November 9, 2019

Emerald Catherine | 18 Months

Our sweet little Emmy is now 18 months old and has officially moved from baby into full toddler. Emmy remains joyful and so much fun but much more sass has moved in as well.

EAT

Not too much has changed for Emmy in terms of eating in the last three months. Possibly the biggest change is that we moved her from her high chair to a booster seat at the table, she also continues to be very messy eating most things.

On Emmy’s half birthday we had birthday cake pancakes to celebrate.

SLEEP

Emmy has officially moved to just one nap a day (finally) so I feel like we can do so much more. Her one nap a day is rarely more than two hours so I am always wishing for more. Overnight sleep remains the same about 6:30 PM to 6:00 AM. There have been a few nights where she wakes up when she is sick but other than that she is sleeping like a champ.

GROW

The area I have seen the most growth in during the last three months is communication. She is saying more and more words as well as yelling no at us often.

Emmy had to alter her routine when big brother started school. She loves riding in the stroller to walk Cannon to school and playing with her friends at his playground.

Snow season has started here and luckily Emmy seems to enjoy it this year. Last year she was not about being out in the cold. Sledding and playing in the snow gets her approval now.

Emmy also gained a few stamps in her passport with our trip to Germany, Switzerland and Austria

PLAY

We spent a lot of time trying to squeeze all the fun we could out of summer.

Emmy loves going to the pool, splash pads and playgrounds. We are already dreaming of next summer.

Past Monthly Updates

May 9, 2019

Emerald Catherine | 12 Months

And just like that my baby is one and not technically a baby anymore. I love seeing her develop and her personality come out more and more but it also makes my weepy how quickly time is going.

At one year Emmy is still very tall 89th percentile and growing fast!

EAT

So much progress on eating this past month. We have been able to transition from bottles to sippy cups and Emmy happily holds them herself.

Emerald loves most food and will happily feed herself almost anything. There was a weird week where she didn’t want anything to do with fruit but luckily she is back on board with banana and berries.

SLEEP

We are still solidly at two naps a day and sleeping well at night. I am very curious when we will be down to just one nap a day. I am grateful everyday that she is such a good sleeper.

GROW

Walking is our biggest milestone that we are currently working on.

Emmy has taken a few tentative steps and is working hard on her balance. She isn’t walking completely yet but is getting closer everyday. She has figured out she can walk on her knees and loves to get around that way too.

PLAY

Emmy is one of the happiest babies I have ever met. She loves nothing more than to be with her family but most importantly with her brother.

These two have such a special bond. I know that very soon there will be fighting and sibling rivalry so I will soak up the sweetness while I can.

To my sweet little girl, please never change, you are my bright shining star.

Past Monthly Updates

October 26, 2017

Lately // Summer 2017

It’s been a long time since I have updated this little space of the internet so it seems appropriate to do a little recap of summer 2017.

June started off with a bang with my first ultra of the summer. I was really excited to run the North Fork 50k in Pine, CO.

Excited to see Cory and Cannon at mile 22ish

I REALLY loved this race and plan to write race reports for my summer races soon. The trail was amazing, the weather was great and and I had an amazing time.

I spent a lot of weekend time on the trails preparing for Leadville Silver Rush 50.

Mid month it was time to celebrate Cannon turning one!

We had friends and family over to celebrate with a You Are My Sunshine themed party.

We also got to celebrate Cory’s second Father’s Day with one of our favorite things to do as a family, a hike!

Don’y believe their faces….they were having fun.

We spent many hours at the park, library and our favorite, the pool!

At the end of June Cory and I celebrated 11 years of marriage. We dropped Cannon of with his first overnight with his grandparents (Cannon did great, I kind of hated it). For our anniversary we decided to celebrate by running the Muller Trail Marathon. I loved running with Cory by my side.

After the race we rushed back to pick up our boy, grab some Indian food and spent the evening cuddling. It was a great day!

We had a blast celebrating Independence Day with family and friends

Happy Independence Day!!!

It was a great day except for when I caught my toe on our sliding door and broke my little toe =(

And….it ends with a broken toe I am supposed to line up for the Leadville Silver Rush 50 tomorrow, instead I will likely just feel sorry for myself. It’s not a bad break, I can walk and even run a little but not 50 miles on uneven trails. I am disappointed but still happy with what I did get to do this training cycle. Three marathons and a 50k is still pretty great. #leadvillesilverrush50 #brokentoe

I was hopeful that I would be able to still run but my little toe was not allowing for that much running without intense pain. Two marathons and an ultra in June to a big fat zero in July.

Lucky for me I started a very intense online training for work to become certified to teach online classes. This training only lasted four weeks but it filled all the time that running had previously taken up.

We were excited to get to cheer Grandma on at a triathlon in Evergreen!

August brought the begining of football season!

We headed to Vail for Cory’s birthday

Then we got to cheer Cory on at the Beaver Creek Trail Half Marathon, where he took 3rd overall!

After my toe healed I felt like I really needed to rebuild my running from the ground up so I focused strength training and decided not to rush back to long distances immediately.

The end of August brought the begining of fall semester and full time teaching for me. While I only teach two classes on campus I also started teaching online as well.

We ended the summer by heading to Breckenridge for one of my favorite trail races, Beack Crest, this was my fourth year in a row of running it and I am really hoping to make it a tradition to run it every year. It is always beautiful and challenging.

And there it is, the highlights from summer 2017. I am looking forward to making some big race plans for 2018!

September 29, 2016

36.

My birthday was this week and I turned 36. 36 seems like a nice round strong number, and I feel like it’s going to be a good year for me. I feel more like myself, braver, happier and more content. This is likely more to do with becoming a mother, than 36 being some kind of magical number but that’s where I am regardless. The world feels fresh, full of possibilities and magic thanks to my son, he really has brought so much light into my life.

Matchy matchy

35 was a drastic shift from previous years. I raced once, ONCE while I was 35 and that was just a couple weeks ago. My priorities shifted from triathlon to keeping my baby and myself healthy. The year was filled with excitement and a little worry (being pregnant can be scary, when you can’t see your little one to confirm that they are health and safe). 36 also feels great because I am just starting to feel like myself again. After close to 10 months of pregnancy then recovering from childbirth my body felt foreign and strange to me. Just in the last couple weeks I have started to feel stronger and more at home in my skin again.

Now I am only interested in pursuing things that bring me joy. I don’t have time for activities or objects that aren’t bringing me closer to my dreams. I want to be a good role model to my son that you should follow your heart, chase your dreams and that it is never too late.

Quote by @imbethgerdes on returning to racing ironman triathlons after having a baby. Always inspirational and a reminder to chase the light.

June 8, 2015

Lately// June 2015

Tapering // for Ironman Boulder 70.3 – This is a mini taper as Ironman Canada is so close so I don’t think this will be an PR race but it will be great prep for my full IM.

Prepping // I raced Ironman Boulder 70.3 in 2013 on my way to Tahoe and had a great race so I am looking forward to toeing the line again. But this will be my first triathlon for a very long time so there’s a lot to try to remember and figure out.

Loving // Swimming! Our neighborhood outdoor pool finally opened and it is so amazing to swim under the sunshine.

Finally got into our outdoor this morning #bliss #IMTraining

Also I finally got an open water swim in at Boulder Reservoir last week and it feels really good. My swimming isn’t drastically faster but I have been much more consistent in my training and that makes me feel much more solid in the water.

Great morning for my first open water swim!!! Yeeee #imtraining

I also got my new wetsuit from Xterra, thanks Team SOAS for the amazing discount!

After a rainy run this was at my door!!! Just in time for my first open water swim of the year ❤️ @xterrawetsuits #imtraining

Reading // Witsup.com I am loving their articles and coverage of triathlon! And the book The Silent Sister so good!

Gearing up// to go back to school, I am planning on perusing my PhD and start taking classes this summer. I have two degrees in biology but have never taken an A&P class, I am excited!