Trick or Treat

Nathaniel wasn't quite sure he would like this whole Halloween thing. Even though we promised treats (and let him take Giraffe), some initial tears were shed.



However, after the first piece of candy hit his basket all was well with the world.





He was quick to pick up the whole routine- Trick or Treat, Thank You, Bye Bye. But, sometimes in his excitment he would mix up two Magic Words. Check out the video to find out:



In the end, he made one adorable monkey.



Check out all the pictures: Halloween Pictures

Marathon Part Deux

I'm a little late posting this, but I wanted to quickly write about the marathon I ran on 10-10-10.  After 4 months of training and hundreds of miles of running, I finally got my second chance to run a marathon.  I was in much better shape, and hopes were high for a huge improvement over my previous performance (5:28), which was marred by unseasonably high temps (83°F).

Nathaniel wasn't able to go watch his daddy run, but he offered his support.


I left early that morning (~5:40 am) after only 3 hours of sleep.


I ran with my friend, Stephanie, and at mile 9, we were right on pace but felt things starting to heat up (note the sweat).


By Mile 18, we were really feeling the heat, and our time had slowed quite a bit.  Around Mile 20, we ran by a bank that showed a temp of 87°F.


The last 6 miles were pretty tough.  I had to pull over several times to stretch muscles that were starting to spasm.  Thanks to Stephanie for her patience and sticking with me.  The brightest spot of the entire race was seeing Kristina cheering for me around the last 100 m or so.  That was really emotional for me.

So, second marathon and temps in the 80s again.  At the half-marathon mark, I was on pace to finish around 4:25, which was what I was hoping for.  The reality of the temps resulted in a 5:00 finish time...28 minutes faster than last time.  So, that's something at least.  Watch out for my time when I do Marathon Part Trois!  Stay tuned!  In the meantime, check out the rest of the marathon pix here or view the professional pix taken during the race here.



Christopher

All I want for my birthday....

It may not be common knowledge that Nathaniel does not love getting his picture taken.  Most of our "good" photos are of him being mostly unaware that he is getting his picture taken.  It's a combination of being shy around the camera and just plain not being still.  Trying to get him to pose for a picture (especially with another person) is darn near impossible.  Being my birthday, I felt like asking for the impossible was a reasonable request.  Christopher's one task was to try to get a picture of me and Nathaniel together that didn't look like I was torturing him.  It was a long day.  Like most days, the pictures fall into three categories.

Tears and struggles:








Looking Away:









Funny Faces:







Out of almost 200 pictures, we got one photo that wasn't completely ridiculous (though he is still not technically looking at the camera).




Otherwise, it was a great day. Check out more photos: Kristina's Birthday