Vranicar Family: Party of 5

Getting ready to run! Saturday morning 4:30 am I got out of bed to head to Fargo for my very first 10k run as part of the Fargo Marathon. My wonderful dad, sister, husband and Cooper were all along for the ride as we loaded the car in the dark for this new adventure. My run buddy Mindi and her husband Scott met us at the dome were the parking lot was slowly starting to fill with runners of all sorts. There were the serious runners, the ones that you could spot a mile away- by looking at them you just knew they could kick your butt in any race. Then there were the fun runners, the ones that came clad in costumes. One guy came dressed in flannel pajamas, coffee mug and newspaper tucked under his arm. And then there was Mindi and me, we fell somewhere in between, we had trained as to not need to be pulled across the finish line, but there was no way we would be winning this. :) We waited inside as the runners filed in and the rain started to fall down. Once it was time to line up for th...

Is the mommy guilt supposed to start this early?! :) Last night Cooper and I spent 4 hours trying to get him to bed. We did the normal routine- giggle time, bath, diaper, bottle and bed. This time however ,every time I laid him in his crib he'd snap out of his sleepy-eyed almost asleep state and start crying. I tried to comfort him, I'd give him his special blanket stand where he could still see me in the room, let him cry for 10 minutes and go to check on him. After 4 hours of this repeated cycle (along with a stint of Cooper laying in bed with me in the dark, hoping he would get the idea that EVERYONE was going to bed) I finally couldn't do it anymore. He was crying, I was crying. It was awful. I finally scooped him up, cuddled him in my arms for a few minutes to calm him down, rocked him in his room until he was sleepy again and laid him down. He cried. And cried. and cried. I'm not sure for how long. I knew he was ok though- dry, fed, no temperature. I woke up this...

Cooper, Kevin's mom Nancy and me To celebrate my very first Mother's Day Kevin and I decided to host a Bar-B-Que at our house. We were joined by Kevin's brothers, parents and his aunt and uncle Ann and Tim. Even Nick and Melissa were able to be here. I couldn't have asked for a better day- well unless of course my dad and sister could have been here. The sun was shining, we had a table FULL of delicious food and Cooper entertained us all afternoon. To top things off Cooper gave me a basket full of pretty spring flowers and Kevin bought us tickets to see Carrie Underwood later this summer at the state fair! I am very excited about this concert. I just love her! A few weeks ago I saw a posting in the Fargo Forum asking for advice we have received from our mothers. I submitted a few along with a photo. I was kind of surprised when my submission was included in yesterday's Sunday paper! While I don't think my mom ever actually said these things to me directly, the...

Happy (early) Mother's Day to me! Brianne stopped by the office with Cooper today! She said Cooper wanted to drop off my Mother's Day gift. What a fantastic way to start the weekend!

Cooper's new favorite time to wake up is 3am. I guess he has decided, much like his cousin Alex, that he is just so excited about life, that he needs to wake up to see us every once and a while. Cooper was on a streak of sleeping through the night until recently. I think back on the first few weeks of Cooper's life; when we dreamt of only getting up once during the night. It's all about perspective I guess. I don't mind getting up with Cooper once I'm actually OUT of bed. the hard part is leaving the nice warm sheets! Speaking of perspective...a few posts ago I posted a picture of Kate G and her flat stomach, stating I should jump back on the treadmill. I was reminded that after all, she did have some help getting that nice tummy. After reading the comment I thought to myself, "Good point! I don't look too shabby for gaining and losing 50 plus pounds in the last year." This perspective came in handy when last week I had the pleasure to go bridesmaid dr...

Check out my friend Andrea's blog for a pretty fantastic Mother's Day Giveaway!

Before I begin this post- I'll clarify that some of these "great things" are material things. And yes- I think they are still great. :) It has been a wonderful weekend! The greatness includes: 1. Having a wonderful, wonderful son. He and I visited my good friend Quinn today and were treated to a tour of her new home. It is beautiful by the way. Cooper seemed to almost ENJOY looking at all of the rooms and contently layed on his blanket and played while Quinn and I chatted for over an hour. (He did however pee on her kitchen floor.) Sorry Quinn! 2. Finding the shirt I've been wanting and it was on clearance! 3. Baking cookies. They haven't even turned hard yet! :) 4. Running 5 miles this morning. 5. The warm, bright sun shining in on me as I lay on the couch. 6. Getting an unexpected visit from Brian and Joni last night. 7. Ordering dinner in last night. We both wanted big juicy burgers but couldn't go to the actual restaurant since it was Cooper bedtime. My tu...