Lately...

Man, so, that last post was written sometime in August, but sat as a draft in my email files for a long time, until I had the guts to post it. Not that I have a lot of eyes on my site, but I felt too... vulnerable? posting it as I was in the moment. It was easier to hit "publish" after those feelings had subsided. Things are much less hectic around here now.

Look at this attractive couple! Lindsay and NIck, wedding reception style.

One thing that helped is the half marathon is finally over. Nick and I both finished! It was pretty cool. It was an international marathon in that you ran across the Ambassador Bridge which connects the US (via Detroit, MI) to Canada (via Windsor, Ontario), ran along the Detroit River in Canada for a couple of miles, and then ran back into the US in the Windsor-Detroit tunnel. I had completed a half marathon in my early 20s (2006? I was 23... almost 24) and my time then was 2:39. When I finished this one, at 28.5 years old, and only 6 months after having my first baby, my time was 2:33! All that stressing out about getting enough runs in! Look at that!


                   Cute                                                        Cuter                                                   Cutest

Another reason the stress has lifted is because I'm no longer trying to meet some crazy, self-imposed breastfeeding goal. This one was a tricky subject. I really, really enjoyed breastfeeding. I felt close to my baby, I enjoyed providing nutrients for her, helping her grow, yadda yadda, but the stress plus work craziness essentially made me switch to supplementing with formula. Once I started that, I began the subliminal process of weaning. I didn't know that breastfeeding would cease completely at the time... in hindsight, maybe that's a good thing. It happened gradually, and eventually I just stopped breastfeeding. It went from a little bit in the morning, plus a full feeding after work to just the full feeding after work, to nothing. :( Sad face. But you know what? Almost making it to 6 months is great, I can't complain about that, I guess.

                                                          Pre-Race, Detroit Free Press (Half) Marathon, Oct 2010

The funny thing is... she still gets sick. Everyone says breastfeeding makes your kid super healthy. I guess the bugs at her daycare are immune to breastmilk. :P Because those things definitely didn't escape her!

                                                       Zebra (Front) and Murphy (Back), Halloween 2010

What else...

                                                 Claire and Grandpa Don play Nintendo, old-school style (obvs)

I changed jobs at work. (NEVER TALK ABOUT WORK.) That's all I'll say about that, as my Dooce angel just appeared on my shoulder. Well, okay, I'll say one more thing. Changing jobs at work = good. :)

Claire is a wee one, but a colorful one

So now is the "brag about my baby" time. She's almost 9 months old, and is a quick little whipper-snapper! She started crawling around 7 months, standing/pulling herself up unassisted at 8 months, and is starting to scoot around places (scaling the perimeters) by herself at 9 months. Her BFF from school, Sydney, is only 6 weeks older than she is, and is already walking. So if she wants to keep up with her (literally, and I suppose figuratively), she'll probably be walking in the near future.

Diddy White Party up in here! Ignore the awful paint job. Of course you didn't notice it until I just pointed it out, right?

I guess that isn't really bragging rights, as I do realize this means nothing in the way of "is she a good soul?" "will she be a kind person?" "will she treat others with respect?" etc. Those are the true bragging rights a parent can have. This developmental stuff isn't so much bragging rights, as conversation starters to talk with other people, as everyone, yes EVERYONE, loves to wax poetic about their kids days as babies. I could literally talk about my baby for hours with people, but I try to limit myself as I know people are eventually like "OKAY I GOTTA GO NOW, PLEASE STOP TALKING".

She loves him, yeah, yeah, yeah... he is her Paul McCarttney

What else...

Eyes are as big as they appear

Well, so I may feel less stressed than I did a few months ago, but.... I don't know. I feel kind of... boring. And bored. I guess those two go hand-in-hand, don't they? I am bored, mostly because I don't really have any hobbies at the moment, other than talking about babies, and reading about babies on the internet. :P That, in turn, makes me boring. And anytime I find myself in a situation where I have to talk to a stranger (see: this week at the company holiday luncheon where they bussed us to downtown Ann Arbor and I sat next to 'strangers' from work on the bus) I get a little self-conscious about what I'm "bringing to the conversation". Not that I can't talk to people, I just fear that I bore them with my lame-o small talk. Then I eavesdrop on others and get jealous of their chit-chat-repertoire. I guess I just always am able to find a way to pick at aspects of my personality (see: this entire paragraph), and this sort of negative self-talk (or, blog post) is not good for the psyche.

Best $3 I ever spent

I need to love myself more!

                               Ham                                                              Hammier                                                  Hammiest (Oink Oink!)

So...

I love that I completed a half marathon just six months after having a baby.

Wheeeee!  P.S. Like my powder blue minivan in the background?!

I love that I got a new job and that people respect me.

Baby and Mama

I love that it's Christmas time and that I'm like 97.5% sure that Claire remembers me blasting Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" while she was in-utero reaaaaally really loudly because now every time she hears it (at least 2x/day) she dances and kicks her legs like crazy.

She truly couldn't be a happier baby, and for that I am thankful.

I love my baby.

She loves bathtime. When we remember to give her one! (True story)

I love my husband.

Look at how lucky I am!

I love my dog. My really crazy dog. The one who must insert himself between you and the baby anytime you're playing on the floor with her (omg, need to document this via picture... it's so funny), because HE'S THE BABY, REMEMBER ME MOM? YOUR FIRST BABY? PLAY WITH ME!!

Murphy, Christmas Spirit 2010. Love him!