The First Step - 5K

Proud of Mommy
Originally uploaded by brianjwatkins

So I guess I'm really doing this marathon thing. Thanksgiving was a training day for me, so I decided to run the annual Run for the Hungry 5K in La Canada. I had no idea how different it would be to run on the street, not the treadmill. The biggest difference - slight hills. My butt started burning right away! The most important thing is that I finished. I was pretty proud of myself and I had the best cheerleading squad around! Next up, another 5K in December.

Finally 4!

Check out my new scooter!
Originally uploaded by brianjwatkins

Wow - this picture makes me a little teary. What happened to my baby? This picture was taken on Kate's 4th birthday (she got the rockin' scooter from Aunt Jana). That morning, I pulled out the pictures and showed her the day she was born -- it seems like just yesterday. I never would have believed that I could have such a beautiful little girl, but here she is. I'm a lucky Mommy. Happy Birthday, Kate!

The Princess and Her Court

The Princess and Her Court
Originally uploaded by brianjwatkins

Happy 4th Birthday Kate! This was the scene on Saturday night as Kate celebrated her 4th birthday (which is actually today). All the girls were decked out in their best princess gear to help the birthday princess check off another year. It was absolutely adorable to see all these little girls dancing in their gowns -- and Miss Amanda taught them a cute princess dance that they later performed for all the parents. It was a wonderful night.

The Dude

Look at my little Dude. Jack is the cutest little guy in the whole entire world. I was at work yesterday and I got an email titled "Hi Mommy". When I opened it up, this was what I saw. It made my day. Work totally sucks but this is what I get to go home to! If that wasn't enough, I also get super hugs from Kate and love & support from the world's best husband. Life isn't so bad after all.

My Surreal Parenting Moment

So I'm totally having a surreal moment right now. It's Saturday morning, I'm playing castle with Kate and we're watching Disney's Aladdin. While we're playing, I'm quoting almost every line of the movie in my head and it's taking me back to high school -- yeah, you heard me, high school. For some strange reason, we all loved the movie Aladdin in 12th grade and we would watch it all the time -- and we weren't dorks doing this. Needless to say, we watched it so much that the dialog and songs are forever burned into my memory -- this movie brings back strong memories of high school for me. So how do you think it feels to have my 4-year old daughter sitting on my lap watching the movie or dancing to the songs while I sing along? Super strange! We even played parts and sang 'Whole New World' to each other (she was stroking my face during the song). That was super weird because that song kind of reminds me of a high school crush! I guess the moral of this story is that it's really odd getting old. I'm sure I'll experience these moments more and more as my kids get older and start going through the things that I did -- I don't know if I'll ever get used to it, though.

To Be a Kid Again

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Originally uploaded by brianjwatkins

Sometimes I wish I was a kid again. I had no worries - except maybe Tom hocking a loogie on me. Don't get me wrong, I've got a great life as a grown up, but sometimes it would be nice to go back - just for a day. It would be nice to ride my bike until it got dark, have some dinner, then watch the Facts of Life or the Cosby Show - if Dad would let us. What a life. By the way, look at what a sweet-looking bunch us Higginbotham kids were in 1980!

Big Bear

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Originally uploaded by brianjwatkins

Here we are at the Big Bear Discovery Center. The mountain was closed for hiking and exploring because of the fires, but it was still beautiful. Kate and Jack got to touch different animal pelts (sweet) like bobcat, raccoon and bear. We had lots of fun.

Happy Halloween!

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Originally uploaded by brianjwatkins

Here are the two cutest kids in the world with their pumpkins on Halloween night. Sleeping Beauty cleaned up on candy and Captain Jack made it through the night without too much fuss. Oh, and Captain Jack's good looks got his mommy some candy too.