Baby Steps!

My sweet baby boy, who is 13 1/2 months old, took his first steps on Saturday evening. I can't even begin to tell you how surprised and proud I was. He took about three steps right in front me of. Wow! A while later he took about ten steps while holding my hand. That was the sweetest thing ever. He stole my heart all over again!

Here he is in his ninja pajamas that Martina sent from Japan. Awesome!

Just prior to his first steps, he was eating pasta. I thought "He'll make a great marathoner." :)

Also, Isaac finally mastered his 'straw cup' this past week. Hooray!

Of course, he is prone to making messes with it...

So - the Chicago Marathon is now 28 weeks away. 194 days! I feel very fortunate to have registered just in the nick of time. I have also booked my free aware airline ticket (which actually cost me $5, go figure). I am contemplating using the "intermediate" training plan on the marathon website. By definition I qualify for the "advanced" training plan, but it requires more running that I think I can manage at this time (and more than I care to do, to be frank). I do have a walking child to chase after! That must count for cross training, at the very least. Ha!

I finally figured out how to keep Isaac and his pals away from the computer at our "Toddler Time" group.

Big, big news: Chasen and I have started Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace" program. Our church is offering it, so we jumped right in. It has proven to be very eye opening. It's a good thing I registered for expensive Chicago when I did... because now we are making some changes and doing some budgeting! Aye aye aye. It's a good thing, though. And there has never been a better time to get into tip-top financial shape, at least according to our little growing weed!

It's Official

Deep breath... I have officially signed up for the Chicago Marathon! 45,000 of my closest friends will join me for this 26.2 mile journey through the Windy City. Let's do this thing!

Next up I have to book my airline ticket. And develop a training plan. And figure out how to exactly execute the training plan while chasing after Isaac. Aye aye aye!

Oops! I Did It Again!

So, I got back on the wagon and was a stroller pushing fool! All systems were go! Life was good! So good, in fact, that I decided to try my "strength training only" P90X workouts. Dang if I didn't tweak my knee AGAIN! But this time I know exactly what was the cause: lunges. That's too bad, because I really like them. Oh well - running comes first. No more "legs and back" DVD!

I decided it would be best if I took a whole week off from everything. Must be perfect to begin marathon training! Mind you, we never have a dull moment around here (except when we have bad weather and Isaac and I are cooped up for days on end), so here is my week in photos:

Isaac got put in a pink shirt at church when he had an accident. Apparently, his "emergency onesie" was not found in his bag. HA!

We went to the Wolfchase Galleria Play Area with friends. Isaac's friend Monroe is to the left of him.

Isaac got awesome new shoes. Here he sports them with his overalls that I love at our "Toddler Time" playgroup.

We went to the Memphis Botanic Garden with friends. Isaac looks like he needs some zen.

Gwen and Isaac - the definition of cute.

Isaac took a spill. After some "Mommy love" he was A-OK, but he did have some scrapes. He's fine now.

Isaac received pajamas from Japan! My dear friend Martina sent them.

PJ close-up. My guy has a pretty good life.

Isaac's new swing was a big, big hit.

Windblown me and a very, very happy boy.

Isaac has two more teeth coming in, so we've had some less-than-optimal sleeping around here at times. Woe is me! Other than that, he continues to expand his repertoire of table food and continues to stand on his own and ponder walking. Any day now!

There are now 29 weeks until the Chicago Marathon. I better get in gear! I'm glad to have you along for the ride.

Baby Blues

I have some good news to report! I am back in motion and the knee is good. So far, so good.

On Saturday I went for a non-Garmin 2-mile walk. It was gorgeous outside and I felt great. That took all of 37 minutes. On Sunday, because Chasen was under the weather (don't even ask... but he lost 8 pounds in one day...) Isaac and I went out together in his stroller for the first time since probably November. That time I walked the first mile and then ran/walked the second mile at 1:1. Again, no pain! Today we did an exact repeat of that. Hooray! I know the distances are short, but I am thrilled to be pain free.

So last week my friend E and I went to check out a group called MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). They meet at a church and provide childcare -- for two hours and fifteen minutes! I don't recall the last time I had 2:15 without Isaac. It was lovely. I had a teeny bit of apprehension of leaving him in their nursery, but only because it was his first time there. He is a champ at our home nursery, so I figured he'd be fine. Look what they did to him:

The "little old ladies" put his name on his back with tape. HA!

I must say, he looks so much like me here. And he's hiding his remote beneath the oven.

Here is Isaac at our very first date together. He was an angel. I'd go for a second date!

"Hey Mr. Mexican restaurant manager, why are you taking my picture?"

After our lovely date, just as we were about to leave, he proceeded to throw up all over the place. Oh the joy of motherhood!

My child is addicted to me, I tell you. We are joined at the hip these days. He wouldn't even let Chasen rock him back to sleep tonight when he woke up screaming (darn teeth!) As soon as Chasen left the room and I took over, he calmed right down. As Chasen says "Mommy is the best, and Daddy is just the rest." Ha! So true...

I would love to somehow get a little break, but I don't know how. I get little mini-breaks every now and again (like the church nursery or "girls night out") but that's about it. The good news is that I have about 26 more weeks until Mother's Day Out starts and I will get 10 solid hours per week to myself. Whoo hoo!

Back To The Drawing Board

After all of my big talk about getting back on track with running and P90X, I did try. However, I came to my senses. Leading that "double life" was just too much. It was obviously taxing on my knee, as for the physical. As for the family life, it was just consuming us. We spent every minute of every evening (except Friday) working out, so Isaac got only one parent at a time (which I am sure he didn't mind). The past three weeks straight have been crazy busy, and now I see clearly the reason: to make us slow down.

"Seriously, Mommy and Daddy, chill out."

I spent last Sunday (9 days ago) pondering what to do about marathon training, factoring in the knee pain and the not-wanting-to-abandon P90X. What to do? I mean, I can't do it ALL and do it ALL well, that's for sure (motherhood lesson #1!!!) So first I came up with Plan B: find a marathon about a month or so after St. Louis to give me more time. Chasen was on board with this plan. We looked... and looked... and looked... and we just couldn't find a drivable location that wasn't in the dead heat of summer. What to do? Plan C: Obviously, defer until later. What?!? Not run a spring marathon? Yep, you got it. Just keep on training and cross training for... wait for it... Plan C! Chasen suggested the Chicago Marathon. Now, Chicago has always been on my "one day" list, but I gasped at the thought of us three making that drive again. He thought about it and agreed. So next came Plan D, the winner: I will go it alone! Yep, Mommy is gonna get some time away! Oh the wheels started spinning. I have a free airline ticket to redeem... I have a girlfriend who can host me... what could be better? With 45,000 racers, Chasen and Isaac would have a heck of a time spotting me on the course anyway. This sounds perfect! It is 32 weeks from now.

Back to reality. I have not done any running in 2 weeks. Zero. Nor P90X. My knee is perfect. I guess rest was definitely in order. During this time frame I have made several decisions, and not just to trade St. Louis for Chicago. First of all, I have decided to modify the P90X plan to better suit me. It calls for 3 strength workouts per week PLUS 2 cardio workouts and yoga. While I know the cardio workouts are the most fun part, let's face it - I run. Thus, I have made the executive decision to cut out those cardio days. And yoga is going to be scheduled, yet optional, due to our schedules. So I have gone from 6 days of P90X to 3 or 4. That is going to help tremendously, I think. I'll lose the "doom and gloom" attitude of "It's 10 PM, I just got done working out, and I have to be up first thing tomorrow to run." That gets old!

Second, both Chasen and I have decided to stop the P90X eating plan. It is both impossible and extremely expensive. There is just soooo much on it! I have yet to eat all of the daily food. I never thought I'd be complaining about having to eat so much, but I am. This, in particular, was a point of contention for me from the beginning. You see, I lost all of my baby weight following The Diet Solution, so I was very hesitant to change, as I loved that plan. But I did. So now I feel like I am going back home!

All that's left to do is figure out Chasen's P90X schedule and my running schedule. I am very excited about Daylight Savings Time in less than two weeks. Looks like I am going to switch back to evening running, just like last summer. Bring on the heat!

Now for the important stuff: Isaac! I am so proud of my big boy. The day of his 1-year checkup he began drinking whole milk - out of a sippy cup - like a champion! I am so proud! (Did I say that already?) And he has begun eating table food quite well. We actually call him our little garbage disposal. Also, he has started standing up on his own from a squat. Next stop: walking! Today I registered him for Mother's Day Out starting in September. He'll go there (a church across from our neighborhood) on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9 AM - 2 PM. During those hours I hope to work, run, relax, you name it. I am looking forward to that! He'll be 18 months old by then.

There ya have it!