Latest Books Read

I got the reading bug lately so have finished some great books in the last month. I actually went to the library and got 17 books between Miles and I! (Seven of them were kid board books.) Here is a list of my most recent favorite reads. I found all of them engaging, thoughtful and insightful. I hope to post some some reviews and/or notes I took from the books in future posts.

• "Born to Run" by McDougall
• "Siblings Without Rivalry" by Faber & Mazlish
• "Experiencing the Spirit" by Blackaby
• "Whining - 3 Steps to Stopping It Before the Tears and Tantrums Start" by Ricker & Crowder

If anyone has some favorite reads I'd love to hear about them. Post a comment on the blog or email me directly.

Home Pre-Preschool Idea

I've been giving it some thought, I don't think Geoff or I are ready to send Miles off to (pre) preschool. I am surprised how many people in this area send their 2 year old off to pre-preschool. Others are already checking out preschools and they are only 1 1/2 years old.

A few questions to weight: Is there such a thing as spending too much time with your own kid? Would it be good for a 2 year old to get a break from mom and other siblings (Baby 2)? How much time do you want others to spend with your kids? How much can we afford to spend on childcare/preschool at this point in time? Would I want to go back to work more? Would I want to be responsible for teaching him all the pre-preschool lessons and values?

So I am tossing some ideas around in my head. My latest thought is starting up some type of home pre-preschool. Maybe if I can get a group of 5-6 kids together around the same age. The idea would be to rotate homes each week. It would be a mix of crafts, lessons, games, and playtime. First week I would teach, second week I would assist then the rest of the weeks I would drop-off until the rotate starts over again. I think it would work out and I am sure others are already doing something similar.

We'll see what I come up with, I have half a year to figure it out. :)

Tornado of Chaos

Coming into the kitchen where Miles was playing this is what I found. Total chaos over the previously cleaned kitchen floor. Never did I realized how much chaos and disorganization could be caused by a 1 1/2 year old. Goodbye organized and orderly house for many years to come!

Going Thru unread messages in Gmail

So I've had over 300 unread messages in my gmail account. Gets old seeing that many unread messages. They are messages I either want to keep but don't need to read now or I want to delete. So I found the easiest way to go through them. If you type the following in the search mail text box it will bring back only your unread messages. Then you can easily delete or use the 'Mark as read' button from there.

is:unread

That's it!

Snow Pics

Here are some snow pictures. The weekend before Christmas we had a snowfall around 22 inches! We all headed out to do some shoveling and playtime.

Third Trimester Here

Ya! I have officially started my third trimester. I am starting week 29. The fact Christmas has just come and gone makes me feel like the weeks have gone by fast! Baby is growing big and kicking tons! I haven't taken any belly pictures this time around.

I am doing great except the nauseousness. I feel sick almost all of the time, from when I wake up to when I go to bed. I try not to let it get to me but it is hard. I only get a bit of respite when eating. Right now I am eating a pack of Clif Shot Bloks for the relief.

At times I am saddened that I am not giving Miles the best experiences as a toddler because I am so nauseous. So many times I wish I had the ability to play with him more, go on more hikes, pick him up, or be more creative in his learning. But some days I feel so sick I find it hard to accomplish the small things like making lunch or changing his clothes. I tell myself I am doing the best I can and God has a reason for why I am going through what I am. So thanks God for a wonderful family and the trials that make us grow stronger.

Picture of me from 2nd Trimester

Family Weekend Trip

Last month we took one of our first family weekend get aways since Miles birth. Geoff, Miles, the two dogs and I piled in the car and headed down to Charlottesville for two nights at an Eco friendly resort. The resort was located 20 minutes outside of town where we stayed in a small cabin on a lake, in the woods. Here are some pictures of the trip clockwise from top:

Miles & me at Thomas Jefferson's home after the tour.

Miles playing in a mud puddle at the grass fed beef farm. We hung out there and saw a new baby cow, pig and two loud hens among other animals.

We purchased some grass fed beef steaks that were fabulous! We plan on ordering meat from them in the future.

Geoff rescuing the dogs on our hike. We tried to go off trail on a step section because the trail was flooded due to a high river. Dogs ran ahead and got themselves stuck.

Three pictures of us hiking. Miles did great and hiked about half the time.

Month in Review

It has been some time since I have post. Mainly because I feel so nauseous. It is hard to get the basics done, including my wonderful responsibility of taking care of our toddler, yet alone posting on my blog. Same with goes with the lack of picture taking... So let's see a bit of review for the last month.

Last week I came back from a two week trip to Minnesota to visit family and friends and attend my best friend from high school's wedding. Afraid I didn't take many pictures this time as I decided to only bring my small camera. Being 5 months pregnant, with a toddler and laptop in tow, in the airport seemed like enough to carry. Congratulations Karen on a beautiful wedding. I had a great time. I laid low most of the time due to getting sick and being nauseous. The weather was surprisingly mellow for November in Minnesota allowing me to get out on some runs and hikes.



Geoff finished up his Cyclocross season this past weekend. He successfully raced 12 weekend in a row, some with double races. Yep, that was three months of cross racing every weekend! Talk about a passion for the sport! He had a great time and is sad that it is over. He is taking a week completely off then time for him to start focusing on Ironman Lake Placid in July 2010.

Miles is full of life and growing like a weed. He is full of expressions and loves running around. Uh-oh, the little guy is up. I can hear him jumping up and down in his crib upstairs. I better run. Until a later time....

Cheering Video

This is my all time favorite video so far. Miles is cheering Geoff on at the All Hallow's Cross Race on Halloween. It was a cold rainy race but Miles still wanted to get out and cheer. Geoff finished second in his race. :)

Two other images from the weekend. First picture is Geoff's cheering crew. We decided to switch off between the dogs going to the race as it gets to be tons of work for me chasing a kid and managing two dogs. This was Austin's turn. Second picture is Geoff crossing the finish line.

Baby Beaty Ultrasound

Here is baby Beaty #2's 20 week Ultrasound. We went today. Everything looks great. The whole time baby was sitting on my bladder. No wonder I have to go pee all the time if this is it's usual spot. If you actually think about that, yep baby is breech. But I'm not going to get worried, we are still so early there is lots of potential for flipping around.

FYI: The ultrasound pictures don't include the bottom half of baby as we didn't want to know the gender. We are waiting again until the birth. :)

Profile with one arm visible.

Profile with bay's foot touching it's forehead. Super flexible!

Frogger Fun

This post is for you mom. Here is Miles loving his frogger you gave him.

Miles' Photoshoot

It was such a gorgeous day outside we headed out and I took some pictures.

Month in Review

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Miles during these last two months.

Trying on Dad's helmet after a cyclocross practice.

Jumping around at Tumbles.

Being a handsome young man (w/ snack trap of course).

Cycle Cross Time

The cycle cross season is in full swing. Geoff is racing most weekends and Miles and I tag along to watch the adventure. Long gone are the days when I raced too. Maybe next year after Baby Beaty II is born I can get my skinsuit on and give it a try again. :) Here are some pics from his first two races...

Lily Ponds CX race. It was a mud filled day.

Notice the mud covering his legs and bike.

Getting ready for Kelly Acres CX Race.

Notice the half smile due to pre-race jitters.

Geoff racing under the flyover.

Cleared the hurdle and running towards the

flyover to tackle the stairs.

First Kid Free Weekend

Geoff and I had our first kid free weekend. Geoff's mom was nice enough to take Miles for the weekend. They headed out Friday afternoon and then got back Sunday evening. I had never been away from Miles for a day or a night or both combined. So this three days and two night thing was a long first time. Luckily Miles and I had tons of house time together in the last two weeks due to us being sick so I was more then ready to get a break. So was Miles as he was getting pretty bored with our house.

We wanted to do something we couldn't do with a kid in tow. Oh grand ideas of 2 days of a bike trip through Maryland - 50 miles a day, camping out at night wasn't going to work. We had to keep it doable for a pregnant person like me. So we settled on a wonderful weekend around here instead.

Friday after saying goodbye to Miles, we headed to Old Town Alexandria and walked around. We checked out the The Torpedo Factory. What an amazing place. Geoff knew how much I love homemade artwork and crafts. You could watch the artist in action and purchase their work. We then headed to the Lavender Moon Cupcakery where all they sell is delicious cupcakes! The chocolate smores cupcake was fabulous. Right next door was 'The Grape and Bean'. You guessed it a coffee place for Geoff. After that all I knew is Geoff has a surprise for me at 5pm. So we headed off to see what he could have planned. A couples massage at Red Door! I have never had a pregnancy massage before. It is well worth it! Thanks Geoff was a fantastic surprise.

Then off to dinner at Cafe Deluxe where I had the best tortilla soup and shrimp parmesan salad. The dressing was olive oil and lemon and it just tasted so good. Lastly we headed to a production of "The game of Love and Chance" at the 1st Stage Theatre. What a fun lighthearted play. Whew, and that was only Friday.

Saturday we stayed in bed until 9am, left the dog dish out, left the gates open and made our own mess without the help of a little one. We then decided to head out to breakfast at our favorite stop, the Community Canteen. Then head off to the George Washington National Forest for a long hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We ended the weekend with the Kelly Acres Cycle Cross race out in Maryland on Sunday. Thanks Geoff for a fabulous first weekend away from Miles. We stayed so busy we barely had time to miss him. I say barely as I did get a little misty eyed Saturday night. But we talked with Cyndie and him everyday. He had a great time with his Grandparents.