Updates

Springtime

Let me start by saying, I am not a summer person, at least not the summers in Rockwall, TX. They are hot and miserable. Maybe someday we can "summer in Canada". However, springtime is one of my favorite times of year. I love days that you can be outside with the sun shining, breeze blowing and you might need a light jacket. We have spent a few afternoons at the park with picnic lunches in the last few weeks. Zoe is getting to the age where she can enjoy the playground equipment right along with Eli. She climbs the ladders, goes down the slides, walks across the bridges and she could spend the day in the swings. I can't keep up with her and all our stuff at the same time anymore. So, I hang out by the exit so they can't escape and off they go to play. Every few minutes or so I'll hear, "Mom, mom!!" and see those chubby cheeks come bouncing my way. She either wants a bite or a drink, then she's off again. Eli does a really good job of keeping up with her and including her in whatever he's playing. On Monday, we were there with some of our Preschool Association friends and they made Zoe the park monster. She had a blast chasing all the big kids around. Then they'd all come down the twisty tube slide holding onto eachother with her in the middle. I am always so proud to see Eli watch out for her and make sure that she is okay and having fun.

Update for Eli

Eli started his second soccer season a couple of weeks ago at our church, Lake Pointe. This season, Johnny and Eli's friend David's dad Danny are coaching. Neither of them has had this kind of experience before and they are really funny to watch. They are both so loving and patient with the nine boys on the team. Danny did bring them both new whistles at the second practice :) Johnny proudly keeps his hanging from his rear view mirror in his car. I have to include this quick clip of Eli attempting to do sit-ups. He clearly doesn't get it :)

I also got Eli signed up for his second summer of swimming lessons. He starts the week after school gets out. He cried when I first told him, but then for some reason the fact that he will be five and no longer four has made him very excited. His goal is to be jumping off the diving board by the time the lessons are over. We go to a woman that teaches out of her home in her own pool. I was very proud of him last summer and hopefully he will really excel this year.

Update for Zoe

When I look at Zoe I no longer see a baby, I see a little girl. She is full of personality and spunk, and is growing up too fast. I love watching her develop and learn new things, but it's a little bittersweet since she's our last. She is talking more and more and is 100% mobile.

This week she started ISR (Infant Swim Resource) survival swimming lessons. She goes every Monday-Friday until she is completely successful. At her age, they said it takes four to six weeks. The lessons are only ten minutes long.

From the ISR website:

"Children over 1 year learn the following sequence during ISR's Self-Rescue swimming lessons.

• To hold their breath underwater
• Swim with their head down
• Roll onto their back to float, rest, and breathe
• Roll back over to resume swimming until they reach the side of the pool, crawl out or be rescued by an adult
• To perform these Self-Rescue skills first in a swim diaper, then while fully clothed

With these skills your child will be able to swim independently and learn to move at his or her own pace toward the safety of the side of the pool or the shores of a pond or lake."

She cried quite a bit the first two days, but she did a great job. She has really good arm strength and is able to grab onto the side of the pool very quickly. Today, the third day, she hardly cried at all. She seems to really be getting the hang of what they've done so far. At the end of the lesson, I lay two towels by the edge of the pool then cover her with a third one. She is so worn out that she just lays there and almost falls asleep. I will feel so much better this summer at the pool and the water park with both my babies having the skills they are gaining through swimming lessons.

Mommy Time

Last Friday, Eli all of a sudden said he had a great idea, but he couldn't tell me what it was. He adamantly asked me to remind him to tell daddy when he got home. Not knowing what his idea was, I wasn't positive he would be able to remember himself (he comes up with lots of ideas that he later forgets). So, I asked him for a little clue that might help him to remember in case he forgot. He told me that it was a surprise he wanted to get for me and that daddy would have to take him to get it. Saturday afternoon, the kids and I went to Durant, OK for cousins birthday parties, and Johnny stayed home to work and meet with a client. Johnny promised to take him on Sunday after naps. The original plan was they would go and have "boy time" and Zoe and I would stay home and have "girl time". However, about an hour before they left, Eli crawled up in my lap and said, "Mom, I decided we are going to take Zoe with us. That way you can have a little time by yourself with no kids bugging you." In case you haven't noticed this about Eli, he is one of the sweetest boys on the planet and he loves his mommy :)

So, they headed out and I set up the couch for laundry folding and TV watching. They were gone for awhile and Johnny called to say they had left the store, but would be about 30 more minutes. Eli was playing a car bingo game and was missing several items. They were going to drive around for a little while longer and try to find some of them.

When they got home, Eli had a huge smile on his face, but no surprise in his hands. He told me that it was hiding in daddy's car because he still had to do something before he was ready to give it to me. Tuesday afternoon, he got out all his scissors (plain and fancy edged), construction paper, stamps, stickers, markers, crayons, etc. and set up on the kitchen table. He made cards for all four of us. Zoe tore hers in half the second he handed it to her. Luckily, Eli is an understanding big brother and he didn't get too upset. He put mine and Johnny's under our pillows so we could find them at bedtime. Then when Johnny got home from work, which was a little late, he asked him to get my surprise out of the car and to put in under my pillow with the card. I was allowed to look before I went to bed. He got me a package of colored pens. He was so proud of himself and asked me about five times if I loved them. He told me the best part about me being his mom was that he loves me with all his heart and he can buy me things :)
The first picture is the front of the card. It says Mommy and has stamps and pictures of badges. Somewhere, I can't remember, we saw a boy with boyscout badges. He drew them on my card.


The second picture is the back of the card. This is a picture of the four of us.