New Runner in the Family

So while I was busy making and having a baby, Jason decided to become the official "runner" of the family. He and a friend have been training since last Spring together and they have really kept each other motivated. After a few months of training, they decided to sign up for the Richmond Marathon in November along with the half-marathon they had already decided to run.

On Saturday, September 10th Jason ran and completed the Western Maryland Half Marathon (the same one I did last year.) Here he is with about 3 miles to go...still looking strong. (This is a pretty small race and the kids and I were the only spectators/cheerleaders at this point of the race. It was kind of bittersweet to be on this end of racing. It was fun to cheer all the runners on, but a part of me really wished I was out there with them. Give me a bit more time, and I will be!!)

Here he is racing the finish. He completed the course in 2:06 and felt pretty good about his efforts. Now on to the full marathon in November!!

Little Man

Yes, you can all be jealous that I get to squeeze this little boy all day long!! He is just such a sweet little man and we all love him so much! It has been fun to see his personality showing through more and more and have him respond to our efforts to make him laugh and smile.

Landon has A LOT of love for this little brother...sometimes a bit too much love. We definitely have to rein him in sometimes, but I think they will be great friends once Nolan gets a bit older.

Oh, little Nolan, you are too cute for words!!

My Boys

I thought I would do some comparison shots of Landon and Nolan on their respective blessing days.

Here is Nolan on Labor Day Weekend 2011 (2 months old.)

And here is Landon on Labor Day Weekend 2008 (3 months old.)

Definitely some similarities there, but they also each have their own unique look to them. It will be fun to see what Nolan will look like as he grows a bit older!!

Labor Day

So this is almost a month overdue, but better late than never!!

We were lucky to be able to spend Labor Day with both of our grandparents and despite the rain, we had a great time!

Abby and Landon loved being pulled and chased by Grandpa Call...

And the tickling was lots of fun too!

Landon was in heaven playing baseball with Grandpa Don...

And Jason was in heaven on the grill (despite the rainy conditions he endured to do it!!)

Abby and Landon loved putting together their own chicken shish-kabobs....

And they were yummy to eat too!!

The rain prevented us from doing s'mores on the firepit, but we made them in the oven and they still turned out into a gooey and yummy desert.

It was sad to see everyone leave us the next day (Grandma Julie did get to stay one extra day with us though which helped to ease the sadness a bit.) We sure had a fun time having everyone at our house that weekend!!

Blessing Day

The main event for everyone's visit occurred on Sunday, September 4th...

Nolan's Blessing Day!!

He looked so adorable in his little white outfit and everything went very smoothly with his blessing experience...until about 10 minutes after his blessing when he completely exploded in his pants and a complete outfit change was in order!! I was just happy it happened after the blessing rather than before!

Family Portraits

One of the biggest priorities for my mom while she was here was to get some good shots of her and my dad with all of their grandchildren. She had her ideas all drawn out on paper and amazingly, the kids actually cooperated and we got some really nice pictures...

And a nice group shot of everyone right after Nolan's blessing!

Cousin Lovin'

We loved having the Torgesen's come and spend the night with us on the night before Nolan's blessing. Abby and Landon love playing with their cousins and they all had a great time enjoying our latest purchase...a trampoline!

After wearing themselves out by playing all day long, they all slept comfortably in the playroom and amazingly were all asleep by around 10 p.m. We often have VERY late nights when all the kids are in the same room together!

The next morning, Landon and Tyler were looking pretty spiffy in their church suits...

Most of the cousins all ready for church on Sunday...

We sure do love when our cousins come to visit!!