My mini-Dave

Before:

Mini-Dave, aka Alex, made another step today in his progression toward becoming his father - he ran through very cold temperatures, rain and snow to finish his first 5K. He did amazingly well and pushed himself to the end to finish in 28:52. We were so proud of him. He was the youngest person in the field of 103 and finished 63rd overall.

After:

This was a spur of the moment race. We kept meaning to train for it and prepare, but we just got busy. Then, the weather prediction was horrible. But, Dave made us get up and head over there. We got there just as the 1-mile fun run was beginning. The other kids, including Rachel's friend, decided to go for the run. Dave ran with Matthew, who did quite well running the entire way. It was surprisingly enjoyable given how cold and yucky the weather was. To reward all the runners, we headed to IHOP for a nice breakfast.

Matthew was so proud of himself and happily displays his medal!

Waiting for the Daves in the snow!

See, my boys really don't need toys...

Once again, my boys were found entertaining themselves with only imaginations (and all my linens). I heard squeals of laughter and calls for "Mommy". I knew something was up. At first, I was annoyed, but they were so cute and proud of themselves that I knew I needed to grab the camera.

The mess - luckily for them, cleaning the closet had been on my list of things to do. So, I just used the next 30 minutes to put everything back in order.

Mr. Independent

Ok, most of you usually hear me "discuss" my struggles with Matthew. He is a challenge because he is super-independent and super-opinionated. That is just not an easy combination for a parent to deal with, especially from the 4th child. He doesn't like to go with the flow. He wants to be in charge and do his own thing.

But, today, I took a moment to see those traits in all their glory. He wanted to button his pants, but after unsuccessfully trying and trying, he requested his church shirt (aka button down shirt) that he could button. He spent literally 20 minutes working on those buttons and wanted no help from me. Then, he unbuttoned to try it again! I know that determination like that will come in very handy as he gets older and I realize that his personality may mean big things for him in his life. So, while he is a challenging 3-year old at times, today I let myself enjoy and reflect on the future fruits of my labor. I was just thankful we had nowhere to be!