Enough About Me

How about these two? 

I mean, really, how cute is that???!!!! 

They were really palling around today, and played so nicely together. It kind of blew my mind. Gabe took the time to nicely explain to Dante how to do a puzzle they were working on, they shared their toys, they played together quietly at the park....   It was like I was in some kind of alternate universe.  

The reason they were hugging when I snapped that picture is because Dante had fallen down and bumped his knee, and Gabe wanted to help him feel better, so he came over and gave him a big hug. And usually when they hug, they just kind of lean into each other for a few seconds. But this time they really hugged each other, and it was so sweet. And a few times in the car today, Gabe actually said "Dante, do you love me?"   Of course Dante answered yes, and Gabe excitedly told me "Mommy, Dante loves me!"  

Not really any point to all this - I just want to write it down so that I can refer back to it the next time they're tearing each other to shreds over who gets to play with the green matchbox car. 

It was a good day, though. We made a quick stop at the gym this morning, where I just hopped on the elliptical for a short while and then spent a lot of time stretching, which felt great. Then we went t a playdate, and after Dante and I picked Gabe up from school, the three of us headed over to the park for a while. 

I love our park playdates with friends, but this afternoon we just went by ourselves, and it was kind of fun for a change. The park was really quiet, and it was just a nice, mellow outing, and a nice way to end the day. 

They've both been really into coloring lately. Yesterday afternoon we sat at the table and colored for nearly an hour and a half. Getting Gabe to sit still for ANYTHING for that length of time is nothing short of a miracle, so I was kind of shocked at how long it lasted. 

But his drawing skills are improving SO much, and I think that's part of the reason he enjoys coloring and drawing so much more now. He can draw very basic stick figures now, and really takes his time when he's coloring pictures in, instead of just scribbling all over the page. I know that's still far behind a lot of kids his age, but his fine motor skills have always been a bit behind, so I'm just happy that he's making progress. And I do think that it had something to do with the fact that he needed glasses (he's farsighted), because we started to see improvements shortly after he got the glasses. 

He's also doing really well with recognizing words now. He can spot his name in a heartbeat, and today he was looking at a fire safety coloring book he got at school, and he read the word "Help."  

School is definitely changing him, and it's so amazing to see it happening. He loves it so much, too. They learned all about owls last week, and it was so adorable to talk to him about it. He was so thrilled, and said to me excitedly "Do you know what happens when we go to sleep at night? Owls wake up!!!"  

I just love seeing him enjoying it so much. When he's happy, I'm happy. 

Yesterday was a really chilly day, so I put them both in sweaters, and I told Gabe he should go look at himself in the mirror because he looked very handsome. So over to the mirror he went, and I said something to Scott about how handsome Gabe looked, and Gabe came running out and said "Yes, I do!"  

What was even funnier, though, was when we ate dinner last night and Dante had pasta sauce all over his face, and Gabe looked at him and said "Dante's all messy. Dante - you look not beautiful right now." 

And I don't want to blabber endlessly about the race right now (I'll save that for tomorrow), but if anyone is wondering how I'm feeling two days post-marathon - truth be told, I feel pretty fantastic. Don't get me wrong - I'm definitely sore, and my problem shin is definitely feeling a little beat up. But overall, I feel ok. 

I felt awful when I first got out of bed this morning, but as soon as I started moving around, I felt much better. And by this afternoon, even getting up and down the stairs was feeling much easier. The worst of the soreness was really Saturday and Sunday afternoon, and it's just gotten better and better from there. 

I feel so good that I'm already itching to get out for a run. Yes, I know I have a problem : )  But part of the reason I'm so looking forward to running again is that I know I'm only going to go for a couple of miles. The thought of going out and running for just 20 minutes seems so odd to me, but also soooooo appealing!  

I will be writing up a full report of the race - I always do - but that won't be until tomorrow. I seriously need a little more time to think about the whole experience. There's part of me that can't believe I actually did that, and then there's part of me that thinks "of course you did it - you knew you would." And there was never any doubt in my mind that I'd complete the 26.2 miles, but I had no idea that it would all go so amazingly well. 

I think that's what I'm so astounded by - that everything came together so perfectly, and that I was able to strike what appears to have been the perfect balance of getting in enough training without getting seriously injured, and that I had what I can only describe as a perfect first marathon experience. What more could I ask for?

Comments

[SJ Goody]

Take 2: hah. That is SO cute. I love seeing little siblings play nice together... my brother and I were buds... until I hit the teen years. HAH!

[Wes]

Definitely cute errr I mean handsome :-)

[Chad in the AZ Desert]

"What more could I ask for?"
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A second marathon of course. ;-)