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I didn't have the best run yesterday. I hate it when that happens. I was really hoping for a solid 10, or maybe even 12 miles. Instead, I struggled through the 9 miles I did manage, although I kept up a decent pace of a little over 9:30s, so that part was good at least. I headed out at 9:45 after Sam went down for her nap - it was humid and sunny, and the temps were hovering in the high 70s. I was feeling pretty wiped out so I didn't have a lot of energy going into the run anyway. Sam is still up one or two times a night to nurse, and I've been trying to get up early before she wakes up to run during the week, so with the 5am wake-ups and getting a few 3 or 4 hour blocks of sleep instead of one continuous stretch, I seem to just have run myself down a bit this week. I also haven't been diligent about stretching, and by mile 7, my left IT band was pretty unhappy. Ugh. But enough of the excuses. It wasn't my day, and although it makes me a little nervous that I am getting pretty far into Stonecat training and haven't managed to run over 14 miles for my long run, I'm just trying to roll with it. Besides, what I've realized is that one of the best (and hardest) things about being a parent is that you don't really have the time to dwell on things like a bad 9 mile run when you have to chase a newly crawling 10 month old around for the rest of the day! Not to mention, she doesn't care that I'm tired and didn't feel good on my run. All she wants is to laugh and play and make faces at each other all afternoon. And how can I be upset when I'm doing that?! So there. Enough of feeling sorry for myself! :-)

Speaking of Sam, she is changing every day now. She holds both her hands over her head when we say "This big!" (or when Ryan says "Touchdown"). She does this funny little "come here" movement with her hand when she wants to get something out of her reach. She tries to put her baseball cap on her head (she can't quite do it, but she has the gesture down!). She will use one toy to get another closer to her. She grooves to music, bopping back and forth (but not side to side) - so cute! She wants to eat like we do, and although she won't eat them when trying to feed herself, she will eat things like blueberries and broccoli off an adult fork. Her crawling has progressed amazingly in just the past few days, and she can now make a circuit around the whole downstairs. She can pivot to go in the direction she wants, and is oh so close to figuring out how to get from the crawling position to the sitting position. She loves to "walk" around the house, holding onto our hands. She has taken to pointing at things, like the kitty in her "100 First Words" book, and can turn the pages of her books for me. She can find the toys we "hide" under her play bowls, and has transitioned entirely to a sippy cup when not nursing (No more bottles for us! Hurray!). She says "Mamamama" and reaches out for me to pick her up when she's getting tired or needs a hug. It is a joy to watch her change and grow, and to see her personality emerge more and more each day!