Springtime in New England

Despite missing Hawaii all the time, we really have been enjoying the change of seasons. The seasons do change in Hawaii and the longer you live there you learn to look for the signs: the sun rising and setting in different spots on the ocean horizon, the scent of white ginger in the air, more rain and cooler nights. But to be honest, it is pretty subtle. Not so here in New England. This part of the world is surprisingly heavily treed with mostly deciduous trees so seasonal change is displayed in all its splendor. Lately, we're being treated to a wonderful display of fruit trees in bloom: cherry, apple, crab apple, pear. Not only is it stunning, it smells great! I have to say, I think a cherry tree in bloom smells almost as good as a pua kenikeni. 

We are fortunate to live right across the road from a retirement community with beautiful, peaceful grounds and fantastic landscaping. It is like having our own private park. 

Here are Greg and Kai relaxing on Friday evening during our after dinner stroll. This spring evening was feeling a little bit like summer!

I couldn't resist this shot!

Aren't these tulips amazing???? I would like to take credit and pass them off as the ones that I planted in my front garden. 

But, alas, these are my tulips - mere stumps, amputated by the teeth of hungry deer. No one told me that I had to protect my dear flowers from these critters. We did buy some putriscent egg salad spray but it was too little, too late. We'll know better for next year!

We added this shot just to prove that Kai does, in fact, get tired and chill sometimes. During our after dinner stroll, he decided after walking the entire retirement community grounds that he'd like mommy to carry him like a baby for a little while before we got home. Mommy was happy to oblige, knowing that pretty soon there will be no more carrying Kai for awhile. Seems that tummy is poking out already!!!

Aren't 2 year olds supposed to nap?

Before I complain about Kai's napping, or lack thereof, I want to share a cute story. Today when I got him up from his no-nap he kept saying "baby, baby." He's been saying this alot lately, not sure why. I don't know what made me say it, because we haven't said anything to Kai about a new baby yet, but I asked him if there was a baby in mommy's tummy and pointed to my burgeoning belly. He looked at it and contemplated for quite some time before enthusiastically shouting "Yeah!" :-)

Now Kai is a pretty easy going fellow, except if you mess with his bunnies (who are multiplying like, er...rabbits!) He didn't cry a whole lot as a baby and he tends to go with the flow for the most part. But he has never really liked the idea of napping. He is one of those kids who doesn't want to miss anything. "Napping on the go" with Kai ended at about 10 weeks of age! While he would complain ferociously when put down to nap, when he did sleep, he did it well. Kai has been known to nap for over 4 hours at a time, although more often, its for 2 or 3 hours. We fought the daily nap battles several times a day with both mom and babe in tears until Kai was about 6 months old. Then, armed with book loads of knowledge (ha ha), we began "nap training" in earnest. This is alot like any other kind of training, with logs to be kept, intervals to be timed and recovery needed. Kai took to it pretty well and within a few weeks was napping like a champ, twice a day without complaint. These were lovely times, until they weren't anymore. We've learned with Kai and his napping that we can't count on any one pattern for more than a few months at a time. 

Around 10 months of age Kai decided that one nap a day would be sufficient.  Those of you who don't bow to the Gods of Dr. Ferber or Dr. Weissbluth won't know this, but Kai was far ahead of the curve. Most kiddos don't dismiss the morning nap as a major inconvenience until well after their first birthday. But not our boy. So after our move to Massachusetts shortly after Kai's first birthday, we finally got a handle on his new nap schedule and began a nice, regular, long mid-day nap. Fast forward to transition time again and that nap became an afternoon nap. Then we had several heavenly months of peaceful afternoon naps lasting up to 3.5 hours. Bliss! 

Ring in 2009 and our little napping champ decided it was time to shake things up again. Some days he'd take his regular afternoon nap, sometimes not. I had always feared that an early drop to one nap might predict an early drop to no naps but the bibles of sleep are silent on that matter. So I kept hoping we were just in another little "phase." Well, several months later we're still in it, only Kai's nap to no-nap ratio seems to be increasing as the weeks go by. Luckily he still seems to enjoy his downtime with "nana" (aka: bunny) in the afternoon and is typically content to hang out in his crib if he doesn't nap so mama and/or dada can get some things done and re-energize for the post-nap Kai activities, which usually don't involve alot of sitting still. So we'll keep trying to get this newly-turned-2-year old to nap while he continues to say "mo!" with a vehement shake of his head whenever he is asked if he is tired and ready to nap. Wish us luck!

Thoughts on Training from a Woman with Baby Brain

This blog post is actually a letter to myself (to be read in the future) so if you're not interested in the current pregnant me trying to motivate the future zombified me, feel free to skip. 

Some folks we know who write blogs cover a variety of topics and some are athlete-types who write mostly about their training and racing exploits. Neither Greg nor I have much to write about in terms of athletic exploits lately aside from the odd bike ride or run. But I have been thinking about training/racing lately so I thought I'd jot down a few thoughts. 

I surprised myself quite a bit by my lack of interest/motivation in racing post-Kai's arrival. I had big plans that never really came to fruition. In fact, it took me 16 months to show up at the starting line of a race again. I never figured that. But I also never figured how demanding breast feeding would be in terms of emotional energy, physical energy, and time. I also never expected to be so incredibly invested in how one tiny creature spent every moment of his day and how I really didn't want to be on a 4 hour bike ride while he was cooing and smiling at home. This time feels different. I know I am only 16 weeks pregnant and alot can, and likely will, change b/tw now and when "Sibs" is born but at the moment I think about training and getting fit ALOT. It is probably just b/c I can't really train right now. 

I'm still riding my bike, swimming occasionally, doing lots of yoga, push ups and sit ups and running. Well, sort of. My runs lately are a combination of running, walking and walking lunge squats (don't know what else to call them). They are incredibly painful and leave my relaxin-infused legs wobbly and shaking but they are an attempt to retain some semblance of muscular strength. They are also known as the "mommy walk" b/c Kai has added them to his repertoire of funny walks, alongside "silly walk" "fast walk" and "penguin walk." When he decides to do "mommy walk" beside me while I squat, he squats lower and for longer than I do, and with considerably less effort. What I'd give for toddler thighs right now! 

Before I got pregnant with Kai I raced a bit. In the months preceding his conception I completed a high altitude trek in Peru, the Hawaii 1/2 Marathon, Cycle to the Sun (a 36 mile road ride from sea level to 10,000 feet up the Heleakala Volcano), and the Mountain Man Off-Road Triathlon where Greg smoked me in the swim, my run was more pathetic than usual, and (now I will toot my own horn as that is what athlete bloggers do), I rocked the bike. I was one of only two women to go under one hour for the mountain bike portion of the course and I nearly caught Greg ;-) . So, with these races in very recent memory and a steady diet of 10 years of pretty regular racing, I was content to exercise gently, bob in the ocean, and lie in my hammock during my pregnancy with Kai. This time around I am well aware that I am not the spring chicken I was during my last pregnancy and am chomping at the bit to do some long, hard workouts and feel the kind of satisfying exhaustion that only extreme physical effort can bring. But I also know, as I never could have known the last time I was pregnant, that there is a kind of soul destroying exhaustion lying ahead for me. The kind that comes from being awoken every two or so hours, every night, with no end in sight. It is the adventure race with no sleep, no finish line and no teammates (husbands are wonderful but they are missing two crucial body parts). So, I have written this post for that moment in the future when I feel like I just can't take that step out the door to go for that run or bike ride. Remember the endorphins, remember the adrenaline, remember, remember, remember.....

Happy Birthday Kai!!!

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Happy Birthday Eva and Happy Almost Birthday Kai!

Today is a very special day. Greg and I became Auntie and Uncle for the second time as our new niece Evangeline Grace was born today in New Jersey. Eva is 6 lbs, 1 oz and doing great! Congrats Mike and Laina! 

We also began the birthday celebrations for our little birthday man who will be 2 tomorrow. While Kai slept last night Greg put together his sand and water table and this morning after breakfast Kai got to check it out. It was the cutest thing, he stepped out the back door onto the lanai and saw his gift sitting there and stopped dead in his tracks. Then he immediately trucked on over and started playing! It was a hit.

Kai is a very lucky boy. He is getting 2 cakes for his birthday this year which is only fitting, seeing as he is turning 2. We decided we couldn't let the weekend go by without a little celebration and we'll of course have a cake on his actual birthday, tomorrow. Tomorrow night is ice cream cake but for today's festivities his multi-talented Daddy baked a chocolate zucchini cake. This might not sound too yummy but it is. I grew up on them. I'm not sure if my mom made up the recipe but she certainly perfected it! This was Greg's first ever cake and other than breaking it in half (there is nothing a little extra icing can't fix), it was utter perfection! We even made Kai his own individual bunny cake. When we set the cake(s) in front of him, Kai said "Nana, nana" which translates to "bunny, bunny" so Greg's icing handiwork was pretty good!

We invited Kai's special friend Charlie over to share in his birthday. Both boys were pretty mesmerized by the candle!

And they dug right in! Last year Kai was a little unsure about the birthday cake but not this year. Not only did he devour his piece but he dug into some of Charlie's too!

 

Kai's new ride and suddenly summer

Kai turns the big #2 on Monday but we couldn't wait to break out one of his two big ticket birthday items - a Kettler trike. Greg and I discovered that there is much to learn about tricycle purchasing and you can spend several digits on one of these babies! We opted to go mid-range and didn't get the pneumatic tires or the navigation system but we did splurge for the extra cushy seat, the seatbelt, free wheel pedal system and gear bucket (and of course the mandatory parent control bar!) 

It's going to take while for Kai to get the hang of pedaling seeing as the freewheel system allows him to coast along and enjoy the ride but he already has the need for speed!

Hopefully you weren't blinded by the reflection off my pasty white legs but we had to crack out the shorts (or in my case, the skort) today b/c it hit 30 degrees here in MA! Yes, 30 degrees in April! It is supposed to be hot for the next couple of days so Kai gets to have a summer birthday again. 

How soon we forget what 30 degrees feels like. I got up early this morning to get in my bike ride before the boys got up. It was only about 12 degrees out and I decided that I wanted to wear shorts, so I waited until Kai's nap time to head out. I figured it would feel soooo nice to ride in some real heat. Hmmmm....there was a reason in Hawaii that we were always on the road by 7 am and it wasn't just the traffic! What a sufferfest! 30 degrees in April feels worse to a cyclist than it does in July b/c at least in July the trees have grown in some nice leafy branches for shade. Lesson learned, I'll be keeping cool for the next few days until our April heat wave passes. But I'm not going to complain about my oven of a bike ride. Guess what it did in Calgary today? It snowed!!!!!!

The Boston Marathon

This past weekend was a long weekend in Massachusetts, to celebrate Patriot's Day. We celebrated by spectating at mile 10 of the Boston Marathon. 26,000 runners! It was a big race. The original motivation to fight the crowds and see this historical racing event was our friend Jo. She flew in from Hawaii to race, after qualifying for Boston last December at the Honolulu Marathon. Jo is kind of a marathon pro. She's done 4 marathons and 5 others as the last leg of an Ironman. Not a shabby resume! We got together on Friday night for dinner in Boston's North End (read: Italian). I asked her if she was injury-free and ready to go? Her answer: yep. Seemed almost too good to be true. It was. Poor Jo came down with a nasty virus that had her feverish and pretty ill by Monday morning. She withdrew from the race. But Jo can hold her head high. She did what was right for her health and with the number of races under her belt, there was bound to be one that didn't work out. Too bad it was Boston. To those not familiar with the world of endurance sports, Boston is to marathoners what Kona is to the iron people. In short, its a big deal. We're all hoping Jo will be able to use her qualifying time to race next year. 

Speaking of next year, Greg and I got quite inspired, as we always do when spectating at events like this. We saw fast runners, not so fast runners, smooth runners, awkward runners, barefoot runners, even an older gent pulling a cart holding his oxygen bottles. Oh, and there was the pregnant woman too (!) The winning times were something ridiculous like 2:09 for the men and 2:32 for the women. After the race Greg and I found ourselves on the marathon website looking up qualifying times for next year. Hey, one can dream ..... or get a military slot ;-), or just regain our sanity and stick to cycling!