Heading to Colorado

Our Adventure to Colorado begins in a few hours.  Matthew slept to about 645am this morning so I am hoping and requesting at daycare that they try to keep him entertained and busy to about 1030 this morning before they let him take a nap. The goal is then he will take a late afternoon nap while we are flying from Richmond to Cleveland or Cleveland to Denver.
He was running a flight fever last night and the runny nose is still there but I am hopeful that we can get to Colorado and since it has been 6 days maybe this cold will run its course so he can enjoy his Aunt Leone, Uncle Moe and Cousins...plus the 5 dogs...I am actually excited to see how he does with the dogs, since Queenie wants nothing to do with him and won't go near him, I am interested to see how he reacts to friendly dogs that lick and will hopefully let him touch them.

So plan is USAFA tomorrow morning to show Lara the visitor center, noon meal formation and some other touristy things...Pikes Peak on Saturday...we are hoping to hike part of it...I think we are late for the hiking season but it is suppose to be a high of 60 on Saturday so was hoping that if we train ride up on the 920am train, and if there is not snow up there yet, we might be able to hike the Barr train down...its 12 miles...the other option is if there is a stop on the train (not sure, one of the websites make is sound like there is a stop midway) we could then maybe hike the last half down...anyone ever done this and have any insights? we are thinking the hike down b/c it will be near the warmest part of the day, it is easier to hike down than up, and it allows us the ability if the weather conditions are crappy to just train down and abandon the hiking adventure...
Sunday is Garden the Gods on the agenda and if we don't get hiking in on Saturday, we will do it here at the park. There appears to be little 1-2 mile hikes to rock formations and the elevation changes are not much so this might be a better bet.
Monday is open....it is suppose to be near a high of 60 again so if we wanted to do something outdoors we could and if we didn't we could just hit the Olympic Training center.

Somewhere in there I was thinking about Seven Falls at night...just depends on how Saturday goes, how Matthew does with his Aunt Leone, if the kids want to come with us, and the weather.

So is there anything else we need or should try to do? Granted we probably only have Monday to do it and we don't want to drive too far out b/c of Matthew and we want to let him go trick or treating to at least a few houses in the neighborhood with Ashley and Ryan

Also going to try and maybe hit a running store Friday afternoon. Anyone need any cold weather gear? I am sure we can find it.
So the blog will go dark for a few days, but will try to get pictures up and a report on how things went by Nov 2nd.
Keep your fingers crossed that Matt's and my cold don't cause us to have horrible flights today...Last thing I want and need is a fussy, screaming baby with clogged and painful ears...

The first cold has hit

Well, Matthew has a runny nose for the last 3 days and has past it on to Mommy. I woke up yesterday feeling a little down and my run was awful b/c of that...and as the day progressed I started to get a little nasal drip like my son...but my drip seems to be going down my throat vs. Matthew is running out his nose...so this morning I woke up and my throat is swollen, red (b/c I made Jay look at it) and scratchy...this is not cool b/c we leave for Colorado Springs on Thursday and I can't get sick now...so this better be a 48-72hr bug that I get over quickly (and Matthew as well) b/c I can't be sick on vacation and can't deal with Matthew miserable on the flights b/c his ears won't clear.

Ok, so as promised, we hit Baby's R Us this weekend to get safety stuff primarily but also to look at Christmas present ideas...so first off, what type of booster seat should be look into getting...there is one at Sam's club for abut 80 bucks vs the 8-10 that are at Baby's R US.
open to any suggestions...saw not too long ago that Britax brand had some of its boosters seats that did not get good ratings for positioning of the seat belt on the child...so what to do...Just like when we started to buy baby stuff, there are just too many choices.

So just like with booster seats...the next stroller...do we go with a jogging stroller which can be big and bulky but gives all-terrain capability or do we go with some of these cheaper strollers....I know we need something b/c as we get the booster seat we will no longer be carrying the car-seat with us so we don't have to then use that stoller...and Matthew can sit up really well so he is ready to face forward and have more freedom in his stroller to see and interact with his surroundings...so here are some pictures of options...any suggestions or ideas?

 This one is the graco and is rated to 40lbs...

 This is one of the cheaper and looks to be the most lightweight stroller, I think it was the Babys R Us brand 

 Again a cheaper stroller that looks to be sturdy but still something that could fold up and not take up too much space

Or do we just go with the cheapest and smallest umbrella stroller??? so many decisions...

B/c we are in this apartment, I don't want to buy and end up with 2-3 strollers...we just don't have the space...and I was planning before we buy to hit the 2 consignment stores to see what they have so if we could get something cheap...that would be awesome...b/c who knows...if we have another one, we would potentially need to get a dual stroller so again, trying to limit how many of these things we accumulate

Ok, so toy ideas...Matthew loves the noise-making and song singing toys...and we just have avoided getting those...mainly b/c they are annoying as any parent can attest after a while but we may have to get one...so here are some of the toys I thought about that he might like and secondly, might last beyond a month or so...but open to other ideas or thoughts.

So I remember loving this toy as a child...drawback right now is Matthew is not walking but thinking by Christmas time he should be close to talking and might get some enjoyment out of it

Ok, this is b/c he currently loves his Winnie the Pooh and other stuff animals and when we were in the store checking these out he really got into them b/c they make noise, sing, laugh etc. So the question is do we go with the classic elmo or get another Winnie the Pooh or Tigger but this time get ones that have an interactive component? 

 So this is one of those noise-making, singing toys that he loves at daycare currently, my only issue is would it be something he grows out of really soon and thus something we should not look into getting?

 This is what I envision he will want as he gets better hand motor control/skills, and thus might enjoy banging...but then b/c he is a boy do we look at getting some tool type thing in stead of this music thing?

of course he is always trying to get to the TV remote and my cell phone...so do we get the classic phone or one of the newer ones that has buttons that play music?

I am leaning towards getting a cedar chest if we can find one at an antique store so that way it can store toys but eventually be a spot to store baby blankets, clothes or other items in his room. Problem is I need to hit antique stores and I just never seem to get around to it....

So those are some of the ideas. I would like to try and take advantage of black Friday sales (on-line of course b/c I am not a 4am at the store kinda person) to get some of these big tickets items...

We don't want to have too much on the toys so I want to maximize what is a good toy that he will like for a while...

Please feel free to give your 2 cents and suggestions!

Richmond Zoo, Saturday adventure!

Well we took Matt to the zoo today. It was cool and crowded but we thought we should introduce Matthew to the fun of zoo's now! I think he really liked it. The Richmond zoo has quite a few primates. So there were lots of monkeys and apes to see and observe. The Siamang gibbons, which are a type of primate from Malaysia were especially loud and Matt was fascinated that all this noise was coming from this little ape.

Part of the cool thing about this zoo is there is a petting and feeding area so Matthew got to touch (with mommy and daddy's help) Giraffes, deer, donkeys, African deer of various varieties...yep lots of animals and with the help of kibble, these animals got to lick our hands as they enjoyed their treats.

We were very happy the Lama didn't spit on us...unlike that Lama from Missouri back on a Fontenot Family adventure...that is a funny story, Tommy was eating some Doritos sitting between the 2 front Captain seats on an ice chest (yeah back in the day we didn't have to be strapped into car seats) and he is eating his chips and we are driving through this wildlife park and this Lama comes up to our Van, yep we had one of those really fun party-vans with a seat in the back that flattened into a full size bed, made for lots of really fun family road trips...so back to the Lama, this Lama wanted those chips and when he didn't get any, he decided to spit on us, it was so gross and yet perfectly placed, right through the window on Dad and Tommy and the bag of chip crumbs goes flying...so this Lama was a lot smaller and a lot nicer, plus he got the "chips" so there as no reason for spitting.

So a few other good pictures: This is a camel we named Clyde, no not after Granddad, but b/c the Camel in that song is name Clyde and it just seems like a good name for Camel.

Last thing we had to do before heading home was to see the Tigers!!!! Of course the LSU game is on and they are playing the Auburn Tigers, really they are the War Eagles but they are one of those schools that are confused and change their mascots...so we went to the see the tigers...wow, they were walking and active...usually Mike the Tiger at LSU is soooo lazy and never moves if he is even sitting outside in his pen. But these tigers, were awesome, the male came up to the window and licked it like a cat wanting to lick its master...granted still very glad there was a thick wall between us!

After all that excitement, Matthew as exhausted. So here is a picture that captures just how much fun Matthew had:

So Mommy and Daddy hit the Baby's R Us store on the way home and took some pictures for potential Christmas present ideas...and black Friday Sale stuff they need to look into...b/c it is getting time to get the next car-seat and stroller...but that will have to be another post, the system is not enjoying all the pictures so far...I will post more pictures on Facebook of some of the other animals we saw! It was a great day and if anyone comes to visit, we will gladly take you to the Richmond Metro Zoo!

Trying to Stand

So two things going on, Matthew is trying to stand on his own, it is a few seconds here and there but yep, we will have a walker before I know it. Second issue is biting...the upper two teeth are coming in and the two bottom teeth must be intriguing and so Matthew is biting me...non-stop. He of course things it's cute and he is pretty darn adorable but the biting is killing me...

So any suggestions? Is this just a phase and will pass? Anything I need to do...he doesn't really want his pacifier so not sure what else to give him, b/c nothing seems as exciting as mom's shoelaces, neck, jeans ...you get my point.

Otherwise not much  to chat about. We are thinking of hitting the zoo on Saturday. Also getting excited about our adventure to Colorado next week!

Wed Oct 19th

Well we got Matthew's school pictures, which are basically his 7 month old pictures. Unfortunately, it will take a few weeks before I get the digital pictures to post to Facebook. So just take my word, they are ok...he didn't smile and I had no idea it was picture day so he was dressed in a little hoodie...not the cutest picture or the outfit I would have chosen, but oh well. If anyone wants some wallet size pictures or any other pictures, let me know, I have some to give out.

So now this throws a wrench into my plan, we need to do a family picture and get some professional pictures with Jay and Matthew together...so do I make arrangements for pictures right before Thanksgiving when Matthew is 9 months or do I put it off closer to Christmas when he is about 10 months?

In other news we have got to start baby-proofing, so I made the trip to Baby's R Us to get some foam corner cushions and to get some cabinet locks...so now Jay just needs to install them...Also started looking at the what's next list for Matthew...as we are accumulating more toys, stuffed animals and stuff, I think we are in need of some type of toy chest or something to keep all this stuff...the little blue basket is just not cutting it right now...also need to start looking into the next car-seat and stroller. So anyone know were to get a good, nice toy chest? what about kid table and chair? what are the must-have 12month-24month toy or play-item?

well, gotta get back to grading. Matthew is taking his afternoon nap so gotta get my work done while he sleeping.

Monticello and IRUNLIKEAGIRL race

Well, of course Matthew didn't quite cooperate with our trip, he feel asleep while Jay was running, then back asleep halfway through the drive, but was annoyed while at Monticello and I really don't blame him...being stuck in the carseat for that long was quite a challenge...but we had a blast, the house was so pretty. The gardens are transitioning into dying flowers and it was super crowded, way busy, was surprised how many people were there on a weekend in October.

So here is a picture of Matthew at the beginning of the adventure...it was windy so we had him in a jacket

 Here is the house: it was pretty, but the staircase was mighty small...I mean what would have been so wrong with a huge staircase?

Thanks to some guy from Orlando, who was heading over to the Virginia vs Georgia Tech football game as a representative for the Capital One Bowl, we got a family picture. Of course, Matthew didn't quite participate.

So it was fun, not too far a drive and easy to drive, plus James Monroe's house is not too far so if anyone comes to visit, and this is on your to-do list, we can make it happen.

Now for an update, yes Matthew is sleeping through the night and of course that means another challenge, diaper rash...it is soooo bad, we switched to letting him air-out and even allowed a few accidents on the carpet in the hope to get the skin to heal, but it is not even close...any suggestions? we are off the creams, using only Petroleum Jellly but poor Matthew, he is miserable and cannot tolerate us touching him...I feel so bad for him.

And A quick update, the Run like a girl race, which races money for Ovarian Cancer was fun, I did it in 45 minutes...the garmin didn't work so only had the clock time to go off of...ran with some great gals that I met through Cheryl Redmond. All-in-all a good day...now gotta go, b/c Matt is of course trying to push the buttons and Jay is leaving for his gym workout...so until next blog post.



3 nights of sleeping through the night!

Well, maybe our exhausted parenting is working...another night of Matt falling asleep around 830pm and we don't hear or wake up until around 430ish...then its a quick diaper change, 2-3 oz of formula and Matthew is back asleep until around 645-7am.

I was nervous that this was a fluke, but after another successful night I am thinking we might be turning the corner.

In other news, he is now eating puffs! His daycare teacher Mrs. Stephanie and Mrs. Kay told us to bring them b/c I guess the other 2 boys around Matthew's age are eating them and Matt is sitting at the table with the other kids and wanting to grab their puffs...so we started on Monday and so far he is enjoying it. I also gave him a few last night before his bath and he had them all over...not quite sure he realizes that once they go in the mouth they are suppose to stay there...so sticky, wet puff pieces end up all over the place...Queenie of course is loving it...but it makes for a sticky mess and immediate bath. I will try to get a picture to post.

As for those front teeth, both have broken through the gums and are slowly making their appearance. It looks like a nice gap will be present for a little while...but of course since Jay and I both needed braces I am sure Matthew will as well...we are also doing a better job of brushing teeth every night...guess I need to look up when to schedule his first dentist appointment...probably not for a few more months but I know I should get my act together and know these sort of things.

Otherwise, a normal day in the Granier house...we hope to do something fun this weekend like maybe go see Thomas Jefferson's house which is about an hour away...or the botanical gardens of Richmond or the State Park...not sure what, will depend on the weather and what time Jay get his run accomplished on Saturday...but goal is to try and take advantage of Jay not being on-call.

So here is to keeping our fingers crossed that we continue to have 830pm-430am (or later) nights...then I guess I will officially be able to report in the baby book that the night-time feeding has finally gone away at 7 months 4 weeks!
Matthew is officially 8 months old on Friday...so pictures to come soon with his 8 sticker!

Successful Race!

Well, I met my goal, 1:12:40! First overall in the Athena category and would have been 2nd in my age-group (well technically 3rd but the overall Female Winner was my age group so I would have been second after you take her out).
So my swim was SLOW...8:16 so about 20 seconds slower than last time...I don't get it, it didn't feel slower and I didn't have people to chase or on my heels...maybe that is it, I didn't have someone one my heels pushing me to go faster.
Trans 1 was almost 2 minutes, not surprised b/c I put on gloves, and my shoes and socks took longer than normal...so it just was so slow...
Bike was 36:19...YEAH! but I think my front brake pad rubs a bit on my tire or it looked like it was rubbing at the end b/c I was working really hard and I still felt slow going up those hills...and my downhills just didn't feel as fast as normal either...then again, maybe I was just not having it...but that is at least gotta be an improvement from pink power, but since I didn't have a chip time I can't know for sure. If I do the math right...I think the distance is 11.5 miles...give or take a bit...that puts me at 19 MPH average...which is another great job for me...anything and anytime I am above 18mph is awesome.
Tran 2 was 56 seconds...so about a minute...dang, couldn't get my bike shoes off and running shoes on faster...
Run: 25:27...OMG...that is super fast for me, and has to be a huge improvement...I mean I think I did this course at pink power in 30 minutes last time, but again can't know for sure b/c I didn't have a chip that worked...so to see 25:27, that is in the 8:11 pace...which is awesome for me...but I figure I must have run sub 8's on the first 2 downhill/flat miles and then slowed down on that last mile which was uphill....but that is awesome.

So basically 84th overall but really high up there for women...and pretty happy with the finish. Also, met goal with improvement in my overall time...almost 4 minutes...if we are here next year and I can race this course again, I will have to set my goal to break 1hr 10 minutes...so almost a 3 minute improvement on this time...of course I should get some of it easily with transitions and that darn swim....but I am very happy with how this went.

So an update on Matthew, so b/c I raced I was pretty beat last night and Matthew fell asleep at church so I just knew it was going to be rough to get him to go to sleep at his normal time...sure enough 8pm hits and this kid is high like he just ate a box full of candy...I have video and will try to post to facebook...so all of a sudden around 820ish, he is crashing but like the over-tired grouchy crash...got him to take his bottle, changed him and finally at 8:37pm I put him in the crib, and sure enough he probably cries for 20-30 minutes...not exactly sure b/c I am not at fully mental ability myself...
So around 1:30am, I think Matthew starts crying...but I am kinda out of it, dreaming about USAFA football games and trying to get to the cadet tailgate...yep, reliving the glory days I guess...so I think I say to Jay, not sure if I dreamed all this or not, "lets give it a few minutes to see if he goes back to sleep" and not sure if Matt was up, if he cried, how long he cried...b/c Jay was out of it as well...don't really think he woke...but at 5 am I finally wake up kinda in a start...going is "Matthew ok?" and he is of course somewhat crying...so I get up, change him and give him is bottle...now I fixed 2 bottles with 3 oz, to try and cut some of the formula he gets at night...and both are in the fridge...so that definitely means either Matthew slept through the night, or we totally slept through his crying...either way, YEAH!!! Could this be the turn to Matthew finally getting some long sleep? 9pm-5am is ok with me....I'll take it...
Of course he went back to sleep at 5:20am or so in his crib!!! and I was able to get back into bed for a bit with Jay and of course to my wacky ACADEMY dreams...and Matthew slept through some of Jay's noisy bathroom stuff, all the way to about 6:40am...which is about normal wake-up time...
So keep your fingers crossed...hope for a repeat tonight on the sleeping, not the dead to the world parenting...
Happy Columbus Day, Jay is on-call so had to go into work, but will get to pick up Matthew in a bit with me at Daycare and spend the afternoon with us...not sure what we will do, I have been sitting at this computer grading forums and other late submitted work for my on-line classes...but today is suppose to be nice so I hope we can do something fun.

Happy Birthday to Trisha Ward and Uncle Mo for tomorrow, 10-11-11...I have many fond Memories of birthday parties with Trisha...possibly my favorite is the skating party and slumber party...
Also Happy Anniversary to Uncle Johnny and Aunt Jamee! Can't believe 6 yrs!

I will be taking Matthew's 8 month pictures here on the 14th so look for updated pictures on Facebook of our little man by this weekend.

Wow, Its Friday already.

Well, I can't believe it is Friday already...just feels like yesterday I was getting back from my outstanding weekend in DC. What a week...Matthew is about out of the 6 month clothes...they are just really tight after snapping so I think we are going to have to go shopping for a few things...we are about at the end of our hand-downs and while Matt is ok in shorts/pants that are 6 months so we can still get some use out of that...sleepers and onesizes are just not going to cut it...So Jay is going to hit some stores to pick up just a few things, maybe a few things to wear to church and daycare...he can basically hang out in his diaper with me...I don't care how he looks but with the weather outside cooling off and well, having to go to church and look slightly presentable, we have got to get a few things...luckily we have quite a few 12 month stuff so I am sure we will be packing away the  9 month stuff before we know it.

Matthew got his 2nd flu shot yesterday and he was such a champ...didn't realize the needle was in and out, and looked at me like WTF mom, what was the pinch....you woke me up from my nap for that??? We made our appointment for our 9 month well baby on Nov 18th...so basically I have till then to get the last 4 lbs off...yep, 9 months to put it on and well almost 9 month months to get it off...I am down to my last 4 lbs and then of course like everyone I would love to get another 5 or so vanity pounds off...So close!!! I can definitely tell a huge difference in the last 8 lbs...back on August 21st, I did my first spring tri in a long time...and my bike time was about 38-40 minutes for 11.5 miles...and my run time was about 30 minutes...I say about b/c I was one of the lucky 100 or so that the chip didn't pick up splits for...anyway my total time as 1hr 16 minutes...and I won the Athena Category....the +150lb girl category...they just say Athena to be nice...but Sunday I am going to do the same race course and the last week or so since I have shed 8 lbs I can feel that it is going to be a good race...plus the cooler weather also helps...so my goal is to bike the course hopefully around 36 minutes to run the 5k in about 27 minutes...so basically my total time goal is 1:12:00...can't control my swim b/c it is a pool swim and you just never know with seeding how that is going to....but I am feeling good...
Also taught my first spin/yoga class yesterday and it felt really good as well so all in all, I am beginning to feel good and when I look in the mirror I am beginning to see a less puffy/swollen me...so almost there.

So that is what we have planned for Columbus day weekend, Jay is on-call so working Saturday and Monday morning, but we have to hit a few stores to get a few new items of clothing for Matt, I am racing and of course watching LSU on Saturday afternoon.

Weekend in DC

Well, it appears all went well with Matthew and Jay having a "boys" weekend. I got to thoroughly enjoy seeing old AF friends and attending a baptism for Victoria Pina.

Here is a picture of my friends Alex and Matt. We had this fantastic steak dinner in Alexandria near King Street Metro station and really got to catch up on things. Alex also put me up for the night and it was so great to sleep a whole night...I feel asleep around 1130 and woke up at 720 am. It was amazing, I even got to be lazy in bed for another 20 minutes before I finally got out of bed.

The baptism was great, I reconnected with Mrs. Jaydee Bell Purdy and then headed home. The drive was of course a pain as traffic in DC took forever...it should be about an hour and half between my house and DC, but it takes 2 hrs usually b/c of DC traffic. I always hit some sort of slow down with all the crazy exits and lane shifts.

So now back to reality. Today Matthew started his week of morning day-care, in fact I have to head over there to pick him up in a bit. I didn't get the memo or handout but today they are doing pictures of the kids...I didn't dress him in anything special as its cold and I didn't know about the pictures...but I did put him in this cute little hoodie and sweat pants outfit I picked up from someone. It has these cute little bugs on it so hopefully they get 1 or 2 pictures of him in that. This kinda works out b/c he is almost 8 months old and I was thinking I needed to get professional pictures done again...although what we really need is family pictures...thinking I can now put that off until Nov, just in time for Christmas presents for everyone.

As for he halloween costume, Aunt Leone came through and got a Monkey outfit at Old Navy for Matthew so looks like we will be ok on that front.

Well, I really need to get going, so that's all for now. It is a busy week, so might not get to the blog for a few days. I hope you will forgive me. Thank you again to Alex for hosting me for the night, and for everyone that made an effort to catch up while I was in DC. Not sure when my next night off will be but it was really great and I really had a great time.

Working on Video of Matthew and his babbling...he isn't quite talking yet, but he loves to hoot and babble...problem is the minute I bring out the video camera he fixates on it and then just wants to crawl, climb and attack me to get to the camera.