Running Update

I haven't blogged about running for a while, so here's an update on a few of my last runs.

For those of you that I haven't already bragged to, I ran 10 miles at once last Thursday! It took me 1 hour and 48 minutes and I felt great.

I got to run with my dad last weekend. He's faster than I am on short distances (2-3 miles) but he consented to let me pace him for his longest run ever - 4 miles! Isn't that great for a 60-year-old man? I'm lucky he doesn't want to devote any more time to running or he'd put me to shame! It was really fun to have that time together, and I was amazed at how much breath we had for talking.

Isaac put me through some paces at an outdoor track this week. We brought the girls and took turns running quarter-mile intervals while the other one stayed with Amelie. Then he had me repeat 100 meter sprints. It was a brutal workout and reminded me why I don't like running fast!

Today I set out for an easy 6-miler in gorgeous weather along the Mississippi River between the Marshall and Ford bridges. It wasn't easy. My legs felt tight and icky just about the whole run and I was frequently tempted to give up and walk. I don't know why some runs are fun and some are just plain slogs. This one was definitely a slog. The good thing was that on the Minneapolis side of the river I overlapped paths with the tail end of a marathon, so I got a chance to see a little bit of what that is like.

I'm running a 10 K in Roseville's Run for the Roses on June 27. Elizabeth and my dad are doing the half-mile fun run that same day. Once Elizabeth goes to kindergarten, Isaac and I are planning on training together for a half-marathon (with Amers in the jogging stroller - that part will be tough!). I wouldn't be shocked if I decide to train for a full marathon after the girls are both in school. I don't get emotional very easily, but thinking about crossing a finish line with my family cheering for me actually makes me contamplate getting teary!

More Changes

Just when we thought we had the crawling stage mostly figured out, Amelie has started to pull herself up to standing. Ay, yi!

She's a crazy peek-a-boo player. She loves to cover my face with a blanket and rip it off before I even get a chance to finish saying, "Where's Mommy?" Then she leans in for a quick cuddle and does it again.

Her favorite toys are still shoes and electrical cords. We think she might have a little foot fetish. She has no concept of the word "No" or of falling off a step or bed yet.

She loves orange/yellow vegetables but dislikes green ones. She's started feeding herself small, soft food and is a big fan of melons and mashed mango. We're thinking of buying stock in Cheerios due to the rate she goes through those! (Although, I think as many end up on our floor as in her mouth!)

She makes new noises and sounds every day. Her most recent is babbling "Da, da, da, da" very loudly. Come to think of it, most of her sounds are very loud.

I love the noise of her scrambling across the floor on all fours.

I love this whole stage.

Summer Fun

We enjoyed a neighborhood bluegrass festival this afternoon. It's amazing how much packing it takes simply to load up two kids and a jogging stroller for a one-mile jaunt!

It is a lot of work to take Amelie outside. She launches herself off blankets and onto the ground in search of the holy grail of sticks and leaves to eat. You really can't take your eyes off her for a second.

We enjoyed Isaac's sister Ana's graduation party down in Faribault yesterday. Congratulations, Ana! And great food, Dan and Beth!

Elizabeth had a rough day yesterday, skinning each knee on separate occasions and blackening her left eye on one of those aforementioned skinned knees on the trampoline. (It doesn't show up very well in the pictures below, but I tried.) It must be summertime.

Gymnastics/Dance

Elizabeth took a combination gymnastics/dance class this semester through community ed. She loved it. They did a casual spring performance last week so that the parents could see what they've been working on. Slacker mom that I am, I forgot a camera, so here are some pictures of Elizabeth doing her dance "Splish Splash" at home after the show. (Note: I love it when we don't have to pay for a costume! She's wearing a swimsuit over her leotard and an inner tube.)

Now That's Entertainment!

See all these nice toys we have out for Amelie? I see the toys, but where is the baby?

Playing with shoes. (In the interests of accuracy and full disclosure, she's actually trying to see how much shoe she can mouth before we take it away.)

She does this every chance she gets, because they're her favorite toy (other than electrical cords).

"Look, guys, if I just bring you this shoe, I'm sure you'll agree how great it is."

Park Pictures

After many years of wimpiness, Elizabeth is finally getting braver at the park (much to Isaac's relief!). Here's hoping for the monkey bars in our future!

How Could I?

We have gotten through much of the almost-five-year-old whining and testing stage that we've been mired in for a while now. It still occurs occasionally, of course, and we still talk about it quite a bit. At the dinner table the other day, Elizabeth quietly said, "Mommy, sometimes when I'm disobedient, you do things that are cruel and say things that are cruel."

I felt terrible. I'm pretty careful about not making flippant comments that I would regret, but had something slipped out in my anger or exasperation that cut my little girl to the heart? What had I said or done that she would remember forever as an example of my "cruelty?"

It was time to apologize and make things right with my sweet, sensitive daughter. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry," I said. "What did I say or do that was so cruel?"

Elizabeth replied accusingly, "You said, 'Go have a time-out!'"

Phew!

What Am I Missing?

Isaac and I seriously questioned whether or not to have a second child. We were so happy and content with Elizabeth and our current family. We liked the portability of a single, older child. We loved Elizabeth and didn't know if another child could possibly be as wonderful. We liked the things that we were able to do as a family of three.

Obviously, we decided to go ahead with plans for a second child. (And almost three years later, we got one!) And Amelie Joy is so aptly named. She is such a joy that we can't even express it. I can't imagine our lives without her. Our love for Elizabeth hasn't changed, and we are even happier with our family than we were before.

I wonder how much of our Christian life is like that. We think we're happy and joyful and doing fine. But what else does God have for us? What are we missing? Are we tooling along in life unaware of how much better it would be if we trusted Him more? Are we carrying our burdens on our own rather than handing them over to His capable arms? Are we missing out on His blessings by believing that we are too busy to serve, or too shy to share our faith, or too wrapped up in ourselves to [fill in the blank]?

God's fullness of life and joy never ends. We can never exhaust Him. How can you embrace the fullness of the life He has for you today?

Bad Consequences

Elizabeth to me, after a long day of testing limits and patience: "I think you're better at consequences than Daddy, because you know the bad ones. Daddy just tries to help me feel better."

Me: "Which is better for for helping you grow up into a woman who loves God and loves people?"

Elizabeth, grinning: "Helping me feel better!"

Isn't that the way we frequently think? With our limited vision, we usually don't appreciate discipline, even though it is necessary for us to grow. When we have our hearts and minds set on things above, though, it becomes inconsequential in the big picture of God's glory.

Hebrews 12:11 "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

Here's hoping this verse applies to preschoolers as well!

Good Rules

I have two additions to my reigning favorite household rules.

VanLoon Rule #3: We do not carry babies by the neck. (Don't worry, everyone is fine.)

VanLoon Rule #4: Babies do not eat electrical cords.

These new rules are proud to join the current family rules.

VanLoon Rule #2: Sand does not belong in diapers.

VanLoon Rule #1: We do not lick the kitchen floor.

What are the most unusual rules in your house?

Camera Ham

Elizabeth: "This is fun, Amers. Let's take a bath picture together!" Amelie: "Um, I don't think so, big sister. Get out of my way. This is my show!"

Amelie's Diet and Goals

Today Amelie has eaten the following:
Baby oatmeal with prune juice
Yogurt
Pureed peaches
The back cover of Sports Illustrated

Last night she ate a similar dinner:
Baby rice cereal
Mashed zucchini
Pureed green beans
The back cover of Sports Illlustrated

Being a smart mother, I moved the stack of magazines.

Undeterred, Amelie has set her sights on some new goals: the shoe mat, the wastebasket, and electrical cords. Oh boy.

Hard Worker

To truly help me understand her chosen activities, Elizabeth earnestly explained to me in a way she thought I could understand. "For me, a day without coloring is like a day without magazines for you."

"I can spend lots and lots of time doing my projects."

Oh, To Be Tall

At volleyball on Tuesday night, I complimented a very tall player (I think he's 6 foot 7, but Maija or Dustin can confirm that) on his coverage of the court.

"Oh, it's easy," he said. "I just fall down, and I'm halfway across the court!"

Yeah. Me too.

When I block, I'm thrilled if my hands get above the net. This guy breaks his glasses regularly because his face is above the net.

We're going to have a good team this summer!

Life As We Know It

Life is as we know it is changing. Amelie is officially crawling forward. She's all over the place. She tipped over the wastebasket, grabbed two different electrical cords, and started reaching books off the bookshelf. Time to rearrange the house.

Unexpected Day Off?

Elizabeth was in the midst of a yucky tantrum earlier today, so I took Amelie and retreated into my bedroom to allow her to work through her yuckiness without affecting us.

She opened my door, shouted "You're not my mother any more!" and slammed the door.

Huh. If only I had known that before I served her lunch!

How Could I?

As we were walking in our yard today, Elizabeth yelled, "Mama! You're stepping on a dandelion!" Shaking her head, she accused, "I pick dandelions. You step on them!" Oh, the wrath of a righteous almost-five-year-old!

Great Imaginary Conversation

Elizabeth was happily coloring this morning and talking away to herself. Here's what I heard.

Elizabeth: "Would you por favor pass the cheese?"

Elizabeth: "What does por favor mean?"

Elizabeth: "Por favor is please in Spanish."

Elizabeth: "Oh! Okay. I'll por favor pass the cheese."

I can't make this stuff up! I love it!

Four-Handed Backrub

The girls worked together to give Isaac a backrub the other day. I told him it was probably the only time he's ever get a backrub from two women at the same time!

Catch!

We're still working on the ball skills. They take lots of practice, and getting Elizabeth to play catch is not easy.

Grrrr

Really? Do small children really need linen dresses with pleats? Do you know long that takes to iron?

I have actually ironed twice in the past month. Maybe I'm growing up. My mother always told me things look better ironed, and yet I managed to turn on my iron about three times in my first 6 years of marriage. (And I have to admit, those projects always involved melting crayons and preschoolers.)

Still. I ironed for an hour tonight and ended up with one shirt, one girl dress, one baby dress, and one skirt. We better look VERY good on Sunday for Amelie's dedication. This is not my skill set.

1:29:34

I ran 8 miles today. Really. It took me 26 seconds short of an hour and a half.

I started out slow with 11:10 minute miles, thinking that I'd speed up at the halfway point and again closer to the end. But although my effort increased greatly, my speed didn't! I felt like I was going faster, but my second half was only thirty seconds shorter than my first half. I had nothing left in me to increase my speed.

I didn't bring music and relied on self-talk and the beautiful route (on Summit and the Mississippi River Blvd) to distract me. I kept repeating how far I had left to myself, and how far I had come. The last two and a half miles started to get pretty hard. The last two seemed interminable. Then I made a mistake in my distance reckoning and realized I had an extra half-mile to go that I thought I'd already run! I was feeling pretty low.

Then lo and behold, what to my wondering eyes should appear - but a rusty white van, with my family dear! Isaac had loaded up the girls and driven to find me, yelling "Go, Mama, go!" out the window. It made all the difference.

That last mile and a half still lasted forever. It was really tough. But seeing my family, hearing them cheer, and getting to run a block or two with Elizabeth helped my motivation a ton. I didn't have any extra speed to add, but I was able to finish steady with a smile on my face. I felt like a million bucks once my little fan club joined me.

How often is our spiritual walk like that? It feels long, and lonely, and interminable. We're not sure we can keep going. Then someone comes along side of us and cheers us on, and we find the strength to finish. Can you encourage anyone like that today?

Beautiful Flowers

'Tis the season of dandelions and my daughter's never-ending awe of them. Like the yellow nose?

Private Times

Amelie gets very distracted when she nurses now. We can no longer nurse in front of other people - even Daddy and Elizabeth - without way too much exposure and not very much eating! Now we have enforced private times four times a day enclosed in my bedroom. Kind of annoying, kind of nice.

Mommy/Daughter Date

In hopes of combating some of the whining/arguing/bad attitude that we've been seeing in Elizabeth lately, I've been working on spending extra quality time with her lately. So yesterday we went on a date. Getting dressed was important, and Elizabeth picked out my jewelry for me (hence, the fancy pearl earrings and the very out-of-place necklace!).

She also picked out my hairstyle and my hair accessories. Can you see the two pink butterfly clips holding back my hair? She liked it because we matched. I got to go out in public like this!

We went to Como Zoo for our date. We packed a couple books and read in the conservatory before exploring the rest of the zoo. Then we came home and had Breakfast for Lunch, which is always a hit. It was a fun date, but unfortunately I saw no change in the amount of icky behavior afterward!

VanLoon Update

I'm sorry I've been so sporadic about posting lately. It's been a busy couple of weeks! Here's a synopsis of what has been happening around the VanLoon household:

• Since finding out where she would attend kindergarten, Elizabeth decided that she should no longer attend preschool. We experienced several days of tears and clinging at drop-off, which has not happened for years. After lots of long talks, we appear to have passed this mini-crisis.
• Isaac has been busy with back-to-back scoring projects (working on our home computer scoring ACT essays) in addition to his full-time work at Primerica. This is exhausting for him, but we are thankful for the opportunity in this economy. I try to help out by scoring for a couple hours to give him a break.
• Amelie has learned to sit unaided, which opens up a new world of play for her. She has developed her loud yelling voice and makes a lot of noise. She also cut her second tooth today with a great fanfare of drool and snot.
• Elizabeth is still determined to learn how to read more fluently. Isaac and I both spend lots of time listening to her read to us. You take for granted so many words in the English language until you try to explain them to a little kid!
• Amelie now eats baby cereals, pureed vegetables, and some pureed fruits. She enjoys eating solid foods, but makes a big mess both in her high chair and in her diaper. I forgot how much work is it to feed and clean up after a baby.
• We have gotten several opportunities lately to spend time with friends, which all of us enjoy. Elizabeth has even had two friends overnight! Here is a picture of a fort she made a decorated with one of them.

• After encouraging underwater advances in the swimming pool at our hotel in Chicago, we've been working to keep up the positive momentum and expose Elizabeth to more swimming in hopes of upping her bravery.
• I got lazy with working out and eating fewer treats after Chicago, but a friend last night encouraged me to get back on track. So I ran 6.5 miles today and I'm committed to losing 7 more pounds to reach my goal weight.
• I'm researching camping trips and activities for this summer, an activity that I greatly enjoy but that takes up a lot of time and energy. Plus, we need to upgrade tents with the addition of another child, so that's another big thing to research.

So that's the VanLoons in a (very big, long-winded) nutshell. How are things going with all of you?