Beach Attempt #2

Yesterday Ryan took another section of the CPA exam, so he had the afternoon off. It was about time for a little R&R, so we decided to introduce Trenton to our favorite beach, one of the Montera beaches. This one is beautiful! (So beautiful, in fact, that you just have to ignore the inevitable naked old man. Remember that? He's still there! This is our third summer in a row seeing him, although thankfully, we only had to talk to him once. You have to take a loooong stairway down to access this beach, so it's pretty private, which is maybe what attracts this old guy. Not that he has any shame...)

Anyway, back to the real point of this blog. :) Trenton still gets a little nervous at the beach, but he definitely did better yesterday than last time.

Can you see him clinging to Ryan?

Check out his little legs—he's standing on tiptoe to avoid the damp sand.

But when we were up next to the cliffs, out of the wind and just soaking up the sun, Trenton started getting used it all. For one moment, Ryan and I were both relaxing on beach towels with Trenton crawling all over us, and we said to each other, "This isn't so different than it used to be." The only change was the simple addition of our sweet boy pawing at our legs.

But then Trenton discovered the joys of the beach. You know—the basics. Eating sand, chomping on broken shells, re-hydrating dry seaweed, etc.

After that, it was over. One of us had to be on baby duty while the other relaxed. Keeping Trenton from swallowing rocks takes a lot of energy!

So yes, life has changed, but it's a beautiful thing. Here's Trenton in action. Check out that face.

The World is Trenton's Sandbox

Trenton has been having all kinds of fun lately. He took his first "swim" in the pool, (only up too his waist because it wasn't warm enough yet), enjoyed sitting in some puddles at a park with water features, and most of all, learned to play with other kids! The other day my friends Amber and Katie came over with their babies, who are close to Trenton's age. We moms chatted and let the babies do their thing. Before long all three had found their way to Trenton's bedroom and played in there for a while without incident! You'd think they were big kids or something!

The three buds.

I have no idea who these little girls are, but they sweetly took a liking to Trenton.

After enjoying the water features of the park, it was time to strip Baby T down and exchange his soggy clothes (not to mention diaper!) for some dry ones. Don't be deceived by how still he is in this picture; it is an aerobic workout to change our boy's diaper or clothing.

Trenton and Daddy bonding at the pool.

Well, Trenton continues to be a marvelous eater, as you can probably tell. Random people ask me all the time if my husband is fat, believe it or not. My baby was just born to eat! I know it won't last forever, but for now he is amazingly undiscerning and will eat anything we put on his tray.

It's insane how much we love and adore this baby!

What It's All About

It's been a little while since I last blogged. We have a LOT going on. Mostly, just trying to help my husband juggle everything on his plate is a full time job!

So for now, here is the happiest boy in the world, the little man who puts all of the craziness into perspective and reminds us what life is all about.

"I'm Free!"

Most of you already know this, but I haven't made the official blog announcement, so here it is—Trenton is crawling!! He finally figured it out last week and has been cruising all over the place ever since. I love it. As a mom, having a crawling child brings its new challenges (toilet bowl brushes, phone chargers, kitchen cupboards—all within his reach), but it's also a relief because our boy is so much happier exploring the world than when he was clumsily trying to roll in his desired direction.

AND he can PLAY! It's hard to describe how you "play" with a nine-month old, but he seems to actually get it when we play little games with him. (Ryan is probably particularly happy with this development.)

More bonks and pinched fingers? Most definitely. But that also means more cuddle time for Mom. :) We love our adventurous boy.

Santa Cruz

Last weekend we spent a day in Santa Cruz with our good friends Meg and Cody. On the drive down there, Cody and Meg were so sweet to keep Trenton entertained in the backseat!

Our last trip to Santa Cruz was two summers ago, which I cannot believe. Cody was with us that time, but since then, he's gotten himself a wife and we've gotten ourselves a baby! Go us.

Anyway, this is how Trenton felt about the beach.
Something about the squishy sand in his toes...Oh wait, maybe it was the fact that his daddy stuck his feet in the freezing water! Guess he's a bit more of a Williams than I thought. (I hate cold water, a trait I inherited from my dad. :) Guess Ryan will have to wait a few more years before he gets his kite boarding companion.

Way more interested in the boardwalk than smiling for the camera...

I'm so excited for summer!!!

"Runnin' Runnin"

Remember that hit song "Let's Get It Started"? This blog's title comes from the opening lines of that song—very fitting since that song pumped me up during many a long run.

Remember when I ran 5 miles? That was fun.

You know what is even more fun than 5 miles? 13.1!


This post has been a long time coming. I was too nervous to talk about training for my half-marathon up until the point when I knew I could do it. Sometimes I like to keep expectations low, both others' expectations and my own. This is because I love to surprise myself with what I can accomplish rather than disappoint myself by falling short. (For example, I always set out on a long run telling myself I'll run, say, 6 miles, and I'll end up running 8.)

The main purpose for our trip to Salt Lake last week was to run a half-marathon with my sisters. My sister-in-law, Sally, ran the full marathon (she is a powerhouse!), and my sister Mary and I ran the half. Mary, by the way, is the peppiest runner you've ever seen—cheering at all the spectators, instead of the other way around. It was so funny! She and I crossed the finish line together.

So, partly for my own personal history and also for anyone who's interested, here are some random thoughts about running:

• I love it! I never in a million, trillion years would have thought I could be a runner.
  
• Running gave me a sense of accomplishment that I've been craving. Day-to-day life as a wife and mother doesn't always provide tangible rewards or measurements of progress. I experienced a new runner's high with each mile I added, and it would last all week long.
• Speaking of miles, I did all my long runs along the Chrystal Springs Reservoir (the Sawyer Camp Trail). I started with 5, then progressed each week to 8, 9, 11, and 12. The last two Saturdays before the race I ran 8.
• I don't know if I could have done this if I had just thought "I'm going run a half-marathon" when I was totally out of shape. What helped for me, at least, was getting in good cardio shape before I really started running. I spent more than a month at the gym alternating between the treadmill, bike, and elliptical, shooting for 50 minutes (give or take) of cardio plus a few weights at each session. After that, I was shocked at how easily the miles came.
  
• Goodness do I love my nikeplus! (A chip in my shoe syncs with my ipod and records my times, distances, calories burned, etc. on each run.) Below you can see our half-marathon. The dip toward the end represents the hit our pace took as we ascended the long and gradual hill that is State Street in SLC. You probably have never noticed when you've driven it that you're going up (toward the capital buliding), but you CANNOT MISS IT when you're at mile running mile 12 (in Sally's case, mile 25!).
• The race started at the University of Utah and ended in the Gateway Mall.
  
• All in all, Mary and I finished in 2 hours, 16 minutes, and 56 seconds, which is 10:27 per mile—not bad for a beginner! My time would not have been as fast without Mary there, so thank you, sis!
  

So what next? If anyone has any ideas, I'm open to them!

Pearly Whites

That's right, my baby's got his first tooth! He cut it like a champion while we were in Utah. I've been trying so hard to capture that pearly white on camera, and I finally was successful! Click on these pictures to see it.


This last one I had to add just because I think his face is priceless in it. And it also shows off how much hair he's got these days. (It's still not much, but we like it that way.)