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Jack turned one on Saturday. This has been both the slowest and fastest moving year of our lives. When I think about Polumbus Day and driving to the hospital after Lelaine's water broke, it seems like only a few days ago. But when I think about all the sleepless nights or the mornings when he wakes up ridiculously early and by 8am you think you have run out of things to do for the day, the last twelve months have seemed like 30 years. Here are a few memories that really stand out:

Long walks with him in the stroller to both keep him happy and help him sleep. I think we have walked around Lincoln Park about 700 times.

The weekend in September that Lelaine went away with book club - this was the first time when I was with him on my own. I didn't tell Lelaine this, but I was terrified. It ended up going well, and included Jack's first metro ride, his first block party/beer festival, and purchasing a little baby viking hat, but most of all it gave me confidence that I could keep him alive and take care of him on my own, although I was very relieved when Lelaine got home that Sunday afternoon.

Jack's first bike ride, which happened to be on a path in Santa Monica on the beach with the mountains in the background.

The trip with Doug to the Ole Miss-Mizzou game was one of the best weekends but also probably the dumbest. I'm really glad we did it - Jack did very well, the Grove met all expectations, Mizzou won, and it made for a great story - but I can't believe Doug and I took a three month old on an 1,800 mile road trip over three days.

His reaction when I get home from work and he is in a good mood. Sometimes when he sees me he starts to smile and bounces up and down.

The week he wouldn't sleep unless he was being held - this happened his first month home from the hospital and was by far the period of time I was most sleep deprived. The picture at the top was taken one night during this stretch. Despite the circumstances, it is my favorite picture of him.

Hearing him laugh - one day the three of us were in the car and for some reason he started laughing uncontrollably. The little guy's giggle is the best sound in the world.

That's all for now. Might add more later.

One Great Year

                                         

It's been one year since our little man surprised us and came into the world six and a half weeks early. We've spent the past few weeks reflecting on what a journey it has been and how excited we are for more happy times. 

The best way an 80s girl like me knows how to celebrate that is with a video montage. Hope you enjoy! 

Couch to 5K Finished!

I finished my Couch to 5K training today! It was a slog, but I am proud to say that I can jog for 30 minutes (not quite at the 5K distance yet). The most fascinating part about the training is that at some point you realize you can physically do it, but mentally it was tough. I would start jogging and then in my head I'd think "this really sucks" although I know I could physically go further. I really had to push mentally to tell myself keep going until the end of this song or until you reach that sign.

Next up is the 5K to 10K training app. I'm behind in my training for the marathon, but I think I am ok with run/walking at this point. I am holding out a bit of hope that I'll be able to run the whole thing.

lil' flipper

Jack is starting swim lessons next weekend. Because he 1-is pretty particular about a lot of things and 2-has not liked baths in the last couple weeks, we figured we should take him to a pool so that his first swim lesson isn't a completely brand new experience and we hopefully avoid a breakdown next Saturday at the JCC.

He loved it. In fact, he liked it so much that we went yesterday and then took him back again today. He isn't thrilled when his face gets wet and he hasn't quite figured out that the more he splashes, the more his face gets wet, but other than that he is very excited when we put him in the water. I have a feeling we are going to become regulars at some of the DC public pools the rest of the summer.

celebrating 'merica

 Jack had an excellent first 4th of July. He and I went for a run on the Mall and saw the setup for the concert and fireworks. Later in the morning the three of us met up with Clare and Brantley for Jack's first Nats game. The team stunk, losing to the Cubs, but the weather was surprisingly nice and Jack liked to be able to crawl around the astroturfed pavilion area in center field. Up next was his favorite spot to watch the World Cup - Biergarten Haus - for the Brazil-Columbia game. Like last time, one of his favorite things to do was to try to grab other people's liter mugs of beer. He is also now really into clapping, so whenever either team did something well and people got excited, he would start laughing and clapping. We finished the night listening to some fireworks in our neighborhood and watching the movie Independence Day.

Happy Family

We spent the past weekend in Princeton celebrating a friend's wedding and catching up with a couple of dear friends. 

On the way up we even had an opportunity to stop in Philly for Jack's first cheesesteak at Ishkabibbles. Jack seemed more impressed by the process of making cheesesteaks rather than the food. We then told him about how we don't plan on raising a vegetarian so he needs to get his act together!! Just joking...kind of. 

Traveler tip: The best croissants in the US have to be at this small bakery called Little Chef Cafe. Amazing.