11 Months

I can’t believe we will have a 1 year old in less than a month!  Seriously this has been the best, most challenging year of my entire life and it’s crazy how quickly time has gone by.

Garrett turned 11 months last Thursday and we are still enjoying every minute of every day with him.  His personality is really starting to come through, and he’s still learning so much every day.  No Dr’s appointment this month, but I can tell you first hand that he is getting heavy!  I used to feel like I could carry him around all the time, but now that he wants to be free to do what he wants when he wants (and usually squirms when you hold him) I find my arms and back tiring much more quickly now.

Here’s what he’s been up to!

  • Wears mostly 12 month clothes but can wear some 9 month shorts
  • Size 6 shoe & 2T/3T socks
  • Has 8 teeth

  • Drinks 2 bottles and 2 sippy cups of almost all cow’s milk daily (we’re working on getting rid of bottles all together)
  • Eats 3 meals and a snack every day and is such an adventurous eater!

  • Pulls up and cruises on anything he can find

  • Loves to hold someone’s hands and walk around (though he can’t do it alone yet)
  • Has so much fun climbing on Oscar and chasing Kuno
  • Enjoys peek a boo and hide and seek

  • His favorite toys rigt now are balls, he loves to thrown them and watch them roll

  • And he still loves playing in any kind of water he can find, though he is NOT a fan of his lifejacket 😦

  • Another of his new favorite games is to laugh and crawl as fast as he can towards the camera lens when Mommy is taking pictures, and is determined that one day….he’ll get it!

He’s smart, funny, is such a handsome little man, has the cutest laugh, he’s a Mama’s boy, can sometimes act like a wild little monkey, he’s a thinker and sometimes even a stinker

But he’s the cutest little stinker in the whold wide world and I am so proud to be his Mommy!

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by Jenny on May 30, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Jenny on May 30, 2012

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Happy Memorial Day!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Holiday Weekend, I know we sure are! I went to bed last night excited that we get another day to spend with our family and friends before the work week begins again. And I woke up this morning feeling so grateful for all of the Amazing Men and Women who have fought and continue to fight every day for our Freedom. Without these people we wouldn’t have such a great place to call home and all of the opportunities that are presented to us daily. So Thank You All…from the bottom of my Heart. You and your families are always in my prayers!

Enjoy your day wherever you may be!

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by Jenny on May 28, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Family, Holidays

Posted by Jenny on May 28, 2012

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Weekend in Ohio

Garrett and I flew to Ohio last Thursday to celebrate babies and graduations with my favorite girlfriends and spend time with my family.  It was my first time flying solo with Garrett and luckily it was a super short flight, but he did really well overall.  I tried to schedule our flights around his naptimes, and I’m happy to report that he slept on both!

My Dad picked us up from the airport on Thursday afternoon and we met my Mom for lunch on our way back to their house.  Garrett thoroughly enjoyed his grilled cheese sandwich and mandarin oranges, and was happy to be able to move around and play afterwords.  On Thursday evening my Grandma,

G and his Great Grandma Ruth

and sister in law came over for dinner and got to spend some QT with the Little Man as well!  G loved being chased around and entertained by his Aunt Manda!

He also got to play a lot with Grandma Pam

and Grandpa Paul finally got to show Garrett his backhoe!  Even though he wasn’t to sure about it this time…

 we think he’ll warm up to it by next time.

  He spent time with Uncle Tim, Uncle Randy and Cousin Bodie

and LOVED the big back yard he had to crawl around in!

We also got to catch up with a lot of the Brunner’s during my cousin’s engagement party, Tim and I ran a 5K to benefit our old Elementary School, and I got to hang out with my best friends at Jess’s Baby Shower! (She’s due on July 5th with a little girl!)  We also celebrated Amanda’s graduation from CSU!  Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of all 5 of us, but it was so great to catch up with everyone!

We flew back to Charlotte early Sunday morning so I could spend Mother’s Day with our little family and it was everything I could have hoped it would be.  The house was clean when I got home and Dan had bought me some Stargazer Lily’s….my favorite, along with a card from him and a card from Garrett.  He also hung my pictures in my stairwell for my gallery wall that I have been meaning to do for months now and I didn’t cook or do any dishes all day long.  I even got to nap!  It was a perfect ending to an already great weekend, and I feel so lucky to be this little guy’s Momma 🙂

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by Jenny on May 15, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Family, Life, Travel

Posted by Jenny on May 15, 2012

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My Mother’s Daughter

For so many years now, I’ve had people say to me “You are your Mother’s Daughter.” You look like her, you smile like her, you laugh like her, and about 95% of the time I answered the phone at my parents house growing up, the person on the other end of the line would say; “Hi Pam.” I’d smile and nod or just politely correct them by saying it’s not Pam, it’s Jenny, and they’d laugh and we’d make small talk.

Honestly, I didn’t really see the similarities. Looks wise, we are polar opposites. She is short with dark hair, dark eyes, and more of an olive complexion. I am taller with blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin. Yes I have the signature Palmer chin, and nose, but I still didn’t see it. And I don’t know many teenage girls who would want to constantly be compared to their Mom’s, so I just took it with a grain of salt and moved on.

As I got older and moved out and on my own, I obviously didn’t have family friends comparing me to my Mom on the phone, but I did have my brothers and my Dad reminding me of the similarities between us. I would make a comment, in regards to a situation, or act a certain way, and because they knew how to get a rise out of me, they would say “OK Pam.” I would scowl and disagree for a while but the older I got….the more I just decided to embrace it. I mean, she and my Dad did an amazing job raising me and my three brothers. They taught us right from wrong, and did their best to guide us in the right direction (and they did a pretty good job if I say so myself) they made sure we all had the opportunity to go to college, and if we wanted to go overseas they sent us, even though neither of them had ever been out of the country. If you want to talk about being selfless…my parents are the definition.

My Mom was there to take me to all of my dance classes and wipe my tears when I would come out crying and swearing that I was never going back. She didn’t let me quit. She always said just finish up the year and dance in your recital and you don’t have to go back next year. I would agree, and every single year after my recital, I would tell her how excited I was to go back next year. I danced for 15 years thanks to her encouragement, and wouldn’t change that for a thing. She was there to take us to swim team practice and pick us up, and cheer us on at all of our meets. She tirelessly drove us to and from any and everything, and always made sure she spoke to the parents of the kids who’s houses we would be staying over. She comforted me when I was having boy troubles or friend troubles, or work troubles, or just needed a shoulder to cry on. She put up with a combined 24 or so years of adolescence between my brothers and I. I can imagine that’s enough to drive any sane person crazy! But she did it with grace and poise, and she stood her ground and let us know when we were being idiots, and I think we are all better people because of that.

She has been the best friend, role model, cheerleader, confidant, and parent I could ever ask for. She put her dreams on hold so that we could fulfill ours, all while endlessly encouraging, loving, and supporting each one of us, so for me to be compared to such an amazing woman, I am honored.

Thank you Mom for molding me into the person that I am today. I wouldn’t be half the woman or Mother I am if it weren’t for you, and for that I am grateful.

I have never been more proud to be compared to you, and there’s no denying the fact that I am in deed my Mother’s Daughter 🙂

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Amazing Mom’s out there!

*and a very special Thank You to my Mother in Law who raised such an incredible man that I am lucky enough to call my Husband*

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by Jenny on May 11, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Jenny on May 11, 2012

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Huntersville Sprint Re-cap

1:27:46 🙂

That was my overall race time and I couldn’t be happier with it!!!  My goal was to finish in under 1:40:00 and I was able to do it much easier than I thought, I didn’t even have to walk one single second of the entire race and for that I am very pleased!  The hardest part for me was the beginning of my run.  My legs felt like bricks after transitioning from my bike and I felt that my pace was comparable to that of a snail, but to my surprise, my legs felt stronger as my run went on and I actually PR’d in my 5K!

This is what my overall race looked like:

(Rank)Swim: (3)8:07

(Rank)T1: (10) 1:34

(Rank)Bike: (21) 49:45

(Rank)T2: (5) 0:58

TAround: 12:55

(Rank)Run: (15) 27:24

Overall Time:  1:27:46

I placed 18th in my age group and 67th of 130 total women

I PR’d in my run

and although I’ve never actually raced on a bike before, I finished in the best time of all my training rides

and I was the 3rd fastest swimmer in my age group!!!

The Huntersville Sprint Tri was set-up and run very well (possibly because my trainer was the race director 🙂 and because I was fortunate enough to train with her, she was able to fully prepare me for what was to come and made me feel at ease with the entire process.  I thought I was going to be much more nervous than I was and I didn’t expect my times to be what they were either.  If you’re interested in doing a Triathlon, and you have no experience, I highly recommend training with a group…..I think it helped immensely, and I am so glad I did it!  I now see why people who do Triathlon’s say they get addicted to them.  It was so much Fun, I’m already looking into another one in June!!

Despite my poor sick baby who was running a fever all day Saturday, not eating and was up numerous times throughout the night, (he was feeling a bit better on Sunday so)Dan packed him up and brought him to my race to cheer me on and they were just what I needed to keep me going.  I saw them for the first time when I was finishing my bike ride, and then again as I was beginning my run and at the finish line.  My brothers Jeff and Tim were also there to see my finish and that was pretty special to me!  I Loved it and seriously had so much fun doing it, even if I didn’t win 😉

Besides…who needs a trophy when you have this waiting for you at the finish line

Best. Prize. Ever. ❤

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by Jenny on May 1, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Jenny on May 1, 2012

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10 Months Old

Here we are again, the end of another month and Garrett is now 10 Months Old!!!  Time can slow down now before we know it we’ll be celebrating his First Birthday!

I think one of the reasons this month has gone so quickly is because as I wrote in my previous April post we’ve been super busy!!  It’s hard to believe that May will be here next week, and it doesn’t look like it will be any less busy than this month!

Dan and I get to see two shows in May; Thanks to his birthday gift to me! (Come Fly Away, and La Cage Aux Folles), which means at least 2 date nights 🙂 G and I have a trip planned to Ohio to celebrate with some of my best girlfriends’; One with a baby shower, one with a college graduation/baby girl on the way, and one who’s daughter is being baptized, not to mention the engagement of my cousin Sarah and Mother’s Day with my Momma before Dan, G and I get to celebrate my first Mother’s Day and at the end of the month we have a trip planned to California for my cousin Leah’s wedding!   Although I’m a little nervous as to how G will do on the 5+ hour flight, we’re excited to celebrate with my Mom’s side of the family and take Garrett to California for the first time!

I realize this post was not supposed to be about our crazy schedule, it’s supposed to be about our Sweet Growing Boy so, here’s what he’s been up to

  • Height, my guess would be getting close to 32″ (his torso and legs are soooo long)
  • Weight 21 lbs 2 oz (we had him weighed about a week ago)
  • Wears some 9 month onesies (because he’s so lean) but mostly 12 month clothes (definitely 12 month pants)
  • Size 5 shoes and he has 12-24 month socks that he is outgrowing :-/
  • Crawls all over the plac very quickly so he’s always keeping us on our toes!

  • Has 6 teeth!  4 on top and 2 on the bottom
  • Eats really well…Lots of different finger foods and still some purees, loving pancakes, cucumbers, chicken, sweet potatoes, guacamole, grilled cheese sandwiches, and yogurt just to name a few

  • Can pull himself up to a standing postion on any surface and picks out what toys he wants to play with and when

  • Walks unassisted behind his walker

  • Still loves his doggies and is adament on getting Kuno to pay attention to him

  • Naps once in the morning and once in the afternoon and sleeps from 7:30 til about 7
  • Says mama and baba (sometimes when he’s feeling playful and a lot of times when he’s tired, upset, sad, mad, etc.) we’re diligintly working on dada 🙂

  • He’s one of the happiest babies I know, but he’s also quite pensive and always seems to be trying to figure things out
  • He has the prettiest brightest blue eyes, cutest smile, and sweetest giggle and I could stare at him all day ❤

  • I am so amazed by him and proud of him, and I can’t imagine my life without him.  He’s the best thing that has ever happened to both Dan and I and we are so very blessed!

Happy 10 Months to our Sweet Boy…We love you so much!

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by Jenny on April 25, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Jenny on April 25, 2012

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Tri-Training/Race and Best Body Bootcamp Update

My triathlon is 6 days away!!!!!  I can’t believe my training is just about over, and even though the distances on their own may not seem too daunting to some people out there…..(myself included) it’s the actual sequence of a 500 meter swim,(which even though my idea of a sprint is a 50 meter swim 😉 is still somewhat considered a sprint followed by a 12 mile bike ride(which again may sound easy to some, but for me, given that it’s a moderately hilly course, and that I’ve ridden it a few times and my legs are TIRED when I finish and that I’m expected to transition directly into a 5K run (which is probably my weakest of the 3 sports, and of course it’s the last one) I’m excited, but a little nervous at the same time.

As most of you know, I grew up swimming, and running track so you would think that this would be a no brainer for me, but I was a true sprinter in these sports.  I mean like 50’s or 100’s in the pool, and 100, 200, 4×1’s and 4×2’s on the track so the goal was to go as fast as I could and in under a minute or so my race would be complete.  So…even though this is a Sprint triathlon, completing a 500 in the water, then biking 12 miles and then running 3 miles I’ve had to train my body differently.  I’ve learned to pace myself, rather than going all out which is great(albeit challenging) and I’m happy to oblige, especially now that I’m not a teenager anymore and my body has drastically changed in the last 12 years.  My goal is to finish the race in under 1hr40min.  I’d like to finish my swim in under 8 minutes, my bike in under 55 and my run in under 30 minutes + time for my transitions.  However, I will PR regardless of my race time and for that I am pleased!

On top of the workouts my trainer has set up for me(which have been great), I have been doing Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp to supplement my strength training and so far I’ve been happy with the results.  My weeks have mostly been looking something like this

Monday-Best Body Bootcamp workout A

Tuesday-Swimming for 45 minutes

Wednesday-Training (Swimming, Biking, Running) depending on the week

Thursday-Workout B-Best Body Bootcamp

Friday- Workout C-Best Body Bootcamp

Saturday-Off

Sunday-Brick workouts (Biking 12+ miles followed by a 2-3 mile run)

I’ve really enjoyed the challenge of putting the two together, and will be sad to see both of them come to an end after Sunday, but I now have a lot more knowledge about all aspects of the Tri-sport, along with strength training, and I’m looking forward to keeping up my workout regime with my own training 🙂

This is supposed to be a taper week for me due to my race on Sunday but I’m still planning on completing my workouts just a modified version of them…Other than that…

I’m as ready as I’m going to be, race gear and all!

And I’ll be sure to update everyone after my race!

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by Jenny on April 23, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Jenny on April 23, 2012

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April so Far

It’s felt like a whirlwind of a few weeks since my last post.  Between traveling for Easterand having visitors, getting our new boat and training for my Triathlon (which is only 9 days away!!!!!!!!) we’ve been pretty busy!  Garrett is getting bigger and braver every day and it seems like he is getting closer and closer to being able to walk on his own, although, I’m pretty sure we’ve still got some time before we’re chasing him all over the house 😉

We flew back down to Florida to see Dan’s parents for Easter and had a wonderful time!

Garrett got lots of time swimming in his pool,

 and even went to the beach and into the ocean for the first time since he was only 10 weeks old!

He seemed to like the water even though the Gulf was still pretty chilly, but he wasn’t too sure about the whole sand thing 🙂  We’re hoping that he warms up to it a bit more next time

He also got to play with his Grandma and Grandpa Brewton a Lot!!

He especially liked showing everyone how well (and fast) he is crawling now!

We’re home now for a while and don’t have any visitors planned in the near future, and are hoping to get in some lake time on our new boat!

She’s sure to be the reddest boat on all of LKN!!! And since I didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time on our boat last year, I’m hoping this year I get to make up for it.  I haven’t been on a wakeboard in a while and I’m anxious to see if I can still do it!  But first….we’ve got to get G warmed up to his life jacket……so far, he’s not much of a fan 😦  which in turn makes for a little less enjoyment when we’re on the Lake, but we’re not giving up……he’s going to have to get used to it sooner or later!!!

Even though he can be a little stinker sometimes……..he’s still the cutest baby I know 😉

We’re hoping to give the boat thing another go this weekend!  Fingers crossed it goes a little bit better than last time!

Got anything fun planned for your weekend???

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by Jenny on April 20, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Baby Cakes, Family, Holidays, Life, Travel

Posted by Jenny on April 20, 2012

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Picnic at the Park

Last year when I was pregnant I was lucky enough to share the experience with several friends…4 of which lived close by. We all had our babies within 12 weeks of one another and it’s been so fun to watch them all grow together!

Susan (front and center) had Caden first.  Then Catherine (bottom right) had Leia about 10 days later, I had Garrett 13 days after that, Allison (bottom left) had Luke Alexander about 6 weeks later, and Brittany (not pictured…she left right before) had her sweetie Hailey about 5 weeks after that!

A few of us live North of the city so we set up playdates as often as we can, but our good friends Ryan and Catherine are still in the city so it’s great when we can get together!  We met at Latta Park and had a picnic outside to enjoy the beautiful day

Here are Catherine and I with the babies when G was only 6 days old

                           and 9+ month’s later

      It’s amazing how much they’ve grown and changed, and it was so fun to watch them play together.

Dan and Ryan (Leia’s Dad) grew up together and I think it’s pretty neat that our kids will get to follow in their footsteps

We had perfect weather….not too hot and not too sunny so we were able to hang out for a while and enjoy each other’s company and the beautiful day!

I’m planning on enjoying the comfortable temperatures as much as possible….I have a feeling it’s going to be a very hot summer!

What’s your favorite springtime activity??

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by Jenny on April 3, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Jenny on April 3, 2012

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9 Months Old

Look who’s 9 Month’s old!!

I know this post is overdue and I would have posted earlier but I wanted to wait until his Dr.’s appointment so I could include his stats….and just like I suspected our little man is not so little anymore!

  • Weight: 20lbs 6oz (50%)
  • Length: 31in (97%)
  • Head circumference: 46cm (75%

We had a great month that was absolutely beautiful weather-wise and also included some very special visitors!  Unfortunately I didn’t get pictures of all the visitors but I did get some.  Aunt Jess came into town for the weekend and she and Aunt Carly came up to see us and go to Discovery Place Kids!

That same weekend Grandma and Grandpa Brunner were in town too!  They bought a fun little car to cruise around in and will be back soon to pick it up!

Uncle Tim came for a few weeks and we FINALLY got a picture with him!

Shortly after, Grandma Lynn came to look for houses so she and Grandpa Rich can be closer to us, and guess what?????

They are buying a house in our neighborhood!!!  We’re super excited to have some family so close and are hoping that Grandma and Grandpa Brunner will follow in a few years 😉

Call me crazy, but I think Grandma Lynn enjoys Garrett a whole lot!

Along with our visitors, came a lot of new milestones!  Here are a few other things we’ve been up to!

  • REAL crawling!!  He army crawled for a few months and got really good at it, and now….he’s up on all fours all of the time now and getting faster every day!

  • Climbing up stairs.  (Don’t worry, we only allow him to climb up the 2 short steps we have to get into our bonus room, that are carpeted all around)

  • Climbing all over Mommy and Daddy!  They make the best jungle gyms!
  • More teeth…He’s got 4 now with another one coming in on the top…check out those chompers!

  • Pulling himself up onto things when he’s feeling brave

  • He enjoys looking at himself in the mirror and thinks he’s pretty funny

We’ve been swimming more and more, and are so excited for our trip to the beautiful Pensacola beaches for Easter!  We like hanging out with friends at the park and try to make that a weekly occurance, and his  favorite toys this month are….Oscar’s dog collar, the wheels on his trucks, stroller, toys, etc.  red solo cups, and anything that rolls.

We also got a chance to to watch Daddy play softall and his team won!

We’re keeping busy and having lots of fun!  Each day gets more and more exciting and we are so blessed to have such a sweet healthy boy who brings so much joy to our lives!

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by Jenny on April 2, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by Jenny on April 2, 2012

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