Carrie's 5K Cheering Section

To follow up on yesterday's post, Carrie had a great run, finished in one of her best times—I think it was due to her biggest fan.

Running is painful … so is not running

I've always heard about the "runner's high," a supposed feeling of ecstasy people feel after completing a good run. I may have experienced it once or twice, but to be honest, I'm not completely sure. I have however, definitively experienced the "runner's low."

Last weekend, Carrie ran the 5K portion of the inaugural Prairie Fire Wichita Marathon and we decided to hang around and enjoy the rest of the festivities as spectators. It was a great event (and I'm not just saying that because Carrie helped out with the PR). It was well run, the day was beautiful and a good crowd turned out. But as we stood there for a little over two hours watching people complete the half marathon, I got depressed, because as much as I loathe running (I really do), I love the challenge and the sense of accomplishment it gives me and I was envious of all the faces wrenched with pain glossed over by a big toothy grin as they approached the finish line. It's either that, or I'm just too damn competitive. Or both. Regardless, I've learned that don't like being on the sidelines—in anything.

I left my son on the cutting room floor.

This was supposed to be Park's big break, the moment he was going to be discovered—leading to a rocket ride career as a child film star and an extended stay in rehab for an addiction to lime-green gummy bears—but alas it was not meant to be. Park's (and his mom's) five seconds on film didn't survive the edit room. Nevertheless, here are my new commercials for the university which, in my opinion, lack a certain amount of cuteness.

Double click on the images below to see them uncropped.

Another one from OK Go

Cool video and dogs? How can you beat that?

Double click the video to watch it uncropped.

Crib Notes: Month 16 (and a half)

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but Park's 16th month was another one filled with lots of big firsts. For starters, he has built up enough strength over the last couple months to crawl on his hands and knees all by himself ... not that he will. While he's been giving his back and biceps a workout at therapy every week, he's also become a very fast and efficient scooter. It's his mobile method of choice. There is just no stopping him. But we're still thrilled with his progress and are now working on standing and getting his balance in check. It is definitely baby steps, but we are getting there. Slowly.

The other big news, at least from the parenting standpoint, is that we've found a new pediatrician that we absolutely love. We had been disappointed in our first doctor for some time but really liked the nurses in the office and were hoping it was just us and that things would get better. It didn't. So we finally left and found a new doctor based on some recommendations. I wanted to cry after the first appointment with her, she was just that good. Perhaps our other doctor was just that bad and made this new woman look better than she is. But to have someone sit down and listen was amazing.

On the teething front, Park's first year molars decided to all come in at once. To celebrate, we took the bottle away. I don't think he noticed one bit. Park hasn't yet accepted a cup of milk with a meal, but a cup while reading books is OK. Again, baby steps.

As for flirting with the ladies, Park has added blinking to his bag of tricks. Craig is trying his best to take the two-eyed blink up a notch by getting him to wink with one eye. Watch out.

Eating with Park continues to be messy and fun. He'll eat anything, but he prefers whatever we're eating. Even if it's the same thing on his plate. He's added veggie burgers, pancakes and chicken nuggets (not the "mc" variety just yet) to his list of favorite foods. He's finally figured out how the straw works and he continues to improve with the spoon (although using the fingers is so much faster - just like scooting).

And finally, this kid has been given the gift of gab. He went through a period this past month of squealing as loud as he could. In public. In the car. In close spaces. It appears we might be done with that phase, but are experiencing a whole new thing now ... more to come on that in the 17-month post. Park is also getting good at imitating animals. He just says "duck" for duck (and bird and anything else that flies), he pants for a dog, he oinks from his throat for a pig, he loves to mimic cows (especially in the cow-covered dairy aisle at the grocery store), he can neigh like a horse and he squeals for a monkey.

As always, we continue to look forward to all the new discoveries, challenges and adventures the next month will bring.

Rocky Mountain HighER

So, about that recap of our Colorado vacation that I never finished ...

After a few days in Estes Park with the Houston Lindemans, Craig, Park and I headed west and up a couple thousand feet to Summit County (the Dillon, Frisco, Breckenridge area). This is a special place for all of us. Craig spent many family vacations here as a kid at his aunt's condo on Buffalo Mountain. We've also been there a few times together over the years and got engaged in Frisco ... which just happens to be Park's middle name. Needless to say, we were excited to introduce the little guy to the area.

Many things had changed since our last visit, but one thing that had remained the same: we had a great mountain breakfast at The Sunshine Cafe. Park especially loved his first Mickey Mouse pancake (notice his hands signing "more").



Luckily, Frisco was a big hit with Park Frisco.







Breckenridge is always a great place for a little shopping, a big crepe and a fun stroller ride - especially after eating the best homemade salsa and big black bean burrito at the Breckenridge Brewery.



A bike ride around Dillon Lake sounded like a good idea at the time. Too bad we didn't check the forecast for late morning storms or take our rain coats. These two amateur parents totally deserved the frozen fingers and soaked clothing. Park wasn't about to share his warm and dry ride in the Burley. If only he had stayed awake for the last mile to see the deer.



And that concludes the Colorado Vacation 2010. Can't wait to go back next year!

What's in rotation

In case you're wondering, here's what has currently been playing on my iPod.

- Craig

"Hold On" Angus & Julia Stone
"Detlef Schrempf" Band of Horses (Actually, it seems like I'm listening to a lot of them right now.)
"40 Dogs (Like Romeo and Juliet)" Bob Schneider
"Shampoo" Elvis Perkins
"Change of Time" Josh Ritter
"Some Gal Move" Mr. Anonymous (Download for free here.)
"This Too Shall Pass" OK Go
"Love Like a Sunset, Pt. II" Phoenix
"Pursuit of Happiness" Lissie

By the way, the videos for "This Too Shall Pass" are incredible, just like all of the other OK Go videos.

Love how this one was seemingly all done in one take.



And this is pretty cool too, plus I love the version of the song.