oh my blog!

....it's been forever! just parused below-vids and realized my children have change  SO MUCH since  then.

i think i'll try to pick this ol' blogging biz back up-- at least through evy's first birthday!! ;)
lots to post, perhaps coming soon. don't hold me to it.

for now a few pics.... completely random, no order, and no explanation. enJOY enEVY.

phone-vid stash

driving w the joybird

this girl does NOT perform on demand.  but her sweet little singing voice and her recent interest in making up her own songs is worth capturing. she sings non-stop in the car and entertains trey, evy, and me the whole way.

SO, i'm going to start recording like this ;)  i'd love to turn my camera around and get her but then she stops mid-song. 

so until we exit this little "no mommy take my picture" phase..... i leave you with this:

training update!

unfortunately, my training has come to an abrupt hault!  as seen below, i was off to an excellent start. i signed up for the dallas full and was feeling confident. and then i COMPLETELY fell off the wagon and have only been running twice a week for the past, oh gosh, month or so?! yikes!!

the sad news is, i don't think i can pull of my goal by december. maybe i can? trying to decide if i want to get serious and prioritize this or just start fresh and shoot for the austin full....
regardless, i signed up for dallas so i'll at least do the half (i think i'm in fine shape to PR for the half) it's just the full i'm concerned about because of the lack of time to get in the mileage it takes! 

i'll keep you posted on what i decide!!

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with 2 weeks under my little training belt i am feeling SO GOOD!  the best thing i have going for me is my training partners!  
I've been running with two of trey's RA's from Duren.  One of the guys ran the austin marathon last year in 2:59 (perfect!) and the other one ran the houston in 3:07 (my old pace!). so it's just amazing all around. and, of course, i'm still able to get my long runs in at town lake once a week with my doc.  
basically, these guys are FAST. and it is pushing me to my limit which is really paying off.  
so here's what training has looked like so far:
3 semi-fast (23:46)/7:55 pace
4 miles in the strattford hills (so hard!) 33 min/8:15 pace
4 mile w/patrick 32:00/8:00 pace
9 at town lake (slow and easy) 1:19/8:47 pace
4 miles at shoal creek 32:15/8:04 pace
6 miles late night campus loop 45:00/7:30 pace (finally feeling easy!) 7:30 did NOT feel easy 2 weeks ago so progress is definitely being made and it feels good.
9 @ town lake 1:18/8:40 pace.  for a 6:45 marathon pace i should be running long runs at 8:45 pace so this is where i should stay.
6 miles @ dusk from campus to town lake (peace park trail) 41:14/6:52 pace (no way!)

PORT-A.

sorry for the half-viewable vids.  my blog isn't set up for video viewing success. i'll work on this.

we went to the beach last minute with matt, mindy, and grant!  it was such a great weekend and i don't think joy has ever had more fun in all her life. the entire 3.5 hour trip home she kept telling us all the things she wished she were still doing instead of going back to our house.

could not get these pictures in any sort of order...but here we go:

i had to cage evy in since she's all over the place.  a crawling babe is not ideal for the beach. they either need to sit still or walk. but she won't sit still. its always on the go and eating sand is probably not a good option. SO, i banned her from the beach after day one. 

we'll do it up big next year, evs...when you're walking!!

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY, BABY EVY!!

stats:

weight: 15.7 lbs = 35th %tile

height: 24.75 inches = 10th %tile (shorty!)

head: 16.38 inches = 18th %tile
eyes: TBD (although the doc said they are too blue to turn brown at this point?) maybe blue, navy blue-ish, green? only time will tell.

thighs: THUNDER!  they are the best!! ;)

hair: starting to grow. yay!  was dark brown at birth and is now growing in a lighter shade of brown

feet: tiny. just like joys were.

what she's doing:

• crawling FAST, and everywhere, and with such determination! 
• CLIMBING. all the way to a stand. it's pretty dangerous at this stage in the game and is making me crazy. she already fell in her crib and hit the wood slats with her head.  so i now understand the real meaning of crib bumpers. i always thought they just looked pretty.  those mesh breathables don't do jack! SO i switched back to the padded ones. i also lowered her crib in order to prevent future scaling. didn't work. she still climbs.

* so here's something i've learned about evy--

clearly, learning to crawl is a physical and a mental game.  you need the strength and you need the cognitive development to move all limbs in unison to get from a to b.  you also need to care and want to move.  well, i've decided that evy's mental game is far ahead of the rest of her game...she's willing herself to do things that i'm not quite positive she's physically ready for. the physical catches up pretty quickly because there's no option. but we seem to go through a week of "the danger zone" until she gets there.  like, pulling to a stand on the wooden floor when she hasn't mastered balancing. 

• she enjoys chasing balls. she pushes these little toy balls down the hall and then crawls to them as fast as she can squealing with delight the whole way. pretty darn cute.  She and pipes are, clearly, growing to be fast friends since fetch is their fave. ;)
• eating rice cereal and loving it.  doing this for a week and then adding fruits and veggies!
• napping great. no paci/no thumb. just content and puts herself to sleep.  same schedule 8:30-10, 12:30-2, 3:30-4.  transitioning to two naps and making nap number 2 1:00-3:00. bedtime = 6:30 -7 ish.  still waking to eat at night. about to cut her off. although last night she went 10 hours so maybe she has made the turn! prayers welcomed because i am TIIIIRED! she does sleep 12 hours at night though. and the 1 or 2 nursing's are only a 5 minute ordeal. ptl.
• starting to climb up things.  NOT OKAY. hold tight there, baby evs. 
• just got through about a week of separation anxiety.  she noticed that i was leaving after putting her down for naps and bed and would cry and watch the door.  she still notices but has gotten okay with the idea.
• teething! no teeth yet but i believe they are just around the bend.
• experimenting with quite a few new noises! and when you make her noises back at her she laughs like it is the funniest thing EVER.
• still loving interaction with ANYONE and everyone.  
• loves joy.  crawls over to see what joy is doing at all times.  tries to crawl up joy and use her to stand.  
• wants to play with joys toys while joy is playing with them.  joy is really good about redirecting evy to her toys or bringing evy something else to play with. so funny.
• she just started this new little maneuver that is hilarious! she goes from a crawl position to...what is that yoga position where you're on your hands and feet and your butt is up in the air? she goes back and forth between the two positions and it cracks us up.  need to catch that on video.
• she loves being outside. we stroll often. all over this side of campus and through the dorms.  she enjoys flirting with fiji's and the girls of SRD. ;)

* that's all for now. we're only one week in to the 6th month so i'll add to this + pictures!

* i'm about to rock this little girls world with a little fall feast i whipped up and froze for her! she's officially mastered sweet potatoes. next is butternut squash and then my roasted sweet potato, squash, apple + nutmeg, cinnamon, all spice medley! 

it's a great time of year to be a first time eater. get ready, girl! fall is upon us.

ready or not, here she comes...

with a heavy emphasis on the OR NOT.

evy's on the move and fast....one minute she's in the living room, and the next she's in joy's room.  oh my gosh! i really wish she would stay on her little play blanket for another month or two...i really am not ready for her to be crawling and here's why. for starters, she's a little too young and still not completely sturdy so when she gets to the wood floor flipping over is still a possibility. she's also attempting to go from a crawling position to a sitting position, another semi-dangerous maneuver-- especially when she's off-roading. 
well, i think it's safe to say we are prime candidates for one of those playpens that cage the little babes in to a predetermined space. 

in other news around here, trey is just about done with that whole PhD thing.  he has worked so hard...not only in completing his degree but taking on what seems to average about 3 to 4 other side jobs per semester.  I have never known someone so capable at juggling so many responsibilities at once...and to do so with such a positive attitude, never complaining, and excelling in each area. truly unbelievable.  

joybird is growing up so fast... we recently made an online purchase for her "fall wardrobe". most of our favorite hot-spot shops were offering 25-30% off so we acted fast!  the goal always being to buy minimal items that can be worn several different ways. quality over quantity, of course. well, joy likes to weigh in on these decisions.  she'd point to the screen and say "i want to wear that dress!"  i let her pick which color of skinny jeans she wanted and w/o any hesitation she chose yellow, of course.  we got the whole shipment in the mail last night and i was so excited to show her everything this morning. she ran into the living room like it was christmas.... she see's all the clothes and says. "oh my goodness, mommy!!! they're so pretty!!!" ha. and then we tried everything on (her favorite past time). she got so into it and would run down the hall to look in the mirror with each new top.  she is determined to make those yellow skinny's go with everything.  "i wear my yellow jeans!" i tried to explain to her that it's REALLY hot out and that shorts might be the better option for another month or so. we'll see how long it lasts. 

all are well around here and i am LOVING the ages of these precious girls. 2.5 ish and almost 6 months. something about this combo just seems magical!  i want to freeze them right here for a few months and soak up each little moment. 

mama-meej's shower

we threw a shower for mama-mija this past weekend in San An!  So many people came to spoil sweet baby varga!

papa joe and bebe watched the girls so that coco, bud and I could fulfill our showerly-duties 

look at those two little matching babes!

oh hey, mrs mitchell ;)

the varga's decided to reveal their sweet girls name via a little game of hangman!

this was SO much fun!!

joy, quite obviously, stoked about meeting her little cousin charlotte.  although, i believe, she's a little more excited about all those letters. kind of on a letter kick. preferably caps. ;)

there's really nothing better than baby delivery day. and i find myself living vicariously through all these people who are just about to, or just have, delivered!  i just can't believe in one little month mama-meej will be in the hospital meeting her precious charlotte elise.  i can hardly contain my excitement for her...i don't think she even knows what's coming-- until you're in that moment, it's hard to even imagine the greatness of it!

we love you, charlotte elise varga!! and can hardly wait to kiss your sweet little face!

lovely little floral flat

old navy. 19 dollars

i found them on sale for 10 back in the spring of o nine.

and if only i could go back in time, i would have bought 5 more pairs of this little treasure.  i have NEVER owned a more comfortable shoe...ever.
i wore this little gem all over switzerland and walked for miles and miles.  i have actually gone running in these things (not really for workout purposes-- more for needing to get from a to b and fast)...and the comfort is off the charts.
i throw these on with just about EVERYTHING.  if you live with me in the atx (shells) i know you've seen me wear this for just about any and all occasions.

anyway, just wanted to share. in case old navy gets their act together and re-creates this perfect floral flat. i don't even need the cute floral pattern (although it has been quite the touch) anything will do.   i check their site fairly often. haven't found it yet. so if you do, please tell me!!

evy + joy = love

"oh hey, evy!!", as joy would say in a super sweet high-pitched voice...

my little side-kick joybird... doesn't skip a beat

 evy is bead-obsessed. she will make her way across an entire room in record time when she spots beads...

sweet-sister joy decides to share....

 and then decides maybe she wants them back...

 she redirects with sophie the giraffe...

o my gosh, those eyes!

 off to lunch with pups.

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