little kid

little kid has been hanging around for about a year now. sometimes little kid is smaller than ethan, sometimes bigger. little kid has lots of brothers and sisters - like five of each! little kid likes to ride bikes and go on trips with us. never complains or argues. always game for any kind of fun. he's a pretty good friend. it's kind of a shame little kid's mom never gave him a proper name, but i guess it's fitting. descriptive if nothing else. it fits in with the theme around here: padre is puppy, stuffed dalmation is spotted puppy, stuffed pig is, well.. pig. you get the picture.

i'm glad little kid has been with ethan through all the fun times and tough times over the last year or so. i wonder how long he'll stick around. he doesn't eat much or make much of a mess, so he's welcome around these parts any time.

do it for molly

i know twilight is way overused, but hang in with me for a minute...


new moon was the last movie molly and i saw together a week before she passed away. (yes, we were allowed to be complete goons around each other and neither would judge.) in the movie, edward disappears and the only way bella can feel close to him - hear his voice - is by doing dangerous things. riding a motorcycle, jumping off a cliff, getting harrassed by drunk men, etc. lucky for me, i have found a similar way to hear molly's voice and i don't even have to put my life in danger. all i have to do is run.


runners will tell you they have chants to keep them going. during the hospital hill run last year i sang kanye's stronger over and over in my head.


n-now that that don't kill me
can only make me stronger
i need you to hurry up now
because i can't wait much longer


it just popped in my head. but it worked. today was the broadway bridge run. this was my second 5k and i even shaved a few minutes off my hospital hill time (still waiting on official stats). i ran with kristine for 2 miles when she pulled back because of her IT band hurting. molly and i had the last mile together. i can see her as i chant to myself: do it for molly. i can hear her cheer me on: go jewels! i wasn't surprised though. she's been cheering me on since she disappeared last december. just one more incentive to run.


looking at that old hospital hill blog post, i realized i was supposed to run the o'fallen fall fest 5k with molly last october. it turned out that weeked was grant's wedding reception so i didn't run it with her. but she's with me every time i run now.


miss you mmft.

crossing the finish line at 33:13

look ma, no training wheels!

Ethan will be turning 4 a month from today, and I'm pretty convinced he's the best kid ever.

Last week Luke worked with him every night on trying to ride his bike with no training wheels. Here are the fruits of his labor...

Current songs he likes to sing: All the Single Ladies (still - this one has stood the test of time), Days of the Week (sung to the tune of Adams Family theme song), and What's the Weather. He also likes to make up songs and dances like a maniac.

He can write E, T, H, and a few other letters. Almost his whole name! He spells his name out loud without the A.

He can count to 39 by himself, or 100 if you give him the 40, 50, etc.

He loves to color now. Overnight it seemed he went from no interest in coloring to that's all he wants to do. He completely covers full sheets of paper with all different bright colors.

He can play Bob the Builder games all by himself on the computer.

His best friends are still Maddie, Rhys and Andrew. They've all been together in day care since they were babies. It will be sad when they have to go to different elementaries. Of course we live on the opposite side of town. But of course we've gotten to know the parents pretty well, so hopefully we can all keep in touch.

Yep, we're pretty proud of our little man. I do my best to soak up every second we are together, and yet I'm also excited to see what the next days, weeks, and years hold for him.