Can't Sit Still

I know I should expect that A doesn't want to sit still, but don't hate me for trying. Two weeks in a row now I've taken him to a story time - last week with Elmo and this week for a Curious George book. 

He did a lot better this week, but clearly he would rather play with a train set or look for choo choo books than listen. Oh well...he still got a reward because I'm a sucker (as if we don't have enough books for him...but in my defense, he only had 1 book about trains!)

Watching Elmo from a distance.

Carrying his new set of Thomas the train books to the register at B&N

QT with Pop and Maga

The bad thing about traveling is that I miss time with my favorite little man. But I wanted to keep my career, and my husband and I tackle parenting like the good team that we are :)

The good thing is that usually we plan to have family visit when one of us is gone. It's not that we can't handle things alone of course, but why not let A spend time with the grandparents instead of missing Mom or Dad? 

Well Pop and Maga (Gamma gets confused coming out) are visiting now, and boy, has he had a good time. The wether was unbelievable this past weekend so we got outside and got some great photos too :)

Safety first

A has gotten a lot better about wearing hats. We really worked on this all summer, so he knows that outside means hat time. This is carrying over to our bike rides when he has to wear his "special hat." And A enforces mommy wearing her hat on these rodes too! Obviously he's channeling his inner DaDoc on this one :)

But to take his blog a little off its normal course for a moment, what angers is me is all this are the people out there telling me how to keep my kid safe. By doing this blog, some people may think I'm sharing too much, others probably think I post too much on Facebook. 

So I ask, at what point do you stop? At what point do I become that overprotective parent? And at what age does it stop? I know I'm on a soap box, but I just feel like, with everything else about pregnancy and parenthood, people always have an opinion and us parents are left feeling bad from all the decisions we make. 

So here it is...everything we do is for our kids and is our best attempt to keep them safe ALL the time. And part of that is sharing his joys and laughs with family...and the Internet just happens to be a great a venue for that. So parents out there, you're doing a great job and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Football Season

Football season is Kyle's favorite season. I, however don't think 5 months constitutes a season as it starts in summer and doesn't end until well into winter. But what do I know? Well, I do know that football is something that Kyle and his dad bond over, so I hope A can have that too. 

Enter UVA and our season tickets... We may not have gone to UVA, but 2 of the 4 grandparents have higher degrees from it and it is a good school with a legitimate athletics program. Also, it is often heralded in Southern Living and elsewhere for its football fanfare and customs so I can wear my sundresses and the boys madras as we tailgate in style :)

So last year we made it to one football game and did not buy season tickets. This year we decided to go in with some friends and get real seats so it's actually worth it to go to a game. 

You think we have a good view of the home team coming out?

A seemed pretty happy about the game and was quite enjoying himself. 

Unfortunately, the weather did not comply and we had to leave after the first quarter and saw the victory from the comforts of home (and not soaking wet). But that's ok...A got to see Cav man and dance to the Good Ole Song, so I think that is a pretty good start to the season in his opinion :)

My Cheering Section

Next Saturday I'll be running the Women's 4 Miler, a race in Charlottesville that raises money for the UVA Cancer Center Breast Care Program. It's the largest all-women's runs the state and the course is along the rolling hills west of town. This will be my 3rd of the races; we've lived here 4 years and I've only missed one due to being 7 months pregnant! Anyways, it's an awesome race with a whole mile decorated in signs of dedication to those who have battled breast cancer.

This year I've made it a goal to improve my time. I've never thought of myself as fast, but thanks to some interval training I've shaved a minute of my pace and hope to run at about 8 minutes per mile! I'm pretty excited about that as I've never run that fast in my life! 

I'm also trying to raise a little money for the cause, so if you want to cheer me on in that way, I would greatly appreciate it :) A big thanks to those of you who already helped out! Just be sure to give it to me...I'm the only McNew in there :)

 http://www.dominiondigital.com/womens4miler/donations.asp 

But I couldn't do this run without my cheering section. Number one of course is Kyle. He helps me make time in my day to do my run. I don't have pictures in here of him, but that's because he's usually at home or at work while I'm out running.

And a close second are my running partners. They help me get dressed (Fella had been playing with my socks just moments before!)...

...and happily ride along. 

So next Saturday mornign around 8am, can you cheer me on too?

River Life

This past weekend we went and visited my brother and his family's new home, which is at a new (and, in our opinion, more awesome!) state park. We had a blast spending time with everyone and exploring the grounds at the house and Boardwalk. A especially had a blast with his cousin, but somehow I managed to get no pics of that! I think Dad got some, so I guess he'll have to send those around! In the meantime, check out a few good ones taken on our ever convenient iPhones :)

John swooped in and high jacked a picture Dad was taking on his big camera and got us this family shot on the steps of the house. A was clearly laughing at his silly Uncle.

At the playground later that day, A even decided he was big enough to try out the big boy slide!

After the playground, we wandered to the river's edge and A went crazy in the water. Clearly the kid loves the water (it only took a very persistent mom all summer)!!

We missed Kyle's family though...we had to channel some Pop :) Maybe next time they can join!

Ain't Skeered

If you've seen A lately, and maybe you can tell from some of the recent posts, but he is getting fearless. The most recent exhibit of this is below when I took him to my office's family day. I decided to see if he wanted to go for a pony ride...well guess what...he did. I was quite proud of my little cowboy. I put him up there and grabbed right on to the horn like he knew what to do! 

We made a few rides around the ring and then of course, he saw something shinier and wanted to do that :)

We also had to visit the pigs of course (he was jealous they got to play inn the mud and water).

And there were more animals too...including pheasants (below), a cow that licked his cheek (and gave him a good surprise!), sheep, baby goats, and cows. We had a great time and hopefully I'll get some pictures of him with the cow and goats from the photographer soon!