Springtime

 Hayden is crawling everywhere and loving scooting on the new floors.

 Kristin and Barry came for a visit. Since they left, Hanna hasn't stopped saying that she wants to turn into a bird so she can fly to Kiki & Bear Paws house.  Bear Paw was the real hit with his magic trick finger lights.  They got to see both horse riding lessons, feed the baby goats and see Hanna play soccer.  It was wonderful to have them here.  Scott and I even managed to enjoy a few wonderful free date nights.  We love family visits.

 Last weekend, like only in Texas, Lakeway had a citywide free egg hunt for the kids with tons of fun events.  Hanna and Hayden loved it and so did we.

 This is Hanna's favorite picture of herself.  She can't get enough of it.

 Here is Hanna on the take in the center.  Her BFF is in the blue dress in the back.

 Her hunt was just for the 4 & 5 yr olds.

 Hayden and I crushed the 1 & 2 yr old hunt while we strolled right up to the eggs.

 Hayden not very impressed with the "prize" inside the egg.

 Hayden got his first tattoo making glitter tough and cool.

More Easter pictures to follow.  This is all for now.

Soccer Girl Hanna

 Cutest tiniest soccer shoes

 Our girl on the run. Matching bow cuz no headers just yet and this picture was pre-self-haircut.

 Practicing her score dance.  She was pumped for her first game and then scared to death on her second and warming up on her third, so hopefully she is developing more confidence.

 Proudest Mommy and Daddy ever.

Once this short season is over, we are already on to swim team here as it is getting hot here.  Our community is having its first ever swim team.  Hanna is enrolled, so we will soon see how she likes it.

Hippotherapy, Birthday, Spina Bifida Clinic and Pediatrician Well Check

Big post with few words.  This is Hanna with her horse Crystal and her patient teacher Lynn.  Lucky for us Hanna gets a lesson 5 minutes away from Hayden's lessons at Red Arena.

 Here is Hayden's horse Sven, a Norwegian Fjord, his two handlers and his PT Jennifer.  The cutest horse with the cutest boy.

It doesn't get any cuter folks.

 My baby really started acting like a big boy shortly before his birthday when he began to crawl.  It was one of my proudest moments.

 Happy boy loved his cake.  He seems to have eating issues with everything besides sweets:).

 Hayden's new birthday wheels...but Hanna thinks it is hers.

 Hayden's best friend joins him for a fun day drive to the San Antonio zoo.

 Perfect warm weather in February for a day at the zoo.

 It was a busy and happy month for the kiddos.  Hayden had his 2 year Well Check that was no big deal in comparison to what he goes through at clinic.  Hanna on the other hand hated her 4 year Well Check with the 4 shots she got.  It was a rough day for her but she did great and we are learning all about how shots help keep you healthy and strong.

At Spina Bifida Clinic, Hayden only had a kidney ultrasound which took up 4 hours of the day.  The scary thing we don't want to see is damage to the kidneys from reflux from his high pressure bladder.  He seems to continue to do well enough emptying his bladder so we continue to not have to catheterize him.  His brain shunt also continues to do well so we don't have to see the neuro for a year from his last visit.

And for the big finally, both kids have been accepted to a special needs pre-school called the Rise School.  You can read all about it at http://www.riseschool.org/austin/.

New flooring for new walker

Hooray to no more carpet downstairs!  Our flooring finally was completed today after a long 2 weeks.  Hanna and Hayden didn't mind at all living with plastic sheeting or "tents" as Hanna liked to call it.  We had been debating about our flooring for the past several months.  And now since Hayden has gotten more mobile, we decided we needed to bite the bullet and make most of the house accessible to him by getting rid of the carpet.

One of the most emotional days for us as a family happened 3 weeks ago when Hayden started army crawling at 23 months.  We have it on video, but can't figure how to upload it to the computer just yet.  Anywho...he now is "WANT"ing to "GO"  all the time.

After months of research, 4 good bids and the advice of family, the flooring we chose was brazilian pecan and we love it.  It is one of the hardest woods we could find so it should hold up well with the kids and dog.  Below are before and after pics.  Not the best pictures for the "afters" as they were taken tonight.  I just couldn't wait till the morning.

before

after

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before 

after

after

Checking out his new green wheels

  I have taken some time off since the marathon in January, but February has been a busy month with many new fun things to blog about for the kids.  More to come soon.

My First Marathon

 I am humbled by the 26.2 miles of Houston trails and grateful to my feet for allowing me to run with blisters, my knees  for enduring the swelling and pounding, and for my hips and back for not giving up on me to complete my first marathon.

I once read that the first 10 miles you run with your head.  The second 10 miles you run with your legs and the last 6 miles you run with your heart.  It couldn't be more true.

The conditions were perfect for the race.  Weather was in the high 60s & sunny.  I was over my battle with sinus infection/bronchitis and my hips and back were holding up.

Now I know I can do the NYC marathon 2011 for Spina Bifida, just gotta see if the Spina Bifida Association gets accepted as a charity partner again.

Still standing and happy at the end of completing my first New Years resolution to run a marathon.

My sweetest surprise was getting to see my family every 6 miles while  I made one of 4, 6 mile loops.

Scott made signs for the kids to hold and cheer.  It was by far the best thing about running a smaller marathon.  Getting to see my family really kept me going.  Even though I took a few minutes to stop and give them all hugs and kisses, it was time I was happy to give up.

Waving to Scott while he managed the kids at the park for nearly 5 hours.  He was amazing.

"Running for my little Warrior Hayden" shirt that I made for the race to keep me going.  Those that were faster than me ran by and cheered for Hayden.  Toughest part was heading back out while others were finishing the half marathon race (white bib).

This was another racer.

This was the 12th annual Texas Marathon held on New Years day in Kingwood, TX (Houston).  It was a small race (650 participants) that sold out.  I was a back up and got in because I was a 1st time runner with a cause.  There were several people running for their own causes.

My half way mark.  The same time as my previous 2 half marathons.  I am truly a 10 minute mile pacer not a racer thanks to my Garmin watch that beeped every time I slowed down or went too fast.  This way I knew I wouldn't burn out.

 My girl Hanna just hanging out while she waited for Mommy to finish.

I kept thinking this guy used to run for Ricks, my alma mater.  So who knows him?  Since it was one of the few Saturday races, there were plenty of BYU shirts showing up in the crowd.

My final time 4:27.  You can't tell it, but here come the tears and emotion.

Crossing the line to see my sweet family!

By the size of the medal, Hanna thought I won the race.  Everything is bigger in Texas.

My lil Hayden endured 5 hours at the park waiting for that medal.  He cried when I took it away.

The best sweaty congratulatory hug for my sweet boy who inspired me the whole way.

I couldn't have done it without the love and support of Scott.  I love you Scottie!