remember the 10.

this past saturday OSU held their 4th annual rt10 run. on january 27, 2001 ten members of the OSU family perished in a plane crash on that snowy night colorado. this run was to honor them and celebrate their lives. they will live on forever in the hearts of the oklahoma state community.

on the schedule for the okc memorial half marathon, demoss and i noticed that the weekend before the run we were scheduled to run 6 easy (ha!) miles and that the rt10 was perfect. we could go run around our alma mater, support osu counseling services and get in our six miles. without hesitation demoss, haley and i signed up drove to stillwater.

man! it felt good to be home. it felt good to be back in stillwater. you can smell orange. you can feel a buzz. it is completely different from tulsa. it was cowboy. literally.

friday before the run had been spitting rain off and on. i couldn't decide if it were raining if we should actually run for fear of getting blisters the weekend before our half marathon. fortunately, it wasn't raining saturday morning UNTIL we pulled in the parking lot. then it just sprinkled on us throughout the 6 mile run but it was fun and i'm glad we got to participate in such a special event.


we're almost half way done here. demoss's wonderful father was our own paparazzi and followed us along the course. see those smiles? they are for pictures only. we don't look that happy 3 miles into a run. ever. i promise.


here we are after the finish line with our friends who chose to wake up, wear orange and get rained on. i would like to thank jennifer and lynsey for the encouragement in the final stretch of the run. it was such a wonderful surprise.

we met some friends, the oldies but goodies, for dinner friday night. we talked and laughed and had so much fun. unfortunately, james was not having near as much fun at grammie's while i was gone so haley and i ate and went home only to find an exhausted, passed out little man. poor kid made himself congested. i felt so bad for my mom. it is truly heartbreaking to see james' crying face and whimpering cries. luckily my the end of the weekend he was in good spirits, trusted her and was one happy little cowboy.



Proud and immortal, Bright shines your name;
Oklahoma State, We herald your fame.
Ever you'll find us-loyal and true.
To our Alma Mater, O...S...U.

on the charts.

it is surreal that james is 9 months old. while pregnant 9 months seemed like forever. no sleep, sober, aching body, whale like, recording breaking heat wave 9 months. now that james is here it just doesn't seem like he could possibly be that old. okay, i'm aware that the first several, sleep deprived weeks were gone before i knew anything but the past months have been moving just as quick, if not faster. james is now completely aware of his surroundings, is sprouting 4 teeth and is getting his own unique little personality. hook, line and sinker. he's got me wrapped around his little finger.

on thursday, april 15th, we took james to his 9 month check up. 9 months exactly.
26.6 pounds. he made the charts!!! finally. he is in the 97th percentile. skinny boy. they said he was the average weight for a 16 month old baby but we're buying 18 month clothes so obviously there is some room for error. :) james is also getting taller! he is measuring a whopping 29.5 inches long, which is in the 85th percentile. his head circumference is 18 inches but we thought he had a big noggin. overall the doctor's visit was smooth sailing. no shots, no tears and no bad news.



although, i did win the bet i didn't get a sweet prize. mr. hale thought james weighed 30+ pounds and i guessed 27. i wish we would have made the wager and placed a firm hand shake on the deal. i could be having a dinner at my favorite restaurant or a girl's night or something for being right. i was right. i love being right.



happy 9 month birthday, baby james. you are 3/4 of a year old. it is true that time flies when you're having fun. we are obviously having a blast with you.

thirteen.

saturday was our last long run. saturday was 13 miles. saturday was early. saturday was the home stretch. in december i set out on a journey that has meant more to me than dreamed it would. i found amazing friendships, inner strength and comfort in the sounds of my ipod, tennis shoes and pavement.

before i discovered i was pregnant with james i had just completed my first half marathon and had convinced myself to continue to train for the 2009 okc memorial marathon. the full marathon. the entire 26.2 miles. lucky for me, i had something bigger on my agenda for 2009. after giving birth to james i knew i would run again. i knew i would once again train for a full marathon. i had a baby. a beautiful baby. though this would make training more difficult, running is something that is important to me. i miss the time spent away from james but i love the time spent with myself.

they say what happens in vegas stays in vegas but if you're a runner you know what happens while running stays on the trail. running is personal. running is hard. you spend many hours along side your running group. you get to know personal things about people. it is an amazing test of character. fortunately, i have the ultimate group. we are a complete team. demoss, skinner, haley and myself run with big ambitions and through tired feet. we are strong pilots.

we have run in below zero temperatures.

6 miles.

we have run in the rain.

8 miles. 8 long miles.

we run for fun.


we just run. twice during the week and cursed saturdays. one thing is always consistent - we feel good after we run.

it has been an honor for me to train with these ladies. i have enjoyed the time even when i couldn't stop complaining. i have enjoyed the sore feet and aching knees. thank you for spending many, many hours strolling down riverside or cursing the hills through midtown with me. i am confident that we will dominate the "168".

monkey toes.

ha-ha!  i bet i fooled you.  BUT james really does have monkey toes.

monkey toes was one of james' first nicknames.  boy how things have changed.  we've nicknamed his nicknames.  they are constantly evolving.  we are those embarrassing parents.  (we just know better than to tell all his little boy nicknames to his high school girlfriends.)
here is an example:  monkey toes quickly turned into monkey man.  hints why he was a little monkey for halloween.  his feet are also known as dogs (like when you take off his socks.  who let the dogs out?  who?  who who??)

buster brown.  lots of names stemmed from this one.  it's an obvious name if you're a parent.  if you're not and you don't know from personal experience - always bring an extra pair of clothes.  okay so then we have buster britches, buster yellow (shortly.  another parent inside joke.  no need to be jealous.) and finally buster!  buster! is my favorite.  mr. hale likes it as well and we're certain that james likes "buster!" too.  you can really say it with some enthusiasm and get a real big smile.  you can also get a reaction by saying "james" kind of loud and a little high pitched. 

anyway, back to the subject of monkey toes.  james loves it when you play with his feet.  his feet are so interesting to him.  he loves to play with them.  (yay!  cheap toy.)  so if you every babysit and he's acting a little fussy, take off his socks and you'll have one happy little man.  (buster!)

cool kid.

so what if i purchase a t-shirt that proclaims that i think my son is a "cool kid".  does this make "us" narcissistic?  vain??  i don't think so.  we're just being honest.  i have a cool baby.  he's a good eater - obviously.  he's a good sleeper.  he's laughs and giggles and learns something new everyday.  i think it is cool.  pretty much the coolest thing i know.  james exudes cool. 

see, i told you he was cool.

happy Easter everybunny!

yesterday was beautiful. spring is finally in the air. the grandparents spoiled us rotten with candy and Easter goodies. james got toys and i got chocolate so i think everybunny was happy in the hale household.

before dinner time james and i were playing in the floor and he was so happy. squealing, giggling, rolling - the whole nine yards. so, i wanted to throw a polo on him and take some Easter snaps. all was good until we went outside when the smiles stopped and this new face emerged.

what? you can't really see it. let me zoom in...

i think he's concentrating.

we're not really sure but we've noticed this is a new, reoccurring face. it's so serious that mr. hale and i can only laugh. if only he could tell us what is really on his mind.

then "we" discovered leaves. the remaining crunchy leaves leftover from fall. i've never eaten one but i think someone gave them a pretty good review.

leaves were not intended to be on the Easter menu but hey, he was hungry. can't you tell?!?

happy Easter!!!