3 and 1

I snuck in a very mellow three mile run yesterday morning after dropping Sam off at daycare. Definitely felt a little creaky, but it was a gorgeous, cool morning and nice to get the legs moving. It's hard to believe there are only 2 1/2 weeks until Stonecat! Wow. When I first registered for the race it seemed so far away. Now it is almost here! I'll plan to do one more mid-length run of 10 to 12 miles this weekend, but other than that, I'm keeping things short and sweet for the next two weeks. Which, frankly, isn't too different than I've been doing throughout this whole training cycle. Not exactly how I planned the past few months, but what can you do? It is what it is, and I'll just have to work with what I have. I know the marathon is going to be tough. Yes, it is a nice course, and seems like it could be a relatively fast one at that, but I don't have a ton of miles in the bank to work off of, so I am going in realizing that the last 6 to 8 miles are going to hurt (at least a little bit, anyway!). Which means I'm a bit nervous about the whole thing. I had had grand plans earlier this summer for being in awesome shape and running a fast race. I haven't totally dismissed that goal, but I'm also being realistic, and know that finishing, no matter the time, will be an accomplishment in and of itself, given my training and this silly tight left leg. Whatever the outcome, I do know that it will be fun - so many of our Trail Monster friends will be there running, it's bound to be a good time!

Silly girl :-)

As for the "one" in the title, I realized I hadn't done a "baby book" update on Sam's latest tricks in a while. Now that Sam is one, she is definitely more of a toddler than a baby. She's still nursing at night and early mornings, but is eating more and more solids every day. She seems to go through phases of eating a lot and eating little, but when she's hungry, she is HUNGRY! :-) She is cruising pretty confidently around the furniture, and pulling herself up from sitting and kneeling to her feet with regularity. She even stood on her own for a few seconds the other night. When she holds our hands to walk, she really doesn't walk, she runs! We have a runner in the making, I think :-) I am sure it won't be long before she takes her first independent steps.

She is making adorable sounds and "phrases," and we think she said "Gigi" the other night, although perhaps we were just projecting?! Despite not adding any more real words to her repertoire, she is now very good at letting us know what she wants by pointing with purpose, and at expressing her displeasure or excitement much more vocally. She puts her little head on our shoulders and wraps her arm around our necks now for hugs, and gives us cute open-mouth kisses when we ask (or when she feels like it :-)), and is still a little social butterfly. She is also an adorable goofball, and is definitely a character!