Happy 4th of July!

We've had such a wonderful 4th weekend, and I hope you have too!  It was impossible to get a decent picture of the boys yesterday, but I tried!


We went to church in the morning and then had lunch at one our favorite places to eat (Thomas is always assured to get his favorite, fried okra, there!).  We came back home (to my parents' house) and let the boys rest to prepare for some time at the lake.  And then we enjoyed hours in the lake.  The boys LOVE the water. 

Parker loves to run into the lake and fall face first into the water.  He did this over and over and over again.  He thinks he is a fish.  And the boy is fearless.  He will try anything and do anything and go anywhere in the lake.  His brother is a bit more cautious, but still loves the water too.  He also enjoyed a few boat rides...and so did our dog, Sully.  I believe it was her first ride!


Parker is really doing better and better at getting around in the water (semi-swimming) with his life jacket on.  He gets so impressed with himself.  And luckily this was the only type of alligator we saw yesterday.


We grownups had a good time in the lake too!  I enjoyed catching up with some dear friends.  It had been far too long since we saw each other last and it was just like no time had passed at all.  I love those kind of friends!


The boys made it a very long time yesterday and I was quite surprised and impressed.  They were initially scared of fireworks, but once they could see them (and not just hear them), they decided they were quite interesting (and then they didn't want to go to sleep!). 

It was a long day, but a great day.  Trey and I enjoyed time with friends (I stayed until midnight!) and the boys were sound asleep.  It was a great weekend.  I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! 

Swimming friends

I still cannot get into a blogging groove. I think it's because Thomas is not really napping anymore, so my free time is much more limited. I can't seem to find the energy to come up with coherent sentences. It's far more work than it should be at this point in my life. Right now I'm letting Thomas watch a rare bit of TV so I can sit here and have a small amount of computer time. If I have to read The Polka Palace Party or Red Fish, Blue Fish one more time today I might go insane!

One of the highlights of last week was pool day on Tuesday. We invited over a few friends and ended up having our neighborhood pool all to ourselves! It was cloudy at first, but the sun finally came out and a good time was had by all (or so I think!). I didn't take many great pictures, but here's a few of what I have...


Let's see...two adults (Casie & Taryn) with six kids (Ava, Lily, Autumn, Thomas, Margaret Anne and Abigail).

And lots of strollers for the littlest ones!

They had lots to keep them entertained.


Thomas tried out his new goggles for the first time (with Jack to his right):


Meanwhile the babies watched from the side, Parker with his usual feet-up pose (and to his right, Sarah Ellen and then Olivia)...




Taryn really had her hands full there for a while...


And by the time the sun came out, Thomas and Abigail were the only ones still in the pool (everyone else got out to eat lunch!).


We had a fun time and hope everyone will come back and join us again soon. It's fun when I take Thomas and Parker, but even more fun when there are four other babies to hang out with Parker and five bigger kids to swim with Thomas (and most of all, four adults to chat with me!).

Water bug

We've been spending more time at the pool this summer.


In fact, this is the first summer we've ever ventured to our neighborhood pool and Thomas loves it. He asks to go all the time. He took swimming lessons at the beginning of the summer and they really have helped. At first, he only wanted to stay on the steps, but last week, he finally got brave and started swimming out in the pool. He still wears his swim vest, but he's doing really, really well. I took these pictures just before he started swimming out. His last days hanging on the steps...



He's never afraid to blow bubbles (and this is something he has taught Parker. Parker does it in the bathtub.).






That was a rare day with just the two of us. Parker was home napping (not by himself, of course). I'm glad to see he has taken to the water so well!

July 4th at the lake

We headed up to my parents' house to spend July 4th at the lake. Its funny. Sometimes when I'm down there with the boys, I can't help but remember the many times I spent down at that very beach (there's much more beach now though!) when I was young. I especially remember many Memorial Day and July 4th picnics. Now my boys get to have similar experiences. Parker enjoyed chilling out...


While Thomas tried his hand with the boogie board (not that there are waves enough for using this properly...he just liked floating on it and dragging it around):


And sometimes there was the occasional flop...


Parker just sat back and watched from his comfy seat...


Thomas had a ball. He loves the water now. He cannot stay in long enough...




I never can get him to look at me though...




I was impressed with how long Parker was willing to wear the sunglasses. He thought they were pretty funny.


The night before we enjoyed a delicious cook out with my parents and their neighbors (who feel like family) and their oldest daughter and her husband. The oldest daughter is a great friend of mine whom I don't get to see as often as I like, so it was great to see everyone. I stole picture from Mrs. B's camera that she took of our family that night. It goes to show you what happens when you try to take a family photo next to a plate of cheese and crackers...


Parker took the cheese, Thomas preferred the crackers. :)

One of these days we are going to get a decent family photo!

First swim lessons

Last week Thomas had his first three swim lessons. They seemed to go really well. Every day he asked if he could go have another swim lesson and when it was time to go, he wanted to stay. Now he is noticing the pool in our neighborhood and I guess I'm going to have to brave taking both boys and go!


He is taking swim lessons from a lady at her home. Two days there were two other children there with him (one was his good friend Lily), and one day it was just Thomas & Lily (the day I took my camera). The moms sit on the screened porch and watch from afar (though the children are told not to pay attention to us). That's why the pictures are a little funny...they are taken through a screen. But you can get the idea of the fun he had and what he was learning!

At first the kicks were small and not overly noticeable...


Then they started to figure things out...


There was time to learn to blow bubbles in the water...


And with the help of a few inflatable "Nemos," they kicked their way across the pool...




And then she helped them practice their form...


And had a little fun with a little bit of Superman flying...


Thomas did great and I was very proud of him. His teacher said Thomas really wants to go and try to swim, so we've been trying to find the right contraption to suit him best. The flotation suit I bought was a tad bit large, but I think he still liked it.

Not that I think he is ready to swim, but I do think he has learned a good bit in his first week. On his last session of the week, he was playing with another student while Lily was in the middle of the pool with the instructor. I was watching him carefully because he was walking the length of the step, but I knew he was getting close to the edge. Sure enough he walked off the edge and went under. I immediately called out his name to the instructor to get her attention and she made her way over to him as quickly as she could and helped him get back on the step. While he didn't manage to get above water by himself, he did hold his breath and when she got him, he was fine. He wasn't even crying (that's what he has done before when something similar has happened). He was a little startled and shaken, but he wasn't terrified. So that was good. And I didn't freak out either! :)

He'll have more lessons this week, so we'll see how he does!

First beach trip of the summer

Last Saturday we took the boys for their first beach trip of the summer. We had a great time and it was a beautiful day.


Notice Thomas running in the background:


We took Parker out in the water (he was far too young for this last year):


As long as the waves weren't breaking on him, he was okay:


And as Thomas refers to her, his "yellow Aunt Beth" came along (don't ask what he calls the other (brunette) Aunt Beth). The boys were so happy to play with her!


At snacktime Parker tried very hard to get Thomas' cracker from him (he had his own too, but he always wants everyone else's food too!):



It was a great day and we look forward to going back again soon!


As a sidenote, I haven't really said much about it, but Thomas continues to do pretty well with potty training. And at the beach he managed to accomplish his first outdoor potty time. I tell you, this is one thing that makes potty training a boy so much easier!!! He was excited to "aim for the leaves!"

Two little waterbugs

My friend Emily and her family were spending the week at Kiawah last week and asked us to come out and play. I took the boys on Friday and we ended up meeting them at the pool. For me managing the boys by myself, I think this turned out to be a much better option than going to the beach. I was glad it all worked out for the best, and the boys had a ball!



This was Thomas' first time in a pool since two summers ago. With Parker being a newborn last summer, we went the beach a few times, but never a pool. It was his first experience with swimmies and he did fine. He didn't, however, have much interest in venturing off the steps though. We were there for about four hours, and other than a few minutes of bravery and a little time out to have lunch, he spent the entire time on the steps. He didn't seem to mind one bit!



That's Thomas & Emily's youngest son Ben. Parker spent some time in the pool in a little shaded float (it's on the left edge of the picture above), but as he did not take a nap on the way out there as I had hoped, he was a little cranky unless being held, so I never got a picture of him in the pool. For a short time he watched from the side:


Parker loved being in the water though. I would hold him out and he would float up on his belly and kick his feet behind him. He was quite the little waterbug...far more adventurous that his big brother! And the rest of the time, I just held him and he semi-napped with his head laying on my chest while I held half of him in the water.

Eventually it was time to go and Thomas pretty much immediately asked if we could come back.


And the best part about it was, it wasn't long before the trip home became very quiet.


Thomas fell asleep almost immediately, and Parker didn't fight it for too long. You can kind of see him in the mirror above, but here's a closer look:


And when we got home I managed to unpack the car and do a few other things and they were still sound asleep in their seats:


I carried Thomas upstairs and he went right back to sleep (this rarely happens) and then did the same with Parker too. They were conked out! Thanks to Emily and your family for allowing us to share a fun pool day with you!