The Accidental Boilermaker

I ran my half marathon this morning!  My time was 2:07:06 (9:45 average pace) which is a personal record.  That really surprised me, but I felt great the whole race.  It was awfully cold, cold enough that Nate and Evelyn stayed home until the very end.  And despite the fact that they weren't there to see me run, I could not have trained and finished the race without them. My parents and sister are here for an early Thanksgiving so my dad and Meredith decided it would be fun to run the 10K race.  They both had good times too. Almost at the finish.  

32 degrees.  That was the temperature when we started our last hike this morning.  But the sun was shinning and there was little to no breeze so we said bundle up and let's go!  We got off to a little bit of a rocky start however when Nate was getting Evelyn in the carrier and said "wait, is she wet?"  Sure enough in the three minutes it takes to drive to the trailhead from our house, Evelyn has soaked through her diaper.  And changing her was no small task due to the many layers she had on, but better to change her in the car rather than on the trail. Peak #7 - McAfee Knob McAfee Knob is the most photographed part of the Appalachian Trail and is the highest peak in the Catawba Valley. McAfee Knob Catawba Valley Tinker Cliffs in the distance Nate and Evelyn taking a little break.  Nate carried her in front on the way up in an effort to make sure she stayed warm.  But it wasn't real comfortable so he switched to her to hi...

Evelyn passed her 9 month check-up with flying colors.  The doctor was a little behind schedule but Evelyn was very content to people-watch in the waiting area. Evelyn weighted 17 lbs 0.5 oz (28th percentile) and was 27.5 inches long (40th percentile - the doctor wondered if maybe this measurement was wrong since she fell off her growth curve a little but the doctor wasn't worried). The doctor was also very impressed with how well Evelyn sits and balances. After the appointment, we got lunch before we were supposed to get our convertible car seat checked. This actually ended up being rescheduled for Thursday, but Evelyn and I still enjoyed our girls day out.  This is right after I told her she couldn't eat the table.  She actually was very well behaved at the restaurant.  A much happier baby doing more people watching.

We hiked our 6th peak today.  It was a bit chilly, but overall a really nice day to be outside.  Evelyn basically slept for the whole 6.6 mile hike.  She was awake for the beginning and then was just out until we got back to the car and took her out of the carrier. Peak #6 - Tinker Cliffs This is the second time  Nate and I have hiked Tinker Cliffs.  It is a great hike, but hard.  One portion of the trail has no switchbacks for almost half a mile; it is just straight up. The cliffs View from the top

Evelyn is 9 months and 1 day old.  She really does not like to stay still which made picture taking quite challenging.  Sleeping continues to only be so-so with napping being the worst.  Evelyn likes to practice pulling up on anything she can and seems to be more interested in books.  And she has one tooth! Perpetual motion baby   We voted today too.

We did not do our 6th hike today.  It was rainy, windy, and cold so we decided it was best to postpone till next weekend.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate for our last two hikes. Evelyn didn't go trick-or-treating yesterday, but she did help hand out candy at our friend Brandon's house in Roanoke.  Despite the rain there were still a bunch of kids out. Evelyn and I as Snow White and the evil queen with Harper and Ashley as Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent.  (Harper picked out the Snow White outfit for Evelyn after she was born.)  Evelyn loves Harper, evidenced by the fact that she would not stop looking at Harper for the picture.  All evening Harper would ask Ashley and me if we were wearing our "mean mama dresses."  It was super cute.