Tales of a Florida Christmas - Part One: Bike Blooper

Cruising along down a Tallahassee back street, we were out for a
family bike ride. Joe and I led the way on our tandem pulling Miriam
and Molly in the trailer followed by Samuel, Atticus, and Joe's
sister, Alyson. We were having a great ol' time.

All I heard was "oh no" closely followed by a whooshhhhhh….

And there we were with our tires myered in wet cement.

[pause for your reaction]

I thought we were about to be yelled at, but off yonder a workman
called out "Now that's something you'd only see on television!" I'm
glad he was apparently in the Christmas spirit as he helped us hose
off the tandem tires before we rode off and he and his buddies got to
resurface the cement.

What a crack up!

A Weekend for the Blog

Last weekend was fun-packed. Geneal and Russ came from Utah to visit
with their youngest son, Aaron (two and a half years old). Russ was
here for a medical conference, but Geneal and Aaron were free to play
all weekend long, so that's what we did. Here's the lineup of
activities:

*Thursday night went out for Kincades hamburgers, a famous local spot.
*Friday our Aussie friend, Sandra (Donaldson) Johnstun came over from
Plano and we spent the majority of the day wandering the Botanic
Gardens, including eating lunch at the garden restaurant and enjoying
the beautiful weather. (Lunch was ideal since we ate out on the patio
where the kids could still run around).
*Friday evening Geneal and co. went to Sandra's house in Plano while I
had an evening at home reading. (Joe was in San Antonio that day
giving his grueling yearly presentation to his PH.D. board).
*Saturday morning was the most fun—Joe drove back early and we took
Geneal on a tandem bike ride to Trinity park where Aaron and Miriam
fed the ducks and played at the playground and we had a Subway
sandwich picnic (courtesy of Joe the delivery man) before riding back.
*Saturday afternoon at the stockyards, watched the longhorn parade,
heard some bluegrass music, and bought some original Dr. Pepper
drinks.
*Saturday night: Risky's Barbecue for dinner and Joe was nice enough
to watch the kids while Geneal and I went on a shopping spree. I
bought some Christmas presents, some new shoes, a new workout shirt,
and Miriam's next year Halloween costume at 75% off! (a doggy costume
for a whopping $3.75)
*Sunday went to church in the morning and to the Water Gardens in the
afternoon before the Utah folks headed home.

One additional thing to note is that Aaron was a good boy and very
nice to Miriam all weekend, even when crammed like two little sardines
in the bhike trailer. He even picked out a balloon for her and
insisted that it be pink. I think he got a little jealous of her at
church, but managed to contain himself. I'm very proud of him. I knew
they'd be friends some day.

I Wish

I'd love to scrap my plans for tomorrow and instead hop a plane to NYC
and go tandem biking in Central Park. I got the idea earlier today
when I read Kristen's blog about her last visit to New York. The funny
thing is, after thinking this earlier today, I came across a New York
Times article tonight about a tandem bike relay in NYC that's going on
some time this week. I must not be the only one with this thought this
week.

Update on our cycling: We get out at least four times a week for an
hour or so, (except on Saturdays when it's usually longer.). We go
anywhere from 15 to 25 miles roundtrip. I don't think I've been this
well exercised in my life, or at least not for quite a while. That
bike's a great workout. The trail is really beautiful too, and on our
evening rides, we watch the sun go down as it reflects off the river.
There's also a spot along the river that I've come to think of like
the ocean. The trail is closer to the river at that point, just
outside Trinity park, and there's a silver guardrail that's much like
one you'd find at a harbour prominade. The air just seems cooler and
saltier there too, although the saltier part might just be my
imagining. I always feel like I'm a tourist in a coastal town when I
pass through there. biking outdoors is so much better than a stinky
gym.

Miriam Update

Miriam had a birthday and all of a sudden she turned into a toddler.
Now all her mischief occurs at twice the speed. She walks half a dozen
steps before deciding that crawling is faster for now, but it's her
dexterous little paws that get themselves into trouble; I think it's
time to reorganize the kitchen because not only is she dragging out
every piece of Tupperware and every pot or pan she can get her mitts
on, now she's turned to removing each bag from the Ziploc box and
spreading them across the floor. All this happens in the time it takes
to switch a load of laundry. Also, the dishwasher is still her
favorite place, only now she can open it herself if it's unlocked,
stand up on the door and reach in to grab any sharp items from the top
shelf—the little monkey.

She's a book worm. By that I mean she not only enjoys having books
read to her, she also enjoys munching the leafy pages like a
caterpillar. I thought board books were supposed to be somewhat
resistant to this behavior--alas. She has about eight teeth still,
although, come to think of it I haven't checked in a while. Other than
trying to eat books when we're not looking, she also prefers eating
whatever we're eating, so we won't be buying any more baby food.

The good news is that she sleeps better at night, usually from about
7:30pm to 7:30am with a feeding at around 5am then right back to
sleep. She takes two two-hour naps during the day.

She loves coming on bike rides with us. She often climbs into her
carseat several times a day and looks at me like "So, when are we
going?"

The best part is that she gives great hugs. She's a cuddle bug.

Miriam's Binky Stash

Miriam currently has three binkies in circulation. All three were
missing this morning. Apparently Miriam knew where she was stashing
them though because in the past half an hour she's located two out of
the three. She found one in the pantry and I took it for safekeeping.
Then she found another hiding in my bottom drawer. I suppose I should
take that one for safekeeping too, ensuring that she'll find me the
third.

The funny part is that I would notice a sucking noise behind me and
turn around to find Miriam looking at me with a cheeky grin behind her
binky.

Happy Birthday--Now Hold Still

Poor Miriam was a human pincushion today. For her twelve month doctor
appointment the nurse gave her FIVE immunizations plus she had to have
blood drawn from her little arm. Poor Miriam. Worst birthday present
ever… We'll have to make it up to her. She was a trooper though.

She weighed in at just under 19 pounds and is 20th percentile in
weight and height, but 60th in head circumference. Gotta fit those
brains somewhere right?

First Steps

Miriam took her first steps on her own today. She just decided it was time. :)