2 1/2 years old!

My husband pointed out that today my little toddler man is 2 1/2 years old. Half birthdays aren't a big deal for us big people but should definitely be recognized when you haven't been on the planet for very long. Among the cute things this 2 1/2 year old does: Waves and says "Hi terch!" when we pass our church on the way to daycare in the morning; says "No way Jose" when you tell him it's bedtime; sings duets of "ABCs" and "Trinkle, trinkle, little star" with mommy and will spontaneously bust out into a flailing form of dance.

 

Happy half birthday, little bubby.Thanks for making your dad and me smile.

***

 

Life is humming along right now. I've been working at my new job about six weeks and love love love it. The teenager is happy away at college.  The toddler and Baby C, who's 6 1/2 months now, are great. I must be mellowing in my old age, or maybe it's just I know that Baby C is my last kid. But until this week I could not bring myself to let her cry it out in order to train her to sleep through the night.

 

For those who haven't done it, sleep-training can be just awful -- listening to your child wail in the middle of the night for a cuddle, rocking or a quick nursing session even though they're old enough to go through the night without having to eat. It was brutal to do it with my sons, but there is just something about my daughter's cry that makes me want to bite my lip until it bleeds, it's so sad to listen to. So, Baby C has slept a grand total of two nights all the way through in her lifetime. This week I did a little CIO and it helped but heck, I'm weak. I figure I'll sleep when I'm older.

 

***

 

I'm running my first half marathon post-Baby C this weekend.

I deliberately chose an October half because I get sick of running hot half marathons (this will be my ninth overall since I began seriously running in 2007; one was during a downpour, the other was on a chilly Halloween  morning-- the rest have been in hot weather, including my 2010 PR of 2:12. Which I have no prayer of beating this week, oh well.). The forecast for Saturday? 80 degrees. Bleh. This weekend is also the Chicago marathon, on Sunday. So of course it will be hot, if you are familiar with the recent weather history on marathon weekends.

 

My Chicago marathon experience recap:

• 2006: First year I went to see a marathon. Volunteered pre-race in the CARA gear check tent. It was spitting snow and freezing. I saw those runners that morning, bouncing around from nerves and cold, and decided right then and there I would run the Chicago marathon the next year, even though at that point I'd never run more than 6 miles at a time. And my fingers were beyond numb trying to tag runners' gear, which you can't do very easily in gloves.
• 2007: My first marathon -- I said I'd do it and I meant it. However, I developed tendonitis three weeks before the race, so was forced to run/walk it. Stubborn girl that I am, I did that, until mile 16 when the race organizers were told by the city to shut it down because that day was nearly 90 degrees. Fluke, right?
• 2008: Hot. Watched the marathon from Chinatown (just past mile 22) and looked for friends who were running it. They all looked pretty toasty. I was first trimester with the toddler and roasting just watching all those sweaty runners go by.
• 2009: Volunteered to work the start line, so it was freezing, of course, haha. Later ran seven miles of the race with a friend who went on to PR at the marathon. Nice.
• 2010: Hot again. Pregnant again. Pattern? Hmm. Ran the last six miles with a girlfriend who was running the whole thing, meeting her at mile 20 with ice cubes to stick in her hat and bra. Got thrown out of the race just after the 26-mile mark since I was technically banditing the race. Still a little indignant about that.
• 2011: Nothing. Nada. Running my half in the burbs on Saturday and going to "terch" on Sunday. :-)
• 2012: I'm coming back for you, Chicago marathon. 

***

So NJ Gov. Chris Christie will not seek the Republican presidential nomination, it was reported today. I thought it was interesting a few days ago that the portly governor's weight was actually a topic, as described in this NYTimes story. Earlier this year the government revealed about one-third of Americans are considered obese, a big jump and the highest rate in history. On the one hand, you'd think there would be a comfort level with someone who looks like a lot of other people. On the other hand, we want our politicians to be better than our flawed selves, including being fit. I wonder what he thought of all of the hoopla over his weight.