So Proud!

17 Months, Week 3

So when I was pregnant, I was so adamant about baby sign language to help Nora and us communicate together. Starting at 6 months, we tried “food,” “sleep,” “milk,” and “more.” As a working Mom we weren’t around Nora enough to continue the sign language and we didn’t really push our Moms or sitters to sign to Nora so we thought it was pretty much a lost art. 

This week - at 17 months - she made the sign for “more” [while saying more] for food! It’s a little ironic since she can ask for more, but suddenly signing for it also. We aren’t sure if maybe out sitter is signing to Nora - ? Either way, we are proud of her.

Additionally, Nora’s vocabulary has rocketed the past two weeks - she repeats everything we say and remembers many phrases; “Daddy’s car!” “Mommy tired.” Of course we think she ’s brilliant : )

Not Nora - but this is the sign for “more.”

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This afternoon we went to Miami Meadows - east of here down Route 131. It’s a big clear space for soccer games, a playground and a dog park. Nora met a friend named Mackenzie. Mackenzie was 20 mos old and not quite as social. Nora just loves people [a new word she likes] and enjoyed walking with Mackenzie. The two girls simply walked around while myself and Mackenzie’s Mom followed the girls - they were all so nice and were from Loveland and maybe we’ll see them again at the park!

33 Year Streak Ended...

Even though as my Dad said - “Don’t expect a lot of sympathy,” my lifetime of no cavities has come to an end as of this week and I’m pretty bummed. I’m the type of person who has carried a lot of pride with my clean mouth. 

And it’s ironic that my Dad didn’t have any sympathy for me because I’m fairly certain my dedication to flossing came from him. 

Will be experiencing my first filling before November!

Lovin’ on Daddy

From about 6-8 weeks ago : ) 

It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like... Summer!

Month 17, Week 

Mother’s Day weekend was nice - Saturday was our celebration day. We ate at Copper Blue in town which had good food and craft beer. Nora was very well behaved and ate like a champ. 

Sunday we had a nice visit with the Krons. However, I had to fast all day due to a poorly-timed colonoscopy I had on Monday. *Long story short, I had some symptoms that prompted a “just-to-be-sure” procedure which turned out to be just fine. So I was pretty cranky towards the end of the day and pretty sure I was PMSing on top of that. Yuck.

This weekend was lovely despite a few rain showers here and there. I had to take Friday off because our sitter needed off and we’d already tapped the Grandmas for the week. Nora and I made a trip up to Tipp City to wish Grammy Batty a Happy Mother’s Day and visit. 

Nora even spent a whole hour with Grandpa while my Mom and I hit some garage sales. It sounded like Grandpa and Nora had a fun time together! We hit the road at 1pm and Nora slept the whole way home. 

Saturday morning I went on a 6 mile run - not very long, but working my way back up again. We hit some garage sales again and a consignment shop where I found an official NFL girl’s Bengals jersey for $5! I’m not a fan of the pink-sportswear-for-girls, but for $5, Nora will wear it. 

Tim was off with his guy friends for the afternoon/night, so Nora and I ventured into Milford for some park time and soft serve ice cream. The rain pushed us back home so I had to continually think up some activities for her so she wouldn’t get too bored. It was fun yet challenging spending so much time with Nora alone this weekend - which may sound strange to some since she’s my daughter, but I’m also a full-time working Mom. She’s a busy toddler, which family tells me, so it’s not just in my head. 

Saturday evening, Aunt Stephanie visited for a few hours which was a treat for both of us! Stephanie enjoyed Nora’s quirkiness - such as smelling a mole on the inside of my arm. Yup.

Tim arrived home at 10am on Sunday which felt like mid-day since Nora woke up at 6:15 - Zzzz. It was nice to have Tim home so I could break off and do some chores and shower. After Nora’s nap we made a trip to Cincinnati Nature Center and walked around a bit in the heat. We still have not turned on our A/C - it’s amazing how being surrounded by trees really keeps your home cool and efficient - woo!

Seclusion

Remember that photo of the deck view from winter? The trees have filled in and we are in the canopy! Love it! 

Ps & Qs

17 Months, Week 1

A shining moment as a Mother this morning - Nora came up to me with her sippy cup and said “Pea Mo?” translation: please more

My heart fluttered!

Stop... Potty Time!

17 Month, Week 1

Nora has a few bad habits. #1 would be the thumb sucking [I’ll save that for a later date.] #2 She likes to stick her hands into the back of her diaper.

Poor Carrie has had to deal with poopy hands only once. Thankfully Nora typically does it with wet diapers.

We talk a lot about “pee-pee” and “poo-poo” and where it goes and what we do in the potty. Nora seems to be catching on fast as she’ll say “poo-poo” and then walk to the stairs for a diaper change, yet there’s no poo. 

So if she’s keen on the idea, we may go ahead and buy her a training potty to start her learning at the very least. 

I can’t believe we’re beginning it already...

Flying Pig Part 3 - After

After saying our goodbyes and congrats to each other, Tim, Steph and I grabbed a coffee - Best. Coffee. Ever. Probably because I’d been up since 4am. And had just run 13.1 miles. And was shivering. Did I mention my lips were blue? 

We dropped Stephanie off and headed to Tim’s sister, Amy’s to pick Nora up - she graciously watched Nora since the weather was going to be bad. Nora had a blast with her cousins and I think they enjoyed her too : ) We picked her up around 11am and we were only in the car 5 minutes before she conked OUT. 

We arrived home and I had to take some “selfies” [self portraits] because Tim had Nora on his shoulder on the couch so she’d continue to sleep - aww. 

I feel good despite some creaky hip joints

An early and exciting day for everyone!

As Tim & Nora slept, I hopped in the shower. Amazing. It was hard to get out. Nora woke around 12:30 and we all had lunch. Tim showered. We went to retrieve my car and get groceries - Hey, 13.1 miles ain’t going to help get dinner made this week! It was now about 3:30 and we were able to enjoy some lounging as a family with the crummy weather outside. Nora used an old paper towel roll as her robot hand: 

Look at me -I’m Crazy Tube-Hand.  I’ve got a tube for a hand - isn’t that... CRAZY?

As 5:30 approached, Mommy wanted to celebrate her accomplishment with a beer - a beer I used to drink in London on tap! Mmmm... We also ordered carryout burgers and fries. We were too tired to cook and I cashed in my “Not-A-Vegetarian-For-A-Day” card for my post-race craving. Hey, I’ve always said I’m a Veg 9 out of 10 times! 

Overall, it was an awesome day and I look forward to doing it again!

Flying Pig Part 2 - During

I took a quick hot rinse to wake up my blood. Got my clothes on and hair tucked into a hat [ponytail for the win!]

I ate my oatmeal/honey/blueberries, had a small drink of water and was out the door at 4:35am to meet up with the Sheehans, Anne’s sister and our friend Beth [whom I spent time in London with].

We arrived prior to our 5am departure and were able to take some pre-race photos of tees we had made to support our friend Mike, who is battling colon/liver cancer [successfully I might add!]. 

Myself, Tom & Anne giving Mike positive energy!

We parked the cars around 5:30am and made our way to Paul Brown Stadium where we all used the restroom prior to race time and it was somewhat warmer. The temp was mid-50s which is perfect running weather, but we needed long sleeves before we hit the pavement. There was also the chance for spotty showers, so I wore a baseball cap so I could see if I was getting pounded in the face with rain.

Kate [Anne’s sister], Beth, myself and Anne

We made our way to the Pig Pens - when we registered we enter our estimated finish time, so they divide up participants based on their pace; the faster you are, the closer you are to the start line. They went from A to H. I was in E - the biggest percentage of runners. Yay average! 

I waited about 15 minutes in my corral. 5 minutes before I took off my long sleeves and chucked them to the sidewalk [a lot of people do this and am fairly certain they donate the thrown out clothing to shelters]. Some bagpipes played “Amazing Grace” [?], the National Anthem was played, the sun began to rise and create a pink horizon over Paul Brown stadium and the horn was sounded - we were off! 

The race is amazingly organized and the amount of people who are along the course and cheering is fantastic. There is some form of entertainment at almost every mile - my favorite were the older women dance team in pink wigs and black catsuits early in the race. 

Half the spectators hold signs of encouragement which are fun to read - a popular sign reads, “Worst Parade Ever.” Clever but overused now. 

The worst part of the Pig is Mile 6 - Mile 8: uphill HELL. There is no way to prepare for it unless you train ON the course. Between miles 8 and 9 is when my sister Stephanie popped into view and I was the one shouting her down - what a great pick-me-up! Then not 30 yards later, there’s Tim! Seeing them gave me the boost I needed. 

Finally by mile 9.5 we reached the last of the inclines and hooked left onto Gilbert to head back downtown. This is all downhill and my pace picks up to under 10 minutes/mile finally. 

Right after mile 12 by the Horseshoe Casino there are about 6 showgirls in their saucy getups waving us all on. Really?!

Heading down Eggleston then the final sweep down Pete Rose Way was energizing though my body was starting to shut down. 

I could see the finish line probably 50 yards ahead and was feeling pretty good despite a sore bum and legs. I could feel the crowd surging and starting to cheer and didn’t understand what was happening - until I looked behind me... the front runner of the full marathon winner was approaching behind us in the next lane - ! I heard them call his name [Latino] and I saw him give his thanks to God above and he obviously passed me as I made my way to the Finish Swine. It was surreal. As I walked past all the news cameras were circled around him with his laurel leaf crown on - crazy! 

They circled us around US Bank to get our [heavy] medals and stations of food and drinks galore. All of us passed up the mylar wraps because we were so “warm” at the time - dumb - as our body temps dropped we were shivering - I found one on the ground and used it - it worked amazingly. 

The five of us all did great and finished very well - Yay! 

Stephanie was so inspired that we’re going to do the Hudepohl 14K [9 miles] in September together - can’t wait! 

Kate [the old Pro], Beth [1st Half wooo!], myself and Anne

Flying Pig Part 1 - Before

Friday was jacked up. I’d planned for my Mom to stay into the evening after watching Nora so Tim and I could go out to celebrate his birthday - we were pretty excited until Tim’s job reared its ugly head.  He was essentially held up late and our plans crumbled. We were pretty bummed, but we enjoy being home and still are able to celebrate his birthday with health and happiness, so we celebrated what we have!

We thought this “birthday weekend” was going to get worse because Tim was slated to go into to work for about 4 hours on Saturday. Wow. Thankfully, his coworkers got word that it was even his birthday on Friday, so they told him to stay home. Whew. So our Saturday turned out to be pleasant with a good amount of outdoor time.

Saturday night was strange - frankly I’m used to winding down with a glass of wine but I was not going to cause any reason for an “off” run in the AM and I needed to get decent sleep - so I was really good about hydrating all day.

I think the logistics around the race is more stressful than the physical race; how to transport there/with who, what to bring, how to meet up with your friend/family afterwards, etc. I laid out my clothes, pinned my bib on my shirt, had everything ready to go for when I woke up!

I made Tim his birthday key lime pie [we still have yet to try it]. I made our weekly menu/grocery list and was asleep by 9:30pm. 

I woke up at 2:15 to pee, then woke up at 3:45am and thought “Dang, I have to get up in 25 minutes.” Got a few more winks and woke up at 4:05am!

Future Flying Piglet in Mommy’s shirt!

So Big!

17 Months, Week 1

I took this photo of Nora Friday evening after her fun day with Grammy Batty - she’s in her Aunt Molly’s old PJs! We also thought Nora looked so much older in this picture!

Nothing New...

16 Months, Week 4

I’m a little out of touch with Nora’s naps which makes me feel out of touch as her mother... at the sitter Nora takes one nap around 1pm every day - which is easy - she has her system with many kids and Nora knows that. 

On the weekends we’re in a transition period I think; her awake time is much longer now, but without the other kids around, she gets sleepy late morning... so as we’re out running errands, she’ll fall asleep in the car around 11:30 - doh! But whatever - we’re all flexible, so we work with it. 

Last Saturday we took Ailo get his nails “did.” As he was being groomed, we thought Nora would enjoy seeing the dogs in the kennel. She did - for a short time.

The Flying Pig is on Sunday bright and early... I’m fairly confident I’ll do decent and hoping the rain will hold out... or only contain itself to light sprinkles.