to keep us cool. I felt great throughout the race and ran at a faster pace than expected. I ran the race in 45:31 which is a 9:17 mpm pace, only seconds per mile slower than my best time on the course.

I was so encouraged by this -- it shows me how much the training and eating well have done for me. Hopefully it will also mean an easier pregnancy for me this time around and a faster recovery once the baby is born.

Jonathan had some problems with the button on the camera so I don't have any video of me crossing the finish line, but here's a video with some pictures of me before and after the race and pics and video of how the boys kept themselves occupied while Mama was off running:





Shelby

labor day weekend

Labor Day weekend is normally a time for us to travel a bit. This year was no different. Several times before we've taken a trip that began in CT visiting my family and ended in the Big Apple giving Shelby a fix for her New York City addiction. This year was the first time we did the trip with a toddler...Riley would get his first taste of New York.

We started by spending a couple of low key and fairly restful days visiting my Mom in Old Saybrook. Here are a couple of pictures:

Grandma reading Riley's new "Cars" book















Riley helped Grandma collect acorns from the yard















On Saturday afternoon we headed off to Stamford, CT where we'd be staying the nights. We met up with our friends the Zivans who were coming along for a taste of NYC with toddlers...they have two.

We made a trip to the Stamford Mall for a quick dinner and some playtime for the kids. Stamford has the coolest mall playground we've seen yet:

The boys and Taz















Our precious flowers















Then it was back to the hotel. No late nights out with the kids...although the playground was still filling up at 8:30 pm as we were leaving. Who can figure. Our kids got ready for bed and then Shelby read them a bedtime story.

Nice to see the kids riveted to the Rhyme Bible Storybook















The next morning it was off to the big city. The kids enjoyed the trip in on the train. The conductor was really cool. He came back and asked if the kids would like a chance to blow the train's horn. Riley did, but seemed a bit freaked out and was done after one quick blow. Funny, since he loves to press buttons so much.

We got to Grand Central Station and had a quick look around. It's a big place and a very impressive structure. Riley was fascinated:

Checking out the architecture















He particularly liked the big American Flag















Next it was a quick trip on the subway and off to church. Shelby and I have always tried to visit Redeemer Presbyterian Church when we're in New York. We love Tim Keller's preaching (although one of the assistant pastors was preaching this time...still good) and it's nice to be able to travel somewhere and still attend a church we love. It was A LOT more work though. Everything is different when you've got three kids along. And the nursery was in a building across the street from the auditorium where the church meets. Things sure are different in the Big City.

After church it was off to Central Park. Our priorities for this trip were very different. We wanted to do fun things with the kids this time around, so we hit the Central Park Carousel and a toddlers playground.

It was love at first sight for the kids at the carousel















Riley even loved the little horses on the fence















Riley and Mama take a ride















Riley goes solo (think he was having fun?)















Some video

The kids spent most of their playground time at the sprinklers. Riley wasn't all that excited about letting the water hit him. He's actually not a big fan of water being sprayed at him. The other two had a ball running around while Riley was immobile exactly where I placed him.

All three kids















The boys. Notice Riley has not moved...















Next it was off to one of our favorite places: Alice's Tea Cup. Alice's is a tea house with an Alice In Wonderland motif. They serve excellent food (like the British, it's more than just tea you're having) and of course...tea. Lots of different types of tea. It's fun, and a major feast. Some pictures:

Oil, Jon and a whole lot of food















A little girl's dream, Fairy dust and wings




















Riley making funny faces















Our last place to visit was Times Square. I've done a lot of crazy things in my life, and bringing three toddlers to this place ranks right up there with the best of them. Of course, crazy things are usually fun too...

On the subway to Times Square















Whoa, New York, just like I always pictured it...















Daddy and Riley




















Mama and Riley















Family Times Square shot















Riley was wired, but not everyone else lasted















Do kids have fun visiting New York City?

The next day was mostly a travel day, but there was a cool playground down the street from the hotel. So we HAD to make a stop...

Making music with the pipe chimes















Riley demonstrates his balance















He STILL didn't want to have anything to do with the water















Tandem sliding

Then we were on the road home. A quick stop for lunch at Cracker Barrel where Riley showed us how to put together the puzzle that was on the table:

Our boy loves a puzzle















It was a great weekend. Relaxing and energizing both. And it was so much more fun to be able to share the New York experience with friends. I think we've got some more New York lovers on our hands. And some of them are only two.


Jonathan