Accompany

Performing, with help from a 2-year-old cousin.

When you take boys to a triathlon

When you take boys to watch their uncle in a triathlon
They will want to be in a triathlon too.



When they are in a triathlon
They will have permanent marker on their body for days.



When they have permanent marker on their body
They will need to go into very very very cold water.



When they go into that very very very cold water
They will have to swim 100 yards.



After they swim in very cold water they will have to run up a beach
Dip their feet in water to rinse off the sand
Dry their feet on a towel
Put on sneakers
And a bike helmet
And a belt with their racing number
And walk their bike out of the "transition" area
With no adult help
And start riding a bike for 1 and 1/2 miles.



After riding 1 and 1/2 miles they will have to get off their bikes
And run half of a mile.



After running half of a mile they will get a medal
which they will promptly take off their necks and place on their little cousin



After getting the medal back from their nearly 2-year-old cousin
They will collapse on a sea wall to drink lots of water



While drinking lots of water
They will talk between gasping for air about how they plan on doing another triathlon.


With apologies to Laura Joffe Numeroff, author of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

Guess who is here?

The most perfect baby in the world is here!

That would be my nephew. My brother's son. And he is perfect in spite of being my brother's offspring.

Yet this little man isn't a baby but on the verge of toddler hood. He is here from the West Coast for the holidays and I get to see him today!

Excuse me while I get ready to hug.

Santa in a Cadillac

My little brother took this picture of the most amazing baby ever. I'm signing off for a few days. Merry, merry everyone.

Well it's Christmastime pretty baby
The snow is fallin' on the ground
Yeah, it's Christmastime pretty baby
The snow is fallin' on the ground
[Blogger's note: he isn't flipping kidding on that point]

Well you be a real good little baby
Santa Claus is back in town

Got no sleigh with reindeer
No sack on my back
You gonna see me comin'
In a big black Cadillac

Santa Claus is Back in Town from Elvis' Christmas Album (released 50 years ago this year).

Not quite setting up the slide projector...

But close. I loved our trip to Seattle. I love my new nephew and am very proud of my younger brother and his wife. I just can't stop talking about this trip (in case you couldn't tell) so here are some more photos, in no particular order.


One of my boys' teachers made him a journal for his trip. She also made one for his brother even though he is in another class.



We rode a ferry to Bainbridge Island.




A quote on the wall of the bakery where we had lunch on the island.


Underneath the park with the terrific view was an equally terrific playground.


Wicked cool Uncle (aka my younger brother) brought the boys and me to the University of Washington campus to show us where he teaches and studies. He is working on his PhD. That makes him not only wicked cool but also wicked smart (or "wicked smaht" as we say here).




Thanks for indulging me. To show my gratitude the above is a rare photo of me. Not sure how long I'll keep it up but now you know how I look. But more importantly, isn't that nephew cute? Definitely cuter than a hippo.

Of course, there were be weeks worth of photos at the photoblog site I share with Jenn in Holland, Looking Into. You may have missed a few already. Go see.

Can't wait to tell you about this trip

But I'm actually having to do some work so the limited computer time I have needs to go towards reviewing a document.

To answer a question, no I cannot sleep on planes and we haven't left yet. Our flight back across the country leaves at 10:40 PM (groan). So another full day of snuggling a baby, hanging with family and friends and seeing sites.

Just to make sure you come back to read the travel tales I'll give you a taste. The stories will involve a troll under a highway, an elusive mountain, seeing the back of a hippo's throat and being kicked out of a restaurant bar area.

But tomorrow's post is dedicated to Jen in Michigan's first ever writing initiative. Come back to read my first foray into fiction.

Confirmed

Yup. He's perfect. Big cuddly boy who coos, smiles and snuggles. His parents are terrific - comforting and calm. Nothing seems to phase them. We had a great day yesterday which I will more fully recount next week.

But really, at this moment, 5:17 AM, I am grouchy bordering on catatonic. And I have the entire day ahead of me. This is how the evening and night went.

Yesterday at 4:42 PM - walk into the restaurant.
5:00 PM - the kids look like they are going to pass out
5:12 PM - the pizza arrives. Little lady inhales two slices while one guy complains the cheese tastes yucky and just eats the crust and sauce. The other guy eats nothing.
5:45 PM - we're back in the hotel room and start doing the dance to keep little lady awake
6:45 PM - we give up and little lady is sound asleep
8:00 PM - boys are sound asleep; I follow suit soon after
10:30 PM - people are playing football in the hallway outside our room. I kid you not. I hear plays being called, running, bodies slamming into each other and walls, and laughter. I think of killing someone.
3:00 AM - one of our guys is wide awake. He lays next to me, chatting up a storm and showing me all the ways his wiggly tooth moves in his mouth.
3:30 AM - little lady is awake and coughing the lovely cough that sounds like a seal is barking in our room. I try to get her to hang out with me in the bathroom while a hot shower is running. After two minutes she bolts.
4:00 AM - little man falls back asleep. Little lady complains she is hungry. I sit (alright, lay down) on the floor with her while she eats left over pizza.
4:10 AM - little lady goes back to bed.
5:00 AM - after a Herculean effort in which she tried to go back to sleep with not one complaint, not one loud noise I offer to take her out for a walk in the hotel.
5:07 AM - we find the hotel "business center" so little lady gets to play on the PBS web site. I write this post.

Oh. My. Goodness. I've got an entire day to get through. I think I will be breaking my only-one-caffeine-beverage-per-day rule. I'll need more than that to get through today.

Maybe something like 34 quadruple shot lattes...