Naps and Baptism

This post will be about God/baptism, so if that offends you, stop reading and come back for tomorrow's post.  :)


Avery was baptized today.  My stepmom and my in-laws came into town for the occasion.

From left to right, FIL, Mark, Avery, Me, MIL, stepmom

Avery fell asleep at the beginning of the sermon, which normally is nice.  Today, I was a little nervous as to how she would act when she woke up. When we went up to the front for her baptism, she was still passed out on my shoulder....and stayed that way even when I held her over the baptismal font...up until the Pastor splashed the water on her head.  

Sound asleep, comfortable that Mommy would never dump cold water on her...

Surprisingly, though, she didn't cry at all.  Her facial expression was priceless and both the pastor and I were chuckling for the next two water splashes. 

Silly kiddo making the Pastor laugh during the baptism...

She was rather fascinated by the baptismal candles and enjoyed everyone saying how beautiful her dress was.

oooooohhhhhh

After the service, we posed for several pictures...here are a couple of my favorites:

Church is so funny!

Or maybe it's Mommy that's funny.

I have to admit though, after today, I can't help but think my kid is perfect.

That's what I've been trying to tell you all along!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Dentist+Run+Food+Wine = True Love

Where's my V-day chocolate?

So, how did I spend my Valentine's Day evening? 


I started with a nice cleaning at the dentist.  I hate the dentist.  They informed me that one of my fillings had fallen out - Really?  Is that why it hurts to chew on that side?  Ha.  I rushed away from the dentist and said I'd replace the filling later so that I could make it to my group run meetup.  I had run my scheduled 4 miles yesterday, so I could do an easy 2 miles with the group before our planned Valentine's "Party". 

And yes, Mark was at home watching Avery during this Dentist visit and run.

He loves me better anyway.

After the run, we drove over to Chipotle, bought burritos and nachos and brought them back to my house.  I'd also purchased some awesome brownies from Sugardaddy's earlier in the day.  We ate food, drank wine (or beer) and talked....while Mark went and did his run on the treadmill.

I'm a terrible blogger, this is my only picture and it's of the brownies.

Avery fussed for a lot more than usual this evening - I think she was jealous that we weren't sharing the brownies or wine.  She then went to bed the easiest she ever has.  I told my buddies that meant they all had to come over every night.  They think I'm kidding.  :)


By the end of the wine, beer, brownies and burritos...two out of the three running buddies at my house agreed to babysit Avery some night so that Mark and I could have a date night.  One word, awesome.


Some people may gasp that my husband and I didn't do anything special for V-day.  I did buy him his own peanut butter brownie, and a card!  


We've been married over 10 years, and our Anniversary is March 3rd, so Valentine's Day has become a no-big-deal thing for us.  Ironic, considering he proposed on a Valentine's Day 13 years ago.  (I thought he was breaking up with me at the time).

Our Wedding Day - March 3, 2001

To make this a more stereotypical v-day post, I'll tell you about how we met.  We were both in the same pre-law fraternity and were at happy hour.  My friend E needed to get R's signature for something, so R told E to profess undying love to Mark every 5 minutes for the next hour in order to get the signature.  That would have been too boring, so we kept coming up with more and more inventive ways for E to profess love to Mark. For the last one - we knew it had to be good, so E and I staged the whole top gun "You've lost that Loving Feeling" thing.  Afterwards, giving us the dirtiest look ever, Mark turned to R and said "give her the damn signature".  Ha.


We continued to not like each other until the next semester.  The next semester, I kept conning new people in the fraternity to sing "You've Lost that Loving Feeling" to Mark.  If that's not true love, I don't know what is.  (whether he agrees with me or not).  A few pictures of us over the years...

Our England trip from 2003

Costa Rica 2005

Yosemite, California 2007

October 2011

On a side note - I purchased a domain name for this blog today -and it seems to be causing the comments and blog to act a bit wonky while it's figuring out the switch-over.  Feel free to beat me for this later.


UPDATE:  As of tonight, February 17th, it's all working again.  It required a really stupid easy fix, and I blame blogger.  I'll have to make that a separate post.


Can you top going to the Dentist for pure awesomeness on V-day???


What should Mark and I do for our upcoming date night?

Two for the Price of One

Quick Look Week of Feb 6-Feb 12:

# of Workouts: 6 

# of miles ran/hiked: 12

Weight: 188.6 (Down 1.6 lbs. from previous week)

Chest: 41.5" (No change)

Hips: 49"  (No Change)

Avery's 6 month weigh-in

Weight: 16.0 lbs, 50th percentile!!!  WOOHOO!

Height: 25.5 inches, 25-50th percentile

Head Circumference: 43.5 cm, 75-90th percentile --- must be all those brains

Monday: 30 minute ST with Adam, PT
Tuesday: Ran 3 miles
Wednesday: 30 minute ST with Adam
Thursday: Ran 3 miles, PT
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: Ran 4 miles
Sunday: 2 mile simulated hike, 13 lb pack

Avery and I are both reporting our weigh-ins this week!  Two for the price of one!  HA!  It's amazing how learning that your child who started at 3 percentile for weight has climbed up to the 50th percentile in only 6 months really makes you feel like you rock as a parent.  It also helps when the pediatrician has nothing but good things to say about her.  Avery passed her 6 month check-up with flying colors, but still hates shots.

No more shots mommy, please.

This was a fallback week for me on my half marathon training schedule.  I admit to feeling a bit lame in that I ran less miles in the whole week than some of my friends ran in one day.  I also eliminated a run on Monday since my long run from the week before was on Sunday.  Monday was also my first PT session for my patellar tendinitis.  The second session was on Thursday and involved heat and sound waves being applied to my right knee.  VERY WEIRD feeling.  He then intentionally caused some micro-tears in the tendon to encourage healing and applied an electrical ice pack.  As a result, although I'd planned to do 4 miles on Thursday to make up for missing on Monday, some knee issues crept in around 2.5 miles, and I decided to stick with 3 to be safe.

I'd said I would walk carrying weight this week and almost failed.  I finally sucked it up around 10pm Sunday night, and laced up my mountain boots, loaded a dumbbell into my pack and got on the treadmill for a simulated hike.  I made my husband take pictures of this craziness...

This pack is lighter than Avery!  Easy!  HA!

Additional random Rainier stuff?  The duffel bags we'll use to drag our gear to Washington State arrived this week.

I'll be good Mommy, don't put me in the bag.

I also may have found what will ultimately be my downfall.  Neapolitan Oreos.  It's two cookies in one!

Soo tasty, but soo not what I should be eating.

Lastly - my Dad is climbing mountains this week.  You can follow his climbing team's progress HERE.  The two peaks he will be attempting are Ixtaccihuatl (17,340) and Pica de Orizaba (17,701'). Hopefully, I'll have some awesome pictures to share when he makes the summit and comes back!

Do you have a favorite snack that you just couldn't resist?

Anything new in your training this past week?

Run for Sherry Arnold

A little over a month ago, Sherry Arnold got up for her Saturday morning run.  She left her house some time around 6:30am and never returned.  Despite a search involving hundreds of volunteers, all that was found of Sherry was her right Brook's running shoe.  I'm sure most of my followers have heard Sherry's story already, and today, many of you joined in the worldwide virtual race in her honor.  Thousands of runners the world over came together and ran this morning to remember Sherry, and perhaps to acknowledge that this could have happened to any of us.


Most runners run alone at some point in their training.  For my first half marathon (the one I actually ran, not the one that ended with cracked ribs), I did every single training run by myself.  Because I was training for a fall race, many of my runs occurred LATE at night (after dark) or in the morning before the sun came up.  (I absolutely HATE running in the heat.)  I don't live in a high crime area, so I even wore my headphones and probably did quite a bit of zoning out during those runs.


Sherry lived in, and ran in, Sidney, Montana.  According to the internet, less than 5,000 people live there, compared to close to 2 million in the Columbus, Ohio metro area.  What happened to Sherry, could arguably, have been more likely to happen to me. It's downright sobering to think about and makes my heart hurt for those who loved and knew Sherry.  


I didn't know Sherry until I heard about this Virtual Run in her memory.  The beauty of the runner community, however, is that we all "know" each other and have big hearts when things like this happen.


Today, despite winter's sudden arrival at my doorstep, I ran for Sherry and others like Sherry.  It was a fallback week in my half marathon training, so I ran 4 miles.  The temperature when I left my house was 12°F, with a wind chill of -5°F. 

Ready to brave the sub-zero wind chill!

Many of the people in my Saturday morning running group (we have around 500-600 people in the group) were also running to honor Sherry.  Here are some pictures of a few of us.

Sue, Sara, Me and Stacy - you can tell we're all wearing multiple layers in this shot!

Me and Laurie

Me and Rob - I look like I have 60 chins to go with all my layers!

It was a cold and icy 4 miles!  

The water in my water bottle and some of the power aide froze before i made it back to the starting point.

Most of the people in my group were doing the training mileage for the Cap City Half Marathon - 7 miles.  I'm running the Knoxville Half Marathon a month before Cap City, and had a fall back week by that schedule - 4 miles.  I'd originally thought I might do 7 anyway, but when I got separated from my friends that run my pace, I decided it was a sign that I was to take it easy with my knees and only do my scheduled 4.  The upside was that my last two miles were solo - and gave me a lot of time to think - they were also my faster miles.  LOL.  In sum, I ran 4 miles in 47:49, which is right on LSD pace for me.  Perfect way to honor Sherry.  

I hope Sherry's friends and family felt the outpouring of love and support from the running community that I saw everywhere this morning.  

When I turned around early and my friends noticed I was missing, I got multiple calls and text messages to make sure I was alright.  Plus, every pace group I paced on the way back in asked if I was okay.  A wonderful reminder of how caring our community is and how lucky we all are to be runners.

This one was for Sherry and others like her.  May she be remembered and loved always.

Has it really been 6 months?

It's hard to believe that Avery is 6 months old today.  It seems like she's been with us for years....and yet it also seems like she just came home yesterday.  I know that doesn't really make sense, but that's how it is.

What a different 6 months makes.
Left picture: 2 weeks old.  Right picture: 6 months old.  Same bear.

She definitely is older now, when I first went to take the bear picture this morning - I was greeted with this...

What???  You wanted me to stay ON that blanket?

On her 3 month birthday I wrote a post about what I'd learned in 3 months.  Let's face it, at this point, a post like that would take 6 months to read.  The learning curve with being a mom is one of the steepest ones I've ever encountered.

Believe me.  They still have much to learn.

I can't be doing too bad though if one of her favorite things is to do the "Empire Baby Dance," as we call it.  We dance with her singing the imperial march.  I know, I know, I shouldn't have admitted that publicly.


She has discovered so many new things in the past month, the cat, 

Oooohhh...this toy moves and is so soft!

the dog, the hanging toys on the floor gym,

This one is stuck mommy...can't...get...it....down

the excersaucer

Oh my word - it lights up and plays music.

and solid foods.  She has now tried rice cereal, green beans, pears, squash, bananas, apples, carrots and sweet potatoes.


Her height and weight update will have to wait until her appointment Monday morning, but she is officially fully into the 3-6 month size at Carter's.  I will also be getting some "semi-professional" photos done within the next week or so.  


She seems to have forgotten how to sleep at night, but does find mommy dancing to be incredibly funny.  (My dancing is pretty bad - not gonna lie.)  She laughs more than she cries though, and smiles more than she frowns.  I consider that success.  

If Daddy loosens his hold, I can JUMP to mommy.

She can roll across the floor, but can't quite sit up unassisted.  She inches instead of crawls, but also tries to stand.  Considering she was born a month early...I think she's progressing just fine.  As you can see in the earlier picture too - she tried to read to herself this morning.  Taking after mommy!


Even on her worse days, she is awfully cute, so I guess we'll keep her for at least another 6 months.  Ha!

That's cool.  Just wait until I can walk, then you're in real trouble.

Unusual Marinades

Mark came home from work yesterday, went upstairs to change...and came back downstairs with a funny look on his face.


Avery was having her nightly tantrum, so I just said "WHAT?"  He then asked me what I'd been marinating in our bathroom.  Pause.  "Oh, the baby."  Ha.  Avery has cradle cap.  A solution recommended to me was to brush olive oil on the spot pre-bath and then rinse/wash it off.  She got the suggested treatment and I left the olive oil in our bathroom in case I wanted to do it again.  It did seem to work.  Anyone else ever try this?  The marinade comment is particularly amusing to me since I often tell Avery that "some animals eat their young."

Huh.  Mommy's trick actually worked.

During last nights run, I had a running first... I successfully took off my jacket and tied it around my waste without slowing down, stopping and without dropping anything.  Go me!


Tonight, I fully intended to go on a quick 2.2 mile run before my strength training workout.  Avery refused to take an afternoon nap and was in that lovely too-tired-to-sleep-or-be-happy persona.  That persona was compounded by the normal 6pm witching hour when Avery is typically cranky.  Bottom line, by the time Mark got home, all I wanted to do was curl up with a book and some candy.  I skipped the candy, but not the book.

Don't listen to her, I'm a perfect angel.

I am now having running guilt from skipping even that short run.  Enough guilt that I considered leaving for a run at 10pm, but not enough guilt that I seriously considered my treadmill.  Don't judge.


Avery has two other fun tricks these days.  Exploring other options for paci-use....

It's more interesting at this angle.

She has also found a way to travel across the floor.  She doesn't utilize her impressive rolling skills, oh no, not my daughter.  And, she hasn't learned proper crawling yet, instead she's imitating inch worms.

My neck is stronger than your knee tendons mommy.

Every time she does it, I get worried that she's going to snap her little neck.  Totally rational, right?  She particularly loves to do this trick while you're changing her.  So fun!


Do you get exercise guilt?
Can you strip mid-run, mid-exercise?
What's the strangest thing you've marinated?

Training, Knees and More

Quick Look Week of Jan 30 -Feb 5

# of Workouts: 7 

# of miles ran/walk: 16

Weight: 190.2 (No change)

Chest: 41.5" (No change)

Hips: 49"  (No Change)

Monday: ST with Adam
Tuesday: 2.2 mile walk with the dog; 2 mile run
Wednesday: ST with Adam
Thursday: 3 mile run
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: unplanned rest day
Sunday: 8 mile run, 1 mile walk

This was an off week in so many ways.  I am behind on all the blogs I follow, on the things I'd meant to do around the house, SLEEP, my exercise and so many others.  I actually wrote a long post on Runner's Knee and never published it...and since I'm going into some of that here, I won't.  I will be catching up on all the blogs tonight though!

My main excuses???  Lots of drama arriving in the wake of my mother's death.  In sum: I have a sister I didn't know about that was born the year before I was, and my mom's internet boyfriend sent a long letter to my house.  I will not go into more detail here in such a public forum.  Needless to say, I have said "I'm done with 2012" multiple times this week.

But Avery hugs make everything better, right Mommy?

I also saw Dr. B about my knees.  He tentatively said I had runner's knee and sent me to PT.  I had that appointment today.  I have patellar tendonitis, which is also known as Jumper's Knee.  The patellar tendon is the tendon that attaches my knee cap to my shin bone.  Essentially, it is inflamed.  This is an overuse injury.  The therapist thinks it was the combination of the bad footing trail run, plus all my squats and lunges, plus starting at 1 mile on the stair climber, plus all those flights of stairs I normally take.  

The cure?  Today I had electrodes places on my knees and the tendon was electrically stimulated to promote healing while both knees were iced for 15 minutes.  I've been given some simple exercises to do twice a day in addition to my normal stuff. 

I will demonstrate the proper technique Mommy.

 I've been told that I can continue to run as long as I'm not limping.  I've been given strict instructions of NO SQUATS, NO LUNGES and NO STAIR CLIMBER.  But, he promised if all goes well, I can add back in the stair climber in 5 minute increments in one week.  He laughed and said that he didn't have many clients who were disappointed about not being allowed to do squats or lunges.  I am allowed to continue all other workouts so long as I stop if the knees flare up.  He is well aware of my race and climb goals and thinks that odds are good that my training will not be too derailed. The other good news?  I don't have any knee or hip instability that is a common result of this injury. 

I have been asked how this is different than Runner's Knee.  Patellar tendonitis is an inflammation of only the patellar tendon.  Runner's knee typically involves the patellar tendon, the quadriceps tendon, the kneecap and the associated soft tissues that are used while extending the knee.  Furthermore, with patellar tendonitis, the inflammation typically occurs just below the knee cap at the origin of the tendon rather than extending to all the soft tissues below the knee as in runner's knee.

Caveat - I am not a doctor, nor do I have any sort of medical degree.  I am describing what is wrong with me as passed along to me by those with such education.  I could be completely wrong and will mostly just do as I'm told.  :) 

Bottom line:  This is not a permanent injury and most likely will NOT keep me from reaching my goal races and completing my mountain training!  WOOHOO!  Plus, I can keep running.  DOUBLE WOOHOO!

In fact, before the PT (but after Dr. B said it was okay), I went on an 8 mile run with my friend Laurie.  The weather was GORGEOUS and she was nice enough to let me stop in the last couple miles of each 4 mile loop to stretch my leg and alleviate knee issues.  Love her.

Is it really February?

I will be doing some walks while carrying weight this week to make up for my stair-climbing restrictions.

How did your week go?  Have you ever had a training or sports related injury?