My blog has moved!

You should be automatically redirected in 6 seconds. If not, visit
http://reinekeramblings.wordpress.com
and update your bookmarks.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Marathon: check! Mackinac: check! Halloween: check!

Well, he did it!  After months and months of getting up before the sun to train, John finished the Detroit marathon along with Jose!  It was a gorgeous day in Detroit, and we had a lot of fun watching and being in the race atmosphere.  My dad came with Sarah, Alex and I down to Detroit early on Sunday to cheer the guys on.  We made it just in time to see them take off on their 26.2 mile journey!  Of course, we didn't get a picture of this because Sarah's camera had no SD card and my camera had no battery (insert shocked face here).  We quickly remedied the situation by switching Sarah's battery to my camera and snapped some pictures of the starting line.  It was the best we could do with the circumstance =]

Then, off we went in search of coffee because, frankly, 7:00 was way to early to be up and moving around on a Sunday morning.  Marathons are tough work for spectators.  We found said coffee, and started our trek to mile 9.5 where the guys came back to America through the Detroit-Winsdor tunnel.  We almost missed them, but both guys were looking great at that point!  We then hurried on over to mile 13 where we missed Jose but caught John just in time (we were making a habit of arriving in the knick of time).  We knew we wouldn't be able to see them again until the finish, so we took a break and got some breakfast on Woodward.  After our quick re-fuel, we were off to the finish line to meet up with John's parents who came up from Ohio to see him finish!

Waiting at the finish line felt like an eternity!  It was probably the most stressed I have been in a long time (I can't imagine how John and Jose were feeling).  John came in at 5:04 after suffering from leg cramps starting around mile 12.  He powered through the last 14.2 miles even though he was stuck run/walking the whole time.  Jose came in at 4:05. We are very proud of their accomplishment! He and Jose are already looking forward to marathon #2 in Cincinnati, where I will also be running the 26.2!
Pre-marathon rest                                               Ready to go!                                             Starting line!
Mile 9.5                                                                            Mile 13
They did it!!!

It was rough for spectators, too!

After the marathon, we spent the week in Michigan.  It was so nice to be able to spend some time with Sarah, Jose, my mom and my dad.  Alex got some quality time in with everybody =]  On Thursday, we headed over to Rockford to have dinner with Katie and Sean.  It was great to be able to see them, even though it was a brief visit.  It is always wonderful catching up =]  While we were in Rockford, I went and got my hair dyed dark for the first time in my life.  I was getting pretty tired of maintaining the blonde highlights so I decided to go back to my natural color, which I was shocked to find out is actually brown now!  I am loving it and I think I will stick with it for a little while =]

Next stop on our journey was Mackinac Island!  It was Alex's first time to the island (apart from being in my belly last year).  We stayed at The Murray Hotel on Main St and of all the places we have stayed on Mackinac, this was the most accommodating.  Five minutes post room arrival (we were showed to our room BTW), there was a knock on our door!  Upgraded to a king suite, BOOM!  Thanks to our giant stroller for making that happen.  I'm pretty sure they moved us to their nicest room.  We had a great weekend on the island overall.  We hiked, we walked, we shopped, we ate and I ran 5.7 miles and got a sweet medal.  Success.  Oh, and don't forget the fudge.  Yum!

It felt great to get home after 10 days away.  My mom was nice enough to come down for part of the week while John traveled to Pittsburgh.  Alex spent his first Halloween dressed as Dobby the House Elf from Harry Potter and helped mommy and grandma pass out candy.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Fall Fun!

Last weekend was the big Reineke Family Run in Findlay, OH!  It was a dark and cold start, but John finished his half marathon in 1:54:31!  I ran the marathon relay with Lauren and we rocked our leg of the race!  It was a lot of fun seeing everybody (especially both sets of grandparents and Aunt Julie)!  John's dad ran his first half marathon and he did awesome!  Vannessa and Julie took the baton awful bracelet from Lauren and I and finished their leg of the race!  A big thanks to my parents for coming all the way down to watch Alex so we could run =]

Next weekend is the big one (Detroit Marathon) for John and Jose!  We can't wait to root you guys on!  We will be spending the week in Michigan after the marathon.  First to hang out with family, then off to see friends on the west side and then the three of us head up to Mackinac Island for my 5.7 mile race!  It's going to be a busy but fun filled week.
Daddy's biggest fan!

This week Alex and I went to a picnic with a group of moms and he went in a swing for the first time!  He had a blast!




We had a great visit this weekend with my parents!  John and my dad had a very productive couple of days.  They fixed our leaky outdoor faucet, put a ceiling fan up in our bedroom and replaced the fan in the living room!  We even got some hostas planted that my parents split from their garden, thanks for everything, mom and dad!


We took Alex to his first pumpkin patch this afternoon!  Okay, so, it is actually just the local farm market and they happen to have a ton of pumpkins.  It was fun nonetheless! John took the little guy through is first haystack maze and he even got to go in the tunnel!  I can't promise we won't be hitting up Spicer's in Hartland when we are up in Michigan next week =]  I just love their donuts too much!





Friday, October 5, 2012

Life in Pictures!

Since I haven't posted in a month, I'll save you from reading my babble (just this time though) and give you some pictures!  These are in no particular order =]








6 months old!

I'm sorry for slacking so bad! Yesterday was Alex's half birthday! I can hardly believe we have had this little dude in our lives for 6 months! He makes us laugh everyday and today we decided he will never sit still ever again!

He's army crawling all around and I can no longer leave him unattended as he can get across the room in the blink of an eye! He's sitting up now which he seems to enjoy until he tips over =]. He'll get it soon enough!

We can't believe how fast he is growing! I swear he looks bigger every morning.

Will be back with a bunch of pictures!


Thursday, September 6, 2012

Open for business!

Well, after a lot of hard work this past week, my Etsy shop is finally open again!  I'm actually a little nervous, not sure why!  I'm loving all the things I have been able to create though.

Check it out!
www.etsy.com/shop/teensytoppers

My little crochet helper!

Will be back with details of our first camping trip over Labor Day!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Alex eats cereal & avocado!

I can hardly believe that our little nugget is already eating baby food!  He can hardly believe that he has to eat mush while mommy and daddy get new delicious food every night!  The faces he makes every bite he takes is hilarious.  So far avocado > cereal.  Next I think we will try sweet potatoes!  Yay for orange food!
"I'm not sure about this stuff!"
"Thank goodness that's over!"
2nd attempt...still not really sure
Yummy avocado!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Back to belly!

Alex rolled from his back to his belly today (twice!). His arm gets stuck under him though, so he can't prop himself up. It's slightly amusing =]

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Chicago!


Last week, while John went to Chicago for his annual convention, Alex and I took a little road trip out to Illinois to visit my girlfriend, Jamie!  Alex did wonderful on the 6 1/2 hour drive through Indiana and Illinois (which was an awesome drive by the way!  Love the farmland =])  We stayed at Jamie's adorable home in Macomb, IL.  I can't say we did a whole lot, but it was so nice just to have someone to sit and talk with!  I miss having her here in Oxford!  She was nice enough to let me borrow her Life's a Beach Cricut Cartridge so I could work on crafts for Sarah's baby shower (which is creeping up on me fast!)  The Cricut is seriously one of the greatest inventions ever!

After visiting Jamie, we made our way to Chicago to see John and partake in the big convention banquet.  We had a very stormy 5 hour drive and made it just in time for the banquet!  I have decided that driving in the city just isn't for me!!  It is way too stressful!
Yup...drove right into that storm!

On Sunday, we had a fun half day in Chicago.  We started at Navy Pier, then headed over to Millennium Park to see The Bean!  We finished off with a yummy lunch (I can't remember the restaurant name =]) across the street from the Face Crown Fountains.
He was pretty excited to get to the city =P

Making faces on the way home =]
Alex is now 4 months old!  Can you  believe it??  He is getting so big.  We are reaching milestones left and right, I can hardly keep up!  He has started to grab his feet and his grasp has gotten better and better.  He is currently working on bringing his binky to his mouth!  He has got it in there a couple of times, but he isn't quite sure how to loosen his grip to leave it in his mouth =]  It's pretty adorable to watch him concentrate so hard!

He was distracted by the Olympics =]

We got a jogging stroller! Hooray for running with mommy and daddy =]
I can grab my feet!!

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Getting big!!!

Well, it's safe to say our little guy is growing up!  He went on his first stroller ride sans carseat and he did so well, no slumping or head bobbing =]  He is such a big boy!  Even all of the physical therapists at Aunt Sarah's clinic said what great head control he has!  We are so proud.

Alex has also been laughing and squealing!  It is seriously adorable =]  But most of the time, things are only funny once, so we are always trying to come up with new things to get a little giggle!  

He just figured out the other day that he can move himself around in his crib.  Every morning we go in and find him in a different position than we left him in!  He even got himself rolled over onto his side!  Time to set one arm free of the swaddle blanket =]
I did not put him in here like this...
Mommy and Alex got new shoes this weekend!  I was so excited to get my new running shoes!  None of my shoes fit anymore after being pregnant, I grew a whole shoe size, so running was not particularly comfortable.  I'm loving the neon aspect of my new shoes =]  Grandma Cardy was spoiling Alex rotten and got him some new Sperry's to match daddy and 3 new outfits =]  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!  Aunt Shalyn is helping make Alex the best dressed baby too!  She got him the most adorable froggy sunhat to match his cousin Oliver!
Mommy's new shoes--------------Alex's new shoes-----------------Alex's new hat!

Getting some snuggles with daddy =]

Seriously adorable shot that Aunt Sarah got!
This week we are heading over to Illinois!  John is going to Chicago for convention and Alex and I are going to visit my friend Jamie!  Then on Saturday Alex and I head to Chicago for a few days with daddy!  We are super excited =]  I will try to actually take some pics of us on vacation so I can post them!

Some pictures of Alex from our friend and awesome photographer, Mallory Chrisman =]  These are from early in June, he looks different already!  Check out her work! http://mallorychrisman.wix.com/photographer



Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Michigan Weekend!

Happy birthday, John!  We celebrated John's 25th birthday last week =]  Welcome to the quarter century club, hunny! =]  Alex even pick out daddy's favorite outfit for his birthday!
Happy birthday, dad!

Well, my best friend is finally married!  I can hardly believe it.  We had such a fun weekend and I am so glad she allowed us to be part of the big day!  Thanks to my awesome husband for taking care of the little guy for all the time I spent getting wedding ready with Kate and the rest of the bridesmaids =]  It was so much fun getting my nails and hair done!  I haven't been that dolled up in a while!
Rehearsal!
Setting up the reception!
Hair- check!

Nails - Check!

Party time!

The wedding ceremony was really beautiful but poor John (& Alex) missed the whole thing because Alex decided he wasn't ready to see his Auntie Kate get married and cried the whole time!    Luckily he had a nice long rest with grandma, grandpa, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jose before the reception.  John was able to come with me on the party bus that took the wedding party all around Rockford.  It was so much fun being able to hang out with our friends for a little while =]  Congratulations to Sean and Katie!!  We love you!!
Married!!!
While we were in Michigan, we stayed with our friends Phil and Cassie in their new, beautiful home!  It was so great seeing them and being able to spend time with them while we were in town.  Alex always loves visiting because he gets so much love from the two of them!  We even got to take a walk on the beach of Lake Michigan, one of my favorite things to do!


On Sunday, we found out that we are getting another nephew!  Sarah and Jose's gender reveal party was so much fun and we were so excited to see the blue frosting in the middle of the cake =]  Now I can really get to crafting and planning the baby shower!
It's a BOY!

Alex and Jose guessed right!
And just because he's so stinking cute =]