Is it really the end of 2010 already??

Wow, I can't believe that 2010 is coming to a close so quickly. Time really does fly!! But it's been another fantastic year. I feel so lucky to have the amazing family and friends that I do!!

So, where to begin... in January I had one of the all time best experiences of my whole entire life. I had the privledge and honour of being a torchbearer for the 2010 torch relay for the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics. I won't go into all the details as I did that back in January, but suffice it to say, it was awesome, amazing, unbelievable. And made even more special by the fact that my family was there to share that moment with me, even though it was in BC in the small town of Oliver.

I was still nursing my stupid foot injury so didn't get the opportunity to train a whole lot at the beginning of the year. I spent lots of time at chiro trying to get my foot better. I was completely out of the habit of exercise and managed to put on about 20 pounds. It was not so fun!! Needless to say, life carried on, and I eventually got back in the groove. I did a short triathlon in May, along with the Mother's Day run 5km, and this year, we had Jessica and Scott running with us, and even more special, little Sebastian ran his first ever 5km race. It was incredible. We also did the Rock the House run in August, this time with my friend Jody. I did another triathlon in August, with Jody as well, and felt quite good about my performance, despite the fact that I had only tried Jeremy's bike the day before the actual race!! Oh well, it worked fine, haha.

The Strathmore triathlon was a real turning point for me. After a year of very poor fitness and eating, I wanted to make a change. I was tired of always having an excuse as to why I didn't exercise, so that day marked the start of no more excuses. And, now, it's January 3rd, and I'm still going strong, having done something every single day since August 15, 2010.

Jeremy and I did Melissa's Road Race in September and it was great. He hadn't done the race in several years and we had a babysitter (thanks Joan), so we even got to grab a bite to eat after at my all time favourite restaurant in Banff, the bison. It was wow factor amazing as always. Next up was the Ambulance Chasers and this one Kim came along for the run. Sebastian was most excited about this, and we spent the race pretending to be trains or STARS or firetrucks.

I also started to watch my eating using the MyPlate application on livestrong. It is a fantastic little calorie counter that has an app for the iphone also. Using this helped me lose about 25 pounds, to the point where I now weigh less than I did before having kids. I still have a little way's to go, but I'm back on track again and looking forward to more results!!

Jeremy and I were both accepted into a personal trainer certificate at Mount Royal University, so I look forward to learning more so I can help others reach their fitness goals. It starts in a couple weeks and I am very excited for this!! I also took the first AFLCA course so that I can get a certification in fitness.

Work was certainly a challenge last year and sadly it made it very hard to be excited about a job I truly love. I look forward to the changes ahead this year and hope that things will be a bit more promising!!

Jeremy had a good year as well. He was at home with the boys and it has been great for them. He's also started working diligently on the basement and I'm hoping that 2011 will be the year it becomes functional usable space for our family!! Jeremy also hit his bottom in terms of weight and exercise. We both managed to come to this conclusion around August and haven't really looked back. He's lost 35 pounds, and looks amazing!! And he's also learned to swim and completed 3 triathlons last year. He also ran his best ever 10km at the Melissa's race finishing well ahead of me (but is still chasing the one hour mark!!). He ran his first ever half marathon as well, being the Police Half. It was fun cheering him on, but very hard being sidelined for one of my favourite races!! Jeremy is also looking forward to getting started on the personal trainer certificate. He also had the opportunity to take a coaching clinic for triathlon in December. He's hoping to do an open water triathlon this year!!

Sebastian finished his first year of preschool and also got through sea turtle on his third try, and then breezed through salamander. Now however, he's working on sunfish. He went to pedalheads bike camp in the summer, and took skating lessons in the fall again (this time all by himself!!). He finished a second block of preschool treatment and did quite well. He's still quite delayed with fine motor and also gross motor skills, but he tries so hard and has the best attitude. If only he could apply this attitude to his eating, which continues to be a struggle. We went camping once in the summer and the boys loved it!! He also started taking gymnastics. We figured it was a good way to build his core, and it has been incredible. He loves it and is now doing somersaults and having the best time!! He loved his advent calendar this year and had so much fun leading up to Christmas. He amazes me every day.

Sullivan had a big year too. He went from being a baby, to a full on toddler, walking and having a very independent streak develop. His eating is phenomenal. He uses forks and spoons and nearly always insists on feeding himself. He adores trains and all things Thomas. He builds tracks and runs the trains along them. He loves colouring, even on the couch on occasion. He loves books and is always bringing up books to us to read. He did swimming lessons with his dad and loved being in the water. He enjoys anytime we go swimming as a family and has the best time. He also started gymnastics and has done well with it. He's often a bit sidetracked and wants to be with his brother, but we worked hard getting him to focus on his class. He loves his brother and copies everything he does. It's quite cute actually. He also had fun with the lead up to Christmas. He loved decorating cookies when Kim came over, and had a lot of fun decorating ornaments too. He goes to child minding at Cardel and totally went from being attached to his stroller to participating in any of the activities they do there. He's a wonderful little toddler, and I can't believe he's almost two!!

That was our year in a nutshell. Busy and fun. And now, I look forward to 2011!! Time to think up some goals for this active little family of ours!!

Back to Harry Potter...

So, it's been a few years, and I've decided to have another go at the Harry Potter books. I mean, I know I love them, but it's time to love them all over again!! I just finished the first one, and it was just as good as I remember.

I am very excited for a few years from now when I get to read them with my boys. It will be so neat to share this world with them... but for now, I will enjoy it all on my own...

My amazing little guy...

So, I have two kids, obviously, to anyone who's read this blog before. My oldest is 4 and a half. He was a preemie, and as a result, things did not entirely go according to plan with him. He's a great guy, and I love him with all my heart. His timeline has been unique and he's faced some struggles, most noticably in regards to fine motor skills. So, things happened at his pace and for us, that was completely normal.

Now, enter his little brother. Sullivan is a happy go lucky little toddler that is about to turn two. He doesn't say much, but we took him to the doctor, and that's fine. It's normal and he's trying, which is the most important part. He idolizes his big brother and it's so cute to watch him try to do everything that Sebastian does. But when it comes to fine motor, these two are world's apart. Sullivan loves to feed himself and really doesn't appreciate any help you try to give him. It can be a bit messy, but he's incredible at it. I'd say he has about the same fine motor skills as Sebastian even. He feeds himself more than Sebatian does even.

And then there's colouring. This is something else he loves. Sebastian has not even a passing interest in colouring, but Sullivan loves it!! Today he spent over half an hour colouring a train picture. It was amazing to watch. It's incredible to see how different these two are with skills like that. Sullivan is also keen to build train tracks and trains in a way that Sebastian has never been. It really is amazing the differences between them that way.

I love them both, of course, and I've been awed by the difference between a preemie and a fullterm child and how it has related to their development. Sebastian has taught us about patience and we've learned all sorts of activities and skills to help him along and encourage him to work on fine motor. Sullivan is just excelling at it, at his own pace. He plays games on the iphone. He is constantly bringing us books to read him. He's really good at the look and find ones. I'm blown away by his progress. And I appreciate so much how different he is from his brother. They are definitely each their own person!!

Anyhow, suffice it to say, kids are amazing. They each have their own little path to follow and it's so neat to watch how different they are from one another!!