Two Parts: 'Sam's 18 Month Stats' & 'Mud and Flood'

Sam's 18 Month Stats:

This morning was Sam's 18 month check-up. A week late, but close enough :-) Unfortunately, I can't proclaim that she is actually weighing in at over 20 lbs., even though that was what the scale indicated last week when I took her in for an ear check. Today she weighed in at 19 lbs. 9 oz., and is now 30 1/4" long. Her head circumference is 17 3/4".

All of this means she is one small munchkin! Her weight puts her pretty much at the bottom of the percentage chart, and maybe even off it. Our doctor, however, wasn't concerned, noting that overall, Sam's been gaining weight, even if slowly, on her own curve, and she's never been in the high range on the scale anyway. For height and head circumference, she's in the 10th percentile, so right about where she's always been.

She is slightly ahead of the curve verbally and with her fine motor skills, but may be a bit behind on the gross motor skills, ie. climbing, etc, simply because she's so small and honestly can't climb up onto things easily! :-) Otherwise, she seems to be doing great, and there are no concerns. Other notes: She's getting in her two top 1 year molars (with the top right partway through) and one canine tooth, and her bottom gums are swollen, meaning those teeth are imminent. And she has another ear infection. Ah yes, this is why she was so happy last night! Here's hoping the antibiotics kick in quickly!

~

Mud and Flood


After we got home from the doctor and pharmacy, and gave Sam her lunch, she went up for her nap. As soon as she was asleep, I headed out the door. The plan was for 10 miles. Of course, by the time I started the run it was 12:45, I hadn't eaten much all day, and I didn't sleep much last night. Recipe for a good run, for sure :-) Ha. But I figured I'd give it a go. It was a nice sunny day, and just a bit windy. Although Ryan cautioned that I was likely to run into some flooding along the Cathance River, I thought I'd give the Cathance trails a try anyway. I really wanted to do something different, and to see how things were shaping up down in the single track.

Needless to say, it was very wet and muddy, pretty much everywhere. And the river was high. Along the first stretch of trail, the river meandered quietly, its muddy waters seeping up over the banks in spots. Then, after Barnes Leap, the rapids were roaring wildly, the water churning, even overtaking our favorite rock outcropping.

Roaring river

Rushing water

I was actually pretty easily able to work around everything, either by doing some creative bushwacking, or, in two spots, do some fancy footwork on a downed tree to get across a swollen tributary. It wasn't until 3.5 miles into the run, as I hit the head of the Rapid's Loop that I was stymied. I looked down into the ravine, the bottom of which is a small stream with a decent bridge crossing, and realized I couldn't get across. I couldn't even see the bridge. So, I turned up the hill instead, running the top of the Beaver Loop, and taking the dirt road out to the Ravine Trail, where I found the majority of the snow for the day, as well as a lot of shoe-sucking mud. I returned up the road and hooked back up with the Heath Trail, scaring up a solitary Great Blue Heron among the marsh grasses. For the final few miles, I meandered a bit down the back Highland Green Road and on the Mt. Ararat trails to get the mileage to an even 9.0. I had been out for 1:29, and that was more than enough for the day. The twisting single track was tough work in conditions like today's and I was tired enough before I started. Still, it was a wet, muddy and fun run on the Cathance trails, and I was happy to be back out running on them!