Thanksgiving 2011

       The DeLorme family had another great Thanksgiving this year.  We were happy to be able to make it up to Joey's Dad's house this year.  After our races, we hopped in car and headed for Buena Vista.  We had a great day of relaxing and watching football.  The kids had a wonderful time playing with their special toys at their Grandparents house and getting showered in Grandma and Grandpa love.  There was a large group of people at dinner and the food was wonderful!  Dawson ate and ate like we guessed he would.  He definitely loves Thanksgiving food.  We all left that night with very full bellies and some great memories.  

Playing with Papa. 

They love their toys there.

Dawson enjoying his food.

Loving some mashed potatoes.

Ashlyn and Papa were having a blast eating together.  He even got her to eat some stuffing.

Ashlyn and Dawson with Papa and Grandma

A family picture

This picture is out of order, but on Friday we went to see the Muppets movie.  Ashlyn was very excited to see these guys in the lobby.

Turkey Trot

      

     On Thanksgiving morning, I did the annual Turkey Trot race.  It is a difficult course because it is very hilly.  I still love starting such an indulgent day with a nice run.  We were very lucky this year to have perfect weather. 

       I read that they were doing a 1k kids fun run before the race.  I immediately asked Ashlyn if she would like to participate in it.  She enthusiastically said, "Yes!!!"  I was a little worried that a 1k may be a little long for her. Her past race was much shorter.  I figured we could try it and she could always walk if she needed to.  She was so excited to run it and insisted that I be the one to run it with her. When they said, "Go!", she took off!  I could not believe how fast she was running.  She was passing kids left and right.  She kept that pace for almost the entire thing.  About halfway through, she wanted me to hold her hand. We held hands and she kept on running.  She definitely has some natural talent.  I was so proud of her for finishing and not walking once.  She had a great time too which is the most important thing.  We are going to continue with kids runs as long as she is having fun and wanting to do them.  

Ashlyn and I before the race. 

We had such a fun time!

Look at that girl go.

Holding hands



Love this picture



Smiling for Daddy

Ashlyn's biggest fan



Our little monkey



A picture of the finish line before the race started



     After Ashlyn's race, we had a few minutes before I had to warm-up for my race.  My brother and sister also did the race.  I have been training hard the last few weeks.  I have also been running a lot of miles.  I knew that I could possibly PR for this race.  I just didn't know if it was going to be possible because this is such a hard course.  Before the race, my brother suggested that we run it together.  I told him I would try, but he could go on without me if I couldn't keep up.  The gun went off and we took off.  We started at a fast pace.  I managed to keep with my brother.  He kept talking me through it.  There was a couple of times I wanted to let up a bit, but he kept reminding me that I could PR.  We kept going and I have never run that fast in my life.  My brother was keeping track of our pace and miles on the Garmin.  When we were nearing the end, he told me to kick it up and I would PR.  It was one of the hardest runs of my life and I felt I had nothing left, but I gave it my all.  I came across the finish line at 23:38!!!! I PR'ed!!!!  It was my proudest running moment yet! What a way to start Thanksgiving.  This Friday, we head to Las Vegas for our second half marathon.  I am so excited to be doing another half marathon.  I am also so excited to do it down the strip at night.  Should be an amazing run for sure.  

The beginning of the race



This was Joey on the sidelines.  At the last minute, Joey got stuck with all three kids.  He did a great job.

Here we go.

This was the end when I felt like I was going to die!!!

  

I like this picture because i think you can see the pain on my face

Here is Katy coming in.

 



Here is my official information.  I actually did it in 23:29, but they count the time from when the gun goes off even if that isn't when I crossed the start line.  I got 7th place out of 163 in my age group and 51st place out of  1,296 women that ran it. 

The runners after the races. 



Number 1!

Thanksgivng Crafts

     Since I had the whole week off of work, Ashlyn and I had lots of extra time to do school work and crafts.  We found lots of of good crafts that Ashlyn was dying to do.  We read books and watched a video on the first Thanksgiving and pilgrims.  Ashyn definitely was understanding the meaning behind the holiday.  We have a ton of ideas for Christmas.  I think the only problem will be having enough time to make all of these crafts.   Here are some of our favorite crafts.

This is the corn that Ashlyn did.  She painted the kernels with q-tips.

Ashlyn was dying to do this craft.  I think it came out just adorable!

This turkey was made with her thumbprint.

I thought that I would really have to explain to Ashyln what it meant to be thankful for something.  The second I asked her, she started spewing out things.  The first two she said were, "All the people in my house" and "All the people I love". Aw!

These turkeys turned out really, really cute.  Ashlyn made them for my parents house since she wasn't going to be there on Thanksgiving.  They used them for their centerpieces.  A little piece of Ashlyn was still there that day :)

Healthy Children

     

     I took the kids in this last week for their well child checkups.  Dawson went in for his 9 month checkup and Ashlyn for her 4 year checkup.  We started the appointment with Dawson.  I had to fill out an extensive questionnaire about all of the things he can or can't do.  She said that according to the this, he was developing beautifully and was off the charts.  He now weighs 18 pounds and is 27 3/4 inches tall.  He is now in the 10% for weight and 25% for height.  I was a little surprised by this.  I told her that he eats a ton of food.  She explained that most of what he eats is fruits and vegetables.  She also said that she thinks his increased activity has slimmed him down.  He can crawl pretty fast!  She said to just give him some extra carbs and we will keep an eye on his weight.  I hope that he continues to gain weight adequately and not fall further down the growth chart.  She said he just looked perfect and was very pleased with his development.  

       Next, was Ashlyn's turn.  She had a lot of fun during the doctor's exam.  She did great for the doctor.  The doctor also said Ashlyn looked perfect.  Ashlyn now weighs 33 lbs and 8 ounces and is 40 1/2 inches tall.  She is in the 50% for weight and 55% for height.  The doctor said she is right where she should be growth wise.  Both kids had to end their exams with shots.  Ashlyn just got a flu shot and Dawson had to get several shots.  Ashlyn went first to show Dawson it wasn't scary.  She was such a brave girl.  She only cried for a split second.  I hate watching my children get shots!!!  Ashlyn will go back next year for her next well child checkup and Dawson will go back in 3 short months for his one year appointment.  

     Since it is the season of recognizing what we are thankful for, I am just so very thankful for such healthy children.  I know parents that have to face the very unimaginable struggle of having their children sick or not healthy.  I am so blessed to have children who are so healthy and growing and developing just as they should be.  I know that a lot of parents would give anything to say the same for the children, so I truly do feel blessed.

       There have been some exciting happenings around the house this week.  Dawson officially has four top teeth now!  I am very excited that they are finally through.  He is finally sleeping soundly through the night again.  Thank goodness!  He also started pushing his walking toy around.  He now loves that thing.  Just one day he started pushing it and he hasn't stopped since.  We are practicing walking.  The other day he took one quick step between Joey and I.  Walking is coming very soon!

        We went to Ashlyn's parent/teacher conferences this week.  Her teacher had nice things to say about her.  She said that Ashlyn is very,very bright, but also very, very talkative.  We are going to try to work on the talking part.  She is just a very social little girl!  Ashlyn also decided this week to take up running all on her own.  She just announced one day that she wanted to go for a run.  She put on her special running shorts and her running shoes.  I couldn't have been prouder.  The last few afternoons, we have been running around our street.  She does a lot more walking than running, but she really is a good little runner.  She decided that she wants to do a 1k race next week.  I am so excited for her!  We have also been working on lots of Thanksgiving crafts and projects this week.  We have been exploring what Thanksgiving is all about and learning about pilgrims and the Mayflower.  I am off all next week, so we will have even more time to do projects.  I will post pics of her projects. 

Here is this week's dose of cuteness:





Dawson's other new obsession is books.  He loves them and loves looking at them. 



One of his favorites.

Here he goes walking.

Caught him mid-stride.

Look at those teeth.  I wish I could get a shot of his new teeth.

Ella and Dawson playing and discovering together. 

Play time with all the kids. 

Mr. Bookman again

I love him too much!

He is literally always smiling like this.  He is such a happy, happy boy.

My sweet princess

Doing what he enjoys most: eating!  He is machine when it comes to food.  Joey and I have also discovered that he likes to eat what we are eating.  He likes flavorful food and doesn't care for bland food.  Joey is very excited about this.  He says its in the DeLorme family genes.