Delaney at 2.5 Years Old

On September 8, 2015 - we woke up and celebrated your "half" birthday with donuts! All day long at school, you told EVERYONE it was your birthday. You were so excited!

Meet The Teacher (Mrs. Apolinar & Mrs. Jaime)

First, it was off to the 2nd grade hall to meet Mrs. Jamie, Addison's 2nd grade teacher. Before we made it to the end of he hall, Carter was quick to notice his picture still hanging from being awarded the 2nd grade Bronco Leadership Award.

Then, we moved UPSTAIRS! Yes, upstairs for the first time to where 3rd, 4th and 5th grade halls are! Carter is so excited about being upstairs. The neat thing is that Carter got the same teacher that Addison had for Kindergarten... So we already know and love her.

JJ Quick Is Here!

Cindy and Dirk's sweet boy arrived the exact time that I was to be hosting 30 women for Cindy's baby shower on Sunday - September 13 around 2:29PM. Cindy went into labor Saturday morning when her water broke 6 weeks early! They held off his delivery 32 hours and were able to get two doses of steroids in to help with his lung development. Great news is that he didn't need any oxygen and weighted almost 5 pounds at birth!! (4 lbs & 15 oz.) He was in NICU for 7 days and I got to stay in the hospital that first night with Cindy and Dirk. What a special night that is... sweet Dirk was spending equal hours beside JJ (Jackson James) and Cindy. Cindy was miserable with the after effects of a super long labor, C-section and pain meds. But JJ is thriving and got to come home just a week later. I have never seen Cindy and Dirk so happy!

"Brownie" - Carter's 3rd Grade Class Pet

I have a soft spot for Hamsters and was super excited to sign up and get to have Carter bring "Brownie" home to the Brown's for the weekend. She is absolutely adorable and even posed for a picture within 30 seconds of me picking them all up from school on Friday afternoon! Although it was a GREAT weekend with her and the kids are begging for a super sweet dwarf hamster, I think this "class pet" is the way to go... in fact, I am going to log on right after I finish typing this blog post and sign up to host her again in January!

Carter & Addison's First Triathlon - Timberwood

Nancy asked us to participate with her at the neighborhood's annual family triathlon. We couldn't have asked for a better first triathlon experience for the kids. I wish it had been my very first learning experience. There was a lot of new experiences to take in that morning and the kids took it in like champions... of course Carter, thinking through every single part of this unique and somewhat complicated race and asking a million questions, while Addison just confidently prepared. It was such a huge learning experience for ALL of us!

Addison blew us all away and finished first in her age group. The girl didn't stop and overwhelming exceeded all expectations I had for her to run out of steam for the last part - the run. Instead she stayed incredibly focused and some how was able to sustain her energy throughout the swim, bike and run! Incredible!

When Addison finished the biking part before Carter - WAY before Carter, we knew something must be wrong with Carter. We weren't too worried since our long time friend and SAPD - Rudy happened to be there that mooring and rode the bike with Carter the entire time. Sure enough, his chain had broke on his bike ride and he was in tears when he got back to the transition area. He was SO upset and cried the entire mile run, I am sure. He really let his emotions over take him at 8.5 years old and was a COMPLETE emotional mess once he crossed the final finish line. This is something we are continuing to work on with him - to learn to balance competitiveness.

But it was Nancy that trumped everyone. While she waited an hour to start the race, she helped Blake and me with the kids. After Addison finished the second stage - the bike, she offered to run the final stage with Addison. While running and encouraging Addison along the track, Nancy rolled her ankle and fell off the ledge of the track. In true Nancy form, she played it way down and completed the entire race. It was several days later that she finally went to get it X-rayed to find a major break. :(