Cooper River Bridge Run

Running the Cooper River Bridge Run 10k race is a long standing tradition in the Dryden household. Because of Easter, it was scheduled a week earlier than usual this year. Which meant the McKnights were still in their winter beach home on Isle of Palm, and this gave Clara a great excuse to grace her fan club with an extended appearance. No one was disappointed.

Below is a video of Clara honing her soccer skills in the front yard. Yes, she's the toddler running away from the ball.

In the race, Paul struggled the entire time to keep up with his bionic wife. We had our best start ever by lining up as near to the front of the 30,000+ racers as we could get (given our late start on the morning, it meant we ran two miles of warm-up just to get there). This kept a lot of the slow runners and walkers out of our way...though it did put us squarely in front of others much faster than us. There are always trade-offs.

From the get-go, Paul had to rein in Kate's attempts to set a Kenyan pace in miles one and two. Then we chugged the mile-long climb up the Ravenel Bridge with our heads down and our arms churning before letting the downhill momentum carry us onto Charleston's cobblestone streets.

Kate started to pull away on Meeting Street, but Paul kept up. Paul found a surge on King Street when a band revved up Nirvana's Teen Spirit. But that lasted maybe five seconds. Kate pulled away in the last 1/4 mile, and Paul kicked hard to catch her. Maybe, just maybe, he had a slight edge heading for the finish line when Kate -- sweet-sweet Kate -- stuck out her arm and "suggested" the pair cross while holding hands.

We will never doubt her intentions. Kate would never find herself caught up in competitive fever and deny her low self-esteem husband this victory. Not Kate. Never. So we'll not accuse her of that.

Either way, we both recorded personal bests, averaging about 7 minute 40 second miles. We were pleased. But Kate was a little less pleased when we saw our times posted in the Charleston paper the next morning. Despite crossing hand-in-hand, the race officials awarded Paul a one second bonus. And somehow, they counted 10 finishers between us. That put Paul in the top 2,000 male runners and Kate in the top 350 females.

It would seem that training with a jogging stroller makes Kate a running monster. Next year there will be no humoring Paul. If he manages to keep up during the race (a big "if"), and it's competitive at the end, why deal with the hassle of photo finish disputes? She'll just trip him and save everyone the trouble of figuring out who was first.

The Brookings Institute

Jill stopped by with Emma, Josh and Lilly for a brief visit on their way back from the beach. Clara loves having her older cousins around to teach her all sorts of new tricks, such as...the office chair is for spinning until you feel the urge to puke.

Pick the Lock

Paul's parents used to let him play with the car keys as a small child. A practice which ended abruptly when, as a four year old, Paul took the keys to the family Mazda, inserted one into the ignition, turned it, knocked the stick into neutral, and propped himself up on the steering wheel. He rocked the wheel from side to side, his gaze fixed forward. Donabel watched from the kitchen window as the car rolled backwards down the driveway while her young son pretended to drive it in the opposite direction.

No more Dryden kids playing with car keys.

Until now. In an instance of the sins of the children being revisited upon them as parents, here is Clara honing her own key skills. As long as no one ever shows her which one goes to the door and which goes to the car. And as long as no one shows her how to depress a parking break. And as long as a neighborhood cat keeps her distracted. We're good. Right?

Harassing Ninja Kitty

Clara's love for Ninja Kitty remains unabated yet seemingly unrequited.

Seemingly.

The cat is coy.

At first glance of Clara in the front yard, Ninja makes a beeline across the street. Then, for the next several minutes, Clara gives chase, pining to show kitty affection in the form of gentles (pat, pat), loves (hugs), and kisses ("mmmmwaa"). Ninja keeps the game going but tries to stay an inch or two beyond Clara's loving -- but firm -- clutches.

Why does Clara like cats? On that point, we remain baffled.

Knock Your Block Off

I've never really understood this need to destroy. See Kate has built this remarkable edifice of large blocks on top of small. It's an architectural feat akin to the leaning tower of Pisa. Its construction was an act of engineering brilliance and surgical precision.

And like a moth is drawn to an open flame, Clara cannot resist the pull to rend it asunder. Obviously, her parents do nothing to encourage this.

Clar-zilla!

Grandma Barb & the Excited Face

Clara and Grandma Barb are co-presidents of a mutual admiration society. They can't get enough of each other. With a week together at the beach, Barb makes time to teach this toddler some tricks. The excited face is, by far, the most entertaining.

Also, note the picture below. At this first hint of hair, Kate has rushed to put a bow on Clara. Even as a clip-on, it only attaches to a few strands of hair on the crown of her head. For the moment, Clara wants nothing to do with it. She rips it off as soon as she realizes it's there.

Mt. Pleasant Playground Playtime

Clara and Kate spent a week at Wild Dunes with the Grandparents McKnight, a seven day celebration of the all important first birthday. The group scouted out every playground in a five mile radius (Clara is becoming a jungle gym connoisseur), with this Mt. Pleasant spot winning top prize. Oh, the beauty of parks and rec facilities where home values bring the mother lode in property taxes!

Clara takes only passing interest in the play equipment. She gets her thrill from insinuating herself into the activities of the bigger kids. This oh-so-social child...

Give Me the Spoon!

Our messy eater...

Full Blown Toddling

Let there be no mistake, Clara is a full blown toddler. After two months of hesitant baby steps (one of the rare times that phrase is used literally), Clara was captivated by all the walkers at her birthday party and took note of their mobile independence. She resolved that crawling was no longer for her.

Without exaggeration, we can say that Clara has hardly crawled two feet since. She is a full blow walker, and -- accordingly -- we are relearning parenting. No more plopping Clara down with her books and tending to other business for a few minutes. Now, within seconds, she'll be across the house seeking out the sharpest corner to bump, the highest shelf to climb, the most fragile trinket to toss, or the longest electrical cord to yank.