Swimming Lessons 101

This week, Sawyer started swimming lessons.

Every day, for two weeks.

Today is Thursday, and it is the first time the sun was out all week during his 9am lessons (good thing they keep the learning pool at 96 degrees!).

Hooray!

The first day, they line all the kids up just to kind of see where they are at. Kids have to be 3 to be in "real" lessons. I noticed a lot of the kids are closer to 4 in this class - but that's okay. My boy with a summer birthday will probably always be the youngest and smallest in the class, so he might as well get used to it (unless someone can convince me to wait until 6 to send him to kindergarten - which is what everyone is trying to do in this city...the trend it to send boys with summer birthdays at 6 instead of 5...but that's another discussion)

The first two days, he was in a class that had a boy teacher - the only boy teacher - and he thought it was really cool.

Then, for no apparent reason that I could see, they moved him up a level. I was worried he would be upset that he wasn't with teacher Tristan anymore...but then he got teacher Mary...and he loves her!

The hardest part about lessons, so far, is getting ourselves out the door by 8:30am. It's not that early, but to pack clothes, snacks, fresh towels, etc., and make sure that we down some breakfast before we head out - well, it's slightly tricky (especially when they tend to wake up close to 8am!). It has opened my eyes a bit to the fact that when Preschool starts this fall (same time and two blocks from the pool) I might even have to get myself up before the kids. It will be good for me :)

Wait, I LIED!

The HARDEST part about lessons, is keeping Aspen from running and jumping in the pool with all the other kids! I had to wrangle her on one hip while I snapped these photos today...the girl just wants to have fun, what can I say? And honestly, I'd love to jump in myself!

The BEST part about lessons, is to see my boy sit and listen and follow instructions and let a teacher gently push him beyond his level of comfort rather than me. It really does make a difference. It has been so much fun to see him having fun out there - and he is so cute, we got some special swim shampoo for him and he LOVES to take a shower after class. We wait in line and he just stands in the shower with his shampoo-covered buzz-cut-hair and he has a blast. He asked today "do we get to come back tomorrow?" and it makes me happy that he is enjoying his class, while learning important skills. It is really important to us that our kids learn how to swim properly, and also learn how to be safe around the water, since we are surrounded by it where we live.

Anyway...

It's a good thing summer finally came back today.

We are wading pool bound after naps...

and lucky for all of us, we will hit up the pool twice tomorrow-

once for lessons,

and again - for our weekly (and fave thing EVER) family swim!

Then, Aspen will have her chance.

Unlike her brother - she throws ALL caution to the wind.

She is one who would seriously run and jump in if we weren't looking.

Hooray for swim lessons and here's to lots more pool time this summer!

ps-if any locals want to join us at the Mounger Pool for Family Swim on Friday night - it happens from 5:30-7:30pm and on a nice night, you've got to get in line right away because if they reach capacity, they'll turn you away. They always have a theme, and music, and games going along with the event - and we always pack a picnic dinner and head over to the park right afterwards. We'd love company - it's SUCH fun and we look forward to it every week!

*for those of you not from Seattle...let's just say summer has been teasing us and taken her sweet time to arrive -and stay.

Quick note to summer:

My dearest Summer - please STAY this time, we love you so - we've been waiting for you since last winter, heck, even last fall. Don't tell fall, winter, or spring, but you are my FAVORITE season. Especially in Seattle, where you are PERFECT. Please stay a while - you can even extend your stay since your arrival was delayed. More than fine with me. You can even stay at our house, if you'd like. We have a couple of fun camping trips coming up, and dry/warm/sunny weather would be greatly appreciated - especially when we backpack with two toddlers. Thanks! Can't wait to see you at the wading pool, park, duck pond, beach, playground, and pool! Oh, and in our garden would be nice, too :)

Party Time!

Friends and Family came from far and near to get wet at

Sawyer & Forrest's Pool Party!

(the above photo is Sawyer with Aunt Tia, who came from Boston! I know, I know - she could almost pass as me, huh? I forget I'm a twin until we are hanging out together and we still get people staring and asking "are you twins?" although we both laughed when we were at the park and someone asked that and they were directing the question at Sawyer and Aspen...I still can't figure out why people always ask us if they're twins!)

This year, we kept things simple and rented the Mounger Pool for party time! Sawyer and his Buddy, Forrest, shared their first birthday party, and since they are life long friends and it's nicer to split the cost of renting the pool since we share so many of the same friends, that's just what we did! Pretty much all we had to do was show up and have fun!

I must admit, the morning of the party when it started raining I was a little worried. It had been gorgeous the day before - and then rain? Well, the nice thing is that the pool is kept at a bath-water-warm 96 degrees, so even if it was pouring, it would've felt nice in the pool! And there was a fun, steamy effect when we first arrived!

I think everyone was pleasantly surprised at the warm pool water - my sister who brought her cute family up from Tacoma didn't even hesitate taking her baby in...everyone had a blast!

Sawyer was super excited that his cousin, Alyssa, could come to the party. They love to play together and it melts my heart! Here she is, going down the little slide (she went down the big slide later, and loved it!)

I almost didn't bring the camera, just because I wanted to simply enjoy the party - but as we were pulling out the driveway I knew I would regret if I didn't at least get a few pictures of the party, with all the lovely friends and family gathered around our boys, celebrating coming into their third year.

I didn't take that many pictures, though, because I wanted to hop in the pool myself! I only wish I had a picture of me and Aspen going down the BIG corkscrew slide! It's like a mini-waterslide and she looooves it as much as I do!

Trophy Cupcakes. Courtesy of Cassandra (Forrest's amazing Mommy!) Mmmmmm.

I just loved the look on Sawyer's face when he opened Aunt Tia's gift: a puppet/plush dragon with 3 heads and wings. Priceless!

and plenty of new wheels...

Forrest being sweet with his Mommy!

I can hardly believe our boys are THREE now! But they surely are! May all of your birthday wishes come true, Sawyer and Forrest! We love you!

Thanks to everyone who came to help them celebrate!

We hope you had as much fun as we did!

Swingin' into Fall: 8 months old!

Has another month already passed us by? I swear every month I pose the same question: how does the time fly by so quickly?

The answer surely must be: when you're having FUN!

Fun we are having...but I still can never get over how fast time seems to be slipping through the hourglass these days. Does anyone else feel like it goes faster the older you get? I sure do. And according to wonderful people beyond me in years - it just keeps getting faster. Yikes!

I remember being a kid, when a day seemed like forever. I miss that. All the more reason, though, to be with my kids and love them and play with them and cherish them each day. I feel so blessed to be able to "stay at home" with them. Staying at home often means...walks to the park, playing at the beach, outings to the zoo, etc...lots of fun!

So on one of our walks to the park by our home this week, I snapped a few of Aspen (something I try to do each month the first year, if you haven't notice already :)

Dearest Aspen,

As you rounded the corner to 8 months, all of a sudden you just don't look like quite such a "baby" anymore. Well, of course you are a baby (and, just like your brother, you will always be my baby!), but you know - not quite like such a very young baby. Maybe it's the hair clip? Of course, I only put it in for pictures, because it's too small and you would surely eat it if you got your cute little chubster fingers on it.

I am thoroughly enjoying you being my baby.

A few things about you this month:

LOVE sucking on things and putting things in your mouth.

(there have got to be some teeth in there somewhere, anxious to erupt...but I'm not complaining - no teeth means no biting while nursing, ha ha!)

You have abandoned your army crawl for speed crawling.

You also decided you like to stand up. Any chance you get, you are pulling yourself up to stand. Please not yet! I just know I will blink twice and wish you a Merry Christmas and you'll be walking and we'll be serving you Birthday cake. Please wait to walk, just a bit longer? Pretty please?

You had your very first diaper rash. Poor girly. Poor little bum. Not sure if it was from changing the detergent I was your cloth diapers in, or from trying broccoli for the first time. Either way, diaper rash is the pits for cute girls like you!

You tried your first "real" solid food - finger food (oh, besides those puff things) - cute up banana. Yeah, having teeth will help with the table foods, but you sure enjoyed gumming the banana. Yummy stuff. This week I'm going to see how you like avocado. I have enjoyed making your baby food. And you seem to love all of it! You make the cutest little sounds, like it tastes just divine :)

Speaking of noises - you can be very noisy! I swear you are trying to imitate your brother - you have this cute gruff little voice and you try to make the car noises he does. You also make some really girly noises, which are quite delightful.

Overall, my sweet darling, you are delightful! We couldn't have imagined a happier girl. Or a cuter one, for that matter!

Doesn't she look SO BIG in the swing? Must be those 'jeggins. Yup. I can't believe I got a chubby infant a pair of skin tight jeans/leggins, but that I did. She has gotten many compliments - I mean, COME ON, peeps, they show off her curvy, sexy thighs so well!

Anyway...in case you think all I do is focus (pun intended) on my daughter - don't worry, her brother is always close at hand. He has discovered a way to "fly" on the swings.

Just call him SUPER SAWYER

and you'll get this big grin.

LOVE THIS BOY!!!

Yes, F-U-N. That is how time flies!

"buildin' it"

Well, it was time. I mean, who has a business with "Little Red Wagon" in the name and doesn't actually own one? That changed when the doorbell rang last week and the Amazon delivery guy delivered my new, yet classic, Radioflyer. MMM HMMM. You might say it was a gift from my dear Grandpa Millard and Grandma Iris. I think they would have approved. I know it's kinda funny, but it means a lot to me, thinking of this as a gift sent from them, since they were such a huge part of my life and the beautiful memories of my childhood.

Just like his Great-Grandpa Millard (who was a Master Mechanic on everything from planes to trains), Sawyer is a guy who is intrigued by things that move. He is pretty much obsessed with cars, trucks, planes, trains, you know. SUCH A BOY. The new wagon sat in the box for several days and Sawyer kept asking about it. I told him we needed Daddy to help us build it. Well past bedtime last night, we all went outside in front of our garage and got to work. My heart did a little flip when I saw Sawyer helping his Daddy.

Me: I think we're ready to put the wheels on now.

Sawyer: (as shown above - carefully sets each wheel on top of the wagon, then announces:) I built it, Mommy, I put the wheels on!

Me: (heart doing little flips to see my son holding a tool in one hand, so proud of himself) Good job, Sawyer!

Sawyer: very proud smile. very proud. big. huge. smile :)

Anyway, we did build it. We built it, and then I pulled Sawyer around our driveway. And then Sawyer pulled Aspen around our driveway. And then, Daddy pulled Mommy, Sawyer, and Aspen around our driveway.

I am happy to have acquired this wagon to use as it as a mascot and prop in my Photography busines...but, more than that, I am so looking forward to the memories our family will create pulling this little red wagon along during their childhood. I imagine it will be the kind of thing that one day our grandchildren will love, and their parents will tell them about riding along in Mommy's wagon. Because that's what Sawyer calls it: Mommy's wagon. You know, I'm still just a kid at heart anyway. A kid kinda grown up, with kids of my own, but still just a kid. I think I pretty much always will be, if that's okay?

If anyone wants a ride in my new wagon, come on over!

In the rockin' chair

I was just hanging out in the rockin' chair, minding my own business...

When all of a sudden, I heard a noise...

I felt a little bit startled.

Then, I realized who it was. It was my big brother. He came over because he wanted to rock out with me. Well, rock, at least.

Isn't he sweet? He even shares all of his cars with me. I was also on the floor earlier today, on my side and about to roll over when he shouted to our mom "Aspen - playin' cars!" I wasn't really going for the cars, but I'm glad he's happy to share them with me...even the motorcycle. Hopefully one day he'll be just as grateful when I share my baby dolls and Barbies with him :)

Don't you wish you had a big brother like mine?

Sawyer in the Seattle Times

Remember this post?

Well, we got a few e-mails from friends who read the Seattle Times who reported finding a pleasant surprise as they flipped through the paper one morning.

*thanks to the Metcalfs who saved a couple copies to give to us!

A Photo A Day #4 - An Indoor Picnic

Sorry if this post isn't very interesting...it's a little tricky to make eating a sandwich look very interesting :) BUT. Today was an inning day again. I can tell my body is getting ready to have this baby...just when is anyone's best guess.

Sometimes, when the weather isn't ideal, we have indoor picnics. I picked up this blanket a while back that is water-proof (which works well outdoors here, as well) and it's perfect for throwing down on the living room carpet and putting together a quick picnic. That's what we did today to make life a little more interesting :)

I also made our sandwiches more fun today...trains and hearts. It's amazing what a few extra seconds and a couple of cookie cutters can do :) Half the time, Sawyer takes a bite of his sandwhich, looks at it, and declares what it looks like "train!" or "tractor!" or "dog!" It's quite amusing. I can't wait for summer-time clouds when we can lay on our backs and "find" things in the sky, as well.

Okay, so maybe a photograph of a toddler eating a pb&j sandwich is less than interesting to most...but to his Momma...well...of course it's cute!

Those cookies we made yesterday afternoon came in handy for our picnic, as well. We usually don't have "dessert" with lunch (and very rarely, with dinner), but today was an exception. Today was our indoor picnic!

Now...off to fold some laundry and perhaps even a little nap - I haven't had one since Sunday!

*ps- yes, the train tracks where I got in trouble are VERY active, in fact. They have had several deaths on those very tracks - which is why I understand why the policeman had to be at least a little serious with me.

A Photo A Day #3 - Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today, instead of an outing, we had an inning :) I think we may have a few more of those before Aspen comes, as my body is so so achy and tired.

One of the favorite gifts I gave this Christmas was a gift from the heart to Jacob: I bought him a cookie jar (we didn't have one) and then inside I gave him a gift certificate for basically a cookie-of-the-month type thing. He loves cookies, and I'm not too much into baking, so I thought he'd really appreciate it (and he did/does!) He did tell me that it can be every other month, if I want, so that he doesn't get fat from all those cookies! I thought I better get on it and do the first batch, before Aspen comes. I'll probably take him up on not baking a batch of cookies next month :)

Sawyer was more than happy to help bake cookies for Daddy...

And, of course, give them a taste-test, too!

YUMMY!!!

A Photo A Day #2 - Carkeek Beach

Sorry for the late post! Aspen didn't decide to come today...we just had some errands to run in the morning and didn't get to our outing until after nap today (or lack of nap, should I say? since Sawyer slept in the car for 20 minutes and then couldn't sleep - can I blame him? the sun was out in full force!)

We live just around the corner from a wonderful beach. We go there a lot - but we haven't been since the day after Thanksgiving because of cold weather (and not feeling well...) Have you noticed my new attitude? Even though my back is KILLING me and I waddle around and feel like this baby is going to just fall out of me one of these days...I am trying hard to have happy spirits and enjoy these last days I have solo with our son. I'm trying...

So - picture this: our garage is so small that we can only get in one side (the other is too close to the wall). Normally, not a problem. But now that we have two carseats in back, and Sawyer's is on the far side...I have to sit him on my lap (what lap?) to back out of the garage before I put him in his seat. He, of course, loves it. He says "back out, back out" and, so far, doesn't complain when after we back out he has to go sit in his seat in back. But me...well...let's just say it's kinda tricky when you have no lap left to sit on! I am grateful for our garage...but, my oh my, who designed such a tiny thing?

We had a BLAST playing with sand toys, watching for trains, throwing rocks in the water, and sitting on logs (not to mention splish-sploshing through the water in our boots).

My happy, handsome, little man!

We stayed all afternoon, until the sun started to make the water glisten as it got lower in the sky. Man, oh man, we've scored the past two weeks with Spring-like weather! Gotta take advantage!

One more note from our outing: my name is now on file with the police. If you live in the area and visit this beach, take note! They are painting the walkway over the train tracks that leads down to the beach. I asked the painters if there was any other way to the beach, since we'd made the effort to get there and I didn't want to disappoint Sawyer. They told me that someone had unlocked the fence and that you could go across the tracks that way on a path down to the beach. Well...did you know (as I do now!) that crossing tracks is a FEDERAL OFFENSE? Yep. You can get fined $1000 and serve up to 3 months in prison for doing such a thing! Yikes! Good thing the officer who "caught" us was super nice about it all and just put my name on file (which means I do not have a police record, I just got a friendly warning that if I did it again, they would then definitely be more serious!) So...lesson learned: don't listen to the painters!

So, there it is - day 2 (maybe I should call it "several photos a day"?)

PS ---

Week 38 Update

No changes. Still the same as last week. Although the Doc is still convinced I won't make it to the due date...at this point, do I care? Well, it would be nice to be more comfortable and have a beautiful new baby in my arms...but besides that...I'm just having fun taking it a day at a time!