Chris's "Second" Triathlon

The reason the word Second is in quotes in the title is because, despite being in a triathlon the first time, solo, in Sept of 2007, this time, i was part of a relay team in the Finger Lakes Triathlon in Canandaigua, NY. For those unfamiliar, a triathlon is an athletic event comprising of, back-to-back: swimming, biking and running (in that order). A Sprint triathlon's distance is 1.5 mi. swim, 13 mi. bike, 3.1 mi. run. This is the distance i am talking about in both instances.

The "Corning Gals."Relay-mates from RIGHT: Pam and Maria. [Mikki, next to me, went solo.]

The initial draft of this post went on and on with the details of why i was on a relay team this year vs. going solo again. Solo was the plan when i registered in January. "Life" intervened, primarily including painful heel spurs and lack of training. By July, I was in disappointing acknowledgment that it would be asinine to kid myself and compete. So i bowed out.



But then friends from Wegmans lost their relay biking teammate and i thought it was the perfect compromise. I could bike 13 mi - albeit very SLOWLY, but i could do it - and i wouldn't have to run on my feet. So i agreed.

... And i was indeed VERY slow; my first bike tri time was 1:02. This year... well... add on 20 min. :-/ Boo hiss. One of the slowest bike times in the whole tri, actually. But i never dismounted! Halle-freakin-luia on that, at least.

It was a fun day!! It was nice to be around so many green/white Wegmans jerseys and to know I was a part of a team, literally and figuratively. I was proud of my relay-mates. And while [slowly] biking, I really enjoyed watching the rolling green hills, the corn fields swaying in the perfect September breeze. The weather was very friendly to all of us.

The Wegmans Team!

I do feel, however, in my heart of hearts, that triathlon is something that I'd prefer to do alone. There is a thrill i love feeling in accomplishing all three sports in one event. I will not make promises of competing again, but I can feel I'll always be drawn to it...

Slacky Slackerson

Honestly, i don't get it. I was SO ON TOP of this blog a mere 4-5 months ago. There was time for it, i had pics and fun stories. I mean, even *I* click on it frequently now, thinking there'll be witty anecdotes and informative updates, and then i think, "oh wait... um... er... YOU'RE the one that updates it, you doofus!"

So i'm not sure what happened along the way, but it seems I cannot find the time to brush my own hair sometimes. The day plows along, and once i shut the door to the boys bedroom at night and tuck in lovey Hanks for bedtime, my energy level officially syncs up with the time remaining in the day and bottoms out at about 1 or 0.5. Ridiculous. Pathetic. The Dog Ate My Homework. Pft.

A mini list in the meantime (in no particular order):

• Chris' Second Triathlon (well... sorta)
• Henry Starts Daycare!
• Henry's Eye Surgery (... or not).
• Sim Redmond Band at the Harvest Cafe

... and so on and so forth. Here. *pulling out calendar* - I'm going to actually SCHEDULE, in pen, a time to make the blog happy and pretty again. I miss her too. :-)

Video du Annee

The Class of 2026

Man... 2026... that's the FUTURE! That's sci-fi movies and boxy metal robots and skin that falls away to reveal steel and glowing red eyes....

... or... it's just Thom's buddies in Daycare!

A Day in the Life

Hank, as I think I've mentioned before, has now FOUR therapists that each come twice a week for 45 min a session. You can do the math - that's a lot of special attention to help make our lil guy the most awesome he can be!

Here is a little video with Amy, his newest teacher, Special Instruction (I think that's her title/role). She is here to help make communicating with Henry the strongest it can be: learning new sounds and signs, making decisions, etc.

The other three therapies are Speech (for transitioning into feeding by mouth now, speaking later), Occupational Therapy (aka OT, for gross motor skills and strength) and Physical Therapy (aka PT, for fine motor skills as well as skills/strength (the two often overlap)).

Sam's First Day o' 1st Grade

It's old hat to this seasoned school boy!

Steuben County Fair 2011

T5 and Dad decided to check out the 192nd Annual Steuben County Fair on Saturday afternoon. The Steuben County Fair boasts being the oldest continuous fair in the United States. We had a fun time, despite almost breaking the bank; why are fairs so dang expensive? Bummer. Spending a few extra bucks, however, was totally worth watching the kids giggle and enjoy some treats.

Happy Hank

Happy 3rd Birthday, Thomas!!!

Our Thomas Magnum turned three years old on August 12th!

He celebrated at school (daycare) with a little buddy that shared the same day (turning 2) and he celebrated at home with his Mommy, brothers Sam and Henry, Nana Shirley and Pop-Pop Andre (Dad Ron was at his own out-of-town party). Because of his recent fascination with the show "Yo Gabba Gabba" (Thank you, Netflix streaming!), I had his little cake adorned with all those colorful characters and he was THRILLED! Nana wrapped several little gifts, including Cars big boy undies!, some Batman socks and a few little toys. The whole celebration was pretty low-key, but very fun, needless to say, watching yet another Telford boy grow older, cuter and smarter before my eyes.

Tommy was VERY EXCITED for his Yo Gabba Gabba cake!

At this milestone, some accomplishments thus far:

• Thomas is fully potty-trained (still wearing a pull-up at bedtime, though sometimes wakes up dry)
• Speaks a million crazy words and phrases, only some of which are copied from Samson,
• Can count up to 20 easily, has long since known his alphabet (random recognization of letters)
• Can pretty much dress himself, minus the socks, but we still tend to help him for SPEED. :-)
• LOVES saying No, even for things that don't make any sense (not exactly an 'accomplishment')
• Has mastered the eardrum-crackling pitch of the World's Highest Scream.

We love you so much, you little monkey monster. Keep on truckin'!!

Sam was being an awesome sport!

Pic du Jour

Thomas, you're gonna need to work on your Blue Steel...