73. Half Marathon

After my pregnancy with Natalie, I ran a half-marathon as a way to get back in shape.  I decided to do the same after I had Claire.  I completed my 2nd post-pregnancy half marathon (#73) on November 7th.  I actually even ran it a minute faster per mile and didn't feel nearly as sore as I did after the first one.  I may have to do this again.  Also, during my training, I finished doing 30 days of the 30 Day Shred (#72) (although not 30 days in a row) -- I like doing that workout once in awhile, but lets face it, working out everyday straight with 2 kids is just never going to happen.

I also voted (#93) in something other than the Presidential election on November 2.  It was actually a great feeling to be contributing in that way.  I plan to continue voting during more elections.

A few weeks ago, Emile and I went to see True Grit (#43) one evening.  It was a great movie; one we'd recommend.  And of course, it's always wondering getting time away with just my husband.

I made a curtain (#81) for our guest bathroom which I'm very proud off.  I think it actually turned out well.  Having finished the curtain also means I've finished decorating another room in the house. Plus I have finished my office. Two more rooms done (#78).

Last night I finally finished and order Natalie's 2nd year photo album (#48).  Now to finish Claire's 1st year. 

Since my last post, I've only sent out one birthday card to my father-in-law (#95) but there are a lot of birthday's coming up!

Although we didn't take Claire because she's too young, we did take Natalie to see her Oma's production of the Nutcracker (Continental Ballet Company) (#26).  She loved it and even got to dance with the lead, "Clara", after the performance backstage.  Here's my favorite photo from that day:

Shortly after Claire turned 1 yr. old (December 3), I weaned her from nursing (#52).  She was exclusively breastfeed for the entire year (i.e. no formula), 12.5 months.  I'm proud of myself for doing this for both of my girls!

I also organized the storage room, finally (#80).  It is so much easier to get to things, and so much more room, now that it's organized.  Emile and the girls helped assemble a shelf system.

My friend Jenny has started a professional photography business, Sweet & Sunny Images.  We had her take a family photo (#97) of us for our Christmas card this year.  I love how it turned out so much that we got a 16x20 print made that we'll be framing for our living room.

Apparently I've been pretty busy with these in the last few months.  I've completed an additional 9 since the last time I posted!

78. Finished decorating our bedroom

I'm finally finished decorating our bed room.  I had a few decorations left to get and we just put up the picture frame of our girls (black and white photos from when they were newborns, 6 mo. and 1 year old -- Claire's 6 mo. and 1 year photo are still to come which is why there is nothing there right now).  The sketch of the sunflowers was made by my husband's aunt about 21 years ago.  That was our focal point for choosing the decorations.  I was going to put a plant to the right of the dresser but the room doesn't get enough direct sunlight and our cats usually attack most plants so I decided against it.

So I have 1 done for challenge #78.  I'm working on finishing up the girls bathroom next.  I only need to paint one of the walls a light pink -- still working on finding the right color.

54. Pregnancy with Claire Book

I have finally completed my pregnancy with Claire photo book (#54).  I took a belly photo of myself (using my tripod) every week for my entire pregnancy and blogged about how I felt each week:  http://oursecondlittleone.blogspot.com/.  As with my pregnancy with Natalie blog, I converted my blog posts and belly photos into a photo book as a keepsake.  Some day I'll give it to Claire.  I'm so glad to have this done.  I had been dealing with problems with the on-line program that the company finally fixed after months of going back and forth on emails. 

I've also started doing 50 crunches each night (#76) since starting this blog.  I'm also working on completing the 30 Day Shred (#72).  I haven't been able to do it every day in a row but I'm aiming more at completing 30 days of it within a month and half to accomodate having 2 children.  Both of these will help me get closer to getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight (#28) which I'm almost at (only 10 lbs to go).