Daddy's race

Lil' Buds started yesterday morning bright and early (actually just early; the sun wasn't up yet when we got in the car) in all kinds of excitement to go see Daddy race in the Jackson County Triathlon: Long Course Edition. It was a bit cold so we had to bust out the Shelter Island sweatshirt (represent!) and long pants for the early part of the morning. Olivia's daddy was racing too so the little pals got to hang out once again. One thing I have to say about Christopher is that he is extremely adaptable, especially when it comes to eating. We had our breakfast on the go (aka, in the stroller) while we watched Daddy swim. Normally, Chris gets his breakfast heated up but he did not seem to mind eating cold oatmeal mixed with pears. In the picture above he is lounging whilst observing the swim portion of the race and munching on Cheerios. One challenging aspect of taking Christopher to races now is that he really wants to get in on the action. For example, we stood roadside to watch the turnaround on the bike and he kept darting away from me to run into the road. I finally had to put him back in the stroller which he was not very happy about. (Now I know why parents by leashes for their kids, although I'm hoping we don't!) The really cool thing about this particular race is that Christopher and Daddy got to see each other during each part and the little man cheered on the big man all along the way. He even clapped for Brian when he was in the transition from the bike to the run. So cute! Also, while we waited for Daddy's bike transition, they were playing music and Chris put on a little dancing show which a nice lady walking by enjoyed quite thoroughly. In between dancing, Christopher enjoyed playing with rocks, seen here:
Brian did awesome in his race! This is his first long course race (1000 meter swim, 25 mile bike, 5 mile run) and he did a great job. This is all in preparation for his half Ironman in Oklahoma City in September. It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed being around the racing community once again.


Christopher and I are getting up quite early again tomorrow morning to catch a flight home to NY/NJ for a quick visit with the family. Some of you may have heard about the huge tree which fell on my mom's house. We are going back east to offer some moral support for Grammy. This will be Mommy's first solo trip with "The Buds." Please pray for us.