Colby's 1st Dentist Visit

Colby being very nervous in the chair (but did great as long as Maddy laid up there with him :-):


Maddy's eyes are so sensitive to light that they let her wear sunglasses when she's in the chair:


Colby had his first cleaning at the dentist last week. Maddy went first so he could watch, but he was looking pretty nervous. I am very glad I had Maddy with me as he was fine as long as she laid on the chair with him. He did a great job and got to pick something out of the treasure chest at the end, which he thought was very cool!

Our Computer Whiz.....

Maddy just completed a Computer Club session at her school that ran for 6 weeks (1 hr per week). She got to learn all about different educational websites and they also taught them some things in Microsoft Word (or Microsoft Words as Maddy calls it :-)) Here is her latest writing that she did at home tonight (she had some cool fonts for her name, but they wouldn't show up in the blog format):


Maddy.Baumann’s story
Orange Fanta is yummy. It is the same thing as Orange pop. It is my faverit Drink.

Colby's 3rd Birthday!!

Colby turned 3 on Feb. 16th and I still can't believe we now have a 'preschooler'! He has grown up and changed so quickly this past year; it seems like weekly Jeremy and I are talking about 'Colby's new thing' that he's doing.

He continues to be fairly active, although he has slowed down some and will sit and play for longer periods of time, especially if one of us is sitting/playing with him. He loves playing with his trains and building blocks and also playing basketball and riding his scooter.

He also loves watching Barney (pretty much the only show he will sit and watch) and he enjoys playing on his drum when the music comes on in Barney. He likes to play house with Maddy and she loves to make up very specific directions and rules about how they will be playing ;-). Colby is also getting very close to being fully potty-trained and will need to have this done before going to pre-school this fall.

Colby is at an age where he is saying really funny things and asking all sorts of questions that always make us laugh. He is always tuned in to what is going on around the house and we can't get much by him :-) He loves to laugh at just about anything and I love that about him. He really is a fun-loving little boy and we are very lucky to have such a wonderful son.

Here are some pictures from Colby's Thomas party he had with all of his DSM cousins:

We got him a batman tricycle:

Food for Thought - Motherhood.....

I've read some rather inspiring articles on motherhood lately and decided to post a few of my favorite quotes on the blog. Food for thought?? :-)

Happy Friday!!


"The doctors told me that I would never walk, but my mother told me I would, so I believed my mother." -Wilma Rudolph, American athlete

"It will be gone before you know it. The fingerprints on the wall appear higher and higher. Then suddenly they disappear." -Dorothy Evslin

"Love your children with all your hearts, love them enough to discipline them before it is too late...Praise them for important things, even if you have to stretch them a bit. Praise them a lot. They live on it like bread and butter and they need it more than bread and butter."-Lavina Christensen Fugal

"Never being number one in your list of priorities and not minding at all."-Jasmine Guinness

And last, but not least, a picture of Colby hard at work:

You Know You're A Runner If:

1. You're envious when you see people out running and you're driving in the car

2. You spend more on running clothes than work clothes

3. You have a "running" playlist on your Ipod

4. You can easily convert kilometers to miles and vice versa

5. The theme from Rocky gives you goosebumps

6. You correct others that a marathon is really 26 point two miles

I read over this list in one of my running books the other day and thought it was pretty accurate, at least for myself. I have been reading more about running lately, than I have actually been running, unfortunately. I have some issues with my back that I'm trying to get resolved so I can get back out there. Had a MRI today to pinpoint what's going on, so hopefully will get some answers next week.

Will be posting pictures sometime soon, hopefully. We bought a new camera over Christmas, but it's not working, so need to find a replacement. I don't think I've ever gone this long without being able to take pics!

We are keeping busy with moving Grandma Barb into her new town-house in West Des Moines. Luckily the weather has been awesome for January! Makes it so much easier to be out and about!

Hope everyone is having a great start to 2012!

Baumann Family Christmas Letter - 2011

Wow, where to start?!? This year has had it's ups and downs and has definitely been full of activity.

Maddy finished up Kindergarten in June and is now a big first grader. She is enjoying school very much and has made lots of new friends. She has done very well with her reading and other school work. Jeremy and I are very proud of how hard she works and how responsible she has become. Maddy is also involved with Girl Scouts and gymnastics this year and enjoying both very much.

Colby turned 2 in February and loves to do anything active, especially riding his scooter and tricycle (yes, even in cold December with a hat and mittens!) I have a feeling he will be riding around in the garage once we have snow on the ground. Some highlights for Colby this past year were moving from a crib to a toddler bed, mowing with Jeremy all summer, greeting and petting any dog that would pass by and just laughing and making the rest of us laugh at his funny antics!

Jeremy continues to enjoy his work at Carrier Access and has been employed there for 9 1/2 years now. He had his best year in sales and I always wonder how he never seems to run out of new clients after all this time! Jeremy also plays guitar at church once a month and really enjoys being able to do that. He also keeps busy by working out at Kosama 2-3 times per week, working on house projects and playing with the kids. He has a knack for making up fun games with the kids that don't involve too much other than Jeremy laying on the Living Room floor while the kids run and jump around.

I continue to stay home with the kids, although I have picked up a new part-time job working for a Financial Advisor here in town. It has been a great fit for me as I have the flexibility that I need and am working in a field that I happen to be extremely interested in. I also look out to the future as the kids are older and see this job fitting in nicely with all of our schedules. So far, so good! In my spare time, I enjoy working out and running. I ran my first marathon this year in October and will have to say that it is an experience I will never forget. Very challenging, yet very rewarding.

Jeremy and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary in May with a trip to Chicago to see Oprah! I won tickets through a lottery online and it happened to be the week of our anniversary! Perfect! We had a great time and were able to see lots of sites and did a lot of walking!

We also took a mini-vacation to Honey Creek Resort with Grandma and Grandpa Kennedy in June. The weather was unseasonably cold, but it was still a nice little get-away and it was fun to all stay in a cabin together. The kids loved the indoor waterpark and Maddy got to try kayaking for the first time.

One of the down-sides to this year was the passing of Jeremy's dad, Dave, in July. We all miss him very much and it is difficult to go into the Christmas season knowing he will not be with us. We are glad that he is in a better place and no longer has to suffer from the cancer, however. The things I miss most are his contagious smile and laugh and his ability to find the positive in any situation. He never once complained about his cancer or pain and from that we can learn so much.

I haven't told many people this aside from Jeremy, but Dave was my inspiration for running the marathon this year. The only way I was able to get through it was to think about how much he had to endure this past year and how he never once complained. Pretty amazing. That combined with A LOT of prayers, helped me to push through those tough, painful miles during training and at the race itself. I continue to thank Jesus for giving me my health, the ability to run and for helping me make it through the toughest physical challenge of my life.

We are looking forward to Jeremy's mom, Barb, moving back to Des Moines the week after Christmas. It will be great to have her living close and the kids are thrilled to have Grandma Barb in the same town!

We have been extremely blessed in 2011. We give all the glory and thanks to God for everything he has done for us. We wish great health and happiness to all of our friends and family in the new year!

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

DSM MARATHON.....

Early morning before the race (Mom and I were having some coffee and reviewing the route while everyone else was in bed :-)) Thx Mom!!!


Mile 20:


Finishing with a smile:


Right after the finish:


All of us after the race (Thx Mom and Dad for coming to support me!! And thanks to Jeremy for taking care of the kids during all of those long training runs!! I am very lucky!):


As a lot you probably already know, I ran my first marathon on Oct. 16th. About 3 1/2 weeks ago. I thought I would share my thoughts as to how the whole experience went. It's a little long, but I want to remember this someday, so figured I should write it down :-)........

First off, I have to say that it was extremely challenging. It took me a couple of weeks of thinking about how I could have done things differently to realize that it most likely would have been very tough no matter what I did to prepare.

The weather was perfect, low 60's, however the course was much more difficult than the 1/2 marathon course. There were quite a few hills within the first 8 miles. Everything went fairly smoothly until mile 17. This is when I was really feeling the pain of running a marathon. By mile 19 I was questioning my reasoning of why I decided to run this race :-). Jeremy, Maddy, Colby and my parents were waiting to cheer me on at mile 20 and this gave me a new-found sense of energy and focus (sort-of :-).

There were people along the side of the road handing out twizzlers, donuts, gummy bears, you name it --- I did take a few gummy bears, but I was afraid to eat any of this stuff as I thought it would make me sick. I did have a couple of GU packs (energy gel-type stuff) and those seemed to help, but I felt like my body was moving along with nothing left in me. The only way I can describe the way I felt is like I had the flu and my entire body felt extremely sick and weak, yet I had to run several more miles. I remember thinking that this does not seem medically safe and felt a little concerned.

I did walk some after mile 18 but walking almost seemed harder than running as I was able to feel the pain in my muscles and feet more. When I was running I couldn't feel that as much. Somehow I found the strength to continue running; still not sure how.

Once I got to the last mile things went well and I finished off the race feeling decent. My official time was 5 hours 8 minutes. I was originally shooting for 4 1/2 hours (I was right at 2 hr. 14 min. at the half-way point), but did not anticipate the few walking bouts later in the race. I have since found out that my time is right at the average for women runners in a marathon, so I am happy with that!!

The recovery was not too bad --- On the day of the race, I was pretty much useless, but by Monday was feeling better (just had sore muscles). On Tuesday was still a little sore and back to normal by Wednesday! The one thing I did notice was that I was drinking a ton of water that entire week after the race and just could never seem to stay hydrated. I guess the race took every last ounce of liquid out of my body!!

To re-cap, I would have to say that I am very glad that I trained for and ran this race. I can't say if or when I will run another one. The 1/2 marathon is seeming like a better option for me at this point :-) However, last year at this time I could not have imagined running a full marathon, so I guess a lot can change in a year! Definately an experience I will never forget and one of my biggest accomplishments to date!