Molly is 3!

On Friday Molly turned 3! I can't believe it. 3 years ago I was holding a teeny tiny baby and now I have  3 year old! This girl LOVES birthdays so we tried to make Friday a special day for her. She opened presents first thing in the morning and went to Myrna's house where she got to pick what she wanted for lunch (mac and cheese of course). When we came home she played with her new toys and picked McDonald's for dinner (becuase they have My Little Pony Happy Meal toys). She requested brownies, ice cream and sprinkles for her special birthday dessert. We didn't get her a lot of presents for her birthday because we converted her toddler bed into a big girl bed! It was a great day celebrating a great little girl!

Doc McStuffin is ready to go!

Molly checking to see if her stuffed animals are ok.

Trying on her new bicycle helmet that she has been asking for.

Molly's favorite part about her birthday, singing Happy Birthday

Molly's big girl bed. She picked out the comforter. Of course it had to be pink!

Here is Molly's 3 year Questions:
1. What is your favorite color? Pink
2. What is your favorite toy? Tinkerbell
3. What is your favorite fruit?  strawberries
4. What is your favorite TV show? Ponies (My Little Pony)
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? corndogs
6. What is your favorite outfit? Princess Sofia shirt
7. What is your favorite game? Hide and go seek
8. What is your favorite snack? Cheeze its
9. What is your favorite animal? bunnies
10. What is your favorite song? Jesus Loves Me
11. What is your favorite book? Pinkalicious
12. Who is your best friend? Herky (our dog)
13. What is your favorite cereal? Cherrios
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Slide down the the slide
15. What is your favorite drink? Water
16. What is your favorite holiday? Easter
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? my bunnies
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pop Tarts
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? corndogs
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A big girl

Dear Molly,
I have loved watching you grow and change from a 2 year old to a 3 year old. You are such a loving and caring little girl. You give the best hugs and kisses and you give them frequently when we aren't expecting it! You are a girly girl. You love to have your hair braided, nails painted,  changing clothes, singing and dancing. Recently BeBe and Grandad took you shopping and you were in Heaven!  Oh, and you still love new shoes! You can be a little hard headed and stubborn at times. And by "a little" I mean A LOT! But that stubbornness and hardheadedness paid off because you pretty much potty trained yourself. We tried this past summer and you weren't having it. Then one day you decided it was time and never looked back. My prayer for you is that you use that strong willed mind of yours to do great things! You are very smart and love to learn new things. You are learning to count to 10 and sing your ABC's. You also love to color and draw. I love you very very much and I can't wait to for this new year with you! I love you sweet girl!

Love,
Mommy

Cute pictures of my sweet 3 year old

These are the hugs I am talking about. They melt my heart :)

First time she had her nails painted

Toby's First Half Marathon

A while back I talked Toby into running the Dallas Rock and Roll Half Marathon with me. He wasn't exactly excited but agreed to do it because it is something I love and it was a good way to spend time together. WELL........I ended up with a stress fracture and I am wearing a walking boot and using crutches. Poor Toby had to run it by himself which he wasn't thrilled about. BUT he ended up having a blast and I think I can talk him into running another half once my foot heals! His official time was 1:55! He wouldn't have been able to do that if I had been running with him. I am so proud and a little jealous :)

Country Life With The Cousins

This past week the kids and I went on our 3rd annual Arkansas Spring Break vacation. It was a little different this time because not only did my parents come but Aunt Allison, Reid, Camille, and Bennett came too! That's right, we traveled 6 hours with 5 kids. 2 5 year olds, a 3 year old, a 2 year old and a 1 year old. The kids did a really good job on our road trip. Because there were so many of us we stayed in a hotel which the kids LOVED! We were only in Arkansas for 2 whole days but we made the most of those days at Geema's house playing outside, taking walks and soaking up the sun. It was busy but relaxing at the same time. The kids were worn out at the end of each day!

Marathon Accomplished!

I did it! I finished my first full marathon. 26.2 miles! It was the Cowtown Marathon in Fort. Worth and now I am officially a marathon runner!!   It has been a long 7 months of training but it was something I have wanted to do for a long time now. I could not have done this without the love and support from my family and friends! Toby and kids didn't have me around on Sat. mornings for the past 7 months. My dad rode his bike with me on some of my long runs to keep me company. They all had to make sacrifices so I could accomplish a dream and I am so thankful for each and everyone one of them.

The marathon was absolutely great! I trained and ran the race with 3 girls (Bethany, Stephanie and Michelle) that I didn't know well or at all before August but we have shared something special now! I met the other 3 girls at our corral right before the race started and then we ran out little hearts out! It was warmer than we were expecting. The weather has been crazy cold and that is what we were used to running in and then all of the sudden it was warm! It didn't bother me much. I just made myself keep drinking a lot of water and power aid. I know this sounds crazy but the race was fun! There were 10,000 people running and a ton of people cheering us on. I think my favorite part was having total strangers cheering for me. I had my name on my bib and as I ran by people would cheer for me by name. They also had inspiring and funny signs. One of my favorites said, "You are all Kenyan's in my eyes!". I also enjoyed encouraging other struggling runners as we ran by. We had some laughs during the race. Around mile 4 someone spit and it flew back in my face and mouth. I freaked out and started yelling, "I'm dying!!!!". If you know me at all, you know I am a germaphobe. Then around mile 13 I stopped to use a port-a-potty (ewww gross gross gross) and when I walked in there was vomit everywhere. I turned around and said forget it. At mile 22 Stephanie saw her family and her son yelled, "Mom did you poop or puke?". Everyone around us burst out laughing. She did neither by the way!

I think we ran without stopping (except to get water at the water stations) for the first 12 miles. We started some intervals but didn't stick with them too much. I felt really good until around mile 24. I got pretty tired but I knew I only had 2.2 miles left and made sure my legs and feet just kept kept moving. Another girl, Amanda, who I have run with a couple of times was there cheering us on. We saw her 2 times and it was awesome to see someone we knew. Bethany's dad was also there and we saw him 3 or 4 times along the course. Once again, seeing a friendly face was very reassuring. The most most reassuring thing was knowing that Toby, Cason, Molly, my dad and Beth were at the finish line waiting for me. I COULDN'T wait to get there to see them. I kept telling myself just a little bit further and I can hug them and drink a Dr. Pepper. That was all I wanted to do!

I ran the race in 5 hours and 5 minutes. It went by really fast in my mind. I admit that I am a little sad it's over.  I am pretty sore today. Toby gave me a gift card to get a massage and that felt awesome! I don't think I will ever run another full marathon again but I want to run halves. I am actually signed up for the Dallas Rock and Roll Half at the end of March. I need at least a few days of recovery and then I will be back at it again!

Toby and the kids gave me this wonderful surprise a couple of weeks before the race.

The night before the race. Everything was ready to go.

Another running friend, Katy, told me about the wonderful idea of inviting people to "run" with you. If people wanted to pray, encourage or cheer for me I wrote their names, scriptures and quotes on these bracelets and carried them with me.

One of my 2 absolute favorite signs that I saw!

Another favorite!

The kids practicing.

Here I come. I was still running!

I think this is when I saw Toby.

I stopped to give the kids a hug.

Then we decided to have them run across the finish line with me. Cason thought it was super cool and so did Molly until right at the finish line when it got loud. I had to stop, pick her up and carry her across the finish!

There we go!

Finally! The medal!

My best friend Beth was there to support me. It was awesome!!! So was my dad but I didn't get a picture with him. :(

Stretching

The kids thought this was hilarious!

Me and my 3 training and marathon buddies.