My Guys

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, Nicholas and Todd ran in a road race in Hartford. Actually, Todd had planned on running this race for quite a while. When Nicholas saw Todd getting dressed in his running gear on Sunday morning, he said, "I wanna run in the race with Daddy!" The next thing we knew, we were packing up and heading off to Hartford - all 3 of us.

Nicholas ran the 100 yard dash. He was unbelievable! He found an opening up the side, flew past the people in front of him, and left Todd in the dust! And he was smiling the whole time. In fact, after he was done, he was whining and saying he wanted to run more. Next year, we're definitely doing the half mile course. Tonight we walked downtown to get an ice cream cone, and on the way home, I'm sure he ran at least a half mile on the trail. OK, he had just plowed down an entire chocolate ice cream cone... but still, the kid is only 3! He continues to amaze me every day.

And then there's my other guy... who also amazes me every day. Todd kicked that race's butt! This is a picture of him running past fire headquarters - looks pretty good, huh?! I was thinking about it after the race. I usually run these races as well, and I'm often so wrapped up in putting myself down for my crappy performance, I often forget to congratulate Todd on his. Watching him and cheering him on from the sidelines was kinda fun. He is getting really good - I am so proud. What a lucky girl I am. Life is good.

Bright Lights Big City... Big Germs!!

Last weekend, Todd was working non-stop so Nicholas and I headed off to Boston to visit Auntie Mary, Auntie Jenny, and Susanna. First of all, what a difference a winter makes in terms of how the monkey takes a car ride. Last summer it was all about getting through the drive without a major meltdown. I had a bucket full of toys, books, snacks, and play doh, but by Worcester, my bag of tricks was completely tapped out. Granted, Boston is a shorter drive than Maine, but the ride was a piece of cake! He sat back there singing along with his CDs, playing with his fire trucks, and writing on his little laptop computer. Nice.

The city was a complete hit with my son. He's so cool you know. He loved the T ride. I, of course, was a complete nerd mom snapping flash photography and taking videos the whole time. Who cares - it was a big moment, and I had blogging on the brain. We went to Quincy Market and Nicholas and Susanna got these hilarious balloon hats from a street vendor. The guy was hysterical (in a good way), and the balloon hats were awesome. Nicholas's had this crazy smiley face dangly thing coming off the top of his, which made walking through the crowded food court interesting. We bopped more than a few strangers in the face. Tee hee!

Nicholas and Susanna are like two peas in a pod. He is so smitten with her. And she is so very patient with him - which is saying something considering the fact that he is a 3-year-old boy with a mind of his own! She was willing to watch Bob the Builder and let him play with her iPod Touch - pretty good for a 10-year-old I'd say!

So... here's the rub. We are home about 20 minutes when I notice the cough. By Tuesday afternoon, Nicholas has a 103.6 fever. Good grief. I'm wondering... if we zoom in on the picture of him on the T - do you think we could actually see the germs on that pole that somehow got into his body and gave him bronchitis?? It's been a tough week, I have to admit. This is not a part of parenthood that I enjoy. Apparently, I am a worrier - I HATE when he's sick. My mind always goes to that bad place. Thank goodness for Todd and his stethoscope. I made him check Nicholas's lungs at least 10 times this week. There was very little sleeping in this house, but tonight we are fever free and Mommy is happy.

You know, as I was downloading all the pictures from the weekend, I got a nice warm feeling looking at all the pics of Nicholas with Susanna and I'm so happy that they have each other. Todd has said to me more than once, "I think Nicholas and Susanna are going to be very close." I think he's right. They already are! We love you Susanna!