30..

30 is here today! I have never felt better going into a new year. I am a runner and have an awesome daughter to share it with. I hope all of your holidays were fantastic. We were really busy over the last week that's why there were no posts. From engagement parties to holiday celebrations and visits with friends. We will be headed back to Vermont tomorrow and I have a 9.5 mile run planned for Saturday morning with some friends, then skiing Sunday (hopefully my legs don't protest this plan until Monday!!!)

For the new year I set up runkeeper on my phone to keep track of all my miles. My new run buddy motivated me to try and sign up for a race every month to keep myself going and not slack off. So I think that's what I'll do, I haven't found too many races I want to do yet. After the PHM I am going to do a 10K and try to work on my speed. I am reading Train Like a Mother right now, it has a lot of motivational stories/anecdotes and training plans.

Here's the current race plan, all my info was found here: Run VT

February - Run to Chocolate 2/16 - 2 miles
                 PHM 2/24 - 13.1 miles!!!

March -

April -

May - JMMY Run 5/11 - 10K

That's all for now.. going to enjoy my cute little munchkin, read a book then head to my parent's later for some mexican food!!

Run Buddy!

This weekend I did my first run with someone else (besides pushing a stroller or at a race). I met my run buddy on the Princess Half page and she lives right down the street from me. We met up Saturday morning and knocked out 8 miles in the 18° weather! It was really nice having someone to chat with to make the miles fly by. Here's our run details, we stuck to a nice 12min/mile pace which is perfect for me! I am so impressed with how far I've come since August. I never thought I would be able to, or even want to run 8 miles!

Below is the workout I did today, just a variation on last week's. It went fast, but my legs were still a bit sore from Saturday's run.
 

And of course, I can't finish a post without a picture of my wonderful cheerleader hamming it up for the camera! She had a wonderful weekend hanging around the house. She finally realized there are other rooms in our house so we are spending a lot of time following her around! I made her some Roasted Pear & Banana Puree last Friday and she's been enjoying it along with yogurt and avocado. M is really into using the spoon herself so normally I just put a bit on the spoon and all hell breaks loose. Food everywhere.. cheeks, ears, hair, on me. Oh well, at least she figured out that she likes food. And to be fair, she does get quite a bit in her mouth.

A new treadmill workout

Here's my workout from today, I finally got my butt back on the treadmill and it wasn't too bad. I think having to change up my pace every 30 seconds throughout the run helped. Even though I was clock watching, it wasn't clock watching know that I have to run to x miles or x minutes. I'll definitely be doing this workout again really soon! What also helped my workout step it up was the fact that I found the speaker jack. Listening to Alternative Endurance radio on Pandora was amazing!




Start at whatever speed is more comfortable for you, and get to where you can!



The workout & my workout cheerleader! (I'm assuming all the blabbering was cheering for me!)

Someone had her first yogurt today. She ate it right off the spoon
which I was kind of surprised about. But yay! We're getting places :)

Been awhile..

Since my last post I have:

Run 8 miles (not in a row, that happens this weekend!!)

Traveled to CT and back

Saw a DMB concert

Coveted these lovelies Chanukah? Birthday?

Celebrated M's first Chanukah (her carseat now smells like latkes)

Visited two sets of M's grandparents

Bought plane tickets for the Princess Half

Pledged to run 1000 miles next year (am I nuts????)

Ran into friends from college I haven't seen in years

and I think that's all of any importance!

Yankee Swap

This past weekend was our annual Yankee Swap get together with our friends in VT. It was mostly booze filled, but there were some awesome other gifts I kinda coveted.. like these: Redneck Wine Glass. I ended up with a bunch of brews and a nice bottle of hard cider, my fave!

I ran 7 miles this weekend! I was planning on doing 3 miles one day and 4 the next. My plan called for 7, but I've been slacking a bit. I went out on Sunday, turned on some podcasts and went for it. I really enjoyed running to podcasts, kept me way more engaged (and my mind off the fact that I was still running) and I wasn't thinking about the fact that I had only run for two 4 minute songs. I don't know why I didn't figure this out sooner.

Here's part of my stats - See those 12:09 and 12:15 miles? That's where the wind was blowing so hard I almost got knocked off my feet a few times. At other points I also felt like I wasn't moving due to the wind gusts. Crazy! I'm so proud of myself for making it through the whole 7.

Here's a pic of the muffin, she's all about standing and pulling up on anything in her way. She crawls over to me now and goes right up my knee to standing.

We also tried a new sleep technique for the munchkin this weekend, she's been a little spoiled whether it be napping with us or joining us in bed in the wee hours of the morning. While it is great, and I love snuggling with her, something had to be done. She is back to her swing during naps for the time being. We moved it up to her room, turn on the white noise machine and sit there with her until she falls asleep. For night time we are not picking her up when she cries, we go in and rub her belly or back until she calms down then we leave. She comes into our room for her morning eats - anytime between 5 - 7 and then gets to stay in bed with us. Hopefully this will get some better sleeping habits out of her and we will be able to get things done during naptime! Then once she's better about napping on her own, every once in awhile I wouldn't mind cuddling up.

Scarves

Here's a pic of M enjoying the scarves from Crazy Tuesday

8 months

M is 8 months as of last Wednesday, we had a crazy hectic weekend in CT so I haven't updated. She is really on the move now, crawling all over, pulling herself up on things (both to her knees and to standing!) and almost climbing up a step. Too much too fast, my goodness. Besides crawling, M has become a lot more playful this month, she is giggly and happy. Still loves jumping and playing with Bella and any other pet she can get her hands on. M still loves snuggling during naps and in the mornings. Her favorite toys are the pieces of her foam mat, stacking cups and anything that does not belong to her! She is still nursing 6/7 times a day and going strong. Cloth diapering is going well as long as everything is washed and ready to go! She still has no teeth to speak of, and is wearing mostly 6 month clothes. I measured her last week and she was 27.5", maybe I'll get her on the scale tomorrow!

As of her 8 month birthday she wasn't feeling food too much (just attempting apples, sweet potatoes, bananas and avocados). We are still doing baby led weaning so she's eating with her hands, a mesh feeder and a spoon. On Thanksgiving I put sweet potatoes on her spoon and she got some in her mouth. She had honeydew and watermelon in her feeder, and I gave her string beans and turkey. I'm pretty sure she didn't eat any turkey, but she played around. I'm glad she finally got the hang of some of the food.

We have music class tomorrow which I'm sure will be a blast since it's been 2 weeks. M is crawling all over the place now so I'm sure a few of the other kiddos are as well!



M and her cousins on Thanksgiving





Enjoying her Thanksgiving dress





Some goodies from the Target sale rack
 for our trip to Disney!

  

Henna for an awesome wedding

The happy couple



Meeting her BFF!



All dressed up for her naming



As for my running, I only ran once this past week/weekend. It was a nice Thanksgiving morning run.. I did a 5K and totally forgot how hilly the neighborhood I grew up in was! Back at it Wednesday!

6 miles!!

I ran/walked 6 miles yesterday. It was a beautiful Vermont morning running by the lake and once I got going it wasn't even too chilly. I think I'm going to download some podcasts to run to. Maybe that will get me to not think about what I'm doing and I'll be absorbed in listening. Then BAM, I'll have run a million miles. Wishful thinking, I know!!

Besides my run, this weekend was filled with more work, and a much needed haircut. Hopefully this was our last weekend of working because I need to sleep!!! I'm excited for Thanksgiving weekend and all the wonderful people we will be seeing over it. I don't think I'll get much rest because we will be so busy, but I'll try my hardest. Good thing we'll have grandparents down the hall to take M when she wakes up bright and early raring to go in the AM!!

Speaking of M, she's been crawling up a storm lately. Loving being able to check things out. She crawled around the corner today while I was in the bathroom getting ready and just peeked at me. It was pretty cute. She's also been babbling a ton. She is really good at "Yayayayaya". It's funny watching her mouth make the sounds. She gets so wrapped up in it sometimes she can't stop! Ah I love her! I can't believe she'll be 8 months old on Wednesday. Time really does fly.




Boycotting a nap



3 hours later in a milk coma





Treadmilling

Today was a workout at the chiro's office. Thankfully I was able to get a run in, I really need to be more regimented about getting my weekday runs in. Maybe if I do that, the weekend ones will go a little smoother. I did 27 mins on the treadmill, I had to stop around 19 mins because M was fussy, I comforted her and played with her for a second then got back on.

All in all, I did a 5 minute warmup, then run 60 secs at 6mph, 30 secs at 4mph, 60 secs at 7mph and 30 secs at 4mph. It went pretty well, just trying to get my speed up a bit!! We'll be headed back on Friday for an appointment and more treadmill time. Then a 6 mile run this weekend!! Hopefully it won't be too chilly.

Can you spy a smiley babe in the pic below?

Crazy Tuesday

M didn't sleep so well last night, we had one wakeup which came at a rough time for me: 3:48AM. Not so amazing when I get home from work at 1:15AM. But we survived, with a cup of my favorite Starbucks holiday drink.. the skinny peppermint mocha. YUM! Before we left the house, M practiced for music class by banging on the laundry basket while I got ready.

Our first stop this morning was at the June's house, I won a $30 credit to her etsy shop from a local mom's blog so we stopped on by to get some stuff. I got a onesie for M and a cute clutch for me. All of her items are really cute and colorful!!

Next stop was Starbucks for the caffeine & then to music class. All the kiddos had a blast this week, playing with scarves, crawling around, checking out the guitar! It's really fun going to class and having some adult time during the week while M plays. We hung around for awhile after class just chatting with the other moms/dads and let the kids play. A nice way to spend a chilly VT day!

After all of that fun we headed home, M naps in the car since it's a 35 minute ride, and usually I bring her carseat inside and she keeps sleeping.. well she had other plans today. As soon as I put it down she was awake! So it was lunchtime and more playtime.

Tomorrow we are going to the chiropractor so I can get a run in..

Shortest Weekend

What a hectic weekend, I had to work on Saturday which was NO fun at all. The best part of my day was being greeted with a HUGE grin from M when I got home.. and then taking a nap! On Sunday I did my 3 mile run, it wasn't the best run, hopefully I will do better this coming weekend since I have 6 on my plate. We had brunch with a bunch of friends and babies.. and grocery shopped. Pretty uneventful as far as weekends go, and I fear this one will be the same since I will be working on Saturday again. We had to start putting a clip in M's hair to get the bangs out of her face! Her hair is so long in the front. And a big M milestone this weekend, she pushed herself up to standing! Crazy!

 

 

December 5K

Alright, I guess I'm really enjoying racing and it keeps me motivated for my training.. I found myself a December 5K to run in Burlington. It looks amazing. Here's the link Santa 5K, everyone gets a Santa suit and you have to run in it. I'm so in!

Say cheese!

Here's a pic from the Autumn 5K a few weeks ago, this was taken in front of the State House in Montpelier! Ignore the chins..

M and I didn't do too much today, we did visit her future day care so that was exciting! Just enjoyed the chilly day in VT!

Treadmill

Today was my first time ever running on a treadmill, I was successful and didn't fall off the back. I did a random workout, just playing with the speeds/inclines and worked on keeping my balance. I found a bunch of treadmill workouts on Pinterest so I think I am going to start doing those now that I got the hang of it. While I ran, M played in her little play area. It was awesome to have her right there so I could talk to her and she could babble to me. All of the girls at the chiro's office love seeing her so that's always fun.

I didn't get too much sleep last night due to a late night at work and an early wakeup with the doggers barking, but I'm glad I was able to get my workout in.. I even felt better after it.

Greenkulele

Sorry for the slow blogging lately, it's been hectic at work, only for more crazy to come.

But on a fun note, M and I went to music class today. She was a rockstar, crawling all around and looking at everything. She crawled right up to the teacher and watched him play his guitar today, it was pretty adorable. It's really interesting to see the kiddos grow week to week. All the kids are around her age, there is a boy who just turned 7 months a few days ago, and he was doing what she was at the class two weeks ago (chewing on a scarf). This week M was right in the middle playing with them and grabbing for other ones. It's crazy how much they have all grown since the first week.

Here's a pic of M playing with Greenkulele

Tomorrow we are going to the chiropractor so I can run on the treadmill there for my training run. It's way too cold for me to run with M in the stroller now. So we will go to the gym there, the chiropractor is awesome and got one of those baby fence things so I just need to bring a ton of toys to keep M happy while I run. Win for us because she will be warm and happy!

5

5 = the number of miles I ran yesterday!! That's my furthest ever and I made it without walking. I'm a little sore today but I'll take it.

This weekend was a wonderful chill weekend. We ran errands on Saturday, grocery shopped, I cooked a wonderful dinner of turkey cutlets, roasted sweet potatoes and acorn squash!! I also made chocolate mousse and homemade whipped cream!!! So fancy.

Sunday I ran in the am then hung around all day with the munchkin. I love spending al day with my Fam!!

Sent from my iPhone

Onion River 5K

What a busy weekend we had! Saturday was full of bagels, a photo shoot, a walk around Burlington and dinner at American Flatbread. YUM!!!! M enjoyed her rings while we chowed down :)

 

Sunday morning came early and we headed down to Montpelier for the Autumn 5K. We signed up when we got there as most people were, and it was pretty small, not too many people running. It was a really great race, according to mapmyrun it was a bit more than a 5K, and I ran it with a stroller so it was a wonderful workout training for my Princess Half! There were a lot of kiddos there running it with their parents, even a dad lion who carried his daughter lion on his back, all in all a very fun laid back race. Part of the course was out and back and everyone was cheering for each other which made it really fun. We got to run across the steps of the state house.. and every time I am in Montpelier, I remind myself how much I like it, and that we should go there a little more often. I think this race will definitely be on my list next year as a nice fun run!

 

 

 

M even won herself an award!!

 

 

 

The rest of Sunday was spent running some errands, cooking and carving pumpkins! M's pumpkin is a nod to Young House Love and I think it turned out really cute!

 

 

 

Hope everyone makes it through this crazy hurricane alright!!

 

 

Friday!

Today was a pretty low key day in the house, just hanging out, watching the munchkin crawl and the doggers napped.

 

 

On a fabulous note, we found daycare for the babe. It seems to be a fantastic place, lots of learning and all things we are looking for. We are going to see the place next week but I have a good feeling about it.

 

Hope you all have a good weekend. Ours is gonna be busy!

Princess Half Training..

Is going.. not as spectacularly as I want it to, but it's happening. I'm doing the Beginner Training from the RunDisney site. It's getting harder for me to run with the stroller (I only do weekdays with it, not the long runs) and I feel like I'm just getting slower. I found a few leg strengthening exercies to hopefully get my legs ready to power through 13.1 so I'll start those in the AM, and I mapped some new running routes from my house. Backcountry scenic VT runs at their finest :)

 

The babe loves going running, she just chills in the stroller and enjoys the scenery! And usually falls asleep.

 

 This has been the view for M's 12 o'clock-ish nap the past few days.. they have been pretty long and I'm enjoying all the cuddles while I can..

 

 

I'm really excited for the upcoming weekend, the SIL and BIL are visiting, we have pumpkins to carve, Halloween parties to go to, and a 5K to run!

Music Day

Every Tuesday is M's music class, it's about 7-10 kiddos (depending on the day) all around her age or a little older. It's on a farm which is awesome and Vermont-y, we play with instruments & toys, sing original songs written by the teacher and just have fun. It's great to watch the kiddos at all different stages in development explore what is going on during the class. Here's M playing with the sleigh bells.

 

 

What's even greater is that M passes out after our 45 minute class. I feed her before we get in the car and head home.. and she's out for awhile. All that interaction really tuckers the kiddo out!!

 

Today I found out that M is fancy like her mother.. she drinks from her sippy with her pinky out!

 

 

 

7 months

Well it's been a busy month, M is now 7 months old. I can't believe it. She's on the verge of really crawling, I got a 4 "crawls" if you will out of her the other day, but nothing that spectacular since. She's definitely moving though. She loves her sippy cup, and apples.. they are the first food she really picked up on her own and put in her mouth. She's not a fan of being spoonfed.. so I guess she's on her own for this one ;) She also hates getting her diaper changed except for first thing in the morning. M loves looking at dogs, she spends all her time when she's with her babysitter on Thursdays laughing at the dog, and much to our disappointment, not napping! And is a big lover of bouncing, doesn't even need to be in a bouncy seat, just wants to jump!! M is still such a cuddlebug, she loves napping on us and being held, which I love!! We are also doing a music class, it's so hippy it's ridiculous. At a farm in the bakery.. a bunch of babies playing around.. it's really fun and good to get M interacting with other kiddos!

 

This month also brought some fun things for mommy! I ran my first 5K, and I didn't do too badly. My goal was to finish without stopping to walk.. I met my goal, and I was WAY faster than I thought I was going to be. I also signed up for the Princess Half at Disney!! I'm psyched and nervous and a million different other feelings.. it should be good. A test for me! I also got a first shift job sometime in the near future.. which means looking for daycare for M. I'll be sad to leave her, but happy to have family time together, dinners together.. and once she's big enough and in school, go to her sports and dance classes in the evenings and help her with her homework!

 

I'll leave you with some pics..