A Ladybug of 13 Months

What a difference a year makes!

Last year, I propped up this tiny 1 month old to get the token Halloween picture.

Her 1st Halloween.

Our 1st Halloween as a family with a child here to raise. License to dress her however we wished before she suddenly becomes old enough to voice her opinion.

She was still so tiny and new. Having to rely on someone else for her every need. Poor kid.

She survived.

Still tiny.

Less new.

Now she can do a lot more for herself.

In the blink of an eye, she can be across the house terrorizing Tonka. Poor dog. He has a new master who happens to only be about 2.5 feet tall and 15 lbs. She yells his name when he isn't meeting her expections. Tooonnnta.

At least, I know what I have to look forward to in 12 years.

The rest of the time they are best buds. Today they even shared the banana I gave her for snack. She handed it to him. He kind of hesitated, looked at me, and snatched that banana before anyone could change their mind.

Smart dog.

Later we went outside to get the token Halloween photo for this year. It may just be our Christmas card.

Happy Halloween!

Training for Savannah. Mission Complete.

With 323.7 miles behind me for the year, I am definitely stronger than I was when I wrote this post. On January 2nd, I did expect to meet those goals, however I have been pleasantly surprised to see what else I have learned along the way.

My last long run before Savannah was yesterday. As I ran, I had many thoughts meandering through my head. After all, I had over 2 hours to think about what I had learned during my time spent training for this race.

The main thing I have learned is that, not only am I stronger now that I was in January, I am also much stronger than I was in 2007 when I ran my first and only 1/2 to date.

I merely survived training and racing that time. This time that has not been the case at all. My runs have been more productive because I understand how my body is going to react most of the time.

Last time, I also trained with a group and truth be told pretty much just did what everyone else did in regards to mileage and fuel.

This time, I trained alone and listened to my body. I took days off or even weeks to let my body recover when needed.

Yesterday, as I pushed through 12 hilly miles I did everything exactly as I plan on doing it in Savannah. I'd examined the course map so I ran with the knowledge that there would be a water station here, a Gu station here, and finally the finish line there.

Mentally and physically I am ready.

Bring on RNR Savannah 2011!

Playing Pretend

Once upon a time, I was able to convince some really powerful people that I am important. They clearly should have been aware of this prior to now, however, they were not.

They are now.

See me?!?

This was one of those "bucket list" experiences. The kind where you may or may not come out in one piece, however, if you do it will be totally worth it in the end.



It was totally worth it!

Luckily, none of these guys ran me over or I might not feel the same.

This is not Johnny Depp. You can return to your regularly scheduled programming now.

This is PeeDee the Pirate.

Purple Haze.

2011 Helmets.

A couple of kids enjoying the game.

This is always one of my favorites sights because hopefully these experiences stick with them as they grow. It is one reason we have already started exposing L to ECU football.

She may not attend college at ECU, but hopefully wherever she goes she will enjoy the experience as I did.

Love this picture.

And this feeling!

Ready to Rumble!

Focused.

It was at this point, when I was standing next to the players on the sideline that I realized many of them are 1o years younger than me.

I'm still young compared to many of my friends and family, so it was a thought provoking moment.

These players and cheerleaders surely have their moments, but the reality is that they are more mature than the average 18 year old college student.

Food for thought as I wandered the sidelines on that dreary fall day.

Can't wait to do it again one day!

One

One year ago, I wobbled into the hospital to be prepped for surgery at 5:45am. It was pouring rain. I remember being soaking wet and cold as we waited in the lobby for my name to be called.

The last time I was here, our baby girl didn't come home with us. This time we prayed she would. My thoughts back to that awful morning where the weather conditions were eerily similar were interrupted by the nurse calling my name.

It was my turn.

This began the the flurry of activity. Undress, wipe down with the sterilizing stuff that made me itch like crazy, put on the gown, and wait.

Answer the same questions repeatedly. At this point I'm sure of my name, birth date, and that I am in fact about to have a baby. More people come in and out of the tiny prep area that seems to be smaller than my closet at this point. More questions. More waiting.

Finally, my doctor arrives. I still remember the relief I felt to see her face that morning. Jokingly, we talk about her biking there that morning in the rain. She didn't but it wouldn't have surprised me if she had. She is, after all an Ironman Triathlete.

It is time to go to the OR. In just a few minutes, we will get to meet our baby girl.

More people meet us in the freezing cold refrigerator they call the OR. Dr. Funny gave me my spinal. Twice actually. It didn't work the first time and there was no way I was going to sleep for this event so we do it again. After making sure it worked the second time, we were ready to rock and roll.

While the doctors are doing their job we chat about anything that comes to mind. Talking is the only thing that keeps me from launching into a full fledged panic attack since I can't even feel myself breathing.

And she is here!

Pissed off screaming ensues. Wahh, wahh, wahh. Poor baby girl was cold and wondering who turned on the lights. To this day, I have never heard her cry as angrily as she did when she made her debut.

She looks just like her sister.

Photo Credit

That was 365 days ago.

What a year it has been!

She has grown from this teeny tiny baby to a spunky 1 year old.

We made our goal of nursing for 1 year. Before she arrived, I had only agreed to try it while in the back of my mind hoping we would see this day.

Here we are! A little luck, a lot of stubborn, and even more love got us here. We made it 1 year sweet baby girl and for that I am grateful.

Photo Credit

On your first birthday you have 8 teeth! Your first tooth arrived on the very day you turned 4 months old. It seems like they have been coming in one after another ever since that day.

As with everything, the first one is always the hardest. You have handled the rest of them like a champ. We will see how you feel about the molars that are sure to arrive.

One thing we have learned about you in the last year is that you definitely do things on your own schedule. Baby food, table food, and hopefully soon.....walking.

When we first started giving you baby food you were having none of it. As soon as you saw the spoon the gagging began. It was funny then and it will be funny again when we break out the photos at your wedding.

The same thing happened with table food. Just in the last few week it appears we have turned a corner. Your menu is growing and growing each day. Today you ate chicken and dumplings with green beans and bread. Yum!

Next up...walking. Please hurry because your father is getting anxious.

Photo Credit

As I said before, what a year it has been! There is no way we could have ordered a better baby. Your sister really took care of us when she sent you our way.

Your temperment is amazing! It is always funny to have people ask us why you don't cry. We don't know but we love it.

It seems instead of crying you are always laughing, talking, and taking in the environment around you.

Your father and I along with your big brother Tonka are looking forward to seeing what the next year holds.

Thank you so much for being such an amazing baby girl!

Happy Birthday!

Love,

Mom, Dad, and Megan Grace, and Tonka

1/2 Marathon Training Week 5 and a PR!

A couple of weeks off appears to be just what the doctor ordered for my knee. This past week went very well in terms of running.

Early in the week, I decided to go out for a 4 mile run around the neighborhood to test the waters. Some friends and family and I were registered for Miles for Matthew so I needed to see how things felt.

It was a smashing success!

On Saturday, the entire team of 10 of us met up at the race. It was cool and overcast with the threat of rain. Incidentally, I had run this race on a different course just 12 weeks after I had MG. Last year I skipped it due to the fact I was 37 weeks pregnant with L.

Tell me again why I was running a 10k just 12 short weeks post c/s? Crazy. Either way, my time in that race was 1:10 with rumors that the course may have been a tad short so my goal was to beat that time.

And I did! 1:06:05 which is also a PR for me! Coming down the last stretch and seeing that I was going to beat it was the best feeling.

My hard work is paying off!

The focus now truly turns to Savannah. There are a few loooong runs ahead of me that need to go well so I feel confident when morning dawns on November 5th.

Here we go!