Happy Easter!

This year we stayed here in Tampa for Easter and none of our family came down. Even though we missed being with family, we know that this is the last holiday where we will be far away from everyone, so we took the day to enjoy it just the 3 of us. We went to church of course, but only I got to enjoy the whole service. Because it was Easter, the nursery (which is the smallest room I have ever seen) had 14 children in it and poor Noah had a complete emotional breakdown. He tends to get overwhelmed when he is around a lot of kids he doesn't know. Anyway, Wes ended up outside on the playground for the last half of the service...oh well. Afterwards we went to some friends' house for lunch. They had invited several couples who weren't near family and everyone brought some food and we had a great time. They have a little boy very close to Noah's age - who is also obsessed with Cars - so Noah and Grantham played with cars together. Wes and I got to eat and visit without being interrupted, it was great! It was 3:30 by the time we left, so we decided Noah could just skip his nap (a risky move, I know!) He was quite sleepy on the way home. He fell asleep a couple of times and I tried to take his picture, but every time he heard me turn around, he would open his eyes and grin for the camera. He is quite the little ham these days!

A drowsy Noah mugging for the camera!

When we got home we gave Noah his Easter basket. It was filled with all sorts of goodies, but the biggest hits were Cars stickers from Bebe and the Cadbury Mini Eggs. Since we wanted to keep him distracted from the fact that he was really tired we decided to do an egg hunt. Now, I really thought it would be an exercise in futility. I was sure he would not understand what he was supposed to do, get bored, and run off. But to my surprise, he caught on really fast. We hid the eggs in his room and he walked around and filled his basket. He would look very intently and get so excited when he spotted one! He found all 10 eggs that I hid and had a blast doing it. He also had a blast eating the candy that was in them! All in all, it was a really fun day (despite no nap) and we really enjoyed spending it with our little guy! Hope you enjoy these pictures from his egg hunt!

Noah with a mouthful of candy.

Zoo Trip

On Friday Noah and I joined some kids in our playgroup for a trip to the zoo. We went early in the morning and were surprised to see how crowded it was. Because it was Good Friday, lots of kids were out of school and apparently all of them were at the zoo. I wanted to push Noah in the stroller because it was so crowded but of course he wanted to walk. I can't say that I blamed him though, you can only really see the animals if you are walking or being held up by Mom. Needless to say, it was a bit of a disaster because of the crowds and because, as usual, Noah was in hyper speed mode as he made his way through the exhibits. Most of the other kids would take their time and look at the animals. Not Noah! He would point say, "Wow!" and then take off down the path yelling "More, More!" He did enjoy the tigers and the chimps and some disgusting wart hog thing. I was very happy when 1:00 rolled around and it was time to leave!

Noah looks at the elephants with Grace.

Noah giving me the look that says, "I saw all there was to see - lets move!"

Noah was very happy to be back at home where he could play with his cars (i.e. line them up in weird places)

Time is Flying!

I realize that we have been very bad about updating our blog. In fact I had a special request this morning from my friend Julie to please update it so, here we go!

Speaking of Julie I will start by telling you about her wedding. I flew to San Diego at the end of February to be a bridesmaid in her wedding and it was so much fun! Both Julie and her husband Devin have great groups of friends (and family) who made their wedding weekend really special. The rehearsal dinner was awesome - great Mexican food and margaritas! - and the reception was beautiful. Cocktails, dinner, and lots of dancing. Plus,it was kind of nice for me to have a whole weekend kid free. I slept in a huge king size hotel bed without having to keep one ear open for the kiddy whine that turns into a scream - it was very nice! While I was in San Diego Wes was in Charlotte at an eye conference and stayed with our friends the McKees. He got to spend quality time with Baby Maggie and I am very jealous, as I still have not met her! He did take some pictures of her (she is adorable!) but we are still having camera trouble so you can click on our link to the McKee blog to see pictures of Maggie - Noah's future girlfriend!

Speaking of Noah, he is doing really well. He has just recently had a huge burst in his communication skills which makes my life easier and him a lot happier. His new favorite thing to do is to color (if you can call it that) in his Finding Nemo coloring book. We have to flip through every page and name all the characters. His other favorite thing to do is go for our afternoon walks with Baby Sydney and her mom Claire. Sydney is his first crush as far as I can tell. He loves seeing her and he always gives her hugs and kisses (with remarkably un- Noah -like gentleness). Whenever we are in the vicinity of her house he says, "Sydney, play Sydney?" I think he will be very upset when we move in May.

Noah giving Sydney a kiss!

And here is a running update for those of you who care. Wes and I are deep into double digit runs on the weekends and it is not all fun and games! Our first 10 mile run was a disaster. Lets just say we got lost, had a huge fight, and one of us had an emotional breakdown - all while running! It was not pretty! But, we redeemed ourselves this past weekend with our second 10 miler. We stayed on course, did not fight, and finished in 1 hour and 50 minutes! You can think of us this Saturday as we go for 12 miles - our last long run before the half marathon in 2 weeks. Time is just flying for us right now - it will be time to go to Charleston before we know it!

Technical Difficulties

So, Wes is freaking out because we haven't posted in like 2 weeks and I'm trying to reassure him that it will be okay. Even though it will be hard, somehow our friends will go on with their lives without our frequent posting!

In all seriousness we can't get our pictures uploaded to the computer. We don't know what the problem is: camera or computer? And since most of you know how technically savy we are not, the chances of us figuring it out anytime soon are slim. So for now you will have to go without cute Noah pictures and just listen to my ramblings. Speaking of Noah he is doing well - except for his 2 or 3 temper tantrums a day! We signed him up for Gymboree classes, so on Tuesday mornings we have been joining other crazy toddlers for 45 minutes of running, climbing, music, and fun. He really seems to enjoy it and, an added bonus, he is always really exhausted afterwards.

Noah will actually be spending this weekend with Bebe because Wes and I will both be out of town. I am flying to San Diego to be in my friend Julie's wedding and Wes is flying to Charlotte for an optometry conference. I know what you're thinking, I will probably have way more fun, BUT Wes does get to see our good friends Adam and Andrea and their new baby girl Maggie so I am a bit jealous. Anyway, I hope our technical difficulties will be resolved soon because I am sure that after this weekend we will have lots of fun pictures to share!

"NO!"

Well, not much is new down here in Tampa. We are enjoying our February (that feels more like June!) and spending a lot of time laughing at Noah. His new obsession is Cars - the movie - but also any toy car he can get his hands on. He has little collections of matchbox cars that he moves from place to place in the house. He can spend an hour methodically moving his cars from the bookshelf to the windowsill to the dishwasher (don't ask!). You never know where you might find them and it is amazing that neither Wes nor I have broken a leg yet. We are also enjoying his new favorite word, "no". "Noah, do you want to have some lunch?". "No". "Noah, do you want to go down the slide?". "No"..... You get the idea. Despite is affinity for the word no, he is talking a ton, and has started stringing words together. "Mama, more apple, please?" It's really cute! When we visited Charleston last week, Nana took us to the aquarium and Noah would walk up to the different fish tanks and say, "Look at that!" It was pretty funny.

Noah loves to goof around with Daddy!

Also, for those of you who are wondering, Wes and I are still doing our half-marathon training. We woke up at 5:00 am last Saturday and went for an 8 mile run. It was the one morning that has been really chilly so it took awhile to warm up. It ended up being a good run, it was pretty cool running in the predawn hours. The only person we encountered was some cracked out bum wandering around the sidewalk. I'm not even sure he noticed us as we passed! Be thinking of us this Saturday as we attempt 10 miles: our first double digit run!

Please notice Wes' reflective belt which I have always teased him about, but it came in pretty handy on our run. Also, here's a fun little fact for you - those stains on my shirt are a result of my nose running non-stop for 8 miles - nice, huh?

Atlanta, Here We Come!

It's official, Wes and I are running the ING Georgia Half Marathon on March 30th. I conned him into doing the 13.1 miles with me by registering way ahead of time. You see, now that we have payed for it he has to participate! Just kidding (kind of). He keeps saying that he really does want to do it but he has been grimacing when he looks at some of the runs we have ahead of us.

We started our official training this week. Tuesday was our first speed workout and I have to say that even I was not looking forward to it. I have bad associations with the track (leftover from several half hearted attempts on my high school's track team) and I was kind of dreading my workout on Tuesday afternoon - but I showed up anyway - I'm committed!

Wes had done his workout that morning so when Noah and I showed up at the track on base, he went off to play with Dad and I was left to my own negative thoughts. But, pretty soon a funny thing happened. I finished my warm up and felt good. I did my first 400 interval (faster than I was supposed to by the way!) and felt even better. I even got really mad when the national anthem started playing throughout the base and we all had to stop and face the nearest flag. By the end of the workout I had that great feeling you get when you know that you worked really hard but you don't feel like throwing up! It could all be beginner's luck of course, but I really think I will enjoy this training thing. Maybe it was my ipod free run, or the fact that I was really engaged in what I was doing because it was speed work - I don't know, but I hope the next two months are equally satisfying and fun.

After I finished I found Wes and Noah and asked Wes if had enjoyed his workout. He shrugged and said "It was okay, I'm tired". I told him that track workouts were my new favorite thing to do. Poor Wes, he looked at me with disgust, shook his head, and said "I want a divorce."

So anyway...whether you want to hear about it or not, we will be keeping everyone updated on our training if for no other reason than to keep us accountable. If everyone knows about it there's no backing out now!

Noah spent the whole time running back and forth across the field trying to catch me on every turn. He was obviously very tired - and thirsty - from his workout!

Anna Maria Island Day Trip

Since Monday was a federal holiday, and all government employees had the day off, Wes and I made plans with some friends to take a day trip down to Anna Maria Island. We met up with Madison and Claire (former Charlestonians!) and their 3 month old daughter Sydney on Monday morning to make the hour drive to Anna Maria. We headed out with no real plan (very un-Shealy like, I know) and ended up having a great time!

We found a great little beach cafe on Anna Maria with seating right on the beach and great food. (I tried to share my coconut shrimp with Noah, but he turned up his nose!) The weather was perfect - warm but not hot - and the water in the gulf was beautiful. It's amazing what a difference an hour drive down the coast makes! After lunch we drove around the Island and admired the million dollar waterfront mansions and gorgeous views. After that we made an ice cream stop and finally headed home. It was really great to get out and take advantage of living in Florida in January.

It was Sydney's first trip to the beach and she was very cooperative about posing for pictures. Noah was not (as you can tell from the look on his face!). He didn't want anything to interrupt his running up and down the beach!

Noah loved running up and down the beach. He also loved for us to spin him in circles and put him down where he would proceed to fall down, laughing, in a dizzy heap on the sand!