10+2 = 49

What a sad day - the tragedy at the Boston Marathon is truly beyond comprehension.  I think back to last week at the half marathon in St. Louis and the excitement that was in the final stretch of the run and at the finish line.  It's hard to imagine that someone would intentionally destroy the euphoria of the finish.  My thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected by this horrific event.

In a bit of lightheartedness, Damon had the night off of work and was gracious enough to prepare dinner for the family.  As the three of us sat around the dinner table, Alexa began to show off some of her counting and number skills.  She held up her two hands and counted her ten fingers, but when I did the same and asked her how many fingers I was holding up, she gave her standard, "I dunno" answer.  Then, she said, "But I do know 10+2."  What!?!  I told Damon, "If she knows this, I am going to have a heart attack."  She convincingly replied, "10 + 2 is 49."  She said it so matter-of-factly, I think both Damon and I did a double-check of our own math...  Child prodigy?  Not likely, but there's no doubt Alexa provides the much-needed comic relief in our family.  Our dinner conversations would be a lot less lively without our future mathematician.

With a mom in Finance, you can bet we'll keep working on numbers :)

Wheels with Meaning

Given the craziness of the past few weeks, not to mention some terrible nights of sleep (not quite sure why), Damon and I decided a long-overdue family day would be a great way to "celebrate" our anniversary.  My how our lives have changed since our Hawaii anniversary trip - I think that was our second or third anniversary.  However, while watching 'The Amazing Race' tonight, Damon decided a trip to Bora Bora is a must-do after our kids are in college.

Alexa asked to go to the playground early this afternoon, and since it was absolutely beautiful outside, I was more than happy to indulge her request.  I think both of us were pleasantly surprised when Damon wanted to join us!  The playground is at the main entrance to our community, so Alexa hopped on her bike to make the short trip there.  As she rode ahead of me, I some pangs of sadness thinking about the history of her bike.  It was her gift from Granty after he was born (Yes, who knew that newborn babies brought bikes with them?), and he "gave" it to her on the day we came home from the hospital.  We hadn't adjusted the seat in the time she's had the bike, and running behind her, you could see how much she has grown in the past ten months.  When she first received the bike, her feet could barely reach the pedals, and now we definitely need to raise the seat to accommodate her leggy frame.

When Damon and I were deciding the sibling gift from Granty to Alexa, we had a lot of choices, and I am very glad we opted for one with longevity.  This is the bike on which Alexa's going to learn to ride without training wheels, endure a few spills and race around the neighborhood.  I'm sure it will be a source of fond memories - - who doesn't remember his/her first bike!?!  Alexa's bike will just have an extra-special association... :)

Enjoying her new bike on the day Granty came home from the hospital.

Worth the Wait

After Easter and the weekend in St. Louis, it was nice to return to our normal Saturday routine.  Alexa was up bright and early this morning (6:05am - ugh!), so I had time to make pancakes for breakfast before we headed to gymnastics.  The gym is a lot less stressful than swimming, as I enjoyed my Dunikn' Donuts coffee and Women's Health Magazine during her hour-long lesson.  No need to watch for meltdowns at gymnastics!

With the craziness of the past few weeks - my workload, travel, weekday make-up lessons for Alexa - I had become very lazy about preparing dinner.  We enjoyed more than our share of ready-made meals and the normal Thursday night Chick-Fil-A (grilled, of course).  I decided to step it up a bit today, so I prepared a pork loin and asparagus for dinner.  Normally, Alexa is not a huge fan of pork, but I had a secret weapon to ensure Alexa would eat her meal....dessert!

Alexa's allowed one sweet per day, so she meticulously plans her one indulgence for the day.  She also closely monitors what I eat and has no problem making sure I abide by the one sweet policy too (I did sneak a few pretzel M&M's today when she was in the playroom).  Today at the grocery store, I picked up an angel food cake and strawberries, the perfect summer dessert, and I knew when Alexa was asking me about dinner at 3pm that she was excited for this one.

She gobbled up the pork and asparagus, showing me how big her muscles were getting because of the meal, and she was eager for dessert.  There was a can of whipped cream left over from NeNe's visit (not a normal Hovey household item), so that proved to be an added bonus with the cake and strawberries.  Alexa had a blast making her dessert, and of course, reapplying whipped cream after each bite; I think she must have consumed at least half a can!  She was laughing hysterically with every bite, which was making me laugh even harder.  Her laughter was priceless...Who knew a simple dessert would create this wonderful moment?!? :)

Hard at work extracting the whipped cream.

More whipped cream than strawberries!
(Yes - she wore her leotard all day...don't ask).

A Day in the Park

Friday....Thank goodness!  Although it was a very short week, this weekend could not come soon enough.

I knew it was going to be a relatively quite evening, as Alexa looked exhausted when I picked her up from Aftercare.  Today was the final Park Day of the school year for her and her classmates, and it appeared she must have played full bore in the outdoors today.  Her fatigue didn't prevent her from nagging me during the drive home; she was very disappointed that I never volunteered as a parent-helper for Park Day.  I explained to her that the Park Days conflicted with my work schedule and important meetings (today was a quarter-close review) this year, but I am definitely on hook for volunteering next school year!  It's flattering that she wants me there; I don't think she'll be as enthusiastic when I volunteer to chaperone dances when she's in middle school ;)

Just as Alexa's class has taken advantage of the beautiful weather, the Infant classroom at her Montessori school has been doing the same.  Each night when I pick up Alexa, the children from the Infant room are usually spending time outside on a group stroller ride or toddling around the schoolyard.  It always makes me a little sad and wistful to see Granty's classmates, and it's even tougher when Alexa interacts with them.  Tonight one of the new walkers in the class walked towards Alexa and reached for her lunchbox as we headed out of the campus.  Alexa, of course, was extremely gentle with the little girl and sweetly kissed the top of her hand as she pulled back her lunchbag.  It's the simple moments like this that hit me the hardest - if only.....  

My little guy enjoying an afternoon outside...

WGWH (Wish Granty Was Here)

This week has been one filled with a lot of mentions of Granty from Alexa...I think he's been on her mind a bit more than normal this week.  There's no doubt how much she misses "her cute little baby."  

When Alexa and I were flying out of Lambert Airport in St. Louis, the entrance to the "C" concourse was decorated with floor-to-ceiling posters highlighting some of the landmarks in the city.  Alexa was very excited to see an image of the Cardinals playing at Busch Stadium, and she stopped in front of it to make sure I noticed the picture of the baseball.  She looked two images to the right, and she was ecstatic to see a poster representing the St. Louis Zoo.  Wouldn't you know...of all the animals in the zoo, the image on the picture was a beautiful, but simple, shot of a giraffe.  Alexa exclaimed, "Look Mommy!  Granty's right next to the Cardinals...he'd be so happy!"  Aww....

This morning, Alexa was joking that Damon and Alstott both had babies in their tummies (she's going to give poor Damon a complex), and she suddenly laid her head on my stomach and said, "I miss Granty."  We all do, kiddo.  Like in the St. Louis airport, the signs of Granty our everywhere, but even more powerful are the constant remembrances in our hearts.  

Always on our minds...this is one bond that will never be broken.

The Gambler

Tonight was a long day at work and school for Alexa and myself (I didn't pick her up until nearly 6pm), and the two of us were exhausted tonight.  By 7:30, she was asking me to get her ready for bed, and I was more than happy to lay in bed with her for a little bit.  We were definitely spoiled by our long weekend in St. Louis!

While at my parent's home in St. Louis, Alexa noticed a picture of her cousin Mara with NeNe, as they played scratcher lottery tickets together.  Alexa was very intrigued with the picture and the concept of the scratcher tickets, so my mom purchased a few tickets for the two to play together.  Well, she's hooked!  Tonight Alexa lamented how much she missed NeNe and Papa, and then she proceeded to ask me if we could go out and buy some scratcher tickets.  Apparently she had also mentioned the scratchers to Damon this morning, and he didn't realize she was actually referring to the lottery tickets.  When I mentioned it to him tonight, a huge smile broke on his face....a little gambler, a girl after his own heart.  I have a feeling Damon's going to be playing the lotto with Alexa on a fairly regular basis, and he'll be mentally planning her first trip to Vegas each time :)

Alexa with her scratchers mentor, NeNe.  haha

Eight Years!

Damon and I celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary today.  It's hard to believe it's been eight years since our wedding, an event my friend Kathryn, who was a bridesmaid in our wedding, was still talking about as we ran the half-marathon on Sunday.  It was truly a memorable event!

Damon and I met during my sophomore year of college, as he was on the Purdue Trap and Skeet team with a guy who lived upstairs from me.  Damon was the "California cool" guy who did things his own way (he had his own glassware at a campus bar for cripe's sake), and he had an aura about him that made people want to be around him...including myself.  I never would have expected the guy, who "wasn't my type" and was "just a good friend," would be by my side sixteen years later, enduring some of the best and worst moments of our lives together.

There's no doubt that the past year encompassed a lot of those bad moments - I think we have lived every parent's worst nightmare.  However, through the sadness, despair, anxiety and grief, we have become a stronger couple, and I believe Granty's life will have a lasting impact upon our marriage for the rest of our lives.

Damon worked today, so I'm looking forward to celebrating our anniversary on Sunday.  Damon's always had a knack for buying me great accessories, and he surprised me this morning with a beautiful new Louis Vuitton handbag and wallet.  Suddenly those two St. Louis Cardinals t-shirts and souvenir cup I brought home with me didn't seem so impressive....lol.  In all seriousness, I am a very lucky girl, and I'm looking forward to celebrating many anniversaries in the years to come.

We've come a long way from our days at Purdue!