Run, Forrest, Run

Paul and I are training for a 5K.  I'll wait for you to get up off the floor now.... Anyone who has known me for years knows that I am not an exerciser.  I am determined to change that though! I've been struggling to lose my baby weight from Peter so I started exercising regularly last November. I've lost a few pounds here and there and they have added up nicely.  Now the running...

My dad is a runner.  He's run a number of races and done very well.  His new goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  THE BOSTON MARATHON.  How awesome is that! I know that one of his goals is to also run with his children (or grandchildren).  And since he is in remarkable health he will probably make it to running with the grandkids.  In the meantime Samantha and I are going to do a 5K with him.  The Color Run in Birmingham on September 3.  To get ready for it we are using the couch to 5K program.  It's a great program and I have really enjoyed it.  I haven't hurt or been sore at all (yet). Day one of each week is really tough but I have made it through every workout and I am super proud of myself.  A weight loss update post to come soon. 

Big boy pants!

For the past few days Peter hasn't really had any wet diapers.  He just holds it until I take his diaper off so he can go potty.  So I started researching my options for what is next and I came across these...
http://itsourlongstory.blogspot.com/2012/01/diy-cloth-training-pants.html

Pull ups are expensive and cloth training pants are very pricey and I wasn't really sure what Peter would like and need so I didn't want to put a lot of money (that we don't have) into it.  I really just wanted something that he could pull up and down and wouldn't make a huge mess if he had an accident. 

We have cloth diapered since Peter was 6 months old so I felt pretty confident that I could pull this off.

Here we are starting out...
                               


First pair looked okay.  I did a little adjusting since Peter is so small.

Next two looked better.  Ignore the crazy skipped stiches.  My machine gets the job done but it's not the nicest one and gets messed up easily. 

He wore them for a few hours today and seemed to like them.  I still had to help him a little with the getting up and down.  He is also completly freaked out by having them around his ankles so he has to step out of them each time.  We will see where it goes from here!

Happy Independence Day!

The Fourth of July was a great Caspers family day! Our day started early with a trip to see Paul's grandmother, Bibboo.  We don't get to see her often so it was great to go by.  Bibboo's husband, Daddy John was gone before I became a Caspers so I never knew him but the fourth was his birthday so it's always a big gathering for Paul's family.  We loved getting to see Paul's cousins and aunts and uncles and of course Peter's cousins and aunt and uncles.   Peter's getting  big enough that he can actually play some with the bigger kids.  We spent the night at my parents' house and had a few sparklers.  Peter loved the fireworks and kept asking "have it?" It's always fun to see the family and I feel so blessed to have such a big family to love on Peter!

Who knew urine could be so exciting?

Peter peepeed in the potty today!

Everyday he reaches new milestones.  He is saying so many new words and has recently become fascinated with the potty.  He points out our potty and his potty all the time and has sat on his potty several times.  Today though when I got him up from his morning nap he had completely shed his cloth diaper in the crib.  Since the crib and diaper weren't wet I knew he would need to go.  He sat there and sat there but did nothing.  I stood him up and turned him around and there went the pee pee.  He didn't even get any on the floor!  I jumped around and cheered and he was so proud of him self.  "Peter pee pee in potty" over and over again.  Then he got a "potty treat" (a mini reese cup).  I doubt we are at the end of diapers any time soon but hopefully he will keep up the good work.  He likes being a "big boy".

In big people news, Paul and I have begun training for a 5k.  On September 3 we are running in the color run with Poppy and Mantny.  I sure hope it's cooler by then.

Mommy's big helper

Peter is great at chores.  He can't do anything totally on his own but I love that he loves to help me out.  His current list of tasks includes:

- emptying the dishwasher of clean dishes

- sweeping the floor



- moving clothes from the washer to the dryer

- cleaning up legos, crayons, etc and putting them back in their proper container

He really likes to move things back and forth in general so if I take him out on the porch he will pick up every leaf and throw it off the porch.  Pretty handy. 

What goes around comes around...

My mom loves to tell about how my favorite phrase as a toddler was "Jessie do dat".  I have
always been independent and even from a young age I apparently knew that I could do things
better than everyone else ;-)!  Well.... Peter has a new favorite phrase... "I do it". 
Sometimes it is variations of that phrase such as, "I fix it", "I have it", or the celebratory
"I did it!". He doesn't want you to help him with anything and if he sees you trying to do
something, he will undoubtedly try to take over.  It's quite cute. Unless I am in a hurry. Or
cooking something hot. Or trying to fix something that could get broken. But most of the time,
it's cute. 

Counting...

Peter has been at Camp Mimi for a week now and he always learns something significant when he goes at stays.  At 11 months we left him for four days and he learned to crawl.  At 15 months we stayed with them while I got my wisdom teeth out and he started walking.  And now he is counting (sort of) and saying his ABC's (sort of) I'm still trying to catch him counting but here's a good attempt at his ABC's

Yesterday was Father's Day.  I can not believe how the Lord has blessed me.  Not only do I have the best father ever

AND... my father's father is an amazing man and Peter has the opportunity to know him too

AND... I married a man who is a wonderful father to our child.



Happy Father's Day!!

Last week Peter went to Camp Mimi from Saturday to Saturday while Paul and I were at Youth Camp from Monday to Friday.   Last summer we left him for four days while we went to a wedding.  But this is only the second time we have left him for more than overnight.  When we dropped him off Saturday I cried and cried.  I'm sure the other moms out there know how I feel.  I tried to explain it to Paul but I don't think I did a very good job.  Right now, Peter is my job.  My days are consumed by what he eats, when he sleeps, what he is doing.  It was like I left a piece of me behind when I left him.  Paul did a good job of keeping me busy that day so I could kind of get over it.  Now don't get me wrong, I missed him so much that week. But I had an amazing time at camp!  I'm a mom.  It's what I do and it's who I am.  And I love it.  But for those five days of camp I was just a follower of Jesus.  I could worship and fellowship undistracted.  And Peter seemed to have an amazing time.  Mommas, if you have a chance, I highly recommend it!!


This haircut really has me thinking

Today Peter had his first haircut.  I've been thinking about getting it cut for a couple of weeks now so it wasn't like it snuck up on me but now that it is done I feel... sad... Don't get me wrong though, it looks great.  Our friend Penny from church did an AMAZING job.  She made Peter so comfortable and he didn't fuss at all.  It was just what I wanted, trimmed all over and left long in the back.  He is rocking the baby mullet! But everyday he looks more and more like a kid and less and less like a baby and this haircut really brings it out.  I really want to try and be better about updating the blog since he is changing so much now. 

Video of the haircut to come later....