Charlotte Turns Two

Charlotte turned two on March 4, and we had a party the weekend before to celebrate! Charlotte loves Elmo, so I decided to do a Sesame Street theme. I got all of the supplies at Walmart and kept it pretty simple, decorating our kitchen table and hanging some balloons and a banner. 

I also decided to keep the guest list small, so we just invited family. My parents, my grandmother, and my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew made up the guest list, and in our smallish house, that was plenty of people! Charlotte gets overwhelmed with a lot of people surrounding her at once, so she was pretty clingy and shy at the beginning, but that didn't stop her from sporting her Elmo hat!

She is not too sure about what is going on.

After I started blowing bubbles and she was able to interact with her cousin Erika, who is six months younger than Charlotte, she started to warm up.

Instead of a birthday cake, I decided to go with a less conventional approach after having some yummy petit fours at my mom's birthday celebration just a few weeks ago. My parents generously offered to provide the dessert, and the bakery was even able to put Elmo on the little cakes. I loved how they turned out!

For the food, we again opted for the simple (okay, lazy) route and ordered Pizza Hut pizza. While we waited for it to arrive, Charlotte started opening her presents. She got a ton of cute spring clothes from my brother and sister-in-law, along with coloring books and board books.

After the pizza, it was time for cake! Charlotte was a fan.

Digging in!

I tried unsuccessfully to get a good picture with Charlotte, but this is the best I got. We have such a hard time getting her to smile for pictures. She pretty much turns on the frowns when a camera comes out.

 My parents were also unsuccessful in their attempts to get a picture with her.

The party was a little bit chaotic with two toddlers running around, and I was glad that I had decided not to invite a few other kids closer to her age. I think I will save the bigger parties for when she is older and can really enjoy them.

On Charlotte's actual birthday last Monday, we treated her to one of her favorite things, a donut:

And of course there were a few more presents! We got her a ladybug lunch bag and backpack to use at daycare, which she loved. She also opened presents from Stephen's parents, some fun blocks and an alphabet computer-type toy.

We also went in with my parents and got her a playhouse for outside. I really wanted to get her a swingset, but the nicer sets are SO expensive! I am happy with this little house, though, and she had a blast playing in it this weekend after her sweet daddy spent some quality time putting it together.

She loved pushing the little doorbell and opening and closing the door.

There's that sweet smile! Happy girl.

It's hard to believe that she is already two years old. She is changing so much every day, and even though this is a somewhat turbulent age, I am loving it. It's so fun now that she is able to talk to us more clearly and express herself, and she cracks us up with the little phrases she says. She is little Miss Independent, and I love seeing her take pride in being able to do things on her own. The days can sometimes be long, but the years are short. I pray that I cherish every moment with her, even the ones that are stressful, for I know that before I know it, she will be grown. We love you, Charlotte Marie! 

Charlotte at 18 months

At 18 months, Charlotte is a bundle of energy. And emotions. She goes from smiling to crying in two seconds flat and then back to smiling a few minutes later. If she doesn't get what she wants when she wants, or if we tell her no to something, she starts stomping her feet and wailing and putting on quite the show. I was shocked the first time she did it because she has always been so sweet, but her temper has definitely come to light! What's funny to me is that even though she may be crying because of something we said or did to make her mad, she will come running to us with her arms outstretched. She still needs us to make her feel better and help calm her down. There is nothing I love more than feeling her little arms tight around my neck and having that sweet head of hers nestled into the crook of my neck.

Smiling at Daddy while wearing his shoes

Speaking of her head, Charlotte continues her trend of having a head circumference in the 90th  percentile. Her head has been large since the beginning, and as I said yesterday on Twitter and Facebook, it's because she has a giant genius brain. How could she not, with such brilliant parents? (Says the woman who just the other day was looking for her sunglasses only to realize they were ON HER HEAD.)

Charlotte's current stats:

Weight: 25 lbs (slightly above the 50th percentile)
Height:  33 inches (75th percentile) She grew 2.5 inches in 3 months!
Head:   48 cm (90th percentile)

Of course, the minute we got back to the doctor's area yesterday, Charlotte started crying. She's no fool. She knows where the pain happens. Even when the nurse was trying to weigh and measure her, she was crying. Poor baby. I am so glad that we don't have to go back for another checkup for 6 more months! She only had one shot this time, too, which was nice for a change. I hate the way she cries and looks up at me as though I've willfully caused her pain. (And I guess in a way I have, since I brought her to the doctor. Oops.)

These days Charlotte babbles all the time, and she's starting to talk more. I've been a little bit worried about her language development because she's not saying a ton of words, but she knows over 10 words, so the pediatrician wasn't worried at all.

Charlotte's favorites:
1. Our dog Bailey. She wants so badly to be friends with Bailey, but Bailey's having none of it and keeps her distance whenever possible. Charlotte brings her toys and even feeds her food, but still I'm pretty sure if Charlotte were gone tomorrow Bailey would throw a party. I hope they'll be friends when Charlotte gets a little older and learns to be more gentle. Right now her idea of petting is to swat at her.
2.  Snacks. The girl could snack all day long (hmm, wonder where she got that?). She loves puffs and veggie straws and goldfish and bananas and grapes.

Fascinated by the macaroni and cheese

3.  Outside. She loves to go outside and asks every day when we get home if she can go outside. Today when I told her we couldn't because it was too hot and wet, she threw herself on the ground and thrashed about as though her life were ending. I can't imagine where she got such a dramatic streak.
4.  Her paci. We primarily give it to her only for naps and nighttime sleep, but she is SO attached to it. Her face lights up when we give it to her, and she has to sleep with one in her mouth and one in her hand. For a while she was doing a good job of willingly giving them up when she woke up, but lately we've had to wait until we can distract her with food before getting it away from her. Man oh man, are we going to have a time when we wean her off the pacifier!
5. Music. Charlotte has loved music for a long time, and that hasn't changed one bit. She will start dancing the minute she hears music, and on our rides home from daycare I often catch her bobbing her head along with the music. It cracks me up to see her bustin' a move. I hope she grows up loving to sing and listen to music. 

Charlotte's dislikes:
1. Getting into the car seat. She has started fighting this with a vengeance. Last week I spent literally 20 minutes (and I do mean literally) trying to wrestle her into the seat. She was screaming and kicking and then she would giggle like she was playing some hysterical game. Mommy was not amused. She still puts up a fight, but I've gotten better about getting her strapped in. The kid is strong!
2.  Diaper and clothing changes. I don't know why she hates these things, but it's rare for Charlotte not to get upset while we're trying to change her diaper or change her clothes. We've had some success with changing her on the floor instead of the changing table, but even then she sometimes tries to roll away naked. She's free-spirited, I guess.
3.  Baths. She's gotten better the last few baths she's had, but for a while now Charlotte has cried and screamed when we try to give her a bath. A few times we resorted to just sponging her off in the sink, she was so hysterical. It's incredibly stressful, and sometimes not even toys or her paci will calm her down. I'm hoping she grows out of this phase soon!
4.  Vegetables in solid form. This is really weird, but lately we've hardly had any luck getting Charlotte to eat vegetables UNLESS they're pureed. Has anyone else experienced this? We can try to give her some carrots cut up, and she won't eat them, but then she'll gobble up a baby food jar of carrots! That makes no sense to me!
5.  Saying goodbye to us. It's hard to drop her off in the morning for daycare and at church on Sundays. She gets very clingy and starts to cry and doesn't want us to leave. It breaks my heart! She's getting better at this, though.

I look back at where Charlotte was just 6 months ago and am amazed at how much she's grown and changed. I know that by the time she's 2 so much more will have happened. I hope I can savor and cherish every minute!

Our little diva

Charlotte at 14 Months

This post is slightly late, as Char turned 14 months on May 4. Life's been busy, what can I say? Stephen and I actually split the day staying at home with Charlotte right now because she came down with a fever and diarrhea yesterday. Because she's also had a cough that has lingered for a month (yes, a MONTH), we took her to convenient care last night, and the doctor gave us an antibiotic and steroid to treat her cough. He also recommended we keep her at home. Fortunately, she hasn't had a fever today, and I loved getting to spend extra time with her!

At 14 months, Charlotte is always on the go. It's rare for her to sit down for more than 5 minutes at a time. Usually the only thing that will keep her seated longer than that is eating. Charlotte LOVES to eat and seems as though she could eat constantly. She's figured out where we keep her snacks, and so she goes over to that area and gestures in that direction to indicate that she wants something. She's gotten much pickier about what she'll eat, though; one day she loves green beans, and the next she couldn't care less about them. I think certain textures have started to bother her as well. One day she had green beans and carrots, and she was devouring the carrots but would put the green beans down after picking them up. I finally tried feeding them to her, and she ate them fine, so I wonder if she didn't like how the green beans felt. She's done a similar thing with lima beans and peas, too. Very funny.

 I like to think that Charlotte is going to be neat and organized because she's started realizing where things go and will put things in their place. She knows that trash goes in the trash can and will put things in it, and she will put back items she's taken from the table. She loves taking her blocks out of the bucket and putting them back in, and she loves anything that makes noise. She also has tried to wipe down her tray and clean up a spill on the floor with a towel. I can definitely put these skills to use in the future. :)

She loves being outside and would probably stay out there all day if we let her. She'll go to the back door and bang on it, and she knows how to say "outside."

She has become obsessed with her shoes and loves carrying them around. She tries very hard to put them and her socks on, but that's still a bit above her skill level, so she'll bring them to us to put on. I'm biased, but I think she's one smart cookie.

Her separation anxiety has definitely increased recently, as has her moodiness. Whereas she used to be very even-tempered and easygoing, now she'll throw little tantrums if she doesn't get her way or we tell her "no" about something she really wants. She also has grown more attached to her pacifier, much to my chagrin, as I was hoping to wean her soon. We've only been giving it to her at naps and at night, but she's stopped willingly handing them over when she wakes up, and sometimes it's not worth the battle to take it away. I'm glad she has something that soothes and comforts her.

Her love for our dog Bailey has not lessened, and now she's learned something new: how to feed Bailey. She'll get a few pieces of dog food in her hand and walk around until she finds Bailey. Bailey is so gentle about taking it from her, and I think it's helped her warm up to Charlotte. That and the fact that Bailey gets all the food that Charlotte drops on the floor. 

It is so fun to see how big Charlotte is getting and how much she is growing and learning. She charms me every day. I'm so glad she's ours.

Charlotte at 13 Months

Charlotte is at such a fun age and loves to go go GO during the day. Gone are the days of holding her in our arms for long periods of time; the only occasions she tolerates that are when she's sleepy or not feeling well. She's toddling around and getting faster. Soon we'll have to start chasing her instead of slowly ambling along behind her as she explores every nook and cranny of the house. Her hair is getting longer and longer, and I think we're going to have to get it cut soon, but the thought of cutting her beautiful locks makes me want to cry. Still, girl has some crazy hair first thing in the morning.  She's also figured out how to remove ponytail holders and bows and clips from her hair, so all my attempts to tame the mane are in vain.

Charlotte's had an eventful week. She came home from daycare on Friday with pinkeye, so we got antibiotic drops to put in her eyes 3 times a day for 7 days. Naturally, she screamed like a banshee when we tried to put the drops in, and it took both Stephen and I to administer the drops for the first few days. Now she doesn't fuss hardly at all when we do it, and we'll finish up the drops tomorrow. Her eyes cleared up after the first day, thank goodness, and it didn't seem to faze her much.

However, the pinkeye wasn't the allow event of the weekend. On Sunday while I was doing nursery duty at church, Stephen was at home watching Charlotte, and she fell and hit her head on a little tin cannister she liked to play with. She ended up with a rather large gash above her left eye, which necessitated a trip to the doctor. Fortunately, the doctor determined she didn't need stitches, so he glued the wound shut, but all of this was not without many tears and screams of protest from our poor baby, who was scared and had no idea what was going on. The whole experience was incredibly traumatic for all of us, but Charlotte is on the mend, and her injury didn't slow her down too much after spending the day with me at home on Monday.

Now Charlotte is back to her usual activities, which involve roaming about the house in search of items to play with that are NOT her toys. She enjoys typing out her thoughts on the keyboard with Daddy.

She loves going outside and walking around in the backyard, and she likes swinging in her swing and attempting to climb her slide.

 

She also loves examining the local flora and fauna: 

She's also decided that she needs a bigger sippy cup. Ha.

She eats pretty well, although one day she'll decide she doesn't like a food and then the next day she's changed her mind. She still sleeps like a champ at night, but naps are hit or miss. She's wearing 12-18 month clothes right now and loves carrying around her shoes more than she likes wearing them. She chases after Bailey a lot and tries to give Bailey her toy, but Bailey is still not sure what to make of Charlotte.

Simply put, Charlotte is a delight and the treasure of our hearts.

One Year!

My sweet Charlotte is one year old! I can hardly believe what was once this:

has become this:

Is that not the sweetest picture?? I found a Groupon that offered a relatively inexpensive photo session with live ducklings, and I thought that was perfect for Charlotte's 12 month pictures. She had a BLAST with those ducklings. I don't think the ducklings felt the same, however, especially not the one that almost got its head yanked off by Charlotte's overly enthusiastic hand. :)  She got down in the water and splashed and splashed (hence the wet shirt) and scared all the ducklings into the farthest corner of the little "pond," but fortunately the photographer was able to get this picture of Charlotte's trademark happy grin (the real version does not have the top of her head cropped off).

Big things are happening in Charlotte's life right now. She's WALKING! She started taking a few steps here and there last Monday or Tuesday, and now she can get across an entire room. She still has lots of stops and starts, but when she falls or almost falls, she gets up and starts going again, usually with a hugely proud grin on her face. It's amazing to see how quickly she's caught on and how much she has learned. A lot happens in the first year of a baby's life! At this point she still prefers to crawl, but I think in a few weeks she'll discover that walking is much more efficient and allows her to carry her toys around without resorting to the rather crippled-looking crawl she currently adopts when wanting to bring toys with her as she moves.

 

Charlotte has been pretty clingy with us of late, and while it can sometimes make getting ready in the morning difficult, I cherish this time because I know one day she'll be a teenager who will probably roll her eyes at the mere sight of me. She especially loves being with her Daddy and lights up when she sees him. She loves to climb all over him and sit on his head. It's quite the sight. She also loves to push her push toy and giggles when we act like we're running away from her. She also giggles when we pretend to chase her, and she's an all around delightfully easygoing and cheerful baby. She waves at almost anyone she sees, even if they don't even see her, and she loves to watch people. She can clap and wave and blow a kiss, and she recently began pointing at things she wants to look at more closely. She's a great mimic, which causes her Daddy to make goofy gestures that she then repeats.

She has gotten much more talkative, although her speech doesn't resemble anything close to real words, with the exception of "uh oh" and "dada." She says "mama" on VERY rare occasions, and never when I try to get her to say it (the stinker!).  Hearing her little voice chatter as I drive us home after work makes my day.

When it comes to food, she will eat virtually anything we give her. We've discovered that she signals to us that she is through eating a food when she starts casually throwing it on the floor. Our dog Bailey wishes she would do this more often. :) She likes to have food to hold in both of her hands and will ask for more even while both hands are full. She has transitioned from bottles to sippy cups with relatively few problems, for which I am grateful since there was a time when I thought she'd never want to give up her beloved bottle. She can down a sippy cup of formula in mere minutes, and she also really enjoys drinking water. We don't give her any juice, so I'm glad she seems to like water. I'm hoping that continues.

Charlotte Marie, I never could have imagined how you would change my life. You are a true blessing and an absolute joy. Stephen and I couldn't love you more if we tried.

And no matter how old you are, you'll always be my baby. I love you always.

Charlotte at 11 Months

Charlotte turned 11 months old on Saturday! I of course refuse to fully accept this because that means that next month she will turn 1 year old. Nope, not happening. :) This post will unfortunately be picture-less because 1) I am writing this at work on my lunch break and can't access facebook (lame!) and 2) Charlotte hardly stays still long enough for me to get a decent picture. I have all but given up on the cute, posed pictures of her early days. Remember when she used to just demurely lie about on the pretty blanket and pose with Pooh Bear? Alas, those days are long gone, but I love this stage of life she is in. There's not a day that goes by that we aren't cracking up over something she's said or done.

Charlotte is all over the place, exploring and eating dog food making new discoveries. Her hair is getting longer and longer, and I've started to put it in a ponytail almost every day because it keeps most of the hair out of her eyes. She often ignores most of her real toys in favor of  objects that are not toys (phone cords, paper, drawstrings on shirts and jackets, doorstops, etc.). She can walk if she's using her little push toy and if we hold her hands, but she's not walking on her own yet. She stood up unassisted for all of 3 seconds yesterday before toppling forward, so she's getting braver and stronger every day.  She can crawl across a room in about 4 seconds flat and loves to find wherever Bailey is so she can pet her or steal her dog toys. She sleeps great at night, still going down around 6:30 and often sleeping until close to 7:00 (yesterday she even slept until 7:30). Her little voice is the cutest sound in the world, and she says "baba" and "dada" and "mama" but never in the appropriate contexts (not that I'm even sure what context is appropriate for "baba") . She loves snuggling up to her daddy and follows him around the house, and she squeals and giggles when he tosses her in the air or wrestles with her on our bed. Nothing is too boring for her little fingers to investigate, which means we are constantly fishing inside her mouth to see what she's found on the floor.

She's recently started throwing tantrums if we take away something she was playing with or if we try to change her diaper. (I'm not sure what's up with the diaper thing. She's never been a fan of diaper or clothing changes, but lately she just cries and screams like we're torturing her. Sometimes a toy will distract her, but other times she just tosses it aside. Any advice from other parents?)

I look at her every day and marvel at the how quickly she is growing. Seeing her face every day reminds me anew of God's greatness and blessing on our life. I am so thankful for her and can't wait to see the little lady she grows up to be!

Charlotte at 10 Months

I know I say it every month, but I can't believe Charlotte is already this old! I need to start thinking about her first birthday party because it will be here before we know it!

Just when I think she can't get any cuter, she does! See?

At 10 months, Charlotte:

1.  Is all over the place! She is fast on all fours and wants to explore every corner of the house and put every little bitty speck of anything right in her mouth. It's inevitable at this point that she'll eat some dog food.

2.  Has started giving what I call "hugs," where she lays her head against my neck and just snuggles. It melts my heart every time, and it's especially sweet and precious given the fact that she doesn't stay still much these days.

3.  Has 6 teeth now: 2 on top and 4 on the bottom. There could be more for all we know, but those are the ones that are definitely visible. She hates for us to poke around in her mouth.

4.  Loves clapping and waving. She doesn't always grasp the appropriate context for these actions, so sometimes she'll be upset and start waving or clapping, which cracks us up.

5.  "Dances" by bouncing up and down and sometimes swaying back and forth when she hears certain songs. It is the cutest thing ever.

6.  Loves putting objects like blocks and balls into containers. She's been doing this for a while with a ball and her little tea cups, but now she's started doing it with everything. She thinks it's super fun.

7.  Eats whatever we give her. She has yet to refuse a food. She made some funny faces when I fed her fresh mango, but she still gobbled it up. She has mastered the pincer grasp and manages to get most things into her mouth on the first try, making a huge mess in the process, naturally.

8.  Enjoys playing with anything that is not actually her toy, like remotes, paper, magnets, dryer sheets, etc.   Her favorites are Bailey's (our dog) toys that are covered in dog slobber. Delightful. She couldn't care less about most of her soft toys, but she heads straight for Bailey's whenever she sees them.

9.  Still goes to bed around 6:30 every night and wakes up between 6 and 6:30 most mornings. Although most of last week it was more like 5:00 or 5:30, but she has a nasty upper respiratory infection that I think is to blame.

10.  Learned how to play peekaboo. For months we've been putting a burp cloth or bib over her head then saying, "Where's Charlotte?" and then pulling it off and saying, "There she is!" Just the other day we were doing this, and she started holding the burp cloth over her face while we said, "Where's Charlotte?" Now she'll do it and giggle and grin when she pulls it down. Clearly

11.  Babbles up a storm. I am so relieved about this because until now Charlotte really didn't babble much at all beyond "ah ah ah." Then about halfway through December, her "talking" just exploded, and now she says "dada" (without knowing what it actually means) and "baba" and "ga."

12.  Feeds herself her own bottle. She literally just learned this skill this weekend, and she still needs help tilting the bottle or cup back far enough if it's almost empty. I've been trying to get her to drink her formula from a sippy cup for a while now, but she would just spit the cup out of her mouth. Then, thanks to a tip from a Twitter friend, I bought a sippy cup that has a tip very similar to a nipple, and it's worked great! She didn't take it at first, but she's used it several times now, so I think we've mastered that.

Charlotte has clearly been very busy the past month, which explains why I've hardly taken any pictures of her outside of the holidays. It's very hard to catch a moving target, you know. :) I've completely given up on using the blocks in her monthly picture since she wants to lunge at them the minute we sit her down. I did manage to get this one shot that I think is adorable, and I'm glad we're at least keeping Pooh Bear in the pictures:

Happy 10 months (a few days late), baby girl! We couldn't love you more if we tried.

Charlotte at 9 Months

Is my baby really 3/4 of a year old?? Say it ain't so! When I look back at what Charlotte was up to just three months ago, I am amazed at how much babies learn in a short amount of time. At 6 months, Charlotte had just learned to sit unsupported. Now at 9 months, Charlotte:

• Crawls all over the place and can be quite fast. This development happened over Thanksgiving break. Before then she was mostly still army crawling with the occasional slow crawl thrown in. Then all of a sudden, she was on all fours and moving everywhere!
• Can pull herself up. She discovered this fun trick the weekend before Thanksgiving, and now she tries to pull up on anything she can put her hands on, including my pants legs and her toy bin and even the little reindeer I have in front of the Christmas tree. She's obviously still a bit unsteady on her feet, which has resulted in some tumbles. She usually recovers pretty quickly, however.   

   

• Can cruise while holding onto something, like the couch or her crib rails. 

• Has 4 teeth, and I just love her toothy grin! I think she must be working on some more because the drool is simply out of control.
• Squeals with delight whenever she gets near Bailey. Bailey just runs away. Char also gets super excited when she sees us, and now that she can crawl, she'll speed up to get to us.
• Loves to eat pretty much whatever we give her.
• Is eating some food that is not pureed, like bread and puffs and Cheerios and the occasional pieces of fruit or veggies that we happen to be eating. She even had a bit of turkey on Thanksgiving! It's so fun to watch her little mouth figure out how to eat these foods that don't just slide right down.
  
• Loves to clap and wave. Sometimes when we say hi, she claps instead of waves.
  
• Takes a bath without a baby bathtub. 

• Goes to bed around 6:30 and sleeps until 6 or 6:30 (or 7 if we're really lucky). She is great about going to sleep without a fight at night.  
• Is an unpredictable napper. Some days she'll have one short nap in the morning and then a two hour nap in the afternoon, other days she'll have 45-minute naps in the morning and afternoon, and other days she hardly naps at all.  She's never been a very reliable napper, and while she has improved considerably, I think she'd just prefer to be awake and not miss anything.

She has her 9 month checkup tomorrow, so I'll update with her stats then. I'm sure she weighs at least 20 pounds!  Here are some pictures I took yesterday to commemorate her 9 months of life!

And coming soon to the blog: the story of how this hole appeared in our bathroom. It's quite a story, let me tell ya.

So Long, Farewell...

Today is my final day in my 20s! I am getting my hair cut (pictures will be posted, obviously), and I am also getting my license renewed (in person, so I can get a new picture). Tonight we will be in Memphis with my parents, grandparents, brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and niece and will have a celebratory dinner and dessert (carrot cake-my favorite).  It's gonna be a great day that caps off an already-great week of vacation. Thus far this week I have:

• been to two malls 
• seen two movies (Contagion and Dolphin Tale-my tastes, they are diverse)
• purchased one new pair of khakis
• purchased a new perfume (Oh Lola! by Marc Jacobs)
• eaten lots of yummy fudge
• explored City Museum (the most awesome place EVER.  Also, funny story: we took the MetroLink to Union Station on Tuesday and then decided to walk to City Museum because it didn't look like it was too far away. It was cold and also drizzling a bit, but we toughed it out, only to arrive and find out the museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in the winter. At least we walked 1.2 miles more than we would have that day!)
• run/walked on a treadmill at our hotel's fitness center
• had delicious ribs at the hotel restaurant
• saw lots of interesting and beautiful and sometimes strange art at St. Louis Art Museum (I love the museum's url, by the way)
• slept for 10 hours straight one night (I could definitely get used to that. Not that it's remotely within the realm of possibility for my day-to-day life.) 
• read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close-loved! (Pretty sure it was about $4 more than its current price when I purchased it. Lame.)
• read Fools Rush In-meh. (It was a free Kindle book.)

So long, 20s! It's been real.

No Turning Back

In approximately 22 days, I'm going to turn 30. I know what you're all thinking: "No way is Erin almost 30! She's gotta be only 25 or so!" That IS what you were thinking, right? I thought so. :)

Anyway, I am not really at all depressed about turning 30. In fact, I'm kind of excited. It's a whole new decade, a whole new phase of life. I thoroughly enjoyed my twenties, so why shouldn't my thirties be the same? Plus, I'm going into my 30th year probably in better health than I was when I turned 20! I decided that I needed to celebrate this milestone in some special way, but I wasn't sure what to do. Stephen and I are going on a little trip to St. Louis, but we'll be back before my actual birthday, and I still wanted to do something to mark the day I turn 30.

Finally I figured out what that "something" will be. I signed up for a 4 mile race! This race, to be precise. I considered doing a 5k but then saw this race and thought I would challenge myself even more and go for the 4 mile distance! I've never run in a 4 miler before, and I don't even think there are that many races offered in that distance, so I'm seizing the opportunity. I registered today so there's no turning back! I can't change my mind. I may finish dead last (which is looking like a real possibility at the moment, with only 7 people registered), but I am going to finish and be PROUD.

Look out, 30, I'm coming for you!