Ramblin' Rose Triathalon

While we were training for the Tobacco Road Half Marathon, my friend Hilary mentioned that she had competed in a triathalon the year before.  I thought that was pretty impressive.  She mentioned that she had signed up again and told me that I should do it too.  I laughed at her.  Swimming is certainly not my strong suit-I can survive in a pool, but that's about it.  I haven't been on a bike since middle school except for once at the beach.  So, based on those facts, a triathalon doesn't really sound like my cup of tea.  However, she worked on me, convinced me that the distances weren't that far, and so I signed up.  What was I thinking?

The Ramblin' Rose Triathalon was a triathalon just for women, and the distances definitely were more manageable for me.  The swim was 225 yards, the bike-9 miles, and the run-2 miles.  So, with a little training I thought that I just might be able to do this.  However, when I went for my first training swim, surrounded by swim team pre-teens at our local indoor pool, I was worried.  I couldn't get across the pool without being completely winded and having to hang on the edge for a long time to recover.  How was I going to complete 9 lengths of the pool?  Then, I tried the bike.  The only bike I had was Ian's, and even with the seat all the way lowered, my feet were still a little high off the ground.  When biking up a hill, I wobbled fairly dangerously, but at least on that leg, I didn't have to worry about drowning!  The run-I wasn't worried about that!

So, the day of the race arrived.  I was insanely nervous, mainly about the swim.  To add to my nerves, I was going to have to drive Ian's car to the race in the morning because I had to take the bike rack.  As you all probably know, I'm not the best stick-shift driver in the world, so the drive to the race seemed a little like a fourth leg of the race to me!  But I made it!

I set up my equipment, lined up by the pool with the other 1000-ish participants, and it was time to go.  I was really nervous as I approached the pool.  Then, I heard my name.  I turned, and there was my family waving and cheering me on.  It meant so much to me to have my boys there watching me.  It was just the boost I needed before I started. 

I jumped in.  I had ranked my self a "5" in my swimming ability which was average.  Once I started training I had realized that I was not quite a "5", but I would be swimming with all of the other people that gave themselves that ranking.  Oh well, I plodded along, and didn't even stop too long at the walls.  Other people passed me quite a few times, but I stayed afloat.  About 20 feet from the ladder out of the pool I managed to swallow a bit of water, but other than that I did great and finished in about 7 and a half minutes.

After the swim, my legs were pretty wobbly, but I headed into the transition area and grabbed my bike.  The course was only 9 miles, but it was the hilliest 9 miles I've ever tried to ride.  On this leg, I managed to pass some people and some people passed me.  On some of the hills people got off their bikes to walk, so I was proud that I managed to stay on the bike from start to finish riding the whole way.  41 minutes later, I was done with the bike.

I finished the biking leg, and by this point I was feeling a bit queasy, but I headed out on the run course happy that I was now on to the leg I was familiar with.  As the run progressed I started to feel better and better and picked up speed.  As I crossed the finish line, I was sprinting, and I was thrilled that I was done with my first triathalon.  To top it all off, my boys were waiting for me at the finish line.  What could be better than that?  I'm glad the boys got to see their mom competing and working hard to accomplish something.  My total time was 1:11 which put me in the top half of the finishers!

While I'm really proud that I finished the race, I think it convinced me that, while I can call myself a triathalete, I am primarily a runner. I'll leave the swimming and the biking to the pros and get started training for that marathon this fall!  Yikes!

The Picture of Baby Health

This Tuesday it was finally time for Ben's one year check up.  So, we all headed to Dr. Picken's office to see how he was doing.  He sat on the scale, the doctor looked in his eyes, mouth, and ears, I filled out a questionnaire, and he was poked and prodded a bit more.  The end result is that he's, of course the picture of baby health.  Developmentally, he's right on target and physically he's completely healthy.  He has plenty of teeth-eight are in and he's working on 9 and 10.

When Evan was this age and we went in to these doctor's appointments, we sat there for hours and asked a million questions.  This time, I felt like I knew it all!  Not really, but I didn't have nearly as many questions.  I just wanted to know that he was growing okay and what he should be eating.  We discovered he's allowed to eat everything except nuts now, eating copious amounts of sand is not harmful to his health, and he needs to continue his work on using sippy cups instead of bottles.

When we came to the all-important weights and measurements portion of the appointment, I was really curious.  This time, our predictions were right, or at least half right.  We keep thinking he is bigger than Evan was at this age, and he is, in height, but in weight he's skinnier.  So, by Davis standards, he's long and lean.  Here are the exact numbers:

Height: 28 and 1/2 inches (10th percentile)

Weight: 19 lbs. (5th percentile)

Head Circumference: 19 inches (75th percentile)

Year in Review:  (It's pretty amazing how our little Benny has grown.)

 (A few days old...)

 (One Month)

 (Two Months)

 (Three Months)

 (Four Months)

 

 (Five Months)

 (Six Months)

(Seven Months)

 (Eight Months)

(Nine Months)

(Ten Months)

 (Eleven Months)

(One Year old!)

Last Day of Preschool

I can't believe it!  Evan is officially done with his first year of school!  Friday was his last day.  On a September morning not too long ago we were dropping a smaller, shyer little 2 year old off at his first day at Resurrection United Preschool.  All of the little ones were carrying their purple bags, hanging on their parents, and a little nervous.  Their parents, I think, were equally nervous.  We took our required pictures out in front of the preschool and headed in.


We were met by two fabulous teachers, Miss Elaine and Miss Carol.  Thanks to them Evan has had a great year!  Over the first couple of weeks there were lots of tears from the little ones as they were dropped off, but quickly those tears faded and they started having fun.  Evan runs into the room as soon as the doors to the preschool opens now.  He doesn't look back, no kiss for Mommy.  He is eager to show Miss Elaine and Miss Carol flowers, or his snack, or whatever he has thought of that day. 


He's had the opportunity to paint, do crafts far beyond my level of mommy creativity, play with play dough, hear stories, go to music, play on the playground, and celebrate all of the special events that come around each year.  He's also learned more about playing as a group and interacting with his friends. 

At the end of this year, I picked up a much more confident, older little boy from preschool.  He's *almost* potty trained, he's starting to play with his friends and have fun with them, and having conversations with everyone around him like he's an adult.  If he's this big after one year of preschool, I'm kind of afraid to send him back!

  

(Carson and Evan-September 2010)

 (Carson, Evan, and new friend Navya on the last day of preschool.  What are we going to do without Carson in our class next year?)

 (The next generation watches their brothers jealously from outside the room.)

(Evan and his teachers: Miss Elaine and Miss Carol)

Two Sisters in Need of a Vacation

Ben wasn't sleeping through the night for about 11 months, and neither was I.  Meanwhile, my sister was dealing with one of the busiest, stressful times that she's seen at work.  Needless to say, we were both in desperate need of a vacation!  So, Audra hopped on a plane, headed out to the Carolinas, and as soon as we could we hopped in a car and fled to Charleston, SC.  It was hard to leave my boys, but since Gram was visiting, I knew I had left them in good hands.

After our little drive, we arrived at our beautiful abode for the week.  Audra's boss had been kind enough to let us stay at her house a mere minutes away from Kiawah Island and its beaches, so it was a fabulous retreat.  After arriving, the first place we went was, of course, the beach!  We took off our shoes and dug our toes into the sand.  There's nothing like the ocean breeze and smell of the salty air.  We were feeling better already.  That night we had a great seafood dinner on the water.  We were ready for vacation.

(drinks by the water-a perfect start to the vacation)

(Sunset on the water)

The next day, we wanted more of the beach.  So, after a great night's sleep we headed back to Kiawah for a little beach time.  It was a beautiful day, not too hot, with a nice breeze.  Granted, Audra thought it was a bit cold when we first left the house, but she's from Texas so what do you expect?  We walked on the beach, stuck our toes in the water, collected a bunch of sea shells including clams and even four sand dollars, and watched the ocean in hopes of seeing some dolphins.  Alas, the dolphins were hiding, but we had a wonderful morning.

(Beach!)

(Sisters on the beach)

We went home, dressed ourselves up and headed out for downtown Charleston.  The Bitler girls had a great time out on the town.  We hit the shops, bought a few goodies for family, and scoped out some goodies for ourselves.  Then, we proceeded to eat our way through Charleston.  That day we sampled peanut brittle, pralines, moon pies, chocolate covered pop rocks, and some wine that perhaps might have been better left undrunk.  We had a great time.  We finished the day off with a fabulous dinner at Hominy Grill filled with Southern fare like shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, and country captain.  Yum!

(A stop and pose at the Angel tree on the way into town)

(Eating our way through Charleston photo #1-Chocolate Covered Pop Rocks)

 

(Not-so-good wine)

(Chocolate Moon Pie)

(Double desserts to finish the night off at Hominy Grill-strawberry covered coffee cake and chocolate pudding)

After yet another complete night of sleep, we headed back to Charleston for another day in the city.  This time, we started the day off with champagne pedicures at the Charleston Place Hotel, wonderful!  Then, we wandered down the street for Audra's ideal meal at a French cafe-a french ham and cheese sandwich and a chocolate croissant!  The lunch was followed by some wandering through the beautiful houses lining the battery and of course, some more shopping, this time with some purchases for ourselves.  There was of course, more snacking with a stop at a sweets shop for some chocolates and french macaroons.  We finished the day off with a carriage ride around Charleston with a guide who, I think, knew everyone in the city.  That night, we dined on sushi which was actually quite tasty, and of course, more desserts afterward.

(What a perfect way to start the morning!)

(the hotel where our toes were decorated)

 (The toes-don't we have some good looking feet?)

 (A continuation of the Eating our way through Charleston photo series-French lunch!)

 

(French macaroon)

 (Our view of rainbow row as we toured historic Charleston)

 (More Charleston houses)

(The battery)

 (Audra and I relax and take a ride after a long day of walking.)

 (More Charleston-this time viewed from our carriage)

 (Yep we're still eating and drinking-This time, basil lemonade with a kick!)

(Sushi for Audra)

On the next day, they actually made us come back to the real world.  It was great to come home and see my boys, but I was sad that our trip had gone by so quickly.  Several people have asked me what my favorite part of the trip was.  While the pedicures were nice, the shopping was fun, and all the meals were delicious, my favorite part of the trip was definitely the time I got to spend with my sister.  We live much too far away and twice a year is clearly not enough to see each other in person.  We have always been really close, but as we get older, I feel like we get even closer.  So, I love you Audra, and I can't wait for the next girls' trip!  Where will it be next time....Vegas?  Napa?  Who knows...

And he speaks...

Evan's first word was "ball", then "door" and later "dada".   "Mama" came somewhat further down the line.  So, when Ben arrived and started to be such a mommy's boy, I thought for sure that his first word would be "mama".  He came so close several times while sitting on my lap in the rocking chair smiling at me.  He pursed his lips together and smiled, and I knew he wanted to repeat it back to me, HA!
However, on Saturday, we were in the car on the way to dinner and Ian was sitting the back in the best seat in the car--between the car seats.  He was talking to little Benny when Ben looked at him, pointed, and said, you guessed it, "dada".  He then proceeded to repeat it quite a few times during the night so there could be no doubt that he was speaking with meaning.  Sigh. 

Oh well, maybe I can teach the dog to say, "mama"!

Cicada Central

So apparently there's a type of cicadas that come out every 13 years.  I don't know how they know that it's time, but a couple of weeks ago, all of the cicadas near 103 Densbury Ct decided it was time to arrive.  Apparently, they hang around for about 3 weeks and then go back to sleep for another 13 years.  Right now, they are definitely awake!  When they first came out, everyone in our neighborhood was passing e-mails around asking what that humming noise was, now we know.  We can hear it even when we're inside. 

The thing that seems to be so strange about the cicadas is that they just seem to be on our block.  You drive out of our street and the noise is gone.  We've even had people from other neighborhoods drive to our street just to listen to the cicadas.

The best part of the recent invasion has been the amusement it has been providing Evan.  At first, when he saw one of them, he was a bit scared, but after being around them for a little bit, he is a bit too comfortable.  He roams around the back yard and collects buckets of little cicada exoskeletons.  Then, if he can find a live one, the poor little cicada with his beady little red eyes get picked up, named "Thomas", and "loved" until he can't stand it anymore.  Evan's really pretty gentle with them, but he's still only almost three years old.

It's amazing, once these cicadas disappear, the next time Evan sees them he will be in high school!

 (Evan and one of the cicada skeletons)

 

 (Poor little cicada doesn't even know what's coming for him.)

(Evan and his new pet "Thomas")

Happy Mothers Day

So, last weekend was Mothers Day.  While we were all a little tired from Benny's big day the day before, we were excited because we would be able to celebrate Mothers Day with both grandmas in town.  When Sunday morning rolled around we all dressed up and headed out to the Millenium Hotel for a Mothers Day brunch.  We had a great time dining on all kinds of fantastic munchies, and the brunch was great for the boys because we could walk around and pick what they wanted to eat.  Evan definitely preferred the chocolate cake while Ben munched on quite a few different taste sensations.  A great day was had by all and the mothers were treated to a great meal.  I'm so proud to be a mom, and I'm grateful to have some great mothers in my life to look up to! 

Here are some of shots from our delicious meal!

 (Ben samples the fine dining fare.)

 (I think Evan likes buffets.)

(Grandma and Grandpa pose with the boys.)

 (Add in Ian and I.)

 (Isn't our little family adorable?)

 (Gram and Gramps with some happy grandkids.)

 (Ian and his mom)

(Mom and I from one year ago on Mothers Day)

(One year later)

 

(Isn't being a mom great?)