progress.

love that my fil is smiling for this pic. 

These images are unedited. Our good ole basement project is moving along quite nicely, I must say (not that I'm doing any of the work, mostly just overseeing and harassing the men working). I am so thankful for Jeremy's family, for their knowledge in construction and for their endless willingness to help. Finishing this project means so much to us, and I am so excited for the next step- sheetrock!

seventeen months

I'll just preface this post by saying it's going to be a hot jumbled mess. Because, quite frankly, there are a million things about my Millie babe that make my heart want to explode from happiness.

I wish I could bottle up with way she runs down the hall to me, so full of life and ambition. I wish I could bottle up the moments when she shrieks with happiness and can't catch her breathe. I wish I could just remember all the little things that make me fall in love with motherhood even more. All the times she says, "uh oh" and "woAAAAAAAAHHH!" and "ee eye ee eye o!" and "ho! ho! ho!" or gasps and lights up with excitement. All the times she gives me a hug and kiss when I leave for work. All the times she hands me her boots and coat when she was to take a walk. When she yells, "DADDY!" every time a car passes. When it really is daddy, and she runs towards our little prius to get a ride up the driveway. When she gets her own yogurt out of the fridge, closes the fridge, and puts it on the table for breakfast. When she jabs me in the eye, and says, "AYE-sssssss!"

All the little things, I wish I could freeze and hold on to. Her round cheeks and giant eyes and smile full of teeth. And her gut, her large pregnant gut after each meal. Her brain! I can't believe how smart she is sometimes. Like when I had to slam on my brakes when driving, and she said, "woaaaah!!!" or how she knows so many of her body parts now or how she feeds herself now.

I just love her so much I can hardly contain it. Most of the times, I think she's cute even when she's being ornery, like when she doesn't want to go home and will lay down on the ground in public places... awkward.

 

My heart is full.

halloween '13

We started celebrations for Halloween on the 30th this year. Amelia dressed up for toddler time at the library and had so much fun running around with other babes in their costumes. When Dad came home, we headed into Murray, so Little Red could pay a visit to Grandma Bodtcher before we headed to trunk-or-treat with our ward. Amelia was really nervous with all the commotion in the dark, but we had fun nevertheless. I was scheduled to work this Halloween, and Jeremy and Amelia had planned to come to the party at my facility. Unfortunately, Amelia barfed all over herself and I, and we decided that the little sicky should stay home. Jeremy told me she would run to the back of our house whenever the doorbell would ring. As soon as the kids left, she would run back up and wave goodbye. Hilarious. Jeremy also took Amelia out trick-or-treating at our neighbor, Steve's house, who carves 10+ pumpkins, each taking several hours to perfect. Jeremy sent me pictures of them, and they did not disappoint.

Gosh, don't blink, because it's already November. And soon, it'll be 2014. Lucky for us, we're just rounding the best time of the year, where holiday roll into holiday. I'm grateful for this season of love and this darling family of mine. Grateful for financial security, even though sometimes it means crying over missed holidays. Grateful for my babe, who reminds me how magical childhood is. I'm blessed.

131313

I first heard of 131313 from a running site I am following on facebook. Thirteen half marathons (13.1 miles) in 2013. I laugh at how ridiculous it sounded. Then, as time grew, I found myself thinking about the possibility. Finally, I decided to commit. And there was no turning back. I couldn't be more proud of myself. I PR'd three times, my current record being 1:47. I also had some rough races, awfully hilly courses, #4 in Ogden, where it poured the entire time and #10, where I rolled my ankle at mile 5. In the end, I stopped training in between races because I was working so much, but it was nice to see I could still bust out 13 miles if I needed to. I couldn't have done it without Jeremy. Every race day, he would pack up our babe and her breakfast, drive me to my bus, try to get some shut eye, pick up a dr. pepper for me right before my finish, and cheer me on as I passed the finish line. Ah, I'm a lucky girl to have him. I am also grateful that Amelia put up with this for her entire summer/fall. She's such a sweetheart; I can't think of a better motivation for taking care of my body than setting an example for my daughter. Finally, I couldn't have done it without the love and support from my family and friends! Training gets awfully tiresome sometimes, but it was always comforting to know I had my fan club to cheer me on. I loved running, I loved being a part of and meeting the running community, I loved getting stronger and faster, and I'm so grateful to have been able to accomplish this huge goal of mine!