5K pictures!

And, pictures of the 5K Matt and I ran together Saturday morning! It was a wonderful morning - my parents came down to stay with Grant while we ran, and then we went out to lunch afterwards.

At the start of the race:



Me finishing - I look like I was trudging along in this picture, but I was seriously running as FAST as I could!!



After the race the church held a fun fest, and Grant LOVED it.



The little man is FIXATED on ducks, so the duck pond was a huge hit with him! (My mom's camera got messed up, but the effect is kinda neat with the ducks!)

Fair Pictures!

Here are the pictures from the State Fair last Friday. It was a gorgeous morning, and Grant just LOVED it!

Here he is petting a cow for the first time.



In this picture he's saying "mmmmm" which is his word for cow.



Pointing at the cows!



Our first fair food purchase - funnel cake!!



Grant LOVED sitting on the tractor. he goes "vroom vroom" and moves the steering wheel.




And a cute shot of Grant and Matt

He ate! He walked!

He ate! Recently it's been difficult to figure out what Grant will eat (besides CHEESE!), so I made him some oatmeal for lunch. he ate a HUGE bowl of it!! I was shocked. He sat there for like 15 minutes, using a spoon the entire time, eating 3/4 cup of oatmeal! (which is really a LOT of oatmeal!) Good job, Grant!

And, he walked ALL OVER downstairs before nap! He walked down the hallway and into the kitchen, around the island, and back to the patio doors! Just this weekend he figured out how to stand up after falling (with out holding on to something to stand), so I think this week is going to be a big walking week for Grant! He's becoming much more steady and is just so proud of himself. Another good job, Grant!

Fair Day!

It was such a beautiful morning today that Matt and I decided to go to the State Fair. It was so much fun! I'll get the pictures transfered after Grant goes to bed. We totally had our fair food fix. :)

Fresh Perspective

I visited the Pediatric Oncology Ward today to visit an old college friend and her 2-year-old son who was just diagnosed with leukemia. Walking onto that floor felt like facing death and tragedy head-on. Seeing thin, pale, bald babies, toddlers, and children was so overwhelming. I had to pause and get myself together before I found their room - I could have easily lost it there in the hallway - it's just too much for a mother's heart to think about your child dealing with such a serious disease! What a short life this is, and what hope we have for an eternity with out pain, suffering, and disease!

I realized, too, that although when I was pregnant I prayed all the time for Grant to be healthy, I haven't really specifically prayed for him to be healthy as a toddler. I pray for his spiritual life daily, I pray that we would make wise decisions as parents, but I've never really prayed that he would remain healthy. But the instant I stepped off the elevator and saw a bald 5-ish-year-old carrying her own IV pole, I started praying that Grant would never have to deal with something like cancer. His health is now for sure on my regular prayer list, along with the health of all of my friends' children.

My heart just hurts for my friend and her son, and I hope they feel the Lord's presence deeply during this ordeal.

Hoping it's not injured!

So, after an *effortless* 4-miles on Friday morning, I couldn't even do 1/2 mile tonight with out stopping! My achilles tendon was killing me, and my foot was starting to fall asleep! I'm hoping the tendon issue was just dehydration (the only thing I had to drink today was a diet coke, unlike my usual 80+ ounces water), and that the falling asleep issue was just my shoe laced to tightly! I'll try again tomorrow night and see how it goes.

Ironic, perhaps?

I was browsing through Nike's clearance clothes online recently, seeing if they had any of their cold weather gear on sale. I love Nike's website because they have user reviews and you can see what size that person bought, and they can review the product based on several categories.

One pair of running pants looked particularly great, so I read the 2 reviews. The first woman bought them in XXL and said they were great lounge pants. The second woman bought them in a S and said they were great for training for her next half-marathon!

Blisters!

In my 6+ week-long quest to get rid of some blisters (all because of wearing one new pair of socks!), I bought Band Aid's Advanced Care Cushions today. Hopefully these will help. I feel like I'm becoming the pharmacy assistant in the blister aisle - tis at least the 4th different blister product I've tried. None, so far, have really helped. If these help, I'll let you know, to save you from future blister distress!

We're (finally!) home!

Grant and I visited my MIL's house this past week as Matt was traveling. We came home yesterday, and the trip took about an hour and a half longer than usual because of some sort of crazy traffic situation in Indianapolis! Aack! Grant was totally melting down at the end, but fortunately I had a full package of wipes in my bag, which kept him occupied for the last 15 minutes. I figured we could let one package of wipes keep him entertained!

We're relaxing around the house today...we're *all* so tired! Gotta run to the store, though, to get diapers (we literally have no more!) and milk.

And, tonight's my "long run" for my 10K training program. 3.5 miles! I'll have my playlist updated and my favorite shorts washed! :) It's only .4 longer than my usual run, but it just sounds so long! I'll let y'all know how it goes!

Almost Walking

So after 18 1/2 months, worry about development, tons of research on late walkers, and a physical therapy eval, I deserve to be excited about this!! WE took this video 2 nights ago, and he's even SO MUCH CLOSER since then! Today he walked from couch to couch in our living room!!! (They face each other!) I think he might be walking before his first physical therapy appointment in 2 weeks!

So, here's 2 nights ago, right before bath time (hence the diaper). And, I was getting ready to go running, so excuse the running clothes!

Here's 2 nights ago - I'll try to get an even better one tonight! GOOO GRANT!!

The Icecream King

The Icecream King...a.k.a. my father...made a very special delivery tonight to the Walker household! Two very full coolers showed up on our doorstep today, filled with vanilla, butter pecan, blueberry, toffee, and mint chip icecream! All home-made, with love, by my wonderful Father. Thanks, Dad!

And, a HUGE congratulations to my father, whose small-business just did very well!! I'm so happy for you, Dad!

I just got back in from running (another 3.1 miles down!), so I'm off to take a shower and then work on my Sunday school lesson for tomorrow! Hopefully we can all get out of the door in one calm piece - Sunday mornings tend to get crazy around here!

Twice as Nice!

Last week I bought some low-fat latte ice cream bars to try, and Matt tasted one tonight for the first time. His immediate comment was "wow, that's good!" I then mentioned to him that they're ultra low-calorie, and he said, "that means I can have 2!"

That logic works for me!

Prayers for a friend...

So, I'm SO hopeful for one of my far-away friends right now that I have to post it! I have one friend that's been through thick-and-thin of pregnancy loss and infertility difficulties with me, and she's currently trying to conceive #2. It's been a long, hard road for them (as infertility always is!), and I'm so hoping their journey is over soon. Within the next few days she'll know one way or the other if this last treatment worked, and my heart is hopeful for her and her family.

So, my far-away-friend, know that I love ya and SO hope you get two nice, big, fat positive lines soon!!!

New Background...

So, I'm sure you're noticing my new background! Isn't it awesome? Instead of hitting the pavement tonight, I'm sitting here, playing with my blog! I have about 10 more minutes to either run or wait until the morning to run...better go get my tennis shoes on. Blogging will be here when I come back!

Grant and Mommy

This is a bigger view of my new profile picture - it was taken about a month ago, at my parent's house.

Quote for the Day

I saw this in an article about fitness, but it could so be applied to diet, exercise, our Christian walk. Food for thought:

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle

Weirdest Ever

Matt's on the job site this morning, so I went down to the hotel's work-out room to run. When I mentioned to Matt this morning I was going to head down there, he chuckled and told me to be careful on the unusual treadmill. Well, holy cow he was right! It was the *weirdest* treadmill ever. I've tried to find a picture of it, but I guess I'll have to go back down there and look up the model name. Seriously, though, it was the weirdest-looking treadmill ever. Even though this is a cartoon picture, this is very close to what the treadmill looked like! Weird!

Latest Run!

I am slowly building up endurance again after having surgery 2 months ago. Here's my latest run:



I'll run again tonight, before we leave for vacation. I think Matt and I are going to work-out in the hotel together so I don't miss a run!

Race Walking

I was searching for races in the Indy area last night, and came across this race walking website! I sent it to my MIL, who's an avid (normal-style) walker, but had to blog about it because it's so weird!! The whole site just was going on and on about how exciting race walking is, and then had the rules and what gets you disqualified. Here's a picture of what's disqualifying - I can NOT imagine walking like this!!! And, I don't totally understand the knee-bend thing - it seems like an awkward way of walking!

Saturday Morning

It's an early, rainy Saturday morning here! Grant is sitting at the patio doors, staring and laughing at the rain! He's enthralled by it.

Coffee's almost ready!