Finding new ways to exhaust a two year old

Between the pool being closed for summer and the weather cooling down, Taylor has seemed to accumulate enough pent-up energy in her toddler body to fuel a small nation. At any point during the day, she’ll just drop what she’s doing and take off in hot laps around our house. And I’m all for enthusiasm for life, but this Mama Bear’s in hunker-down-for-fall mode, and this kid’s wearing me out.

So yesterday morning in an attempt to release a bit of the oomph, I took Miss T to open gym for kiddos at the High Flight gymnastics studio downtown. And because my friend, Jen, also has a two year old who was used to treading water all summer, she, Marin and her son, Isaac, joined us.

And I wish I had gotten better pictures of them running in circles, but most of the images turned out blurry. So these were the best I got:

Taylor just LOVED every second of the hour we were there, especially jumping into the foam pit and running underneath the parachute. At the end of the session, we all sat in a circle, sang a song and then the kids got stamps on their hands.

And you would have thought the director had branded T’s hands with tiny diamonds, the way she walked out the door looking at the ladybug stamps. Totally in awe of the whole experience. And totally worn out. Success!

Great times with great friends

About six months ago I was on the phone with Emily, my college roomie and bestie, gabbing on and on about how much we missed each other, our respective crazy lives and common interests, and we started talking about running. Both Em and I had started running-running during the beginning of the year, and were remarking on how awesome it felt to up our distances and how much better we felt physically and emotionally after a good run. So then I threw it out there – Hey, Em. Why don’t you come down to Asheville and run the Half-Marathon with me in September? To which she answered with an enthusiastic, Okay!

So last weekend, after nearly three years since the last time we saw each other, Taylor and I waited anxiously at the airport for Emily and her husband, Mike, to arrive in Asheville. And it was all I could do to not tackle her to the ground the minute I saw her. This woman is my soul sister, and just the sight of her made me get tears in my eyes.

And, of course, she and Mike were pretty excited to meet Taylor. And Taylor was more than happy to show-off for company the whole weekend. In fact, Miss T kept referring to Em and Mike as HER friends, as in, Mom. I wanna go play with MY friends.

And even though the primary reason they came in last weekend was for the Half, a race that both my body and my doctor wouldn’t let me run, we all got up bright and early on Saturday to cheer on Chris and Em as they rocked the grueling 13.1-mile course.

And I am so proud of both of them. Especially my husband, who killed it with an amazing time of 1:59:59 on one of the hilliest half marathon courses in the country.

It was also a super treat to be able to watch an Iowa game with other true – read, OBSESSED – Hawkeye fans. And even though the final score wasn’t in our favor, we all stayed up into the wee-hours of Sunday morning cheering on our Hawkeyes in that emotional rollercoaster of a game.

And after sleeping in a bit on Sunday, we all drove North on the Blue Ridge Parkway to soak in the sunshine and marvel at the views.

And for their final night in town, we opted for a toddler-free night of drinks and dinner at the Grove Park and downtown. Not that having Taylor with isn’t a good time, but sometimes it nice to indulge in places that don’t offer kiddie-meals.

All-in-all, it was an absolutely amazing weekend. And other than it going by way too fast, I was so happy to be able to spend some quality time with my friend. Even though we are so far apart in distance, Emily holds such a special place in my heart and in my life. Thank you so much, Friend. Best weekend ever.

Go Daddy Go

Yesterday morning we got up bright and early to cheer Chris on as he ran in the JBL Memorial 5k. And because I ran in this event last year, I gave him the same pep-talk he gave me while I was stretching for last year’s race – Babe. If you’re not first, you’re last.

Inspirational words that he pretty much took to heart, being that he finished 14th out of the 200-plus runners with an impressive time of 22:40. Way to go, Speedy!

Taylor cheering on Chris at the finish line.

Enjoying a post-race treat.

I am so proud of my husband, and can’t wait to cheer him on at the Asheville half marathon next weekend. Yep, I said Cheer not Run With. I hate even talking about it, but after training so hard for so long, I pulled a muscle in my hip during a long run in July that I never was fully able to recover from. And after suffering through a seven mile run last week and then talking with my doctor, we both decided that it would be best to sit this race out and listen to my body.

And after pounding the pavement for the past year to get ready for the half, I would be totally crushed about not being able to run if it weren’t that one of my bestest friends and old college roommate, Emily, and her husband, Mike, are coming into Asheville for the weekend. And the chance to spend time with such a great friend is way better than crossing any finish line.

Back to the park

Well, Bloggers, summertime is officially gone and the pool is closed. Meaning we have to start getting creative with our afternoon activities again. And since the weather is still nice and warm, we had a park playdate with Paige and Elliot today to burn some two-year-old energy. And the girls had so much fun, I don’t think they missed the pool one bit.

And I can honestly say that I missed the park too. Especially Jones Park. It’s such a wonderful place for the kids to play, and it’s been an instrumental block in Taylor and Elliot’s friendship since birth. A place where they’ve both grown up. A place that brings back many memories, and we’re sure that many, many more will take place there in the upcoming years.

A bouncing good time

Yesterday afternoon we headed to the Scully’s house to help Logan celebrate his eighth birthday, and Paige and Danny made sure to make his party extra special by renting a bounce house for the afternoon. And I don’t know who was more jazzed about the inflatable castle, the kiddos or the parents.

And you may remember me retelling how Taylor was scared to death of the bouncy houses during our beach trip earlier this summer, so I was a bit apprehensive as to how she would handle the castle yesterday. But after watching the other kiddos jump their hearts out, it only took her about two seconds to get over her fear of inflatable-fun. And then it was pretty much impossible to get her out of it.

We all worked off enough calories to enjoy some cake and ice cream.

The Bouncing Queens – Beth, Paige, LeAnn and yours truly

Needless to say, we headed home with one sweaty, exhausted little bouncer after the party, which allowed us to bathe and put her down in time for me to enjoy the Emmy’s and all of the redcarpet magic that came with it, all while Chris made gagging noises in the background. To which I simply rolled my eyes and said, Babe. Hawkeyes kick off in less than a week. Just let me enjoy this.

Arts and crafts hour

Immediately followed by bathtime.

Birthday party palooza

So what’s better than one birthday party over the weekend? How about THREE birthday parties in one weekend. That’s right, the Famous Amys crew celebrated back-to-back-to-back birthday soirees this past weekend, and now that we’ve come down off our cake and ice cream buzz I can recap all the excitement.

Friday afternoon we traveled to south Asheville to help baby Oliver celebrate his first birthday. Kelley and Jaime scouted out an awesome location right on Lake Julian, and had a canoe ready to go for anyone who wanted to brave the water. And, of course, my little girl was all about it.

I don’t know who enjoyed the Thomas the Train cake more, Taylor or the birthday boy.

Saturday morning we headed to the CCA pool to party with Hunter on his third birthday. We’ve known Will and Ashley for a few years now, and have spent the summer watching their son, Hunter, perform his daredevil stunts at the pool. He and Taylor are pretty cute together, and she always watches him with wide-eyes as he does his floatie-less jumps off the slide and board.

Oh. And Hunter is also obsessed with Toy Story and had a Buzz Lightyear cake at his party. So Taylor is officially in LOVE.

And Sunday afternoon we joined the Bound family in celebrating their darling daughter, Rell, turning three. LeAnn and Jamie set-up their backyard like a mini-water park, complete with slip-and-slide, baby pool and a sprinkler.

Rell’s party had a Hello Kitty theme, and LeAnn even made the fabulous cake herself. And if she needed proof as to whether or not it was delicious, she had to look no further than Taylor, who polished off her piece about five seconds after the birthday girl blew out the candles.

And it’s always fun watching Taylor, Rell and Elliot play together. Those little ladies were destined to be best buds about seven years ago when their mamas solidified their relationship at the downtown restaurant we all worked at. And, lucky for us, they seem to be pretty happy with their predetermined friendship.

So you can imagine that by the end of the weekend we were officially partied-out, but it was a fantastic three days spent with so many of our wonderful friends. The only hiccup has to be that since we left Rell’s party Sunday afternoon Taylor has been chirping, Momma! MY birthday coming up? MY Princess birthday tomorrow? MY BIRTHDAY! Ah. I have a feeling we’re gonna have a long eight months ahead of us.