Montana

Wednesday, after I got done with work, we loaded Chris, me, Molly, Kristin and Drake all into my camry and headed to Montana!  We stayed in Idaho Falls that night and got up early the next morning to complete our trip.  Surprisling everyone did well in our cramped little car and we made it to the farm a little after 1pm.

The weather was georgous and we hung out outside with Nana and Uncle Llyod waiting for Papa to get home from work.  That was the last nice day we had!  Friday and Saturday the winds were in the 20s and it rained the whole time.  I had been looking forward to showing Molly the horses, but did not do it on Thursday, thinking I had the whole weekend.  I doubt she would have gotten too excited over them at this stage, but I was still a little sad we had to stay inside the rest of the weekend.

My mom also had to do a mini photo shoot with Molly in a dress she found for her.  


On Saturday mom and dad hosted a get together at their house with the extended family.  It was nice to have some of them finally meet Molly.

    
     

Then, after a very short weekend, we loaded the car up on Sunday and drove all the way home.  Molly traveled well both times, though by hour 9 in the car she definitely became more fussy, but it was still possible to calm her down with toys and books.  Overall it was a great trip, I just wish we could have stayed longer.

Robie Creek

This marked my fourth year running Robie Creek.  After a very awkward first few weeks of running post   c-section, I have been feeling pretty good.  However, adding distance and hills at the same time has proved challenging, so I knew I would be breaking no records on this race.  Then when the forecast said we were going to see 80 + degrees on race day (20 higher than average) I knew my goal would be just to cross that finish line. 

Since I did not have too many expectations I did not wake up too nervous, but of course, the butterflies hit once I got to the start line. 

 

  

It was already well on it’s way to hot as we waited for the race to start at high noon.  Originally I had hoped to be in under 2 hours 30 minutes (about 10 minutes slower than normal), but by mile two I knew I would be happy to get in under 3 hours.  There was little to no shade on the 8.5 mile climb to the summit, and I have never seen so many walkers before on this race.  It is normal to see walkers on the hills, but there are a few places where the course levels out where everyone starts to run again, but not this year.  

At the water stations, I would take a water and a Gatorade.  I would then drink the Gatorade and pour the water over my head.  I also carried water with me, and that was a life saver.  Since I was just having fun with this race, I decided this would be the year to stop at the temptation station and hopefully eat a Twinkie!  Temptation was at mile 8, right below the last steepest 1/2 mile to the top.  They did not have Twinkies when I got there, but I did get a shot of cool whip.  They were also offering sushi rolls, but considering it took me 1 hour and 52 minutes to get to the summit, I did not trust the sushi that had been out in that heat for that long!

My chip time was 2 hours 32 minutes and 44 seconds.  I was 95th in my division out of 227, 430th out of 1143 females, and 1269th overall out of a total 2466 runners.

 After the race we headed to Flatbread Pizza Co in Bowen Crossing with my running group.  Auntie Kristin was kind enough to babysit for us, so Chris could watch the race, and meet up with us at dinner so I could see my baby!

                                                             Molly and I post race.
I had wanted to get a picture of us pre-race in my running outfit and number, but Molly was taking a nap by the time we had to leave for downtown.

Ella's Soccer

Ella started playing soccer for the first time this year.  Since the games are at the soccer complex in our subdivision, we can easily walk to the field with Molly.

The games are quite entertaining to watch since only a few kids have played in the past, however, all the kids have a blast.

   

      

Miles Pierce Koenig

Miles Pierce Koenig was born on April 18th at 1:52 am.  He was 8 lbs 5 oz, and 21 inches long.

  

I remember when Kingston came to the hospital when Molly was born.  Chris and I were completely flabbergasted by how large he seemed.  Surly our tiny Molly would never get that big.  Kingston was about 5 months older than Molly, and that is the same difference in age that Molly is of Miles...and wouldn't you know it, our baby is now the tank!

When Molly first saw Miles she just started to laugh.  She had so much fun hanging out she passed out on the way home.

Easter

What a  great Easter we had!  First we headed to church, and then to Lynn and Kerry’s for Easter lunch.  After eating WAY too much food we headed back home for a quick nap.  Afterwards, Molly and I hung outside in the gorgeous weather watching daddy work on the garden, then we all had a very relaxing evening together.  Even though I am suppose to be a part-time employee, I have only had 2 days off since returning to work, so getting a quite day together with my family was the best thing I could have hoped for.

     

Four Months

Four months marked another visit to the doctors...and another round of shots.  I had to work the day of Molly's appointment, so Chris took her in alone.  He said she let out a few loud yells when she got her shots, but he was able to calm her down almost immediately.  Her stats were:

• Weight:  14 lbs 4 oz; 65%
• Height:   23 5/8 in; 25%
• Head:     41 in; 50%

Molly has gained great control of her head and now likes to be sitting upright as much as possible.  She has also become very observant of her surroundings.  Her favorite thing is to people watch when we are with a crowd.  She has also learned how to grab any toy that is within reach.  Once she gets ahold of a toy, her first goal is to get it to her mouth, though she still has a bit of hand to mouth coordination to learn.

She is still the happiest in the morning, and I love it when she wakes up early enough for me to get a big grin before I head to work.  Chris is still home with Molly and that has been so great for both of them.  I really wish we could keep Chris as a stay at home dad.  I almost had him take a new four month picture of Molly in one of her cute outfits, not her pajamas, but Chris keeps Molly in pjs all day long, so I figure it is fitting.

Auntie Kristin and Auntie Lynnea have been learning how to knit.  One of Kristin's first project was this super cute hat for Molly!

 







                

I know where Molly gets her looks!
   

Grandma Jody to the rescuce

             

Chris had another meeting scheduled the last week of March in Jackson Hole, WY.  Grandma Jody came out for Molly's baptism and then stayed to help watch Molly while I was at work and Chris was gone.  They both had a blast and Molly just loved Grandma Jody so much.  All Jody had to do was walk into the room and Molly started laughing!
                                                    

Grandma loves to do little photo shoots with Molly.  Here are a few pictures I got from her camera...
        

At Auntie Lynn's

I borrowed Lynn's camera to download the pictures Lynnea and Kerry took at Molly's baptism, and found these pictures as well.  It sure looks like Molly has lots of fun while the nieces help babysit!             
I believe these were all taken in Feb.

Baptism

Sunday, March 18th, was Molly's baptism.  I was so excited for Molly to have her first special day.  Pastor Steve Tollefson performed the baptism at our normal 10 am blue jean service at the Cathedral of the Rockies Methodist church in downtown Boise. 
Lynnea and my mom got Molly a beautiful baptism dress and shoes.  Chris and I were so afraid she would puke on her dress, we had her completely covered with a bib and receiving blanket until it was time to go up for the baptism.  Molly did great during the ceremony and even got a laugh out of everyone when she started giving the pastor a questioning eye. 

After the baptism, we headed to Nampa for brunch at the Bricks, ate way too much, and then had everyone over for more food at our house since it was Mom and Dad’s last night. 


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Anna, Jonathan, Kingston, Amber and Zeb also came to the church to celebrate with us.  Kingston was in such awe of Molly's bow.