WAHOO!!

Wahoo!! I did it!! I ran 13.1 miles. Okay, so maybe I jogged. But I didn't walk, I didn't stop, and I did the entire 13.1 miles in 2 hours, 6 minutes, and 55 seconds. If you had told me a year ago today that I would ever participate in any type of running event, I would have laughed in your face and probably put a large sum of money against those odds. It is funny how life plays out.

When I started running this fall my goal was never to participate in a half marathon, simply to run a 10k with David (and if I beat him, then that would be the icing on the cake). Well, that first race led to a 15k a month later. The 15k led to a half-marathon about a month and a half later. I never understood when others explained that participating in these races was addictive, but now I do. I'm hooked. Part of the addiction is the anxiousness I feel the night before and morning of a race. I also really enjoy the sense of accomplishment I feel when it is all over. I am still in complete awe that by 11:15 yesterday morning I had gotten up, gotten all 3 of us out of the house, gotten to uptown Charlotte, waited "patiently" in the warm convention center, run 13.1 miles, come home, showered, and was busy playing with Carly.

Now that I'm hooked, I'm also at a bit of a loss at the moment. I'm not sure what to do next (a marathon is NOT the right answer). I plan to "maintain" my running through the winter, meaning I will run about 3 miles two weekdays a week and 5 miles once on the weekend, then begin training for another race in the spring. At the moment, David and I have plans to participate in the Cooper River Bridge Run (a 10k race in Charleston) this spring and the Kiawah Half Marathon next December.

In the Spirit

I have noticed more or more often that Carly is really getting into the Christmas spirit. She is jamming and dancing to the Christmas Carols Sharon has playing. Unfortunately her song of choice right now happen's to be Marriah Carrey's new hit.

While I don't have any good pictures to document the jammin', I did capture her "reading" Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

I have been reading it to her and I tried to watch the old 60's cartoon version of the book, but it was a no go. Instead she ran around playing while dad watched the show.

Imagination

Carly's imagination has really started to become apparent over the past few weeks. The first thing we noticed was her holding up play phones and babbling into them. She especially gets a kick out of doing this when we play along and talk into another play phone or one of the phones in our house. Since her birthday she has also really enjoyed pushing around her grocery cart and stroller. Although now she goes and gets her purse, places it on her arm, then proceeds to push her doll or stuffed animal around.

On Saturday morning she even copied her daddy in the kitchen. While I was out running the two of them worked together in the kitchen. David making yummy eggs for our breakfast, and Carly stood at her small table and copied her daddy in a small pot and spoon we recently had placed in her cabinet.

It is a lot of fun to watch her play pretend. It is really showing us how much she is observing each day, even though it may not be obvious in our day to day interactions with her.

Peas

Back History:
Carly still has no teeth popping through. As a result she didn't start putting everything in her mouth around 3 months, which led to her not being as interested in baby food early, and slowed me down in introducing her to table food. Dave and I would let her try soft foods if she asked for them. During a sick visit around 11 months her doctor asked how her progression into table food was going, I mentioned her lack of teeth and was reprimanded (nicely) for not having her on mostly table food. So home she and I went, with me feeling bad. David and I quickly realized that Carly was eating a lot of table food, just not pasta or vegetables. She would eat cheese, fruit, and bread products all day long if we let her. Meat was hit or miss, depending on her mood. However, she would eat almost any vegetable if we blended it. (Which the doctor was fine with at her 1 year visit, mentioning how most parents would be happy if their children ate a vegetable

any form.)

Since this doctor's David and I have really focused on finding table foods Carly will try and can be successful eating without having even one tooth. Her stubbornness at times has led to some frustration and pretty boring meals. A lot of food has ended up on the floor and fed to Jake. I have tried to hiding peas in her fruit cocktail, hiding green bean pieces in her pureed green beans, calmly putting corn on her tray and walking away (at least in her mind), etc. Nothing has worked. I've read books and online articles about to just keep trying and she would just start one day. I was starting to have my doubts and was thinking we should look into investing in a Smoothy King franchise so Carly could drink her meals when in high school and college. Then tonight's dinner came.



Tonight's Dinner:
David and I sat down with Carly for tonight's dinner. We weren't having any bread, so she was able to start her sliced ham (her first course) when we sat down. As she finished her ham she began pointing and grunting towards my plate. I offered her a piece of pork chop, she pushed it away. I then put a few peas on her tray and into her mouth they went. So, I put a few more. Same thing. She was shoveling these peas into her mouth like they were mini sugar/candy balls. By the end she ate more peas than David and I did combine. We were both completely shocked.


I'm not confident that she will eat peas again for me tomorrow, and that's okay. I have had a glimpse of the light at the end of the pureed veggie tunnel, and we will get there eventually. At least I'm not currently have to puree veggies and hid them in not so healthy dishes (there is a whole book now out in the stores about this topic).

Dancing with Daddy

Christmas Carols were playing so Carly and I decided to cut loose.

A little Dip


Some Box Step


A bigger dip




Having some fun


And now she is bored of her old man already.

Uh-Oh!

Don't worry, nothing is wrong and no one is hurt, this is just Carly's favorite little saying at the moment. Since turning 13 months she has really begun to communicate with us. Sometimes using parts of a word, pointing, motions, grunts, etc. However, she knows the meaning of Uh-Oh! now as well as she knows the word "dada".

Recently Carly has been having a lot of fun with this word. She will drop a book/food/toy (on accident and/or purpose) and follow it up with an "uh-oh!". This saying is then followed with a quick smile.

I'm not really sure where Carly picked up this saying. David and I didn't say it with any frequency prior to Carly saying it. However, now that she says with regularity we seem to be saying it more and more.

Hugs

Recently Carly has turned into a hugging machine. During Thanksgiving week she would "run" towards you if you got down to her level and extened your arms out (inviting her to come hug you). David and I both thought this was wonderful. Now she has stepped it up a notch. If he or I say the word "hug" we typcially get a similar reaction, without have to open our arms first. This type of hug mostly happens when we are already holding her, yet her back is very straight and pulled away from our body. If we ask Carly for a hug, she grins, extends her arms, falls into your chest, and nuzzles on your shoulder. Or she grins and dive bombs in the other direction.

Because these hugs are so much fun, David and I tend to be requesting them quite often throughout the day. We have to take advantage of these free hugs before she is old enough to run up stairs, and scream about how she hates us slamming her door.