June 9-16

We went to another wedding last Saturday, and Olivia was tearing up being super cute on the dance floor.  Bryan's sister, Keshia, was at this reception with us and she and Murry were dancing with Olivia.  Olivia was copying everything that Aunt Keshia did, although she was only able to do either arm movements OR leg movements, not both.  Next wedding I'm going to remember a video camera.  To add to the excitement, Murry took both girls over to the guy making balloon animals and got them hats.  Olivia was a swan and Gretchen was a duck.  :)

Not to be left out in the moving and shaking department, Gretchen moves and shakes.  Well, at least moves. She scoots on her back and can also rotate in a circle.  Little (if any) of it is intentional.

I've been wanting to start running again, but lacking the little push to actually get going.  When I visited my parents last, though, I found out that Josef and Alison are going to run a half marathon this October.  I've always wanted to run a half marathon!  Push found.  ...Until I discovered that their half marathon cost $95 to enter.  Curious as to how this compared to other half marathons in other parts of the country, I did some searching.  What did I find?  Springfield is having a half marathon at half the price!  The bad news: it's in mid-August.  That doesn't seem like nearly enough time to get ready.  I did some more looking.  Eight-week training plans for beginners are abundant.  It's fate!  I came home, bought running shoes, and began running.  Two days later I had to stop because of knee pain.  Apparently all joints loosen up during pregnancy and can take up to 4 months to get back to normal.  Longer if you're nursing.  How am I supposed to be ready for a half marathon by mid-August at this rate?!  After calling my running experts (mom and dad), I took a few days off and started again at a painfully slow pace with hardly any mileage.  It's going well so far, though, and mom thinks building up my distance shouldn't be too hard providing I can get my knees in a cooperative mood first...

Bryan took some videos of Olivia dancing (not her wedding moves, unfortunately).  Apparently she had some really good dances going BEFORE he pulled out the camera.  He claims you could actually tell that she was doing "Five Little Monkeys" and "I'm a Little Teapot."  In the videos we have, though... not so much.  Listen carefully for the words and then maybe you'll be able to see what the actions are supposed to be.  :)

I should try to get videos of Olivia singing sometime.  She sings along with several songs, either when she's watching videos or when we're singing with her.  Her pronunciation is actually pretty good when she sings; maybe she should sing all the time instead of talking.

A couple of weeks ago, Bryan got put on a daily 5:00 phone meeting.  Now instead of being home by 5:15 every day, he's home at 6, 6:30, 7:10...  It really depends on the day, and he's got this meeting on his calendar for the foreseeable future.  It makes my whole "dinner at 6" plan a little more exciting.  The nice part is that he's been able to take more leisurely lunches to compensate.  He also has to work the occasional late evening (going in between 9 and 11) and sometimes Saturdays.  This added complication managed to keep him from visiting my parents with the girls and me last time we went up.  It's a bummer, but he can't really get out of any of it.  His boss says all the extra work he's been having to do is good leverage for the raise he asked for, though...

Pictures and Videos:
Videos of Olivia dancing.
Olivia Dances 2
Olivia Dances 3
Olivia Dances 4

The balloon animal hats:

Pictures taken by Jillian: