Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! 

I just wanted to post a few pictures of Ella from today before I hit the sack! This morning I dressed Ella in a cute Halloween dress my mom made from last year. She looked adorable! I don't know how many people stopped to tell me how cute she looked. I thought she did too. If it was up to me she would be dressed in stuff like this everyday, but Ella does not like it!

Adam and I took Ella trick or treating around our neighborhood this afternoon after her nap. Ella of course wanted to start out on her bike. It was a lot of starting and stopping for awhile until we decided to take her bike back. Once we did that she got the hang of it. 

Someone smart put her wings on upside down;) 

She couldn't wait to get home to eat her candy. She wanted to open every single piece of candy she was given at every house.

Checking out her loot!

Halloween wouldn't be complete without the boys in their Halloween shirts! I could only get a picture of Elliott, because Brody HATED his! I'm glad someone in this family will pose for me:)

After trick or treating we came back for pizza(shaped like a pumpkin) and candy corn cupcakes. YUM!

Weekend before Halloween

We kicked off Halloween with a Halloween party at my in-law's and trick or treating in downtown Evansville. 

We bundled up and head to Winslow Saturday afternoon after what should have been Ella's nap, but she decided she didn't need one. When we got there Ella of course got a bag of goodies from Ma and Papaw. We also took a little ride on the four wheeler before everyone got there. Ella really loves to do that. Once it got dark and pretty chilly Ella mostly wanted to hang out inside. I was expecting this so I was not surprised. I was able to enjoy a couple roasted hot dogs and a smore. Right before we left Ella bundled up and went on a hay ride with "Aunt Cey Cey." I think she liked it until they got down the road, and then she was ready to head back. We had a fun time at the party, and Ella was exhausted and ready for bed when we got home. 

Adam decided to bring Ella's bouncy horse up by the fire since all she wanted to do was ride it. 

Sunday afternoon we went trick or treating with my parents downtown. It was really crowded, but Ella had a lot of fun trick or treating. I am sure she will be so excited to go again tomorrow when we take her around the neighborhood.  She is going as a lady bug this year. Unfortunately, she won't wear the leotard/tutu that goes with the rest of her costume. It's really cute, but I think it is a little too girly for her. I am not sure how she isn't girly coming from me. We improvised, and she still looks pretty cute!

It's literally impossible to get a picture with her these days. I refuse to give up! 

Ella got another bag of goodies from my parents today. This pink cowboy hat was in there. Isn't she adorable!? She calls it her "Jesse (toy story) hat." 

Lastly, I wanted to share some pictures of myself as a kid on Halloween. My mom made us the cutest costumes. My favorite is definitely Aunt Jemima! 

Terry as Mr. T. and me as Ronald McDonald. 

That's me at preschool dressed as Aunt Jemima!  

34 months

Maybe some day I will stop these monthly updates, but it's not looking like it will be anytime soon. I know she is getting older and changing less by the month, but I just like to go back and look at the pictures to see how she has changed month to month. I can not believe Ella will be three in two months. I am already planning her third birthday party, which she is so excited about. She decided on her own cake this year. I had a certain kind of cake in mind, but if you ask her she will tell you she wants a "Thomas cake." She also wants a "Thomas balloon."  It will be a Thomas the Train birthday party this year. 

The biggest change I have seen with Ella lately is her naps or lack there of! I could always count on her to take a nap but anymore it's hit or miss.  She is pretty good about staying in her bed and playing during nap time. I am glad she at least does that. I am not looking forward to the day naps are over. 

Ella is talking up a storm and says the funniest things! One of my favorites is when she says "OH MY GOODNESS." She says it so excitedly. The other day she took a drink and spilled water on herself. When she went to take the next drink she said, "I try again." She gets really excited in the car. If she sees something like a balloon or a big building she screams, "look at that mom." It makes me laugh every time. She gets so excited about the littlest things. We were playing hide and go seek the other day. She opened up the refrigerator when she was looking for me and said, "Nope, not in there." 

Ella has started calling us "mom and dad" instead of "mommy and daddy." 

Ella is so independent. It drives me crazy some days, because she wants to do everything herself. There are some things she just can not do, and she thinks she can. Even though she is very independent she is still attached to my hip. It takes her awhile to warm up to other people, but after awhile she is fine. It makes me look forward to dropping her off at preschool for the first time. NOT!

Ella I hope you know you are loved beyond words. You are the sweetest little two year old there is. Our life revolves around you, and we wouldn't want it any other way! 

A few more pics from the weekend!

Here are some professional pictures from the half marathon!!


My official time was 2:12:55, and my overall place was 5819 out of 20,000. 

St. Louis Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon

I have been anticipating this weekend for awhile now. Back in August Sarah called me up, and asked me if I wanted to run the half marathon with her in October in St. Louis. I reluctantly agreed with a little persuasion from her. It was a goal of mine when I started running back in February to run a half marathon, but I didn't think I would be ready until next year.  We started training the following day  and put in many hours running in the wee hours of the morning on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Yesterday we headed to St. Louis for a little fun before our run this morning. Our first stop in St. Louis was Pappy's Smokehouse. I was excited to eat here since this place has been on Man vs. Food. Luckily the line wasn't that long. Sarah and Aaron have been before, and they said sometimes the line wraps around the building. We got lucky and only waited for about 45 minutes. It was well worth the wait! The food was yummy. I would recommend this place if you are ever in the St. Louis area.

After we ate we went to the expo to pick up our race packets. This is when the nerves started to kick in. The race was sold out. There were 20,000 runners. We watched a video of the course in fast forward. I began wondering what I was thinking signing up for this thing!

After we checked in at our hotel we walked around downtown. It was a beautiful day! 

 There were a ton of wedding parties out by the arch and downtown. It made me want to get married again (to Adam of course) just so I could wear a wedding dress! We also saw someone get hand cuffed and searched right by the arch. There is definitely lots to look at there. :) 

After our stroll around downtown we hit up Panera Bread for something sweet and some coffee and headed back to the hotel bar. We sat in there the whole night and drank water. It was nice to just sit and do whatever we wanted. Our hotel had a pasta buffet that night so we were able to eat there.  At around 8:00 we headed back up to our rooms to hit the sack before the big run! Unfortunately, I barely slept. It was noisy, and I was really nervous. 

I was surprisingly refreshed when I woke up this morning. I think I was going on pure adrenaline. I was ready to get this over with. I had thought about it and thought about it for so long I was ready to get it done. There were a ton of people walking to the race. I didn't expect there to be as many people as there were. I wish I had my camera when we were in line waiting to start. All you could see was a sea of people with a nice view of the arch in the background. It was awesome! 

Ready to Rock 'n' Roll!

 The run itself was so cool. I loved running in downtown St. Louis. We also ran in a few different neighborhoods and by SLU. People were everywhere cheering you on and holding signs. Bands were playing at every mile. It was really motivating seeing all of this. Sarah and I were pumped at 6 and 1/2 miles, and this continued most of the way. We ended up splitting up around mile 11 though. Sarah likes to take off at the end, and I like to slow down. I was  tired, and my knee was killing me. I am proud to say that I only stopped to walk at the 11th and 12th mile to drink some water. Once I hit mile 12 I was good to go and ready to get it over with! There were tons of people waiting at the finish line. I didn't see Adam, but luckily he saw me. 

I was never so happy to see the finish line. This is the first run that I didn't feel like I was going to either puke or pass out at the end. 

WE DID IT!!!!

Sugar Ray was playing at the end!

 Incredibly happy it's over!! 

This was one of the best things I have ever done! I am not a person to boast about myself, but I am really proud to say I did this. I never thought my body would allow me to run this far.  The early morning runs, the many hours we spent training for this, and the injuries I endured along the way were worth it! I will definitely be doing another one of these in the future. It's only just the beginning!!

*Mom and Dad I hope you know how appreciative we are that you gave up your weekend to watch Ella. Even though we missed her it was nice to get away for a little bit. I hope you know how thankful I am that you would stay with her so I could do this. Love you guys!