21 months

My little munchkin, this past month I realized you really aren't a baby anymore. You still crawl every once in awhile and it's only when we have run so many circles around the house that you're exhausted. You are so polite, saying please and thank you for everything. I love it! And you love to help around the house..unloading the dishwasher, moving clothes from the washer to the dryer and helping with sock matching, picking up "goobage", cleaning the floors with the swiffer, making sure the table is clean after you eat and best of all, you are able to help mommy bake. You like putting everything in the mixer and sneaking a few chocolate chips if we are baking with them. You have your own little kitchen now and you have started making meals for your stuffed animals. You can go down the stairs on your belly, and you've become quite the little daredevil.. Standing on your stool and jumping onto the couch!

 

You are still a great eater, brocci is a favorite, along with the beans, cheese and yogurt. Weekend specialties of bagels and pancakes are always a treat.

Sleeping is fantastic -7:30-7 and then a 2 hour afternoon nap.

You love playing outside, and I'm really glad for that. You watch a few elmo videos on YouTube and animal shows on tv, but you would rather read books, play with your toys or go outside. The other day when we had 2 inches of ice on the ground you were so upset I wouldn't let you come outside with me and Bella. You got your snow pants and boots already but unfortunately it was too dangerous. Hopefully we will get some more snow so we can play outside & sled!

 

Weight 23 lbs

Height 32 inches

Teeth 16

Potty training - not yet, starting to show more interest in using the potty.. Even sat on it without your diaper last weekend

Clothes 18 months

Favorite toys - books, kitchen stuff

 

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Super belated 18 months

18 months - SUPER BELATED

Height:

Weight: 21lbs

Teeth: 12 (front four top and bottom, and first 4 molars)

Words: all done, ant, cado (avocado), baby, ball, manama (banana), bath, bean, bee, be (bella), bike, blanky, book, boot, bowl, buh (bunny), bus, butt (button), bye bye, car, cat, cacker (cracker), cake (pancake), chair, cheese, chip, come, corn, cow, dada, daddy, dark, diap (diaper), dog, done, down, duck, ear, eat, egg, ahmo (elmo), empty, eye, flip, flower, gamma (grandma), garage, hat, jacket, jamma (pajamas), jeans, jump, yight (lifght), mama, meat, mel (melon), kayla (michaela), milk, mommy, mahster (monster), more, ma (mouth), night night, nuh (nose), side (outside), towel (owl), pants, passa (pasta), pe (pen), pee pee, phone, pizza, plate, please, poop, pop, pretty, punkin (pumpkin), puppy, shool (school), sheep, shoe, sit, sleep, snack, sock, soup, poon (spoon), spot, tent, tank you (thank you), tickle, toe, try (toy), truck, tub, two, up, walk, wa (water), indow (window), itch (witch), yogut (yogurt), zzzziiii (zip)

Phrases - Eat cheese (more of a demand at the time of occurrence), I'm done, Sit Down, Keen up (clean up), Ov you (love you)

Poot - combination of poop and toot

Signs: Eat, More, Done

Sounds: Woof, ooh ooh (monkey), meowwwww, hoo hoo (towel/owl), moo

Sleep: 2 hour nap and 11-12 hours overnight

Eats: Pretty much anything! But bagels & pancakes are weekend specialties

Toys: Books & Blocks

You are the best little munchkin, you love life and everything makes you so happy. It's such a joy to see how happy things make you, especially when you can do something yourself. You think you are so strong and try to carry things to help around the house.

You love waiting outside for daddy to come home from work and squeal with delight when he comes into the driveway.

I love when you call out for me when you need a hug. On one particularly difficult night you came into bed with us to snuggle and hopefully fall back asleep. But before you could settle down you had to do this:

M: Bun?

Mommy: Bunny is here.

M: Mahster?

Mommy: Monster is here.

M: Blankey?

Mommy: Blankey is here.

M: Bella?

M: Bella?

Mommy: Bella is sleeping.

M: Daddy?

Mommy: Daddy is sleeping.

And you fell right asleep after your 3am roll call. It was a pretty funny 3am moment.

 

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15 months

This is a bit early for a 15 month update, but I figured I would start typing now since I've skipped a couple of months!

Since you turned one you have become quite the little person, you have such a kind, sweet personality. You find joy in the littlest things (unplugging things, taking things out of the recycling and giving Bella her treats). You are quite the little helper also, every day you get my ice pack for me to bring to work and you hand me diapers when I go to stuff them. You love to give mama, dada and Bella kisses and hugs.

You are a little shy with people at first, but it only takes a few seconds to warm up to people and start giving a little smile and a wave. You were such a joy to watch during music class, you know a few of the songs and the movements to go along with them. This month you also started half days at daycare. We found a place that we love and you are very comfortable at. You learned your daycare provider's name very quickly and get excited when I tell you that's where we are going.

Watching you play with your toys is getting really fun now, you have a purpose to what you are doing when you play. You also really love your books, you bring books over to me and dada all the time to read to you, but you will also sit by yourself and flip through the pages telling yourself a great story!

 

You love going through our wallets and taking all the goodies out, walking around with purses and bags on your arm, your shoes and necklace. In the last month you have really started playing with your stuffed animals and dolls. You walk around snuggling them and giving them hugs and kisses.

 

Words: Done, More, Up, Dog, Shoe, Sock, Mama, Dada, Down, Chee (cheese) and I'm sure there are a few more I can't think of right now.

Signs: Eat, More, Done

Sounds: Woof, ooh ooh (monkey)

Sleep: 2 hour morning nap, 45-60 min late afternoon nap, 10 hours overnight.

Eats: Anything, right now smoothies are a big hit and you are getting a little pickier.

Toys: Blocks, Farm house, Stuffed animals and dolls, Books

 

 

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Mile PR

Look at this gem..

The dog pulled me through mile one, and mile two was all on my own. I'm so proud especially since my training has been less than stellar lately. Sub 30 5K here I come!

 

 

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Cheesy Mexican Quinoa Bites

The munchkin gobbled these up today & this recipe is pretty adaptable to whatever you have on hand. Original recipe can be found here http://feedly.com/k/YtRwBE

 

1/2 cup of dry quinoa (cooked = 2 cups)

1 can of black beans

1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar)

Handful of frozen kale

2 eggs

Cumin, garlic powder, onion powder and whatever other seasoning you want. Note - I did not add salt because I was giving it to the little one

 

Cook your quinoa as directed, once cooked and cooled preheat your oven to 350F. Add the remainder of the ingredients and mix well. Grease 2 mini muffin tins and add the mixture. Bake for 12-15 minutes (until they do not break apart easily)

 

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Back in the Stroller Again

Today was our first run of many outdoors in the stroller! It was so nice to be out there again. I put M in her snowsuit (it's fleece) and she pointed and jabbered at everything along the way. We covered 3.6 miles in about 45 minutes (minus a minute here or there to cover her hands/take off my jacket because I was overheating and a pee break). I'm going to have to work on my abs, because running with a stroller is so much different than running without. I haven't run with M since October so it will be a great way to spend our time together during the week. I think the max I'll be able to do with a stroller is 5 miles just because it's so hard to push it.. but I'll be so much speedier when I run without it!

After our run I made a smoothie and some cinnamon toast and M napped for an hour and a half, I guess all that running wore her out! I showered and curled up in bed with her & the doggers and joined the nap party. It was fantastic.

We also had our last day of music class yesterday for this session yesterday. The kids had a blast and I can't wait to see how much more interactive they are with each other and Mr. Chris in a few weeks! M was pointing at everything, clapping and really just soaking it all in!

Mile PR

Saturday morning I took off for a nice 3 mile run before we started our day. Luckily right outside my house I have a dirt road that makes a nice 1 mile loop. I did 3 loops of the road and on my third mile I got a mile PR! This was just a normal run, no speedwork or anything..

Thanks to the Garmin Forerunner 10 I know things like this! My 10:37 mile might not be speedy for some of you.. but I'm taking it!

The rest of this weekend was spent with some friends visiting from CT :)

Unexpected run

Lucky for me and not so lucky for the hubs he was home sick today. I took advantage of 30 minutes of his time and got outside for a run. The sun was shining and I really wasn't looking forward to a treadmill workout.. everything just happened to fall into place. I did a little speedwork with the Garmin since I wasn't running on a track.

0.5 miles warmup 11 min/mile pace

0.15 miles faster pace (varied between 9&10:30 min/mile)
0.15 mile recovery at 11 min/mile pace

Then repeated those two intervals as best as I could until I got to 2.5 miles, I'm sure I slowed down a lot for my "faster" pace as my run progressed, but I got out there and did it so that's all that matters. I think now that it is warmer I am going to get M back into the stroller all bundled up. A half hour of fresh air will be good for her, and good for mommy to not be bored on the treadmill!

I am going to tentatively plan to run 2-3 weekdays (I say tentatively because it's weather pending if I am going with M in her stroller) and 1 weekend day so I can get speedy for me! I am sure pushing the stroller will help me be a lot faster when I am not pushing it.

And a reminder for myself.. don't wear too many clothes when it's 37° out. I was way too hot!

Princess Half Recap

Since it's been over a week I think I owe you guys a recap of my first ever (and definitely not last) half marathon!

Saturday morning we attended the race expo, getting our bibs was no problem. There were no lines for that by the time we got in. After getting our bibs we headed over to get our race swag and to get in line for the RunDisney goodies. We walked in and the guy manning the "I Did It" t-shirt booth gave someone the last one. I was a little sad about that but luckily I had my sixth sense in overdrive and I overheard a woman talking to her daughter about whether or not she wanted the shirt. I casually stood near her and she offered me the shirt, I was psyched! That was on my must buy list for the expo! After checking out all the other goodies in there we looked around the expo (which was pretty crowded, I can't even imagine what it was like Friday) and I met the ladies from Another Mother Runner and they were so sweet. Loving on M like everyone was ALL week.

Once we were done with the expo we took the bus back to Downtown Disney and met up with the boys to do some prerace grocery shopping and dinner prep!

Sunday morning came awfully fast, I guess 2:30 am usually does. Couple that with a little case of race nerves and being overtired from our Friday evening/Saturday morning travel fiasco I can definitely say I wasn't rested. But once I got up and moving and got some food in my belly I felt a bit better. I was still nervous for the heat and humidity since training in a northern Vermont winter was 80° cooler than the Florida temps. We made it to the parking lot at Epcot around 4am and it was pretty smooth sailing for bag dropoff and porta potty usage.

Then we began the pretty long walk to the corrals where we sat and waited for quite awhile. I sipped on water and had a banana while we were waiting since I ate at 3:30 am and knew I wouldn't make it on the bagel thin with nutella alone. We sat around and waited, chatted it up with some people near us.. and soon enough it was time to start! You would think being all the way back in corral G would make it seem like I was waiting forever, but once everything started it wasn't too bad.



 Once the race was underway it was hot and HUMID within a mile. We were drenched. We had a tough time running around people who were walking on the left side of the road and stopping/starting without giving anyone a warning. Once we were in the Magic Kingdom I found my sister in law (and the reason I was running this race). She was in corral F so I never imagined I would find her, especially with 24,000 people running the race. We ran together the whole second half which was awesome. During the race I had my shot blocks every 3 miles or so and pretty much picked up water or powerade at each stop. It was necessary. Around mile 8 my feet started to get really sore, I am just not used to being so sweaty when I run since the weather is a bit different here in Vermont. I was definitely expecting blisters when I finished but I lucked out in that department. And everyone lied about the hills, the mile 11 & mile 12 ones are way worse than mile 10. But finishing the last hill at mile 12 and getting into EPCOT was amazing, all of the people cheering and the choir when you pass the last bend was just what I needed to push myself through the last mile of the race. I finished in 2:52:44, and I am not disappointed. It was my first half and I did what I set out to do. I ran the whole thing and FINISHED!

 As much as it is awesome that I finished, I have a few things for next time (because I'm pretty sure there will be a next time).

I will make sure to have a 10K time to submit to RunDisney for a better corral placement. If people want to walk or walk/run a race that is okay by me, it was just hard to keep dodging people/jumping on and off of sidewalks and curbs. I would rather be out of the way and hopefully miss as much of that as possible.

We didn't stop for any character pictures and I think I would have if I were in a better corral to start earlier.

For my next race I am definitely going to get some speedwork in, because I know there won't always be a choir around the corner getting me to the finish.

RunDisney, you haven't seen the last of me!

11 months

Here's some stats:

Height: 25 inches

Weight: 20.5? pounds (that's just what I saw when you crawled on the scale while we were in the bathroom one day)

Eating: nursing, avocado, puffs, yogurt, bananas, pears, shredded chicken, carrots, cheese, bread, hummus, pasta, peas, spicy foods (inside of my homemade southwestern eggrolls - black beans, chilis, corn, spinach, cheese and spices) and anything you can get your hands on!

Favorite toys: LINKS! The edges of the interlocking playmat, kitchen items (spatulas/tupperware), books, motorcycle, purse

Words: Mama (more of a chatter but I think we're counting it), Ella and Dada

Teeth: None

Sleeping: 9-6, nurse, then back to bed until between 7 and 9.
This month was another big one, you found the stairs on your own and climbed all the way up them (with mama right behind you of course). After you found the stairs you didn't forget about them, you kept sneaking down the hallway.. not an easy feat since when you crawl your hands slap the laminate flooring. We also played outside in the snow, the first time you didn't like it so much because we didn't have a sled for you yet and I just plopped you on the ground! The second time you hung out in the sled with your mouth open and tongue out trying to catch all the flakes. This month also brought the purchase of your first real pair of shoes and a lot of standing on your own. We have gotten a half step out of you and that's all. I'm sure you'll be walking before your first birthday which is coming up way too soon! In music class this past week instead of gnawing on the drumsticks when Mr. Chris took them out you put one in each hand and banged them on the ground. It was really cool to watch you do that! I can't believe that the next monthly update I will write for you is the big 1 year! How has it already been almost a year? It's insane and I still trying to put it together in my mind that I'm planning your first birthday party. You are such an amazing baby and I love watching you grow and explore every day. You are such fun to be around and I couldn't imagine my life without you!  

Round here..

Round here we..

Crawl onto the dog's bed and lay down for the quickest power nap ever (a split second),

 Go for treadmill runs with skirts on to get used to them for Florida temps,

 Cheer mommy on when she's running,

Clap with our feet,

 Play in the snow,

Run 13.3 miles on snowy roads with a windchill of -10,

Eat delicious cookies in anticpation of our trip,

Play with all the other babies at the mountain,

  

Take our clothes out of the laundry basket, 

Climb up the stairs

We're busy people!