Miles is One Month, and meeting family

I can't believe that Miles is a month old already! In a way, this past month has gone by really quickly, but at the same time it already feels like he's been a part of our family for awhile. I thought it would be fun to take a picture of him sitting in his Nap Nanny on the 26th of each month so those of you that don't get to see him on a regular basis can see how much he is growing! Now, let's hope I remember each month!! :)

Also, Miles will be meeting many of his relatives next weekend at his Baptism, but last night Great-Aunt Madonna stopped by to meet the new little guy. Miles was sleeping when she got here, so she was talking to Bennett, and she asked Bennett, "Is there anything new at your house that you should tell me about?" (referring to Miles) Bennett answered, "Yes. New library books!!" haha I guess in Bennett's mind, Miles isn't new anymore since he's been around for a month, but we did get new library books yesterday!!

Also, I've been meaning to post this picture for awhile, but a few weeks ago, Miles got to meet Great-Grandma Rull. Here is a cute picture of the two of them. Look how much he's changed in just a couple of weeks!!

Making some art at Messy Play

The proud artist, Bennett.

Running the Sahara

Last night, I had the privelege of meeting legendary ultrarunner, Charlie Engle, at Plaza Frontenac where he was hosting a screening of his documentary film, Running the Sahara.  He also indulged the group with about an hour of candid Q & A afterwards.  It was such a unique experience to hear from a seemingly ordinary guy who pushed past every conceiveable limitation you could imagine imposing on the human body as he (and 2 good friends) ran for 111 days without taking a single day off, and covered more than 4000 miles of the most grueling, desolate, unforgiving, yet beautiful landscape on Earth.
http://www.runningthesahara.com/
What started out as a hairbrained idea he had while running through the Amazon jungle, spiraled out of control until he had Hans Zimmer and Matt Damon producing his project.  The result is what you would expect from names like those.  You should all find the movie and watch it for the sake of understanding that it is almost sheer willpower and mental prowess that drove these men to complete a journey that their bodies had no business doing.  Truly amazing.
Several things that struck me most profoundly from listening to Charlie speak both before and after the film, were the following:
1.  The Islamic republics on the west coast of Africa have no idea what lies on the other side of the continent.  The runners tried to explain to nomads and passers-by what they were doing.  Keeping it simple, they said they were running to Egypt - Cairo?  the pyramids?  Red Sea?  It was all met with blank stares.  They don't have cell phones or computers.  They don't watch Jeopardy.  They had no idea what Charlie and his group were talking about. 
2.  Charlie was a hardcore drug addict for about 10 years.  I'd say he traded up for a better obsession.
3.  During the Q&A Charlie was asked about how the desert crossing made him a different or better husband/father/friend, etc.  He went on to explain that he has to constantly deal with the guilt that comes with being away from his family for long stretches.  And there's nothing to do but dwell on it for 12 hours every day while running across the sand.  But he doesn't appologize for it.  Nor does he ask permission for it (he's bold and stubborn).  Instead, he looks at the society we've created that has parents telling their children they can do whatever they want to do, be whoever they want to be, accomplish anything, but doesn't set the example.  Actions are required to make a long-lasting impression.  He said that right now, he can go out and run crazy races and do wild expeditions, and his family supports him.  When his kids are ready to take on the world and reach beyond their potential, they will believe that they can do it, and have his experience to guide them, he said.
4.  Even though he never thought it would be easy, it was much more difficult than he imagined.  Geez! Wouldn't you just pretty much imagine the most horrific experience you could??
5.  Lastly, he's much nicer in person than he is in real life.  It wouldn't be fair to judge him solely by the flim's portrayal. 

So there it is.  Find it.  See it. Be amazed.  Also be warned, your neck my hurt afterwards from shaking your head so much.

My round pound of sound!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Brandon has been at a volleyball tournament all day, but Bennett, Miles and I have been preparing for his return. Miles did his job by sleeping while Bennett and I made and decorated cupcakes for Brandon's birthday. Bennett's favorite parts included sticking her fingers in the frosting and licking it, and "accidently" dumping too many sprinkles on top so that she could eat the extra ones on her plate! They aren't the most beautiful cupcakes ever, but when you have a 2 year old's hand in every aspect of it, they probably won't be...but we had fun! Now we're just waiting for Daddy to get home so that we can dig in!! (we'll have to post more pictures of that later!) Happy 29th, Brandon!

Mmmm...I think I like this chocolate!

"painting" on some frosting...

Can I lick my fingers mom?

We did it!! The finished product

And Miles cheers in his sleep because we are finished!

Bennettisms

A few Bennettisms from yesterday...
She loves the song that goes "the cat takes the rat... the cat takes the rat... hi ho the dairy oh, the cat takes the rat."  But she'll just look around the room and plug in any two things and amuse herself (and me and Laura) for the longest time.  A few choice selections from last nights dinner concert included classics like:

The Cabinet Takes the Cheese
The Fork Takes the Pork
The Shower Curtain takes the Mommy

Then, late last night after I got home from volleyball and Bennett should have been fast asleep, I heard a low, whiny little voice calling for mommy, but I went to investigate.  I asked her what the problem was, and she informed me that she needed a pony tail.  "A pony tail?" I questioned.  She confirmed it.  Her late-night demand was for a new hairstyle in which to sleep.  I got her distracted with a stuffed animal and the promise of having breakfast together in the morning, and she wasn't heard from again until 7AM.
The Pony Tail Crisis of 2010 was narrowly avoided.

Photos of the Day

Miles the little brother. Today was the first day I had him with me when I took Bennett to school. She was very excited to show him off to her teachers.

Bennett showed her Team USA pride by sporting her Olympics shirt to school. (or as she calls it "Olympiacs") Another funny story...we had the Olympics on TV and she pointed to the Olympic rings and said, "that says Daddy's car!" Well, they do sort of look like the Audi symbol!

Pic of the day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

We started out our Valentine's Day right with Miles having a great night of sleep. He slept two 4 hour segments, and then a 3 hour! He must love me!! :) Actually, ever since we got the Nap Nanny for him and moved him to his crib, he has been sleeping a lot better (and so have we!). Let's hope that continues!!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Funny Faces

They really are siblings!! I tried to get some pictures of Bennett and Miles today because I thought they looked cute in their matching brown outfits (which I didn't even do on purpose!). However, Bennett kept making funny faces. When I downloaded the pictures, I found out that Miles made almost the same funny faces at the same time! :)

Photo of the Day-Tuesday

I don't want to leave my little Bennaroo out, and I absolutely LOVE this picture of her!!

Trip of a Lifetime - A True Story

Below is a note that my friend Nathan (aka: gozagswoohoo), wrote on the Gonzaga Bulldogs internet forum where he is a longstanding contributer (poster) and personality AT-LARGE.  Read on, and you'll get a glimpse into what it means to be a "Zag."  I think you'll be impressed.

Gonzaga is a university like no other. I've always heard people talk like that, but over these last few years, I've seen proof of it. The generosity of some of you guys is unheard of. This story is even further proof of that.
 I really felt compelled to tell everyone what exactly has taken place with this trip...it's pretty amazing, to say the least. About 6 weeks ago, I got an e-mail from a poster on this board (we're going to keep him or her anonymous, but we are going to refer to them as Ghostzag), asking if it was true that I'd never been to a game in the MAC. Ghostzag then told me they'd followed my posts and things over the last few years, and said they thought it would be cool to make my dream come true. Ghostzag then offered to provide me and a friend, roundtrip airfare to and from Spokane, and also provide tickets to the St. Mary's game. At first...I thought surely it was some kind of joke, really mean hoax, etc. But...it wasn't. After many, many e-mails with Ghostzag....it's actually happening. This poster has already booked and sent me and my bro our flight itenerary for the trip, and as most of you know, I'll be arriving at the Spokane airport this Wednesday night, and flying back home Sunday morning. Have you EVER heard of anyone doing something like this?? I thought it was only in movies, haha. And I never thought anything so amazing like this would happen to me. Ghostzag, I know you're reading this, and I know I've told you this 1000 times already, but thank you. You will never really know what this trip means to me.

So, flights are booked, we needed to find some tickets! W searched and searched for tickets to St. Marys, and it seemed there NONE for sale. I made a request on the forum for some game tickets, and within 24 hours, there were 5 different people from this board offering me free tickets (that were selling for hundreds of dollars on ebay!!) to this game.
First off, thank you to everyone who sent those ticket offers to me. I won't give any of their names out, for fear that they'll be blasted with 30 PM's about game tickets :-). But thank you guys, really. Also, I had 3 or 4 PM's from posters offering me a place to stay at their home!!! That's just incredible. (The word I use to describe it is incredible, the word my WIFE used to describe it...is 'wierd', but she just doesn't understand, haha!)
Also, over the last few years, there have been probably 5 different people from this board (again, don't want to list their names, but if you want to speak up and say who you are, feel free!) who have sent me random zags items, for no reason. I have literally received hundreds of dollars worth of zags memorabilia and autographs....just because, and many times just out of the blue! When I look around my zags room...I have probably only purchased or obtained HALF of the items in their myself. The rest were given to me. You guys will never know what that means to me. This would all be different if it was just one person that sent me an item one time...but I've received multiple packages from half a dozen people, just at random times!! That says something about Gonzaga. Everyone always says that the players are 'different', and they are 'zag material'. But I think the fans are different too. I first became a die-hard zags fan because of the generosity of the first zags fan I ever met, but that's a whole other story...
Also, and I can say his name because he's been posting about it, but El Voce sent me a PM out of the blue, offering to drive me all around Spokane and the surrounding area, giving me a personal tour of the campus and any other thing I wanted to see. I never even asked or posted about this, he just offered...
So...sorry to be so long winded, but I just wanted everyone know how special this university is, and how much it means to me. And I'm not just saying that because you guys have sent me free stuff. I also received dozens of PM's when my mother was in the hospital, dozens of messages when my son was born, dozens of messages when I was stressing about a job change...just to name a few of the instances.
Thank you to all of you guys. But ESPECIALLY to Ghostzag, for making my dream come true. I KNOW for a fact, that I'll be telling my grandkids about this trip. It WILL be one of the highlights of my life. I just hope I can slow down long enough to take it all in this week.
And thank you to any of you guys that have ever gotten an autograph for me, or sent me a t-shirt or towel in the mail, ticket stubs, or sent me any other zag item. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
When I try to describe to friends and family how and why I'm getting to go on this trip, I get some really odd looks. It's really hard to explain to them, but I feel like I REALLY do have some really good, genuine friends on this forum. And I'm really excited to meet you guys.

If you want, you can follow his adventure via his new blog: http://www.gozagswoohoo.blogspot.com/ .  He will be updating throughout his trip, which begins on Wednesday, and wraps up after the two-game homestand, on Sunday.

Photo of the Day

My little man on his changing table. It's not always his favorite place to be, but he was pretty happy there today!

Bacon!

A few fun things to get you caught up on.

1.  Bennett is hilarious.  Her imagination is wilder than ever.  She "reads" the tags on her Beanie Babies and makes up nonsensical poems that are far more amusing than what is written on them.  I"ll catch it on video so you can all enjoy her lyrical prowess.

Yesterday she didn't take a nap, but stayed in her bed for 90 minutes or so.  She was asking to get out, so I went in her room and was hit in the nose by a wall of Vick's vaporub vapors.  Whoa!  Upon further inspection, I notice that her face was pretty shiny and smelled strongly of Vick's.  I noticed that many of her stuffed animals smelled the same way, and I questioned her about it. Very matter of factly, she told me that, "They needed it help them sleep."  And she must have been thinking that if some is good, more is better!  I couldn't help but laugh a little as I wiped Vick's off Elmo, Bennett, and Dora.

On Saturday, I took her to dance class, and smiled the whole time!  Bennett is so fun to watch when she doesn't realize she's being watched.  She follows directions so well.  Waits patiently for her turn.  Speaks clearly.  Best of all, she has fun.  My favorite part was when each child chose a colorful shape to stand underneath.  The teacher referred to one of the "shapes" as a "squishy red rectangle thing," but mentioned that it could just be "bacon."  After all the other kids chose their shapes, it was Bennett's turn.  Bless her heart, she blurted out, "I want the bacon!" 

2.  Miles is pretty good little baby, it seems.  As long as we keep him propped up after feeding, he keeps things down pretty well.  He doesn't fuss unless he's hungry.  Unfortunately, that seems to be every 90 minutes or so, sometimes. 

3.  I signed up for my first road marathon.  GO! St. Louis is April 11th.  My training window is pretty short at this point, but since I have a good amount of base fitness from my ultra trail-running adventures, I want to leverage it to accomplish something from my personal 'bucket list.'  Originally, I was hoping to run a 50 miler with J. Cash in the Spring, but it's just not quite enough time for me to be ready, and I don't want to give it anything less than my best effort.  I think not respecting the 50mi distance could end in disaster. 

Now, running a marathon is not the hard part for me at this point, it's the speed at which I want to do it that poses the problem.  If my perfect day comes together, I'll run it in 3:10:59 or faster, and qualify for the Boston Marathon.  A worthy goal, and I'm looking forward to the challenge.  And to buying new shoes.

Woohoo!

I captured one of his fleeting smiles. What do I win?!

"Hey, easy on the pictures, Dad."

Miles' first Dr. appointment

On Tuesday, I took Miles in for his 1 week check up. As you all know, he weighed 8lbs, 10oz at birth. By the time we left the hospital he was down to 8lbs, 5 oz. At his check up he weighed in at 8lbs, 13 oz, so he is gaining weight really well! Also, he measured in at 20 1/4", putting him at 50%ile for height and 75%ile for weight.

All bundled up in his car seat ready to go to the doctor

He is doing great so far. The first couple of nights were kind of rough, then he gave us a few in a row that were pretty good with 4 hour stretches. The past couple of days haven't been as good again. You just never know with a newborn! Otherwise, though, he is a great baby. He really only cries when he is hungry and during diaper changes. Other than that, he is a very content little guy!

It has definitely been an adjustment trying to get used to having 2 kids by myself. The biggest challenge is keeping attention on Bennett when I am feeding Miles and not mobile for so much of the day. Yesterday was the hardest because he woke up hungry just as I was laying down with Bennett to read her books before her nap. Before I knew it, I had Miles crying because he was hungry and Bennett crying because she wanted me to read books. I felt like yelling, "help!!" Bennett has been really great with him though. She loves him but doesn't smother him, and she's adjusted pretty well to having to alter her routine a bit based on his schedule. A big thanks to my mom, too, who has helped us out so much since Miles has come home. She gives Bennett some special attention time, watches Miles while I take Bennett to/from school, and is constantly bringing over food for us and picking up my house that seems to be a disaster every time I turn around. Thanks mom!

Today I tried to put Miles down in his crib for the first time for a nap. I got a picture, but it only lasted about 5 minutes! Oh well, we'll try again another time!!

Put up yer dukes!

Some comparisons...

Since people have been asking for Bennett and Miles comparison photos, here are a few. I think they have some similarities but definitely some differences too. See what you think!

Bennett hospital close up

Miles hospital close up

Bennett sucking her thumb

Miles sucking his thumb

Bennett 6 days old

Miles 5 days old (I don't know why I can't get this to rotate!)

Week 1 ctd.

We have had a great first week with Miles. After a rough first couple of nights, he has slept really well the past two nights. He's done 4 hour stretches, and I've only had to get up twice with him to feed him, then he goes right back to sleep. Not bad!!

We had a great visit from Aunt Meredith, who came home over the weekend to meet Miles. She also cooked us a delicious dinner on Saturday night!

Today Brandon went back to work, so I have had the challenge of taking on both of the kids by myself. Miles was awake almost all morning which was unusual. So around noon, Grandma Joje came over and gave Bennett some special attention, and also gave me a chance to take a shower! We'll get the hang of it, but it's definitely harder with two! Here are a few more pictures from this week...

Miles' first ride in his swing.

Sucking his thumb! So far, he hasn't had much interest in the pacifier.

Miles meets Aunt Murph

Miles' first bath

Miles and Bennett