The first swim of 2011

The kids had their first swim in our deck pool a couple weeks ago.  It was a balmy 63 degrees outside.  Gemma beegggggggged to go "swooming"  (as she calls it) so I finally gave in (thinking that she would learn her lesson).  Would you believe they played in the water for the better part of an hour?!  Crazy kids!

Here they are in their suits.  I found them at Target, and I totally love them.  (The suits not the kids.  I mean, I love my kids too, but I didn't get them at Target...)  Anyways, I like these suits because they are more modest than anything I've been able to find up to this point, plus they require about 1/4 the sunscreen they would need if wearing a "regular" suit.  CUTIES!

Swimming

We took the kids to the gym for Kolbe's first swim yesterday evening. Both kids had a lot of fun, Gemma even learned to plug her nose and put her head "under", and by "under" I mean she would dunk it about up to her top lip. Haha. She tried ;-D I did hold her and go under with her once, and she was OK with that. Didn't take Kolbe under yet, although I think Gemma was about his age the first time I took her under. Maybe next time. It was a fun time for all of us. I decided with two parents, and two kids who needed held/supervised in the water it just wasn't worth it to bring the camera, so I snapped a few pics before we left of the kids in their suits. I got Kolbe's swim-shorts at the consignment shop I like to frequent, and Gemma's suit came from Kohl's. They are already clearing them out, and the 3T and 4T ones we had at home were BOTH on the small side. She is sooo long in the torso, this is a size 5!!! I was glad to find something relatively modest. You'd think it wouldn't be an issue with a two-year-old, but good grief!! No, I don't want my baby-girl wearing a string bikini, thank you. I don't know, I just don't think that's cute. Or appropriate. Just my opinion though.
Look at my big boy!
He was very fascinated by the bright-colored little fishies on his trunks.
As I mentioned before, we've been enjoying lots of time out in the pool on the deck. Here is Gemma before one of our morning "swims". Please ignore the horrid bed-head she's sporting. I had her stand by my plant so I could show you its progress. These were planted about two months ago, and as my friend Margaret warned me, the purple queen spike is indeed taking over. Poor begonias. It's a super-cool plant though, and I already have an idea of what I'm going to do with it next year (hopefully I can find one again).
CHEERS!

Our week

I realized I haven't blogged much this week. Guess I just haven't found an incredible lot to have been blog-worthy, but alas thought I'd login for some quick updates.

We've been settling into a nice groove for the summer. Kolbe almost always naps for a fairly long stretch in the mornings, so Gemma and I have been taking advantage of that time (and the baby monitor) to play in the little kiddie pool on our deck. Well, let me amend that statement...I enjoy soaking up the sun, and she plays with the pool. The water is pretty chilly in the mornings, of which she's not a huge fan, so she sits beside it and pours the water back and forth, or has me throw her rings in and she walks in and picks them up. Or we play grocery store, and I have to make a beeping noise and pretend to scan her pool toys. Then I have to give her my debit card so she can scan it and push the buttons. All her idea. She has quite the imagination. At any rate, she's entertained, I'm getting a tan, Kolbe is well-rested, and we're all happy. Life is good. I say that a lot, I'm finding. "Life is good." But you know, it is. It just. is. We are blest indeed.
She's still head-over-heels for her bubby brother and is having a great time with him as he gets more interactive. She loves to play toys with him on the floor in the living room, and also loves to rock in the glider with him. I love how she leans her chin in to snuggle his head whenever I take a picture.
Gemma is essentially potty-trained. I am very proud of her. You know, maybe it won't be so easy or early with future kiddos, but with her it really was a breeze. I think it's just that she was ready, and because of that she really made the transition without a hitch. I still put her in a dipe at night and nap, but she rarely wets even then. And she is doing better at going, or rather "trying" and then just happening to go, when I make the request (IE if we're about to go somewhere, or right before bed). I've found it's all in how I word it. If I tell her she needs to go she balks, but if I ask her if she will try and see if any potties will come out and if not that's fine, she's there in a minute, and nine times out of ten has to go. Funny how that works. At any rate, I'm very proud of her, and actually pretty excited for myself to just have one in dipes! Makes it much more convenient (and less laundry, too!). It was getting a bit tedious changing her dipes, and she was wetting through almost every time, and the diaper bag was stuffed past capacity anytime we went somewhere, so in general it was just getting to be pain. It's been a good change for both of us.

We celebrated Aaron's birthday last week. Didn't do anything particularly out of the ordinary, but that's how we roll. I made him some brownies and we got him a new hat, some undershirts and some German sausage that he likes from a meat locker a bit west of where we live.
We sure have been enjoying the nice (albeit a bit warm now) weather, with grilling out, dinners on the deck, trips to the park, playing in the pool, and just generally enjoying the fact that we are a.) not all cooped up in the house day in and day out, and b.) not having to bundle up with coats, shoes and blankets every time we leave the house. I really do love this time of year. Spring and Fall particularly. Not a huge fan of the summer heat, but at least it is still easy enough to get out and about. Oh winter, bleh. Each spring I wonder how we survived, yet each winter we some how manage to make it through. Guess it makes us appreciate the nice weather all the more. Whatever the case, we're doing well and enjoying life in our neck of the woods. I wish you all the same! Thanks for checking in with us.

What a difference a year makes

Gemma in her pool, June 2009
Gemma in her pool today (May 2010)
HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE!!!