As always, click the image to enlarge.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Kiawah Island Marathon
Authors Note: I'm writing this blog post for several reasons. First, we want to communicate with our loved ones back home, and the blog offers an easy way to allow our family an insight to our daily lives. Secondly, much of my time leading up to the marathon was spent Googling the Kiawah Island Marathon. Previous runners' experiences were immensely helpful, so I thought I'd give my point of view to anyone out there looking for some insight into a marathon at Kiawah.
Six months ago, in June 2009, I decided to run farther, farther than I had ever run before. I am by no means fast, agile or elegant, but since I had run several half marathons in the past, I wanted to take the plunge and run a full marathon. However, the marathons here in Atlanta did not fit into the schedule that I wanted. The Atlanta Weather Channel Marathon on Thanksgiving day did not have the crowd that I wanted. The other Atlanta marathon, the ING Georgia Marathon, was too far off in March 2010.
So, I started looking for marathons. I wanted a marathon six months away, within driving distance, with a flat course, and that was located in a fun locale. Going through marathonguides.com, I came across the Kiawah Island marathon in December of 2009.
Kiawah Island is a small barrier island off the coast of South Carolina. It's about a five hour drive from Atlanta, and about 30 minutes south of Charleston. Given the fact the barrier islands are nothing more than oversized sand-bars, the island is very flat.
View Larger Map
So, in June, I registered for the Kiawah Island Marathon on December 12, 2009. At that point, the race was just over six months away, which, I hoped, would give me ample time to train for the race. Overall the training went very well. There are an infinite number of marathon training regimens. While I would love to tell you that I stuck to the training program to the letter, this was definitely not the case. Life, work, friends, weather all get in the way of running at times, but that's okay by me. I used Hal Higdon's free marathon training guides, which can be found here.
Our journey started Friday, December 11, 2009:
We left early Friday morning and headed out to Kiawah Island. Libby did great on the drive. Despite the fact she watched the same Barney video too many times during the trip, she behaved wonderfully for an 18 month old little girl on a six hour car ride.
After the nearly six hour trip, we finally got onto the island. The pre-marathon expo was going on just across the street from the hotel registration. This also happened to be the Start/Finish line, so it was nice to see where it would all begin in approximately twelve hours. We got checked in and picked up the marathon packet, which contained the long-sleeve cotton t-shirt, the race bibb, and timing chip. I would have preferred a tech-T-shirt, as cotton is terrible to wear when running, but that's ok, I guess.
After checking in, we drove to the house that we were staying in, which was about a mile from the start of the marathon course. The house was a beautiful 2 story home, directly on the marsh. The sorrounding houses were actually much bigger, and I think that this was the smallest house on the island, but you could still fit two of our houses in decatur in this house.This was the view from our back porch.
We got settled in for the evening, prepared a chicken pasta dinner and waited on Helen and Jeff to arrive. They got in around nine that night, after going through the same check-in process. We all settled in for the night and, after staying up laughing until midnight or so, we all hit the sack.
Saturday, December 12, 2009: Race Day
Saturday morning started early. The official race start time was 8:00 AM, so I was up and out the door by 7:15 AM. I walked the short mile to the race start.
The race start area had plenty of Port-a-potties, and a three medium-sized tents for valuables. The labeling system for the bags was a roll of masking tape and a sharpie; low-cose but effective. Other blogs mentioned that they opened the conference room in the past for runners to stand out of the cold, but I don't know if this was true this year.
After sucking down the last bit of gatorade and eating my last cliff bar, I lined up for the start. There were pace signs for 7 min, 8 min, 9 min, 10 min and walkers. There may have been more pace signs, I just didn't see it. It was very crowded in where I was - between the 8 and 9 minute pace signs.
The race started promptly at 8:00 AM, and I crossed the start line about two and half minutes later. The first mile and half, and especially the first half mile were very congested. In fact, this was the most congested race start that I've been in. I think that the congestion is due to the fact that the road is only a two-lane road, and not the four lane roads I'm used to. Oddly, about a quarter mile into the race I passed several walkers. Why on Earth people would start in the early pace times, with the plan of walking the race blows my mind. It would be nice if the race directors had dedicated corrals in the future with a progressive start. This would help the severe congestion during the first mile.
After the first few miles, I settled into a rythym and it felt great. I kept a pace of just over 8:30 min/m for the first 10 miles. The course itself was absolutely gourgeous. Even coming from St. Simons Island, I didn't expect to be very impressed with the scenery, but I have to admit there were some stunning views during the run. On the way back in, to complete the first half-marathon, we were periodically on a somewhat narrow bike path adjacent to the slower runners. The bike path was narrower than I imagined, which made for passing slower runners very difficult. The bike path was also windier than the road, and hillier, but I just considered this to be a fact of the course, and tried not to think about it.
We made the turn at the half-marathon point at just under two hours. After finally getting some breathing room when the half marathoners were finished, the marathoners were left on the course alone. The race suddenly went from a fun, crowded racing experience to a lonelier, all-business atmosphere.The picture on the left is at mile 14, just after hitting the half-way point. As you can see in the background of the picture, the island has georgeous trees and landscaping throughout the island.
Miles 14 through 18 were not pleasant, but they were manageable. I followed a small group of guys for most of the way through the marathon. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but listening to others talk was way to keep my mind of how many more miles I had to go, which brings me to the question of running with headphones or not. Most races officially discourage running with headphones, based on the idea that you can't effectively hear others around you if you have headphones in your ear. I get that, I really do. But, to not have any music to listen to for 5 miles, or 10 miles, or 18 miles seems like I'm making the run more painful than it has to be. Like I mentioned earlier, many of the blog posts I read suggested that they derived a lot of late-race inspiration from people on the course. After the half marathon point, I kept one ear bud in, and tucked the other ear bud in my hat. I wanted to hear the sight and sounds of the marathon. It was nice hearing random people cheer during the race, but attempts at conversations with people on the course were met with polite grunts. Its okay, I sorta felt the same way.
The group of guys running were a little fast for my liking, so at about 19 miles, I fell behind. Miles 19 to 22 were long and painful. One of the best moments of the race was at mile 22, when I turned a corner and saw Amy, Libby and Jeff and Helen. I can't underscore enough the power of crowd support at about mile 22. It was exactly what I needed at that moment. I kept jogging past them, and hoped that I would see them at the finish line.
The rest of the race, from mile 23-26.2 got exponentially more difficult with each mile. The fact that the course is a double-loop has its advantages and disadvantages. First, it does allow you to know the course so you can know what to expect. However, I think that in this instance, knowing just how far I had was somewhat demoralizing. Granted, it was nice knowing exactly what to expect, but I knew that I had a long way to go.
I finally made to the last 2 yards to go in under four hours. Since many of the hours and hours I had run since June, had been spent thinking about Amy and Libby, I wanted to finish the race with Libby. Luckily, when i was about 35 yards away, I saw Amy and Libby on the left hand side of the road. I grabbed Libby and finished the race with Libby. I'm not sure that she totally 'got it,' but it was fun for me.
So, I made it to the finish line in under 4 hours. My official race time was 3:38:53, with a chip time of just under 3:56. I was pretty happy with my time. Like I said initially, I'm not fast or agile, so finishing in under 4 hours was all I wanted to do. I don't think that I'll ever have the speed to qualify for the Boston Marathon, but its fun to dream, I guess.
After Libby and I crossed the finish line, we met up with Helen and Jeff, snapped a few photos then headed back to the house for some rest, naps, and beer.
Sunday, December 13, 2009 and the rest of the trip
Unfortunately, Helen and Jeff had to head back to St. Simons Island on Sunday. It was great seeing them, as we had not seen them in quite a while.
We spent the rest of trip going to the beach, riding bikes, and spending some wonderful time as a family. I'll let Amy update the blog with more pictures from the rest of the trip in the coming days.
As always, click the image to enlarge.
Six months ago, in June 2009, I decided to run farther, farther than I had ever run before. I am by no means fast, agile or elegant, but since I had run several half marathons in the past, I wanted to take the plunge and run a full marathon. However, the marathons here in Atlanta did not fit into the schedule that I wanted. The Atlanta Weather Channel Marathon on Thanksgiving day did not have the crowd that I wanted. The other Atlanta marathon, the ING Georgia Marathon, was too far off in March 2010.
So, I started looking for marathons. I wanted a marathon six months away, within driving distance, with a flat course, and that was located in a fun locale. Going through marathonguides.com, I came across the Kiawah Island marathon in December of 2009.
Kiawah Island is a small barrier island off the coast of South Carolina. It's about a five hour drive from Atlanta, and about 30 minutes south of Charleston. Given the fact the barrier islands are nothing more than oversized sand-bars, the island is very flat.
View Larger Map
So, in June, I registered for the Kiawah Island Marathon on December 12, 2009. At that point, the race was just over six months away, which, I hoped, would give me ample time to train for the race. Overall the training went very well. There are an infinite number of marathon training regimens. While I would love to tell you that I stuck to the training program to the letter, this was definitely not the case. Life, work, friends, weather all get in the way of running at times, but that's okay by me. I used Hal Higdon's free marathon training guides, which can be found here.
Our journey started Friday, December 11, 2009:
We left early Friday morning and headed out to Kiawah Island. Libby did great on the drive. Despite the fact she watched the same Barney video too many times during the trip, she behaved wonderfully for an 18 month old little girl on a six hour car ride.
After the nearly six hour trip, we finally got onto the island. The pre-marathon expo was going on just across the street from the hotel registration. This also happened to be the Start/Finish line, so it was nice to see where it would all begin in approximately twelve hours. We got checked in and picked up the marathon packet, which contained the long-sleeve cotton t-shirt, the race bibb, and timing chip. I would have preferred a tech-T-shirt, as cotton is terrible to wear when running, but that's ok, I guess.
After checking in, we drove to the house that we were staying in, which was about a mile from the start of the marathon course. The house was a beautiful 2 story home, directly on the marsh. The sorrounding houses were actually much bigger, and I think that this was the smallest house on the island, but you could still fit two of our houses in decatur in this house.This was the view from our back porch.
We got settled in for the evening, prepared a chicken pasta dinner and waited on Helen and Jeff to arrive. They got in around nine that night, after going through the same check-in process. We all settled in for the night and, after staying up laughing until midnight or so, we all hit the sack.
Saturday, December 12, 2009: Race Day
Saturday morning started early. The official race start time was 8:00 AM, so I was up and out the door by 7:15 AM. I walked the short mile to the race start.
The race start area had plenty of Port-a-potties, and a three medium-sized tents for valuables. The labeling system for the bags was a roll of masking tape and a sharpie; low-cose but effective. Other blogs mentioned that they opened the conference room in the past for runners to stand out of the cold, but I don't know if this was true this year.
After sucking down the last bit of gatorade and eating my last cliff bar, I lined up for the start. There were pace signs for 7 min, 8 min, 9 min, 10 min and walkers. There may have been more pace signs, I just didn't see it. It was very crowded in where I was - between the 8 and 9 minute pace signs.
Miles 14 through 18 were not pleasant, but they were manageable. I followed a small group of guys for most of the way through the marathon. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but listening to others talk was way to keep my mind of how many more miles I had to go, which brings me to the question of running with headphones or not. Most races officially discourage running with headphones, based on the idea that you can't effectively hear others around you if you have headphones in your ear. I get that, I really do. But, to not have any music to listen to for 5 miles, or 10 miles, or 18 miles seems like I'm making the run more painful than it has to be. Like I mentioned earlier, many of the blog posts I read suggested that they derived a lot of late-race inspiration from people on the course. After the half marathon point, I kept one ear bud in, and tucked the other ear bud in my hat. I wanted to hear the sight and sounds of the marathon. It was nice hearing random people cheer during the race, but attempts at conversations with people on the course were met with polite grunts. Its okay, I sorta felt the same way.
The group of guys running were a little fast for my liking, so at about 19 miles, I fell behind. Miles 19 to 22 were long and painful. One of the best moments of the race was at mile 22, when I turned a corner and saw Amy, Libby and Jeff and Helen. I can't underscore enough the power of crowd support at about mile 22. It was exactly what I needed at that moment. I kept jogging past them, and hoped that I would see them at the finish line.
The rest of the race, from mile 23-26.2 got exponentially more difficult with each mile. The fact that the course is a double-loop has its advantages and disadvantages. First, it does allow you to know the course so you can know what to expect. However, I think that in this instance, knowing just how far I had was somewhat demoralizing. Granted, it was nice knowing exactly what to expect, but I knew that I had a long way to go.I finally made to the last 2 yards to go in under four hours. Since many of the hours and hours I had run since June, had been spent thinking about Amy and Libby, I wanted to finish the race with Libby. Luckily, when i was about 35 yards away, I saw Amy and Libby on the left hand side of the road. I grabbed Libby and finished the race with Libby. I'm not sure that she totally 'got it,' but it was fun for me.
So, I made it to the finish line in under 4 hours. My official race time was 3:38:53, with a chip time of just under 3:56. I was pretty happy with my time. Like I said initially, I'm not fast or agile, so finishing in under 4 hours was all I wanted to do. I don't think that I'll ever have the speed to qualify for the Boston Marathon, but its fun to dream, I guess.
After Libby and I crossed the finish line, we met up with Helen and Jeff, snapped a few photos then headed back to the house for some rest, naps, and beer.
Sunday, December 13, 2009 and the rest of the trip
Unfortunately, Helen and Jeff had to head back to St. Simons Island on Sunday. It was great seeing them, as we had not seen them in quite a while.
We spent the rest of trip going to the beach, riding bikes, and spending some wonderful time as a family. I'll let Amy update the blog with more pictures from the rest of the trip in the coming days.
As always, click the image to enlarge.
Monday, December 7, 2009
The Pink Pig
Matt had to work Friday night so I took Libby to Lenox for some Christmas shopping and to ride the Macy's PINK PIG! She was sooo cute on the ride, and it's a great tradition that Atlanta has for the sweet kiddos during the Holidays. It was really fun, and so happy that her first Pink Pig ride was fun for her, she wasn't scared a bit. I really hope I can somehow get her in Santa's lap this year, for just one picture. Whenever we see Santa at the mall, she stares at him and is really fascinated with him but the moment I ask her if she wants to sit in his lap, she squeezes me tight and just says, "NOOO" as sad as she can. I don't know what to do to get a good pic of her with him this year! It seems so cruel to make her sit there for my selfish pictures so I'm not sure we'll have a 2009 picture with Santa Claus, but she did love the Pig!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Christmas Tree Lighting in Decatur
It was soo cold tonight but we bundled up and went to the Square in Decatur for the lighting of the Christmas tree! Santa was there (Libby is not a fan this year, at all) and the children's choir sang Christmas carols. It was a beautiful, clear night, even though with the wind chill it was like 36 degrees. I really love Christmas and December in Atlanta, it really puts me in the Christmas spirit. Libby loved the singing and the beautiful tree on top of the children's book store. We are ready for the Holidays, that's for sure!
After the tree lighting we went inside the bookstore and warmed up, Libby LOVES books and the store was packed with children so she was having a ball.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Long overdue current pictures of our Monkey Doodle!!
After her flu shot, we had to get a chocolate milk shake - she's a big girl...we put her facing forward in the car at 16 months. It was SO emotional for me!! But she loves it, and loves watching her Barney DVDS. SHE LOVES BARNEY!
These are from Disney on Ice at Philips - she had a ball. She really watched the show, it was so cute!
Reading in the car after our Thanksgiving trip to Baxley....she loves to read.
Out walking one day with me to the park - all bundled up!
Chocolate pudding...no words needed!!!!
Sorry for the LONG delay in posts!
Hey everyone!
To say it’s been awhile since I last posted anything is an understatement – very sorry to all of our “followers” out there! While life with a 16 month old is absolutely wonderful and better than anything I could have imagined, it does not leave much time for blogging. But, I promise to be better at it from now on!
And life will soon be even busier and full of MORE love – Libby will have a brother or sister in May! We are SO excited to say the least. I’m currently in my 15th week, not showing yet but Libby knows that there is a baby in mommy’s belly. We ask her, Libby, where’s the baby and she runs over to me and pats my tummy. Her world will be rocked in six months, and she’s not going to know what to do with a baby in the house, but I know she’ll be such a big helper. She is the sweetest, most loving child and she will adjust well I really think. I’m really excited about having two little monkeys of our own and feel so blessed that God is allowing us to be parents to another little angel!
We have had a few ultrasounds and everything looks good and healthy so far – and NO we are not finding out the sex. My due date is May 27 – which is our four year anniversary! They will most likely do the c section any day after May 20 – the exact date is not determined yet. Please keep us in your prayers for another healthy baby and pregnancy!!
Other pregnancy news is that my sister Melissa is having a baby boy in April and my sister in law Helen is having a boy in April too! God is so good – they are both doing great and I can’t wait to have two more nephews to love, in addition to my sweet nephew Joey and niece Molly! Lots to be thankful for!
Libby is growing up so fast and has the sweetest, cutest little personality! She is a little tomboy diva – a really good mixture of sassy and outdoorsy. She will priss outside with her little purse tucked in her little elbow, or she’ll throw a shopping bag over her shoulder…and then proceed to sit in a puddle of mud or something and dig in the dirt. She laughs all the time, whole mouth open wide, exposing all NINE of her sweet teeth. She is getting her molars right now, so we’ve had a few restless nights and fidgety times, but other than that she is healthy and happy.
She loves her Daddy more than anything in the world. And to see him with her, makes me very, very thankful for my husband. They are stinking sweet together! She loses her cool when he walks in the door. She hugs and squeezes and kisses him for at least ten minutes. I love to see them interact. He’s such a great Dad! She calls him “Daaa” – music to our ears!
She is eating very well – but restaurant eating has become a thing of the past. It’s just not where she needs to be these days. Every Saturday the three of us load up and head to McDonalds for breakfast and she does very well in there, and if we do quick Mexican it’s fine, but the thing is, we have to get in there, order, eat, then leave immediately. Gone are the days of leisurely sitting around the table with some wine and apps! Matt & I have vowed that we are going to start using my Dad who is thankfully always in town and always begging us to leave her with him. She loves her Pops and recognizes him instantly. We see him at least once a week, which is really, really nice!
We love the park still – Libby is very playful and social and always makes a friend. The park is very close to our house, so we always walk over, grab a coffee or hot chocolate and a chocolate milk for Libs, and play for hours on the weekend. Life is simple and sweet, but very busy!
Libby is still at home with a nanny and that’s going well, thankfully! She will start going to a Mother’s Morning Out at the church in January two days per week, for three hours each time. She’ll be 18 months old and a perfect age to make some new friends at “school” – the church is wonderful and she can stay in there all the way through preschool and into Pre-K. We got in without having to wait and feel that was definitely God ordained. I’m excited about the experience for her.
The only problem is, time is going by way too fast, as usual. I know I always write that but it’s SO true. Libby has made everything about our life better, perfect, really, and we couldn’t be more thankful. On that note, we hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are looking forward to a very blessed holiday season! We surely are!
To say it’s been awhile since I last posted anything is an understatement – very sorry to all of our “followers” out there! While life with a 16 month old is absolutely wonderful and better than anything I could have imagined, it does not leave much time for blogging. But, I promise to be better at it from now on!
And life will soon be even busier and full of MORE love – Libby will have a brother or sister in May! We are SO excited to say the least. I’m currently in my 15th week, not showing yet but Libby knows that there is a baby in mommy’s belly. We ask her, Libby, where’s the baby and she runs over to me and pats my tummy. Her world will be rocked in six months, and she’s not going to know what to do with a baby in the house, but I know she’ll be such a big helper. She is the sweetest, most loving child and she will adjust well I really think. I’m really excited about having two little monkeys of our own and feel so blessed that God is allowing us to be parents to another little angel!
We have had a few ultrasounds and everything looks good and healthy so far – and NO we are not finding out the sex. My due date is May 27 – which is our four year anniversary! They will most likely do the c section any day after May 20 – the exact date is not determined yet. Please keep us in your prayers for another healthy baby and pregnancy!!
Other pregnancy news is that my sister Melissa is having a baby boy in April and my sister in law Helen is having a boy in April too! God is so good – they are both doing great and I can’t wait to have two more nephews to love, in addition to my sweet nephew Joey and niece Molly! Lots to be thankful for!
Libby is growing up so fast and has the sweetest, cutest little personality! She is a little tomboy diva – a really good mixture of sassy and outdoorsy. She will priss outside with her little purse tucked in her little elbow, or she’ll throw a shopping bag over her shoulder…and then proceed to sit in a puddle of mud or something and dig in the dirt. She laughs all the time, whole mouth open wide, exposing all NINE of her sweet teeth. She is getting her molars right now, so we’ve had a few restless nights and fidgety times, but other than that she is healthy and happy.
She loves her Daddy more than anything in the world. And to see him with her, makes me very, very thankful for my husband. They are stinking sweet together! She loses her cool when he walks in the door. She hugs and squeezes and kisses him for at least ten minutes. I love to see them interact. He’s such a great Dad! She calls him “Daaa” – music to our ears!
She is eating very well – but restaurant eating has become a thing of the past. It’s just not where she needs to be these days. Every Saturday the three of us load up and head to McDonalds for breakfast and she does very well in there, and if we do quick Mexican it’s fine, but the thing is, we have to get in there, order, eat, then leave immediately. Gone are the days of leisurely sitting around the table with some wine and apps! Matt & I have vowed that we are going to start using my Dad who is thankfully always in town and always begging us to leave her with him. She loves her Pops and recognizes him instantly. We see him at least once a week, which is really, really nice!
We love the park still – Libby is very playful and social and always makes a friend. The park is very close to our house, so we always walk over, grab a coffee or hot chocolate and a chocolate milk for Libs, and play for hours on the weekend. Life is simple and sweet, but very busy!
Libby is still at home with a nanny and that’s going well, thankfully! She will start going to a Mother’s Morning Out at the church in January two days per week, for three hours each time. She’ll be 18 months old and a perfect age to make some new friends at “school” – the church is wonderful and she can stay in there all the way through preschool and into Pre-K. We got in without having to wait and feel that was definitely God ordained. I’m excited about the experience for her.
The only problem is, time is going by way too fast, as usual. I know I always write that but it’s SO true. Libby has made everything about our life better, perfect, really, and we couldn’t be more thankful. On that note, we hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are looking forward to a very blessed holiday season! We surely are!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
These feet are made for WALKING!
Our Libby is walking! ALL over the place! It is now a part of our lives, she doesn't crawl anymore. Life as we knew it is O.V.E.R. She took her first few steps and then within 48 hours she was like, "wait a minute, this is really cool" so here she goes! It is so funny to see it. She gets so excited and then starts to run a little bit, hands in the air and not watching where she's going. All of this combined has led to lots of mommy & daddy worrying but she's managing great. She is rarely falling while walking now, it's only when she runs and puts up her hands that she may run into the occasional wall or couch. She is becoming such a little lady, too.I mean, seriously. She has managed to turn one and then all of a sudden, it’s almost as if she’s saying, “Pardon me, but I’m a big girl now, thanks so much for the past year, but I think I’ve got it from here” – her independent streak is really apparent now. I love it but at the same time, she’s not a baby anymore! She is really into coloring on blank paper. Don’t worry, I saved her first “picture” and it is on the fridge, dated and all. She loves to eat the crayons. Also, she knows when I say “no” – she totally knows what it means. She’ll put one in her mouth, I say no and she takes it out. But then she does it all over again and again and again. Then, repeat. She is getting it though; not to mention once she finally stops putting it in her mouth and I continue to say no, she gives up, then walks over, picks up her baby doll, and stuffs the crayon in baby’s mouth. Then she pats the baby on the head and hugs her, then kisses her. HOW am I supposed to say anything about that? It makes me cry it is so sweet!!
We are still loving the pool. I had to take this picture the other day when she & I went swimming. She just looks SO big in it – sitting on the concrete, eating her puffs with her little swim shoes on. So pool time, now we have to sit in the baby pool with all the other little people. She walks around in circles and just looks at any other big girls that are in there. She loves other children who are just a little bigger than her!
Last night we went to the park and she made two new friends – she even sat on one side of the see-saw with a little 15 month old and they really started pumping their legs up and down. It was adorable! Swinging is still a fun activity that she loves at the park.
Life is good. No, life is great. I thank God daily for His blessings and for giving me such a sweet, sweet wonderful husband and baby girl!
This was taken a few weeks ago with my phone so it's very fuzzy, but I love it. They are taking a nap together! We love Saturday naps!!
We are still loving the pool. I had to take this picture the other day when she & I went swimming. She just looks SO big in it – sitting on the concrete, eating her puffs with her little swim shoes on. So pool time, now we have to sit in the baby pool with all the other little people. She walks around in circles and just looks at any other big girls that are in there. She loves other children who are just a little bigger than her!
Last night we went to the park and she made two new friends – she even sat on one side of the see-saw with a little 15 month old and they really started pumping their legs up and down. It was adorable! Swinging is still a fun activity that she loves at the park.
Life is good. No, life is great. I thank God daily for His blessings and for giving me such a sweet, sweet wonderful husband and baby girl!
This was taken a few weeks ago with my phone so it's very fuzzy, but I love it. They are taking a nap together! We love Saturday naps!!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
She's ONE!
This was us walking on her ONE year birthday - we had balloons on her stroller for an entire week. I'm such a dork.
Crawling in the woodchips at the park!
Digging in the dirt, and the flowers. Oops.
Our little (BIG) girl has turned one. I can hardly believe it – honestly. This year has gone by incredibly fast and has been more than I ever dreamed it would be. Both Matt & I are stunned at how quickly our first year went by with our little monkey. It has been the BEST year ever and we are so very very blessed.
Libby is a mess these days. Full personality and such a sweet, sweet countenance. Some new things Libby does:
-says bye bye while waving with those teeny tiny hands
-points to the sky if you ask her where the sky is
-throws balls, but forgets to always let go so most of the time the ball goes behind her head but she “gets” the idea of what she should be doing
-walks around with her push toys nonstop
-plays in dirt, eats dirt, puts dirt in her hair, tries to put dirt in my mouth, eats dirt. Repeat.
-would rather crawl on the driveway than in the grass that we (Matt) diligently keeps beautiful for her.
-swings and laughs the whole time
-waves hello to people. Random strangers, us, anyone close enough to “speak” to, they’ll get a wave from Libby
-loves the pool. We splish splash and go to the pool at least three times a week. She is a huge fan of the water! Swimming lessons soon.
-opens any and all doors. Anywhere. And wants to see what’s inside the cabinets.
-pats me on the back as if to say “Hey Mom, you’re pretty cool”
-eats a little bit of everything. Seriously – she is a big eater. It’s more difficult to feed her because she wants big people foods – she’s over pureed, that’s for BABIES! Feeds herself, that’s the only way to really eat after all.
-gives you five on command.
-her words include: Mama (MaaaMaaaa), Daddy (Daadaaaadaa), Soccer ball (SaaaCa, SaaaCa), Five (fiiiive in a whispered voice), Bye-Bye (BaaayeeBaaayee)
-seriously gets so excited when she sees the soccer ball. Squeals with excitement and jumps up and down. Next Mia Hamm on our hands??
-this is my favorite thing-I guess I always say things like: "where is it" or "where is your hat?" and hold my hands up as if to ask "where?" and she apparently has picked this up. So the other day I asked, "where is your bow?" and she held her hands exactly as I do, and just looked up at me and shrugged. I almost CRIED it was the sweetest thing!
Us at the pier on SSI - she was doing the "where is it?" with me.
I know I’m forgetting some Libby doings and Libby-isms, but you get the idea. Our baby has changed and grown so much in just one year. It’s truly amazing!
We had two birthday parties for her – one in Atlanta and one on SSI. Both were fun and full of lovely family and friends who all came to celebrate Libby’s birthday. Thank you to all for helping make her birthday ONE to remember. We love you all.
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