Lucky . . .

I turn 30 this fall . . . kind of a big birthday in my opinion. I feel that when you are 30, you are no longer a "kid in your 20's" but rather the dreaded "grown-up". For my birthday (which is obviously still quite a few months away!), I've decided to run my first marathon, and my wonderful husband has agreed to run it with me. What I love about running is the same thing I always loved about swimming . . . that when you need to work something out, you have time to do so, and when you want to avoid thinking, you can focus on the task (the breathing, the steps (or strokes), etc.) Sundays are our "long runs", and on Sunday I did quite a bit of thinking about where I am in my life, especially as I approach that looming "30". Ten years ago, I was a junior in college, spending the semester in Washington, DC, preparing for what I assumed my career would be. For as long as I can remember, I had wanted to be a lawyer, and most of the decisions I made, and steps I took were in anticipation of fulfilling that dream. At 19, I had never been west of the Mississippi (or been out of the country), thought Washington, DC was far from home, and wanted to be a lawyer (and only a lawyer--I hadn't even considered another career path). Ah, how things have changed . . . and how wonderful those changes have been. In reflecting on those changes on Sunday, I found myself remembering something profound my grandmother (Kennedy) used to say while teaching my sister and I to play cards. Often in our games one of us would be losing terribly . . . and understandably so, would be feeling frustrated at our lack of "luck". My grandmother would laugh, and say that it was much better to be lucky in love, than to be lucky in cards. And as I look at my own life, I realize how that statement makes me the "luckiest" person. I may not win contests, be the best athlete, have the most money, or have my dream career (yet!), but what I have in love is an "embarassment of riches" and I would take being lucky in that aspect over any other lucky I could be . . .

Ironically, Connor is named after my grandmother (her maiden name was Connor), and so his presence in our lives has added to that feeling of luck. It is amazing how mcuh he changes on a daily basis. He is babbling up a storm, and knows who his "Dada" is. Yesterday, we went to Target, and on the other side of the aisle was a VERY unhappy baby who was crying quite loudly. Connor was at first surprised by this revelation, but then decided the baby was speaking to him. So, of course, my very social baby responded . . . by "talking" very loudly to that baby, particularly when there were lapses in the baby crying. I couldn't help laughing. The same thing happened at lunch on Sunday--there was another 10-month old at House Pizzeria (YUM!) in Austin. Connor and the other little boy had a conversation back and forth--it was hysterical.

The top four teeth are continuing to come in all at once. It has made for some long days the last few days, particularly because he does not want to nap.

We have given up on "Gerber", and are introducing real food. So far, he has loved noodles with melted cheese the most (although he also likes bread quite a bit). He loved peaches, avocado, and sweet potato. He wasn't as crazy about the regular potato I gave him last night (but I may have overcooked that slightly--oops!), and surprisingly, he is not crazy about real banana--he always loved the jarred baby food banana. He definitely has his opinions.

He is moving more and more, and I am noticing he has stretched up and thinned out (in every place but his cheeks!). He is trying to pull to standing from just the floor, so we think it is a matter of time (God help us all when that happens).

And, he can clap! This is not a new thing, as he learned while we were in DC, but I love it when he does it, and, though I know all babies do it in some form, still
makes me think I have the world's smartest baby. He is certainly a keeper . . .