The Hairs

Well… it’s been some time since I’ve posted a blog entry. I have a few to post including:
1) Links to picture sets of Riley.
2) Updates on Riley - what he’s doing, saying, etc

Before those entries - thought I would give an update on our winter weather. We have had a very cold and snowy winter up to this point. This morning, we unexpectedly awoke to some 2-3″ of snow. This will be the fifth time I have to pull the shovel out. Great exercise but… come on - it’s not even February yet! Compared to last year, the temperatures are much colder as well. We have not been above freezing for a week and the low on Friday night was down to 1F.

Needless to say, long underwear is the norm especially when the winds pick up. It can cut right through you without it…

So.. more entries to come. In the meanwhile, please check out the Photos page.

We visited the Wightman’s Farm/Apple Orchard in Morristown, NJ on Sunday, October 5th for a couple of hours of family fun. The pictures are available on family photo site (link to Wightman’s Farm pictures). Some samples from the day:

Riley has a couple of new moves to share with the world:

• Turning around in circles
• Stomping (either in play or frustration - I have seen both)

His feet are growing as well - he now wears a size 7 shoe. No need to get any ideas about buying shoes - he’ll be out of these soon as well.

My endurance is going up. For some, it may not be a big deal to do 20 miles without stopping but that’s what I’m up to now. Today, though, I only did 15.6 miles. Since starting on this regiment about a month ago, I have logged 203 miles and have reached the goals of doing 50 miles in a week and averaging 15 MPH.

Today, however, I only averaged 14.9 MPH but figure that has something to do with the heat. According to the bike computer, it was between 95F and 97F. This is probably a bit high (confirmed on wunderground.com that it was 89.8F officially) but this may be what the actual temperature on the road is. As we know, asphalt has a tendency to heat up a bit and retain heat.

I was planning to go out tomorrow but Tropical Storm Hanna looks to sabotage the weekend. We’re expecting between 3-6″ of rain and winds 30 MPH with gusts up to 50 MPH. For my family in Texas, this sounds like a typical storm but it’s a rarity around the NYC / Central New Jersey area.

In the event there was ANY doubt on Riley’s favorite color then it is as clear as a blue sky - yes, it is yellow. He has clutched two yellow crayons in his right hand and will not give them up for anything. He also is becoming more vocal when he does not get what he wants. This includes putting his yellow crayons away.

Perhaps the terrible two’s are not too far away!