5 Months

As of yesterday Ryker is officially 5 months old. I can't believe it! It's fun to see his personality coming out more and more each day. He loves to talk, read books with mommy and daddy, blow spit bubbles, and he thinks it's pretty funny when mommy or daddy burps (so like a boy!). Every evening when Adam comes home from work or school Ryker talks up a little storm. It's like he's trying to tell his daddy all about his day. And every morning when I get him up he's super talkative too, like he wants to tell me all about his dreams. It's so cute!

Lately as he lays on the floor (he prefers his back to his tummy, but we still make him do both even though he won't stay on his tummy long before he rolls himself onto his back) he likes to watch the dogs. It's like he's recently discovered these big furry animals and he thinks they are fascinating. The dogs have started to pay more attention to him too, occasionally sniffing him. And of course Shady is always very concerned any time he cries. She always looks at me so intently until I help Ryker stop crying. Shady is such the nurturer.

Another milestone that happened on Ryker's 5 month birthday is that I participated in my first ever triathlon. It was at Daybreak at 8:30 in the morning and it was freezing! Last I checked the weather on my phone before we started it said it was 47 degrees outside. I don't know for sure what the water temperature of the lake was, but I heard it was 55 to 56 degrees. If you're not familiar with water temperatures, let me assure you, that is VERY cold!

So I was super nervous about my first tri. I had a hard time eating the day before and my stomach was doing flip flops. I only swam in the open water once a couple of days before (normally I train in a pool, which is quite different than open water) and I really wasn't used to swimming in a wetsuit. Plus, the bike course was 6 miles uphill, and I'm not the greatest at uphills. The only good thing about that though is that means it was 6 miles downhill on the way back, and I rock at downhills. Most people take it easy on the downhill, using it as a chance to rest, but not me. That's when I push it. There where 4 women that passed me on the uphill, but then I passed them on the downhill and they never caught up to me on the run.

Ahhh the run. I am not a great runner. Never have been, probably never will be. However, I was lucky enough to have a girl from my triathlon class, Michelle, find me on the run and run with me the whole 5k. Michelle is a faster runner than me so I pushed myself hard to keep up with her, and somehow I managed to keep up with her all the way to the end. And thanks to the good pace we kept on the run, I actually took 3rd place in my division! Crazy!

My goal when I first set out to do a triathlon was just to finish it and not to come in last place. Then my goal became to finish it and do it under 2 hours. I never thought I could even come close to placing, so you can imagine my surprise when I not only finished under 2 hours, but also finished 3rd. I'm totally thrilled! And now I'm that much more motivated to work harder and do better at my next triathlon.

Another milestone that happened at Ryker's 5 month birthday is that I officially have lost 60 pounds since he was born. So as you can see, it's been an interesting 5 months. My baby is getting so big, and strong, and bright, and accomplishing all kinds of things. I completed a triathlon and lost a bunch of weight (although I still have more to go before I reach my final weight loss goal. Too bad I gained 50 pounds in pregnancy). I'm excited to see what will happen in the next 5 months!