Happy July, friends! Anyone feel like reliving April with me for a sec? Okay, good!
We kicked off April with the All Day 20K — that’s four back-to-back 5Ks! So. Much. Fun.
We were two months late, but I finally got Liv to the pediatrician for her three year check-up. She weighed in at 33 pounds, 39 inches tall (both in the 65-80% range, if I’m remembering right…), and again, amazed the doc with her full vocabulary.
At 3+ years old, Liv’s endlessly energetic, enthusiastic, and opinionated about everything, from her outfit, to how her food is cut, to what color shopping cart we use at the grocery store… She’s incredibly verbal — picking up new words and phrases like a sponge, as well as loving. She’s the kid who’s always hugging her friends and saying: “I love you.” It’s heart-meltingly sweet, but probably why she’s brought home her fair share of germs… boo…
One of the biggest accomplishments of April is that we finally, finally got Liv potty-trained!! (!!!!!!!!) I didn’t want to push it, waiting for that magical moment other parents talk about — when they “just knew” their child was ready. Well, when Liv turned three, she started telling me: “I will potty twain when I’m four.” So we hung up a potty chart, put her in undies, and haven’t looked back. She’s had very few accidents, and was clearly, ready!
Liv’s Favorite Foods: chocolate O’s, daddy’s cheesy eggs, hotdogs, mac ‘n cheese, pizza, “orange cheese,” and fruit — especially strawberries, watermelon, and mommy’s apples. Oh, and candy (sigh).
Favorite Outfit: DRESSES, every. single. day. With or without accessories…
Favorite Books: Pinkalicious
Favorite Shows: Bubble Guppies and Doc McStuffins
Favorite Activities: art projects, dance parties, playing with her friends, trampolines, and bounce house birthday parties!
Liv recently graduated from mommy-and-me preschool, which means she’ll start preschool (on her own!!!!) in the fall. She absolutely LOVES school: her BFF — Darla, teacher — Ms. Hauna, art time, carpet time, song time, playground time, and most of all, snack time, where she scopes out everyone else’s lunchboxes and comes back with special requests for Pirate’s Booty, Elsa fruit snacks, and yogurt tubes.
My #1 highlight from April was Ali’s visit from NYC. I lucked out marrying into a pretty remarkable family, but make no secret of the fact that Jared’s sister is my favorite. I adore her in so many ways and I’m forever grateful to have her as a sis and best friend, but also as Liv’s favorite Aunt Allison!
In between spoiling Liv with trips to the toy store and playground, princess manis and pedis, hair-braiding, and Chuck E. Cheese (which may or may not have been more fun for us than Liv…), Ali took Jared and me to the Ellie Goulding concert. I’m a fan, but didn’t know her music super well, and went into it not knowing what to expect, but had The Best Time! And I’m obsessed with her music now!
After a late night, getting myself up before dawn for the notoriously hilly La Jolla Half Marathon was so tough. But, I showed up and ran. For a few miles, I regretted having wine at the concert, but when I spotted Ali, Jared, and Liv at Mile 8 or 9 (or 10?), it restored me. I raced past a pack of boys, and finished strong, with an unexpected course PR of 1:45:08 (8:02/mile)!
Here are my mile splits (those hills* are no joke!):
- 7:52
- 7:46
- 7:54
- 8:14*
- 7:31
- 9:37*
- 8:36*
- 7:42
- 7:40
- 7:56
- 7:03
- 7:37
- 8:14*
We celebrated with the yummiest post-race brunch at Coffee Cup, then spent the afternoon with friends at the Encinitas Street Fair, where Liv couldn’t get enough of the kiddie rides (…even though she seemed terrified on a few of them, ha)!
The following weekend, Jared took off for a bachelor/birthday party weekend in Vegas with some of his best buds, while Liv and I had a much less fun weekend… Liv was recovering from another doozy of a cold, and I barely survived momming with a migraine (seriously, one of the hardest days of my life, ugh).
Despite the rough end, April was an awesome month! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go text Ali to see when she’s coming back for our next game of Pie Face…
miles with meg 