18 Month Stats

Ally went to the doctor for her 18 month check-up on Wednesday:

24 lbs 14 oz (60th percentile)
34 inches (97th percentile)

18 Months

Wearing Carter's hat during lunch today (he was at school).

Ally is officially 18 months old today, which is really hard for me to believe! Here are my favorite 18 things about her:

1. She has the most contagious laugh.

2. She loves to be tickled.

3. She imitates everything Carter does, both good and bad.

4. She loves her baby and her baby stroller.

5. She loves playing outside.

6. She used to be a good eater, but now she is fairly picky. Dinner is usually not a fun time at our house. She does, however, LOVE M&Ms.

7. Sometimes she thinks she is part boy.

8. When I ask her what she wants to wear for the day, she always says "bow," but she won't keep it in very long.

9. She shows me her painted toenails several times a day.

10. Her hugs and kisses can melt my heart faster than anything.

11. Reading books is one of her favorite things to do during the day.

12. Fear is not in her vocabulary, unless it has to do with bugs.

13. She can hum several songs, including "ABC's" and "Twinkle, Twinkle."

14. She thinks it is funny when it is time to take a nap and goes and hides somewhere. I usually think it is pretty funny, too.

15. Going "bye bye" can take her from grumpy to happy in a matter of seconds.

16. Stubborn should have been her middle name.

17. Her replies to questions are usually "No" or "Yes Ma'am."

18. She loves to sing and dance!

I could go on and on about how much I love this girl, but I will stop here. She really is such a blessing to me, and our entire family, and I am so lucky that God chose me to be her Mama!

I started recording all the words she knows last week but finally had to stop because I couldn't keep up! Here are some that I wrote down:

Mama/Dada

baby

bed

mimi (her blankets)

milk/juice

tights/shoes

Daisy (our dog)/Pheobe (our cat)

fish

snack

go

truck

hat

bird/puppy/cat

seat

teeth

bow

outside/play

glasses

pen

backpack

book/school
please/thank you

no/yes ma'am

spoon/plate

eyes/nose

here.you.go (all one word)

Gaga/Bubba/Nana

books

hi/hello

socks...

Okay, I'll stop. I wonder how many times she will get in trouble for talking at school!

Soccer Star

Carter started soccer last week, and although he's only had one practice so far, he seems to really enjoy it! He has practice every Thursday, but his games don't start until after Spring Break. He has asked every day, "What day is it outside?" because I keep telling him that he can only wear his soccer cleats on practice days! I still can't believe he is old enough to play soccer!

Race Day

The day started extra early, at 5:30 am, so that I could wake up and get ready to leave for downtown at 6:30 am. My friend, and running buddy Denise, came over so that Sam could just drop us off and not have to worry about trying to find a parking spot.

It was so cold, especially while waiting at the starting line! We picked a pace group, and I am so happy that we ran into my friend, Kristie, when we got there! It was great to see her, and it was nice to know that someone else would be suffering along with us!

I was impressed when we started to how many people were there (most of them in front of me). I was excited, and after what seemed just a few minutes of running, we were passing Mile 1. I gave Denise a high-five and knew it was going to be a great day!

Despite the wind and cold, I felt great the whole way. I had my running partner and my ipod, and time seemed to pass quickly. The best part was seeing people cheer for me along the way: my neighbor, Kendra came out around mile 5; my family around mile 9; and another friend around miles 6 and 10.

I can't even describe how great it felt to round the corner and see the finish line. After just starting running in August, I really never thought that I would be able to finish a 1/2, even after all my training! I suffered through back problems, tummy problems, illness, children's illness, etc, and thought about quitting many, many times. If it weren't for the encouragement of many people, especially Sam, I wouldn't have gone through with it and stuck it out!

Speaking of Sam, I just want to say a special thank you to him. He was awesome during this, and I know that sometimes it was just as hard on him as it was on me. He got home early from work on my running days so he could watch the kids, took care of them on Saturdays for my early long runs, listened to me and gave me encouragement and support when I needed it the most. He knew this was important to me, and for that I am thankful!

Here is a picture of the kids waiting to see Mommy, somewhere around mile 9. Sam said that, although they were freezing, they were troopers and were happy and excited most of the time.


Mommy arrives (I promise there were more runners!).


Ally finally gave in and took a nap while waiting for me downtown. The finish line area was packed, so unfortunately, they didn't get to see me finish. We met up about 15 minutes after the race.

We did it! Denise, my running buddy, and I pose for a picture with our medals!

A picture of all the signs Sam made for me, along with my medal and race number.

I Did It!

I completed my 1/2 marathon today in 2:21:43! It was really windy and cold, but I had a great time and enjoyed running it! I will post pictures tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who called and emailed me (before and after), and special thanks to Sam, Carter, Ally and my Mom for being there to support me! I love y'all!

3/4

That's how many people in our family are currently on antibiotics! Yes, it has been a rough week. It started out with Carter not feeling well, and being diagnosed with a sinus infection last Thursday. Follow that by another trip to the pediatrician on Valentine's Day, where we were told Ally had a cold and beginning stages of an ear infection. We ended up taking Ally back to the doctor on Tuesday, where they confirmed that she has a severe virus. Tuesday morning I woke up not feeling so hot, and by the end of the day, I was pretty sure I was coming down with the flu. Thankfully, Sam was able to take off work yesterday and take care of me and Ally while Carter was at school. After a brutal trip to the local Urgent Care clinic, they diagnosed me with a sinus infection and upper respiratory infection. I got a shot in the hip, two prescriptions and a note to not return to work until 2/21. I told the doctor I was a stay at home mommy, so I'm not sure if she wasn't listening or just thought it would be a funny joke to give me an excuse from work! Too bad I can't take it!

Although I am thankful that things are not worse, I was really hoping to stay healthy for at least 2 more weeks. You see, I am supposed to run my first 1/2 marathon next Saturday (9 days from now), and although I am very hopeful that I will feel better by then, I know that I will not be at 100%. This has been a long, and sometimes painful, journey for me that started in October, and it is so frustrating that I feel like I am not going to be at my full potential! Until then, I will keep chugging my vitamin C, taking my meds and praying for a miracle!

My Special Valentines