Four Little Words

Hearing “I love you, too” for the first time is one of those special moments you’ll always hold on to about your baby. After days of “I la you you” and other slurred variations, Brady couldn’t have said it any more clear than on Saturday… Kevin and I shot each other a look of shock. Wow! 4 whole syllables and a response that wasn’t just mimicking us! It seemed like an impossible idea, but somehow adding those four little words to his vocabulary instantly made Brady 10x cuter and more lovable 🙂 He’s doing really well these days, learning at such a fast pace that it seems like every few days he’s showing off a new set of skills. Lately, his favorite things include:

1. Watching Chuggington and “choo chooing”
2. Riding in the Radio Flyer wagon with Tutu, his pet bunny
3. Slamming the cage door in Tutu’s face – he seems to think that’s hilarious (obviously his sense of humor is inherited from Kevin)
4. Swimming in our spa tub before bed, doing booty shakes and belly rolls to iTunes
5. “Pop! Pop! Pop!”-ing bubbles
6. Chicken nuggets and cookies
7. Getting massages from the parentals – man, what a life!

Life is good. Brady continues to bring smiles to our faces every day and sometimes Kevin and I just have to gush at how cute he is. We’re lucky 🙂

Our house has been full of buzz lately, thanks to Kevin, and all his kick-ass glory. After searching for “any job besides IBM” the past 15 months, he finally struck gold with a job offer from GeoMagic. Today was his first day and it was wonderful to see him come home so excited. It’s hard to believe, but this company seems even cooler than his last one. I mean – free massages on Fridays, two-windowed office to himself, two computer monitors and a brand new laptop, gym and shower in the same building, shooting Nerf balls in the office, free beverages (including Keurig) – kind of cool. Yeah… now we’re all depressed for ourselves. HA! He’s so deserving of this opportunity and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Another exciting piece of news we’d like to share is Kevin’s invitation to paddle with the USA Canoe and Kayak Federation at the 2012 Dragon Boat World Championships in Milan this fall. It’s a big honor and will allow him to get back to what he truly loves doing – paddling! So until he take Italy by storm, Kevin will be busy training during the next couple of months. We’ll be sure to keep everyone updated on this status 🙂 Please cheer him on!

Our latest photos:

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Running Through the City of Trees

3 days after returning from Boston, we were packed up and on the road again, headed to Sacramento for the 29th California International Marathon. Kevin had decided during the summer that he’d exit this decade with one last hurrah by running 26.2 miles, his second marathon ever.

Brady was a doll on the drive up and slept most of the way. We arrived in Sacramento to brunch at Cafe Rolle, a place I found on Yelp, my trusty go-to site for all things food related 🙂 It was like we were back in Montreal! The French cafe was so authentic, right down to the owner/chef singing French songs from the open kitchen. Our food was soooo yummy. Warm salmon and gruyere sandwich, steak and gruyere sandwich and chocolate creme brulee. ‘Nuff said. I would move to Sac-town just to have daily access to that!

Kev checked in at the convention center after brunch, picked up his number and we browsed the endless row of booths for everything running related. It was a mad house, with runners and their families milling around everywhere. I was amazed and inspired to see marathon runners of all ages and backgrounds there, from teenagers to grandmothers. It really made me realize that 1. anything’s possible and 2. it’s never too late.

We decided to drive the race route in the afternoon, just for kicks and giggles (although by that time, Kev was on the verge of passing out from exhaustion). Kevin and I were both pleasantly surprised by how beautiful Sacramento and the surrounding areas were. The City of Trees certainly lived up to its name. We ended the day with a quick dinner before retreating to our hotel to get ready for the big race.

A true Guppy for life! He was so excited to represent his paddling team in the marathon 🙂 Pumped up and ready to hit the pavement, Kevin was out the door to catch a shuttle to the starting line by 5am. The weather was on our side, with the rain giving way to morning sunshine.

Brady and I greeted Kev at the halfway point. He was making good timing and later said he felt energized after seeing us. This shot was way too zoomed out because I was so excited to see him that my finger just couldn’t wait to capture the moment :-p He ran over, kissed me and yelled “I love you!” The crowd on the sidelines gave us a big “AWWW!” What a great husband!

I was so disappointed not to have been able to meet Kev at the finish line! Grrrr >_< The race ended at the State Capitol building in downtown Sac. Although he didn’t finish within the time he had hoped for due to injury and burning out around mile 19, I couldn’t be more proud of Kevin for finishing the marathon! Perhaps a third marathon is in the future? 🙂

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30 is the new 20

To celebrate his 30th birthday and confirm that he is, indeed, still young despite moving into another decade of life… Kevin will be running in the 28th Annual California International Marathon in Sacramento this December 5th. His second marathon ever.

Goodbye, junk food. Hello, training!

For those of you who’d like to take on that challenge with Kevin, whether it be to do the marathon with him or simply run for fun, please email him! It’d be nice for him to have a partner in training 🙂

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The Dragon Racer

7 years ago, a young and eager Kevin discovered the joys of dragon boating after moving to California. It’s been his passion, exercise routine and preferred method for meeting girls (that is, until we met. Then the fat lady sang on the ladder). Nowadays, Kevin is a coach for his beloved team, the Killer Guppies. And after weeks of training, that time of year came again… the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival!

Kevin spent the weekend with his fellow paddlers, determined to race hard, bring home some medals and represent Southern California in the sport.That’s him in the front, with the bright orange visor 🙂

Being robbed of his juice box during some down time.

Serious Kevin.

Silly Kevin.

Winning Kevin!

Congrats to the Killer Guppies for kicking butt this past weekend 🙂

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Run Kevin, Run!

Ok people, not every post on this blog will be about food. Kevin and I do have lives outside of eating, though hard to believe, haha.

This post is to celebrate my honey, who spent the weekend running a 200-mile relay race from Ventura to Dana Point, California (Ragnar Relay Series). After being part of the event last year, Kevin didn’t anticipate participating again this spring, but a last minute spot opened up and a friend invited him to run with their team, for free (our favorite word :-)) We were both excited, mostly because Kevin and I realize these types of opportunities will be few and far between after the baby’s born.

With a nifty new camera and a perfect opportunity to put it to use, I decided to be Kevin’s personal paparazzi (for a day) and document his Ragnar journey. Friday started at 5am, when Kevin was swooped up by the team and Ventura-bound. Look how happy he is! 🙂 I love it when my honey feels excited about something.

Kevin was the 7th leg in the relay race, scheduled to start his run around 1pm in Simi Valley. I met up with the team at the rendezvous point and hung out with the “Fellowship of the Rag” before Kevin’s leg began.

Kevin’s team was composed of 12 runners, separated into 2 vans. Here’s his van of brave souls.

Go Team 152!

The wait for Leg 6 to arrive at the switch-off point was grueling, as she was behind by like half an hour… I got a sunburned arm in the process 😦 At last, “Kim” arrived and Kevin was off! Run Kevin, Run!!!

This was Kevin’s first of three legs over the next 24 hours, totaling 18 miles.

I went back to the comforts of home after this, while Kevin embarked on his journey. Paparazzi duty was complete and I was left to my own device for an entire 2 days 🙂 During that time, I worked on other “motherly” things that’ll be posted at a later date.

The race ended in Dana Point Saturday evening, after 34.5 hours of non-stop running. Congratulations to the team for finishing the event! I’m so proud of Kevin, who averaged an 8 minute mile throughout the race 🙂 He proclaims his next run will be a marathon before turning 30. Look for that post and cheer him on!

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