re-becoming a runner

Welp I've been a runner most of my life. I love it and I'm not even sure why. I like that it's hard and just me. I like that I can see progress when I push myself. I like that running clears my head.

So when I was pregnant and couldn't really run (I had a bit of a rough pregnancy and gave up running at about 6 months) it was sad. I felt like a piece of me was missing, and I couldn't really do anything about it. When Wee hit eight weeks I started working out a bit and soon was back to running. It started slow, a mile at the beginning. I had (have) a lot of hip pain that didn't make it easy. But I took it slow and it worked.

In celebration of Wee's eight-month-iversary last week, I went on an eight-mile run. It felt great! Sure, my left hip started hurting almost right away after mile 6 was a little agonizing. Sure, it was hot and I accidentally went in the middle of the day (Juho was home and stayed home with Wee so I didn't have to take the jogging stroller). Sure, I got a massive blister from the fairly-new shoes I wore. But it was awesome to be out and running on my own again. 

My goals for running have changed a little since Wee came along. I used to run for distance mostly, and I've finished five full marathons and several halfs. Sometimes I'd get ambitious and try to get faster. I'm naturally very slow and fine with it, so speed is a lofty goal for me. But since Wee was born, mostly I run for health. And an escape. And to show her that fitness is important. 

Here's strollie, a Bob Revolution SE. We went through three before we decided on this one. But that's another story. 

Happy running!

Cheers,

Kendal

binder park zoo, battle creek, mi

Welp last week was Juho's vacation. We opted for a staycation as Wee isn't the best traveler (we went up north a couple months ago and she screamed for two hours straight in the car) and we wanted to save some dough. So we spent the week exploring nearby fun places. Our favorite new find was Binder Park Zoo in BC. It's a lovely zoo with enough cool animals to keep us all entertained. 

There is a petting zoo, which Wee loved. 

You can also buy a piece of lettuce for $1 and feed it to a giraffe!

Wee also enjoyed her first carousel ride. 

We rode the tram for free!

The paths were shady and tree-lined and the zoo wasn't overpopulated like the Detroit Zoo (which is where we usually go). Next year we're definitely getting our zoo membership to this awesome zoo!

Check it out if you get a chance!

Cheers, 

Kendal

teething and drooling and biting, oh my!

Welp, Wee got her first teeth about a month ago when she was seven months old. Today she's working on more (I think). Yesterday she refused to nap AT ALL, which makes a long day for both of us. Today she's back to napping but is refusing solid foods, only eating purees and milk. Our solution? A low-key day and Hyland's teething tablets. I like the tablets because they're homeopathic and seem to work as well as Tylenol, at least for Wee. I used to be Mom of the Year and melt the tablets in a bit of water on a spoon and let Wee swallow the mixture. Now I'm Lazy Mom and just shove a couple tablets in her cheek. Works just as well for us. 

These are the ones we use:

Wee also enjoys her teething toys:

Here's hoping this tooth pops through quickly!

Cheers,

Kendal

on: the first eight months

Hello World!
Welp, eight months ago I started this new adventure of being Mama. So far, so awesome!

There are tough moments, of course. Like when I was sure Wee would never sleep, ever. Or when she projectile pooped on me and my husband simultaneously - how does one even accomplish that feat? Or when she got pneumonia at 4 months. Or when we had to start the dreaded sleep training, and then it never really ended, just became a "maintenance plan". Now it's baby-proofing and constantly making Wee-friendly food and spending half the day picking boston terrier hair out of Wee's mouth.

But wow, is this the greatest thing ever. Watching my baby grow and reach milestones and be happy and sad and frustrated and excited is just the best. thing. ever. Now that we're eight months in, I figured I could start a little blog to share some of our cool moments. And maybe the not-so-cool ones. And probably some stuff I've figured out and some stuff I'm working on.

Here's where we started:

And here's us now!

Talk to you soon!

Kendal