Dirty Boys......

Get your mind out of the gutter! I'm talking about the annual Mud Run. What's the annual Mud Run? I'm so glad you asked.

The Mud Run is the event that kicks off the Cross Country season here in east Idaho. Why do they call it a mud run?

Because they do this to parts of the course. There's also a canal they have to jump in and swim through and hay bales they get to jump over. It's less a cross country run and more a steeple chase if you ask me. Still it's fun to watch.

One of the most fun things about the mud run is that kids get to wear basically whatever they want for uniforms. So most of them decorate t-shirts and shorts. Although body paint is fairly common. And you will see a few boys running with women's bathing suits over their clothes. And sometimes women's bathing suits are their clothes. At any rate, you'll see some fun things!

Cody runs cross country to help condition for wrestling season and as you can tell, he definitely got into the spirit of things.

Gideon was excited to come cheer him on.

See. I told you. Body Paint.

Just chillin' waiting for the race to start.

Okay can I be honest that I'm thrilled this is Cody's senior year. I'd hate to come back to one of these once Gideon is mobile. I just kept seeing kids everywhere playing in the mud.

And if the mud wasn't enough, they were rolling around in the sand dunes.

We did find some friends. The Stutzman's were there to cheer on their son and so were the Griffiths. It was fun. The munchkin enjoyed the attention.

And they're OFF!

Gideon watched with interest on the boys' first pass through the mud.

Okay the kid in the gray shirt and black shorts is blocking Cody. But you can sort of see the corner of his butt. (Remember, white shirt red shorts. This is the last time you see them this color.)

That big spray of mud right in the middle is Cody.

I don't know that kid, but he's running in a blazer so I had to get a picture.

And after weighing themselves down (I can't imagine all that mud is very light) they get to run up the side of the sand dunes.

Meanwhile, Ben Stutzman teaches the munchkin how to play in the mud.

And here they come back through. That tall blonde kid leading the way is Riley Mickelsen. He's neighbors with mom & dad.

And here's Riley crossing the finish line. He was actually 2nd place over all.

And here comes Cody, struggling through the bog.

They haven't posted the official results online yet, but I was standing right at the finish line and I'm very confident he finished within in the top 20, which is way better than he did last year and huge considering the field of well over a hundred.

My Baby Brother. I'm so proud!

Exhausted at the finish line!

Where did your legs go?

Nice smile! Actually this is cleaner than he was earlier in the race. He was totally caked with mud from head to foot, but then they jumped in the canal before coming back through the mud.

Another neighbor, Garrett Griffith.

They're like alligators. Or at least that's what this picture reminds me of. Still I can't help but wonder how radiant their skin will be in church tomorrow. Don't people pay big money for mud baths at spas? And here these teenagers get it for free.

Well I'm fairly confident that's Cody on the right, but I have no idea who the other kid is. Even if I could recognize him, it would have been difficult through all the mud. They stopped to say hi on their way to jump in the canal. (Again.) This time it was for fun. And to sort of clean off a little bit.

With four boys finishing in the top 10 and 8 or 9 (I lost count) finishing in the top 20, Madison easily won the Boy's Mud Run. (Their girls came in 3rd, but they did have the top two individual finishers on the girls' side.) Anyway that's Riley on the far right.

Guess what the prize was?

Mud pies of course!

I think it took all of 90 seconds for the pies to be completely gone. Oh well. It was a fun day and we're very, very proud of Cody and the whole team! (And yes, Cody showered the second we walked in the door at my house. He said you couldn't believe the cracks and crevices he found dirt and mud in. I don't want to know.)

New Adventures Everyday

I'm beginning to understand what people say when they talk about each day is a new adventure. It certainly is with Gideon. He's so curious about everything now. And when he masters a new skill (such as sitting up) that's all he wants to do. He loves to pick up and grab and play with things. When you're holding him, he even likes to grab cheeks, lips and noses. He's learned to give kisses (you know, press his slobbery open mouth against your cheek) and he loves eating solid foods. He's loved everything we've tried so far (peaches, peas, prunes & squash) and even grabs the spoon and tries to stuff it in his own mouth. Peas, are so far the favorite. He gets very excited between each bite.

He's just so busy that I honestly have to keep an eye on him all the time. He can't crawl yet, but he's learned how to scoot around pretty well and he can roll all over the place so he doesn't stay in one place for very long. Plus, he tries to sit up and pull himself up. It's crazy! He's growing up way too fast!

Since he still topples over a lot and I can't always be there to support him, we've devised a makeshift playpen that lets him sit up and play on his own from a laundry basket and a pillow. He seems to enjoy it.

Our new duckie bath tub. This is really, really, really fun! And he even has som bath toys to play with in here. Thanks aunt Mimi! We LOVE it!

Last night for the first time he spent the entire night in his crib in the nursery. See I guess I'm paranoid. Or selfish. Up to this point we've always put him to bed in the bassinette in our bedroom. Even though he's gotten really big for it, I could never bring myself to actually put him to bed at night in the crib. His room downstairs just seemed so far away. He's taken naps in the crib before, and even started out the night in the crib, but when we went to bed, he was always safely ensconced in his basinette barely a step and a half from our bed. But last night I forced myself to put him to bed in the crib. It's better for him, he needs to start learning that's where he sleeps.

I'm not sure why I was paranoid about not hearing him. We do have a baby monitor, but even without that, I've found that in the middle of the day with the neighbors mowing their yard and the radio on, I can still hear him from anywhere in the house. But I was paranoid about not hearing him, so I slept downstairs in the guest room.

I realized two things as I lay awake last night in the guest room. 1. The bed in that room makes my back and neck ache (something I'm paying for today.) So we extend a sincere apology to all of you who have been forced to sleep on that horrible lumpy mattress. We'll try and rectify that situation in the near future. Thanks, the Management. 2. It's not that I'm paranoid about not hearing him when he's in his room and I'm up in mine. The truth is I can't stand the thought of being so far away from him at night. Is that crazy?

It was so hard when he woke up at midnight. I just wanted to pick him up, and carry him upstairs and settle into our old habits. But somehow I knew that wasn't what either of us needed. So I changed his diaper and gave him a bottle and left the room. (We usually rock while he eats at night and then I put him back to bed when he's asleep.) He of course did just fine. Better than me. I cried when I went back to the horrible lumpy bed (only part of which was caused by the bad mattress.) He woke up again (as usual) around 4:00 and I forced myself again simply to change a diaper and then hand him a bottle and leave.

I finally allowed myself to pick him up when he woke at 6:30 because that's our cuddle time. Usually he wakes up between 6 & 6:30 and I get him out of bed, lay him across my chest and we both doze off for another hour or so. Then when he wakes up an hour later, he's up for the day. And I wasn't about to give up my snuggle time with my baby boy.

Tonight I keep telling myself I'm going to sleep in my bed while he sleeps in his, but truthfully I don't know if I'll make it. I don't know how much I like this crib idea anyway. Sure the basinette was so small he couldn't move or even stretch out in it. But the crib just seems so huge. He rolls all over the place & this morning I found him with his head against the end & one arm sticking out the side. Guess I'll have to break down & get the bumper pads put on.

We went to the mall today because we kept hearing from people that our picture was in the photographer's display by Sears and Old Navy. Turns out, there are two pictures of the munchkin. Pretty cool, huh?

But even cooler than that, when we got there, we found that Aunt Skye also has a picture in the display. That was a fun surprise.

While at the mall we hit some clearance sales and got mom two new pair of shoes and the munchkin lots of new clothes. Thanks Nana!

Yes, we can sit up now!

Okay so he has such a bubble bottom that he does tip over a lot. But that's okay. As long as you stay nearby, or have him propped up he does really well.

Theething is no fun at all! Literally everything he gets his hands on goes straight to his mouth. But he likes chewing cookies and crackers to mush. Hey, as long as it keeps him happy.

He's still on a mostly liquid diet, although at least once a day we eat cereal or baby food. Actually today we mixed the cereal (made with formula) with some baby food and he loved it! He ate more of that than anything else we've tried.

And he loves this walker at Nana's house. Before too long he'll be running it all over the place and then we'll really have to watch him.