Nashville Road Trip - Rock n Roll Marathon

Last Thursday we packed up the Hybrid and took off for Nashville! Our first family road trip! Karmann will be leaving the state of Florida at the early age of 4 months! Kris has planned on running the Nashville Marathon since Sarah and Charlie moved up there. It was going to be Kris' 3rd marathon in 5 months!
Karmann was a real trooper and traveled great! We drove to Valdosta GA and stayed in a hotel Thursday night and then got up early Friday and headed to Nashville. Though the trip was only supposed to take a total of 10 hours, we managed to get there in about 12. Friday, Grandma and Papa Stenger also took off from Illinois and headed to Nashville. Not only were they coming to see Kris in the race, but also to graciously be baby sitters for an evening so Sarah & Charlie and Kris and I could go to the DMB concert at Vanderbilt.At the starting line, I met up with an old friend from Danville, Amy Olson, and her husband Brian, who was also running the full marathon. We touched base when Amy posted on her Facebook page that she and her husband were signed up for the Nashville race. I emailed her and told her we were going to be there too! So we found each other that morning and hung out following the guys throughout the morning. The guys were close in the starting corals and pace, so it worked out well! It was good to hang out with her and meet her husband and catch up on the last 12+ years since we saw each other!

The conditions for the race were less than optimal. There was a heat wave in the Midwest that weekend and it ended up to be around 90 degrees by noon. Needless to say, Kris was not expecting it to be that hot. There are also a lot of hills in Nashville! Needless to say, he still finished with an official time of 4:05. Pretty good!!! Steve, Deb, Charlie, Sarah, Karmann, Amy and I walked about 7 miles between the starting line and finish line to see the guys at different mile markers. We were lucky to fins shade for most of the time, but the course did not have a lot. Kris was close to dehydration at the end, but luckily was able to avoid the medical tents. Once he filled up on electrolytes and fluids, he was fine. That night, Sarah & Charlie and Kris and I went to see the Dave Mathews Band in concert at Vanderbilt Stadium. Despite the heat during the day, it was the most beautiful weather for the outside concert - absolutely perfect! This was a much needed "date" for Kris and me and brought back a lot of college memories! The show was great and all our favorites were performed and more!

After sleeping in Sunday morning and having a big breakfast with the family, we packed up the car and headed down to visit Kris' other sis Keri and family in Columbus, GA. The 6 hour journey was going well until about 1 hour outside Columbus when Karmann hit her car seat limit!! Poor thing - we felt so sorry for her! She had just been on a whirlwind weekend and stuck in the car seat and was getting tired and she just lost it! So the last hour or so Kris and I tolerated her screams until she finally crashed asleep and by that time we had just about arrived to their house. We got to have a quick visit with Keri, Choy, and Amara (and a great dinner too!) that night and headed to bed fairly early. Keri had to work on Monday and Amara had school, and we had to get back. So after sending Amara off to school, Choy helped us pack up again and we headed on our last leg back to Orlando. Karmann was much better this time and actually slept for the last 4 hours on the road! We got home in one piece and decided though we had a great trip, next time we would just fly directly to Nashville!

Below is a link to the rest of the photos...enjoy!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ViewSlideshow.action?&collidparam=96446290305.621499047705.1240967319331

Update: 4 Months!

Waiting for Kris to finish the Corporate 5K 4.16.09

Karmann visited the pediatrician's office today for her 4 month check up. She is now 13 lbs 10 oz and 25 inches tall!!! She's in the 75% for her height and 50% for her weight! All other things are good too. Unfortunately she also had to get 4 shots but she has weathered them well so far. 

Last week and weekend was pretty busy! Kris ran in the Corporate 5K Thursday evening, which was fun. I got to catch up with my previous co-workers who also attended. Though its been 3+ years since I've worked there, they all still feel like family! It was good to see everyone and have them meet Karmann!

Saturday evening we drove down to Disney to have a quick visit with my old friend (maybe oldest friend?) Ben Byrket and his beautiful family. We think that it has been since their wedding that we had seen each other! Wow - time flies! They are down for the week to vacation at Disney. Both Madison and Emily are going to have a blast!! I only had my cell phone camera, but Carol took more photos of the girls, so hopefully she'll forward them along when they get back. In the mean time, here's a few blurry photos of the girls. They were infatuated with Karmann! And Karmann couldn't take her eyes off of them! It was really cute! 

Early Sunday morning my dad and I joined a few City four-somes at the Dubs Dread golf course for a round of 18 holes. I hadn't played since way before I got pregnant, so I wasn't sure how I'd play. With Dad's professional instruction I didn't do too bad!! The golf course was recently renovated and they added a lot more water hazards, so I lost about 5 golf balls, but we had perfect weather and had a lot of fun! We're hoping to do that a few more times this year! 

In between all that, we also visited with our good friends Alberto and Bianca on Saturday afternoon, and had dinner with our other good friends Wes and Rebecca last night!! So needless to say, we had a great weekend but boy am I tired! Now that I've updated the blog, maybe I'll get to bed early!! Enjoy!

Daycare update!

Thank goodness for Kris! He is great to take the initiative once I have either given up on something or take the back seat waiting for fate to find a way. Tuesday he searched the web and found another daycare downtown that I had not known about. When he called, he was lucky to find out that they had an opening in the infant room! So we rushed to look at it and reserved Karmann a spot the next day. It is a little farther away than our first choice, but really, we have no choice. We still have a couple of weeks of time that we can still enjoy her and our half days before we make the transition, but at least we have a place and a plan! Thanks Kris!

Karmann has been pretty relaxed with all the stress of things this week. In fact, she discovered that she has feet the other day! She actually reached down and touched her little toes. She was pretty amazed and I could tell she thought they were pretty cool! She's also starting to grab and hold on to her toys or blanket or washcloth. We also received a few 'touch and feel' animal books for Easter and she has caught on that you touch the pages. Its pretty cute! She's advancing quickly! 

Hoppity Easter

Karmann's first Easter!

Karmann had a pretty low-key Easter - she woke up as a little bunny in her pink pj's and bunny slippers that GG sent her. We took our time waking up, but we headed to Grandpa Hare's house as soon as we were ready.
Here's Karmann in her cute little Easter dress (from Grandma Stenger) that is green with white polka dots and a little lady bug on the front, with a matching little sweater. This pair of bunny slippers also came from GG, but are a little more "dressy" than the other ones, so we had her wear these to Grandpa's house. 

With Grandpa Hare

Hanging out on Grandpa's lap

We FINALLY got her to take a nap. She slept for 2 1/2 hours! 

We cooked out on the grill for a late lunch. Kris grilled really good bbq ribs! Dad and I went to hit golf balls to practice before I play next weekend with a group from the City (looking forward to that!) Then the rest of the day we pretty much watched The Masters Golf tournament on TV!

Once we got home, the Wielecki Twins (and Karl and Kelly too!) stoped by to meet Karmann. She was amazed at how big and active they were! She even had a few kind words to say to them too! I think they will be good friends growing up! Kris had a "flash forward" to see what Karmann will be like in 6 months or so! They also baked us some really good cookies! Thanks you guys! 

Well, that sums up the weekend! Back to the daily grind! I hope to keep you updated more this week! 

Daycare Difficulty

Kris and my FMLA time (family medical leave) is about to come to an end - well kind of. We were lucky that both of our workplaces were flexible to use the FMLA time for part-time days. So to simplify what I am trying to say, I took 6 weeks full time off, and then am spreading out the other 6-weeks of time into 12 part-time weeks. Luckily, since I worked more than 20 hours a week some weeks, I still have about 100 hours left. Anyway...the reason I am explaining all this is that we have been on one daycare's waiting list since November, with the knowledge that we wouldn't need it until the end of April or May - putting Karmann in at 4 or 5 months old. I have been calling almost every two weeks to see if there is any movement or update as to when Karmann may have a spot. I called again last week, and just heard back today that we are 7th on the list, and nothing is moving until May. This puts us in a predicament, since we were hoping to be back to work full time by May. So, I started calling other daycares around Downtown to see what the status was for their services. They are all full through July or August - crap! So we are trying to figure out what to do. 

This has been an emotional day for me having to deal with this issue. I don't believe anyone ever really wants to put their child in daycare - I would much rather prefer a family member or close friend watching my child at home than a stranger in a strange place, but we have no choice! Plus, I guess its similar to sending them to school when they are older, but that's different - they can speak and feed themselves at that point. But I digress...we are lucky to be on a list for a really nice place directly across the street from Kris' office and two blocks from mine - close enough to where I could nurse during a break if I wanted to! So it would not be a bad situation, but the timing is what is off at this point. Anyway, we are still trying to figure out what to do in the worse case scenario, so I guess I'll give you an update once I know what is going on. In the meantime, pray that we move up on the list quickly! We'd appreciate it! 

Great-Nannie visits Karmann

Meeting Great Nannie for the first time!

Giggling and having a good time!

Karmann, Dad, Great Nannie, and Grandpa Hare

Four generations!

Time sure flies fast when you are having fun! Nan arrived in Orlando last Tuesday - a long awaited arrival to meet Karmann - and of course, Karmann took to her right away! It was perfect timing for Nan since Karmann is just starting to be really talkative and was just starting to laugh and carry on. So as you might imagine, Nannie had a great time getting Karmann going on the smiles, laughs, and chatter! It was really cute and fun for me to see the two of them interacting. Nan could hardly put her down (as you can see in the photos) and she wanted to take Karmann with her in her suitcase home! They got to do lots of things together, like go for walks, and visit Lake Eola, as well as go to the Orlando History Center to see the Muppets Exhibit. Nan also got to visit IKEA for the first time (sans Karmann)! I personally had fun showing Nan all of Karmann's cute little outfits and toys. Nan also helped me get a few projects done for Karmann and painted some wooden hangars, cut out a silhouette of Karman's profile, did some lettering on Karmann's hospital birth certificate, and a few other things. We also got to skype with Uncle Adam and Aunt Delana and GG and Gramps, too. Grandpa Hare also came down a couple days to visit with Nan and catch up on all the Danville gossip! Overall, I think we all had a really good time together and are hoping that we can have another visit either in Orlando or back home in Illinois soon! Below is a link to more photos of the week. Thanks again Nannie for coming to visit! Karmann misses you and sends hugs and kisses! 

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ViewSlideshow.action?UV=628475810792_472322256705&collidparam=96446290305.210553256705.1239153100910