Four states in one day

One of the major differences of living in SC compared to Texas, is that the states in this area are so small! Yesterday, the family took a day trip to Dollywood for Mark's company picnic and we traveled through SC, Georgia, NC, and Tennessee. Mark and I are not really fond of theme parks, but we thought James would have a great time.

The first "ride"...the parking tram.


Going through the entrance:


James loves the water!! He is plotting how to climb in the pond.


On the merry go round with Mommy:


James is signing "MORE". I gave him ice cream for the first time and he was desperate for MORE!! I should have gotten the vanilla.


All in all, I have to say, Dollywood was kind of lame. I was hoping there would be places that James could run around and explore, but it was just too crowded. However, the drive there and back was beautiful.

And, we're off!

Two post in one day, do I get extra credit?

James is walking!

He has been taking steps since the beginning of August and I thought he was really walking two weeks ago. I was wrong. Now he is really walking. He can carry toys and walk, he can drink from a sippy cup and walk, he can walk uphill...ok, he still does a lot of falling, but he loves it. He is more the bride of frankenstein rather than frankenstein.

A walk in the park

Sorry, we have been busy lately, and I have been preoccupied with major life decisions so I slacked on the postings. Here are some pictures from a beautiful fall day at the Falls Park in Greenville.

Looking at the falls:


Trying to learn "thumbs up". Why is Mark trying to teach my child "gig 'em"? Aunt K will be so happy:


Playing in the grass, since in our yard its mainly weeds:


Walking with Dad:


Bonding with Pa-paw:


And incase you were wondering, James still hates car trips:

TRI Hard

My triathlon was this weekend...and I finished - yay!!

Really, that was my goal. To finish and have fun. I would love to share my stats, but they won't be up for 2 weeks. Hello?!??! Can you say "chip timed"?

Anyways, so I really half-assed my way training for this one. I took this little class and they gave us a training guide for it. I took one look at it and thought, "yeah, right!" This was a SPRINT triathlon, so I really felt pretty comfortable taking it easy. We had to do a 300 yd swim, a 12.4 bike ride, and then a 5K. I knew I could do them separately, but together? That was the big question.

Training was easy. Basically, swim 30 minutes, run 35 minutes, and bike an hour twice a week. A couple of times I did a "brick" which is where you bike and then run. Running after biking is pretty hard! I still ended up using my mountain bike to ride. I knew that was not the best choice, but that is just how it worked out.

Race day started off kind of slow. Since I have not worked in over a year, I have had no reason to use an alarm clock and apparently, forgot how to set it. I wanted to wake up at 5:30 to be at the race at 6:30 and instead woke up at 6:17. Ooops. My pre-race was a little hectic, but was able to pick up my packet, get set up in the transition area, had the correct outfit on, and go to the bathroom before the race started. I did not get to warm up. Oh well, I guess that 300 yard swim was my warm up!

You get seeded based on your swim time. The fastest swimmers go first and the next swimmer starts 10 seconds after the one in front of them. The triathlon started at 7:30, but I started at 7:44 ish. Swimming for me is easy. I passed 3 people in the pool. Before I knew it, I was climbing out and heading for my bike.

I was really worried about the bike portion. Because of my mountain bike, I knew I was going to go a lot slower than everyone else and fancy smancy bikes. To help me cope with that, I decided to count the number of times I was passed. After 60 times, I would start getting worried about being last. I was passed exactly 50 times. I passed 2 people, but only because they were broke down. The ride was hilly, but I felt good. It probably took me around an hour to finish. Onto the run.

When I started, my legs felt like lead. That is pretty normal I think. It probably took 5 minutes to loosen up, but even then, I felt slow. I felt good...just slow. I got water at both water stops, which I never do (it is only a 5K). In the last mile, I started feeling kind of sick to my stomach, but I still felt very relax. When I crossed the finish line, the clock was at 1:48. Minus the 14 minutes it took me to start, I finished in about 1:34. That is one hour and thirty four minutes.

I really enjoyed doing the triathlon. I would love to do another. Well, another sprint triathlon. I really could not imagine doing a "full". I loved the fact that it was three different sports, and that I had to train in three different sports. I also lost about 2 pounds and I NEVER loose weight with excercise. (Of course, I am on the "running after a one year old diet".) The problem with triathlons is it is all about equipment: I would definitely need a bike, but everyone has tri suits, number belts, special laces, etc, etc, etc. For this race I bought a helmet, a pump, a pair of bike shorts and with my class and registration fees, I still spent $100. Oh well, at least I got the free tshirt!

First Day of School

Ok, its not really school, its MMO, but I'll take it.



James was so excited, he went right over to the kitchen and started playing. That is not my baby! I am so happy he got into this program. Although he did not get into the one at the Methodist church, which is the end all be all of MMO programs (I think you get college credit there), he will have a great time. He misses the cut off for most of the churches by 4 days, but they let him in here, even though he isn't walking all that well.

Mommy who?



Only 5 years until real school!

Stats

Let me guess, everyone out there is wondering how big James was at his 1 year well baby check up appointment. He was 24 pounds, 13 oz and 32 inches long. I won't tell you precentiles, but he has dropped significantly in the weight department and made up for it in height.

He isn't walking yet, but is very close. James wears 2T clothes and size 6 shoes.

He really likes to self feed and his favorite foods are broccoli and sweet potatoes. No, I am not kiding. He went on a meat and fruit only kick there, but now he can't shove the veggies in his mouth fast enough.

In the last week, he has 3 new dance moves: front and back, side to side, and swinging arms. He can't say any words, but has picked up "more", "what", and "bear" in sign language. The funny thing is that we didn't even teach him "what". How do they learn these things?

Happy Birthday!

Baby James turned 1 yesterday! I guess he isn't a baby anymore. We should start calling him "Bubba James" We had a fun weekend going hiking...

...and going to a parade.


Yesterday, he ate cake...


...and opened presents.


What a big boy!

I hate you, meth heads

Just wanted to say thanks a lot to my meth readers out there. Once again, I can't breathe and all I want to do is take a tylenol sinus or a sudafed and clear some of this out a bit. But of course, I can't. I might go try to buy some but they will trick me into buying sudafed-D, which stands for Doesn't work, or stand in line and fill out paperwork for the last box of stuff that does work, but who really knows. What is the point of this stupid law? Are you punishing everyone because what a few stupid people are doing? Are we suppose to peer pressure meth users into stop using because it affects me? Trust me, if I knew of any, I would be giving them a piece of my mind right now...but maybe they would give me some of their stash of pseudoepherine and then I might like them again. Hey, I just want to breathe!