Over the last week or so Evie has actually remained consistent with going down for the night around 9pm and she typically wakes up around 4 or 4:30am. I have gotten her to the point where I can feed her and she usually goes back to sleep by 5am and then wakes up around 8 for good. I had a hard few days getting used to having more sleep all at once, though. It was like my brain and body rejected the notion of the world existing on more than 2 and a half hours of sleep at a time. ;) I am so glad she's settling into sleeping for longer, though! Now, if I could just get her to sleep around 9 and then stay asleep until around 5:30 that would be great once I start back up to work in July.
This weekend was a busy one. I walked in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Saturday. I walked with my mom and her friend, Alice, and we brought Evelyn along dressed in her pink. It was an early morning getting up at 4:30am when Evie woke up and then my mom picked me up a little before 6 so we weren't late picking up Alice. We got to the RBC Center, hopped on a bus and were dropped off at Meredith College for the pre-racing activities. I've never walked before and I was bowled over by all the free stuff and the amount of people! I shouldn't really have been surprised by the people, but the free stuff...holy cow! I have three awesome recycled bags (pink of course) to add to my grocery reusables and those were filled with chachkies galore. Little pom poms, a cape, visors, hand fans, sunscreen towelettes, Gatorade, a foam boomerang...free food samples. I could go on, but it would be pointless. I love that it's all pink and I think some of the stuff will end up in the prize drawer at school. Besides the free stuff it was really great to see the support for curing breast cancer. Next year I am going to resolve to raise more money. Dianne and Bill each donated money on my fund raising page, which was awesome. I honestly didn't expect to get a lot because I registered for the walk so late. Still, any money is better than none. It turned out that there were roughly 22,000 people walking or running this year and a little over 1.7 million dollars in pledges! What I thought was great was that I started Evie out early and I plan on walking every year with her. Thank goodness my mom kept hounding me to register! :) So, each year the three of us will be out there walking and perhaps one day we won't have to walk because that elusive cure will be found.
So, although they call it a race we really didn't run at all. We walked and made good time considering we had a two month old and this was my first big walk since having her. It was a 5K walk and we made it in a little under two hours. Evelyn stayed asleep until the halfway point (literally we stopped at the clock and sign that said "half way"). I had to feed her and I promise, once I get the pictures from my mom, I will post the picture of Evie and me sitting on the curb having a bottle. Around the one mile to go mark I ended up having to carry Evelyn because she did not want to go back to sleep and it was starting to get too warm for her. So, I took a lightweight cloth diaper and draped it over her head to protect her from the sun and we walked the rest of the way with me carrying her. She didn't start to feel heavy until we were nearly to the finish line, but my arms were hurting by Sunday morning (as were my legs). Then, as we were crossing the finish line someone who must have been from the press took our picture. Nothing like a baby dressed in pink and being carried to get people's attention. I'm hoping it was someone from the Komen Foundation here in Raleigh so that if they post the picture I can get a copy. The neat thing about the race was that we walked all through the neighborhoods of Raleigh and the residents there REALLY get into it. People had fans, sprinklers, music, signs, and water tables set up. There was one house that had a much older lady (in her 80s) sitting on her porch with a younger women and a sign hanging out proclaiming how many years she has been clear of her cancer. It was really amazing and kept you pushing on. Walking was so much more interesting and fun as a result.
So, here are some pictures of the walk and from this past week in general:
This was the start/finish line. We were finishing the early start (where only women participate and it's a non-competitive walk/run)and the throngs of people are the competitive runners and walkers.
Sitting down for a rest at the finish
Leaving the race area for the shuttle bus we ran into Ms. Wuf who is NC State's Women's sports mascot. Our goal for July 4th is to get a picture of Evie with Wool E. Bull who is the mascot of the Durham Bulls baseball team (we're going to a game on July 3)
Finally, here is a video I posted to YouTube of me getting Evelyn to smile for us...if you're curious about the music it's a song called "The Ecstasy of Dancing Fleas" by Penguin Cafe Orchestra
