Glimpse

Today, I braved my first track workout since Jake's birth. The weather was beautiful, the track was empty, and I couldn't help but smile as I pushed my limits. Oh, it felt so good to run hard again! But then, as I rounded the final corner of an 800M repeat, I noticed that I had company. And not just any company.
A big coyote stood about eight feet in front of me, eyes fixed on mine, mouth open.

This Google images coyote was not my running buddy, but you get the idea.

It, obviously, startled me and I let out a bit of a shriek. That's probably not the appropriate procedure when you encounter a huge coyote, but I didn't stay to find out. Which turned out to be a good thing anyway, because approximately thirty seconds after walking into the gym, I found myself standing over a toilet emptying my stomach. Afterward, as I finished my workout on the elliptical, I admitted to myself that perhaps my body still isn't ready to go quite as hard as it did pre-baby. (Also, that perhaps adding a leftover brownie to my pre-workout breakfast wasn't the best idea...) But hey, speaking of my baby, that's who this post is really about!

I'm still playing catch-up on here, but am happy to report that I should be fully up-to-date in two weeks thanks to a slower-paced January. That said, please enjoy random pictures of my Jake throughout the month of December.

He turned 3 months old at the beginning of the month.

One Sunday afternoon, we headed down the road a couple miles for a Christmas card picture session. Then we came home and cuddled.

The rest of the month, Jake did rather exciting things such as eat, play and sleep. Okay, he did more exciting things, too, but I've already blogged about all those. So, eating. Jake became enamored with eating anything that came near his mouth, such as his parent's fingers or his stuffed animals. His favorite thing to "eat," however, is his own hands (preferably two at a time) -- despite Matt's explanation that his fists will never fit in his mouth.

Playing is just as much fun for us as it is for Jake. We come up with all sorts of silly games all day long and Jake is all sorts of expressive, so it's fantastic.

Ah, and sleeping. The holy grail of babyhood. Jake was really good at it prior to our trip to Utah for the holidays, although he's always been closer to the minimum "recommended" hours of baby sleep. He likes to be awake so he doesn't miss anything! But if he has to sleep, he prefers sleeping on his parents. Or at least in his parents' bed. Or at the very least, with his mobile on, because clearly, being alone in bed when it's quiet is bo-ring.

We love that little guy.