2-year-old moments

Kate turned two in June, and we had her party at my dad's pool again. Here she is blowing out her candles. We practiced singing Happy Birthday and blowing out candles for several weeks prior to her party. Just look at that honed in focus!

Kate got a kitten for her birthday. She loves her "Mittens" dearly, and tortures her daily. :)

In the month of July, Kate's cousin Eli was in town from Ohio and they went on lots of adventures together. This is them at the Dinosaur Park in Ogden.

Kate thoroughly enjoyed the fireworks, and I was lucky enough to get this awesome reaction in a picture. One of Kate's favorite activities is playing in water in the backyard, be it sprinklers, the hose, or this bucket. One day she was wanting to play in the sink while I was doing dishes, so I added dish soap to her bucket. She had the time of her life!

On a recent visit to Orem, we went up to Bridalveil Falls in Provo Canyon. The lighting was absolutely perfect that evening, and I took about a hundred pictures. These two are my favorites! The two loves of my life.
I found out I am pregnant (yay!) a couple of weeks ago, and this weekend we announced it to Mike's family. I printed about 25 pictures that I had taken over the last month or so and put this one at the end. It was so fun to see the delayed reactions as each person read the sign Kate was holding. It was a fun and memorable way to announce.

Body-for-LIFE

A few days ago I stepped onto the scale to see a whopping 170 glare back at me. I have only been this weight (not pregnant, that is) one other time in my life--right after high school. It hit me hard that I am at my heaviest weight ever and something's GOT TO CHANGE.

In January of 2000 I rang in not only a new year but a new millennium and kicked it off with a diet/workout plan I had been reading about: Body-for-LIFE. If you haven't heard of it, you should check it out. Anyway, at that time, I didn't participate in the 12 week challenge but I did incorporate the priciples the plan is founded upon into my life. I lost 33 lbs over the next several months and more or less kept it off until I got pregnant almost 3 years ago. I let everything go, and I haven't gotten it back yet.

Until today that is. Not only have I recommitted to getting back the health and confidence I once enjoyed, I have entered the 12 week challenge and I have dragged Mike into it with me. He's a good sport, and a great ally to have on my team. Together I want to lose those 35 lbs again and Mike wants to add some muscle tone and definition.

I just took my before pictures... not a pretty sight. I will consider posting them once the challenge is done, but for now they're just to keep me motivated. I letting you all in on the loop so that you know I am 100% committed to this and any support or encouragement you want to throw my way will be received with gratitude. Oh, and don't be offended if I decline dessert or alter any food you have prepared. it's not personal, it's business.

Valium goes Viral

I can't get enough of David. Not sure if you've seen this yet, but the first time I saw it was Feb. 2nd and I was amazed that 3 days after it's posting it had been viewed over 200,000 times. Right now (13 days after it's posting) it's at 8,230,724 and it already has a ton of spin-off videos. Enjoy!



Mike and I quote this daily... "Is this real life?", "Why is this happening to me?", "You have four eyes.", "Is this going to be forEVER?" Such classic lines. Makes me want to get to know this kid when he's not completely wasted.

It's go time!

I started my marathon training again last week. I am shocked at how quickly I got out of the habit of training (and out of shape). I decided it was time to get my butt back in gear when I got winded going up three flights of stairs.

Right now I am registered to run the Ogden Marathon on May 16th, but I am thinking of running the Rock n Roll San Diego marathon on May 31st as well... and maybe the Avenue of the Giants half marathon on May 3rd because I've always wanted to visit the Redwoods and to run a race through them would be epic.

I have been invited to join Team in Training. It's part of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and basically as a runner you fund raise and run for an honored patient. Mike's aunt Kathy (who Kate is named after) died of Leukemia when she was a teenager, and I am sure we all know someone who has a similar story, unfortunately. Anyway, I was impressed by this organization and I am going to a meeting to learn more on the 31st.

Anyway, the purpose of this post was to let you know that you can keep up with my training now at www.dailymile.com/people/lydiametcalf instead of on my running blog.

Thanks for all your support!

twilight gno UPDATE

So I bought 12 tickets to the Thursday night at 12:10 showing. Here's who I have going, let me know if I missed anyone.

1- Lydia
2- Mindy
3- Jenny
4- Shanna
5- Lacey
6- friend of Lacey
7- Angie
8- Ximen
9- Ashlee
10- Vanessa??
11-
12-

So yes, if I haven't missed anyone there are still two tickets. If I somehow missed you, first of all, I APOLOGIZE! But secondly, get a hold of me asap so I don't give your ticket to someone else.

Can't wait! Love you all!

Twilight GNO

Tickets are available so its time to start planning.

Looks like both Thursday night at Midnight and all times on Friday night still have tickets available. What works for people? I good either way, but I definitely want to go with YOU! (yes that means anyone reading this that is interested in going)

We talked about this long ago and now its time to get our plans in order.

Really, its the least I could do

Picture time!

I know you have all been dying to see some pictures of Kate. She is SO GROWN UP, you'll just die! (That sounded just like my mother...)

As far as updates go, she's now 16 months old, about 25 lbs and 32 inches tall. She is extremely active (as you will see in the pics) and athletic; jumping, running, and climbing on EVERYTHING. She is a darling copycat and learning new words everyday. It seems like she understands so much of what we say.

She still loves (did I say loves? I meant LOVES) dogs, but she has branched out to include all of God's creepers and critters.

We just bought her an Elmo potty and her first "big girl panties" but we aren't pushing it...just want to be ready when she is. She loves to help me do everything I do, including cleaning up and cooking.

And with no further adieu...

Our little trick-or-treating puppy!

I told you she likes to jump, right? She could spend hours on the trampoline, and gets some pretty impressive air. (See slideshow below, for more evidence)

I love this picture for the face she is making. Can you hear the "OooO" sound now? I must see this face a hundred times everyday and she explores and discovers all the exciting things the world has to delight her.

Oh man, how could anyone resist those puppy-dog eyes?

Now, because I know you want to what it's like to spend a half hour with Kate, I invite you to Nana's house.