11 Months

David Jr is now 11 months and so very close to that big 1 year milestone.  Around the house we've started talking to Carly about how at the moment he is "Baby David," we won't be calling him that after his first birthday.  So of course now she calls him "Baby David" and then gives me a description of when and why we will be stopping this reference soon.  And while Dave and I are the ones who told her this and know it is true, I'm having a hard time bracing myself for this reality.  My baby is almost 1 and not going to publicly be called a "baby" much longer.

At 11 months, David Jr is a speed crawler and cruiser.  He isn't showing interest in walking or standing independently.  But give him a walk behind toy or a piece of furniture he can push and move he will walk right along.  And if he wants to get to a specific point quickly, then he will drop to his hands and knees and take off.  He loves to chase his sister around the house and race her to various points.  He is still very fond of dumping out the Duplo blocks and animals in our Noah's Ark.

David is also eating us out of house and home already.  He typically starts a meal with a portion of what is on my plate and typically eats more peas or green beans than Carly.  He then moves on to a vegetable puree and finishes his meal with either a fruit puree or chunks (if not both).  He recently also showed a big interest in graham crackers and wanting to bite piece off of it, instead of me breaking it up into small pieces for him.

At the moment David is not showing any signs of teething, babbles a lot, and has handsome blue eyes!

We Survived!!

Well Dave and I survived!

The above statement could be used to describe a number of events -
1) A weekend away from both children.  (Dave's parents also survived staying with both children!)
2) I survived running 26.2 miles and bettered my time by 34 minutes, having me finish at 3:46:26.
3) Dave survived running 13.1 miles and bettered his average pace by 22 seconds a mile, finishing at 2:41:01.

Don't get me wrong, I was confident about our family surviving the dynamics and big events of this weekend.  However, there were some bumps in the road leading up to the weekend that left me slightly nervous.

I had strained a muscle and come to realize that my hips were misaligned, leaving me to only run 18 miles for my longest training run and to need physical therapy 2 times a week for the four weeks leading up to our race weekend.

David had been consumed with work, school, and looking towards the future for his half Ironman event in June, so hadn't been consistent with his week day runs.

The forecasted weather for the weekend was in our favor for driving up to DC on Friday and returning home on Sunday, but sandwiched in the two days were some nasty storms.

Carly had developed a stuffy nose on Thursday afternoon and slept very little the night before our departure.  This left us worried about how she would behave and feel while we were away, and gave a pretty sleepless night before getting in the car to drive 6 hours.

David Jr. has only recently (as in over the past 4 weeks) began taking some milk from a bottle; however, had never been away from me for more than 1 feeding.  His food challenges also make his desire to eat table food some what of a challenge at times.

There were also about 5 different "childcare" plans throughout the course of the week leading up to this weekend, which had my anxiety level quite high.

Oh, and David's car had begun acting up and was occasionally locking the key in the ignition when you tried to turn the car off.  

With all of the bumps I was scared I was missing a big sign that this trip was a mistake and we shouldn't go.  But, on Friday morning my alarm went off at 5am and things began moving into motion. By 7:00am we were loaded up, had bought gas, gone through the ATM, and were on I-77N.  We only had traffic in Richmond due to a stalled truck in the center lane and arrived in Washington DC is great time.  After checking into our hotel we headed out to the Armory to pick up our race packets and make sure we had a clear understanding of the Metro system before needing it to return back to the hotel the next afternoon following the race.  We walked around DC some and ate dinner before heading back to the room for an early night.  Saturday morning, I awoke again at 5am and had the most pleasant surprise - a dry forecast!  The system that was supposed to hit the DC area that morning had shifted south and DC was spared.  We would have a dry run!!  We arrived at the starting area, turned our items into the gear check bus, and ventured around.  Eventually we made it to our separate corals and waited for the race to begin.  I know Dave complained later about a slow first mile due to a slow pace by others around him, but overall he had a fabulous run.  I made great time with my first 20 miles and then slowed down considerably for the last 6.  Not only was the race dry, it was also sunny for the final moments of Dave's and the last quarter of mine.  Following the race Dave was able to spot me in a sea of people and we slowly made our way back to the Metro.  After arriving at the hotel, getting cleaned up, and a quick nap for Dave we ventured downstairs for lunch in the restaurant that was next to our hotel.  After ordering a hamburger the waitress mentioned that the burger was huge and question if it was really what I wanted, I promptly explained that I had just finished running and finishing it would NOT be a problem.  I polished it clean, along with my fruit cup.  (The slaw was left on the plate only due to David's allergies, not because I was full.)  The remainder of our trip was peacefully.  Lots of sleeping and eating!  Our kids did great for their grandparents and even felt obligated to share their colds with them.  (Sorry)

I am very thankful that I didn't just throw my hands up in the air and cancel our trip after the many bumps that presented themselves the weeks leading up to the race and I can now say that I ran a marathon when my son was just 10 months old!  I've got my eyes currently on a half Ironman event in September (can't let Dave be the only one knocking one of those out this summer) and maybe a marathon in November/December - but I will have to see how our calendar is looking.  All of these long distance events take a chunk of time out of our weekends, and Dave only has a few quarters left of school...

Happy 10 Months

Double digits, double digits!  David Jr joined us 10 months ago today and has helped to keep out lives interesting since.  We actually found out 5 days ago that my hips are misaligned most likely due to David's delivery - although I'm not sure he is deserves all the credit for the misalignment.  (I'm somewhat of a klutz...)

At 10 months, David Jr is doing VERY well at eating table food and especially likes shredded chicken, peas, and chicken pot pie.  The only "baby" foods we have found him to not be a fan of are mushy grains and citrus.  Otherwise he enjoys EVERYTHING else!  This is such a blessing to my heart after watching his weight slowly drop between July and November.  When we went for his 9 month well visit he had chunked up some.  Unfortunately, he will never have chunky little Michelin Man legs and arms - he didn't start putting on weight until he became mobile.  But at 10 months, David is a bruiser with his size.  He is also cruising furniture and pulling up on tables, chairs, and cabinets.  He enjoys greeting us each morning by smiling as he is standing in his crib and will quickly flash a flirty smile when someone gives him any ounce of attention.  David isn't speaking much but he does occassionaly say "mama mama," "dada dada," and "up."  Every so often there is something that sounds like "all done." 

It is hard to believe that in 2 months we will be celebrating David's first birthday!  

4 Years...

Four years ago today Dave and I found out that we were going to be parents!  It was a Monday and Dave was home for a dentist appointment which he had schedule on my birthday to help shift his travel plans from the usual Monday - Thursday to Tuesday - Friday.  I had been sent home from work sick and figured it would be best to call the doctor since nothing had really helped me feel better for the past 5 days.  After describing all of my symptoms to the nurse she asked for a urine sample.  I thought nothing of it.  After meeting with the doctor and being given a treatment plan I asked about the previous sample.  She commented that the nurse had asked for it for a pregnancy test due to the light headed feelings I was having, but that she wasn't interested in running the test after seeing just how much fluid I had on my ears.  In a bummed out tone I responded with an "oh okay, we are trying so thought maybe..."  She immediately jumped and offered to have it run for me.  Because I was the last patient before lunch I was able to sit in the room and wait.  Ten minutes later, she returned with a smile on her face and said that I was in fact pregnant!  She asked for my prescription back (it was not suitable for a pregnant lady) and said she would be right back with some information and the due date wheel.  When she stepped out, I called Dave immediately.  He was actually in a store purchasing my birthday gift (new sunglasses) when I told him.  He was so excited that he told the sales girl while purchasing my gift before meeting me at home.  He then went to his office together to pick up his laptop, there was no way he would be sitting in an office all afternoon and able to keep his new little secret.  Even though I didn't feel well, I did find the energy to go to a bookstore to buy pregnancy books to read while I was stuck at home sick for the next few days!

While out with Dave tonight he mentioned that we had found out 4 years ago today that we would be having a baby.  This began a discussion about how much our lives have changed over the past 4 years...

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today has been a wonderful day!  It began with a late start.  Carly visited me early in the morning, wished me a Happy Birthday, and then ran off to play.  (Ninety minutes later I woke up to her again and later found all of the fun she had enjoyed while Dave and I slept... no one to reminder to clean up.  Carly, Dave, and David then went out to get bagels while I relaxed (slept) a little more.  We then spent time playing and speaking with many family members.  After a late lunch, Dave picked up most of the house while I put both kids down for naps.  In true amazement, Carly napped today (a first since Super Bowl Sunday) while I showered and got ready for my date afternoon!  The kids' babysitter arrive at 3:30 so that Dave and I could head to the bike store for a kid free shopping experience.  Our goal for the afternoon was to get me fitted for a bicycle and then to test two different bikes that Dave really liked on paper for me.  Unfortunately mother nature had different plans for today.  The forecast had been calling for a wintery mix all day, but nothing had actually happened.  Well within 10 minutes of us leaving the house a snow shower began and continued for the remainder of the afternoon.  I was able to be fitted for a bike but will need to return to the store for my test rides.  Our afternoon date was not wasted though.  After the bike store we went to a local bakery that specializes in baking for those with food allergies and enjoyed yummy cupcakes.  We then ventured down to REI to check out their cycling  and running apparel.  I was able to find the shorts I had been admiring online and a hot pink cycling jersey and matching gloves on the clearance rack.  Our thoughts were to visit PF Chang's for dinner while down at REI, but their wait was 75 - 90 minutes, we didn't have that long to wait and weren't interested in waiting that long.  We decided instead to have dinner at a more local chinese restaurant, which was a great call.  We typically only order take out from Ming's instead of trying it as a sit down meal with Carly, so it was great to actually sit in the restaurant and enjoy our meal!  We returned home just before the kids' bedtime - not our original plan but there is only such much you can do on a snowy afternoon and evening in Cornelius.

Unfortunately for Dave this afternoon didn't go as he had planned, but I had a wonderful 32nd birthday with him and our children!

This was a New One

This evening I was having a difficult time putting David Jr down for bed.  He had eaten a TON at dinner - chicken and peas from our meal, in addition to his 4oz of pureed sweet potatoes and 2oz of a pureed fruit blend.  He then nursed for a very long time at bedtime.  After he began screaming loudly shortly after I put him in his crib for a second time I thought to sniff his diaper.  Thinking maybe he had soiled it after such a large dinner.  As I was getting my "sniff" he let out four or five little toots directly on my nose.  Now, I've been pooped and peed on but being tooted on my face was a whole new experience.  And one that will definitely make me think twice before doing the "sniff" test tomorrow.

Tis the Season

February 1st is registration day in Mecklenburg County for what feels like everything.  Today I registered Carly for preschool next year and for her first summer camp.  Next year Carly will be attending preschool 3 days a week at a church.  But she is more excited about her triathlon camp this August.  She will spend 5 days this summer swimming, biking, and running!  About a week ago she looked at Dave and me at the table and said she would be competing in a Half IronMan in May.  While she may not be able to compete in one this year (although, her dad promised her that if she wanted to do one when she was 18 then he would do one with her), she will be completing a kids triathlon this year with her camp!