More eating

Little Cate is a fruit bat. This time it's blueberries.

I suppose a real bat would do better at getting the food IN its mouth.

Yes, she only has three teeth on the bottom. We think she swallowed the fourth tooth. I want to take Cate to a dentist to see what is going on, but Maggie said that I have a problem and shouldn't worry so much about Cate. At least she has all her fingers. So far.

Cate Keeps Eating... Stuff

Cate is always looking for a good thing on which to chew.

It's been quiet in our home these days. The girls (Caroline & Sara) have been at dance all day, Monday thru Thursday, for the last two weeks. Maggie is training harder and better than ever. She looks GREAT. I am working and trying to ride as much as possible. That's about all I am doing though... Riding. No lifting or running or swimming lately. It's getting REALLY hard for me to stay in front of Maggie on the bike. She is getting STRONG.

But this is Cate's blog... Cate is Great. What a sweetie she is.

A Day At The Pool

My Mom takes me to the pool at the YMCA. There are lots of kids there, and some moms, too. Check out the one sitting behind me in this picture. Look quick before she notices I am taking the picture...

She's got a couple older kids with her. I'll bet she's watching my every move. Not only am I the best looking chick in this pool, I am also the fastest swimmer. Check this pose out:

I have a great start. No other kid (or adult) gets a start off the blocks like I do. I also think that my cool swim goggles help out A LOT. Speaking of equipment, my speedsuit is a little baggy. Mom has got to work on that. I am not exactly bulky, ya know? I need something a little more form-fitting.

I'll try to take more pics of me in the pool soon. My mom says I'll be walking full-time soon.

To be honest with you, I think I do JUST FINE crawling. I get around pretty good.

See ya later. I am off to my next event...

Another Junior USA Triathlon Member

You know how they say some kids are just naturals? Or maybe you have heard that athletes are born, not made? Meet the next queen of triathleticism (I just made that word up). I will be happy if she just makes the 2020 US Olympic Swim Team. I am not asking for miracles here.


She is eager to start training. She is modeling her apres-swim dress for us, as well as the latest in swim headgear.

You can see the dedication to her sport in her eyes. The steely-blue glare of a champion. Eye of the tiger.

Her mom is going to work on nutrition later. A taquito may not be the best post-workout meal, but it does have lots of protein (chicken).

Happy Slightly-Early-Birthday!!!

Cate is almost One Year Old!!!

We had a birthday party for her and Caroline on Saturday. Caroline had a BIG party on Friday with all her friends, but that's for another blog. This is Cate's blog, and we will tell you about Cate's first cake!

Well, she didn't really know what to do with it. As you can tell by the pictures, she is a fairly neat eater. I think we had to smear a little icing on her so you wouldn't think she was OCD or something.

Cate spent most of the day at the ice chest, just like her big sister Caroline did on HER first birthday! We have pictures to prove it! But Cate did get around to visit with everyone. Pretty much everyone was at our house for the celebration. Cates actual birthday is May 15, but we wanted to do it with Caroline, and we didn't want Caroline to have to wait two solid weeks!

Cate got lots of presents - clothes, toys, scooter things, blocks - you name it, she got it. Typical spoiled kid birthday. I am sure Mom will have even more for her on her actualy birthday too.

Not EXTREMELY excited right here... but she was pretty tired right about this time.

"What can I do to it?" She seems a little unsure.

This was about as bad as it got. She's a neat eater, what can we say?

As I was saying...

Cate is getting into things...

A New Phase

Cate has entered a new phase. For a long time she was putting everything into her mouth that she could get her hands on. Now she has decided to experiment with getting into small spaces. Here are two snapshots of her attempting to be the next Houdini. The first picture is from Easter Day, and she is trying to get out of Andrea's arms and into the bucket. The second picture is from our day at the Tempe Ironman Triathlon. She was more successful in this attempt. She was ablet o get into the basket underneath her stroller. No mean feat, I tell ya!!!

My First Easter, by Cate Penman

When I woke up, I knew it was going to be a special day for me. Right away, my mommy (whom I adore) brought me into the place where she and my daddy (whom I also adore) sleep and she put me on the floor. They then gave me a basket thing that had all sorts of stuff in it. I had lots of fun taking everything out of the basket.

I wasn't really awake when all this was taking place, but I was awake enough to have a good time opening my basket and taking out all the goodies.

Shhh... You must be vewy vewy quiet!!! I think I here a wabbit...

I DID!!! I DID!!! I DID SEE A WABBIT!!!

Bagel Babe

Now that I have a few teeth (well, one tooth and several "buds"), my Mom is letting me eat a more varied diet. So now I am eating bagels. I think I am in love with bagels. Egg bagels, water bagels, onion bagels, sesame bagels, warm bagels, cold bagels, fresh bagels and... fresh bagels. A girl has to draw the line somewhere.


In the first picture you see me listening to a short lecture from my Mom on the proper method of eating a bagel with less than two teeth. I have to be honest with you all - At my age, I have an attention span that is measured in milliseconds. This picture was taken about 2 seconds into the speech, but it looks like I am at my wits end waiting for her to let me dig in.

My first attempts weren't very successful. Apparently, licking doesn't get me very far. My mom was right. I need you get some tooth into it. Teeth is better, but tooth will have to do for now.

My Mom should have just told me to go at it from the edge in the first place! Seriously, once I got my tooth sunk into this bad boy, it was all over but the shouting.

The world of fine dining is out there for me now. I can't wait to dig into some more challenging foods. For those of you who are wondering, no, I did NOT eat the whole thing.

I have picked my Godparents!!!

It was very hard, and I took over ten months to come to this decision, but I have finally made my selections!

I have decided that I don't really need a Godfather. Why? Because I want my Dad to know that he is the ONLY MAN FOR ME!!! That's right! I have chosen TWO GODMOTHERS!!!

The selection was difficult, as there are many wonderful women in my life. But I had to decide, so I made a spreadsheet with several pivot tables and some really cool pie charts and a couple scatter plots. After all the tabulations were in, I chose one aunt and one cousin to be my Godparents. They are both devout Catholics, so I know that no matter what Jesus will be in my life (I mean, assuming that is what I choose as an adult - Okay Andrea?). They were both SO excited to find out. I am really happy to tell everyone that my Godparents are Jennifer Penman and Tatiana Penman. Jennifer is Bruce's baby sister, and since she doesn't have any kids yet, I know I'll be the MOST special niece for her! Tatiana is my Daddy's Goddaughter, and she wanted to be MY Godmother so badly that she would beg every time she talked to my Dad about me. So I know I will be her most special cousin! I am a very lucky girl to have two such wonderful and loving Godparents!

Thank you Jennifer and Tatiana for accepting this most special assignment!