Eight Months Old

Miles turned eight month last Wednesday. I can't believe how fast it went! I just posted the seven month update. He is so much fun. Both Geoff and I are loving each moment we get to spend with him. He has such a beaming smile. He loves sharing giggles and smiles with everyone. He spends his time practicing standing and working on that crawling thing. He investigates toys by hitting them together then proceeding to put one of them into his mouth as usual.

The latest stats:

• Height: 27 inches
• Weight: 17.0 lbs
• Sleep method: on his side with thumb in mouth.
• Shows excitement: he starts panting like a dog and waving his arms

Chill Baby

Working towards a crawl

National 1/2 Marathon Again

I ran my 4th National half marathon last weekend. Here is a picture of me (& half of Geoff as he wasn't wearing his bib on front) running. It was great to be out there for the 4th year in a row. However sadly it didn't go so well. For some reason at mile 2 my IT band starting hurting. Hurting bad just like last year when I was pregnant. It was exactly at the same point in the race as last year. It didn't make sense. I was trained and much lighter. I ran a 10 miler two weeks before with no problem.

So I ran for another 4 hoping it needing to loosen up. No luck. So I told Geoff I couldn't run the whole thing without hurting myself worse. I could either quit right there or walk the rest. Geoff being the sweatheart that he is offered to walk the rest of the run with me. So we started walking and walking and walking. It takes a long time to walk something you planned on running! I couldn't resist running every little bit...I wanted to run so bad. I tried to not let it bother me but I was really bummed. What a disappointment. We finished and in the end had fun. Thanks for a nice walk on a brisk morning Geoff! Thanks for watching Miles Cyndie!

Strangely my leg hasn't bothered me since. Looking back I wonder if it triggered so Geoff wouldn't hurt himself running a 1/2 marathon he wasn't trained for. I'll never know. I'm just glad it is feeling better and I can still run.

Seven Months Old

Miles is now an energetic seven month old! He loves watching both of us parents and seeing what we are up to. His favorite toy right now are his stackable blocks. His favorite non-toy is our iPhones. Oh if he could only get his hands on one of them. He also has taken to eating, especially these melt in your mouth puffs. He is thinking about crawling but he'd way rather stand and shout at the top of his lungs. I'd love to post a video of it but blogger isn't working with videos.

The latest stats:

• Height: 27 inches
  
• Weight: 16.2 lbs
• Favorite activity: Practicing to stand. Scream of success included.
  
• Latest nickname: Puffman because if he could he would eat those Gerber puffs non-stop!

The Bottomless Pit

Boy does Miles love his baby food now! He must be going through a growth spurt because he's eating like a king.  We agree with his bib that says "bottomless pit".  

In one feeding he will eat:

• 3 of these homemade baby food containers
  
• 2 bowls of oatmeal
  
• A handful of puffs
  
• Top it off with a milk feeding.  
  

Ups & Downs of Eating

So last Friday Miles decided he did not want to take a bottle anymore.  He fought with vigor as Geoff attempted to feed him when I was out swimming.  I then tried that afternoon.  No luck.  I tried a sippy cup.  He was so soaked after that I can't imagine much went down the hatchet.  I tried a water bottle.  Nope.

If that wasn't enough he decided the same day he didn't want to eat solids.  He never really showed any love for the solids. But now he was spitting back his favorite sweet potatoes at me.  It was quite the sight. Carrots, no. Pear, no.  Butternut squash, no. Rice cereal, definitely no. 

Was I destined to be his only food source for sometime to come?  Could I no longer get a break. What about that 1/2 Marathon coming up that I really want to do?  So I cancelled my evening outings and decide we'd keep trying hoping for better luck.  Olya gave me some wonderful home cooked pear to try.  He liked it more then anything else but still wasn't eating.  So after a week of this I decide to head to the store and try some oatmeal and puffs.  Maybe he was a carbohydrate lover like me.

Low and behold he gulped the bottle down.  Then he proceeded to inhale the oatmeal w/banana and sweet potato puffs.  He couldn't get enough.  What had changed? Looking back it turns out he was in a pretty bad teething session the week before so I'm sure that made eating not enjoyable.  It goes to show we just need to take things as they come.  Miles will have his ups and downs just like us all.  I'm just glad he decided food was a good thing!  Now it's time to head off to train for that 1/2 Marathon of mine...

Are Triathlons in the past?

This is the first upcoming season in years that I don't have triathlon plans:

I have no involvement on a triathlon racing team. 

Thanks Accelerade DC team for two great years! Here's a picture of some of us in our racing kits.  I'm the third from the left.

I have no coaching gigs for the spring race season. 

Thanks TNT for letting me even coach pregnant! Here's a bunch of the group that I coached for Gulf Coast 1/2 Ironman.

I have no Tri club involvement. 

Thanks TriCATS for letting me be so involved.  Here the group of us board members.  

I have no scheduled future races. 

Can you believe Ironman USA 07 was my last one?!  Here's me at the finish of Ironman USA 2007.

Oh how a baby changes everything...

Do I miss it? Do I wish I was still racing? Training 20 hours a week?  It was such a huge part of my past.  I even met my husband at Ironman Wisconsin.  I miss the friendships I made and no longer see.  I miss the hard training days coming home exhausted but feeling great.  I miss the feeling of accomplishment when you meet your goal.  

But a new phase of life has started. Miles is here and I love him from head to toe.  He puts things into a whole different perspective.  Goal times, crazy training hours and winning aren't as important anymore.  I'm not sure if I will ever be 'that' into it again.  But do I really want to replace it with playdates, fatigue from lack of sleep (instead of training) and living through Miles' accomplishments?   What if I could combine the two?  I know it would take more determination then before.  I no long have the luxury of just heading out on my bike for a 4 hour ride.  Or running off to a massage or the pool. 

Well time is short.  Gotta run. So much to accomplish before Miles awakes from his nap in a little while. I've decided to give it a try.  My goal is to start small.  I want to sign up for one small local Olympic race this summer.  Wish me luck in my training as I do that trick of balancing work, play, exercise, faith, and family. 

Fun Photos

We took some fun photos with Miles.  Here are our favorites:

Baby Shower

I headed to a wonderful baby shower for Andie two weekends ago.  I wish I had taken a picture of the mother to be and wonderful decorations, but I had forgotten my camera. However right before leaving I snapped a picture on my iPhone of my burp cloth creation.  One of the activities was designing a burp cloth using fabric colored markers on cloth diapers for the mom to be.  What a great idea! So I sat down and got to work.  I made the above burp cloth.  I am  particularly proud of it because I don't see myself as an artist and it turned out nice. 

My Own Business

I have officially started my own company called SBR Design LLC! It became official with the state of Virginia in December 08. Ever since I quit my full time job as a software developer I've been spending my time triathlon coaching and doing websites for non-profits.  So I decided that since I am doing both on my own, I  should create a LLC.  Thus 'SBR Design LLC' came about.  I am going use the one LLC for both facets of work - web design and designing training plan. It's been a really fun addition to staying at home with Miles.  Wish me luck and feel free to send either kind of work my way. :)

I've been playing with photoshop to try and create a logo. Nothing I love yet, but it's been fun.  The picture here is one of the flowers I took while in Ecuador in 2008.

Miles' First Food

Yesterday Miles tried his first food - sweet potato! We had no idea what to expect but it turned out to be a big hit. He actually ate it! Here are some photos to share the moment...

The set-up before hand.

Geoff feeding him a taste. Notice the leg getting involved.

Miles helping out.

The end result! Half eaten, Half on his face.

6 Months Old

Can you believe it! Miles hit the half year mark. At six months he smiles, laughs, drools and bounces a ton. He loves bouncing in his bouncy chair! We got him a non-door one for Christmas. I'll have to post a pictures shortly. Then when on the ground he can sit pretty well. Still needs a little assistance. For hair he's got longer peach fuzz.

As for sleeping, he started sleeping through the night again around 5 months! Ya! However it didn't last long as we've been going through some sleepless nights due to teething. But no teething sighting yet. Miles and I go to his 6 month doctors appointment on Thursday.

The latest stats:

• Height: 26.5 inches
  
• Weight: 15.2 lbs
• Favorite sport: bouncing like crazy in his bouncer seat
  
• Favorite activity: grabbing a toy then proceeding to alternate between shaking it and sticking it in his mouth

Stephenson Family Christmas

The whole crew

We did Christmas late this year with Geoff's family since I was in Minnesota. It was such a fun time having the whole family together including the two new babies. It really changes the feel of the family dynamics. Lots of talking, eating, presents and playing Wii games.

5 months old

Miles turned 5 months on Christmas Day.  His latest activity is grabbing everything in sight.  I found this out the hard way.  I was sitting at the breakfast table at my parents with him in my lap and before I knew it we both had a bowl of milk & cereal all over us, the chair and the floor.  We were covered in wet soggy flakes.  Boy did I learn my lesson quick.

By 5 months I've seen him roll from back to his front and front to back but these are rare sightings.  It seems he is way more interested in sitting, standing and stuffing everything in him mouth.  

Here are the latest stats:

• Height: approx 25 inches
• Weight: 15.2 lbs
• Newest activity: sitting...then tipping over
• Notes: No teeth yet, but I think they are coming soon

The Challenge

I decided to challenge myself to read the Bible in a year. 1640 pages spread out over 365 days. Should be easy right! I decided to read it in Chronological order - the order the events actually occurred. I believe it will be a fascinating journey, reading history unfold! Geoff is also taking on the same challenge so here we go...

I am on day 6 and I am amazed how many questions I already have. I've found Genesis to be challenging and thought provoking. Each and every word is in there for a reason even if I don't understand it. Here are some examples of my questions:

1. Could wild animals and humans communicate back then? Adam & Eve understood the serpent? Genesis 3:1 
   
2. What did the serpent look like in the garden? It's not until Genesis 3:14 that he is forced to crawl on the ground, like a snake. 
   
3. Why did God look down on Cain's offering? Genesis 4:5 Did it need to be a blood sacrifice?
   
4. Why did Noah curse Canaan, Ham's 4th son? Not Ham? Genesis 9:24-28
   

Laura

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Everyone! I had a wonderful time in Minnesota with my family and friends. After two weeks there Geoff, Miles (5 months old), the two dogs and I made the 20 hour trek cross country back home. What a crazy thing to do but we accomplished it without any major problems. We timed it so we left MN at Miles bed time on Sunday. Then drove through the night and got here at 2pm Monday.

It seems so quite and lonely here now. And I'm pretty exhausted. Not exactly the most exciting birthday. Home is a hard place to come back to after all the fun. Here are some pictures from the trip:

The Family

The Snow

The Friends

The Fun

The Presents