Big News!!

Dancing Queen

Newest obsession...DANCING!

Here is the first video of her dancing by herself that I took a few weeks ago

After spending a week studying GeeGee's excited interpretation of The Wiggle's "Hot Potato", she has picked up on a few more moves...

Back in action!

Hello, all!  Sorry it's been so long since we made a post, but a lot has been happening around here.  My first excuse for a lack of posts is that I lost the cord to our camera and couldn't get the computer to read the SD card, so I had no way to get pictures off the camera and onto the computer.  But, what once was lost is now found and the camera a rearing and ready to go.  My second excuse is that in the span of about two weeks these things took place:

-Closed on our house
-Spent a weekend in Traverse City with Brenna at Geegee and Papa's house
-Came home to pack/move and Brenna got a fever for 3 days
-Moved (despite the sick little one)...(and found the camera cord under the couch!)
-Grandpa Blaxton passed away (the very night that we moved)
-Applied about 15 gallons of paint to the walls/ceiling of our house (much thanks to Mom and Dad Leikert)
-Attended the viewings and funeral for Grandpa
-Got new carpet and moved into the rest of the house

Everything has definitely settled down since the move and our house is slowly starting to feel more like a home.  Our families have been amazing through the whole transition and we TRULY could not have done it without their help.

In the weeks since the move, Brenna has had an explosion of development.  I swear, in one week she went from little baby to toddler.  She is now walking confidently and has successfully stood up with no assistance one or two times.  She eats three meals a day (of solid food), which is a HUGE improvement from her erratic bouts of liking/disliking solids.  She claps, sings, says "Dada", "Mama", and "Uh-oh".  She loves stuffed animals and anything soft and cuddly, books, music, dancing, and being outside (especially cross country meets where she claps and squeals for the runners).  Everyday she changes and picks up on some other little noise or skill.  And at 20 lbs she outweighs her 4-months-older-cousin by almost 4 pounds now.

I can't believe she'll be one in less than a month.

 

Hopefully soon our house will be put-together enough to post some pictures or a video.  Until then, here are a few more of Miss B.

Friday Photo Favorites

Our little girl is growing up so fast! She's now standing up all over the place and just this morning made her way all the way around the walker! Good Lord, please help us finds house soon so she'll have space to roam!

Monday Mowers

Monday is the day that the mower men come to the apartment.  For a long time I had to hold Brenna and stand by the sliding door to watch, otherwise she would get scared of the loud noise.  But, last week (I think) we had a bit of a break through - she crawled over to the window where the sun was shining in, and put her head down to watch.  This was the best picture I could get because she kept looking up when she saw me, but she laid like this for almost the entire time the mower men were working.

I'm glad that she has overcome her fear of the mower men because she's stinkin' cute when she watches them.  Now we just have to work on her fear of the vacuum :)

5 Month Update

Today I'm writing an update on Brenna Bean because 1) I've done a terrible job blogging lately and 2) she's 5 months old today and changing so quickly that I need to tell someone!

Since we've switched to a formula-exclusive diet, Brenna has made a complete turn around in her demeanor - she is soooo much happier!  Literally, the day we switched her tummy and gas problems disappeared and she began sleeping better.  She is now such a content, happy baby.

The last few weeks she has made so many strides in her development.  She now rolls both ways, sits up with some support, smiles all the time, laughs, and sings and squeals constantly.  She's gotten so much better with her hands, grabbing her toys and turning them around, switching hands, and really exploring all the different parts.  And, she's found her feet!  We're convinced that she will be crawling very soon because she rolls to her tummy and gets her knees and feet up under her and pushes...she just needs to figure out the arms.  Also, I think she's started to teethe - still can't see or feel the teeth coming in but all signs point to teething.

Since it's been crazy warm in MI lately, we've been going on walks a lot and Brenna LOVES being outside.  If we try to give her something to play with in the stroller, she just looks at us like we're crazy and goes back to watching the trees and cars.

She's such a little joy and her smile lights up my day every singe time!

Yesterday we left her on her blanket and when we came back she was across the room!  I guess we're going to have to start baby-proofing our house now...

Sweet, Sweet Laughter

Brenna Jean has figured out that she has a voice this week!  We woke up to her making noises to her self at 4 AM  a couple days ago.  She even laughed for the first time tonight and we got it on video!!  She's growing and changing every day and we're trying to truly appreciate every stage.

If you haven't heard the news...

...I must not have yelled loud enough - I passed the CPA exam!  I found out December 7th that I passed the last section.  It has been a year and a half in the making and it is still hard to say it is worth it at the moment, but talk to me once I get that plaque hanging up at work (and once I get the first paycheck after I get a raise).  As happy as I am to have completed the exam, I think that Ruth may be happier to get her hubby back.  Thank you to everyone who put up with me being so lame for the past 1.5 years, I promise that I will be much more interesting from now on.

On another note, Brenna Jean had an appointment today for her first round of immunizations among other things.  She now weighs 10 lbs. 3oz. (33rd percentile), is 22.5 inches (47th percentile) and is in the 57th percentile for head size.  Ruth said that she thought Brenna was going to pop a vessel crying so hard after her shots :(

After dinner tonight, Brenna woke up wailing in pain and it was gut-wrenching.  It was the closest  I have come to crying since holding her for the first time.  For whatever reason, I think it really sunk in that I am her only father and that it is my job to love her and comfort her.  Her pain in that moment dwarfed the so-called pain that I endured while studying for the last 1.5 years.  Becoming a CPA is a great accomplishment and will help achieve greater things in my career but it pales in comparison to my real job - Brenna's Daddy.  Funny how some tiny tears puts things in perspective.
 

Southern Company

Last week Grandma and Granddaddy Driver made the trek up from Houston to meet their second Great Granddaughter.  It's always special time when spent with them, and this visit was no exception.  Brenna loved Granddaddy's deep, bass voice, and snuggling up to Grandma.

And for the most cherished photo of the trip...four generations of powerful, confident women!

I have to give a little shout out to my momma and daddy who are now mortgage free as they made the last payment on the house this month.  Paying off a 30-year mortgage in 10 years and 3 months is quite the accomplishment!

Brenna Jean Leikert

Our blessing arrived at 7:29 PM on October 19th! She was 6 lbs. 5 oz. and 18.5 inches, a pretty good size for staying in Ruth's "hot tub" for only 35 weeks. The last 5 days have been such a whirlwind physically and emotionally. Wednesday was a very anxious day because of the two extremes that the doctors presented: It was possible that Ruth could have an emergency C-section or we could end up just going home. Even though Ruth ended up having a C-section, everything turned out so well. I continue to be impressed by how tough Ruth is, so much has happened these last 5 days that she could have totally freaked but she has been amazing. I think Brenna has taken after her mother in this respect, she is well above average in terms of her health after only cookin' for 35 weeks. It is tough to put into words at this point exactly what we have experienced since Brenna joined us, maybe that will become clearer in the next couple of weeks but I know three things:

1) My wife is is absolutely amazing.
2) Holding Brenna is indescribable.
3) Our family is so generous and loving, we could not have done this without them.

In the meantime, here are some pictures from today. Go ahead, try not to smile when you see this little miracle!

She likes to be held to fall asleep

Brenna, ladies don't pick their noses!

Ruth & Brenna napping



Well hello Brenna Bean



Her first "bath" at home


We will try to keep the pictures coming the next couple of weeks!

Victory in the Fall

As a lot of you know, yesterday I ran the Grand Rapids Marathon for the second time. It turned out to be a really nice day after the forecast predicted rain and 20 mph winds. I had the best cheering section on the course: Ruth, Mom, Dad, Karlie, Mom Blaxton, and Dad Blaxton. Here is are some the highlights (and lowlights) of the race:

Miles 1-5 -- My friend Nate ran the first 5 miles with me on his way to doing the half marathon. It was great to have someone to talk to for at least a portion of the race.

Miles 10-12 -- This part of the race was in Millennium park, which is absolutely beautiful in the fall.

Mile 15 -- I panicked a little bit at this point in the race. I was starting to feel bad and compounded that with thinking "I still have 11 miles to go." After another 10 minutes, things got better and I found a good rhythm again.

Mile 17-18 -- I got to see my cheering section twice during this section of the race as it was an out and back portion. It was so nice having them out there to keep me going!

Mile 21 -- My feet started hurting terribly at this point, a problem that I ran into while doing long runs during my training. I tried to just gut it out and they actually started feel better by mile 23. It was also at this point that I got passed by a guy in basketball shorts, which Ruth keeps reminding me about.

Mile 25-Finish -- This was the best part of the race, I felt pretty good considering I had been running for over 2.5 hours. I got seventh place overall with a time of 2 hours, 44 minutes, 16 seconds. After the race, Karlie had to put my pants on for me which was quite amusing.

Overall, it was an awesome race. I was hoping to run a bit faster and maybe have a chance at winning but I just didn't have it. This is only my second marathon so I am not disappointed, I can only get better.

Finisher Medal


The man with his arms raised in the maple leaf is titled "Victory in the Fall"

It is the logo for the GR Marathon


Awesome shirt thanks to Mom & Dad Blaxton

Sorry, there are no action shots because no brought their camera as it was supposed to rain the whole time.

I am enjoying a day off from work today to recover. Ruth and I are quite the pair now that my legs basically don't work and she is 8 months pregnant. Let's just say we aren't quite as mobile as we used to be.

I am hoping to run the Chicago or Detroit marathon next fall, so I will be training again before you know it. Thanks again to all of my great cheerleaders and thanks to everyone else for your prayers!

Life Is Good

There have been so many fantastic things happening in our lives the last month or so and we have so many happy things to look forward too, as well!  First of all, Chris found out that he passed his second section of the CPA exams!  He has now passed what he thinks will be the two hardest exams for him, so even though he has two down and two to go, he is considering himself 60% done.  It's such a good feeling to know all of his hard work is paying off!  And, there are only 9 days left in the tax season!  It will be such a relief for Chris to be finished with this busy season, but the end of tax means the start of more studying as he'll be taking another section at the end of May.  It will all be worth it though when he's a Certified Public Accountant at the age of 24 - a huge accomplishment!

A couple weeks ago the track season started.  I am coaching the middle school boys and girls this season and it's going to be a big challenge, but a lot of fun.  There are about 85 7th and 8th graders on the team so the biggest challenge will be getting to know all of them and managing the huge number.  Thankfully, I have some awesome assistant coaches who I can totally trust to take groups of kids and I don't have to worry about what they're doing.  It should be an interesting and exciting season!

The past two weeks I've also been going through some interviews, looking for something to do after my class and part-time job at Aquinas end, and I landed a job at Gazelle Sports.  It's a locally owned sporting goods store, mostly running related, and they are very involved in the running community in Grand Rapids.  So, I'll obviously be working in the store doing retail, but I was also asked to coach some of their 8-week training groups that they host all year round.  I'm really excited to work with the training groups!  As I understand it, most of the runners that join them are beginners, training for their first 5ks and things like that.  My training starts this week, so I'll be super busy until the beginning of May with class, work, coaching, and training.

So, on top of all the good things that have happened already, we have Eric and Andrea's wedding to look forward to on May 14th!  We're so excited!  It's going to be such a fun weekend and it's rapidly approaching!

AND! as may of you know already, we're expanding from a family of two to a family of three!  With the recent announcement and making this public knowledge, I think Chris and I have gotten even more excited ourselves and it's really starting to sink in.  Personally, I think it will be really real when I need to start wearing the pants with elastic in the front :)

We are so blessed to be able to bring another life into this world.  It's such a miracle and we are going to be experiencing it first hand.  Hopefully the rest of the miracle will include less nausea and more appetite. Chris mentioned the other night that it isn't fair that the mamma is the only one that has to feel sick, but I said, it isn't fair that the mamma is the only one that will feel the baby kicking and squirming.  So, we'll take the bad with the good and thank God every day for trusting us with one of His children.

Life is just so good!

Little Accomplishments

Chris and I like to run.  Ground breaking news, I know.  But, Chris actually does it.  He has run almost every day since his last exam even though he's been working 55-60 hours a week.  Me?  Well, I haven't really run in almost two years.  Yeah sure, there have been the injuries and the therapy (or lack thereof) for me to blame it on, but in reality, I haven't run because I've been afraid.  Afraid of being miserably out of shape, afraid of my injuries being a constant nag, afraid of the hard work needed to get in good shape again, afraid of getting in really good shape again then getting hurt...again.  The thought of channeling my love of running into coaching has been my crutch, my justification to take the easy way out, the lazy way out.  Don't get me wrong, I love coaching and I wholeheartedly plan to continue coaching, but I'm pretty sure it's not going to be enough.  Not enough to satisfy my competitiveness, or to calm my antsy legs, or to drop the *ahhem* pounds that have snuck their way onto my body.

It's strange, this game I've been playing with myself.  There have been times when my longing has been so great to be fast again, to feel the readiness in my muscles and the ease at which my stride would come.  So powerful that I'll make these grand plans to start again.  Sometimes I'll run one day, maybe two or three days, then just stop.  Make up some reason why it's OK or why it's better for me to not be running.  Then another couple months will pass and I won't even think about running.  It's hard to believe how easy it has been for me to not even think about myself running for so long, when before I couldn't go a few hours without thinking about my run that day.  Hard to believe and sad, really.

I don't think I ever lost my love for running, I just lost my...motivation? strength? emotional stamina? pride? I'm not really sure what it was that I lost, but I definitely lost something, or maybe just forgot something, but for a while, fear took it's place.  

So, to scare the fear out of me, two weeks ago I signed myself (and Chris) up for the Irish Jig 5k that will be taking place on March 19th.  Currently, the furthest I've run is 1.5 miles.  I didn't run at all last week because I got really sick, but this week is going well.  I feel good.  Yesterday I was talking with a friend about running and my upcoming race and how the competitive spirit one gains from running doesn't just go away.  Mine might have taken a little vacation, but I think it's back now.  I said to Erin that when we run, even if nothing else has gone right, we accomplish something that day.  As soon as that came out of my mouth I realized that it was true, and I felt this huge wave of achievement and excitement and motivation come crashing over me.  It was the strangest thing.  I felt like crying because I felt that I had just been reconnected with an old friend.  

This video is a speech that I gave in one of my classes last year.  Watching it makes me think of everything that I love about running (also makes me cringe at the mistakes I made while giving it, ugg).

 

Hopefully I won't get scared again - or roll an ankle - because I really want to put in the work now.  Obviously it won't be easy, but I've done it before, so I can do it again.  My only goal for my first race in over two years is to finish in under 8-minute pace and have fun.  Because I love running.  And I love the feeling of accomplishing something, even as little as a 1.5 mile run.  Plus, someone has to start bringing home some prize money since Chris has only contributed a couple boxes of plaques, a butter dish, two bowls, and a beer glass!