I can't give specifics, because I missed the call and I don't know specifics, and because of security....but Brad is somewhere in the air right now on his way HOME. I'm not sure where he called from so I am not sure how far away they are, but he's finally on his way!

Apparently the binki's had rubbed Talan the wrong way...

The many faces of Talan...

He's two!

Yesterday my hyper-sensitive stud muffin turned two. Its about time since he's been acting the part for a while now. We had a nice morning at the zoo where we went back to look at the elephants 3 times, found out we were scared of ducks when roaming loose and not behind a fence, saw the hippo eating breakfast, and trying to make the lions roar. Even though Talan likes to play with his brother and cousins, I think he likes being the only kid sometimes.

I had to buy him a backpack when school started because he wants to be just like the big kids. Once it is on he rarely takes it off. He is my pack mule.

He does stop to retrieve his binka's out of it though.Our first time at the zoo it took massive convincing before Talan would even come near these carved bear statues. We are working on being brave. I was impressed when he ran over to me, pointed at the camera and said, "dis", then ran to the other side of the bench to pretend he was the other bear holding it up.Notice the binki's all lined up.

He dined on the best lunch ever....CORN DOGS!

And, after a nap (or lack thereof), he came upstairs to his first present of the day.
He preferred to push his scooter rather than ride it. No worries, on your birthday you can do whatever you want.
Later we had a few more presents followed by the only thing better than corn dogs.....CAKE!

I think Talan had a good day. Maybe too much sugar, but what is a birthday with out a little overdose of the sweet substance.

2nd Grade

I think I might have to make Ashton re-enact the first day of school so it will go the way I would like it to. Lets do the math...

Torrential down pour = no good pictures in front of the bus = unsatisfied mama = re-enactment tomorrow morning.

Despite the disappointing pictures in front of the bus, and the pool falling from the sky, the morning went off without a hitch and we are on to year three of bus riding, homework, and waking up early. I'm excited to see what 2nd grade brings!

If you know Talan, you know he is high maintenance...in every way! He once spent the night at Grams house and I had to write half of a page about his sleeping habits.

This all started when he was very small. Probably 4 months old. (The sleeping anyway, he's been high maintenance in other ways since birth) He wanted to be laying on his back, but not on his entire back. We would roll up a blanket and put it under the lower half of his back...so his shoulders were laying flat on the mattress but his lower back was a little sideways. Then 1 binki in the mouth and 1 in each hand. Rub on the head and you have 3 seconds to exit the room without saying a word. You might think I'm kidding, but I'm not. If anything is done incorrectly his nap/bedtime is ruined.

I'd rather do his 10 minute bed time routine, though, than listen to him scream because we have the snowman blanket covering his pillow instead of the plaid one. I think in the last couple weeks we've taken this obsession to a new level...which now includes random objects that he passes on the way to his room. As long as he is sleeping, and not playing, it's not worth the battle.

Prove it

The five year olds were in the back of the car bantering over who does and who does not have a significant other. Ashton somehow thinks this conversation is directed towards him, and turns around and shouts:

"Yeah! Well I could get one if I wanted one"

Thank you for the clarification Ashton.

The results are in

I didn't want to wait until the timing chips used in the triathlon were uploaded in the computer before I made the previous post. Patience has never been my specialty. I also figured Ashton deserves 2 blog posts. So here it is:

60 kids in total (for the 7-10 age bracket)

Overall time: 26:28 (41st place)

Gender placement: 25th out of 32 boys

Now we break it down:

Swim: 5:31

Placement: 53rd

Bike: 10:23

Placement: 39th

Run: 6:12

Placement: 18th

I can't wait until next year to see how much he improves!

Triathlete: check!

Pre-race Ashton:

100 m swim: In case you don't know what 100m is in the pool, it is 2 full laps. (down, back, down, back). Ashton started swim lessons at the end of June, and can swim on his own, but 100m was questionable, especially in a 12 foot deep pool with only four teenage lifeguards whose definition of a lifeguard seems to be looking in any direction except the kids in the pool. That's where the water noodle came in. Water noodle is my definition of a life guard. He was the only kid in his heat, and 1 of 2 kids that I saw in the whole group, using swim "help". I think he was really nervous (me too), but he kept up with the other kids fairly well, and swam the whole way.

Transition area, after the swim, getting ready for the bike ride.
2 mile bike ride: In addition to swim lessons, Ashton also learned to ride his bike without training wheels. He rarely dismounts it.

3/4 mile run: Just like dad. At the bottom of the slope Ashton is on, the kids turn to the right and run 1 lap on the track to the finish line. Talan was really excited when he saw Ashton running by, but decided to have a coach moment and chase after Ashton yelling "GO! GO! GO!" Grams had to pry Tal off the track.
He's totally focused, tongue hanging out of his mouth, staring at the finish line just around the turn.