This Thanksgiving I want to express gratitude for my wife Jenny Armstrong. Not only is she the most sexy and attractive woman I have ever seen she is also extremely intelligent, kind, and gentle person. Her determination is second to none. A recent story shows how she lives her live in all aspects. After giving birth to our first child Andrew she wanted to get back into running as she had been prior to pregnancy. She waited the amount of time suggested by the OB/GYN before she restarted her running. As she did so she began to experience pain in her ribs, hips, lower back, and abdomen. The pain was severe enough at times to slow her down, but it didn't stop her from trying again and again. She set goals to first run a 5k and then to train for a half-marathon, which she wanted to do by 6 months post-pregnancy. She would get up early in the morning and get Andrew ready for a ride in the stroller. She would set out and run more and more each time. She had good days and bad, but she stuck with it. She signed up for a stroller-friendly 5k which she pushed Andrew in a stroller the whole way, still getting a very respectable 27 minute 5k. The runs got longer, the mornings got cooler, and her schedule got busier, but she still managed to get ready to run 13.1 miles, which she was able to accomplish on Nov 21st- 6 months and 3 days after giving birth. She, again, had an incredible time of 1 hour 55 minutes . . .  AMAZING!!!! On the race itself she twisted her ankle on mile 6-7 and suffered knee pain for the majority of the run as well. She persevered through the times leading up to the race and during the race itself. I am very proud of my lovely wife, and I was fortunate enough to be able to run the race with her.

I am a very lucky man. I love my wonderful wife and I am very Thankful to have her in my life.

5 Months!

We are 5 months already! I know I say this all the time, but when did time start to move so quickly??

Andrew is doing great and getting big.

We do'nt have an office visit this month, but as far as I can tell these are his measurements:

Head circumference: 17.5 inches (95%)
Weight: just under 17 pounds (65%)
Height: 25.5 inches (34%)

BIG BOY!

Andrew is very ticklish!

He loves to watch the dogs run around and really loves to have Charlie give him kisses


He can't stop jumping!  If he is standing he is jumping up and down and up and down. I'm so so so glad we got him a jumperoo!  He will stay in it for over an hour at a time now. (as long as mom stays in the room where he can see me)

He always wakes up happy in the morning and is getting more and more talkative and smiley!

We went to the zoo while in Boise and he LOVED the goats. We would feed them and he would just laugh! he thought they were the funniest things!  I loved it. Needless to say we will be back.

Andrew and the Goats

We got a little goofy at the zoo...

He did great on the plane ride to Boise. He hardly cried on the flight there (but did manage to blow out of his diaper), and on the way back he fell asleep and slept the whole ride.  But as we got on the plane in Boise, something scared him and he started to scream. Everyone on the plane was laughing! I'm sure they were also mentally preparing for a long loud ride, but he was so so good once he calmed down and fell asleep.

The night after the zoo Andrew was so so grumpy, and not sleeping well. (Which meant Jared and I didn't sleep well either)  The next day he was again... SO GRUMPY.
So I went back to the hotel and got some tylenol thinking he must not feel well.  We a lady was cleaning our room and stated that maybe his teeth were breaking through the gum. Well guess what?  She was exactly right. The next day there was a sharp little baby tooth sticking through. Where did my little baby go??


I had the opportunity to run in my first 5k pushing Andrew.  It was fun!  After the race I realized I ran my last 5k when I was 30 weeks pregnant and this race was 30 weeks from that race. Just a weird connection.

Andrew did great an sang most the time, until he fell asleep at the end of the run.

Did I mention my little sister joined me AND got first in her age group!

I ended up getting second in my age group with a time of 27:27.  I wonder how much faster I could have run it without a stroller.  Stroller make running so much harder.

I have my first half marathon since..... before I was pregnant last year, next month. I'm not ready and having  a hard time motivating myself as my milage goes up.  I'm sure pushing a stroller doesn't make it easier.  But I really want to so do this so I will continue running.  Plus it is getting cooler outside making it so I can go running a 7am instead of trying to get up at 5:45. Being sleep deprived is torture.

We introduced the sippy cup a week or so ago. He loves it. He will pick it up between his hand and put it in his mouth. He mostly just chews on it with his tooth, but will suck on it and get  some water every once in a while. Smarty.

We aren't doing solids officially yet. With the colic we really wanted to wait as long as we could, but we have gotten the little puffs that dissolve and will let him try those. He loves it.  He is super interested in us eating. I know he wants to try it... so maybe in a few weeks we will try some cereal.

He now rolls everywhere.  I will lay him down and he will roll. roll. roll. roll. and turn turn turn. Until he is on the opposite side of the room. Little Stinker!

He still wakes up at least twice a night, but has been going down for about 11-12 hours each night. Only problem is he might take 1 hour worth of naps in the day. Makes for a grumpy man. But I'm glad his is sleeping more at night. It gives me some time to catch up for the day before I go to sleep.

Love my little boy!

This last month overall has been crazy busy! Races, Flights, Dinners, Dinners.... did I mention Dinners (all for Jared's work in Id), Temple working, sewing skirts for the cultural celebration, Temple open house visits, Dates, finding a rental home, getting moving coordinated, etc....  It really flew by!

We did find a rental in Id. I hope that we will like the ward/neighborhood.  It seems very nice and is only 5 mins from some of Jared's work.

Jared has been taking a bunch of call (not by choice) so we have been sad missing daddy.  But we appreciated all the hard work he does for us.

Did I ever mention Jared got a TRUCK???  I know... I finally caved.

We are busier than ever, but just keep going. I have a feeling next month will be even busier!

We are 4 Months!

Andrew is 4 Months Old!  (can I can't hardly believe it)  Since when did time go so quickly???

• We love to smile!  (I like to call him Guy Smiley)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• We love to talk and are figuring out all the different noises we can make
  
  
  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Every morning we wake up with a smile on our face. Mornings are always his best time of day.
  
  
  
  
  
• We have started to do more chuckling/laughing, instead of just a high pitch 'squeak'.
  
• He loves cuddley soft things.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• We still prefer to be naked.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• We like to chew on everything and drool like mad.
  
  
  
• We still have a problem with pee-outs and blow-outs.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• We have found our hands and figured out they can grab stuff.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Along with finding our hands we found our thumb. He likes to suck on his thumb... what can you do?
  
  
  
  
  
  
• We had our first plane ride to Utah. He did okay. The way there he cried about half the time. Mostly because he likes to have us stand and walk all the time. So he was too bored.  The way back was a little better. He got fussy and cried a little bit, but it was because he was tired and promptly feel asleep.  He loved just being in the airport and looking at all the people, places, and things. His eyes were so wide the whole time. And the next day he slept a lot. We both ended up with a horrible cold. (I'm thinking it is the bad one going around), but he only had it 2-3 days.  My cold lingered for about a week + Ugh...
  
• In Utah he got to meet cousins Aunts and Uncles. At times it was too much fun, but he did fairly well.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  And did I mention the mower time with dad....
  
  
• He's still addicted to Baby Einstein

  
  
• He is very active. He still likes to stand, and now will roll across the floor, but really prefers tummy time. Every time I put him down he immediately rolls to his belly and 3-4 hours later he has done a complete 180+ while sleeping.
  
  
  
  
  
• Now when he gets really excited he kicks and kicks. (along with smiles) Or jumps if standing...
  
• He still loves baths and now tries to grab the water from the faucet, which makes for a wet bath for me and our surroundings. I can't wait to see what will be happening in a few months!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I went to a consignment sale and was able to get lots of things for him, but I finally got a swing, and he loves it, some clothes - including a halloween outfit, and lots of toys and books. He LOVES looking at books and now tried to grab everything he sees.  We got a few toys some for Christmas, but some for now. He really likes having something bright and soft to grab that makes noise.
  
  
  
  
  
• He's experimenting different facial hair options...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• He loves to look at flowers (and tries to grab them)
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Our schedule:
  He eats every 3 hours still. Unless at night and he will go 4 hours.
  He takes about 3 one hour naps a day
  And the rest is 'entertain me' time. He is quite demanding. Very much a hip baby.
  
• Andrew's Measurments:
  15 pounds 7 ounces (62%)
  25 inches (64%)
  17.5 head circumference (43%)
  
  (He's finally got some chunk to his thighs! Love it)
• Love my bright eyed and bushey tailed little guy!