A Letter to Elise at 23 Months

Oh, Miss Elise, you are such a joy and so much fun to be around. A day doesn't go by without you making me laugh so hard. You are so silly and goofy and easily excited. When you get excited you start hopping up into the air over and over. It is the cutest thing to see. The joy that you display on the daily is so refreshing. You are also a feisty little spirit with a lot of opinions and your own way of doing things. When you are tired you are a force to be reckoned with. Your photo shoot is a perfect example. You woke up a bit grumpy but I wanted to get pictures before you got all dirty which happens pretty much first thing after you get dressed. You weren't having it and screamed at me any time I tried to take a picture. I decided to bribe you with fruit snacks but all that did was get you to cry while pointing at the fruit snacks. I thought maybe if I gave you the fruit snacks you would mellow out for a few pictures but instead you turned around with your back to me to ensure I got no pictures. Carter likes to jokingly call you a sassafrass in moments like that. I like to say you are having a sour patch moment or are being a sour patch. Either way we are able to laugh it off and love you all the same.

Pretty much the happiest picture I got.

Crying for fruit snacks.

Notice Carter covering his ears, he can't stand to hear you cry!

Tear soaked cheeks while eating your fruit snacks.

Making sure I could only get pictures of your "good side" haha!

 

When you are in the mood you are so loving and sweet. You will pucker up and give the sweetest kisses but only when you really want to. When you wake up from naps or in the morning you are super snuggly. You scream if I try to set you down even if it is to get you something to eat. I crack up over what you say when I walk into your room to get you in the morning. Usually it's "eggies" or "sockies, shoooooes". The other day Uncie Taco had come over to do laundry and was still here when you went to bed. The first thing you said when you woke up was "Caco" and pointed to the living room so I'd take you in to see you. You were quite upset with me when I told you he wasn't here. Before you go down for naps you will sometimes just lay right down but other times you point to the rocker and ask to rock which was confusing at first because rock sounds a lot like walk and I thought you were asking to walk the first time you said it. When I rock you, you like to sit on my lap facing out rather than cuddle into me. I feel like it's the perfect description of your personality. You love to cuddle but you also like your independence. Facing out you still see everything but you also still have that closeness of your body against my body. 

Stopping by for a snuggle while I was trying to take pictures.

Not happy that I was taking pictures of you.

 

At dinner time for some reason you demand to sit on my lap almost every night. You'll yell out lap pea which sounds like lappy (lap please) and point at my lap wanting to sit there. It's hilarious to hear you say it. When you want up you also say up pea (up please) but it sounds like uppy. You are so good about saying please and will say thank you sometimes on your own. Most the time you need prompting but are happy to say it unless you are saying thank you to Carter for giving back a toy he took, then you often tell me no and don't want to thank him. There are a few words that all sound alike when you say them which can be confusing. I have to listen closely to tell a difference. Taco (for Uncie Taco), Gekko, and avocado all sound like "Caco". If I listen closely I can tell the difference between Gekko and "Caco" but the other two I have to use context clues to help me. You say Gekko because of PJ Masks. When Carter's watching it before bed if you're still awake, you yell out "Gekko, kitty kitty!" because you want to stay up to watch Gekko and Catboy in PJ Masks. You also tend to say Opa for both Oma and Opa. One time you were saying Opa and I gave you to him but you freaked out because you really wanted Oma. Pony sounds like potty. One day you were wanting to play with ponies and I thought you said potty so I was encouraging you to sit on the potty chair. You got so mad at me because you really just wanted to play with My Little Ponies, my bad sissy! You like to count and most the time just say "2, 2, 2," every once in a while you say "3, 4, 5," after 2 but that's usually right after you've heard Carter count. I think it's fitting your favorite number is 2 as you will be turning two in a month! You still try to hold your fingers up to tell people how old you are, just like Carter does. You also tell them you are 2, but come on sis, you're killing me, you aren't 2 yet! Not my baby! It's so cute to hear you say unexpected things. When the oven timer starts going off, you'll yell, "It ready!" I also love hearing you say your friends' names. Your BFF is Charlee and you call her "Cha cha". It's so cute. You'll also call her name and wave to beckon her to follow you. One day at the park you even tried to help her climb the ladder. When you fall down you yell "fall" as you are getting up. You'll also yell out to tell me you are "getty ready". Probably my favorite is if I tell you to do something you'll say, "AH-kay". Another cute one is that you pretty much always say yes as "YASSSSSS!" So much enthusiasm. I almost forgot when you are tired and not talking as clearly daddy and teddy sound the same. That can result in serious issues when I don't immediately know what you want!

You crack me up by randomly crawling around on the floor pretending to be a cat, meow and all! Another favorite is filling your baby doll stroller with random objects and walking it around the house. You also like to run with it and have stroller races with Carter. You are hilarious when you run because you often run on your tiptoes just for fun. You also like to fix all the blankets in your doll bed and tuck your baby in. You also love Carter's car tower and like to make car noises as you play with it. Pretty much anything Carter does you also want to do. Swings have become a favorite which is so fun because you were scared of them for the longest time. You are obsessed with socks and shoes. If I try to put tights on you, you freak out because you want "sockies!!!!!" I pretty much can't get you into tights and when I do it's not worth it because you spend the whole time attempting to pull them off and have done so when out and about. I really think you just prefer socks because you pull both your shoes and socks off in the car which is apparently great entertainment. You cannot pull tights off in the car so they are a no go. I've also tried putting your hair in pig tails twice which is beyond adorable. You hate it and will just sit and cry until either you pull them out or I take them out for you. It's not worth it for you to be miserable, but man it's cute. I figure I'll just keep trying every once in a while until you decide it's not so bad. You like to peel bananas but don't necessarily like to eat them. Most the time you just take one bite and then leave them. You are obsessed with avocados. I've even seen you peel one on your own so you could eat it. If we have avocado on the table, forget it, you won't eat anything else until all the avocado is gone. You also love cheese A LOT! You've randomly started peeling grapes before eating them which is so funny! Carter tried telling you that you don't peel them, you just eat the skin. You paid him no mind so he tried it and decided it was too much work. The only bad thing is you just throw the peel down when you're done. We're working on teaching you to set things on your plate that you don't want, but have I mentioned you are a bit stubborn?

You also love to brush your teeth!

 

Carter loves you so much and, man, do you love him! Your sibling bond is the sweetest thing ever. I love seeing you playing together, kissing each other, and hugging. Every day when we drop Carter off at school he gives you a hug and a kiss on your head. He also randomly hugs you throughout the day while planting kisses on your head. When he does that you like to push your head into him, ramming him until he falls over. Then you lay in a heap on the floor laughing. If Carter is in time out you always go sit with him and fret over why he is in trouble or crying. Every once in a while the two of you get in a fight over a toy or something, but that's honestly pretty rare at this point. I'm sure it will become more prevalent as you get older. You can hold your own though, that's for sure! Most of your arguments come from Carter attempting to stop you from doing something dangerous. The other day you put my foam roller (which is a cylinder) on it's flat side. Then you climbed up and stood on the top of it. Carter got you down and told you it was not safe in a very stern voice. You cried so hard. You hate being in trouble! You always cry so much harder from getting in trouble than you do from getting hurt. We've decided you've inherited mommy's sensitive side for sure.  You have just started getting possessive over me. If Carter's sitting in my lap and you want to sit with me, you'll yell "My mommy!" You also love babies and love to watch them and play with them, but aren't a fan of me holding them.

He was trying to get you to smile.

You are getting so close to potty training. I think it is something we are going to have to let you do yourself because you are so stubborn. If I ask you to get on the potty you scream at me and refuse to go, bribe or no bribe offered. But you are more than happy to go on your own. We've been letting you run around bare bottomed anytime we are at home and you pretty much always run over to potty when you need to go. It's when we have undies on you that you have accidents. So you can tell when you need to go while naked but not as much with clothes on, sometimes you will with undies on but with much less frequency. You get upset when you have an accident and tell me all about it. Daddy watched you have an accident the other night and then you ran over, got a tea towel down, ran over, mopped it up, and hung the tea towel back up. He said what a good job you did, but we need to work on that last step! You also like to wipe and will put your hands on the ground with your head touching the ground and your booty in the air. Then you reach all the way back to wipe, it's hilarious! One day were we playing and you left the room running. Then you ran back with the potty chair and sat down to potty. Then later that night you pottied in the potty chair before your bath without any of us noticing. We offer you treats after you potty, but they have not been an incentive for you to go. You like to use the potty simply to use the potty. Just recently you've started trying to take your diaper off when you aren't wearing pants. For the first time today you pulled your diaper off during your nap. So I pulled the monitor up to check on you and saw your naked booty in the crib. So funny!


Elise, you are such a joy to be around and just such a sweet and spunky little girl. I love you every moment of every day and you make me laugh so hard and so often. It is a gift to spend my days with you and I can never describe how happy that makes me. I love who you are and who you will become. You are a wonderful little girl with a big personality that is always keeping me on my toes. Remember, mommy loves you forever and for always!!!!

Now on to Daddy:

My rough and tumble little girl. It amazes me that you play so hard and rough and rarely shed a tear over it. Soon Carter will really need to pick his battles with you!

You still really love Skippy and now that you know all of his hiding places, he rarely gets any peace. Just the other day you cornered him in the closet, and gently touched him for several minutes. Even though you were gentle, he hated it and hissed and meowed loudly the whole time. You didn't care though, you were just happy to pet the kitty!

Watching you think, work, and problem solve is so fun and amazing to watch. I would watch you do it all day! You are also very expressive with your face and still love to mimic others. Some times you will mimic me for 4 or 5 minutes!

Love you sweet girl!

Time to Back Off

I can't pinpoint exactly where I went wrong. I keep going over and over everything trying to figure it out and I'm just not sure. I think it all started with the week where I ran strides on Monday, speed work on Wednesday, monster hills on Thursday, and then a tempo run that Saturday. I was struggling a bit that next week so I ran a shortened speed workout that Wednesday and felt really good. Thursday morning I woke up and could barely walk because above my knee hurt so bad. I hurried into our local running store and was quickly fixed by the foam rolling exercises their awesome expert showed me. I was back to running within a couple days. I was tempted to try my tempo that weekend but the guy who helped me insisted that I not run hard for a few days when I started running again so I didn't. But I did go ahead with my Wednesday speed work that following week where I destroyed my splits from the same workout in the fall by 5-8 seconds per 1200 repeat. I felt okay during the workout but didn't have that pep in my step I usually have during a strong speed workout. I was happy with it due to beating my times from the last time I had run it. That was the last strong workout I had. I followed that up with an 8 mile tempo turned into a 6 mile tempo that I barely finished at 7:07 pace, mostly due to 30 mph winds but my legs also felt tired. Then I ran a 2 mile/1.5 mile/1 mile/0.5 mile speed workout and barely hit the same splits as I had in the fall. That was followed by my sub-par 10k performance.

I'm in pain just looking at this finishing picture from the 10k. When my head is tilted back like that, you know I'm struggling!

Tuesday night I fell asleep after putting Elise to bed and slept for 11 hours straight. I hadn't intended to go to bed for the night so I was in my clothes, unbrushed teeth, the works and I slept through the night. Then comes the doozy of this week's speed workout. I planned to run 8x800 at the track. Since I fell asleep so early the night before I hadn't set an alarm for the morning. I slept all the way until 7:00 when the kids woke which meant it would be an evening run. When I got to the track they were still having practice so I ended up having to run my workout on the roads. I had worn my fuel belt figuring I'd set the water bottles out to drink in between repeats on the track. Since I wasn't running on the track I had to wear my fuel belt for the entire workout. I was glad I had decided to take it since it was 80 degrees and I'm not used to running in that kind of heat yet. I took off for my first repeat and my legs felt off but I just tried to hold it together as best I could. I usually average around 3:05-3:15 for my 800 repeats on a good day. I went through the first one in 3:14 so not bad for the first repeat of the day which is usually my slowest. But then the second one I barely held on for sub-3:20 and after that I knew I was in trouble, just waiting for the wheels to come off. Next was 3:26, then 3:30 and it got progressively slower from there until I was barely slugging along at what would normally be my pace for a relaxed run. I was holding back tears as I finished my last repeat in over 3:30. Then I had to slog home for my cool down which ended up being an extra mile because I hadn't turned around at the right spot. Once I hit 10 miles I was wishing Ty would drive by on his way home from work and I could get a ride home, but at 11 miles I was finally home feeling beaten down. To add insult to injury I had somehow chafed right above my sports bra to the side of my armpit by my back.

After talking things over with Ty and then my dad I decided at this point I have most likely over trained but to rule out any other possibilities I called my doctor's office in hopes of having blood work done to check my iron and thyroid levels. I need to get my legs back. This has been an unraveling about 4 weeks in the making. At this rate if I keep going there will be no spring half-marathon for me. My plan is to take next week off from hard training. Just run easy miles and hopefully get my legs back. Then it will be on to the St. Patrick's Day 5k and I'll wait to run my now long delayed and dreaded 8 mile tempo run during week 10 of training, 2 weeks out from the half, which will probably give me a better idea of my fitness level anyway. My plan is to not focus on a set number of miles for next week, but just do what feels right for my body to get back on track. I hate to lose out on miles and start a "taper" this early, possibly peaking too soon, but I have got to get my legs back and I can't take another terrible workout piled onto the already stacked up bad workout after bad workout. It's to the point where I'm not enjoying any of my runs, even the slow easy runs.

I'm frustrated with myself that this season has come to this. All I needed to do to PR was to run the same training as my fall cycle and I would have easily run a PR due to the easier course. But then I decided with a flat, easy course I might as well go for a sub-1:30. I'm only getting older and my fall half-marathon has proved to not be the best for running fast times. I only ran 2 weeks at 50 miles in the fall. I've already run 6 weeks at 50 miles this training cycle. Maybe I should have only picked up a couple extra 50 mile weeks, running say 4 weeks at 50 miles total this cycle. Or maybe my problem has nothing to do with weekly mileage and more to do with shoving too many hard workouts into one week. There's really no way to know. But I still have 5 weeks after this week of training which I feel like is still time to salvage this training block and hopefully still come out with a PR in the half-marathon. I have to take each season as a learning experience and take away from it what I can. I should have been a bit more cautious this training cycle and not quite so crazy about trying to fit in anything and everything that might make me faster so I could break that 1:30 barrier. I started dreaming about that after crossing the finish line of my first half-marathon 36 seconds shy of seeing the 1:29s. It's hard to believe that was 10 years ago! I also must admit that I really don't know how to train for a half-marathon or what workouts are the most important because I've always trained for 5ks. I just kind of made things up and searched blogs and the internet as I went in the fall and had success so I kept at it at a higher level this go around. So I'm thinking it would benefit me to find some form of training plan online and then tweak it for my needs to use for the fall.

I was reading a blog I came across through a link in a friend's post and really enjoyed a post where she discussed goals. I couldn't find the post I was looking for when I went back. But in the post she mentioned how she has A goals for her races, those are her goals for if the conditions are perfect, it's a great course, and she has an awesome race. Then she has B goals which are for if the conditions aren't favorable or she doesn't have a great race. Then there are C goals for when things just don't go well. That really clicked with me because I pretty much always have an A and a B goal for my races. Usually I share my B goal but keep my A goal to myself as a secret. In the fall my A goal was to run a PR. I thought it was possible with perfect conditions and one of the best races of my life. I came awfully close considering my performance in the last 2 miles was not best race material. My B goal was to run in the 1:32's which I was still able to best with a sub-par last couple miles. Going into this spring season my A goal was to break 1:30 and my B goal was to run a PR. Now I'm re-evaluating those goals. My A goal is to run a PR, my B goal is to run under 1:33, and my C goal is to run under 1:35. Of course, there's still this little part of my brain that is desperate for that sub-1:30 to be a reasonable goal for me but it just isn't right now. Maybe after a couple weeks of getting my legs back under me it will seem feasible again, but right now it seems so unlikely. Only time will tell.

I was starting to dread the half-marathon and wish I could just scrap this season after how terrible my legs have been feeling but Ty told me that was crazy, I've worked too darn hard to just give up on this season entirely. He's right. I think I still have some good stuff going on, just hidden under the layers of exhaustion. I'm hoping that once I let my legs have a little bit of a rest things will pick back up. In all my self-hatred after my easy run today where I legitimately wanted to walk, I got on Facebook and saw they had made a post in the Aquarium Run event about the bibs coming in and I got excited all over again. No matter what time this race results in, it will be fun. The sea turtle exhibit opens roughly a month before the race and the race's theme is sea turtles. I am looking forward to the race again and am hopeful things will be looking up for me by then! Time to dust myself off once again and keep moving forward!

The picture they posted of the race bibs, how awesome are they?!!?

Wordless Wednesday

Carter got tired on our hike so Uncie Taco carried him.

 

The kids were devastated to come home and find Harper had pulled down and eaten our Valentine's Day cake.

I finally bought little hair ties so I could do Elise's hair.

Her pig tails were so adorable!

But she hated them.

 

I tried showing her how cute they were in the mirror, but she didn't care.

 

 

When I left to get Carter's clothes she pulled them both out!

 

 

 

A picture Carter took of his Oma.

Then he took some of himself.

 

Elise sneaking candy!

 

 

Carter got hot so he took his shirt off. He was wearing rain boots so he could play a little in the water!

Carter was holding Elise's hand to make sure she wouldn't go out where it was too deep.

He decided not to put his pants back on because he got them wet.

 

 

Carter loves his sister!

Elise made a mess with the icing!

 

Playing Play Doh with Uncie J.

Carter got out of bed (after being asleep for about an hour) to tell us we should be police officers for Halloween and Ty could make the stroller into a police car. His face was cracking me up because he was so serious!

  

Carter and his buddy left the play room so I went to check on them and Carter was reading to his buddy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elise took a couple pictures with my phone.

 

Carter getting Harper to do tricks while Elise spectated.

Harper got very excited and wanted to lick Elise.

Elise with her BFF.

Elise was helping her up the ladder.

 

We see who the remote hog is in this relationship!