March 6, 2011

Celebrating Texas

This past week was full.  We had a doctor's appointment to see Baby Billy on Tuesday.  Thus far, his growth continues to be right on track.  I'm pretty glad about that, even if it means that my tummy is getting in the way a lot more this time around.

Here's the photo of Baby Billy at 27 weeks
(click on the thumbnail to view a larger version):

This past week was also Texas Independence Day.  I probably make a bigger deal out of this than I ordinarily would, simply because Bill is not from Texas.  He often offers remarks like, "You Texans don't know how to handle the cold, that's why you lost the Civil War . . . ."  So you can see why I have to make an effort to  maintain a little Texas pride in the Kalahurka household.

This year, to celebrate Texas, I signed us up to participate in the Texas Independence Day 5K run/walk around the State Capitol.  We've had several weeks of beautiful weather in Texas, but yesterday morning was pretty chilly and windy.  When we woke up, it was about 54 degrees and the wind was gusting.  They had taken the rain out of the forecast though, so we bundled up and headed downtown with the jogging stroller.  Overall, it was a pretty fun time.  The GIANT Texas flag was flying.  Bill actually ran the race.  He was determined to beat a couple of 12-year olds (which he did) and ended up with a sub-21-minute 5K.  Pretty impressive (and he won a historic Texas flag hat :-).  Amelia and I walked most of the 5K, taking some photos along the way.  The last mile was all downhill, so we jogged most of that part.

Our bad luck came when we were walking back across Congress Avenue bridge to our car after the race.  Right when we got to the middle of the bridge, the sky opened up and it POURED.  Amelia's stroller has a cover, but it did little to stop the horizontal rain.  When I hung my windbreaker in front to stop the rain, it just made her mad because she couldn't see out.  By the time we got across the river and back to our car, the rain had let up, but we had one CRANKY little girl on our hands.  Luckily, we were able to duck into the gym at my office building and use the towels, etc., to dry off and warm up before getting into the car.  Next time, I guess I'll know better -- family outings are fun, but if there's even a chance of rain, scrap it and stay home.

Below are some photos from yesterday's event.  Also some more photos of Amelia learning to feed herself.  As is obvious from the photos, she's not getting much better with practice . . . .

Now I've got to get ready for "date night."  Amelia's favorite babysitter is coming over and Bill and I are going to go for dinner and a movie.  We tried to do this on Tuesday night, but the babysitter fell through, so this is a make-up date night.  I'm really looking forward to it.  We haven't been out by ourselves in about three months.  It's definitely time . . .

(Click on the thumbnails below to view a larger version).