All I want for Christmas is..

Today, me, Lilly and the Commadore got to attend the Christmas Party thrown by the playgroup we attend. Lilly was very well behaved and love Santa (as you can see), I think she was pulling on his beard, but he was a very "jolly" old guy, and did not seem to mind all the kids! There were plenty of kids who cried as they approached Santa, so they did not get good photos, but not my Lilliana...she was a champ!! For those of ya'll who we will get to see over the next few weeks...we are looking forward to it. And for those who we will not be able to see, we will miss you and wish you all the best!

Lilly and her Uncle Bobby

So my little bro has been in town since before Thanksgiving, and we have really enjoyed having him around. He graduated from the Army Engineering Dive Program, and was one of four selected to have a three year tour in Hawaii (3 miles from Waikiki beach). The group he is with is in charge of the South Pacific dive missions. Most recently the group did a mission of recovering air crafts sunk during a previous war. It sounds really exciting to me!! Since he has been here, we have been trying to get him and Lilly to spend alot of time together (she may not see him for at least a year). The Hoover clan did our Christmas on Saturday, and Uncle Bobby ordered the most perfect gift for Lilly....a 12m size pink shirt that says...."my Uncle is in the US Army," it is currently in the wash, but only because she has worn it since he give it to her and she got food on it. It is ashame the Bobby will be so far away because Lilly really enjoys spending time with him, and she will change so much by the time he will get to see her again! The photos are of Lilly and her Uncle Bobby in her new shirt, and of Lilly and Uncle Bobby when she was having a tough time sleeping one night while the folks were babysitting, and she feel asleep on Uncle Bobby while wearing his hat!! So Cute!!

Happy Birthday Bob-O!!

Today my little bro turns 24, and gets to spend the day with me and Lilly. We are going to take him out to lunch and hope that Miss Lilly behaves...then we are going to hit all the high points of Downtown Morehead (that are non-smoking of course). Here's to you little bro...hope it's as good as ever!

8 Months minus 1 day..

well, actually only minus a few hours since she was born at 1:43am!! Tomorrow Lilly is 8 months old, and I just can't believe it...she is just so fun!! From the above photos, you can see one of her favorite activities....playing with her toy basket and putting it on her head. She will do it for minutes at a time and just laugh. Other things are her to do list during the day are to play peak-a-boo...she actually pulls sometime of fabric over her head and drops it and waits for you to say...."peak-a-boo...I see you." Then she giggles like crazy!! Also, we go in a visit "daddy" she squeals with delight and makes a sound that we pretend is her "hi." We do some raspberries, and then she thinks it's really funny to keep doing raspberries while eating her solids....what a mess (but very cute)!! Then we make time for practicing standing and walking (taking steps). She takes some naps, and still nurses, but all in all she is right on track for an 8 month old (even being a preemie)!! We have a very busy December planned out....starting with my little bro's b-day on Friday and then Christmas with my family on Saturday...it's going to be a big day; workout in the morning, holiday parade at 11am, then lunch and naps, festival of trees at 1:30, then drive on the beach, then buy a tree, decorate said tree, and open presents!!! WooHoo!! On a final note the top two photos are of my new found craft...making sock monkeys, and our poor peach tree this morning in the frost!! Here's to being a busy December!!

December 1st Eve

I can't believe that tomorrow is the first day of December....where has the time gone. Lilly will be celebrating her 8 month birthday...she might even be crawling by then. She has been doing a lot of rocking on all fours, and is just on the verge on movement. It will be so different when she can move, because I can't just put her down and get some things done. Oh, well they grow up so fast, so I better enjoy every moment I can!!

Tomorrow was suppose to be my drop date for starting to workout and eating better (or at least not as many desserts), but I have this damn cough. I have had it now for 3 weeks, and it's time to do something about it. I have been putting off going to see the doctor because I thought I would just get better and with nursing there is not much that I can take. Plus, we don't really have a "family doctor" so I have to make some calls tomorrow. I am still going to try to cut back on desserts....did I mention that Lilly wants to eat whatever we are eating so it's time to cut back on anything that is not good for Lilly (or me either).

Beach Family Photos

Although I was able to take some really good photos of my engaged friends, Matt and Carole, we hired someone to come out and take some photos of the family on the beach. Images by Rodger meet us at Fort Macon and took some really cute photos of the Hoover/Family. It was fun to be out there with everyone and let everyone have some input on the photos and poses! Last night we all attended the 2nd Annual Holly House Oyster Roast, with some of my high school friends. Gosh, I miss those girls...it's amazing how people you have known your whole life, even when you spend time apart, you can pickup where you left off. Mr. Clark (one of the dad's) told me how he found it amusing that I was outside chatting with the girls, sipping some bourbon apple cider, listening to the baby monitor to make sure Lilly was ok in the back room of the house. I might be the ONLY one of my high school group who is married and has a baby, but I'm always up for a chance to party (so long as I can be in bed before midnight-in case Lilly decides to wake up early). We also got to celebrate the engagement of Candi and Parker....so romantic....he proposed 6 years to the day that they met!! I hope everyone had/has the chance to visit with some really good people over the holiday!! Here's to my girls Candi, Carole, Meredyth, and MEW! Thanks for the party!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Well, Lilly got to celebrate her first Thanksgiving, and I think she really enjoyed it. We started the day with a Turkey Trot with some locals. For years now, a group has been meeting to run at 7:30am on Thanksgiving Day with everyone having to bring canned goods to donate to our local food bank. I think this morning there were 20+ people up bright and early to run...even though it was only 30 degrees. Then we showered up and headed to my folks house for an "all-american" breakfast with bacon, and eggs. It was super good!! Then it was home to get ready for Thanksgiving dinner...fried turkey, homemade cranberry sauce (thanks mom), a pecan green bean casserole, these sweet potato cups, and of course pie both pumpkin, and pecan (thanks for those too mom). It was really good food, and really great company. Then we completed the night with movie, Fred Claus, and reading Aunt Ann's bibles (the sale fliers) trying to decide if we need to get up early and get anything. As of right now, Lilly is back asleep after being up at 4am with sore teeth, and Fitz is out in search of a great deal on a washer and dryer, and I am missing my spin class and swim at the local gym. Oh, well on missing the workouts....December 1st seems like a better day to start anyhow! Wishing everyone a great holiday weekend with family and friends!

The Frenzy that is Pre-Thanksgiving

So things around here have been busy, but not really alot to report. Last week we were happy to have a visit from Aunt Chrissie and cousin Julia. Julia is almost exactly one year old then Lilly, so it was interesting to see what we are in for over the next few months. We managed a trip to the Aquarium, Fort Macon, the beach twice, a photo shoot of the cousins, and just hanging out. we had to adjust to the different schedules of the girls...somedays it seemed that we lost the whole morning with waking up times and naps. All in all a great time!!

Then on Saturday, I tried my hand at selling all the tutu's I have made....and it went pretty well. I made back my booth fee and then some...and now have gotten a request over email!! YEAH!! Fitz has been traveling like a crazy man...and I am looking forward to him coming home tonight. We have all been battleing a case of the cold weather crud, runnie noses, cough, and just feeling yuck! Fitz got over it first, and now Lilly and I are taking our turn. It's amazing to me how my level of patience decreases as I feel worse. And to top that "crud" off, I think Lilly is teething. She keeps pulling on her ear, and biting anything in sight. At her doctors visit on Tuesday, she did not have an ear infection, but did have some fluid in her her (that she had been pulling on) so he thought it might be related to her teeth. She seems to have bulges in her gum in the back of her mouth...maybe she's getting in her molars?! Who knows...I just hope we all feel better soon.

Today my little bro graduates from Dive school in PCB, FL. My folks made the 13+ hour trip down there to help him pack out, and they should start heading back today. We are looking forward to spending sometime with Uncle Bobby before he heads to.....Hawaii!! He is one of the chosen few who will be stationed in HI for 3 years!! I can't wait to go visit him!! BUT I will enjoy this time we get before he heads off. YEAH for Bob-O!

Next week we are planning a mad dash up to PA for Thanksgiving, things have not really been the same up there since my Pappy passed away in 2006, but with Lilly in tow we are hoping to revive some of the spirit. I am hoping to get a 4 generations photo of my Zanny, my Mom, me and Lilly....crazy to think that!!

Well, with Lilly napping I am going to turn on Fit TV and try to workout a bit!!

More of My Lilly!

Lilly is trying her hardest to be mobile these days, but so far we only do some standing, forward leaning, and jumping. We are in a busy time for the Fitz's with a visit from Aunt Chrissie, and cousin Julia (their first meeting) starting tomorrow, then on Saturday I have the Art Fest to show my tutu's off (and perhaps make some money back). Then next week both Fitz and my parents are out of town, and when they all return to the MHC, my baby bro will be visiting for approximately 2 weeks.....GOSH.....so much going on. Wish me luck this weekend, and photos of all the goings-on will be up as things happen. Happy Tuesday!

These are a few of her favorite things...

If you have been around me recently, you would have heard me singing the song "Favorite Things" from the Sound of Music, to Lilly. For some reason this song calms Lilly down, so I seem to sing it alot. Here are two videos of Lilly doing two of the things she loves to do right now; tearing up magazines, and jumping in her jumper!! She is getting very strong, and loves to be standing and/or jumping!! Enjoy!!

Halloween Weekend!

We started our trek to Asheville on Thursday (after Fitz voted early) with an overnight stop in the Raleigh area. We got to visit with our good friend Meg and her kids and actually her parents in the early afternoon. It is always nice to have Lilly interact with other babies, and Grace seems to really like Lilly so that is cute to watch. Then we got to get in a good laugh watching Grace jump in the jumper-roo. Since she is 2 years old, she really understands how to jump in the jumper...just take my word for it....it was hysterical. Then we headed to Durham to have a tri group reunion with "chard, Mel, EP, Dustin, Jonathon, and Craig. It was great to see everyone and catch up!! I miss those folks!! Then on Friday we started our drive to Asheville, and made it there by 3:30pm. We got to take the kiddos trick or treating around the Saft's neighborhood. Little Keagan was a red dragon, he was super cute and really liked getting candy from everyone. He kept trying to go into their houses. We did lots of exercise on Saturday, outside of course, so we could enjoy the fall colors. It was amazing to see how out of hill running shape we are....there is nothing like going from 8ft above sea level to the mountains to NC to make you feel bad. We got to do a really nice hike up to 6,000+ feet. Lilly did great, but it would have been much easier had she fit in the backpack (next time). We got to drive on the blue ridge parkway and see some spectacular views of Biltmore, Looking Glass, and just all the colors. Nature is simply amazing!! We started out drive back to Raleigh on Sunday, with a visit to see the newest addition to the Brooks family, Leah Rose. She was very alert, and beautiful!! I can't wait to watch her grow. Fitz and Mr. Dugan got to take in the hockey game at RBC, while the ladies had pizza and watched tv at home. We finally made it home on Monday, and it was nice to be back!! Although, it was a long trip, we did find that Lilly is good for car trips.....so long as she gets breaks every 3 hours or so!

Pumpkin Carving and Going Green!

On Sunday afternoon, we had my folks over for some pumpkin carving, bbq ribs, and of course Lilly time. My mom had gotten a pumpkin at Lowe's foods, while ours was from a pumpkin farm (and as I mentioned before Fitz wanted the wartie pumpkin). So when the carving started, we soon realized the wartie pumpkin has much thicker then the store bought (more traditional looking pumpkin). So as my Dad easily carved, cored, and carved some more....Fitz has to resort to more aggressive means of carving....in come the electric jig-saw. I managed to get some footage on video, and I'll try to up load it. But the short version is that when knives don't work....bring out the power tools. From the pumpkin we made sweet and salty pumpkin seeds and baby food and cookies from the pumpkin meat. Then the remainder of the pumpkin went to the compose for our garden next spring. The seeds were consumed very quickly and the cookies did not last two days. The jack-o-lanterns are on their way over to my folks house for Halloween as we will be visiting friends as we drive all over the state on our way to Asheville.

In other news, as of yesterday, our kick ball team is tied for 1st place with 3 other teams with 2 games remaining. Then we found out the playoffs are going to be played over a tues/thurs pair in the coming weeks. Lilly is recovering from a cold, and a flu shot. She is very active and is starting to realize that she will be moving soon and often gets annoyed when she can't do what she wants. Last night, while taking a bath, she pulled herself to standing and then did not know what to do so she sat back down. Glad we are in full swing of baby proofing the house?! Won't be long now!

Pumpkin Patch Photos...

We did a quick trip to a pumpkin patch to purchase a pumpkin and take some photos with Lilly in her "costume." Lilly is like a good witch/spirit of halloween/halloween ballerina, but in any case she is SUPER cute!! Our friends Missy, Wes, and their little boy John Lincoln met us there so we could take photos of each other. Fitz, of course, had to buy a pumpkin and he just HAD to pick out the wartie-est pumpkin to buy. We are hoping to take some more photos tomorrow morning while Lilly is happy first thing in the morning, and then carve our pumpkins and leave them at my folks house (since we will not be here for halloween). Hopefully, everyone is enjoying getting ready for the festivities!!

Anniversary come and gone...

My Mom sent me an email this morning reminding me that two years ago today I was competing in the race of all races (for me at least)....The Hawaii Ironman. I know that the 2008 IM has come and gone but this is my two year anniversary. It's around 9am EST, which means it's 3am in Hawaii, and I think I was already up two years ago. Boy, has life changed....I was in the best shape of my life, trying to break 11 hours...and this morning I awoke to a hungry baby with a poopie diaper. I can say that both days are equally as rewarding, from pushing myself to what I thought was the limit of my capabilities (before child birth of course) to having more influence then anyone else on another human being. I can remember bits and pieces of the race that day; starting with a rainbow while waiting in line for the port-o-john, to babbling about needing to pump up my tires (but not knowing how), to having a volunteer help me figure out where the swim start was (I was a bit nervous),to treading water for what seemed like forever, to the bike turn around, to the wind that no one else felt on the way back, to loosing myself around mile 70, to finding myself again at mile 85, to feeling every emotion possible on the run, to wondering how there were that many people named "Becky" around me (I did not know people were looking up my number to find my name), to loosing myself again at mile 14, to seeing Peter Reid in the NEL (for real I did), to watching 11 hours pass on my watch with 2.4 miles left to run, to the final push to the finish line and feeling no greater amount of accomplishment in the world!! I don't think I can ever thank my family and friends who supported me all that time ago....I don't think I could have done as well without the encouragement, training partners, and all that my family did!! I hope to go back someday and break my 11 hour mark. This might even give me the "fire under my butt" to start really training again. I think I'll go look at the photos from St. Croix, and Hawaii and maybe go for a run with Lilly!!

Da-dunt, Da-dunt, Da-dunt...

(that's suppose to be the sound from JAWS). Have you ever had a fear that is unconfounded? Or known that something COULD be there, but never actually seen it, so it could not actually be real? Well, yesterday my Dad and Fitz got a rude awake up to what we share the ocean with...SHARKS. We (me, Fitz, Lilly, my Mom, and my Dad) headed to the beach yesterday mid-day to drive on the beach abit, get our toes in the sand and let the men-folk do some surfing. On our way to the water we ran in to some friends were running on the beach, and the lady mentioned that due to the menhaden running there were an abundance of bull sharks in the water so be careful. Covered in neoprene, the men hit the water. While Lilly was having fun "dancing" with her toes in the sand, we occasionally looked up to check on Fitz and my Dad. Suddenly, they were paddling in at pretty quick pace (and with their feet out of the water), but then when they got out they were heading away from us down the beach, so I thought they were looking for a better spot. But....oh..no...was I ever wrong. They had a shark sighting, in one of the waves they had been trying to catch. It is about a 5 footer, and scared the crap out of them. My Dad who has been surfing since he was young had never seen a shark up close and personal in all his years of surfing, and this gave him the willies. After they had calmed down a bit, they recounted that the shark had been less then 20ft from them and was in kill mode for the fish that were running. I think they both had nightmares last night. So although there is surf/swell today due to the storm off shore and the NE winds...no surfing for this family...we like all of our body parts just where they are. Here's to not being confused for a fishy!

Tutu Photo Session Take Two

Since Lilly is 6 months old, I thought it was around time to do another tutu photo session. Lilly is doing so much better sitting up and so I could get some really good shots. We of course had to start the photo shoot at 7:30am, right after the first morning feeding ended. I was able to look at some of these in black and white and they are awesome, now I just need to be able to do that on the computer. The next step is photos after this is to take photos of Lilly standing, I think we have sometime until that happens.

North Carolina Seafood Festival!!

Here are some photos from the NC Seafood fest and the beach trip on Saturday. We started the day cheering on the road race and then watching people enjoy the beer wagon post race (you can see even Lilly wanted in on the action). Then we met up with Tara and Matt, who were here to celebrate their 5th wedding Anniversary, to head downtown to enjoy the sights, sounds, and flavors of the festival. We had a GREAT time...we enjoyed the people watching, coconut shrimp, cajun shrimp pita, and of course "sea spud." The lines were too long at the sweet corn, but I'll be sure to get some next year. Lilly got her first time of feeding solid foods outside of the home, and it got MESSY! But all in all a great time on the waterfront. Then we come back to the house to meet up with our other good buddies Katie and Dugan to hit the beach in the "bruzer" bronco and got to get our toes wet while Lilly napped in the car. Fun times! We capped off the night with dinner away from the babies and a few drinks (well for 5 of the 6 of us.....and I WAS one of the 5) at one of the local favorites the Beaufort Grocery. Although, it did not live up to the prior meals we have had there, we had a great time with great friends. Can't beat that....and there is no price I would not pay for fun time with those friends in particular!! Hopefully, everyone had as good of a time as I did!! (please note the photos are out of order due to having to load them in two batches...oh well!)

4x4 and sweet potato wars!

We got to test out our new Ford Bronco on the beach yesterday (Oct 1 the beaches open for driving). It sure is nice not to have to walk all that way carrying a baby, I am looking forward to spending lots of evenings on the beach in our new ride. I think Fitz is really enjoying his "man car." We don't have enough money at this time to create a whole man cave for Fitz to go and relax in, but we could find the funds to buy a nice man car for him to hang out in. He takes it whenever he can (like on his ice cream run this evening)...I think he's starting to get embarrassed at driving "irongirl."

In Lilly news, we tried some home made sweet potatoes this evening and she seemed to really like them. At the end of the meal she looked like the sweet potato and joined forces with the apples to attack her. I think she enjoys "solid foods," we are taking them slow to make sure she is not allergic to any thing, but so far so good. I have made a ton of foods for Lilly to try and they are frozen away for testing. We also think Lilly might be a lefty, she grabs much more often with her left hand. While eating, she is always trying to feed herself using....you guessed it....her left hand. I know my dad is a lefty, and my uncle mark is a lefty...but we are not sure of anyone else. It's so exciting to watch and be a part of Lilly's development.

Quick RANT...

So if I dress her in pink....put bowes in her hair (or at least on her head).... and freakin' call her LILLY!! WHY, tell me WHY do you ask me ...."So how old is the little fella?" FREAKIN' PINK....PINK....what mother in her right mind would put a boy in PINK. It's a SHE....gosh darn it...a SHE!!

Just had to get that off my chest!

Busy week and weekend.

We spent much of last week trying to make decisions...should we get this bronco in Raleigh, should we start feeding Lilly solids foods, and such. So we found a 96 Ford Bronco XLT with manual windows and doors, and no carpet and vinyl seats. It was a state vehicle and it is great condition. We started our trek to Raleigh on Friday after work with the idea that we would be back on the road Saturday afternoon. Well that did not happen, but we did get to do alot; starting with Lilly's pizza for dinner on Friday with Katie and Dugan. Then we headed to see the bronco early on Saturday morning, then we stopped in to see Scot, Stephanie, and Camryn (and give them a tutu for Camryn). Then Katie and I got to visit with Diana and Jason, and chat about the babies. It was so nice to get to sit and chat (rather then run and chat). Then we headed to the NCSU track and field tail gate for some beers and visiting with the boys. We ended up staying over Saturday night, and then I got to run with Tara, Katie, and Catherine on Sunday morning before heading back to Morehead City in our two different cars. After winding down at home it was time to start "solid foods" with Lilly, and it was a MESS!! She could open her mouth, but kept spitting the food back out. Guess we will just need to keep trying!! Yesterday, was Lilly's 6 month appointment; she is 17 lb 2 oz and 25 inches tall. The doctor was very impressed that I had only nursed her for the past 6 months, but said it was time to start on foods. Fine by me!! At least I can start going through the baby food that's frozen away!! On to new baby adventures, and buying a pass for driving on the beach starting tomorrow!! YEAH!!