Its Monday morning and I'm back at work.

I had a pretty good experience with my triathlon on Sunday morning. Saturday night, I slept in the guest room so that I could get some good uninterupted sleep.

I was up at 4:30am and left the house at 5:00am so I was glad to have slept well. Check-in started at 5:30, then I got my transition area set up and just relaxed and stretched for an hour until it was time to head down to the beach.

The race was a 2/3 mile swim, 24 mile bike, and 5 mile run. My finish time was 2hrs 22 minutes. I've been faster in the past on this same course, but I was still happy with my result.

I was 96/235 overall, 88/185 men, and 23/33 in my division (men 35-39).

I was most suprised by my swim. I was 117th/235 on the swim. Usually I swim worse than that. I think it was watching all the Michael Phelps coverage on the olympics that improved my swim place. It certainly wasn't from all the time I'e spent practicing in the pool (none).

I was 46th/235 on the bike leg and 145th/235 on the run (8:34 avg pace).

After the race we went to lunch with Amy, Jack, Kate, my friend 'uncle' Mike (who also did the race), and 'aunt' Stacey. Kate and Jack were both prefect kids at lunch. Kate was awake and happy the whole time and Jack was a perfect little gentleman. Sunday afternoon, I was pretty tired but Amy wanted to go get a pedicure. After spending the prior night in the guest room sleeping soundly, I realized that I better go along with this plan.

We put Jack down for his afternoon nap, then I fed Kate her first bottle while Amy got ready. She took right to it and drank about 3oz. Jack was still singing and playing in his crib. The minute Amy left, he fell asleep and Kate went to sleep in her swing. I took a steam shower and then napped for an hour. When Amy got home I was well rested! I know this frustrates her since it never seems to work out that well for her.

First Pediatrician Visit

Today we took Kate to her first pediatrician visit. She is seeing Dr. Moylan, the same doctor that Jack uses.

When Amy told Jack we were taking baby Kate to Dr. Moylan, he said "She does not like the doctor. I need to go with her."

Kate weighed in at 9lbs 12oz and was 20 3/4" long. Even though she was 4oz bigger than Jack at birth, he was 10lbs 1oz at this doctor's visit.

Don't be concerned about Kate's growth, however, Dr. Moylan said she was 95th percentile on weight, 75 percentile on length, and 97th percentile on head circumference.

She is fighting a bout with infant acne (which isn't really acne at all) and a clogged tear duct in one eye. Our beautiful baby looks like she went a few rounds with Mike Tyson.

There are tons of new pictures posted on Flikr. If you aren't a member of my flickr site and would like to be, drop me an e-mail or comment. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rimel/

Tons of people have commented that Kate looks a lot like Jack. Here is some evidence:

Kate 1 day old:

Jack 1 day old:

Jack @ 10 days:

Kate at 13 days:

Its wednesday night and we are home alone. I've got a lot of catching up to do on the blog so here goes.

Last weekend was great. It was a pleasant return to normal with Jack.

Friday evening we took Kate out for her first family dinner. Amy, Shirley, Jack, Kate, and I went to the Salty Iguana, a mexican restaurant, for a little dinner. She slept the entire time, and Jack watched the olympics on TV.

He and I went out for our usual pancakes and coffee on Saturday morning then went to the local toy store in Brookside and bought some birthday gifts for his friends birthday party that afternoon. Jack played with every toy in the store! Amy and Grandma Shirley met us at the coffee shop for a latte.

Saturday afternoon we went to a little birthday party for Carter and C.C., two of Jack's friends that were turning two. The weather was great and the party was nice. We even took Kate with us.

Sunday I got up really early and went out to Longview Lake for a training workout with my buddy Mike. We did 24 miles on the bike and 4 miles running. It was the best I felt all summer. My next triathlon (on that same course) is next Sunday. I'm as ready as i will ever be! Sunday was chore day around the house for me. While I changed light bulbs and cleaned the garage, Amy and Shirley kept Kate and Jack occupied. Kate slept a lot, but Jack played in his new sandbox and his baby pool on the patio.

I went to Cleveland for a work trip Tuesday and returned home Wednesday. When I left, it was Amy, Shirley, Jack and Kate. When I returned, Grandma Shirley was gone. It seems so quiet around here without her.

Kate set a personal record last night while I was gone - she went 6 hours between feedings which gave Amy about 5 consecutive hours of sleep in one chunk. She had another 2 1/2 hours after the feeding. By my calculations she had more sleep here than I did in Cleveland and she didn't wake up with a Grey Goose hangover.

Kate's first meal at a restaurant

Last night was another pretty good night. Kate seems to want to 'cluster feed' with a couple of short feedings right before bed. Amy fed her at 9:30 and again at 11:00 (we were up late watching the Olympics).

Kate slept until 1:30, then woke up again at 5:30. I think the ideal situation is feeding at 10:00pm, 2:00am, and 6:00am. Amy is shouldering all of the nighttime load since I can't really breastfeed. I've been getting good sleep and she's getting more than I thought she would.

Life for Jack returned to 'normal' a little bit yesterday. He returned home from Grandma and Grandpa's house after hanging out with them Monday and Monday night. He got to play around our house and even had his friend Carter over to play. Bedtime went a little bit better than it has been going. I got to help bathe him, then I headed out for my Tuesday night bike ride. Amy brought him out to help me pump my tires (he loves that!) and wave goodbye as I rode off. She did story time and put him to bed while Grandma Shirley made a great dinner. When I got home from my workout, he was asleep and dinner was served. I've got the life right now!

Today, cousins Amber and Ashley and Aunt Brenda stopped by to visit Jack and Kate. I'm told Kate was held a lot and Jack got to show off his trains, sandbox, tractors, and all his other toys.

Amy and Grandma Shirley had dinner ready for me again tonight after my workout (5 mile run) and now they are out shopping for groceries and I'm staying home with the kids. Its pretty easy duty - Jack is asleep and Kate is sitting in her bouncy chair silently watching me type.