sharing a bedroom!

It was a big day for Adelie & Kennedi on Saturday! The girls are now sharing a bedroom! Adelie moved from her crib to a toddler bed and Kennedi moved from the basinnette into the crib. Our little baby girls are growing so fast. I may have cried (more than once!) setting up the bedroom. I was crying even before we started rearranging the room. I am excited for the girls to share a room, but it made me sad that it isn't Adelie's "nursery" anymore. Seems like just yesterday we were setting up all her baby stuff, and now she's a wild little toddler, transitioning into a toddler bed! It also makes me sad that I don't have a sweet little baby sleeping next to me in a bassinette anymore. I'll miss falling asleep with Kennedi holding my hand. Kennedi still made her way to our room at about 5 am this morning...and Adelie had already joined us at 2 am...it may take a little while for her to figure out how to sleep through the night in her bed!

We love the way their room is set up now. It's super cute, and a perfect room for sisters.  

Here's a 'before' picture:

And after:

Do you like Adelie's welcome-to-the-room message to Kennedi?
If you like that, you'll love her jumping around on her new bed:

And there's more:

best park...in the world!!

Adelie & I were watching the movie 'elf' today - and I was cracking up at the part when he goes into the coffee shop in new york city (super excited about the 'world's best cup of coffee'): watch clip! So silly. I love that movie....anyway, I wanted to explain my post title...so there you have it. 

 We really did go to a wonderful, amazing, so exciting, super fun park today!!!! I am thrilled we found it. My dad & I are running a 10K in a couple of weeks at the Elm Creek Park Reserve, and so I was taking a look at their website the other night (looked like a fantastic place...biking/running paved trails, a swimming area, cross-country ski trails in the winter, tubing hills...) and found what looked to be an awesome playground. Today we were having a birthday lunch with my dad & I was telling him about it...turns out the restaurant we were at was only about 8 minutes from the park...so, after lunch, I headed over there with the girls. I was thrilled when we arrived! SUCH a fun park!!! I love a good park. Adelie is such a 'park' girl. She loves the slides, loves climbing all over everything (she's our little monkey!), loves the swings, loves running around, loves watching all the kids....So, I was super excited to find this gem of a park!

Anyway, we had an amazing afternoon. I did not want to leave. We were having a blast. Enjoy the photos & videos! My little baby girl sure is growing up quickly. I adore her. She has the happiest little personality - so independent, so adventurous, and super silly. I sure love that little doll!

 Here she is approaching our new-favorite-park:
  
And, here she is on one of her many trips down the slide:
 
And on the ladybug:



I love, love, love, love, love this little lady!!

sprinklybaby art show

see sprinklybaby.blogspot.com for a couple photos from the art show! so exciting for me!

first day of class!

We got going a little earlier start than normal today...because...we had Adelie's first day of toddler class!!!! I am so happy we signed her up for this class. Its a parent-child class, so I get to go with her each week (we'll bring Nate along a couple times too!). Kennedi hangs out with us too in the baby bjorn...fun times. Today was great. I kept telling Adelie "we're going to meet new friends today!!" and I could tell she was really excited when we got to the school. She was a little shy at first, but within minutes of being there, she was playing with the indoor sandbox, jumping on the trampoline, and following around the other little kids. She was very curious during 'singing time' - her face was hilarious. I think it was a combo of being confused/frightened/amused - she didn't know what to think of all the moms & kids singing & moving around! But she eased into it, and by the end she was loving it. I think it's going to be a great class. I'll get some pictures next week (forgot to bring my camera in today). 

Today was a wonderful day. After class, we went and ran some errands. While out, we picked up some new toys for Adelie...and spent the rest of the day playing with them. So much fun. Nate is working late tonight, so Adelie & I were living it up having a 'girls night' - eating strawberry-choc-chip icecream on the couch together (before dinner!!), dancing in the kitchen to some good tunes, and snuggling and reading tons of books before bed. Loved it!!!

marshmallow...touchdown!

adelie's first ice cream cone!

finish line!!!

I crossed the finish line! Yay!!! It's been a long time since I have done that. The last 'big' race I participated in was the TwinCities Marahon - (in which I ducked out at mile 14!!). Before that, the last marathon I ran was Big Sur in California (which was AMAZING but so tough!!!). So, after having 2 babies back-to-back (and being pregnant forever!!!), I knew it was time to lace up those running shoes. I admit, my training lacked - but I was happy with the amount of running I was able to squeeze in, while still putting Adelie, Kennedi & Nate first. I've really grown to love my evening runs. It's such a nice luxury for me to be able to have some 'me-time' - peace of mind, a good workout, good music...I especially loved my 8-mile training run (awesome run!) but I definitely should have tacked on some more of those (longer) training runs....Miles 1-10 of the race were good - I ran strong, felt good! Miles 11-15.5 were tough!!! There's no kidding around about it. I was struggling. Sadly, I missed seeing Nate & the girls (our timing was off...well, to be clear...he got to our 'spot' at a time where he thought I would have already passed - and I hadn't...so he went to the finish line instead). I could not have been happier to see them right before the finish line. My smile was HUGE! I was so happy to see my 3 loves. The race was hot, but such a good experience. I really love running. It makes me feel so alive. 

Some friends of ours lost their baby last week. She was 9 months pregnant with a little girl and lost her (she was due the first week of october). It's been an emotional week for me, thinking about the pain they are experiencing and knowing how devastated they are. I can't imagine anything sadder. It's really helped me reflect on the amount of gratitude I show for my own family. I could not feel more blessed to be a mom. I love my two girls more than anything in this life. They are everything to me. Having children and being a mom to these two little ones is the greatest blessing I've ever been given. 

I ran the race with 4 strings tied around my right wrist: a bright blue one for my best friend (he is the love of my life & I am so grateful for him), a red one for Adelie, a yellow one for Kennedi, and a pink string to remind me of our friends & their loss (reminding me to be grateful for this beautiful life we are blessed with). Life truly is beautiful. I love my life. I love the joy I experience each day. I love the simplicities of life - and how easy it is to feel happy. I am so grateful for my family. This race was a wonderful experience for me - and really helped me to appreciate my blessings.

sorry, bunny.

This picture is probably much sillier to me than anyone else - it sure makes me laugh!! Adelie & I were playing outside the other day....beautiful day. She brought out her bunny & giraffe. While we were walking over to our lounge chairs to relax in the sun, I tossed the bunny *towards* the chairs- *somehow* the bunny landed on the roof. whoops!!!! Adelie was instantly in tears. It was pretty funny. She was so sad that the bunny was gone! She kept pointing to the roof with a worried look on her sweet face. Luckily, daddy saved the day when he got home!!!!

a trip to the park

We love trips to Excelsior - good ice cream, fun at the park, relaxing by the lake...love it!

does life get sweeter than this?

I caught Adelie hugging Kennedi the other day. She sure loves her sis!

Adelie's 1st cone!

Adelie sure loved her first ice cream cone! We love Adele's. It's one of our favorite places in MN. We 'may' have gone 2 days in a row...with that said, here's Adelie with her 2nd cone:

sprinklybaby giveaway!!!!!

It's an exciting time for sprinklybaby...time for a giveaway!!!!! I'm doing a product review & giveaway with IzzyB!! One lucky winner gets 4 custom-made sprinklybaby barrettes!!! Super fun! To read the product review & participate in the giveaway, click here! As always, thank you for all the love & support. It means so much to me.

sprinklybaby: a little something extra...

sprinklybaby blog post: a little something extra...

bubbles everywhere!

We are having fun this morning!!!! Adelie loves to play with her bucket & watering can...and today was even more fun...we added some bubbles to the mix! So fun!

city of lakes....almost here!

I wrote out my plan for my final 2 weeks before the big 'City of Lakes 25K' 15.5 mile race. It's posted on the refrigerator!! I (of course) am way behind in my training, but am staying positive...and I'm super excited to race again. It's been a very, very long time since I have participated in a race. I know this will be a tough race, but I am really looking forward to the challenge. The race loops around Lake Calhoun & Lake Harriet twice. I love the Lake of the Isles/Calhoun/Lake Harriet area. Such a beautiful area in Minneapolis. We have great memories at Lake Harriet & Lake Calhoun. I walked around Lake Calhoun with Adelie the day before Kennedi was born. I remember how sappy I was walking around Calhoun, thinking about how everything was about to change for Adelie. Our life was blessed the next day with our darling little Kennedi. Lake Harriet of course has beautiful memories from our wedding. I still remember how cheerful I was having my dad walk me through the rose garden to meet my handsome husband - with all our wonderful friends & family there. So beautiful.

I had one of my favorite runs of all time last night. It was just a short 3-miler, but it was one of my strongest, most enjoyable runs to date. I loved running on the lush trail into the beautiful sunset. Gorgeous summer night!!! Great tunes on the ipod - beautiful surroundings - body felt strong - good energy!!! Great feeling! I hope I can have some more runs like this before race day. My body is still adjusting from having 2 babies - but runs like last night are amazing. I love a good run. Nothing beats it.