February 26th - 3 miles

Getting back into shape by running is proving impossible! I ended up wit a sprained foot and it's been taped up for 2 weeks. My return to walking was the Argus Charity Walk - 5K around Hamilton!

The morning was pretty cool and since I had Liam with me I had to bring layers of clothing for both of us. Aidan decided to play the bagpipes for the entire walk so I knew I'd have a good pacesetter. I taped up my foot and we were off a bit before 8.30 am.

We stayed near the back because of the stroller. It's amazing the number of people who get in the way as they're walking and talking to their friends. Aidan set a great pace and I got a workout on the hills. We did have to stop for 5 minutes to let a running race cross our route (Validus Running of the Bulls) but it did't affect the walk for us.

We finished the 3.1 miles in 1hour.It was a good walk to start on the way back to being healthy. And our charity earned some money because of our participation!

36.5/366

Liam - 14 months

Date/Week: February 22nd; 14 months

Milestones: 

• Liam is walking more than he crawls! 
• Liam now has 6 teeth. the teeth on either side of his front teeth have come in. The teeth next to those are about to break so we should probably have 8 teeth in the next few weeks. 
• He has recently stopped breastfeeding. I have a new appreciation for cabbage thanks to this.
• We've been experimenting with different types of milk. He didn't mind oat milk but didn't like almond milk. Rice milk is his favourite. We're now doing a week on cow's milk to see if the congestion issues come back.
• Liam knows that the dogs get a treat before we leave so he goes tot he cupboard, takes out the treats, walks to the dog area, gets one of us to hand him the treats, feeds Bronwyn and Ptolemy, takes the back back from us and puts the bag back in the cupboard - Excellent!
• He has participated in his first PALS Walk!
• When he wakes up in the morning he turns on the music in his crib and plays until you come to get him.

Developmental Progress:  

• He is linking some words together i.e. 'dog woof'
• Liam can feed himself using a spoon or fork. 
• His coordination while walking is getting better and better. He can bend down, change direction, and even run a bit. He still keeps his hands out in front of him though.
• He does a lot of things while playing - rolling things, stacking things, pushing things, climbing on, over and up things. And he is learning to put his toys away.
• His preferred parent is 'da da' but when irritated by his dad he was follow me around saying 'mum mum mum'
• He loves trying to walk up steps with help and climb them without help (we're behind him when he does this.
• He uses baby sign language regularly to ask to 'eat', 'more' and 'all done'.
• His most used words - 'da da', 'mum mum', 'dog', 'ow', 'thank you', 'outside', 'let's go', 'duck', what's that', 'no', 'book' - there are a number of others that we're starting to hear as well.
• He is very helpful when getting dressed. He will push his arms though and try to put clothing over his head or on his feet. Granted, he is much faster getting undressed!

Thoughts and Feelings? 

We've all been through the cold that just doesn't seem to end, of which the cough still remains. In the midst of this and teething, we continue to monitor Liam's ears. His next appointment is on March 13th.


With better weather this winter, we have been getting outdoors more than at this point last year. We did some gardening on Saturday and Liam loved it. He's been playing with his plastic gardening tool and even sleeps with the hoe. I guess beach season will be fun as I assume he will  get into the sand this year - then again, he doesn't like grass so sand may be a no-no!


We're thinking about vacation 2012, which will not be happening until the 2nd half of the year. On one hand we're thinking toddler friendly activities and on the other hand we want to relax. We'll see what we come up with using those parameters.

What I am looking forward to: 


Will I get in trouble if I say July...

February 12th - 14.15 miles

Yesterday was the PALS Charity Walk. Dockyard to Hamilton - usually 15 miles but due to the high winds, they moved the finish to a sheltered spot so the walk ended up being 14.15 miles. All in all, I am not in as good shape as I had hoped but I did finish the walk in 4 hours, 23 minutes.

We walked about about a 16 minute/mile pace and had the jogging stroller with us. At about 6 miles my thighs started to hurt and by 7 miles I definitely felt that I had gone past what I was physically used to. By 10 miles I actually wondered if I'd make it to the end - by legs, back and feet hurt at that point. Aidan even thought I wouldn't make it. Somehow I managed to just keep walking. Perhaps it was the stroller keeping me propped up...

It was good to sit down at the end. In the car I felt fine but when I got out I realised that my left ankle was a bit swollen, in addition to both thighs being sore. I spent most of the afternoon with my ankle propped up. It is still a bit swollen today but I can put weight on it. I am hoping to be able to work out on it tomorrow night - I now really need to get back in shape!

33.5/366

Recovering from Bronchitis

No running for the last few weeks. Such a shame but the bronchitis has been awful. And I'm still coughing!

Anyhow, I have started walking again and I have a major walk scheduled on Sunday. Hopefully I can get over this coughing and start running soon. I am doing pilates and yoga to at least rase me back into things - and I am in no way in even decent shape!

So my last 3 walks have been 2.06 miles, 2.96 miles and 2.01 miles. So I am behind on my number of miles to date (should be 38 miles) but hopefully I can make it up in the coming weeks and months.

19.5/366