8 months & 9 months

Ok, ok.  I have been absent.  As mentioned in my previous post time is flying by and we are pretty busy over here.  Especially with our little one.  I feel like we have hit so many milestones in the last couple of months it has been hard keeping tack so I am just going to try to be brief and precise with the details.
Here we go!

Teeth: 5 pearly whites we can see and another about to break through any moment!!  2 on bottom 3 on top!

Weight: at our 9 month check up she came in at a whopping 17lbs 5 ounces!!  My has she grown!  I think it all leg weight, boy does she have some thick thighs, but they came in handy for her shot!  Not one tear was shed :-)

Height:  27.5 inches!

Food: eating puree solids, and we just started doing puffs.  She also is trying to learn how to drink out of a sippy cup, and boy is that hard.  She prefers just to chew on it!

Movement: officially crawling and pulling up!!  She loves to crawl and is good at sitting up from any position!  She has yet to stand from pulling up but you can see she really wants to and is trying so hard to figure it out!  We still do swim class and I believe very strongly that it has been a big help in her physical development.  She can stay under water for about 6 seconds and kicks real well!

Speech : Says both "mama" and "dada" and I think she is realizing who is who!  She loves to screech and make baby noises :)

We are going through separation anxiety.  She is not happy when I leave a room or if she can hear my voice and not see me.  :(  It is hard because my first instincts is to go to her and sooth her but our pediatrician says that will only reinforce the behavior so mama has to toughen up!
Another thing is with all these teeth she has, it has meant a lot of hard days for all of us.  Lots of crying, fussiness, and pain for my little penguin.  :(

On a happier note, watching her blossom to this little tiny human is a true blessing.  She amazes me with her innocence and open heart.  How fast her smiles come now, especially when her father or I walk into the room.  Or the little things, like me throwing bread at turtles, that make her laugh out loud! She is the most amazing little penguin and we adore her!

Here are some pics:

Mom Post.

Ok no excuses.  Ok maybe just one big excuse.
I know it has been a while since I have blogged.  I wish I could say it is because being a mom is tough and exhausting, because it is but honestly it has been the best job I have ever had.  It is pure joy.  I cherish every day I get with my sweet baby girl.  Even when I am running on fumes, I take a moment and remember how blessed I am to be able to stay at home with her.
So in all honesty here is a big reason why my blog has taken a back seat lately.  Apparently being a first time mom was not enough of a challenge for me to take on, but I decided to sign up for a full marathon in October!
And when I say sign up, I entered a lottery to see if a friend and myself would get picked, and in a million years I did not think we would get picked.  But we did and here I am training to run a marathon in 75 days!!!
We will be running in the Nike Women's San Francisco Marathon on October 20th.  I am excited, nervous, and determined.  I am pushing myself in ways I never thought I would but here we go.  I luckily had started working out a month before with a trainer to help me get back in shape.  Doing that has definitely been an advantage because I have felt stronger in my runs.
I have to admit that after I had Olivia I made bad choices when it came to what I was eating.  We definitely ate a lot of fast food and I gained a lot of weight.  So I am currently training and trying to lose weight.  I will post some small updates on here but please pray that my friend and I survive the next 3 months with no injuries :)