Visit with Gran-Gran

Weekend in North Carolina

Lauran and I ran another 1/2 marathon this weekend- Thunder Road in Charlotte. Kristi ran, too, but she didn't stay with us so no pre-race pictures. The temp was MISERABLE-- 32F at the start line and 36F by the time we finished, at least it wasn't raining! We wore double layers top and bottom- I had on cuddl duds under my tights and a turtle neck with a fleece over that. La wore pretty much the same type of thing. We had gloves and ear muffs, too. I didn't shed a single layer the whole time! For the first several miles I could see my breath, but either it stopped, or I just quit noticing. Needless to say, it was cold. I guess I'm paying for it now b/c I have laryngitis. It was worth it, though, b/c I ran a PR. YIPEE! It only took me 2 years to get back to my old self after Ella Kate was born (2y 9m if you could the pregnancy time!).
After the race we drove up to visit my Grandmother, my Dad's mom, who the great grands call Gran-Gran. That night at the hotel I was trying to coax Ella Kate to bed with bribery of having Papa read her bed time story. It was a great family moment and thankfully Chris had the presence of mind to get it on camera. I love this picture!

Catharine 98, Kathryn 32, and Elizabeth Kathryn 2yrs. Gran-Gran will be 98 in February, and they call her young, b/c there are people well over 100 (one that's even 109!) at her resort-I mean retirement home!

Ella Kate sat in a booster seat for the first time on this trip. She did really well and didn't try to wiggle out of it. We called it her "big girl" seat. This was at lunch in the 50's style diner at the retirement home (one of 3 restaurants/dining rooms). There was an old Mickey Mouse hidden in a mural on the wall- man, she picked it out way before any of us noticed it. I'm afraid a trip to Disney may be in our future.

I think she looks great for almost 98! I'm so lucky and proud to have her in my life!

Chris tried some different features on his camera and took some picts in black & white - they look pretty cool!

We had to try a new route home thanks to the big rock slide at the TN/NC line. This one took us up through VA, but somehow it was actually shorter than our normal route-only took 3.5 hrs instead of the usual 4+hrs! After 2 hrs of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, she finally fell asleep; cuddling "pink lovey" as usual.

We got home with enough time to spare to work on our Christmas decorations. It's looking pretty good thanks to our little helper.

Ella Kate even did the honors of putting the angel on top of the tree. She was so into putting the ornaments on the tree- oh, to be 2 again!

Playdate with Bree

SNAKE!

Misc pictures of our angel

Ella Kate and George, good friends

After church one Sunday. She just looked so adorable we had to get some pictures on the back steps.

This little white stool may look like just a stool, but it is so special to me. It is actually from my Grandmommie's house (my Dad's dad, also named Catharine, who is now 97.5 years old!). As the only grand daughter (surrounded by tons of boys) I remember sitting on this stool when I was a little girl. I don't even know why I liked it so much, but it is the perfect size for just about everything when you're a kid. When Granmommie moved into an assisted living apartment a couple of years ago she was going to get rid of it. Luckily my Dad just happened to be there that weekend and I specifically asked him to save it for me. Now Ella Kate uses it for everything, and as you can see, she's found yet another creative way to work it into her life. She's into apples lately and when I peeled and handed her this one she first had to go get the stool and push it into the kitchen and position it just right. I just love this shot. She's eating an apple and drinking milk sitting in/on the stool from my most precious Grandmommie (her Grand Grand). I will cherish this one.

Just looking sweet, as usual :)

Chris dumpster diving

Chris is in this paper recycling dumpster for a reason, I promise! We managed to accidentally throw his replacement cell phone away with the paper! I didn't realize it was in the box with other papers and put it with the recyclables. Chris didn't check it when he dumped the whole thing and there you have it. We were lucky on many counts: 1) we caught it pretty soon after it was dumped 2) there wasn't much paper in there yet 3) it was paper not plastic so it was pretty clean 4) it was a week day so there weren't too many people out yet. It was quite a fiasco having both of us in and out of that dumpster in our work dress clothes (me in a black dress and heels!- where's that picture?) but ultimately we won out. Actually, I won out-- I'm the one that found the phone. I think I scared the wits out of a sweet elderly lady, but other than that no harm was done. Whew! LOTS of antibacterial gel was used after that adventure!

Ella Kate's first hair cut

Ella Kate's 2nd Birthday Party