tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83756573616688865022024-03-21T07:42:50.999-07:00sisterbison.....running with babybisonValhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.comBlogger347125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-48554756622645873822015-11-01T12:46:00.000-08:002015-11-01T12:46:48.440-08:00Mount Desert Island Marathon…..1st blog post in 18 months…..<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzjhEanqWad5h4kHWLkZPXdy6NssH_FENpuoAgyBoRCXp4sw3VMN8J01GltX7xqQZvxL42R1uI-J-U27PvESrivqpmVuGmPDuNPZa79fyXFkip-o3bi6BiSQJSG4owcyq0jIcI-Mirj5Q/s1600/IMG_5833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzjhEanqWad5h4kHWLkZPXdy6NssH_FENpuoAgyBoRCXp4sw3VMN8J01GltX7xqQZvxL42R1uI-J-U27PvESrivqpmVuGmPDuNPZa79fyXFkip-o3bi6BiSQJSG4owcyq0jIcI-Mirj5Q/s320/IMG_5833.jpg" width="320" /></a>This is my first <span class="il">blog</span> post in 1.5 years. And as I wrote it (before I saved it) it vanished so this is a re-do. A shortened, probably less funny re-do. Such a bummer. The first was fun and funny and I liked it. But now I'm starting over from scratch so I apologize if it sucks!! (I especially apologize to DT out in Denver CO, my most loyal reader!)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the hotel (Harborside)</td></tr>
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Two weekends ago I left my beautiful 2.5 yr old daughter and my kind husband and travelled to Mount Desert Island (near Acadia National Park) to run a marathon. It was my first marathon since I had baby Z. At the time I signed up for it I thought it would be a "race". You know, where you train hard, and work hard through the race, and overcome some obstacles and persevere with a PR or something close to it at the end. But as the weeks passed and a total of 3 "long runs" (i.e. longer than 13 miles) with the rare mid-week run became what I called "training", I knew I needed a new plan. Combine that with cold/allergies/something is stuck in my chest since September 15th and well, race isn't the best word for that kind of situation.</div>
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I debated bagging the whole trip. The few weeks leading up to the trip were pretty rough on the homefront with Z solidly entering something that I assume is considered the "terrible twos", my work scheduling becoming crazy, and these mean mucus blobs taking up residence in my chest. I was honestly really looking forward to a few days away from the former two even though I knew the third would join me on the 10 hour journey from Illinois to Maine. To aid my decision to go or to stay I polled my friends at work, my husband, myself. Fall is a beautiful time in Illinois, why would I leave my family for a few hours of self-imposed torture? In the end I decided that the best version of myself would do the race and PR. A very good version of myslef would do the race. A poor version of myself would give up and not go. So I went.</div>
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Race morning was perfect. B/t 35-50 degrees and sunny. Folks were in good spirits. Lots of mommies running with daddies and newborns/babies/toddlers spectating. Inspirational. All that jazz. During the first mile I was short of breath. Not that "I need more oxygen (or more correctly less CO2), I'm out of shape" short of breath. More like huge glubs of mucus are actually preventing me from moving air through my trachea. I've "raced" marathons with a head cold and done well. Chest congestion....a whole new beast. To make it worse, I feel pretty strongly that unless you are planning to run "fast" (which I have a loose definition of- me on a good day I'd consider "fast"), you really shouldn't be spitting and snorting on the course. If you are on a mission to a PR, go ahead and do what you gotta do (though the jury is still out on "poop if you gotta", cute tag line but EWW!). So I was coughing up (and then containing) a heathy dose of mucus (also EWW!).</div>
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So with breathing a problem in mile 1 and not letting up by mile 3 I needed to make a gameplan. I thought about quitting. I thought about this at miles 3, 5 and 10. At mile 10 I figured it was almost as close to the finish as the start so I might was well continue to make forward progress. When I thought about quitting I thought about the bad example that would set for Z. And my friends. And my colleagues. I'm not a quitter. So that was not reallly seriously entertained. But I had a decision to make. Was this going to turn into a horrible slogfest where I just got my 4 limbs from point A to point B, or was there another option?</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Incredible leaves the entire course-<br />
but not enough to keep despair at bay!</td></tr>
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I decided I was going to enjoy this marathon. I realize some folks (GDN) probably think that is an oxy moron. But I thought I could find a way. I decided to treat this as a few hours outside in a beautful place. No pressure to run. No time pressure. I let go of the idea of getting a time I would be proud of. (Not hard to do when the pace group that would be your PR passes you at mile 3, but a bit harder when the pace group for some of your slowest marathons goes by). I walked up the hills. I raced down the hills (cuz THAT's fun!). I stopped and took lots of pictures. I walked whenever I felt like it. I did NOT look at my Garmin. I threw out all my mental games like run one song, walk one song, or run to that next tree or sign or person. I did whatever I wanted to do to ENJOY THE MARATHON!</div>
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Maybe others have already figured this out. But it was novel for me.</div>
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Even after I made this decision, I despaired. Marathoners know what I mean. That low grade despair that sets in in the early miles before the endorphins, when you've accomplisehd so little and have so many freakin' miles ahead of you. I despaired becuase while nice with leaves changing and all, the first 6 miles aren't all that special. </div>
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Then I saw this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2tmSBj7qjYwnKbmC7-dJzso1bXZGvZmQbi3nkRNI9oUQM46ThRsSBFYXzEEETQlFLZjRhqT7tBK-GO_QZSD3lNP86LX8QaO-no6AzZDOJcteeG8kCapyxxUByqQr3yeha4gtsU4iE9OY/s1600/IMG_5810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2tmSBj7qjYwnKbmC7-dJzso1bXZGvZmQbi3nkRNI9oUQM46ThRsSBFYXzEEETQlFLZjRhqT7tBK-GO_QZSD3lNP86LX8QaO-no6AzZDOJcteeG8kCapyxxUByqQr3yeha4gtsU4iE9OY/s320/IMG_5810.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwnYcLuxNVgtVrgUNZnhdqGUF-MUJ0__j_E1nJFst6ltOCeI09aP2zkZbIkS4YhLBmtclRqv8iOxhu9OzotdPd_cmrQq53oPDs41jYjC5M9lmqJQHbdX9iQQwEmH4f7-quG_SJjz7Tsfg/s1600/IMG_5815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwnYcLuxNVgtVrgUNZnhdqGUF-MUJ0__j_E1nJFst6ltOCeI09aP2zkZbIkS4YhLBmtclRqv8iOxhu9OzotdPd_cmrQq53oPDs41jYjC5M9lmqJQHbdX9iQQwEmH4f7-quG_SJjz7Tsfg/s320/IMG_5815.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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All of a sudden, we were at the water. The beautiful ocean. Ahh! I rode high for a few miles, walking, running, listening to music, smiling. Things generally were okay. I did more running than was strictly "enjoyable" becuase I had other things to do with my day and I didn't want to be on the course forever. I really didn't want this running to get in the way of my nap, my massage and my wine and lobster that night. So I ran. I ran so I could nap. I'm not kidding. Really, if you don't have a nap on your vacation without your spouse and child, can you call the trip a success? The anwer is no.</div>
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Marathons are long, even when you are trying to have fun. I was that jerk who facetimed while on the course. Twice. (Tried to do it with no one around, I missed Z!!) Additionally, it is just plain cruel and unusual for miles 21-24 to be solidly uphill. No way to make that good. Best version of myself thought "this sucks and I'd like to die now". I don't really want to be friends with the person whose best version says "looks like a good challenge!" anyway.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvhhfcIC3TOp9T5Bk-G6evEMkrsc3OIqfX0dc88Px6FeIqV_bqhkJxFNHhBPx86SuHWTZ_OMHAhoOhmcaA43mR6aaCrQt5BZZ1jEapIe7Q94dki8PAG7DAhDRS1UKby-h4FFQuSOmPhmw/s1600/IMG_5804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvhhfcIC3TOp9T5Bk-G6evEMkrsc3OIqfX0dc88Px6FeIqV_bqhkJxFNHhBPx86SuHWTZ_OMHAhoOhmcaA43mR6aaCrQt5BZZ1jEapIe7Q94dki8PAG7DAhDRS1UKby-h4FFQuSOmPhmw/s320/IMG_5804.jpg" width="240" /></a>I will say the spectators were good and I felt a bit guilty accepting their cheers. There was a very enthusiastic woman at mile 19 (which happens to be uphill and right along the road so I was mildly concerned about tripping and falling into the road) who was shouting "You are in CHARGE of this marathon! You are the BOSS of it! You show it who's in charge!". I felt like a fraud. "I'm doing this for fun, lady, I've tossed aside the idea of this being a test of endurance or physical prowess or whatever we usually do this sort of thing for". In reality I said "thank you".</div>
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So the big question is, will I do this again? Will I leave my family for a weekend to run a marathon I'm poorly trained for, albeit in a beautiful place? I don't think so. I had a good time. It was really important for me to do this race to maintain my identity as a marathoner and a person independent of "mom" "doctor" "spouse" etc. But I'd much prefer to fold a marathon into a family trip of some sort (which was the initial intention with this one anyway, just didn't work out). I don't even need them to spectate, I just want to travel with them and have dinner with them afteward (preferably after the massage and nap). I am trying to do all 50 states. I will eventually. But right now, I don't want to spare the time to train properly and while this marathon was a fun exception for me to let go and enjoy, that's not the way I generally set out to do marathons. I want to PR, I want to qualify for Boston. I need to train to do either.</div>
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The main reason I may not do another marathon for a while is the same reason I probably won't write another <span class="il">blog</span> post for a while. Right now my life is very full. I want to spend time with my daughter, my husband, my family, my friends, shoot I even like my job right now. Training for marathons and writing <span class="il">blogs</span> takes away from those things (or sleep, but I really need sleep). Maybe in a few weeks I'll change my mind. But for now, I'm going to get another glass of wine, some dessert and spend some time watching trashy TV. Maybe THAT'S what weekends away from daughter and husband are really for:)<br />
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Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-22348944284109892852014-04-09T17:57:00.000-07:002014-04-09T17:57:49.218-07:00Swimming with Babybison<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglm4gaFKU8TjB63W4TpeZusj2-F6VXJyX992Ww7JD5WBhE9Bqm__oELH33YgvuXg-U_PM-cYK8JO1XPVQjccuRp6v1Qpex9EMrl4tA71ZlVIPNVyU_pwDNSjBD1pp8Xj91AUv_LYUt7PQ/s1600/DSC_0389.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglm4gaFKU8TjB63W4TpeZusj2-F6VXJyX992Ww7JD5WBhE9Bqm__oELH33YgvuXg-U_PM-cYK8JO1XPVQjccuRp6v1Qpex9EMrl4tA71ZlVIPNVyU_pwDNSjBD1pp8Xj91AUv_LYUt7PQ/s1600/DSC_0389.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a>Zooey and I started swimming lessons 4 weeks ago and it is SO FUN!!! She had been in the pool a few times before and seemed to enjoy it so we thought it would be fun to take lessons. She thrives on new experiences and social interaction and I thrive on playing with my Zo Zo and since there are swimming lessons on the pool in our basement we thought we would take full advantage. I am in no way a 'tiger mom' and I don't really believe that Zooey will become a stronger swimmer by nature of taking lessons so early (though Adam apparently convinced his colleague that this class with the British Swim School is the beginning of a prep program to get Z ready to swim the English Channel by the age of 17!), but the swim lessons are fully worth the money for the pure fun we have.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4hIgOZvD4N8hPvaEsDXw6ZCJxpl6D0DyLx5HPkv3_QWndcdQ9qkBJS1QzkrKhbhvK371QTcQhkF5NPWDVVywnkX86htcPcANewxrFC11mpjAJPbgyxzOpOvqFQ1NosPCIUhxR9Q4z3g/s1600/DSC_0402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4hIgOZvD4N8hPvaEsDXw6ZCJxpl6D0DyLx5HPkv3_QWndcdQ9qkBJS1QzkrKhbhvK371QTcQhkF5NPWDVVywnkX86htcPcANewxrFC11mpjAJPbgyxzOpOvqFQ1NosPCIUhxR9Q4z3g/s1600/DSC_0402.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a><br />
She's enjoyed it from day 1, splashing about and eagerly participating in the singing games, the drills and the playtime. She smiles sometimes, but mostly takes it all in looking around, observing.<br />
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Last week, Adam was lucky enough to come to class to watch (and take pictures!). I'm so glad he was able to participate in the fun and I thank him for the pictures in this post! That class, Zooey started spitting the water out of her mouth after going under water. We, of course, think she is a swimming genius:)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWu_XaFIc9ur0vmPxwoAgMfSCUYDBbUt5azsFRcMMuP_o4akwsS37m8tpKZiHx9A1Jq5rBiW2_wK81brCqvYRQhnaImUAE9TOM6RfRVAh0v01ib8esKb5uEwUlO91s0KWIZ0OR7xn5Qvc/s1600/DSC_0422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWu_XaFIc9ur0vmPxwoAgMfSCUYDBbUt5azsFRcMMuP_o4akwsS37m8tpKZiHx9A1Jq5rBiW2_wK81brCqvYRQhnaImUAE9TOM6RfRVAh0v01ib8esKb5uEwUlO91s0KWIZ0OR7xn5Qvc/s1600/DSC_0422.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
Today, Zooey was in rare form. It really seems like she has learned what to do and when to do it! Most of the drills start and end on the pool "wall" and we tell the kids to "hold on to the wall". Today, Zooey grabbed the wall and held on (actually tried to pull herself out of the pool!) every single time! She was comfortable putting her entire face under water. She LOVED the songs, as usual, clapping and chatting and even shouting with glee. How I LOVE holding my beautiful daughter while she shouts with glee. Swimming night is the BEST! (And, for my many friends with newborns and infants who are still a lot of work, NOW is when the rewards of having a baby become VERY CLEAR!!).<br />
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Zooey had a great time. I had a great time. But the best moment(s) of the night were when the teacher came by to have all the kids "give her 5" and Zooey put her hand up and gave her 5! Two separate times! She clearly knew what she was doing. She put out her hand and gave 5! My wonderful, almost 1 year old, sleeping through the night daughter has learned the social skill of giving 5. Really, really cool.<br />
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I'm absurdly equivalently proud that little Z has learned how to be deceitful. At school, Z has full reign of the daycare room which she LOVES. They are obviously not allowed to hit, or bite etc, but the room is theirs to explore. Except for the bins. The under the crib bins. Each kid has one with their extra clothes, coats, socks etc. The kids predictably want to pull out the bins and empty them, so the teachers use it as a chance to teach them "no". Last week, Corey (one of her primary teacher) noticed that Zooey was sitting very close to one of the cribs. She appeared to have her hand stuck between the bin and the cirb. She wasn't upset and she certainly wasn't crying. But whenever Corey looked over at her she would move her body over to hide her hand and wouldn't make eye contact. When Corey snuck a glance, Zooey was working hard to release her hand but just couldn't figure it out. Hilarious! Our sneaky little Z.<br />
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<br />Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-61054565604485613092014-03-19T12:42:00.000-07:002014-03-19T12:42:00.553-07:00First St Patrick's Day @ 11 months!!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3DaiRaGoxKPkXnd9hZzeeW7xWw-hRHuZfFKQ-6zR-5yHq5sEtfjL3R_WhY0FZv_LpYABrjNUghiWcEi7ZkhsGRUoVWf6Al2iL-0uDAIxPzt0aHu_YfqQ7Q-QPv3lkDcn_iIoaoo6Fa0/s1600/IMG_1816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3DaiRaGoxKPkXnd9hZzeeW7xWw-hRHuZfFKQ-6zR-5yHq5sEtfjL3R_WhY0FZv_LpYABrjNUghiWcEi7ZkhsGRUoVWf6Al2iL-0uDAIxPzt0aHu_YfqQ7Q-QPv3lkDcn_iIoaoo6Fa0/s1600/IMG_1816.jpg" height="320" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking to the party!</td></tr>
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We had a wonderful "unofficial" St Patrick's Day with Zooey on Saturday. She was all recovered from yet another ear infection so we spent the whole day out on the town!<br />
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We started at a St Patrick's Day brunch at Adam's coworker's house. It was an interesting and fun crew- Adam's colleagues (mostly all younger than us) and Adam's boss's college age sons and their friends (DEFINITELY younger than us). Zooey was by far the youngest party-goer but she was quite the hit! She took the noise and the constant line up of smiling strangers grabbing her feet, hands and cheeks in stride and even smiled a few times. She went to town on melon and was fascinated by the candles. She really was a trooper. Adam and I decided that we really need to keep taking her to adult parties so she is used to behaving in that environment.<br />
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Next up was a quick car nap for Zooey before we moved on to the more child friendly part of the day- open play at Bubbles! Just like last time, Zooey was right at home, moving around and interacting with other kids with no fear. It's really fun to compare her to other kids. Our general sense is that she is a bit more physical and chatty than other kids. While she's not walking (there was an 11 month old there who was!) she constantly rolls/scoots/crawls around fearlessly over obstacles. She uses her feet like hands. She doesn't mind falling or hitting her head. Her teachers at school say she is very independent and talks all day- to herself, to other kids, to the teachers. Chatty, physical, portable, and fearless. That describes Z at 11 months!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1IrIIOIAmLm_gkBtThhyCIfQNVorazAykGl8ew8FvnWjViGN2SXEffv7eJHR7IvykWMe4MbennwftY6doSoUCTBeuIQm-UFg5vfbRgSqPMcqqWKKalmerNDC9u3zb85wmsMKBF4NT3rU/s1600/IMG_1841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1IrIIOIAmLm_gkBtThhyCIfQNVorazAykGl8ew8FvnWjViGN2SXEffv7eJHR7IvykWMe4MbennwftY6doSoUCTBeuIQm-UFg5vfbRgSqPMcqqWKKalmerNDC9u3zb85wmsMKBF4NT3rU/s1600/IMG_1841.jpg" height="320" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Practicing walking.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lZEnmPITHcB1dTU10og354zg5KUXm02ApTLBhIvgtCFNe3XuBf5xLz690EU0-kec9F3EKFywXxU-CieVzGXH5ssEDebVSN8WO4my0J_ReTu5YVoK6MIHAa7O8IjVQ_xX4_Ee-7h2b0w/s1600/IMG_1830.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lZEnmPITHcB1dTU10og354zg5KUXm02ApTLBhIvgtCFNe3XuBf5xLz690EU0-kec9F3EKFywXxU-CieVzGXH5ssEDebVSN8WO4my0J_ReTu5YVoK6MIHAa7O8IjVQ_xX4_Ee-7h2b0w/s1600/IMG_1830.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bubbles on her head at Bubbles Academy:)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwXPqCvhPh1alQTjfpaLCykg_s5Eq_LpckaA9K7vfNwAPtrNnSYqdg9Wv9DSpRA2WcYgS1en4huKos34yBatqxIvhtiC3RRtjwzs1klbUbR0P8NC1Ctpjb1KkUjGqNx1ZsyRKWejRezg/s1600/IMG_1844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwXPqCvhPh1alQTjfpaLCykg_s5Eq_LpckaA9K7vfNwAPtrNnSYqdg9Wv9DSpRA2WcYgS1en4huKos34yBatqxIvhtiC3RRtjwzs1klbUbR0P8NC1Ctpjb1KkUjGqNx1ZsyRKWejRezg/s1600/IMG_1844.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SO MUCH FUN!!</td></tr>
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After playgroup, we went to dinner. Z did really well considering this was the last stop in a long day! She ate some chips, some rice, some tortilla. She handled the really loud restaurant well especially considering she was wiped out!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtYRFLVvGwBDwIEDxE7Ey_HI73apn0QQ7Vx84G50LtB01oCOzmasxn30kWLJzdU2JQSZr4gVbUE-V_WyziEnFL1IwcuSf8pyHbuzZpQ_vLl-xBGxm8nbmemdNPde0qiIgg03lKzB8RYvI/s1600/IMG_1847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtYRFLVvGwBDwIEDxE7Ey_HI73apn0QQ7Vx84G50LtB01oCOzmasxn30kWLJzdU2JQSZr4gVbUE-V_WyziEnFL1IwcuSf8pyHbuzZpQ_vLl-xBGxm8nbmemdNPde0qiIgg03lKzB8RYvI/s1600/IMG_1847.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First time in a restaurant high chair!</td></tr>
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Zooey is standing quite well, using minimal one handed support. I suspect she will be walking in a month or so. She LOVES to put food in her mouth though spits a lot of it out after gumming it around. What else? I wish I could report that she is sleeping well or through the night, but she's not. In fact, we had a sleep consultant coming to help with this problem this week! (More on that later...)<br />
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My next Zooey post may very well be her 1st birthday. Can you believe it? Our 4 lb 10 oz mini will be turning 1!<br />
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Enjoy Z talking:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/W9t1xz012x0" width="459"></iframe>Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-39452316420042214872014-03-04T17:32:00.001-08:002014-03-04T17:32:41.446-08:00Free time?!?!Tonight I find myself in a very unusual situation. A situation I haven't encountered in 11 months. It is 7pm and I have nothing I <b><i>have</i></b> to be doing!! Sure, there are things I could do- paperwork, reading journals, picking up, journaling, working on Zooey's scrapbook, looking for houses, etc but none of it <b><i>needs</i></b> to be done tonight. I already worked out- a great 5 mile pyramid run. I already did the essential dishes, I already put the laundry away. I saw 10 patients in clinic, I attended conference, I looked for the needed paperwork for my licensure and mortgage application. I fed Zooey, played with Zooey and got her to bed.<br />
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What to do???<br />
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Write a totally non-essential blog post while watching 'The Good Wife'. That's what I'm doing. Productive non-productivity. Awesome!<br />
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Let me tell you, stopping nursing has been a life changer in a really good way! The ability to occasionally sleep through the night (when Adam takes Z), and an extra 2-3 hours of available time during the day- it is fabulous!!<br />
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So here is my themeless blog, just some cute Zooey photos and antics that I thought would be fun to share:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Z's first bison! At the Peggy Nodebaert Nature Museum.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Z always has smiles for Grandpa!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVKYsKpgISkN19vvjqLOJrhpwf2NF2pwapQcWbCQ5XmWD4nDQWMMpSWkf8QUiO7R8fwhHQz7LwDnV2voCk56uNnqqQvx0ZnRq3Hy1c7Ba43m1xVCOc-MvsX2HPTdK0BHrNaVJI3GzP6c/s1600/DSC01190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVKYsKpgISkN19vvjqLOJrhpwf2NF2pwapQcWbCQ5XmWD4nDQWMMpSWkf8QUiO7R8fwhHQz7LwDnV2voCk56uNnqqQvx0ZnRq3Hy1c7Ba43m1xVCOc-MvsX2HPTdK0BHrNaVJI3GzP6c/s1600/DSC01190.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And she loves baths with Grandma!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiMkgxl-Zf0t0eS6Hx6LSiMKvSKu_sgKCyZXtxKicN6Qam9o_lAYyHlh105rMIVNic-neFhkHKYABQHW-JovEZm7AB2su6yYT09IMi7bHzD6FvQROw4VXwDdWwGj_vezXKy6d-q3ktTiE/s1600/DSC01200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiMkgxl-Zf0t0eS6Hx6LSiMKvSKu_sgKCyZXtxKicN6Qam9o_lAYyHlh105rMIVNic-neFhkHKYABQHW-JovEZm7AB2su6yYT09IMi7bHzD6FvQROw4VXwDdWwGj_vezXKy6d-q3ktTiE/s1600/DSC01200.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zo has mad ball dropping skills.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnHjNk-5FwLeRJGYsO0vrX3uZAaMZ2jWl6wHVvyIrteU8g_dngbUD6BxnP6K5azWZKtxd6-lMEyUciiLb5UWd3wEyPOYu41XggMkUSEJttjLRUSiREnaY33qa8GvBpMrEkceZ9jfWszg/s1600/DSC01205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnHjNk-5FwLeRJGYsO0vrX3uZAaMZ2jWl6wHVvyIrteU8g_dngbUD6BxnP6K5azWZKtxd6-lMEyUciiLb5UWd3wEyPOYu41XggMkUSEJttjLRUSiREnaY33qa8GvBpMrEkceZ9jfWszg/s1600/DSC01205.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just cute</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE3crXsFbigL6OHIwiXl_zCqfpm7loE6Rnzd4SKzy-LGtO2cSQMBmG_uSXLGtyp3ig3L_SDrn5FOF4UaWY3kN75gh1Dw9wrZXnInehmIzFPo6b5QCsBzfmoxz0nhCLH03AeeCfPO0Zxxo/s1600/DSC01212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE3crXsFbigL6OHIwiXl_zCqfpm7loE6Rnzd4SKzy-LGtO2cSQMBmG_uSXLGtyp3ig3L_SDrn5FOF4UaWY3kN75gh1Dw9wrZXnInehmIzFPo6b5QCsBzfmoxz0nhCLH03AeeCfPO0Zxxo/s1600/DSC01212.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even cuter</td></tr>
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It is increasingly hard to take any still photos of this girl. Here we are trying to take the 9 month photo of Z next to her developmental milestones book but she is exhibiting that she is right on track with her mobility milestones by trying desperately to roll or scoot away to play!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylWpWWnNA9YWTWIGj7KxTv8_7fTncqCeB-lKNd9kxKjsXYQB5yNfe34gW9WgS5AV9OURxYB4-wRkhJBAzINavWv-POxAAE0apCh4a6dU9oGBtR4V3l-PTfYbHnXuRy-gzotr60qqO-Sk/s1600/DSC01221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylWpWWnNA9YWTWIGj7KxTv8_7fTncqCeB-lKNd9kxKjsXYQB5yNfe34gW9WgS5AV9OURxYB4-wRkhJBAzINavWv-POxAAE0apCh4a6dU9oGBtR4V3l-PTfYbHnXuRy-gzotr60qqO-Sk/s1600/DSC01221.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add caption</td></tr>
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Z was able to be part of her great-grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary celebration. My Grandma's wedding dress and honeymoon dress are behind them. It was great to hear their memories of getting ready for the wedding, the day of and the honeymoon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwfEZIo3F5_7D6afjS53zzP18DBvXPuM90XYl056wY5YcMxVbVLwuzxLaVdKmAb8SYe6FSBC3yAhTgSuvHQFeuAEwzal1q8X6E47W5qsN3GiueQngpb9m37QrDSOYHB3qzBt10mSWq67g/s1600/DSC01258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwfEZIo3F5_7D6afjS53zzP18DBvXPuM90XYl056wY5YcMxVbVLwuzxLaVdKmAb8SYe6FSBC3yAhTgSuvHQFeuAEwzal1q8X6E47W5qsN3GiueQngpb9m37QrDSOYHB3qzBt10mSWq67g/s1600/DSC01258.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Anniversary Grandpa and Grandma!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEillAQKX8WVZqCQtw-I7RDBa9kSOqEzmv2wZsTf0TIwj-4oCilzk_q5lRPVNYo6PctUMDpH1rGTJTAt1B1iLgkY5pvrdnXj47Zodbtu1RqYtsXSg4EtrCLe7AgUCUFyJK24gQS3Xkvcvvs/s1600/DSC01294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEillAQKX8WVZqCQtw-I7RDBa9kSOqEzmv2wZsTf0TIwj-4oCilzk_q5lRPVNYo6PctUMDpH1rGTJTAt1B1iLgkY5pvrdnXj47Zodbtu1RqYtsXSg4EtrCLe7AgUCUFyJK24gQS3Xkvcvvs/s1600/DSC01294.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See my "toofers"? (teeth)</td></tr>
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Zooey always uses her feet to manipulate objects. She's a little monkey. Our little, favorite, adorable monkey:)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0A7R8i6YAIhm4VcRHr2rGZbA6HhOv0wm7sielvz65TI0VCHlU1KbDV1tUFJaaAn1Rae1XP4WeWiW3itxDstkit69IDqGSiLTtPopSqR0-P4pC7mN_zqROZhGmghc99tk5SMZRTNXeS80/s1600/DSC01298.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0A7R8i6YAIhm4VcRHr2rGZbA6HhOv0wm7sielvz65TI0VCHlU1KbDV1tUFJaaAn1Rae1XP4WeWiW3itxDstkit69IDqGSiLTtPopSqR0-P4pC7mN_zqROZhGmghc99tk5SMZRTNXeS80/s1600/DSC01298.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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That's all for now. Gosh, and I still have 1/2 hour until bed!!! Best day EVER!! ;)Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-52864039395671021132014-03-02T14:40:00.001-08:002014-03-02T14:40:24.491-08:00Bubbles Academy<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPPud6jlIrZvw_pPjTvr045DwbFZvfqCCQfS5S4ibhq-sgtq_9uaVRWbSkJIiew2A6TQ6wfbirtfGnxiUnijkIhNMuve13SY9Jy85hyeBaUkKws0NOq_Tahyphenhyphen3G-xqSJGYEqagYFaOBGU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-02+at+4.15.09+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPPud6jlIrZvw_pPjTvr045DwbFZvfqCCQfS5S4ibhq-sgtq_9uaVRWbSkJIiew2A6TQ6wfbirtfGnxiUnijkIhNMuve13SY9Jy85hyeBaUkKws0NOq_Tahyphenhyphen3G-xqSJGYEqagYFaOBGU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-02+at+4.15.09+PM.png" /></a><br />
Yesterday, Adam, Zooey and I went on a play adventure to <a href="http://www.bubblesacademy.com/">Bubbles Academy</a>. Bubbles is a place in Lincoln Park that offers baby and kid music, movement and swim lessons as well as open play groups. We went to the open playgroup that is offered every Saturday (as well as M-F) from 1-5pm. The play is for babies and toddlers and takes place in a big, fun, colorful carpeted room called the Meadow Room. There are all kinds of toys, tunnels and foam blocks to climb on and through, sit atop toys, sleds, grocery carts to push, tents to play in, scarves and clothes to try on and, of course, bubbles!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8S98bbXgk8kGksA7zMdXlpn5iOGOM8owmdXh8haIM1MPGFBtYAV3oSkP_jhv393R9Mh349PwzXwotJvuhfpokv_J6KeSv5RnpeNnyNL5uTFJYJOITp6uyB3KXxpP-A0ffn8bdqwOJMM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-02+at+4.15.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8S98bbXgk8kGksA7zMdXlpn5iOGOM8owmdXh8haIM1MPGFBtYAV3oSkP_jhv393R9Mh349PwzXwotJvuhfpokv_J6KeSv5RnpeNnyNL5uTFJYJOITp6uyB3KXxpP-A0ffn8bdqwOJMM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-03-02+at+4.15.35+PM.png" height="150" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meadow Room</td></tr>
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As soon as we got there we placed Zooey on the floor and she was off to the races. She showed not an ounce of apprehension or shyness as she scooted around the room from toy to toy. She immediately got involved with some bubbles and spent the first 1/2 hour with a bubble on her head. This is the view we had of her most of the day as she scooted in front of us in her attempt to get to the next great thing:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC1q5kfo3bywSF4rYpARBWCqdN5qyfok1HmkSMVY-g638QjyK-Y6ymV-t58kscgoyM8kJShBub8RbizVCd3rkLqJjYmL8ymuTUWSE6EUFa2CTEZ65sWYyB3119VNzDHjUrZNlS1U4XOVo/s1600/IMG_1731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC1q5kfo3bywSF4rYpARBWCqdN5qyfok1HmkSMVY-g638QjyK-Y6ymV-t58kscgoyM8kJShBub8RbizVCd3rkLqJjYmL8ymuTUWSE6EUFa2CTEZ65sWYyB3119VNzDHjUrZNlS1U4XOVo/s1600/IMG_1731.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Constant movement= blurry pics. But see the bubble on her head??</td></tr>
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Sometimes the authorities forced toys on her that she wasn't necessarily interested in. But she resourcefully found an escape route!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching the big(ger) kids</td></tr>
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Zooey really enjoyed watching some of the bigger kids. We spent a good 5 minutes watching an 18 month old having her snack and not listening (or not understanding?) her mom's request for her to "sit over here". Hopefully Zooey wasn't learning lessons in not listening to your mom! All of the parents we ran into were super conscientious about enforcing sharing and making sure the bigger kids didn't get too close to Zooey. So I felt kinda bad when Zooey would scoot right up to bigger "walkers" and try to take their toys. I guess she's learned from being in a daycare room with a bunch of older, bigger boys that you have to take what you want from them! I think she's too young to understand "sharing" but I'll admit, other kids were disproportionately "sharing" with her and she didn't give much back in return!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I know what to do with this!!"</td></tr>
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Her favorites were the tunnels (no surprise there, she loves tunnels), the play ketchup bottle, the foam balls and the sled. She zoomed around the room on the sled two separate times, holding on for dear life. She didn't even seem to notice when other kids hopped on for a ride as well.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More, Daddy, More!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOaXZYk0Q2IJN9-sF2QDbOylPL1X0UsnJVA_6x9oCQhvCAMlK_oYiJOmw8La0402gaL0X1r4PClQXLoKczGuPvo7tywhS15g3uHBzLpQGZ0CGBWIiKWv_Iz0-qpConZYNNs0QkltjmqOk/s1600/IMG_1766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOaXZYk0Q2IJN9-sF2QDbOylPL1X0UsnJVA_6x9oCQhvCAMlK_oYiJOmw8La0402gaL0X1r4PClQXLoKczGuPvo7tywhS15g3uHBzLpQGZ0CGBWIiKWv_Iz0-qpConZYNNs0QkltjmqOk/s1600/IMG_1766.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doesn't she look like a frog?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Totally non-plussed when this guy joined the ride!</td></tr>
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We weren't able to capture a whole lot of smiles- when Zooey is in the zone trying new things or exploring she is stingy with the smiles, but she certainly was entertained. She probably could have gone another 1/2 hour but her parents were ready for a change of scenery!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5AaXIMYM101F2CXWGLWpRsmyY8m_j8jwdOinWxp2QuH3X8njGdGLQIZDCiOT7ASKBHo-s643CZAhOHDv5wdhnWMxvZbf_-ikkZSRZ4IjDBzRA5f8cUFulZ_DbPV9_2ibeu3kFRsUS1FY/s1600/IMG_1743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5AaXIMYM101F2CXWGLWpRsmyY8m_j8jwdOinWxp2QuH3X8njGdGLQIZDCiOT7ASKBHo-s643CZAhOHDv5wdhnWMxvZbf_-ikkZSRZ4IjDBzRA5f8cUFulZ_DbPV9_2ibeu3kFRsUS1FY/s1600/IMG_1743.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Play time well spent!</td></tr>
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Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-87219174851200047612014-02-16T16:52:00.001-08:002014-02-16T17:09:13.606-08:001st Valentine's Day!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2LeMWzZi60H32g0c4efInuVsVbPX-LALPqG-otKDhN7EewW9tl3vey_p9nMwhJK7p_B2Hkx5yQDV2mdQlvYxC1hGFY9nSZD2y3PDdsdzVa7r7Ti64QHaTkz_3gVGrRFjkVlESAEZMHM/s1600/IMG_1659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2LeMWzZi60H32g0c4efInuVsVbPX-LALPqG-otKDhN7EewW9tl3vey_p9nMwhJK7p_B2Hkx5yQDV2mdQlvYxC1hGFY9nSZD2y3PDdsdzVa7r7Ti64QHaTkz_3gVGrRFjkVlESAEZMHM/s1600/IMG_1659.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two of three looking at the camera aint' bad!</td></tr>
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Before Zooey was born, Adam and I joked that she wouldn't cramp our style all that much because we already eat and go to bed pretty darn early. So for Valentine's Day, we didn't see how having a 10 month old would prevent us from celebrating this wonderful "Hallmark" holiday with our new Valentine with a nice 5pm dinner out!<br />
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The day started out on a good note when Zooey's teachers presented me with Zooey's Valentine's Day gift- a picture of her painting a picture with the actual painting on the reverse side. So neat! This reminded me once again how lucky we are to have excellent child care. Zooey clearly has so much FUN at school. Every morning when I drop her off she is so eager to get to the floor to start exploring!<br />
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It was a regular day at work, but as silly as it sounds, all day I was really looking forward to dinner with Adam and Z. I was able to sneak out a little early so I had time to change Zooey into her Valentine's Day dress (one of her shower gifts from my co-workers). Then Z and I walked just a few blocks over to Flour & Stone, a newish pizza place in Streeterville. I'm definitely going to miss being able to walk to so many restaurants and activities when we move, but I know having more space- both in our home and green space in the form of parks- will more than make up for it!<br />
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Zooey and I ordered salad, pizza and adult beverages while we waited for Adam. Zooey was super well behaved (as usual) and spent a good 10 minutes ripping up napkins (don't worry, I picked up the pieces that fell to the floor, we are not THOSE people with kids at restaurants!). Z was very excited to see her daddy when he arrived. It is becoming increasingly hard to get good pictures of this girl and almost impossible to get good ones of her smiling because she is ALWAYS MOVING. But I keep trying!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUY-8Qw3dI7Q29iWjmWpE_PkuQE364i-hKUyju1rILQdecyGVEVkgLXihFr1TCGOfgxo1AqgCh1XuiLNMgDR2rNXb81RFOkjUSAH3cqoCevP9peq1OZL7QletIDbfpIz-I7__wl-2pAs/s1600/IMG_1649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUY-8Qw3dI7Q29iWjmWpE_PkuQE364i-hKUyju1rILQdecyGVEVkgLXihFr1TCGOfgxo1AqgCh1XuiLNMgDR2rNXb81RFOkjUSAH3cqoCevP9peq1OZL7QletIDbfpIz-I7__wl-2pAs/s1600/IMG_1649.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hi Daddy, can I have your glasses??</td></tr>
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Zooey also opened the Valentine's Day present from her Grandma Lilly- a cute spring dress- can't wait for it to warm up so she can wear it!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiap2tCM_L2tSR6Z8dQV5oKGUSxoXsgRl90rLqMlLo_eRqB1mRHG0NbgfmJjJPz88CfEJYBu61CTHeR-D5eq1w5jz5mB9m5IGGi4ZMKXJZzwk5N4wmsdydMgdCCjYxNf5KgWwcKUWsqpdM/s1600/IMG_1661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiap2tCM_L2tSR6Z8dQV5oKGUSxoXsgRl90rLqMlLo_eRqB1mRHG0NbgfmJjJPz88CfEJYBu61CTHeR-D5eq1w5jz5mB9m5IGGi4ZMKXJZzwk5N4wmsdydMgdCCjYxNf5KgWwcKUWsqpdM/s1600/IMG_1661.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa Lilly!</td></tr>
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We were able to get through salad and most of the pizza uneventfully while Zooey enjoyed peas. We then let Z have her first few bites of pizza (crust)! We figured surely she'd love it as much as her mom does! As we marvelled at how well she was handling the seemingly huge bites she was taking, she started coughing. Cough....cough...cough.... BLECH!!! And just like some alien horror movie, out came a huge.....green....stream of peas....all down the front of her dress.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCIoGJDEwOm1Ju5KulxKwX-wOn1aIySMAml0S8_amb8byaa56xw8-NeQUQnJ-ncaHGWJlKAqEwTczi28KDbgI-FNsBJsB4cwEyt8VdWRSVT-kcVm9tQh69SGuIByN24i3bYuX7LI2fxTc/s1600/IMG_1662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCIoGJDEwOm1Ju5KulxKwX-wOn1aIySMAml0S8_amb8byaa56xw8-NeQUQnJ-ncaHGWJlKAqEwTczi28KDbgI-FNsBJsB4cwEyt8VdWRSVT-kcVm9tQh69SGuIByN24i3bYuX7LI2fxTc/s1600/IMG_1662.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating peas.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJKYTZoisrIUDScJ-0rxsJ1dpsSBOhktIexL63UFYtUouAuhJqfTf-INOhH2YKyo2mQFHlFtke7NstCBo_LSAaRLg3CKHg1uObn4Oi2EnL-1QWO2pJ8qfcv5jvSvlMhr6fp_BDM4-p16s/s1600/IMG_1672.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJKYTZoisrIUDScJ-0rxsJ1dpsSBOhktIexL63UFYtUouAuhJqfTf-INOhH2YKyo2mQFHlFtke7NstCBo_LSAaRLg3CKHg1uObn4Oi2EnL-1QWO2pJ8qfcv5jvSvlMhr6fp_BDM4-p16s/s1600/IMG_1672.jpg" height="320" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating crust.</td></tr>
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She may be our first, but we've got this parenting in public thing nailed and within a few minutes we had her outfit changed, got our food boxed and were out the door. :)<br />
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She was fine and in fact fell asleep in the car on the way home which was her Valentine's Day present to us, I think.<br />
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Some of you may recall that last year Adam got quite ill at Valentine's Day dinner and wasn't able to get through the really long, lovingly worded card I gave him without a trip to the bathroom with a bucket. Suffice it to say, I'm a little nervous about next year because it must be my turn.....<br />
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Hope you all had a great V day!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Due to the great vomitus of 2014, Z opened her gift <br />
from Grandma and Grandpa Nelson today instead:)</td></tr>
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Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-60092192473166249582014-02-15T18:19:00.000-08:002014-02-15T18:19:19.633-08:00Adventures at 10 months!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBp5iAlftgQhGQnQ2CyqW97XnYcg1lBgqh44hSubDL3ch5brIOMu6rPrFpiOpSlsN9c9Ph2aJEpNesytFQUA9arw85EoWzbncX4EkjOoSv2a4RH6qC1MGIlHd-qU9Gm1RL2-Lvse47ltI/s1600/IMG_1683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBp5iAlftgQhGQnQ2CyqW97XnYcg1lBgqh44hSubDL3ch5brIOMu6rPrFpiOpSlsN9c9Ph2aJEpNesytFQUA9arw85EoWzbncX4EkjOoSv2a4RH6qC1MGIlHd-qU9Gm1RL2-Lvse47ltI/s1600/IMG_1683.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a>Zooey turns 10 months old on Monday. She has had a very busy month learning lots of new skills. She has started feeding herself solids much to the absolute excitement of her school teachers, parents, grandparents and great-grandparents! The first food she sought out to feed herself was a bagel. She was at school when her teachers looked over and to their absolute surprise she had a huge bite of bagel in her clutches (and mouth!) that she found on the floor! They immediately took that piece away and put her at the table with a fresh bagel piece which she continued to eat. They promptly videotaped the event and sent it to me a few minutes later. I love the excitement of Zo's teachers - they are as (if not more) excited about Zooey's development as we are!</div>
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She also learned how to get herself into a sitting position in the past couple weeks. She does it in an odd way. She basically gets herself into the splits from laying on her belly then pulls her legs around. What a goof! </div>
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Just this week she has started to pull herself to standing. We bought a foam block just in time for her to practice this skill over and over at home. </div>
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Other adventures include playing in (and eating) snow:</div>
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Continuing to teethe. (She has two adorable "toofers", I think she's working on more on the right side.):<br />
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Brushing the two teeth she has. She loves this and opens her mouth in anticipation as soon as she sees the toothbrush.<br />
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Yoga poses....cobra anyone?<br />
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She crawls through everything. She loves to conquer obstacles- like crawling through her elephant rocker- even if there is a much easier alternate route to traverse!</div>
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That's all for now! Stay tuned for a Valentine's Day post!Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-23841864814894795962014-02-03T18:26:00.001-08:002014-02-03T18:26:34.613-08:00Zooey having fun @ 9 months<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Z on a beautiful quilt handmade by her great-great aunt and uncle!</td></tr>
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Clearly I've been woefully neglectful of this blog of late! The job search process has taken me all over the mid-west and that combined with my job, Adam's job, Z's crazy sleep schedule (that has finally improved!), and just life in general, there was no way to fit in blogging! But I miss taking the time to document Z's shenanigans so I will try to be more consistent over the next few months.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcS1DG3ucl9BdQLCU-snK2zmfsIVSVxNxRh2n3uLTEXtVMCZGaktNE9kMFCsRKQvLWpAO0LBkRk453clCIsuZRgJia0LA1l6hoeBi9ZVPj1VUw3Nl_50UB_MiaKUqczzerIglYhiJ4gE/s1600/IMG_1249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcS1DG3ucl9BdQLCU-snK2zmfsIVSVxNxRh2n3uLTEXtVMCZGaktNE9kMFCsRKQvLWpAO0LBkRk453clCIsuZRgJia0LA1l6hoeBi9ZVPj1VUw3Nl_50UB_MiaKUqczzerIglYhiJ4gE/s1600/IMG_1249.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>Our job search travels actually took us all the way to Washington State where we had the added perk of getting to visit with my brother and his family. Garrett, Jill and Gwyn were kind enough to drive all the way over the mountain to meet us in Leavenworth for a day of German food and touristy shopping. It was chilly, but fun! You can see how enthralled Zooey is with Cousin!<br />
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Zooey still enjoys almost everything she does. She likes baths, traveling, walks and the occasional run (though this has been curtailed of late due to the crazy weather).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post bath giggles!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're off for our annual Turkey Trot!</td></tr>
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Z is now 9 months old and is becoming more and more fun by the day. She is very interactive and loves to smile, roll around, scoot, crawl over obstacles, read books, and go on adventures of pretty much any kind. Every morning as we take 3 different elevators to school, Z stares down the people on the elevator with us until they look at her then she gives them huge grins. She really sets a great tone to the day for me and the random strangers we encounter!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Smiling with Cousin Maya</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Naked baby at Xmas!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I make funny faces when I'm teething!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post art project.</td></tr>
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Z loves school. She rolls and scoots all over the room, reading books to herself, playing with the other kids, doing art projects. We are extremely lucky- her teachers adore her and know WAY more about child development than I do! She is a great eater (finally!) though doesn't show much interest in putting solid food in her own mouth yet. Though she can feed herself a bottle if she's in the mood.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmm....what are you going to give me next?</td></tr>
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Zo is very open to new experiences and is generally fearless. She isn't bothered by falling, or hitting herself in the face with toys. <span style="text-align: center;">This weekend we went swimming. She kick, kick, kicked and splashed and had a great time.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBnwZ-tkWzHU1qpBm5QjmzKl4rLb-yvyLigLDZ_YkkhY7bxn0XU0EaQsy9tisO_4pE0bTk-EcmbSUQl899S-ED8vaJtpciBnQ4O3NRsRE39BWeTo6ITAPtOkZjDaxDAGj3ux2O2DV_Ih8/s1600/IMG_1618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBnwZ-tkWzHU1qpBm5QjmzKl4rLb-yvyLigLDZ_YkkhY7bxn0XU0EaQsy9tisO_4pE0bTk-EcmbSUQl899S-ED8vaJtpciBnQ4O3NRsRE39BWeTo6ITAPtOkZjDaxDAGj3ux2O2DV_Ih8/s1600/IMG_1618.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAhkVgePdke7Lj81lGKX4dPpmNK80B7TOG3CK2ljPgcxide-O9NW-dsM-LJfglf7usiPCSaMGYqF1fHlryV17nF4KrVkuzqOxuAof4BJTYrjSzOxuzPkKBwtJ4ns52P5XEH26pUcA-DGU/s1600/IMG_1612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAhkVgePdke7Lj81lGKX4dPpmNK80B7TOG3CK2ljPgcxide-O9NW-dsM-LJfglf7usiPCSaMGYqF1fHlryV17nF4KrVkuzqOxuAof4BJTYrjSzOxuzPkKBwtJ4ns52P5XEH26pUcA-DGU/s1600/IMG_1612.JPG" height="179" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZEgO_sUWzz8LKbe_XhT_kzi5tW__yuCEg_5OZYqsS1gvQ5KJw7eGtGGpMAB2v6g7fWATeF1c_n95UkuB4pUiFy3hUnXYhwmpmnv3orxUVguz60lHvEubfXpN8Q3PSTO71kjHYGeUCdc/s1600/IMG_1598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZEgO_sUWzz8LKbe_XhT_kzi5tW__yuCEg_5OZYqsS1gvQ5KJw7eGtGGpMAB2v6g7fWATeF1c_n95UkuB4pUiFy3hUnXYhwmpmnv3orxUVguz60lHvEubfXpN8Q3PSTO71kjHYGeUCdc/s1600/IMG_1598.jpg" height="320" width="179" /></a></div>
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Finally, I'll leave you with a really cool pic from Xmas. The bottom photo is me at 11 months at my first Christmas. The top is our baby Z, 8 months old, in the same dress that my mom saved from my first Christmas. I sure had fat cheeks!! I think we are both pretty cute:)<br />
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<br />Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-23394467472950466062013-10-27T12:51:00.000-07:002013-10-27T12:51:04.715-07:00(NO) More Peas, PleaseToday Zooey tried peas and pears for the first time. Decide for yourself whether you think she enjoyed them.....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clean bib to start.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTs6AMzUUGJS6ZdpEVMMYEMQ4o8Z81JaSAE5t9clziX13ffEz-gM38O0PDKHlWMSXsuTTTkBoI3sjlgyD6wYan3y_b5KAQfK_G4M2FFTYkye1F5wDGp_clPS3S0Ju-SGBhTegLZlsW1U/s1600/DSC00324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTs6AMzUUGJS6ZdpEVMMYEMQ4o8Z81JaSAE5t9clziX13ffEz-gM38O0PDKHlWMSXsuTTTkBoI3sjlgyD6wYan3y_b5KAQfK_G4M2FFTYkye1F5wDGp_clPS3S0Ju-SGBhTegLZlsW1U/s320/DSC00324.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmmm........</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqE4DBlqV1eVA2vJrtH7KGaKovsbO8rfDcdv9LSYOo1eoIn0xYbDk2kmFzwwkm-4B1oW9B1telLRP-fGXcfRW1V-ULHId2-BWR39NLT3BjLgAziTMzIHWrsp5ww5ywJJvH2LaMDzNDbM/s1600/DSC00332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBqE4DBlqV1eVA2vJrtH7KGaKovsbO8rfDcdv9LSYOo1eoIn0xYbDk2kmFzwwkm-4B1oW9B1telLRP-fGXcfRW1V-ULHId2-BWR39NLT3BjLgAziTMzIHWrsp5ww5ywJJvH2LaMDzNDbM/s320/DSC00332.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybe I like new things?</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifIyNeqtEmdstZH0defcI1VqVLGLs37KTBzcpp8L1JDBYQmZTJ1x9iEvtdUyQ8pnJF8Jgbsme5fXVsYWgIe09sQ8xgEuFLqvW481JsKNzMpw5sJ4XbM8AnsPWI_ubOFchnVO53SRSP7JQ/s1600/DSC00334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifIyNeqtEmdstZH0defcI1VqVLGLs37KTBzcpp8L1JDBYQmZTJ1x9iEvtdUyQ8pnJF8Jgbsme5fXVsYWgIe09sQ8xgEuFLqvW481JsKNzMpw5sJ4XbM8AnsPWI_ubOFchnVO53SRSP7JQ/s320/DSC00334.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Definitely not this new thing....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgIorQeMgks_4AEDhx9l8Pum2bF09-OkEhFhkjVx38Y43Rg_AI30awizR9W_y2mGcoDdH8P4gwIf1N41yvAgI-yWbHuXBe9ClJyUGTV292w_RH3mqltV-tEdrmD4BVRSriFvzwn7LVosA/s1600/DSC00337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgIorQeMgks_4AEDhx9l8Pum2bF09-OkEhFhkjVx38Y43Rg_AI30awizR9W_y2mGcoDdH8P4gwIf1N41yvAgI-yWbHuXBe9ClJyUGTV292w_RH3mqltV-tEdrmD4BVRSriFvzwn7LVosA/s320/DSC00337.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ick</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNWB4rTk2pQ8DdfZ0ujTFueRUIgpEjrMg10uhMNhjW3kCYZQ5f1qfJhBs16NV-acHR7NyJPWxT2RWsxzsfPiUZhOwag2sirPyI5ngoXeSTb2Y-HiTy4cBeJZd6vENEtr5MXoZHfZsFQ7g/s1600/DSC00338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNWB4rTk2pQ8DdfZ0ujTFueRUIgpEjrMg10uhMNhjW3kCYZQ5f1qfJhBs16NV-acHR7NyJPWxT2RWsxzsfPiUZhOwag2sirPyI5ngoXeSTb2Y-HiTy4cBeJZd6vENEtr5MXoZHfZsFQ7g/s320/DSC00338.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Really, Mom? More?</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb09sHIC6L61ccW_Zsl86nDOMfb5Y1Vb1fNDlTLoQfkfPmEED5hjhDiYQ_3Pue0zno7Tc0AciuUEUvfUUjMS-9qubggKehFgotjJZ2rLhDE4Xp0_YVnAxlQcg4Kf7vwxSxuStVEC450LA/s1600/DSC00342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb09sHIC6L61ccW_Zsl86nDOMfb5Y1Vb1fNDlTLoQfkfPmEED5hjhDiYQ_3Pue0zno7Tc0AciuUEUvfUUjMS-9qubggKehFgotjJZ2rLhDE4Xp0_YVnAxlQcg4Kf7vwxSxuStVEC450LA/s320/DSC00342.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I didn't want more!!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMMTbcIczUprXNxPaVwofAthqsyy2FRcmKvreoPvhfFiljqY95EZp31ttAnQ53rMMvAPXQHzGPTt8sVJk9lcdKpbwkrNjJLXpr04FsDQrDlsmqGIj1OtusSAoSwvAMLBzE5TBiTl9Ao8w/s1600/DSC00344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMMTbcIczUprXNxPaVwofAthqsyy2FRcmKvreoPvhfFiljqY95EZp31ttAnQ53rMMvAPXQHzGPTt8sVJk9lcdKpbwkrNjJLXpr04FsDQrDlsmqGIj1OtusSAoSwvAMLBzE5TBiTl9Ao8w/s320/DSC00344.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'll tough it out.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMnRJtXtU78Er6ePLlToy-0pBZUuqq58JTCvGS7zjL3PUAN0hHOb4k3x8WW7QZpi3r8pSo6b8KD6kbk54x9xbe7OlENs442lNSyYz4TDJusUWTwlfexU0cRvmhVAM6cCChTSRxUbtJ7aU/s1600/DSC00349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMnRJtXtU78Er6ePLlToy-0pBZUuqq58JTCvGS7zjL3PUAN0hHOb4k3x8WW7QZpi3r8pSo6b8KD6kbk54x9xbe7OlENs442lNSyYz4TDJusUWTwlfexU0cRvmhVAM6cCChTSRxUbtJ7aU/s320/DSC00349.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Though I really don't want to</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NtD6FEFUUebK4HSqVwG1n18BCoaHyzVQr6kwqWKgg0Y3vpzMyrOYo19FJ03V0S-Gf_CRyyi1y1rOZJKbOQacdeYhSTzH6e2MwP4h5BRbWuDYaCKCdiMZ3npVYNcaDuBEy7amfreeh1s/s1600/DSC00350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NtD6FEFUUebK4HSqVwG1n18BCoaHyzVQr6kwqWKgg0Y3vpzMyrOYo19FJ03V0S-Gf_CRyyi1y1rOZJKbOQacdeYhSTzH6e2MwP4h5BRbWuDYaCKCdiMZ3npVYNcaDuBEy7amfreeh1s/s320/DSC00350.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The authorities refuse to release me from this doggone<br />high chair.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfDxsjT6KksTB0H9NqienwuNqEBc5MEwYjJFsQcaFbe-47SurJqTKH4A5MupC7nCRodCsHdsdKleW8FgzpQevIEICmLh-5OTnT4XXH3_UVcPjBMYFr5WXDylutGEEHik_sNXrJyXYNEZU/s1600/DSC00359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfDxsjT6KksTB0H9NqienwuNqEBc5MEwYjJFsQcaFbe-47SurJqTKH4A5MupC7nCRodCsHdsdKleW8FgzpQevIEICmLh-5OTnT4XXH3_UVcPjBMYFr5WXDylutGEEHik_sNXrJyXYNEZU/s320/DSC00359.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But I love post-meal baths!!!</td></tr>
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Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-48937979402793661412013-10-17T18:34:00.000-07:002013-10-17T18:34:13.793-07:00Adventures and Misadventures at 6 MonthsZooey has had a busy month. (Read: Zooey's parents have had an INCREDIBLY busy month!) In addition to fun antics at home like rolling over, transferring toys from one hand to the other, getting closer and closer to sitting on her own, starting to enjoy books and even turning the pages sometimes, Zooey had a couple fun out-of-house adventures this month.<br />
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One short adventure was to a pumpkin farm in the S Suburbs. I can't endorse the location (it was kitzchy and weird), but it certainly was good to get a few photos of Z in her Halloween costume! Before Z, the only time I thought kids were cute was in October in their adorable furry Halloween costumes. Since Z, I can appreciate the cuteness of other babies, but still....aren't all kids cuter in fuzzy Halloween costumes? This will not be last pictures of Z as a bunny, I promise!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilyGTaB9xmCei4tBneAHdzJkI-F9HKzhei5TIRjW2Z3QOmACiC3CsxvpSOy5mK63a7MNbMArXAxPhZlkE13tfF2YmEaDRROdiHbM0zhOR3s4AYUjzjiyLJAT2op6a3OW2AkhtxxVPpcaY/s1600/DSC_0986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilyGTaB9xmCei4tBneAHdzJkI-F9HKzhei5TIRjW2Z3QOmACiC3CsxvpSOy5mK63a7MNbMArXAxPhZlkE13tfF2YmEaDRROdiHbM0zhOR3s4AYUjzjiyLJAT2op6a3OW2AkhtxxVPpcaY/s320/DSC_0986.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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Last weekend, we went to <a href="http://www.countylineorchard.com/">County Line Orchard</a> in Hobart, IN which I do endorse. It is a very well run pumpkin patch and apple orchard and has a nice kids' farm as well. I must confess that we had a minor (major?) parenting fail. I've been pretty stressed about trying to get some cute photos of Zooey- she is just adorable right now and I want to be sure we capture her at this maximum cuteness! I thought Zooey next to a pumpkin or two would be just perfect! So we found some great looking pumpkins and plopped her down next to them. She was a bit too enthralled with the newness of the outdoors to give us any good smiles. She really seems to enjoy new experiences- she does not cry, she actively looks around and pays attention- but when she's not home or at daycare or Grandma's (familiar environments) she smiles and laughs a bit less. But Adam, being the fantastic spouse he is, got down on his stomach in the dirt of the pumpkin patch to attempt some good shots. Despite the lack of smiles, I think we got some cute shots.......but......that's not the whole story.......<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NKyVRu_iaNOJQnJ4PvrCCG2hyphenhyphenul_Gt2HE__ILcc2YrK8ZuwExF8x86R49WVvH8iOi0yN9QvRyMhsqrwbXcOJ1XeIRNGglKAdY-MgOQ3ySAcL4nnQB2r6kSYZejKPYB9m5cD0Jwsr1X8/s1600/DSC_1014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NKyVRu_iaNOJQnJ4PvrCCG2hyphenhyphenul_Gt2HE__ILcc2YrK8ZuwExF8x86R49WVvH8iOi0yN9QvRyMhsqrwbXcOJ1XeIRNGglKAdY-MgOQ3ySAcL4nnQB2r6kSYZejKPYB9m5cD0Jwsr1X8/s320/DSC_1014.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What good looking pumpkins!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandma placing the baby</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTJyZGwFqIzQBrZ5VcuGuD4V3BNg1ZPMjvfsuJBrPDPRolX2Wx1-7CXaUHjt1pAsIgXASzUWRhBDkMio_jsA5jfZdFc3EiioDpKnZRZZOn7bsvqAbMRktWrYDKsdlOIDoI3K1R33GHAs/s1600/DSC_1020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTJyZGwFqIzQBrZ5VcuGuD4V3BNg1ZPMjvfsuJBrPDPRolX2Wx1-7CXaUHjt1pAsIgXASzUWRhBDkMio_jsA5jfZdFc3EiioDpKnZRZZOn7bsvqAbMRktWrYDKsdlOIDoI3K1R33GHAs/s320/DSC_1020.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hey, this isn't so bad. I have an arm rest, I'm chillin'"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqBWhX3bBVDz5UVEqaoh_bON-E8KIPkxa3mJQnBP2sgCuBvMO2mXrGJOMoMdoDXUCTsr0nUNM5X86wUWhITU5wrzqs7r9GWCzljdmCbRz_K2VAYnyHLNwdGfUAeTKtUWnOWClnvEThPnY/s1600/DSC_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqBWhX3bBVDz5UVEqaoh_bON-E8KIPkxa3mJQnBP2sgCuBvMO2mXrGJOMoMdoDXUCTsr0nUNM5X86wUWhITU5wrzqs7r9GWCzljdmCbRz_K2VAYnyHLNwdGfUAeTKtUWnOWClnvEThPnY/s320/DSC_1024.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I'm not sure what you guys want from me here"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNpTgWeIBPhiNaXjD5Yyr3gwuiZjAJWnSdeH0ZmobZ95-6uzBcQPMUoZJ-j7uE_HzAO5NiEKhxme7efcl0CVT_Fc38bfg3AKWDyM89FEOOtu3ermFCewU_jYobmpSzALmCNPs3GbABuhc/s1600/DSC_1027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNpTgWeIBPhiNaXjD5Yyr3gwuiZjAJWnSdeH0ZmobZ95-6uzBcQPMUoZJ-j7uE_HzAO5NiEKhxme7efcl0CVT_Fc38bfg3AKWDyM89FEOOtu3ermFCewU_jYobmpSzALmCNPs3GbABuhc/s320/DSC_1027.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Weeee! I'll lift my legs, getting in a good core workout"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpxoMg2ftztnDHurFUOgf3PwDhuhZX8yoihxf2uAa2zhtxCYi6nWH4QaknZ7qYsz8b9FjjkHj09cQBhMAc-CnK39jQNTzYgu4E4ye7bIKVNxC9Usdi5839pDmgHZEQ5Csx6aOqOR0yAo/s1600/DSC_1056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpxoMg2ftztnDHurFUOgf3PwDhuhZX8yoihxf2uAa2zhtxCYi6nWH4QaknZ7qYsz8b9FjjkHj09cQBhMAc-CnK39jQNTzYgu4E4ye7bIKVNxC9Usdi5839pDmgHZEQ5Csx6aOqOR0yAo/s320/DSC_1056.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Maybe I'll grab the grass with my right hand.<br />Yeah, that's the ticket. <br />Ooh, maybe I'll grab some grass even FURTHER to my right"</td></tr>
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.......and then she fell to her right and faceplanted. She landed on her belly and her face. Face full of dirt. Crying. Our never crying little girl, crying. And it was all our (I guess my) fault. Poor little thing. We cleaned her off, calmed her down and (perhaps foolishly) tried again. You probably don't need me to tell you what happened this time. Faceplant. This time I was close to her but was trying to get my hair out of my face so I could see her and wasn't able to get to her in time. Poor Z. She was also hungry by this point so it took some maximum parenting to get our little one back in good spirits. I guess as a full time doctor and only part time mom I'm bound to make some mistakes. Luckily no harm done though Adam was none too pleased with me for the rest of the day. (And Grandma, to her credit, tried her hardest not to laugh at newbie parent mistake 101.)<br />
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We then meandered over to the orchard....<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeb4gBmKvz3hngaWiVxTxWt44YUihdhDrbMNgmBiHCLAv12TSaIMoy8QodoRKcQTsDseS0EGDkPYFuKYJ-LwoFc_Om5uFDOYV4FnnZB4J40Mll2kpfDzTuG9otvQgENMZcUzkEJRUzkfU/s1600/DSC_1068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeb4gBmKvz3hngaWiVxTxWt44YUihdhDrbMNgmBiHCLAv12TSaIMoy8QodoRKcQTsDseS0EGDkPYFuKYJ-LwoFc_Om5uFDOYV4FnnZB4J40Mll2kpfDzTuG9otvQgENMZcUzkEJRUzkfU/s320/DSC_1068.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dad comforting Zo after the Great Pumpkin Incident of 2013</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still shell shocked from the fall.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Recovery!</td></tr>
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And the the kids' farm.....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After watching the goats playing.</td></tr>
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And miscellaneous other fun!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhdibUfraYC-0B00G_IeZ5x_1zE9Ju4h-iYos-2iC7_ivoz6kumRPs9UNg7hJxND45-yKlD4voC-cnT45nth92tdQO09xcazG2_U5yTbsLJlcbY_5xiBoUp5fF7Ei0Jef7cuNUcubcqw/s1600/DSC_1165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhdibUfraYC-0B00G_IeZ5x_1zE9Ju4h-iYos-2iC7_ivoz6kumRPs9UNg7hJxND45-yKlD4voC-cnT45nth92tdQO09xcazG2_U5yTbsLJlcbY_5xiBoUp5fF7Ei0Jef7cuNUcubcqw/s320/DSC_1165.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zooey weight: 12 lbs. Pumpkin weight: 30 lbs. Pumpkin gets the stroller.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diaper change in Elly!</td></tr>
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It was an absolutely beautiful day. I'm so glad we had Grandma Nelson with us to enjoy it!<br />
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Last weekend, we also tried solid foods for the first time. Butternut squash. A perfect fall food. As expected, Z played with it a lot more than ate it, but she did put some in her own mouth and was accepting when we put it in her mouth as well. I think we have 40 minutes of video of this first food adventure. Want me to post it? Overkill? :)<br />
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Zooey is such a happy baby. It's hard not to be happy around her because she is always looking for a reason to smile (diaper changing time? yippee, let's smile! breastfeeding time? wait, let me first give you a grin! bath time? let me hold my feet up for you to clean the fuzz from my toes! playtime? the best! giggles all around. tummy time? not my favorite, so I'll just roll over and give you a sheepish grin.) We know how lucky we are. And we are doing our best to enjoy every minute! Even the 'minutes' that happen between midnight and 5 am:)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6 am this morning. Happy 6 month birthday, my love!</td></tr>
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<br />Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-88107292730493111102013-09-15T13:14:00.002-07:002013-09-15T13:14:13.169-07:00Z Update Months 4 and 5!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGltJquXD3iuqdSp0tuUng3IZNAEQdSQ_mtCsBNMG2-PsCqYlPpZFXU7c2df6tX8wjwHUQOYpdzs6N6ktd5SurZhSsJieMibeWBiU9LrlHB1vNvokeU4XBTSrpwuJfklL8ozw5qbc2fw/s1600/DSC_0871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGltJquXD3iuqdSp0tuUng3IZNAEQdSQ_mtCsBNMG2-PsCqYlPpZFXU7c2df6tX8wjwHUQOYpdzs6N6ktd5SurZhSsJieMibeWBiU9LrlHB1vNvokeU4XBTSrpwuJfklL8ozw5qbc2fw/s320/DSC_0871.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She loves her activity gym!</td></tr>
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Zooey is 5 months old in just a few short days! She's been with us for almost half a year! She's such a cutie, and becoming more fun and interactive every day. Here are some of the things she's been up to lately:<br />
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She loves to talk. She coos and cackles and screeches. You can tell she really enjoys many of the sounds she is making even though someone who doesn't know her well might think she's uncomfortable- she's just trying out her newfound focal range which includes screaming! We call her Zooey "creaky door" Nelson Lilly and "pterodactyl baby" because that's how she sounds! ("Archeopterix!")<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ8F-Ru_8LLM9XgV5l9DINyg0_IpGUTBFjJthO2k1Ovz-7WC4DFLu0w6giClldRDQ0TiIiHCTAoU0SaEoj8ZPs-xItXVrwiztPXeIGmysjHuBDpb4WtC5L8l9GL2PEi1xZTSUXVxWyFC4/s1600/IMG_0820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ8F-Ru_8LLM9XgV5l9DINyg0_IpGUTBFjJthO2k1Ovz-7WC4DFLu0w6giClldRDQ0TiIiHCTAoU0SaEoj8ZPs-xItXVrwiztPXeIGmysjHuBDpb4WtC5L8l9GL2PEi1xZTSUXVxWyFC4/s320/IMG_0820.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Z with my triathlon medal!</td></tr>
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Z started daycare in late August. I was initially quite nervous about the whole thing, wondering if we were doing the right thing by sending her to daycare instead of hiring a nanny. I am so, so grateful my Mom was able to stay with her until she turned 4 months- any sooner and I think daycare might have been too much for such a little one- but after two weeks there, I feel totally fine about it. She is the youngest one in the room (and only one of 2 girls in a room with 8 kids!) but I don't think that's a problem. She watches the big kids and the teachers all seem to adore her. She even enjoys tummy time (sometimes.....for a couple minutes at a time....that's an improvement). The daycare is very communicative, telling me in person how her day was and what developments they are seeing as well as via email and an interactive website where they upload photos and even video. For the price of a year of an elite private school, I suppose I should expect that, but honestly I'm pleasantly surprised!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even when the toy is by her hands, her feet must<br />
get in on the action!</td></tr>
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Other Zooey antics include grabbing her feet, trying to help guide the bottle with both hands, and still loving the heck out of her activity gym. She loves Mr Monkey and Mr Crinkles most of all but will smile at anything with a face- animate or inanimate. She is quite the kicker- if given the option between playing with a toy with her hands or feet she'll choose feet most of the time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom excited about golfing with Dad<br />and Z excited about going to "school!"</td></tr>
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Sleep is less of a battle than it used to be. Daytime naps are still a struggle at home (though they tell us they are fine at daycare), and one out of every 3 days is a nighttime struggle (much better than every single day!). Z will get herself to sleep if we put her in the crib drowsy but awake about half the time. Most people have stopped asking if she "sleeps through the night" and I have stopped even thinking about it because the answer is a resounding no, and I really don't expect that to change anytime soon (though she pulled off 8.5 hours last night! Woo-hoo!). She (usually) gets up twice to eat. She basically sleeps through the feeds and goes right back down to sleep. Even if she smiles and interacts during the diaper change part she still goes right back to sleep. She's small, she's still nursing, I think she just needs to eat. I expect this to last as long as I'm nursing. The cost of nursing is high but the benefit to health is higher so I press on. When she wakes up three times in a night (which she did twice this week), I really question how long I can carry on (when your baseline is incredibly bad barely functional fatigue, any night worse than baseline is DEVASTATING!). Oh well.<br />
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Tummy time is less of a battle as well. She actually enjoys it for the first minute or so and does a great job of holding her head up. She rolled over from stomach to back once a few weeks ago and then TWICE in a row last weekend. She then (accidentally, I think) rolled from back to stomach in the crib! Making progress. Such a cutie!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who loves tummy time?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yippee!</td></tr>
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Zooey is very attentive, she pays close attention to anything (or anyone) around her and can easily amuse herself with simple toys (or just looking around the room) for 20-40 minutes at a time. When she gets bored, she'll do well with a simple change of environment or toy. Here is she is watching Adam across the room:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This seems okay....I'm not sure.</td></tr>
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Other firsts in the past two months include first (and second!) swim in a pool, first ride in a swing and first trip out of the state- to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin this week. She takes in new experiences very well, pays close attention to her surroundings, but rarely gets upset. Z has a great temperament, only fusses when tired. Not really even when she's hungry, so we just pay attention and feed her when it seems right. She's such a good kid. I think we'll keep her:)<br />
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I'll end with a comparison: Zooey post bath at one week and today, at 21 weeks. What a cutie:)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One week old</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5 months old!</td></tr>
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Stay tuned for more Zooey antics in month 6!<br />
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<br />Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-29127163403510836392013-09-14T15:11:00.002-07:002013-09-14T15:11:47.427-07:00I didn't run........on Tuesday, September 12th. Or September 13th. And I don't plan to run today.<br />
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The last day that I didn't run* at least 1 mile was December 28th, 2010. Since then, my husband and I have been "streaking"- running at least 1 mile a day^, every day, no matter what. NO MATTER WHAT. That's 989 days in a row of running at least 1 mile a day. During that time I've completed 7 marathons, 2 half marathons, and 3 triathlons. I carried Zooey for 36 weeks and 5 days and delivered her via c-section. I learned how to swim (hence the triathlons!) and lifted weights. I ran in the snow and rain and 90% humidity after the sun set and well before the sun rose. I ran in the middle of the day and went back to work without showering (oops!). I ran in my Danskos between dinner and drinks in the dead of a Chicago winter with my winter coat on (again, without showering). I ran in at least 12 states (likely more that I can't remember).<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(^though my crazy- crazy impressive- husband is running three miles a day in 2013!)</span><br />
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My streak ended as unceremoniously as it began. It started because in December 2010 Adam announced that he was going to run one mile a day in 2011. I thought that sounded like a great idea, and was something I had contemplated doing myself in the past so I decided to join him (I'll admit it, there was some component of me not wanting to be outdone in the fitness arena as well:)). It went so well the first year that neither of us saw any reason to stop. Granted, there were days when it was hard. Certainly, days of illness, travel days, days when running clearly cut directly into sleep time were hard days. Days after the first few marathons were hard, though I do think aided in recovery and by the last few marathons the 1 mile run was no big deal. Some days early pregnancy (nausea) and mid pregnancy (need to pee!) were hard. And my pace definitely slowed late pregnancy. Of course, there were days when the couch called. MANY days when the couch called. But, in all honestly, sitting on a couch for the 10 minutes it takes to run a mile wouldn't result in any meaningful relaxation or rest. I almost always felt better after running whether better meant an improved mood, that last burst of energy to get through the day or just the peace of mind that I continued to prioritize my physical and mental health through exercise. Most days I ran more than a mile (or biked, or swam, etc). But the days I ran only a mile were completely worth it.<br />
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Streaking helped prioritize exercise for Adam and I both pre- and post-baby in a way that a non-daily regular exercise routine never would. Let's face it: despite incredible support and help from our family in the past few months (with a special shout out to my mom who moved in with us for 8 weeks!), we are spread very, very thin. And we are people who were already spread very thin. In fact the reason my streak ended is probably in part because I am simply not treating my body the way it needs to be treated- aside from one random night in August I haven't slept more than 4 hours in a row in, well, FIVE MONTHS. And I usually only get 6 hours a night. And I'm a person who needs my 9-10 hours. I'm barely functioning. Adam, I think, is better physically, but mentally stressed from a very hectic job. Bottom line= we have every excuse in the book to forgo exercise "temporarily" or "until things calm down" or "until she sleeps through the night". But because of the streak there has been no question that we need to prioritize and organize such that we each get our runs in. Which has leaked over into making sure I get my other work-outs in as well. From the day after Z's birth, running (*well, walking actually for the first month immediately after she was born), daily has been my 'me' time or sometimes my 'Adam and me' time or even 'family time', but time where I definitely am prioritizing my health and my sanity, which, by the way I think is an excellent example to set for young Zooey.<br />
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As I said, my streak ended as unceremoniously as it started. I didn't run on Wednesday because I was too sick to get out of bed. Unfortunately we were on our first vacation as a family of three in Lake Geneva, not the best time or place to get sick. But I was too nauseated and too lightheaded to even walk further than the bathroom. It really wasn't an option, and I didn't even consider running. Same with yesterday. Today I could pull it off, but I'm not going to.<br />
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My streak taught me a lot. I'm very strong. I'm very motivated. I'm a bit crazy. I don't mind if other people realize I'm a bit crazy. I am now a faster runner. My streak strengthened my body. My streak strengthened my marriage. My streak carried me through a pretty easy pregnancy and postpartum recovery that resulted in a wonderful healthy baby girl despite her being a few weeks early.<br />
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Will I streak again? Probably. Life can be overwhelming and I'm sure will only be more so in the coming months as I continue the job hunt and then start my practice as an oncologist. Adam, Zooey, and I have a lot of transitions in the coming year and transitions- even when good- can be stressful. I can easily see how exercise might get edged out if (Adam and) I don't continue to fiercely guard our work out time. But I don't know when I will start again. It might be tomorrow. It might be next year. We'll see how I feel. But I know my first streak was great. 989 runs, not all of them great individually, but definitely a great first streak!<br />
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<br />Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-45832937272677959722013-08-30T14:48:00.002-07:002013-08-30T16:47:01.414-07:00Chicago Triathlon Take Two<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRS6Zuso8KyHTcONArL7OxAA8fZrYJ8MpYS_vEmDL3u6deiUhv165e5IEyFPzuDPvtLb28jmq6rC8tlu9lV9W9DEOqCnoLqL1C3NU6AfNfjuetYobxM-QK8kSLQAvAgMQevYW5UDBxFHw/s1600/DSC_0757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRS6Zuso8KyHTcONArL7OxAA8fZrYJ8MpYS_vEmDL3u6deiUhv165e5IEyFPzuDPvtLb28jmq6rC8tlu9lV9W9DEOqCnoLqL1C3NU6AfNfjuetYobxM-QK8kSLQAvAgMQevYW5UDBxFHw/s320/DSC_0757.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sara, David and me before the race.</td></tr>
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According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, I should be sleeping right now. I am most definitely- by any measure- terribly sleep deprived. And I just put my body through hard, hard work this morning (written Sunday) in 90 degree heat. But I'm too excited about my great triathlon to not blog about it. Plus, my sleep debt is so large, a half an hour nap isn't going to leave a dent!<br />
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Now that I think about it, I've been turning Maslow's good old hierarchy on its head for a while as I chose training over sleep day in a day out since little Z was born four months ago. Not that I would be well rested if I hadn't been swimming, biking and running so often- I would still be tired, I'd just be tired AND likely depressed AND certainly less self-actualized. I'll stop talking about Maslow now, but I do feel that I just skipped straight to the top of his hierarchy today:)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBch78-sWtlZ-M3MqgYOYBJ8UiniT7LK17e0j854m33hqAiS9LAF6Nwy1FhioYhZtst5Io5_zGMVWx3MJa2qnHtn4MbnLCcdMEUd7LzQgsxtDTcgkTmxwLNYn-Wz95Lhh6PbgkPbGppa4/s1600/DSC_0750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBch78-sWtlZ-M3MqgYOYBJ8UiniT7LK17e0j854m33hqAiS9LAF6Nwy1FhioYhZtst5Io5_zGMVWx3MJa2qnHtn4MbnLCcdMEUd7LzQgsxtDTcgkTmxwLNYn-Wz95Lhh6PbgkPbGppa4/s320/DSC_0750.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the swim from our apartment race morning.</td></tr>
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As you may recall, my first foray into the world of triathlons wasn't pretty. Last year at the Chicago Triathlon (sprint distance) I did a lot <a href="http://sisterbison.blogspot.com/2012/08/did-anyone-tell-you-this-is-supposed-to.html">more panic stricken hanging on boats and back floating than I did swimming</a>. I redeemed myself at the Lake Geneva Tri (sprint also) a few weeks later, but still, it was clear that swimming was my weakest leg by far.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUwbNVsGabRhYRZf0ZNUw8ey1bu_YoodYQmN0vusn4_SW08CCIOPXlDkIc2Cu-qWUHhmehwvpgYVIsQ1VwV94KqfaOioXa2SNqHMrh_PUf7mWyonWJ7KW9RPtEU2CUORa60UAEqrc-mBU/s1600/DSC_0758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUwbNVsGabRhYRZf0ZNUw8ey1bu_YoodYQmN0vusn4_SW08CCIOPXlDkIc2Cu-qWUHhmehwvpgYVIsQ1VwV94KqfaOioXa2SNqHMrh_PUf7mWyonWJ7KW9RPtEU2CUORa60UAEqrc-mBU/s320/DSC_0758.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking to the swim.</td></tr>
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Today (again, written Sunday), I did twice the distance (0.93 miles) in only 10 minutes additional time! Hurrah! Did I panic? Yes. Multiple times for multiple reasons. But I KEPT IT TOGETHER!! I didn't not spend any time on my back and my two boat pit stops were needed and probably helped my time overall.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGkEO-MFayujdij6MjgApwby0RyQOQ4k8PfrFfmDX0GejAzskgoNgJ6WZkoOdRDLWQlXIllIhZzZCTbW2Txx6B7mGF42ZgS5Tzvtg_JOHEm9NK3s-mB-aLAlAndIZGFjBlhhtHZI2TJ54/s1600/DSC_0767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGkEO-MFayujdij6MjgApwby0RyQOQ4k8PfrFfmDX0GejAzskgoNgJ6WZkoOdRDLWQlXIllIhZzZCTbW2Txx6B7mGF42ZgS5Tzvtg_JOHEm9NK3s-mB-aLAlAndIZGFjBlhhtHZI2TJ54/s320/DSC_0767.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A much less exciting picture since I'm SWIMMING! Without<br />
being able to SEE!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSHinVI0YiRBtUibK5fR-3wqWMo3vszKscgDZD9FWavC3fTXwjE7vhINEwa7eK7LVjsndMqQaU-_TmsWr2JT3g-ogFUK-k8gkkBkEYfZ6z2A615z_HtdbgGPRvCTIzAkNV-ImaCZN2WNs/s1600/IMG_0801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSHinVI0YiRBtUibK5fR-3wqWMo3vszKscgDZD9FWavC3fTXwjE7vhINEwa7eK7LVjsndMqQaU-_TmsWr2JT3g-ogFUK-k8gkkBkEYfZ6z2A615z_HtdbgGPRvCTIzAkNV-ImaCZN2WNs/s320/IMG_0801.JPG" width="304" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I made it (front left)1</td></tr>
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Oh, but the panic. It's just part of the swim for a lot of people. I was nearly in tears in the start corral until I stopped myself thinking it would be no good to have tear water in my goggles. But boy did I want to cry. The start was relatively uneventful but I had a heavy panic feeling in my chest for the first quarter mile. I'll tell you what didn't help. NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE A DAMN THING. My goggles fogged over and I just couldn't see. And there were no life boats to stop at until past the 1/4 mile mark. Eventually Adam and Bonnie realized I couldn't see when I wasn't making any kind of move toward the buoy turn around and they started yelling at me to "go left, go left". I probably would have swam all the way to the field museum if they hadn't been there because I couldn't even see the big orange buoy. Ridiculous. Once I stopped to defog my goggles things got a little better, but I still got freaked out by people grabbing my legs and kicking me. I probably swam an extra 1/8 mile at least because I zig zagged so much. My breathing was not optimal. But there was a good 1/4 mile in there were I felt good- really good- and knew I could swim a longer distance if I absolutely needed to. I stopped at a second boat for a breather because I was getting short of breath, probably cuz my form was deteriorating. But all in all, I'm damn proud of that swim. I've had no lessons or help of any kind since last year- this was all me putting in the time and working on my fears:)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4_t_r77xGMVlqDt1Ao2J-P7nzXse9apfBFgtYuYdmHAKu6hGWdJJay7fstSRFH8X1ihhZ0Ypujo2AqJc7Ait4hVLxYHFhjgIOFUsi_Z0vK46eQmGefIOTWvqBRAsZ2nzoxzkk9s_4ko/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-08-26+at+7.29.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4_t_r77xGMVlqDt1Ao2J-P7nzXse9apfBFgtYuYdmHAKu6hGWdJJay7fstSRFH8X1ihhZ0Ypujo2AqJc7Ait4hVLxYHFhjgIOFUsi_Z0vK46eQmGefIOTWvqBRAsZ2nzoxzkk9s_4ko/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-08-26+at+7.29.55+PM.png" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I really need a road bike, I look so goofy!</td></tr>
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The bike was better this year too. Maybe not mph-wise (I don't feel like doing the calculations to compare but this year was around 15 mph), but I enjoyed parts of it whereas last year just felt like a slog. Might have helped that I rented a "fitness" bike with thinner wheels rather than my mountain bike. I really need to get a road bike- I think I could get into biking given the right equipment though 116 miles (Ironman) will always seem really really far. I didn't push it too hard on the bike. I pushed it a little bit intermittently. I spent the first 5 miles rejoicing that the swim was done:)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw485ZsCE0EM7tRU6TJDXry1nlJ-d-zMqPQh5sdgAcSwSM9BJ_DwnYEM8J7NxqvkkJZRal_waMU3Yr-fEnJGWmNFp4dbD5HxWz4G4Itk3iY0Q_OTSTsj6q0kXVh0vyFNnrBKYjeD67M6s/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-08-26+at+7.28.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw485ZsCE0EM7tRU6TJDXry1nlJ-d-zMqPQh5sdgAcSwSM9BJ_DwnYEM8J7NxqvkkJZRal_waMU3Yr-fEnJGWmNFp4dbD5HxWz4G4Itk3iY0Q_OTSTsj6q0kXVh0vyFNnrBKYjeD67M6s/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-08-26+at+7.28.35+PM.png" width="230" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cover your eyes! So pale I'm shining!</td></tr>
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By the time I got to the run I was hot, hot, hot. And the waves behind me had it even worse. I had to stop to pee and that combined with walking through the aid stations and basically just putting one foot in front of the other I ended up with 9:42 min/miles. In that heat, I'll take it.<br />
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My final stats:<br />
Swim: 51:37 (which includes 0.25 mile jog to the transition)- swim rank 2477 (out of 2611)<br />
Bike + both transitions (I forgot to put my chip back on after taking off my wetsuit): 1:45 ish<br />
Run: 1:00:17- run rank 997 (out of 2611)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGS4JfcVjaVyErhhAqVHl4EVIw1bP0QmEFUxEhW5CUpbYBR_oYU-WWNUup-XzIbjySgqQ9wPH_ArM8ryKsi7m0vN21KOfbQT7r32WZpjHMB6PxJGub6b30EL7tJ0vB-TCgSeHjzx3R-g4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-08-25+at+5.35.05+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGS4JfcVjaVyErhhAqVHl4EVIw1bP0QmEFUxEhW5CUpbYBR_oYU-WWNUup-XzIbjySgqQ9wPH_ArM8ryKsi7m0vN21KOfbQT7r32WZpjHMB6PxJGub6b30EL7tJ0vB-TCgSeHjzx3R-g4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-08-25+at+5.35.05+PM.png" /></a></div>
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There's no question what I need to work on: I need swimming lessons and more pool workouts and a road bike. But the first thing I said to Adam when I finished was that I'm ready to do a 70.3. I didn't really want to go any further on the swim, bike or run today in the heat but I could have. And I will next summer. Not bad for 4 months post partum!!!<br />
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Even better than having such a great race was having such a great race with friends! Sara kicked some serious butt after a challenging swim start and super late start time (meaning the heat was the worst for her) and David is an absolute beast on the swim and the bike. I'm trying to convince them both to join me in an half-Iron next summer. I think I might have 'em:)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxH-PnL7nxbny_YikahYbwHk1DFZAnyZnbY14EQvkAH84DOO5UObNHSgTz3BEvyCgogP5NZBp0ldn4WxOJd0NobIzUjt5qNHPcRvHywl4WIFkx3JFFWc5CepYeVW_DOUhPpxbiWFMEggo/s1600/DSC_0831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxH-PnL7nxbny_YikahYbwHk1DFZAnyZnbY14EQvkAH84DOO5UObNHSgTz3BEvyCgogP5NZBp0ldn4WxOJd0NobIzUjt5qNHPcRvHywl4WIFkx3JFFWc5CepYeVW_DOUhPpxbiWFMEggo/s320/DSC_0831.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David owned the bike and swim.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_p5bCPbSyRxMmJQsQAGaRCRVPgr3CK71o47t6cBiBZRDnHihmhSI-PDVQHl72kSiceYyAEyxdGt9jbH-Ooz_h8CL4YaaSmAR6lxVfkJDZKWsiFjcVIQNnoRwbJutxs4Q7yiQVt1GGRw/s1600/DSC_0827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_p5bCPbSyRxMmJQsQAGaRCRVPgr3CK71o47t6cBiBZRDnHihmhSI-PDVQHl72kSiceYyAEyxdGt9jbH-Ooz_h8CL4YaaSmAR6lxVfkJDZKWsiFjcVIQNnoRwbJutxs4Q7yiQVt1GGRw/s320/DSC_0827.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and looked happy on the run!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bCHJbIy7u2fzacitkjnLJJW5wQz3TgQzuxGYjWQ9UBKQQWC4F39NlLpminCp4tzzYcI8KjnTqoJ3ztDc-wuLGj7u9czd7jsmemfmQrkf-tIai5A3Q0m8Z1qanBTdOvshDp70-yc8B_I/s1600/IMG_0807.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bCHJbIy7u2fzacitkjnLJJW5wQz3TgQzuxGYjWQ9UBKQQWC4F39NlLpminCp4tzzYcI8KjnTqoJ3ztDc-wuLGj7u9czd7jsmemfmQrkf-tIai5A3Q0m8Z1qanBTdOvshDp70-yc8B_I/s320/IMG_0807.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Victorious Sara with her parents....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnsarac65eCeMCsMJJVJV3bDW_igTBjOHsVJmeLc6w_sSctkrJ8RxD6ntDRkKAkUI9BIesPYSe5TgQlgrFYWS5vljejGSPirfsPo7wnmnil3nVbT1bJyM3gD3zrr2yO7-8dW0sPa4eDBE/s1600/IMG_0808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnsarac65eCeMCsMJJVJV3bDW_igTBjOHsVJmeLc6w_sSctkrJ8RxD6ntDRkKAkUI9BIesPYSe5TgQlgrFYWS5vljejGSPirfsPo7wnmnil3nVbT1bJyM3gD3zrr2yO7-8dW0sPa4eDBE/s320/IMG_0808.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and the sunflowers!</td></tr>
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Adam did such an amazing job of cooking dinner, watching Zooey, demanding I skip a feed last night to get some sleep. He is so supportive of my athletic endeavors on a daily basis; I am so lucky and so grateful. And Bonnie did some serious pinch hitting- feeding and watching Zooey (and making her giggle, which is awesome!), taking my sweaty clothes no questions asked (truly the definition of a good friend) and enthusiastically cheering us on every step of the way even though she was feeling pretty tired herself. I'm so lucky to have such great friends and family who are supportive and can be talked into crazy things like triathlons:) Zooey, for her part, was super well behaved for Adam and Bonnie and was full of grins for me after the race. It was my first triathlon without her with/in me every stroke, pedal and step of the way! My perfect little girl:)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7Ieac8ctaitauZRXKrtUOES-TX_2giTHlIOoXYA9bi41fN7gXlr_Cy9wn-9l898gOVCSjDZyVEwvO8c_tTPSu-R7JHRnBEYH3AUVjtJaZgGgS5L5Y9dPYV2iQMuM1pUAgcm23s24xJE/s1600/DSC_0812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7Ieac8ctaitauZRXKrtUOES-TX_2giTHlIOoXYA9bi41fN7gXlr_Cy9wn-9l898gOVCSjDZyVEwvO8c_tTPSu-R7JHRnBEYH3AUVjtJaZgGgS5L5Y9dPYV2iQMuM1pUAgcm23s24xJE/s320/DSC_0812.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for me on the run.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeRafDLYoJFoK96ZzldsHDJFo04MvgwjsDi5cubCVbhfHDvg11uw-M4SLD2pkAwaU-YF6GXJH4p0JOh2plK4JAkXdthEg3A8h1gVZc63qqkcIBtET8ol_v-UtvsoJdhb1hcH7_GPma20/s1600/IMG_0663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeRafDLYoJFoK96ZzldsHDJFo04MvgwjsDi5cubCVbhfHDvg11uw-M4SLD2pkAwaU-YF6GXJH4p0JOh2plK4JAkXdthEg3A8h1gVZc63qqkcIBtET8ol_v-UtvsoJdhb1hcH7_GPma20/s320/IMG_0663.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four month family shot.</td></tr>
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Photo credits to Adam, Bonnie Kaplan and David Teplinsky. Thanks for the great shots, friends!<br />
<br />Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-50641188084743182962013-08-07T13:26:00.001-07:002013-08-07T13:26:19.560-07:00Wonderful, Wonderful WeekendThanks to my mom, Adam and baby Zooey combined with good luck and good weather this was a perfect weekend! Highlights:<br />
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1. SLEEP!! Z only got up once in the middle of the night Friday AND Saturday. Friday didn't feel that restful because she got up at 1:30 am and then at 5:30 am (which I'm counting as morning rather than middle of the night) but Saturday by ANY measure she "slept through the night" from 7:15 until 3:30 am! That's over EIGHT hours!! We, of course, want to replicate this but we have no idea why it happened. Maybe she matured just enough, maybe her fussy spell earlier in the week was the developmental growth spurt that allowed for this? Maybe it was the busy busy day with lots of stimulation at the Chicago Botanic Gardens on Saturday? Maybe it was that Grandma has sleep gifts we do not because it was indeed the first night in months that she was put to bed by someone other than Mom or Dad? Whatever it was, it shows she is capable of long sleeping and while I know this won't happen every night it was a taste of a more sleep filled future!<br />
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2. EXERCISE!! 19 mile spin on Friday and Lake Michigan swim on Sunday gave my mental health a boost. Mom and Zooey walked with me to the swim and along the lake as I swam today which gave me the extra motivation I needed to deal with the HUGE waves in the lake. It was a tough swim but I got it done. Phew!<br />
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3. ZOOEY TIME!! Zooey has been waking up smiling and ready for the day lately. She even entertains herself in the crib for 30 minutes to an hour before requesting our attention in the morning. What a sweetie:) Then it's smiles, smiles and more smiles when we come to fetch her. She has a favorite toy- Mr Monkey- that makes her smile even if she is hungry, tired, or otherwise cranky. And Sunday, she rolled over for the first time! My mom, having a sixth sense about these things, announced to Adam and I that Zooey was about to do tummy time so we were loitering around and we all got to see it happen! Zooey laid on her back sorta stunned for a minutes afterwards ("What just happened?") then went about playing in her activity gym. Fun stuff.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJ7pECaVsYOr7aX11Sa9h5A-D8PPiHJE_4H6mbSm404tcHSqyPetxcvuGEHHtHW5uKk5XDebrlKA7hjapJWp4Fg6LoIq-Tu_1J0Dyzfr2zOdCeGdapLmRv4ZR6NjWJEzkzDSYUep9Vlw/s1600/photo-4+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkJ7pECaVsYOr7aX11Sa9h5A-D8PPiHJE_4H6mbSm404tcHSqyPetxcvuGEHHtHW5uKk5XDebrlKA7hjapJWp4Fg6LoIq-Tu_1J0Dyzfr2zOdCeGdapLmRv4ZR6NjWJEzkzDSYUep9Vlw/s320/photo-4+copy.jpg" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hello, Mr Monkey!"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandma and Z</td></tr>
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4. CHICAGO ADVENTURES!! The four of us (Mom, Adam, Zooey and I) went up to the Chicago Botanic Gardens on Saturday. It was an absolutely beautiful day with the flowers in full bloom. We tried to recreate one of the pregnancy photos with Zooey which was challenging to say the least but the result is still good. Note that Adam's head is partially cut off- he says that's just what happens when your head is "too big" :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtcosuxs4K97G33zPM9RjDzb6Kd7dGcDrIoJ1ov0Uoy9dpP3_7pX3vJsMy2-2wPxvhuGPCZYpsWBaoTz2rrQ1usOYu_eMlVbXmXqcHp6T555Ld20IkqN-gXeX4sCGMXVxRmPZdv39IBI/s1600/DSC_0904.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgtcosuxs4K97G33zPM9RjDzb6Kd7dGcDrIoJ1ov0Uoy9dpP3_7pX3vJsMy2-2wPxvhuGPCZYpsWBaoTz2rrQ1usOYu_eMlVbXmXqcHp6T555Ld20IkqN-gXeX4sCGMXVxRmPZdv39IBI/s320/DSC_0904.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">March 2013</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66Si-o3OPm-beaBixD5w-wEjz-w_jM0-voC_7M1HfAlDs-afMmZtqmIYcgb-X2juUAhyphenhyphens4c7n0QNaFBpl2EprCifBFHCsWL1lVN6v204kE523cuVf3oGmiBiT0iH30bFEto0naD49Fn8/s1600/DSC_0862.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66Si-o3OPm-beaBixD5w-wEjz-w_jM0-voC_7M1HfAlDs-afMmZtqmIYcgb-X2juUAhyphenhyphens4c7n0QNaFBpl2EprCifBFHCsWL1lVN6v204kE523cuVf3oGmiBiT0iH30bFEto0naD49Fn8/s320/DSC_0862.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">August 2013</td></tr>
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5. VAL AND ADAM TIME!! My Mom is the best. Seriously. She stayed the weekend (rather than going back home to Cherry Valley) just so Adam and I could have a few hours alone together at Lollapalooza. I really wasn't sure if going to see Mumford and Sons was the right thing to do- we are so tired! But I feel if we don't keep doing the things we like now we could easily become those folks whose lives so revolve around their kids that they lose themselves- not the kind of parent I want to be! Plus, I think it's vital for the parent relationship to be maintained as a separate entity- Adam and I need our alone time together to keep our relationship healthy and happy, which is certainly a good thing for Zooey! I think the technical term is 'trickle down happiness' :) Or it should be, anyway. We really had a great time at the show! We found great standing room on the steps just stage left so we had an unobstructed view. Folks were super friendly, everyone was in such a great mood- all 150,000 of us watching the show! We left a bit early and stopped by to catch a couple Postal Service songs on our way out which was great fun as well. And home by 10, followed by a 5 hour sleep! All in all, the best weekend we've had in a long while!<br />
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<br />Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-29199552832239755312013-07-24T18:45:00.000-07:002013-07-24T18:45:49.460-07:00Annual 4th of July Long RunStarting in 2010 (and maybe even earlier- I can't remember) I've done a long run on the 4th of July. I usually have the day off and I usually overeat at the 4th of July cook-outs so it makes good sense to burn some calories while enjoying a quiet morning on the lakefront path. I had hoped to continue this tradition this 4th of July but as you can imagine not all plans work out when you have a (then) 2 and a half month old at home! Mostly I was too tired to even contemplate a long(ish) run, plus the time it would take to get little Z all ready for a big day of seeing friends and family would have required me to start pretty early. I opted to get an extra hour of sleep. I think that was a good choice!<br />
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We had a very nice 4th of July with Adam's family and the Boyles. Z was well behaved (though a little overwhelmed by all the people to share too many smiles) and we kept her on a good nap schedule. On the ride home, the little stinker didn't want to sleep- we could hear he swishing around in her carseat. To keep her entertained, Adam sang 'The Rainbow Connection' in Kermit the Frog's voice which elicited giggles and smiles from our little backseat passenger which was awesome:)<br />
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But back to running. Despite only running 1 mile on the 4th, striving to maintain my 4th of July tradition (even though I failed at the execution) was a worthwhile endeavor. Soon after delivering in April, I made the goal of running 10 miles on the 4th, as a way to keep myself on target building up miles slowly but not too slowly. This worked well and I was on target, having run 8 the week before, at 10 weeks postpartum. <br />
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Today I ran 12. And it was absolutely fabulous which was reflected in my 8:37 min/mile pace which is FLYING for me on a run of this distance. To put it in perspective my PR for the half marathon (13.1 miles) is 1:56:44 which is a 8:54 min/mi pace. So 8:37 pace on a relatively slow easy long run is astounding. I know I will be very sore when I get up for the multiple middle-of-the-night feedings tonight, but it's totally worth it! Certainly, there is some degree of "baby doping" going on here, but I'll take it and hopefully I can continue at these faster speeds even as my blood volume goes back to normal over the next few months. As Z gets older my sleeping duration should be increasing so perhaps the two effects will balance each other out.<br />
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I must give a shout out to Adam and my Mom, who did not think anything of me leaving them with Zooey duty for a two hour run on a random week night. There's absolutely no way I'd be in this good of shape this few weeks from pregnancy without their support. I know there are folks who think it's crazy that both Adam and I still work out every single day with an infant at home but I truly believe it is better for us and therefore better for Zooey if we continue to maintain good health habits even though it means we see her a little less. We are role modeling that exercise is fun and an integral part of life, which she may not notice now but she will eventually. As she gets bigger she will be able to participate in more and more of our activities. I have no doubt we are doing the right thing by her by carving this time out for our physical and mental health.<br />
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And lastly, I want to pat myself on the back a little. I am tired. Having an infant who still doesn't sleep well or much is HARD. Pumping every 2-3 hours during the day and after every nightly feed is HARD. But I have been dragging myself through most of my workouts with the occasional pay out being a great workout like tonight. I have every excuse in the world to take some time "off" from training. But I will continue to fight that urge. One day I will not be able to run. TODAY IS NOT THAT DAY.Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-47470112120010727832013-07-19T18:49:00.000-07:002013-07-19T18:49:54.277-07:00Three Months!Last Wednesday, our dear Zooey turned three months old! It has been an exciting month with lots of milestones reached. She is more interactive and fun every day. Soon after her two month birthday she began smiling intermittently and now she has developed into a generally easy going smiley baby who can be distracted into a smile even when tired or hungry....most of the time. She also giggles which is awesome. Love the giggles.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPO5VZRgFMsHwcr0FwRFHRg7A2ybpOaFF7AqsnmWZ3v-8LVozFT6S1vHNjUNnbGGNiHsmlod6-RGvB_RdHgPQRyhWMcokIzyYIinmHx49ADNU667TsIcRVnUXABgMq1jPCpciM5HtGKM/s1600/IMG_0961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPO5VZRgFMsHwcr0FwRFHRg7A2ybpOaFF7AqsnmWZ3v-8LVozFT6S1vHNjUNnbGGNiHsmlod6-RGvB_RdHgPQRyhWMcokIzyYIinmHx49ADNU667TsIcRVnUXABgMq1jPCpciM5HtGKM/s320/IMG_0961.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HELLOO PEOPLE!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaNeiCYUw992Jc5OpXgFR-iBNirNFGsDrRHI2PKRDNdsCtazz3Ff0qYCw8jmc6ecu5Crc9tTiuNHl301tN401-w_rAkNIQ90kfb5J8Yql0l1V_deESVOt3cN9B91QkiJkX64k-b9W4OA/s1600/ry=400-14.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaNeiCYUw992Jc5OpXgFR-iBNirNFGsDrRHI2PKRDNdsCtazz3Ff0qYCw8jmc6ecu5Crc9tTiuNHl301tN401-w_rAkNIQ90kfb5J8Yql0l1V_deESVOt3cN9B91QkiJkX64k-b9W4OA/s320/ry=400-14.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know something you don't know......</td></tr>
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I think there is something to the theory I've read so much about that infants have a rough few days prior to acquiring a new "skill". Last weekend was really rough- she was so tired but couldn't sleep no matter how much we tried to help. Her eating was totally disorganized. She was withdrawn and not interactive probably because of the former two issues. I was really bummed because that was our last "free" weekend of the summer with neither of us working. But I think Zooey was hard at work developing hand/eye and foot/eye coordination because now she can swat at objects, and can spin the toys on her Baby Bjorn chair intentionally with her hands OR her feet! I don't see her all that much during playtime (which is a huge bummer, mostly I feed her and get her to sleep), but I don't recall much lead up to this. One day she's just staring at the toys, the next she's very clearly making them move. Crazy!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still in staring mode here.....</td></tr>
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Babybison continues to meet and visit with the important people in her life. Aunt Bonnie and Uncle David came in from Denver to meet her which was very special. We even went out to dinner at a nice restaurant and aside from 90 seconds of crying (just enough time for us to get the bottle out) she was an angel. Only two patrons even realized she was there! And Cousin Karin came back for a half marathon in Chicago and some quality Z time as well!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting to know Aunt Bonnie</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging with Cousin Karin</td></tr>
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We haven't been on many adventures this month with me being back at work but we hope to get to the Botanic Gardens soon for a repeat photo shoot, this time with Zooey OUTSIDE of the womb. And we're getting to the point in her cuteness and interactiveness where we should think about our next formal photo shoot. Without it being planned, it's hard to catch us all not in our pajamas or work-out clothes!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRaal3gYzXwuOVI1bydksLDKAtjgPLhsZ3SRtBhLMOe3m0EpK4jmzP0SK10QGeyGlInZxMain15k8mvKIECq1eKLfrvIMMfmXS1ihdowcKXGxDNEFZm1wN5FHOcf4KjBw4svNfyHe9fSY/s1600/DSC_0825.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRaal3gYzXwuOVI1bydksLDKAtjgPLhsZ3SRtBhLMOe3m0EpK4jmzP0SK10QGeyGlInZxMain15k8mvKIECq1eKLfrvIMMfmXS1ihdowcKXGxDNEFZm1wN5FHOcf4KjBw4svNfyHe9fSY/s320/DSC_0825.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom and Z</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSnawSYtohg15VNXRuc-yT5MOORzqaTHiAjRvO3xSYLu9J0wLQgD0JJgZHHgkiwXp1D1j57lF1N5y1EQJtW5cyJlcoYEbkJ1vxNGufuik8NHKGSNSyc4K3N4VE7KRxbhoWkC60SbSx7Jg/s1600/IMG_0968.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSnawSYtohg15VNXRuc-yT5MOORzqaTHiAjRvO3xSYLu9J0wLQgD0JJgZHHgkiwXp1D1j57lF1N5y1EQJtW5cyJlcoYEbkJ1vxNGufuik8NHKGSNSyc4K3N4VE7KRxbhoWkC60SbSx7Jg/s320/IMG_0968.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4th of July at the Boyles</td></tr>
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We are so lucky to have my mom staying with us this summer. I hope she is enjoying it as much as we are! In addition to being the best possible caretaker to Zooey (Z is in much better hands with my mom than she would be with me!), she's is getting some great shots of our little girl. I'm so grateful we'll have her photos since we are way too busy to get many of our own!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Naked baby on the loose!</td></tr>
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That's it for now! Life is too busy right now especially in the middle of the night. I look forward to the day when our little one acquires the "skill" of sleeping for more than two to three hours at a time on a regular basis. She had one glorious night when she was up only at 1 am and 5 am but otherwise she is keeping me up WAY WAY WAY too much. Thank god she's so darn cute!<br />
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<br />Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-16600908655994698462013-06-30T13:59:00.000-07:002013-06-30T13:59:52.012-07:00We Have Smiles!!!About a week ago babybison began smiling with regularity, clearly in response to us and playing as opposed to the random smiles of her newborn days. The smiles are still rare enough that they are a special treat to see and hard to capture on camera. However my mom got a few good ones, enjoy!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KFsNvmoYvhF1PtiBwKttNbtANcXcew7M0OoIR2vGX10BrZ3q5NzFptzGMtQoxnnY0gDp9yDC3JRnjo3akGnGCURkAA5DyNpLzRNAqTRGWGjIpo4-VksmJaWBo6Um4ZyekJVUIXXYem8/s1600/P1010397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KFsNvmoYvhF1PtiBwKttNbtANcXcew7M0OoIR2vGX10BrZ3q5NzFptzGMtQoxnnY0gDp9yDC3JRnjo3akGnGCURkAA5DyNpLzRNAqTRGWGjIpo4-VksmJaWBo6Um4ZyekJVUIXXYem8/s320/P1010397.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I love my Grandma Nelson"</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE36X08ZLeTRl8JCDXL3bGvC3OWn8P2C6OHUKYEdkWWnYLQ-iiMO5SK1iast_VtYLzCQYRmD_Cp1CELH4ngryDPbz1lrS3xH5XM5JDNAjPamdCzHhiPPVafzU1j-jbn8E3QYU1r8hNSyc/s1280/P1010425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE36X08ZLeTRl8JCDXL3bGvC3OWn8P2C6OHUKYEdkWWnYLQ-iiMO5SK1iast_VtYLzCQYRmD_Cp1CELH4ngryDPbz1lrS3xH5XM5JDNAjPamdCzHhiPPVafzU1j-jbn8E3QYU1r8hNSyc/s320/P1010425.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at those fat legs!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-CSahgSsJfABUPZ1j7GOoczKb43osaLXoA-ap_ZzVulyD3C1CP0Dz_z8CNZWjXz0YOBGe9qZvYcKv4WoD5KqqfpA84sWUwAanzj6hrXqI5BW3IaBqRFwlT0kI3vXutIvSn5C8JWusMXY/s1600/P1010453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-CSahgSsJfABUPZ1j7GOoczKb43osaLXoA-ap_ZzVulyD3C1CP0Dz_z8CNZWjXz0YOBGe9qZvYcKv4WoD5KqqfpA84sWUwAanzj6hrXqI5BW3IaBqRFwlT0kI3vXutIvSn5C8JWusMXY/s320/P1010453.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I finally fit in my chair!!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL3O-IgrCupciVXUFT-ecVuJK1z2T3gzKrChMviOqNJHzOTdI50RZLhsKmgAt95UMpZN2UMMvmHdoXW0l4_dytqyAeT1g1V5HqVRVH2nFMxV6JxCG5Y104vGS0J9U91s08Fi0EAN0jEEA/s1600/DSC_0774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL3O-IgrCupciVXUFT-ecVuJK1z2T3gzKrChMviOqNJHzOTdI50RZLhsKmgAt95UMpZN2UMMvmHdoXW0l4_dytqyAeT1g1V5HqVRVH2nFMxV6JxCG5Y104vGS0J9U91s08Fi0EAN0jEEA/s320/DSC_0774.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My attempt (and miss) at capturing her smile, but you can see it in her eyes<br /> (that's how you know it's a "real" smile and not a "gas" smile)</td></tr>
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I couldn't resist including a few non-smiling poses including this series showing Zooey's skill at getting her socks and booties off:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5I8BGG1cGhUYe8NeT6z13KUIhCeH25p9wz0-bwy2BakHygbhUrgiLuGV2C5sR_hAm2DduxuxQ9l7eXhjP3D66ow4DFaEW24o067KgHFOAA-iQU9eNsRlNu8x8APJg_fnzIUDrVQwg4c/s1280/P1010419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5I8BGG1cGhUYe8NeT6z13KUIhCeH25p9wz0-bwy2BakHygbhUrgiLuGV2C5sR_hAm2DduxuxQ9l7eXhjP3D66ow4DFaEW24o067KgHFOAA-iQU9eNsRlNu8x8APJg_fnzIUDrVQwg4c/s320/P1010419.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Booties intact.</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWjYEBJTjt6xYqF8HB-ukx_cDClTd72Aaku-lEDmu8p2LgKUbhr-5lG2bQ0PNYfLQp5RnV-jfsMU-HSrXe_FiJV1hxi9QdvjuG2OAbC3v2pFXKludRc53B3WB17Wke-wQsx3Q6qirhIQ4/s1600/P1010420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWjYEBJTjt6xYqF8HB-ukx_cDClTd72Aaku-lEDmu8p2LgKUbhr-5lG2bQ0PNYfLQp5RnV-jfsMU-HSrXe_FiJV1hxi9QdvjuG2OAbC3v2pFXKludRc53B3WB17Wke-wQsx3Q6qirhIQ4/s320/P1010420.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Shake, shake shake...."</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaDDfffDLysf6vrkFMNGUglNna8q5z2_1j8Q-35r7fGR47dK8z64vTVnA_p4Qf88gssi64gofLRjItukZuhsZy8Mu0Zo59YmddQSYt2rXyLSFIzbB8DbPpmwef8u5q244CWFXS27LG5Q/s1600/P1010421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaDDfffDLysf6vrkFMNGUglNna8q5z2_1j8Q-35r7fGR47dK8z64vTVnA_p4Qf88gssi64gofLRjItukZuhsZy8Mu0Zo59YmddQSYt2rXyLSFIzbB8DbPpmwef8u5q244CWFXS27LG5Q/s320/P1010421.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Shake, shake, shake. Shake your booties! Shake your booties....off!"<br /><br /></td></tr>
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Zooey thinks she's a squirrel with those fat cheeks. I had to remind her that she's a babybison!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl6lBG3ofKyVLtTLAuOzYNztEQiJIYZ6X8D-GzQK5ykCnWYoyzFQhC16NxoO3p4CZWu6xJ-ZQdS8n7cvNhbI20j-clvUo-fieKauMzgEpKKEhhpzyuRcRzEOelaTnntFHlbKmcnzSZ1oM/s1600/DSC_0771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl6lBG3ofKyVLtTLAuOzYNztEQiJIYZ6X8D-GzQK5ykCnWYoyzFQhC16NxoO3p4CZWu6xJ-ZQdS8n7cvNhbI20j-clvUo-fieKauMzgEpKKEhhpzyuRcRzEOelaTnntFHlbKmcnzSZ1oM/s320/DSC_0771.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Until next time!<br />
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<br />Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-54983973910042569362013-06-17T14:21:00.000-07:002013-06-17T14:21:15.278-07:00Two Months Old!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7cm_GaI-ZW0TThZNqNAEFyTaJqCj1_Em0KrKqKSwX0MDCZgL54sCvrDqehkhlTLlaQXLNn1lSZMO-J8MGOB5D_phsoPGqG6DEkvDZzmgVtlFUyTTx0yHt8yOftvmhbifCUllUNdbtuUw/s1600/IMG_0476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7cm_GaI-ZW0TThZNqNAEFyTaJqCj1_Em0KrKqKSwX0MDCZgL54sCvrDqehkhlTLlaQXLNn1lSZMO-J8MGOB5D_phsoPGqG6DEkvDZzmgVtlFUyTTx0yHt8yOftvmhbifCUllUNdbtuUw/s320/IMG_0476.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Babybison is two months old today! She has changed a lot since her <a href="http://sisterbison.blogspot.com/2013/05/one-month-old.html">one month milestone</a>, but in many ways is still the same. Still tall and skinny though developing new fat rolls and bigger checks every day. She now can successfully breastfeed. She smiles frequently though still not directed at anyone in particular (I tell her if she directs her first true social smile to someone other than me, she is in trouble). She's a good eater, an okay sleeper though nowhere near "through the night" and is still very easy to comfort and basically a content baby. She's learning how to put herself to sleep. She still spends most of the night in the stroller due to spit up but is getting in naps here and there in the crib which is a step in the right direction. She has met all three of her great-grandparents, and most of her aunts, uncles and cousins. She's been to the zoo, the aquarium, and on numerous runs with Mom and Dad.<br />
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My maternity leave ends this week- I had 9 weeks at home. I'm definitely ready to go back but am worried about the amounts of caffeine I'll need to consume to function at work. We are so, so lucky to have my mom coming in to watch Zooey for the summer. I am really amazed and so, so grateful that my mom wants to dedicate her summer to helping us raise Zooey. It will be so good for our little girl to get one-on-one nurturing from the best mom I know.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91vCfBAkfar3YUQNAa28NpdtuuyKhTez8WwgRuVGX5xuzwoICJqDSrNa-jGUbkkJau8qDn_BaCLRabYpcqcRnPmbviw_qbWtOrkom0kP57ulZL-rTZOzmorrikSnUoG1VzK3uPrn6JNw/s1600/8701_10201367501695938_153089003_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91vCfBAkfar3YUQNAa28NpdtuuyKhTez8WwgRuVGX5xuzwoICJqDSrNa-jGUbkkJau8qDn_BaCLRabYpcqcRnPmbviw_qbWtOrkom0kP57ulZL-rTZOzmorrikSnUoG1VzK3uPrn6JNw/s320/8701_10201367501695938_153089003_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The newborn sized outfit we brought her home in finally fits!</td></tr>
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On the exercise front, things are coming together nicely. I had an awesome tempo run last week (7:52 pace for 3.1 miles!!), and am starting to feel a little stronger with consistent strength work-outs. Swimming is happening but needs to happen more frequently and for longer durations. I look forward to getting back to spinning next week! I have the feeling between Zooey-care, out-of-town visitors, and training, not to mention going back to work, the next few weeks are going to FLY by. I'm trying to convince Adam of the importance of us taking a vacation this fall with Zooey before the whole first year of her life flies by without us having the chance to really enjoy her! I'm so looking forward to when she starts smiling and interacting! The rare moments where she is calm and alert now are great but they are still pretty infrequent and fleeting. After all she's only 6 weeks old in "preemie time".<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhA-NThtjlcQgJ2Q7f8F0lBnWF1UgUXV8B_LdHtMCI4zjq3yHxvLmmFmJ4ghnmb_YW5V8a8Vjk2ajX7nYy3lekvlH3g9AzYK1loAtW8mc-IZ9iyu6H2-X_gwFVO7jIqIkxXgCl3YgHh4k/s1600/IMG_0468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhA-NThtjlcQgJ2Q7f8F0lBnWF1UgUXV8B_LdHtMCI4zjq3yHxvLmmFmJ4ghnmb_YW5V8a8Vjk2ajX7nYy3lekvlH3g9AzYK1loAtW8mc-IZ9iyu6H2-X_gwFVO7jIqIkxXgCl3YgHh4k/s320/IMG_0468.JPG" width="320" /></a>So what has babybison been up to? In the past month, she's met a bunch of her family members including great-grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. She has spent quality time with her grandparents on multiple occasions. Zooey continues to enjoy running in the jogging stroller. She loves motion and noise. She is also very interested in light and does focus a bit on some colors and lines. She occasionally will make eye contact with us and definitely smiles and coos when she is happy or entertained but has not had a true confirmed social smile yet. Seems like she's waiting until I'm no longer her primary caretaker to give out that reward. (What a stinker!).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkSYa3r10ExyjISV-ZKrWmcFh8QX66F7xphgr26vMD7lR3gmoZNDSYvdMR_W12ag4yUxWk5YzR05Xk8lc2TeuZBNjVq_bZcpMDd3C55qqkfh6klYpMRcGtgU1mAUv1zRTb8GEkm1e0Yeg/s1600/IMG_0305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkSYa3r10ExyjISV-ZKrWmcFh8QX66F7xphgr26vMD7lR3gmoZNDSYvdMR_W12ag4yUxWk5YzR05Xk8lc2TeuZBNjVq_bZcpMDd3C55qqkfh6klYpMRcGtgU1mAUv1zRTb8GEkm1e0Yeg/s320/IMG_0305.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zooey with Cousin Maya</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsjvivjrMRS4_93sxRzX6CCrXJVuJaQHEHPns23OjxtVEXPrGEeYhb7p0zmt2mlyMGUIXyI6VcAYpQvGsD_dbt6ZRXLiBGaJHroMuhAGDNsUqZsItnsZ97TwqUofGF7ZUnauw3wgtZVQU/s1600/IMG_0318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsjvivjrMRS4_93sxRzX6CCrXJVuJaQHEHPns23OjxtVEXPrGEeYhb7p0zmt2mlyMGUIXyI6VcAYpQvGsD_dbt6ZRXLiBGaJHroMuhAGDNsUqZsItnsZ97TwqUofGF7ZUnauw3wgtZVQU/s320/IMG_0318.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zooey with Great Aunt Kathy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTg22JLDcDrs0BmsgQ_gOft2MruLreKq3oP2AJc5Pp0x3TRTT0iJm9gAWgUi6zybxJE9b2vyOCv8PC6qsR0rK3KybIbMP_yGGT2mSTohXjbibkjEA7XjV1Jt5t1y35hx1jGFP2f2xXi9c/s1600/IMG_0352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTg22JLDcDrs0BmsgQ_gOft2MruLreKq3oP2AJc5Pp0x3TRTT0iJm9gAWgUi6zybxJE9b2vyOCv8PC6qsR0rK3KybIbMP_yGGT2mSTohXjbibkjEA7XjV1Jt5t1y35hx1jGFP2f2xXi9c/s320/IMG_0352.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zooey with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Monson</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfIYy-hGgnsTF6hqwhK8BIlKRu69uZAmp0pYTPwh8VcV2O6wmq4mFnvuIDm2OlBqx7qXJIKhrbendiCLRhekb_3opHqRY8DXdGuGYoF9fubgBPV0VOqCfAfD5rfEA64TIiMr4_YsTeQIY/s1600/IMG_0354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfIYy-hGgnsTF6hqwhK8BIlKRu69uZAmp0pYTPwh8VcV2O6wmq4mFnvuIDm2OlBqx7qXJIKhrbendiCLRhekb_3opHqRY8DXdGuGYoF9fubgBPV0VOqCfAfD5rfEA64TIiMr4_YsTeQIY/s320/IMG_0354.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zooey with Great-Grandpa Monson</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpKk1daxxUCclj9zZ878SnF0C4fOGqVp8i2A7qqpJh9G-zZWGZPzedNg-qZqpSNdxfUVDJ1b_AjixktZ93gJyuxOi50EEUEqlGH5X843HLfiO9B7ZNOo3uYrOCKOcBRLxOQA5uLfNXUE/s1600/296217_10201333150957191_105817267_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRpKk1daxxUCclj9zZ878SnF0C4fOGqVp8i2A7qqpJh9G-zZWGZPzedNg-qZqpSNdxfUVDJ1b_AjixktZ93gJyuxOi50EEUEqlGH5X843HLfiO9B7ZNOo3uYrOCKOcBRLxOQA5uLfNXUE/s320/296217_10201333150957191_105817267_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zooey and me with Cousin Gwyn at the Shedd Aquarium</td></tr>
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Zooey now has a clear awake and alert state that can last up to a couple hours. On Father's Day, she treated us with multiple long awake, alert and content phases and multiple long naps- the perfect combo to enjoy her but still get some work done! She now will sometimes wake up and keep herself entertained a bit before alerting us to her needs- she used to always wake up crying because she was so hungry, but now that she's taking in more food at a time, she can sometimes play for a while before eating. She definitely knows our voices, and looks around for us when we come to fetch her from the crib. Today she grabbed onto and shook a rattle for a good 5 minutes. She had no idea what she was doing which was pretty funny, but she kept hearing the rattle as she moved her arm and was clearly puzzled. We do the requisite tummy time (as recommended) and practice walking (which, btw, no one recommends but is hilarious, see photo). We also tried on her noise canceling headphones to prep her for concerts in the park this summer at Pritzker Pavilion:)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNBpRdQyh75C2Q4_dEYV5jFXfoIeHArBCWDjVricPL8ZkO63imnlBgiCXmmJGKPxX5h1Z95woH8kEs7N7_EZVQUv3MKz7t3YDBsk7UMnw6PqzurYTgz5hchaFRSSrX0n3ieUo2st0Qiw/s1600/DSC_0666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNBpRdQyh75C2Q4_dEYV5jFXfoIeHArBCWDjVricPL8ZkO63imnlBgiCXmmJGKPxX5h1Z95woH8kEs7N7_EZVQUv3MKz7t3YDBsk7UMnw6PqzurYTgz5hchaFRSSrX0n3ieUo2st0Qiw/s320/DSC_0666.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tummy time success!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNW0mzW1FxGNxGEd81zgEOjbJdELIzrV0IdpCeRQR4H92-skpYVF9_AH9K7EPFgiPEIPhh6vW3NqUxScUIejmu7pZg49f7TdHwQah9IaQ7m5aM-UVBS9U0_9P7_r2p59HmQISP2kObpc/s1600/DSC_0716.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNW0mzW1FxGNxGEd81zgEOjbJdELIzrV0IdpCeRQR4H92-skpYVF9_AH9K7EPFgiPEIPhh6vW3NqUxScUIejmu7pZg49f7TdHwQah9IaQ7m5aM-UVBS9U0_9P7_r2p59HmQISP2kObpc/s320/DSC_0716.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Help, Mom what are you doing to me??"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxjYdJTOokwMcOMShLCnGLkeMhREqv777lwRmyk5CHgW6R2ccKftTqypJ6iFLWJVYe6VPeM7w1BP7xTtJ2WUR26SiwG6DQ9M3uiLm6aip5xJCPdq6bFO3F5i5EGX-YsnOb3TpYBSgWCJg/s1600/IMG_0373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxjYdJTOokwMcOMShLCnGLkeMhREqv777lwRmyk5CHgW6R2ccKftTqypJ6iFLWJVYe6VPeM7w1BP7xTtJ2WUR26SiwG6DQ9M3uiLm6aip5xJCPdq6bFO3F5i5EGX-YsnOb3TpYBSgWCJg/s320/IMG_0373.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rockin out to silence.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRoXrBuT2YS6fMfF-K5lzTUVfbbdd0LC2t5SDiV2GYOHnfJfEyxOKzGF8SwwzA6JNwrXNFSUJ5ERytjqyqBl-w3i6Tp3IbdgySX8kWjFbNw09TpI_pPb208-66A5NKJjyNW67eTWTLcI/s1600/999386_10201367495655787_456607631_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRoXrBuT2YS6fMfF-K5lzTUVfbbdd0LC2t5SDiV2GYOHnfJfEyxOKzGF8SwwzA6JNwrXNFSUJ5ERytjqyqBl-w3i6Tp3IbdgySX8kWjFbNw09TpI_pPb208-66A5NKJjyNW67eTWTLcI/s320/999386_10201367495655787_456607631_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post-tummy time melt-down.</td></tr>
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Sleep is still an issue and I expect it will be for a while. Apparently (according to my baby book) I slept "through the night" at 4 weeks. Anyway you look at it, Zooey is nowhere near "sleeping through the night". She still needs to eat at least 3 times, but if the doctor says we can (based on her weight) we might try a bit of sleep training to get it down to 3 times (as opposed to the 5 or 6 we're sometimes dealing with). The consequences of her not sleeping through the night are painful as shown by this photo of an exhausted Val reading Lancet Oncology with a perfectly content DAY SLEEPING Zooey. Hmm...sleep AT NIGHT, little girl. AT NIGHT!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4gIFhbZko5Z8MdllxeiGnKhyffHK_F2pc4gRcoH2AL1bE1QDTm9Ync6M3hth4ETgEpZRE9vYnD-PMm2ZMw3NMIvhBgJuAIawdh-kNR88xVLLbk72d0Ja3UuIYRUgWWJHMS1Aw78zG9bM/s1600/IMG_0358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4gIFhbZko5Z8MdllxeiGnKhyffHK_F2pc4gRcoH2AL1bE1QDTm9Ync6M3hth4ETgEpZRE9vYnD-PMm2ZMw3NMIvhBgJuAIawdh-kNR88xVLLbk72d0Ja3UuIYRUgWWJHMS1Aw78zG9bM/s320/IMG_0358.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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While she certainly is a lot bigger (now 7 lb 13 oz!) than she was when she was born (and she's so tall she wears 3 month clothes!), and she has made some clear developments, she doesn't seem all that different than when we brought her home. I expect the next month will bring dramatic changes, especially because I won't see her all day everyday so the differences will really stand out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTpKHTP-5omTG9EvoDbsUnxBfyWSZndspskP2kVk0o1v1wVmOr1BXGJeHeWCyeik14nYIoVH-HD5OtrCoYWmN0dKJkzsr5yC3qUWOtU6N0SOL2x1pdOHx0v9t9Le-QQHtFSR0UAsbzmQc/s1600/IMG_2988.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTpKHTP-5omTG9EvoDbsUnxBfyWSZndspskP2kVk0o1v1wVmOr1BXGJeHeWCyeik14nYIoVH-HD5OtrCoYWmN0dKJkzsr5yC3qUWOtU6N0SOL2x1pdOHx0v9t9Le-QQHtFSR0UAsbzmQc/s1600/IMG_2988.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zooey at two weeks with bison.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQPkPWQTHOixgm23f-oQfSgPyPM5Z1o_hJUfT93GCayPji7_2JQR774YPBZ15i-9DRiTybpXN9OKLELURz52mCQ1j9pIBgNgKskq_fh15_idfmYwp-CRJM7U0wzCpR9v9Ukg8ufQ7bfw/s1600/IMG_0366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQPkPWQTHOixgm23f-oQfSgPyPM5Z1o_hJUfT93GCayPji7_2JQR774YPBZ15i-9DRiTybpXN9OKLELURz52mCQ1j9pIBgNgKskq_fh15_idfmYwp-CRJM7U0wzCpR9v9Ukg8ufQ7bfw/s320/IMG_0366.JPG" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zooey at two months. She finally fits in her <br />"coming home from the hospital" outfit!</td></tr>
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Zooey helped us celebrate Adam's first Father's Day yesterday. We had a little picnic in the park and Zooey was fun and interactive for a good hour, which was great. She really enjoyed being outside in the shade without the stroller covers between her and the wind and birds. One of Adam's gifts was a photo of Zooey right after her birth which provides a nice comparison to her now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaRvbbbt2RhG-9XsrsB6ABGt8VmUQuojfqS456UglQhILfk-A6m5O1jpjQWXYtRQrvTesacuQzUNNmJZXxnmai8OqwzGIBW6op-9wKhHqpduu7rUtNJZMVfkwZEp37W9LKtqCTEbpZ2k/s1600/IMG_0453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaRvbbbt2RhG-9XsrsB6ABGt8VmUQuojfqS456UglQhILfk-A6m5O1jpjQWXYtRQrvTesacuQzUNNmJZXxnmai8OqwzGIBW6op-9wKhHqpduu7rUtNJZMVfkwZEp37W9LKtqCTEbpZ2k/s400/IMG_0453.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_6WxMZKdRpb21n7LikvFFE5jwzdRseLw-OXRfI4dikxHzU_naaDEfa2U558q69DQoY8bhDgWcRBkG2ezOGSOIXQu2S6bzZp-U_wmK8r_8FxadYOkyaZxBTnkKdcKAdlyt1wy_FFDvcFw/s1600/IMG_0405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_6WxMZKdRpb21n7LikvFFE5jwzdRseLw-OXRfI4dikxHzU_naaDEfa2U558q69DQoY8bhDgWcRBkG2ezOGSOIXQu2S6bzZp-U_wmK8r_8FxadYOkyaZxBTnkKdcKAdlyt1wy_FFDvcFw/s320/IMG_0405.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hi Dad!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiopLy6EW7TaiBDkO00yoXU2qKX1zuQgzq9ylbBLEUbBbmlTTP0uLkSST-cB3bus7nT5mlAkI4Zk2Cp0wE6a7ehWgJeCXiYQhbX5ZL_JbyRkm9z4RlKsDXwwmlds2BOrKeP7lyvX8YFc2w/s1600/IMG_0422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiopLy6EW7TaiBDkO00yoXU2qKX1zuQgzq9ylbBLEUbBbmlTTP0uLkSST-cB3bus7nT5mlAkI4Zk2Cp0wE6a7ehWgJeCXiYQhbX5ZL_JbyRkm9z4RlKsDXwwmlds2BOrKeP7lyvX8YFc2w/s320/IMG_0422.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family at two months.</td></tr>
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That's it for now! Stay tuned for month three!!<br />
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<br />Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-36634113496541246472013-06-15T16:12:00.001-07:002013-06-15T16:12:14.857-07:00The New Hardcore- Post Partum Edition(Title is tongue in cheek- I consider myself far from hardcore!)<br />
<br />
Today is the day. Today is the day when I declare that this is officially harder than medical training. We are almost at 9 weeks. It has been 9 weeks since I slept more than 4 hours in a row, more typically 2 or on a good night 3. The total nightly sleep is not enough. I'm dying. Well, I guess technically we are all dying, but I'm sure this degree of sleep deprivation speeds up the aging process. But this post isn't to complain. It's to celebrate that I have overcome this sleep deprivation again and again to continue my training for the Chicago Triathlon in August. It is a reminder that exercise is good in all situations, and when the choice is sleep or exercise, in many cases one might be suprised to hear that exercise is the right choice.<br />
<br />
Today, for example. Now that I am trying to do every feeding for baby Z, I get at best one 2 hour block of sleep and the rest are between 40 minutes and an hour and a half. Last night was no exception. With me going back to work on Thursday I am a bit concerned about my job performance but we will take it one day at a time.<br />
<br />
Given my fatigue, my relatively modest exercise agenda for the weekend- 1200 yard swim on Saturday and 7 mile swim on Sunday- seemed daunting. Getting out of bed seemed daunting. Raising my arm to my mouth to eat seemed daunting. Let alone Zooey care. But as Adam explained to Zooey this morning when she woke up crying and hungry, no one cares when adults cry- we are expected to suck it up. So what did I do instead of cry? I picked a (short lived) fight with Adam. I suppose the more mature thing to do would be to have said 'look, honey, I know you are tired too but 8 weeks of near full time Zooey care has ready worn me down, I need some free time stat", but that's not what I did. Luckily Adam got the point anyway and demanded that I swim or sleep or do something sans Zooey for a bit.<br />
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Every aching bone and muscle in my body (not to mention my overly fatigued brain that literally aches every time I'm woken from sleep these days) told me to take a nap. Sleep. Get vertical. 'Nothing is more important than sleep' every cell of my person screamed. But a small part of my brain knew. Knew that if I slept now it would be a good 3-6 hours before I had another chance to swim, if at all, given the huge to-do list in my head (plus Adam's to-dos). I honestly didn't know if I'd be able to swim with how tired I was, but I went through the motions, put on my suit with running clothes over them and headed down to the gym and pool. An hour later I had a 8:12 minute mile and 1200 yards of swimming under my belt. Now, two hours later, I'm tired again. My joints, muscles, and brain all hurt again. I still am not sure how I'll function at work on this little sleep. All I think about is when Zooey will big enough that we can sleep train her (she still needs to eat frequently now). I wish, wish, wish I was less tied so I could enjoy these early months of her life. But I know if I hadn't run and swum I would feel all that but worse because I'd feel the additional unhealthy lethargy of A Sedentary Day.<br />
<br />
So for me the new post partum hardcore is pulling it together and getting into the pool today. Everyday in June except two I've exercised beyond the requisite one mile run. With no sleep and a newborn, that's hard. Really hard. And getting out for my 7 mile run tomorrow will be hard. Really hard. But I never let my job, or my pregnancy, or any other hardship be an excuse for fitness complacency in the past and absolute, total, I'm-not-sure-how-I'm-going-to-get-off-the-park-bench-where-I'm-writing-this-to-walk-Zooey-upstairs fatigue is no exception.<br />
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And to me, that's hardcore.Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-49240186468294482462013-06-04T14:35:00.000-07:002013-06-04T14:35:07.601-07:009 Months of Pent Up MotivationHi all. I'm back. Ready to talk about exercise and training goals once again. Hallelejah. I've missed myself, my exercising self. And I'm VERY excited to re-emerge from the pregnancy exercise intensity restrictions with plans to be a much stronger, faster athlete than ever before in the next year. First let's recap where I've been in the past year....<br />
<br />
Last summer I completed my first and second triathlon, both while pregnant though I didn't know I was pregnant for the first one- the Chicago Triathlon in August 2012. I had just finished a very difficult, time consuming year of work so was starting to re-build my fitness and was excited to throw biking and swimming into the mix. I had my sights set on Ironman Wisconsin 2013 though since Adam and I were hoping to get pregnant I knew it was very possible that I would have to delay the Ironman. And sure enough, over Labor Day weekend, we noted I was a couple days "late" so decided to take a pregnancy test really more for fun than anything else. I thought the chances that I was pregnant after only 1-2 months of trying at my advanced maternal age was very unlikely. Luckily I found out I was pregnant about a week before registration for the Ironman so didn't lose the registration fee!<br />
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I have a handful of posts on exercising during pregnancy so I won't rehash here. Here are some of my previous exercising during pregnancy posts:<br />
<br />
--<a href="http://sisterbison.blogspot.com/2013/04/exercise-during-pregnancyin-general.html">Exercise During Pregnancy...In General</a><br />
--<a href="http://sisterbison.blogspot.com/2013/03/exercise-during-pregnancywhat-ive-done.html">Exercise During Pregnancy...What I've Done (so far)</a><br />
--<a href="http://sisterbison.blogspot.com/2013/02/pregnancy-fitness-goalsand-week-7-of.html">Pregnancy Fitness Goals</a><br />
--<a href="http://sisterbison.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-new-hardcorerunning-at-30-weeks.html">The New Hardcore...Running at 30 Weeks</a><br />
--<a href="http://sisterbison.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-ultimate-pregnancy-niggle.html">The Ultimate Pregnancy Niggle</a><br />
--<a href="http://sisterbison.blogspot.com/2013/01/running-year-in-review-2012.html">Running Year in Review 2012</a><br />
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The bottom line is I stayed pretty darn active right until the day of delivery, keeping up my daily mile of running and also spinning, swimming and weight training until the end. My final pregnancy mileage is as follows:<br />
<br />
549 miles run<br />
24 miles swum<br />
261 miles cycled (doesn't include the months of October, November, December as I didn't keep track of spinning mileage those months)<br />
<br />
Because our Zooey was small and breech the decision was made to have a c-section at 36 weeks and 5 days. I knew a c-section was certainly possible since up to 1/3 of women end up delivering this way, and I certainly have no romantic notions of "labor" and am sorta glad I got to bypass that process. However, returning to exercise after pelvic surgery wasn't really part of my fitness plan for Spring and Summer 2013, and I have had to re-build much more gradually than I would like. But I've stayed as aggressive as I thought I safely could, kept up with my mile a day including the day after delivery, first with walking and then with intense hill walking as soon as my incision healed. At one month, I was really starting to feel the emotional and physical toll of not running. My knees and shoulders were starting to hurt. No amount of hill walking, even at 15% grade provided any endorphins. So after one false start (I ran 0.25 miles a few days before 1 month and felt it in the incision), at exactly one month after my c-section I went for a mile run.<br />
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For more detailed info on my early recovery:<br />
<br />
--<a href="http://sisterbison.blogspot.com/2013/05/turns-out-im-just-like-everyone-else.html">Turns Out I'm Just Like Everyone Else</a><br />
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I've worked up to 3 miles as my "long" run and hope to be up to 10 for my annual 4th of July "long" run. I still think a marathon in September is possible and I have my sights set on the <a href="http://www.millracemarathon.com/">Mill Race Marathon in Columbia, Indiana</a>, a great suggestion made by my cousin Karin, also a runner. There is a half as well so Karin, Adam and maybe some other family members can run as well!<br />
<br />
But my short term goal needs my undivided attention for the next few weeks- the Chicago triathlon in August. Last year I did the sprint, but this year I plan to do the International Distance. I've talked some great friends into participating as well, providing additional motivation ensuring that I can't back out! My plan is to continue my slow mileage build for running with occasional ad lib speed work. Running is also the core of any training plan for me. It is the activity I most enjoy, that provides the most mental benefits, and that I'm most comfortable with. But the sport that I'm weakest at really needs some attention- swimming. Ug. Once I'm back at work (read: have full time child care) I need one or two lessons to adjust my form but in the meantime I need to log some serious pool time. I'm in a post-natal strength training class that meets twice weekly (and allows the babies to come to class) and if I can muster a third session a week on my own that takes care of strength. I'm going to actually delay any focus on biking until I go back to work, partly because I definitely need child care for this activity and partly because I feel like I can ramp up to 22 miles biking without much problem. I may not be fast, but I can get it done, so time to focus on swimming and strength is probably most important for the next few weeks.<br />
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Well, there you have it. My rough plan to return to fitness glory. I don't have a day-by-day plan as I suspect it would be very constricting and bound to fail given Zooey duties. But as long as I get in one work-out most days and two work-outs one or two days, I should be good.<br />
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I hope.<br />
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Wish me luck.<br />
<br />
This is going to be hard.<br />
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!<br />
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<br />Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-51490334418126184252013-05-22T16:39:00.000-07:002013-05-22T16:39:08.080-07:00One Month Old....On May 17th, Zooey celebrated her 1 month birthday. Well, more accurately, Adam and I celebrated by commenting on how much she's grown, how cute she is, etc, etc and Zooey continued her regular routine of eating, sleeping, peeing/pooping and other general bodily functions. Note crying is not a typical bodily function for her THANK GOODNESS! She's a great baby, very content, but is still eating every 2-3 hours so we...are...tired. But this too shall pass and we want to make sure we document the heck out of these times because we surely will not remember well due to a sleep deprivation haze!<br />
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First, Zooey's size. She appears huge to us and tiny to the rest of the world. She is roughly the size of an American Girl doll. She was 4 lb 10 oz at birth and now, four weeks later, she is up to 6 lb 4 oz so growing more than the anticipated 1 oz/day in the past few weeks. We can see a significant difference. For example, her cheeks have really filled out:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One week old, after a bath</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four weeks old, after a bath</td></tr>
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She has grown an inch! While the bison and baby aren't perfectly lined up in the below photos you can see she really has grown! She outgrew the outfit in the first photo during week two! She's a weed!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMO0AKBOQ0LD8H0cNXLKyO1ASjB_ACRcLOSH-7Kt0dwcNlwJFcl_6CUWiOhq6FvpyChCeC_3ngzBqEAqfkUSvBXRhfny8Eih_n7eNYN0NZ-R30v63WEfcO8w-FFkM5FZS7m586V_9pd0c/s1600/IMG_2988.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMO0AKBOQ0LD8H0cNXLKyO1ASjB_ACRcLOSH-7Kt0dwcNlwJFcl_6CUWiOhq6FvpyChCeC_3ngzBqEAqfkUSvBXRhfny8Eih_n7eNYN0NZ-R30v63WEfcO8w-FFkM5FZS7m586V_9pd0c/s1600/IMG_2988.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One week old with bison</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRs4AHzS5uzn_li9OGJ4XW0SdeI2w0iZvnCWoeKWrPRXt_R3yPKOCqiRtJMNTEyZa67-CS8GW8svLCYywmJHIJ8_wSqZHwRfqQ0iso2WkliP2X2rweE4SPf1nsKQLo0AGHBqErVYDuouw/s1600/IMG_0257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRs4AHzS5uzn_li9OGJ4XW0SdeI2w0iZvnCWoeKWrPRXt_R3yPKOCqiRtJMNTEyZa67-CS8GW8svLCYywmJHIJ8_wSqZHwRfqQ0iso2WkliP2X2rweE4SPf1nsKQLo0AGHBqErVYDuouw/s320/IMG_0257.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four weeks old with bison</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at that belly! It's sticking out over her pants!</td></tr>
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Zooey's antics are as expected. Not smiling yet and may not for a few more weeks given her prematurity. Not sleeping for more than 3 hours. (Sad face.) But she seems to recognize my voice which is fun and she is starting to make eye contact. She is generally happy unless we do something to insult her like fail to feed her fast enough, take off her clothes if she is cold, or poke and prod her by putting her into a carseat or stroller. Also, the occasional gas or challenging bowel movement gets the best of her (as it does with some adults I know, so who can judge the baby?). For example:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoz7Y1yGfBt1GOZ3TH_aYkOwBOGgK3vayv5pm8kuOdnD7YOtXJw1MOxa_GO9XQnmr08m6EewiDrm2gT3k3JOoWqx7qBj0WbWVPIzElxIWgwq8mwq-dZLWA8k16fq2hqPQazTYP7q9cUe0/s1600/IMG_0264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoz7Y1yGfBt1GOZ3TH_aYkOwBOGgK3vayv5pm8kuOdnD7YOtXJw1MOxa_GO9XQnmr08m6EewiDrm2gT3k3JOoWqx7qBj0WbWVPIzElxIWgwq8mwq-dZLWA8k16fq2hqPQazTYP7q9cUe0/s320/IMG_0264.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waaahh! Waahh!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-a5mYL7qqcfQBjaYjzKWBP_DhyphenhyphenX-OpoyajTYcGou7H3HTEzBSPTyuVG9kpqsAb49m2W97-3_cd39kJld-TqWVC-4VGf2_kGqGW4f2CBJamgrXpgWUCwQdApUj_3eEC4qT7hn0wQ0WJCo/s1600/IMG_0268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-a5mYL7qqcfQBjaYjzKWBP_DhyphenhyphenX-OpoyajTYcGou7H3HTEzBSPTyuVG9kpqsAb49m2W97-3_cd39kJld-TqWVC-4VGf2_kGqGW4f2CBJamgrXpgWUCwQdApUj_3eEC4qT7hn0wQ0WJCo/s320/IMG_0268.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A couple seconds later, staring at Dad, who entertained her with a song.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfz9HEPBcAi-yo7SAV1_if6LeAn-_e8gdK20PLO76JiNVZLidzZBC93Tn_igT5htplu4n4A4fGjDMYsBuAXq2aQ6gA47usKyGtqO0Fo6mWurSniDj0lsSYvqFJNg33GInGskLDvPCCsgY/s1600/IMG_0272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfz9HEPBcAi-yo7SAV1_if6LeAn-_e8gdK20PLO76JiNVZLidzZBC93Tn_igT5htplu4n4A4fGjDMYsBuAXq2aQ6gA47usKyGtqO0Fo6mWurSniDj0lsSYvqFJNg33GInGskLDvPCCsgY/s320/IMG_0272.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A content smile a few seconds later. See, she recovers fast:)</td></tr>
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Other antics include lots of stroller rides outside which require excellent sun protection:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGiDL7q8j5mqdR79qbMi2JjzxEU1rF5eiGmbVP6MfWagNu_-afo4692wr7HHypoVWlJkPeKnw3REvSc8X-wibqX_Yf9_bY_TgAr9iRAP1C3HADbmMNgaZw_VT7_E0DxLAUL6-c-jnPtro/s1600/DSC_0612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGiDL7q8j5mqdR79qbMi2JjzxEU1rF5eiGmbVP6MfWagNu_-afo4692wr7HHypoVWlJkPeKnw3REvSc8X-wibqX_Yf9_bY_TgAr9iRAP1C3HADbmMNgaZw_VT7_E0DxLAUL6-c-jnPtro/s320/DSC_0612.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Too cool for school.<br />
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She also enjoys the occasional burp in the "monkey burp pose" causing her Grandpa to quip "Maybe they can find a job for her at a Goose Island 'branch' office".<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5d9YuwHfr0wezsRlZR0alOYbZ9iSMBn0F4Go7Gbs-_0pQFzVyljcGD7I1abvHU0t3UZlu47pZdFqahEtKwfWYcIMlAbHWdvHTERb8GArLlwds2zExUF4xW2NWWvf91lyPOztQU1cEfu8/s1600/946786_4914200697555_809978343_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5d9YuwHfr0wezsRlZR0alOYbZ9iSMBn0F4Go7Gbs-_0pQFzVyljcGD7I1abvHU0t3UZlu47pZdFqahEtKwfWYcIMlAbHWdvHTERb8GArLlwds2zExUF4xW2NWWvf91lyPOztQU1cEfu8/s320/946786_4914200697555_809978343_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monkey burp pose</td></tr>
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One surprise is the amount of interesting noises she makes. For example she frequently releases these high pitched air vent noises, similar to a fumarole causing us to call her Zooeystone after the thermal features at our favorite national park. She has occasional fumaroles on top, and occasional mud pots on the bottom!<br />
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The parents are hanging in there, looking forward to the time when our little girl can sleep for more than 2-3 hours at a time. I started running again this week so that's a huge step in the right direction. More on that if I ever have another few minutes of free time!<br />
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Some more photos:<br />
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<br />Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-69509475006207608062013-05-16T15:57:00.000-07:002013-05-16T15:57:59.835-07:00First Mother's Day<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiOidd4rvoG6L-10u3eIKmk_qwgZaAMn2OJc6SB8awuIoPBL7B93Fau2zf2hH1SpT-sP3qgE8IAm87h1DVtkuXb63oSGs2LvsuaDDsj9QgyRa_rxbnGQPSXVVlXSfz9LsI3NayfTFsiYk/s1600/IMG_0247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiOidd4rvoG6L-10u3eIKmk_qwgZaAMn2OJc6SB8awuIoPBL7B93Fau2zf2hH1SpT-sP3qgE8IAm87h1DVtkuXb63oSGs2LvsuaDDsj9QgyRa_rxbnGQPSXVVlXSfz9LsI3NayfTFsiYk/s320/IMG_0247.JPG" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zooey- 25 days old.</td></tr>
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My first Mother's Day started dramatically with our usually calm, cool and collected baby vomiting up what appeared to us newbie parents as all her feeds over a 12 hour period. So after a sleepless night, we headed to the pediatrician's office at 10 am on Mother's Day. Luckily, Zooey had continued to gain weight since Thursday and had no fever so we were sent back home with a follow up in a few days. Even more luckily, Zooey continues to have spit up now and again but nothing like that terrible 12 hours. Don't know what it was but glad it stopped!<br />
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So, needless to say, Adam and I were VERY sleep deprived. We thought about calling off our planned Mother's Day events but in the end decided it might be better to have adults around to give Zooey attention to give us a little bit of a break! Plus, who wants to call off Mother's Day?<br />
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Adam's Mom came up for a few hours to hang out with Zooey and later in the day my parents and my Grandma Nelson came into town with dinner and lots of arms to hold Zooey upright given her reflux. It was Great Grandma Nelson's first time meeting Zooey so that was very special. And having 4 generations of Nelsons in one room was pretty cool as well. It was my first Mother's Day, my mom's 35th Mother's Day and my grandma's 60th Mother's Day!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5xoki6Z4xuAUBbsRFWnYSowjCWZfZ4oLK5p5FZWC39T_QBCvQXzEIf2KFLdWE4h58WYRJmCfa8A4uGhn3eumxV186vopOXFRD-aFH4rVDD0X4VkdR-K5hLDijwnvB2-TeotwryRmdciQ/s1600/IMG_0231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5xoki6Z4xuAUBbsRFWnYSowjCWZfZ4oLK5p5FZWC39T_QBCvQXzEIf2KFLdWE4h58WYRJmCfa8A4uGhn3eumxV186vopOXFRD-aFH4rVDD0X4VkdR-K5hLDijwnvB2-TeotwryRmdciQ/s320/IMG_0231.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great Grandma Nelson and Zooey</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsk1QF1GP-7B6snK6dDMPRY35pb28s6-gZrvNXU2WEE3vhifYynY8ZNCXmGp0oOnEdxprfAGTcfLmS02I8KtwB4wk1v5vflvNbYZxPm24BxPOTbCeNEbzbWRKUT-ohmphsNPGTWj8Ey6A/s1600/DSC_0628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsk1QF1GP-7B6snK6dDMPRY35pb28s6-gZrvNXU2WEE3vhifYynY8ZNCXmGp0oOnEdxprfAGTcfLmS02I8KtwB4wk1v5vflvNbYZxPm24BxPOTbCeNEbzbWRKUT-ohmphsNPGTWj8Ey6A/s320/DSC_0628.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 generations of Nelsons: Zooey, Me, Grandma Nelson, Great Grandma Nelson</td></tr>
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Adam, despite a new low in the sleep department, snuck out to Michigan Avenue under the guise of "going to the grocery store" and returned with gifts for all the Moms, myself included. Let's just say he set the bar pretty high for Father's Day next month with his gift of Zooey's birthstone in earring and necklace form (i.e. diamonds).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0o1FXPAAAnz2BpCFFR65bIi4jcEydwrkKAgXD5EAlKYcJvgPmIcUHEfAGC73LmLJKeB4Z6bTqdq6Tbk32811o4a1ty8_-SgduvxViqTSqbKGEM7i8cuxElk07MqFZBJq8iH2SYQI4X-w/s1600/IMG_0250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0o1FXPAAAnz2BpCFFR65bIi4jcEydwrkKAgXD5EAlKYcJvgPmIcUHEfAGC73LmLJKeB4Z6bTqdq6Tbk32811o4a1ty8_-SgduvxViqTSqbKGEM7i8cuxElk07MqFZBJq8iH2SYQI4X-w/s320/IMG_0250.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diamonds, Champagne and Red Velvet Cake for Mother's Day<br /> (plus homemade shrimp and grits and a great red wine the night before!)</td></tr>
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All in all it was a great day and the best part was that Zooey is healthy and still gaining weight. But the diamonds were nice too;)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygi-XRr7hD2YxP43l7eS8Kw6Fh6rL3i7NPowHE_pil6xJAaaZQjXX-1efH9Crtr-8qLSLulQ_lcvvUnAc3ZLo5-faERHV1V3pPhjHn3448KID3PDj56naqJSk_zRr0aavkjWwv7h1pIY/s1600/205452_10201211777082920_2146348031_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygi-XRr7hD2YxP43l7eS8Kw6Fh6rL3i7NPowHE_pil6xJAaaZQjXX-1efH9Crtr-8qLSLulQ_lcvvUnAc3ZLo5-faERHV1V3pPhjHn3448KID3PDj56naqJSk_zRr0aavkjWwv7h1pIY/s320/205452_10201211777082920_2146348031_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJyVN4lsyvn9LG6fgcYBg1BXxGxsr_CubgbVjBJYIFhKk2ViVk8GBImr2D5Bv0wCKGJkAAzwv8YvJleUOeUqAmTFDm5e3gyQFvOn-eHsSPVP1Q0aAlua88n3UdffT3FzR1HfGQc8SV0Y/s1600/IMG_0244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJyVN4lsyvn9LG6fgcYBg1BXxGxsr_CubgbVjBJYIFhKk2ViVk8GBImr2D5Bv0wCKGJkAAzwv8YvJleUOeUqAmTFDm5e3gyQFvOn-eHsSPVP1Q0aAlua88n3UdffT3FzR1HfGQc8SV0Y/s320/IMG_0244.jpg" width="179" /></a></div>
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<br />Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-34237539772896465202013-05-10T08:35:00.000-07:002013-05-10T08:35:04.011-07:00May 10, 2013: Babybison's Due Date<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;">Today was babybison's due date. Instead of hoping labor will start soon and move quickly (I'm sure I would have been none too pleased to go past my due date), we are the proud parents of a little 23 day old girl. And she is indeed little! But growing! She's already outgrown most of her preemie clothes and is gaining the expected ounce a day so is already 5 lbs 5 oz! She's finally on the so-called growth charts though at less than the 3rd percentile:) But at least she's on the chart!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;">Zooey and I have been keeping busy- we've joined a weekly Chicago New Moms Group. (Well, I've joined and she has to tag along. She seemed very alarmed by all the crying babies. She kept looking at me questioningly and I told her not to get any ideas- she does not need to start crying, I like my quiet baby just fine!). We've been taking walks most days. We have various doctor and lactation consultant appointments to attend. I put books, mirrors and rattles 8-12 inches in front of her face for a few minutes each day. We do tummy time (which I hate and she doesn't seem to mind). I sing songs (mostly made up because I don't know any baby songs) and narrate the day to help her with language acquisition. We are reading The Great Gatsby (more accurately, I am reading it in quiet tones and she is staring off into space.) You know, we check off the list of stimulating activities you are supposed to do for newborns (thankfully this list isn't actually that long, just being alive is stimulating enough at this age). Yesterday I took "a break" for the first time since her birth and actually watched a movie. I don't think Zooey minded or felt ignored so maybe that will be a weekly activity as well. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;">I don't have much else to report. Eating, burping, napping, pooping, bathing, putting on and taking off clothes a few times a day, staring off into space, making various cute expressions completely unintentionally but really darn cute nonetheless, these are the expected activities of a three week old and she does them like a champ. I'll alert you when things get more interesting:) But for now, I'll leave you with some pictures:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvcnyPKs5VQOw5ZRNdpKhiMGq2MAhWg8EInpnDk7RyRn4GJ8JZstgJGG_VBUc_knirmci7k9MD_wAfW3KPBecdE4SB_-b-dYlCFsVvFsLNGjiU4Mpb_wJYdnVvzlXXu9zW2y1UBFS64MY/s1600/IMG_0188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvcnyPKs5VQOw5ZRNdpKhiMGq2MAhWg8EInpnDk7RyRn4GJ8JZstgJGG_VBUc_knirmci7k9MD_wAfW3KPBecdE4SB_-b-dYlCFsVvFsLNGjiU4Mpb_wJYdnVvzlXXu9zW2y1UBFS64MY/s320/IMG_0188.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back from week 1.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Q5LFnkKqGTJUEpkGyZVyIhD-WIiR_819YCS02r2ZxmcqmB-sYOHMXIiacBF3SBGlBBPhmLDIEgrJKLsDqmoGTeLUGpO8WwUzeBuHsWsu6J9tFfv09UA6xCwLLS8OYMTseAUEVOBYceA/s1600/IMG_0205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Q5LFnkKqGTJUEpkGyZVyIhD-WIiR_819YCS02r2ZxmcqmB-sYOHMXIiacBF3SBGlBBPhmLDIEgrJKLsDqmoGTeLUGpO8WwUzeBuHsWsu6J9tFfv09UA6xCwLLS8OYMTseAUEVOBYceA/s320/IMG_0205.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 3: Crazy face Zooey!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf8mJcBEEb5gbgNoC43AjQxuLAq-A6KQGiYhK5K6d9xBktqUJKXb39_rV8lHNBstsG19Eddgr58evNybshFtypOtDzw8NfO58Zkm6Wb678r6YazbKWLv2bjvnoNqCRGcol6DdqUYGQDbU/s1600/IMG_0214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf8mJcBEEb5gbgNoC43AjQxuLAq-A6KQGiYhK5K6d9xBktqUJKXb39_rV8lHNBstsG19Eddgr58evNybshFtypOtDzw8NfO58Zkm6Wb678r6YazbKWLv2bjvnoNqCRGcol6DdqUYGQDbU/s320/IMG_0214.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 3: The Monkey Burp pose with Grandpa Nelson</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaCzSFICHy316hO4f41UUYpNVBY-E4df9UENCGt852t02n7qAz_yRDwpo0JRU3sXxWnO-6L8Vy1bF16mRC7TtPMxAAvkJRvkeqZ_n6BK4Vw4cc_kijgCJHRqguchUwT0Do4HzRWRj9YQ/s1600/IMG_2983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaCzSFICHy316hO4f41UUYpNVBY-E4df9UENCGt852t02n7qAz_yRDwpo0JRU3sXxWnO-6L8Vy1bF16mRC7TtPMxAAvkJRvkeqZ_n6BK4Vw4cc_kijgCJHRqguchUwT0Do4HzRWRj9YQ/s320/IMG_2983.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 3: Zooey's first Chicago style hot dog and visit to the Bean.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDlp18uGprcBoj4BTznaCsfo403xSWxsi7JSmhTxVfVdMOGTPF3uoyZMUGsPP-m4OPsXJHFd306W9CX0oIn7Q1wdVJs_svUz6LXzWTdkxgHq33CgURZB7zAOeh3-_K1MSEHPw4Vq5lgDE/s1600/IMG_2988.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDlp18uGprcBoj4BTznaCsfo403xSWxsi7JSmhTxVfVdMOGTPF3uoyZMUGsPP-m4OPsXJHFd306W9CX0oIn7Q1wdVJs_svUz6LXzWTdkxgHq33CgURZB7zAOeh3-_K1MSEHPw4Vq5lgDE/s320/IMG_2988.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 3: Babybison with a bison. We'll keep taking this for size reference until she goes to <br />
college, she'll love it...well, we'll love it and that's all that matters. Ha!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;">Hard to believe my next requisite post will be 1 month! </span>Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-59454369428198481282013-05-09T15:22:00.000-07:002013-05-10T08:31:23.310-07:00Turns Out I'm Just Like Everyone Else.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FisQn42Oj62je07MiA9ED0WgHp5-rGrc6gBJxPzHJ6WACrEI11ePzaxWeXGjN5fXyHjtrAxsn3SIirLNl_xkGXmLGg1_AE9W2uWfsq-f1elv-hgxs78DyPUKi4NPoj4LgzFvcp3_ASA/s1600/Unknown-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0FisQn42Oj62je07MiA9ED0WgHp5-rGrc6gBJxPzHJ6WACrEI11ePzaxWeXGjN5fXyHjtrAxsn3SIirLNl_xkGXmLGg1_AE9W2uWfsq-f1elv-hgxs78DyPUKi4NPoj4LgzFvcp3_ASA/s1600/Unknown-1.jpeg" /></a></div>
Yesterday marked three weeks since Zooey made her grand entrance via c section. Initially I was quite pleased with my surgical recovery. I was out of bed within 12 hours (mostly because those hours were overnight, I imagine I would have been up even sooner otherwise), and I finished a walking mile within 20 hours of the delivery, ensuring I did not miss a single dailymile. Eating and normal bodily functions resumed on day one. I was up and about spending very minimal time in bed. Sure I had some pain but a very occasional norco and around the clock ibuprofen took care of it enough that I could carefully function. However I quickly became impatient with my recovery after leaving the hospital. I assumed my recovery over the first few days was a sign that I'd be almost good as new in a week or so. I assumed that since I exercised throughout my pregnancy, I'd have a leg up and recovery at the speed of light. Not true. Apparently being an exerciser doesn't have any particular skin healing benefits becuse my incision site continued to cause some pain for about 10 days. Not bad pain, but enough that I knew I needed to be careful. I decided that c-section recovery is a bit of a cruel joke. I felt fine energy wise, I really felt great overall, except for the incisional (and a bit of uterine) pain. And the very simple daily activities required to take care of a new baby are the exact ones that I couldn't do comfortably (and would jeopardize my long term recovery). Picking up baby from a low position (think day bed or pack and play), no can do. Getting up from couch or bed without using hands (i.e. while holding baby), no can do. Picking up items (ex burp cloth) from the floor, impossible. I learned how to use my toes to pick stuff up but even this was painful for a couple days. Honestly, I could have returned to work by day 5- sit at a computer and type? No problem. Walk from patient room to patient room? Fine. Sit in a hard backed chair with armrests to push off of to get up? A-okay. But taking care of baby? Painful. Thank god for Adam and my Mom. I felt RIDICULOUS sitting on the couch, a totally usually able bodied person, asking others to get me a glass of water or a bottle just out of reach. I would be a terrible sick person, let's hope I stay healthy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgweqzSFFUNWCiWybt8u695LYXWHKPLswRrgjlAu-OsweAWoyzyGMCVL8OqgLXYB9MAe17F1omGagtvFPhmMrvjG40GkAfA-AZb25RothPKEzMieuVYF0s5SIit3IgMgKjQx0Cul5rnYB8/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgweqzSFFUNWCiWybt8u695LYXWHKPLswRrgjlAu-OsweAWoyzyGMCVL8OqgLXYB9MAe17F1omGagtvFPhmMrvjG40GkAfA-AZb25RothPKEzMieuVYF0s5SIit3IgMgKjQx0Cul5rnYB8/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me vs The Walking Man</td></tr>
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And walking continued to hurt for way longer than I anticipated. Again, the pain wasn't bad. It was totally bearable, so I tried to avoid taking pain medicine except at night because to me the pain was a reminder to take it easy. I knew my tendency would be to overdo activity without the physical reminder (i.e. pain) that I needed to heal. But my walking speed was a bit of a joke. For example, one week after delivery, I had a pre-existing hair cut appointment. I decided to keep it because I don't want to let having a baby destroy my attempts at maintaining personal upkeep (mani/pedi is on the agenda for this weekend, and a day hasn't gone by where I don't put on make-up, even if it's just for my own sake). So I walked the 1.3 miles to the salon. I'm glad I did but man was I walking slow. Embarrassingly slow. Like, I almost didn't make it across some of the streets in time even though I started walking right when the light turned green. I felt ridiculous. One day I walked my mile on the treadmill at 1.8 mph. One point eight! I told myself that the people in the gym must remember that I was just pregnant a few days ago hence my pace. Not that it matters what they think, but still, I have some pride and it was wounded!<br />
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Now I'm three weeks out and have been pain free for well over a week. The incision is healing nicely though still with small areas with scabbing so I agree with my very cautious husband that I shouldn't run yet. The last thing I want is to re-open the incision and set myself back. I have the Chicago Triathlon in August to train for! But I sure do wish I could run- beautiful spring days, I've lost all of the baby weight so my joints should be thrilled- I have 9 months of pent up motivation just aching to be released!<br />
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Another irony of the whole c-section thing: while pregnant I had virtually no activity limitations- I could run, spin, lift weights, swim- and did up until the day of delivery (I was at a spinning class the night before her birthday and I never missed a running mile). The limitations were regarding intensity, not type of activity. So I was careful to not be short of breath for too long and to never "go anaerobic". Now, post c-section, the restrictions are the exact opposite! I can get as short of breath as I want- there are no specific limitations on how hard I push myself cardiovascularly- but my activity limitations are so restrictive that it's really hard to get in a solid work-out. I can't lift weights, I can't run, I can't spin or swim. I'd be happy to take up a new activity, but basically all of them are verboten until after 6 weeks. Now I'm certainly not one to follow rules just to follow them, but since my incision is still not completely healed I agree I need to continue to be cautions. I'm hoping 4 weeks will be the day I test out running. Everyone says walking is fine, but I can speed walk a 15 minute mile and feel like I'm on the couch exertion wise so that's not super helpful. So I'm hill walking. Aggressively. On the treadmill. 10-12 grade and increasing daily. As far as I can tell, that's the only activity I'm "allowed to do". But even with that, I'm being cautions because I do start to feel a little pulling on the incision if I go past 20 minutes or so. So frustrating.<br />
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This is my blog, so from time to time (like today) I take the opportunity to vent and usually feel better afterwards. But I do want to say that I know I'm lucky I didn't have any complications (thus far) surrounding my c-section. No infections, no blood loss, I didn't have to labor first so I'm not dealing with the consequences of both. And Zooey is wonderful and healthy and I'm so happy to have her. So I know not being able to train yet is not the end of the world. But I also know myself and soon it will start to feel like the end of the world emotionally and physically even if rationally I know it's just a small amount of time in a whole lifetime of training and fitness. So, yes, I'm feeling a little sorry for myself but know that I do realize how lucky I really am. Let's just say I will be so, so grateful when I can run again. A 20 miler sounds like an absolute dream!<br />
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<br />Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8375657361668886502.post-365862714987513852013-04-28T16:14:00.002-07:002013-04-29T15:20:16.829-07:00Adventures with babybison- first week at home<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7ABbjxzeuwToov3qscP0jZg4_m3KSxTP5Y8OAagSSsYfuQFt_MJ3UE-3m7A2OhKg8pNOOARXMl1NApjS2C_0Toy80lnUSgK1B6nrxdfst2RAIB-8s-reuVNx8sIGuSXVnwHHeTH5poU/s1600/DSC03389.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7ABbjxzeuwToov3qscP0jZg4_m3KSxTP5Y8OAagSSsYfuQFt_MJ3UE-3m7A2OhKg8pNOOARXMl1NApjS2C_0Toy80lnUSgK1B6nrxdfst2RAIB-8s-reuVNx8sIGuSXVnwHHeTH5poU/s320/DSC03389.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zooey, almost two days old</td></tr>
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Our Zooey has been home now for a week. Today she is 10 days old. Here are some of the adventures we've been on with her thus far:<br />
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<b>Baby meets Elly.</b><br />
You all remember how much I love my convertible, <a href="http://sisterbison.blogspot.com/2013/03/i-knew-this-day-would-come.html">Elly</a>. I love her so much there was never any question that we would be keeping this admittedly impractical baby car. I certainly will have days without the baby in tow where I can still enjoy top down, yes? (For example, yesterday Adam and I ran to Target sans baby with the top down, thank you Grandma!) But getting her in and out will be what I call the "car seat shimmy". Won't be easy, but we'll get it done! Generally speaking I plan to hop into the backseat with babybison and get her in the seat. But the hospital likes to see the baby properly in the carseat before you leave so we had to put the top down in order to get carseat with baby already loaded into the back. Quite the sight. Glad we have documentation! (Btw, the valet said this was NOT the craziest thing he had seen- apparently some family tried but failed to get their newborn into an Aston Martin on his watch!)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfXYMTaOyS1cs5XR3UeztZEyiPa9Jkv4XaObLASsnpF-sZ6bto2DQYM8Zw8rZgU9EGCN0DBxSA_1C5Caw7hDcSv_bctZDbcE6sDatZqmvDSL4K3iatSDUpq0HuroBDZZ2N68RhOJquU4/s1600/P1000681.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfXYMTaOyS1cs5XR3UeztZEyiPa9Jkv4XaObLASsnpF-sZ6bto2DQYM8Zw8rZgU9EGCN0DBxSA_1C5Caw7hDcSv_bctZDbcE6sDatZqmvDSL4K3iatSDUpq0HuroBDZZ2N68RhOJquU4/s320/P1000681.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We look so worried!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXojQxa1WC70AMhWzIqutSS1xjlilyOoZKhFrQXx0DWB6qldo8oLVEVgx4vxKQIvB__J7FsQhSBF3H01T-DyD8j7ZG3PwE06l4trk6Y41XQxkobHRvac4lrFA21a6bFx0NQqGUMRiq4g/s1600/P1000686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCXojQxa1WC70AMhWzIqutSS1xjlilyOoZKhFrQXx0DWB6qldo8oLVEVgx4vxKQIvB__J7FsQhSBF3H01T-DyD8j7ZG3PwE06l4trk6Y41XQxkobHRvac4lrFA21a6bFx0NQqGUMRiq4g/s320/P1000686.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Putting the top back up</td></tr>
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<b>Tour of the apartment.</b><br />
One of the baby books I read (Secrets of the Baby Whisperer) noted the importance of giving your newborn a tour of her new home. So after staring blankly at the baby for a couple minutes, we did just that....<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtv6EjUibEgUF72GPA9h3KV0TPegx-ZrhB0tPLFflc_zhlZTlT8IR4Oq3S49uA1CPwmDPmEt4hWaeg1Qh56OOrCfr75snd6-XZ7Q64HFLHNwf31VDv30MnXldu1yLlOi2Fe2snYegdN1Y/s1600/P1000691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtv6EjUibEgUF72GPA9h3KV0TPegx-ZrhB0tPLFflc_zhlZTlT8IR4Oq3S49uA1CPwmDPmEt4hWaeg1Qh56OOrCfr75snd6-XZ7Q64HFLHNwf31VDv30MnXldu1yLlOi2Fe2snYegdN1Y/s320/P1000691.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Staring blankly at baby...."what do we do with her??"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnSx44RgJwihl3iL1rxSnbLAGZodoFWiGEwTEtq4MW3_xZU0xfgoBqNBUaTEG_QwXl8dXcH-KJzwU4K2n2sSsicv2lYFC2j6CxddEcQGY5RsiwdZkn1S2AgY5k8lcgMK5730_iVLH4NWo/s1600/P1000698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnSx44RgJwihl3iL1rxSnbLAGZodoFWiGEwTEtq4MW3_xZU0xfgoBqNBUaTEG_QwXl8dXcH-KJzwU4K2n2sSsicv2lYFC2j6CxddEcQGY5RsiwdZkn1S2AgY5k8lcgMK5730_iVLH4NWo/s320/P1000698.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Break for a feed mid-tour</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rQrGmBX04SuJ2zTme6OzvB7lMX3eYoQ9RgFWODYWgcPfSI44TZ52fFHVbPgcrxuwabbS06cFSiiYbSRRJGbi1c8yEW2XBvVqs-Mynnl7Q737F_rm0ckEHxokKh50NDcTHpLREg1wFEQ/s1600/DSC_0435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rQrGmBX04SuJ2zTme6OzvB7lMX3eYoQ9RgFWODYWgcPfSI44TZ52fFHVbPgcrxuwabbS06cFSiiYbSRRJGbi1c8yEW2XBvVqs-Mynnl7Q737F_rm0ckEHxokKh50NDcTHpLREg1wFEQ/s320/DSC_0435.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy new Daddy.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFGOGOMEpS_WioIiaQr80GkHGeBWWAIo6FeCCyEFVWlS2kZBfmfepeAnWB7_ATtfL9uCON540V2NFqCfvy22RYRkb9m2oOfH1cl2GV1AcJjf4DA0EK-hifMqOQXl9wu_-yW6gCyPbfIoQ/s1600/P1000704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFGOGOMEpS_WioIiaQr80GkHGeBWWAIo6FeCCyEFVWlS2kZBfmfepeAnWB7_ATtfL9uCON540V2NFqCfvy22RYRkb9m2oOfH1cl2GV1AcJjf4DA0EK-hifMqOQXl9wu_-yW6gCyPbfIoQ/s320/P1000704.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time for a nap in my awesome crib!</td></tr>
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<b>Meeting the grandparents....multiple times.</b><br />
Babybison is lucky to have her grandparents nearby and has already spent quality time with all four of them. Here's proof. (Don't worry- pics of grandfathers to follow in future post!)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClwochfOGnhZbMhPhw5D-7kATqBjGx_cYfpzUBkKXJdYPlABLi8S7OTF2ncG2a0KgiGsIGvAv1SuMHV9MHO7rYcGMkd3fb2ARDSEbC5Rgdh63R8ke2fXAJt03RYNbhYt151js88LF3us/s1600/DSC_0470.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClwochfOGnhZbMhPhw5D-7kATqBjGx_cYfpzUBkKXJdYPlABLi8S7OTF2ncG2a0KgiGsIGvAv1SuMHV9MHO7rYcGMkd3fb2ARDSEbC5Rgdh63R8ke2fXAJt03RYNbhYt151js88LF3us/s320/DSC_0470.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandma Lilly</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkk__g-q15Lb4UDjOIobm_5powH1Q-PpJJLSskoE7oCQZSlxMQtlzV5eotERvyHzdukUfhHBfd6TxQf0lpvIChs8Kp1rel7QsRccM4abqmLB-Rp-b-2wh8EHwR7zNTXzM600MDFMUPzZU/s1600/DSC_0550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkk__g-q15Lb4UDjOIobm_5powH1Q-PpJJLSskoE7oCQZSlxMQtlzV5eotERvyHzdukUfhHBfd6TxQf0lpvIChs8Kp1rel7QsRccM4abqmLB-Rp-b-2wh8EHwR7zNTXzM600MDFMUPzZU/s320/DSC_0550.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandma Nelson aka Grandma Bison</td></tr>
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<b>Getting in dailymiles with Mom, Dad and Grandma</b><br />
No running for mom or baby quite yet but since I have been getting in my dailymile by walking Dad, babybison and Grandma have been joining me weather permitting. Thank goodness spring is starting to arrive in Chicago! At less than 5 lbs soaking wet, it's important to keep babybison warm so she doesn't burn excess calories trying to keep herself warm. To emphasize how small she is, look how totally ridiculous she looks in the stroller! Thankfully, loving friends and relatives have provided some preemie and smaller newborn sizes she has a sufficient wardrobe until she fits into all her newborn gear.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC14TFnY6aYFyTQ4SqXGG8-KcL1EQlnzwbJl2O97aaiygFBhTmC1k2NqFmHRFYab3cmbj-ErNC6wZAEO0vlLwBQ4g-r1ZArMCmyRpHPILE149lO07ZkxalWWb4IefQC7EW5Khvs27F0do/s1600/photo-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC14TFnY6aYFyTQ4SqXGG8-KcL1EQlnzwbJl2O97aaiygFBhTmC1k2NqFmHRFYab3cmbj-ErNC6wZAEO0vlLwBQ4g-r1ZArMCmyRpHPILE149lO07ZkxalWWb4IefQC7EW5Khvs27F0do/s320/photo-4.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is she even in there??</td></tr>
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<b>First (and second) bath</b><br />
Babybison tolerated her first bath remarkably well. As she gains energy and strength, however, she makes her opinions known a bit more frequently and her opinion of her 2nd bath was "thumbs down" or at least that's what I took her screams to mean. She calms remarkably well- she really only cries when we've insulted her by undressing her, getting her wet, or not feeding her frequently (or quickly) enough. She still is an A+ on the good baby chart. We all hope she stays that way!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-56KJTwzu6HihFISwjaD7VpbQLeRV7zSWDbzzbJNeNP9mcqU4Gp8o74QOzjcEhWqpR-DpycF4qyKnfXf8f8kl6cxH8KUgTKhE9biIJHnSHvWinuRJtzzcHy_m_NWabZfbweFz0ahEeBU/s1600/395642_10201109283480644_889136044_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-56KJTwzu6HihFISwjaD7VpbQLeRV7zSWDbzzbJNeNP9mcqU4Gp8o74QOzjcEhWqpR-DpycF4qyKnfXf8f8kl6cxH8KUgTKhE9biIJHnSHvWinuRJtzzcHy_m_NWabZfbweFz0ahEeBU/s320/395642_10201109283480644_889136044_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After her first bath at home, 7 days old.</td></tr>
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<b>Umbilical cord falling off</b><br />
When I asked Adam what I should include in this post, he mentioned the umbilical cord falling off. I initially thought, no that's not very interesting, it happens to every baby and I don't have a cute picture to go with it. But then I said, "Oh, by the way, what did you do with the cord when it fell off?", to which Adam looked at me confused and said "I thought you had it!". The cord fell off during breastfeeding practice (Zooey is still working on strength for full feedings) so she was upset, we were otherwise occupied, neither of us had picked it up. So we have no idea where it is. Under the couch? Did the cleaning lady find it and toss it? Suddenly little Zooey's umbilical cord falling off story becomes a bit more blog-worthy, if unceremonial;)<br />
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<b>Favorite quote:</b><br />
Adam was feeding Zooey in the hospital on day 2 of her life. Before I head into the hall for my laps to walk my mile, I asked him if he needed anything. His response: "Just a box to hold all this cuteness". Love.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBTqn-6dXfmptTnoIiiJz26SDGE-aECaCXgYFT_gUzcvGz2tcGK-7MtKWTEs2R_yAeHhuLObq1zepx879csR0kRilUXvgpnj9Vfy6H7o2iwMrGpEPPMF_HAniqWVVfaDvHYh5z3O1qvo/s1600/DSC_0426.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBTqn-6dXfmptTnoIiiJz26SDGE-aECaCXgYFT_gUzcvGz2tcGK-7MtKWTEs2R_yAeHhuLObq1zepx879csR0kRilUXvgpnj9Vfy6H7o2iwMrGpEPPMF_HAniqWVVfaDvHYh5z3O1qvo/s320/DSC_0426.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom and Zooey (2.5 days old)</td></tr>
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Valhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918963711072234739noreply@blogger.com1