Greg, the Triathlete!

Greg did his first ever triathlon last Saturday, June 18th!  My brother, David, has gotten very into running and doing all kinds of races over the last year.  So, he managed to talk Greg into doing the 3 Little Pigs Triathlon in Smithfield with him this year.  Greg has never done anything like this before.  He did a little training beforehand, but had a lot of troubles with the bike he was using (my father's old bike).  The same tire blew twice on separate occasions while he was out riding in preparation for the triathlon!  After taking the bike to a bike shop to get fixed the week before the triathlon, Greg was still very nervous about the big day.  The bike was his main concern, finishing the triathlon at all was his second  : )  He didn't sleep much at all the night before.  But I'm glad to say all of his worrying was for nothing, as he did great!  Greg even beat David's time by 2 minutes, which was a big surprise.  Brayden and I went out in time to catch both David and Greg cross the finish line.  I was proud of them both for doing the triathlon...it's definitely not something I would ever think of doing, especially as hot and humid as it was (even that early in the morning!)  Greg was pretty pleased with himself for doing the triathlon and plans to do it again next year, but right now he has no other races planned, especially NOT the half marathon David is trying to talk him into next!

 Ready to go

 Before the start

 David crossing the finish line

 Greg crossing the finish line

 Greg & David post triathlon

     Greg with his biggest fan (who was happy to have just gotten his face painted too!)

Big Boy Room

My baby boy now has a "big boy" room! We weren't planning to move Brayden this soon, but rather in another month or two (or three). He never figured out how to crawl into or out of his crib, so we were in no rush to move him. However, last Tuesday night he had a nightmare about 3am and woke up SCREAMING. It scared me to death! He refused to go back in his room for the next couple of days and I did not want to start a habit of him sleeping with us. While he sleeps great, Greg and I do not get much (if any) sleep when he is in the bed with both of us. I had already bought the comforter, sheets, valances, etc. for his big boy room over the past few weeks since I new the move would be coming soon. So we spent the weekend painting and getting his new room set up. Brayden is very excited about his new room and tells everyone he sees about his new "big boy" room.  He has done really well sleeping in there, but I have heard a few "thud"s when he rolls into the wall in his sleep, and he rolled off the foot of the bed two nights ago!  I've added a few pillows to the foot of the bed since then, so hopefully that will keep him in the bed  : )  He is all over the place when he sleeps!  Now if we could just get the potty training under control, he really would be a big boy!  Here are a few pictures of the "big boy" room.

 Helping daddy paint

 One happy big boy

 The train wall hanging is one my mom made for my brother's nursery when he was a baby!

Welcome Summer

Summer is definitely here...it is HOT!  We spent a lot of our Memorial Day weekend in the water.  Greg's parents had a cookout at their house on Saturday afternoon with their neighbors.  Brayden enjoyed playing and splashing in the water, but he is still very unsure of it.  He would not let us let go of him, even though he was wearing the life vest.  Hopefully he will get a little more comfortable in the water as the summer goes on.

On Sunday, we spent a majority of the day with my family.  We had lunch at mom and dad's after church, where all of Brayden's Grimes' family cousins where there to play with.  Later that afternoon, everyone came to our house for a cookout and backyard pool play date.  The kids had so much fun playing and splashing in the water....Brayden can't get enough of his "girls"!  He gets so excited when they play together.

(Caroline ran off right before I took the picture, but she was there too!)

Even little Avery came over to play.  Brayden was really into Avery this visit...he kept wanting to hold and kiss on her.  It was very sweet.  

On Monday, we spent a lot of time playing and trying to cool off in the backyard pools again.  I hope we get some relief from this heat wave soon!  Otherwise, it will be a long summer!  

Brayden and daddy "relaxing"