Grayden's New Favorite Song (as promised!)

Recap: Busy, Busy Hartmans

It's been so long since I posted last, I'm not even sure where to begin! Grayden has grown so much since his 2nd birthday and it seems he is getting smarter every day. He amazes me with the things he says. And sentences! How does that happen? It seems like we were just working on words. Now it's "I need help" or "Momma, cracker please." And our favorite saying? "IT FELL DOWN!", which is what we hear probably 50 times a day. And let me assure you, things are not actually falling down 50 times a day....it's just that if something is on the ground, then "it fell down". And when the tv is turned off, "it fell down". So you can see how things fall down often around here. Grayden still loves music, singing and dancing. His most current favorite song is Rain, by Breaking Benjamin. I have a video of him singing along, I''ll be sure to post that soon. And one thing that I haven't caught on video yet is Grayden's most favorite thing of all- playing football. Rob introduced Grayden to video games which I initially thought was a terrible idea, but Grayden doesn't like to really play video games- he likes to MIMIC video games. Let me explain: Rob will turn on our football video game and put it on demo (which means it plays without anyone actually having to play). Grayden will then proceed to take his football and mimic every play and player on the game. Hilarious? Yes.


To catch you up on what we've been up to since I posted: Rob and I went to Hawaii for almost 2 weeks, Grayden stayed with his Nana and Papa in Ohio (while we were in Hawaii), we made  a trip to Michigan to meet our niece Brynn and celebrate our other niece Blair's 2nd birthday, we made a pit stop in Dayton to see Mamaw, a pit stop in Louisville to see nephew Luke (and his parents too), trips to the zoo, Jen had strep throat, Jen had jury duty, Grayden fell in love with Curious George, and we fell more in love with our little boy. Whew....it's been a busy couple weeks to say the least.

I'll spare all the details- but I will say we had the best time in Hawaii although deeply missed our chinchilla (Gray) and I think Grayden had a great time with his Nana and Papa. We loved getting to see our families (even if it was only for just a little while) and loved watching Grayden play with his cousins. A few pictures below to summarize our end of April/May/early June....

This "DoughGirl" is RUNNING!

So, after much thought and delibration, I have dedicated myself to getting back in shape. And I'm going big. I've have always wanted to run a 1/2 marathon, but to put it bluntly- have been too lazy to work towards it! But the fire has been lit behind me and I'm ready to make the commitment. One of the exercise physiologists I work with (Andrea is her name)- runs marathons quite frequently and has been begging me to let her train me when I was ready to make the commitment. So, 2 weeks ago, I came to her on my hands and knees, with my brain yelling at my body saying "DON'T DO IT" -and told her I was ready to submit to the training! The plan? Start training for the Middle Tennessee Half Marathon (which is in October of this year). How? Well, we've signed up for a 5K (The Doughboy Challenge) for June 12th. Then, we'll see if we can find a 10K locally, and then we'll be set for the Half.  Of course, there will be multiple training in between. I'm freaking out nervous. But, super excited. Andrea and I have only begun our training. But yesterday I ran a whole mile straight! No stopping and it was only my second training session! My knees hurt, my hip flexors hurt, and my lungs thought they were going to jump out of my chest, BUT I love it. Who knows...maybe a new running hobby in my future? Haha... doubt that. :)

Prayers that I don't die, PLEASE!

A Near Picture Perfect Day

Spring is finally here! (well, it was and then yesterday happened and rainy and cold weather struck). But Saturday was BEAUTIFUL. So beautiful, that we spent over 4 hours at the Long Hunter Park. And yes, 4 WHOLE HOURS. And for those of you asking how we could spend an entire 4 hours at the park...it went something like this:- lying in the grass, a picnic lunch, good friends, chasing my sweet puppy, a nice walk around the lake, stopping to look at each leaf and acorn, picking up the biggest sticks we could find, throwing rocks into the lake, sliding down the slide, and swings. All in all, I couldn't ask for a better day, except I could ask that our dog hadn't been stricken with ticks and tick babies. And I could ask that the tick I found on MYSELF hadn't been there... Okay- so I guess it was a NEAR perfect day. A perfect day minus ticks.  Pictures to share... (and don't worry, we didn't take any pictures of the ticks)

Our little man turned 2! (And this post is a little overdue)

This post is a little overdue, as I have had a hard time bringing myself to actually blog about this. Because, blogging about Grayden turning 2 means that I have to accept that my sweet little baby boy is now a big, growing, hilarious toddler. REALLY!?! TWO!?! You mean that it has actually been 2 years since this tiny little boy entered my world??

I can't believe how fast the past 2 years have gone by. Grayden has gone from a tiny little baby to a chubby little baby, a balding old man look alike to a head full of hair young man, and from a baby to a TODDLER!? This can't be happening. This is what has came from my little 7 lb 7oz, 20 inches long sweet baby boy?

It's amazing how much this little guy has changed our lives. And I've loved (and still love) every second of it!! Grayden, we are so blessed to have you in our lives!! You bring us so much joy! Happy Birthday my sweet baby boy!!

Quickly, to fill you in on how we spent Grayden's 2nd birthday- I took off work Friday so that Rob and I could spoil him just the two of us. The morning started off with sleeping in, having Birthday Pancakes (as seen above), off to have Birthday 2 year old pictures made- (which almost resulted in a terrible, miserable, depressed mother thanks to Portrait Innovations who refused to do his pictures because they don't take walkins like they advertise they do... THANK YOU SEARS for letting us get pictures made), and a trip to the Nashville Zoo. After the Nashville Zoo playplace and a quick look at the meerkats, Grayden passed out. After naptime- we went to Grayden's favorite place to eat with all the grandparents (and Uncle Brian too)- BLUECOAST BURRITO, came home so Mommy could finish the cake. It was a near perfect day- followed with a pretty perfect Birthday Party where I want to thank everyone who came and made it such a special day for Grayden (and Rob and I too). We love everyone of you! Below, a picture of Grayden from his party and my 2nd attempt at a homemade birthday cake...(the character on top is SuperWHY- Grayden's favorite show, it's on PBSKids)