Belly Laughs

The video may be dizzying, but the sound is pretty much as good as it gets!

Things to Do in Austin

For those that were interested, here is the link for Kid-Friendly Activities in Austin. The website is through Disney, and it appears they have similar lists for cities around the country.

http://family.go.com/travel/things-to-do/texas/austin/

Gratitude

Lately, I have had a really hard time going to work. During the past few weeks, Lydia's personality has really begun to emerge, and she's so much more interactive than even one month ago. It has become harder and harder for me to drop her off at daycare and even more difficult for me to leave her at home with Robin on the days he is with her. (Picture to the right is what I have to leave behind on Tuesdays and Thursdays. At least on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, she is dressed and at daycare, so it feels more like dropping her off at school.)

As stress at school starts to build with the upcoming TAKS, it is just so hard to leave my happy little family at home. Robin has started taking Lydia on little outings during the week; I think we are going to get a family membership to the Austin Children's Museum, and he has found a great website of child-friendly activities around Austin. On Tuesday they went to a local park and had a picnic and went for a hike; tomorrow they might go to a museum. I just wish I could be with them.

So why is the title of this gratitude? Because as I've been thinking about this lately, I've realized that I am incredibly fortunate to absolutely love being at home. I crave time with Robin and Lydia, and I love just being together. All of these things--a healthy, happy little girl, an amazingly supportive partner, wonderful friends--all of these things are privileges, and I am very grateful.

Three for Three

Lydia has officially cut THREE teeth since Saturday. Her top two broke through overnight, and the bottom left tooth cut through while we were waiting for the top one. I was letting her chew on my finger and discovered it this weekend.

We're up to five!!!

Some New Videos of the Lids

Yeah Luthers Yeah!!!!

Aaron, cruising along at what I am told is the most challenging part of the course...Contines waiting for Jessica...
Robin's carefully painted sign...And my reminder that her body has already done something amazing. (I thought it might help if she was feeling discouraged!)Jessica's triumphant finish...And congratulations from Aaron at the end.



Impressive, aren't they???

I should have also taken a picture of Elizabeth's biscuits that she brought over for breakfast. They were amazing. I am still thinking about them.

www.luthersrock.com

Our very good friends, Jessica and Aaron, will be running the National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer in Jacksonville, FL, on February 21, 2010. In light of recent conversations on breast cancer awareness and prevention, supporting their team, For Tanya, provides an opportunity for all of us to support breast cancer research.

Check out their website, www.luthersrock.com, for more info and instructions on how to donate, or keep reading.

In Aaron's words:

On May 8, 2009, my sister, Tanya Pumillo, passed away from breast cancer at the age of 33. She had a rare genetic disorder, a mutation in her BRCA2 gene, that for her resulted in an aggressive form of breast cancer called triple-negative. Triple-negative breast cancer means that your body does not have the three main types of receptors that are necessary for the body to respond to the most common treatments. After a courageous two-and-a-half year fight that included several medical trials, courses of chemotherapy, radiation, and medicine, her body had simply given all it had and we lost her.

They don't make them better than Tanya. She was hilarious, joyful, and so easy to be around. She was so very smart and accomplished. She was my role model in life.

This is why we (Jessica, Steve, my running buddy, Travis, and I) are running the National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer in Jacksonville, FL, on February 21, 2010, on a team named "For Tanya". I have put together this site to raise money for breast cancer research, especially for the organizations that Tanya had chosen due to their dedication to research and helping young people with the disease (The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and The Young Survival Coalition).

Please help me to raise money to support this cause and to promote a sport that Tanya enjoyed very much...running.

Aaron
fortanya@luthersrock.com