We are INCREDIBLE!

Have you seen the movie The Incredibles? If not, you HAVE GOT to see it! Don't even waste the time of renting it because as soon as you see it you'll want to own it. So just go buy it. It's totally worth it! 

That fantastic movie is what inspired this ...

Dash, Violet, ElastiGirl, Mr. Incredible, and Jack Jack

Aren't they adorable in matching red and black masks?

Mr. Incredible's muscles somehow slowly made their way down to his belly.
And Jack Jack was super tired. It was a long day.

And in case you were wondering, our friends had a Halloween party on Saturday night (the same day as the tri...hence Jack Jack's extreme tiredness). We didn't just dress up because we love the movie. :P

Triathlon - mini style

Our stake has had a theme this year to help people be healthy. It is called "Health is a Habit." Monthly newsletters have gone out with inspiring stories from people in the stake as well as good health tips. Then the culmination of all this healthiness and hard work was a mini triathlon last Saturday. I was really excited to attempt this challenge as I have been wanting to be more active and to complete a triathlon. Kyle, at first, wasn't so excited. But soon he warmed up to the idea and we started training together. I have to say that the most fun was actually training together. Going for runs in the morning with Eva and G were invigorating and fun to look forward to. It helped me to keep motivated knowing that I'd have a buddy to go with.

The big day came and Katherine and Greg came out for the weekend to watch Eva for us. Everything went really well. Eva behaved for them, the water was warm, the sun came out and warmed us up, and we each finished in under 1 hour. The original course was going to be 1/4 mile swim, 8 mile bike ride, and 2 mile run. But there ended up being so many people that showed up that day that they cut the bike ride in half. This was because it was a 4 mile loop and since they weren't able to close off the course, they were afraid there would be too many people on the road at the same time. So we just had to ride one loop. We were bummed at the beginning about that, but by the end we were very happy about that. Haha. One reason I was bummed about the bike ride being cut short was because Kyle surprised me with an early birthday gift -- a road bike! It made a huge difference and was so much fun to ride. I'm looking forward to many rides to come. :)

The swim was in a pool where we swam 16 lengths of the pool, 8 laps total. It was a little chaotic because there were 8 lanes that we snaked through, swimming up and back then under the rope into the next lane to continue. They had us line up according to what we thought our swim abilities and times would be. But there definitely were people who were faster in the back that should have gone earlier. Lots of passing went on. It was crazy. I thought it was pretty fun because I was really worried about the swim, and when it came down to it somehow I was able to channel my nervousness into adrenaline and swim much better than I had during training.

All in all, it was a great experience. And I totally want to do another one. I'm getting excited for the Whidbey Tri next summer. It'll be much longer, but I know it'll be worth it and fun! 

Yes! The finish line! Time - 51:25

They gave us rubber bracelets that say, "Health is a Habit" and "Triathlon 2010."

The handsome victor! Happy to be done.

Can you tell I'm tired? That run felt like it went on forever. Time - 53:25

Yay! You guys made it! Take me home!

Discussing the race. Asking ourselves why we did it. Haha.

Tired little girl. She was such a trooper.

Thanks for doing this with me, Kyle! And thanks for coming and helping us Greg and Katherine! Plus being our photographers. :)

10 months

It has been 10 months since we welcomed this sweet baby girl into our lives here on earth. And what a blessing those 10 months have been. I never imagined the joy and love that would fill our home and our hearts from having such a precious babe from heaven. We are totally in love with her!

That even includes the times when she fights us during diaper changes and rolls around and crawls away before being wiped or re-diapered. It includes when she won't take naps during the day for whatever reason is in that cute little head of hers. It includes when she runs over our toes or bumps into our ankles with her walker. It includes when she pulls on every cord or controller or TV antenna and breaks it. It includes when she arches her back and complains until we put her down and have to spend the next 10+ minutes bent over holding her hands while she walks around. It includes when she pinches me and then starts crying because I say ouch. It even includes the times when she scatters her food on her tray then proceeds to drop whatever she doesn't want to eat over the side so that the dog can get it. And that is really hard to be upset with her then because she follows it with a cute "Oh!" As if she didn't know what she was doing. ;)

It seems no matter what that little girl does, she keeps us smiling and keeps us loving her more and more every minute.

We love her more when she squeals with delight upon seeing us enter her room when she wakes up. We love her more when she waddles her very best from me to Kyle over and over again. We love her more when she attempts to crawl up the stairs, then gets tired of that and sits down on the edge leaning on my legs and reaches up for me to help her walk up the stairs instead. We love her more when she rocks back and forth in her highchair or stroller or car seat (or wherever) because she is excited and happy and must have a good tune going on in her head. We love her more when she kicks her feet back and forth in excitement. We love her more when she laughs just because she hears us laughing. We love her more when she cruises backwards in her walker, so proud of herself for being able to go backwards-backwards. We love her more when she gives us kisses, takes a rest on our shoulders, or waves hi or bye to us.

We just love her more and more and more.

Another Step Up

Eva just reminded me of another first that she learned this weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Green's house. She learned how to walk up stairs. Their entryway has a tiny step down into the living room and into the dining room. So as she was waking around holding onto my hands, Eva had to learn how to step up, which she did really quickly! The stepping down part, is not quite as ... on purpose. She kind of just slides down the step.

Anyway, Eva reminded me of it as I took her upstairs for her morning nap, and she wanted to get down. So I let her down not expecting her to walk up the stairs because they're quite a bit taller than the little step she had been practicing on. But she took 'em like a pro. She held on to my hands and lifted her little legs as high as she could to step up every time I said, "Step up." (she tends to favor her right leg, so we'll have to work on the left side too.)

She is learning so much and so quickly, it amazes me. It is so fun to see. Love you, Eva!

Stand Up! Sit Down! Fight, Fight, Fight!

No, this isn't about football. Sorry, folks. Although, we did take Eva to her first football game (high school) a couple of weeks ago. She enjoyed every minute of it. Probably because there was so much to look at and she could be as loud as she wanted since everyone else was screaming. :P 

But this post is about a big first that Eva did this past Saturday morning when she ........ sat up on her very own! We went to Kyle's parents' house in Ely, NV (pronounced "E-lee", btw) this weekend, which is why we were able to witness this fun milestone (and cheer her on). Next to the bed is a crib, so we opened our sleepy eyes Saturday morning when Eva started cooing and babbling. (ok, so maybe it wasn't as soon as she woke up because let's face it, she woke up way too early. for our liking anyway.) We watched her as she did her latest favorite pose -- downward dog -- no joke, she loves doing this. no idea why. But it was key to her next move. As she started coming down from dw-dog, she got her legs under her bum and ta da! She was sitting up! It was so much fun to be able to see her do this! We cheered for her, and she smiled at us with the what's-the-big-deal look. Then she was excited that we were finally awake, so she crawled to the side of the crib, sat up again, and proceeded to try to stand up holding on to the rail.

She wasn't quite as successful the very first time to stand up all the way. I think the reason was mostly because she was frustrated that we were just lying in bed watching her rather than coming to pick her up. But she kept trying. She eventually got it! Which means today's project will need to be lowering the bed portion of her crib here at home. 

And the fighting part of the title, you might ask? Well, there really isn't any fighting. Unless you count the struggle of holding her while she pushes away so that she can walk. Bending over to hold her hands as she walks can only go so far. Maybe we can teach G how to walk with her....... ha. wishful thinking. 

p.s. sorry there are no pictures of her doing this yet. i first need to find the battery charger for my camera. anyone have any idea where the charger might be???