Swing Time

We took Kasen to the park this week and he LOVED swinging. It was cute to watch...

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Kasen's Crawling...

Last week Kasen started crawling!! Things have been so crazy around here that I haven't been able to get it up for everyone to see. My apologies! But here it is! Hope you enjoy a glimpse into our new world...

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Kasen's First Solids Experience

First experience with peas last night. So funny! Watch all the way to the end;-)

First experience with rice cereal a week and a half ago.

9 years ago...

...was a happy, happy day. And it just keeps getting better!

If you have 5 minutes...

...then this is well worth your time!


Kasen Dozing Off

Rocking

Zoo

"Walking"

Peek-a-boo

Not for the faint of heart...

(after the race)

It all started a few months ago when I decided it would be a great idea for Kai and I to do a triathlon together. We have exercised together since we’ve been married almost 9 years now, but have never done an event together, so it seemed like a great idea. We asked Jason and Andrea to do it with us. They thought it sounded like fun too, so we registered and began training. The training wasn’t too bad, but it was the swimming I was most worried about. We practiced in the Drayson pool and trained for ¾ of a mile instead of ½ mile, since the swim would be in the ocean with the currents and waves.

We got up at 3 a.m., I fed Kasen, we got ready, ate breakfast, and got our tri bags ready. Brit and Shaunielle came at 3:15 to take over Kasen duty and Jason and Andrea came at 3:30. We headed down to Crystal Cove. We arrived before 5, set up our gear in the transition area, and tried to get rid of the pre-race jitters. We could hear the waves crashing from the transition area way up on the bluff. People around us started talking about how they were going to disqualify themselves and only do the bike and run because the waves were so big and the current so strong. We decided to go and take a peek at the wave condition. It was true, they were huge, and continuous. The officials had told us they were hoping the waves would die down before the race since they had been as high as 20 feet in the days leading up to the race, but if they didn’t they would have to cancel the swim portion and do a run, bike, run event. We waited and waited, and finally the beach patrol decided that the waves were too dangerous to do an ocean swim and declared it a run, bike, run.

We positioned ourselves on the beach to start in our different waves. The guys and the girls all started at different times. But eventually it was our turn and the horn sounded. We were off! We ran along the beach and up the extremely steep ramp to the transition area. The transition time was so fun. I’ve never done a triathlon before, so the whole transition thing was new to me. We took off our running shoes, threw on our bike shoes, helmet, and grabbed our refreshments and bikes, and ran to the next timing pad to start biking.

The course was beautiful—no GORGEOUS! The bike route was along the rolling hills of the Pacific Coast. We looked down from the bluffs we were traversing to see the crashing waves below us (glad we weren’t fighting them) and blue skies above us. After the 12 mile bike route we transitioned back to running (changed shoes, took off the bike helmet and threw on our hats and took off toward the running timing pad. The run was amazing! We were right down on the beach along the historic cottages and rocky outcroppings. I almost wanted to stop during the run just to take it all in, but we kept pushing ourselves. Finally we rounded the last corner and were cheered on for the last 1/3 of a mile to the finish line. I love how people who have no idea who you are, cheer you on and scream their lungs out for you as you cross the finish line. I almost stopped and hugged them--

What I will do again
---Use a road bike. We all went so much faster than when we had used our mountain bikes. Thanks to our great friends who came through with road bikes for all four of us!
---Go with a great friend/team. It was so much fun to do the whole thing with friends. The guys were in a different wave than us, so Andrea and I did it together. I have run a race pretty much alone before and it was SO boring. This time I had so much fun. As Jason put it before the race: “Is this one of those relationship things?” Translation: we didn’t care so much about finishing first as we did about finishing together. Definitely worth it!

What I won’t do again
---Forget a breast pump. Before the race even started, I felt the need to have Kasen or a breast pump near. By the time it was over, I was VERY uncomfortable and by the time we got home, I was in pain.
---Assume Kasen still takes a bottle after weeks of not needing to. He refused the bottle even though it was pumped milk. He wouldn’t take anything until we got home around noon—9 hours of nothing! Poor thing!
---Drink “5 Hour Energy” before the race. I felt SO weird all day!
---Not learn how to change a bike tire.

What I will remember most
---Weird moaning lady—She moaned the entire portion of the bike route. We happened to keep pace with her just by sheer misfortune. She moaned the entire time we were biking. As we passed her, or she passed us, not sure which, she commented that she did that for the guys. What a weirdo! Nonetheless, it was still a memorable moment from the race.
---The beautiful beach run. We ran down along the historic cottages and then right down on the sand passing rocks, ocean surf, and white water. It was so gorgeous! That part of the race seemed like it was over so fast. I could have run so much farther on that breathtaking section of race.
---The synergy of all the racers. There were some that were obviously competing for a spot in the World Championship—which this race was a qualifier for, but for the most part, everyone was so nice and fun to be around.
---10-12 foot crashing waves
---The finish line and all the people cheering JUST for us!! (kidding of course)

The pictures are in reverse order:

After the race

Transitioning from running to biking
Before the race--the guys' wave

The big breakers that made it so we couldn't do the swim portion

Before the race

Gearing up...

5 a.m. and ready to go!

Camping and Creeping...

Kai planned a class camping trip this past weekend to the mountains. We had such a fun time. It's not the first trip he's planned and won't be the last because we always have such a great time. Here are 2 pictures from the weekend.

Hiking to Keller Peak with a group of friends. One of them took this picture of Kasen after he cashed in during the hike. (This is a typical picture of Kasen during our walks.)

This one is from the observatory at Keller Peak. The hummingbirds were flying right up next to us and Kasen thought they were the coolest thing. It was so cute to watch! We didn't know this picture was being taken and we hadn't showered yet this day, so you're not allowed to make any judgements! We forgot our camera, so I have to post pictures from other people:-)

Friday night worship by the campfire. Fun times!

Kasen is "creeping" around the house now--not crawling, but scooting around quite a bit. He's reaching for toys and still chewing on everything! Here are a few pictures from the week. Unfortunately I'm really good at taking pictures during vacations, but not so good with the day to day events. Hope you understand and still enjoy what's here;-)

Everyone always comments on how long Kasen is and how happy he is. People stop me all the time and tell me that they've never seen a more happy baby. Whether or not that's true, I'm thankful for such a happy and content little guy. He honestly only cries when he's tired or hungry and even then it's more of a fussy cry than an upset cry. At the camp out this weekend, everyone kept telling us, "If I knew my baby would be as good as Kasen is, then I'd have one right now!" While I was beaming with pride, and would have loved to say, "Yeah, it's because we're such GREAT parents!", I really can't take the credit for him. I know sometimes you are blessed with an easy baby and other times you are not. I know that we are not the perfect parents and don't have parenting figured out by far yet, but it's still fun for any parent to hear--especially after I was SO nervous that he'd keep the whole camp up at night;-)

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And now, after all that talk of what a happy baby he is, I thought I'd share a clip of him being fussy during dinnertime--just for a small reality check. No--he's not perfect, just almost...:-)

A Simple Week

Since Kai has started school again, things around here have been relaxed and more ordinary again. Here are a few pictures from our week and a little progress on Kasen:

About a week and a half ago Kasen started to sit on his own.


He actually picked this heavy soccer ball up off the ground and put it up to his mouth to try and chew on it. He has been drooling incessantly lately and chewing on everything he can get his hands on. Is this an early sign of teething? I have NO idea. It doesn't really matter anyway, but it's fun to wonder about all the possible developments:-)
Dinner one day this week-Bruschetta. The tomatoes and basil are from our small garden. We have already picked 20-30 large tomatoes, 100-150 cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and more!
Time with Aunt Katie
Eeek! A kiss from a girl!

West Coast 2009 Montage

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One year ago we took a road trip to San Francisco. We had just found out we were expecting and it was our little secret the whole time on the trip. This is the montage we made after that trip and how we shared the good news with our family...

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It's Official

It's Official:

The Steele's and some good friends will be doing this next month...
Here's the awesome description of the race...

"This year's race will be held at beautiful Crystal Cove State Park in Newport Beach, CA. The picturesque race course features an ocean swim, a bike course along a rolling three mile stretch of PCH, and a run that follows the bluff along with a ½ mile segment on the beach that takes you through the historic cottages of Crystal Cove.

The PCT has been honored by Competitor & Inside Triathlon magazines as one of the top races in the United States."

I'm a little nervous for the swimming section as that's not a strong point for me, but I think it will be a fun challenge. I'll let you know how it turns out in a little more than a month!

Also, it's official: Kasen has the most adorable laugh I've ever heard!

It's also official: Kasen is an adrenaline junkie already!

Kasen's Contagious Laugh

Kasen's Dedication and Soak City

Kasen was dedicated to God this past weekend at the Loma Linda University Church by our good friend, Jason Calvert. We dedicated Kasen's life to God and publicly acknowledged in front of our family, church family and close friends that we will do everything in our power to raise Kasen up to be a follower and warrior for Jesus. It won't be an easy job, but with the help of family, friends, our church community, and of course God, Kasen will hopefully grow up to know and love Jesus as his personal Friend and Savior.

On a side note, Kasen did extremely well up front. I fed him 15 minutes before we left, burped him for 10 minutes, and put full body bib on him until 5 seconds before we went up. (He has a tendency to spit up a lot). Thankfully he didn't spit up in front of the whole church or get out of hand. He was a little squirmy before we went up and right after, but thankfully, while he was in front of everyone, he was a little angel. Here are some pictures from this special event. More pictures from the lunch will follow at a later date;-)

These pictures are from Soak City. I went here with my school during our last week. It is a family day and the students go with their families, teachers bring their own families, and everyone enjoys the park together. We had a great time and Kasen had his first experience with the water...he loved it!

Floating down the Lazy River.

Kasen in his Johnny Jump Up from Grammy Nini

*These pictures were all taken by Kai's mom (GramE Nini).