I was in the laundry room trying to keep my cool. I had just found a pull-up diaper in the washing machine. (As you might imagine, they do not wash well.) They must have been stuck in Evan's pajamas from the night before. Not, not, NOT good. As I stood there figuring out how in the world I was going to clean it up, Caroline ran up to me seriously SHAKING with excitement. I worried there was something wrong.
"MOM, YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS...OUR BENDAROOS STICK TO THE WALLS!!! WE'RE MAKING PICTURES, AND THIS IS THE BEST TOY EVER!" (There is no doubt that this girl has enthusiasm.) For those of you unfamiliar with the best toy ever, Bendaroos are "super strong string covered with colorful, bendable wax." And seeing that the kids all played with them for a good long time while I contended with the washing machine mess, I highly recommend them. :)
Henry came out of school today telling me that he lost one of his teeth, and that he was on the verge of losing another one. Sure enough, a half an hour after we got home, a second tooth was out. And before he went to bed tonight, he informed me that he was going to pull his third loose tooth out when he's in bed tonight. I half believe him. Little known fact about Henry...we've never pulled any of his teeth for him. He's always done it by himself. So I expect to see him down here any minute now with his third too.The tooth fairy is going to go broke.
You may have noticed this button on the side of my blog:
If you click on it, you'll connect to a blog that I read every day. The author's youngest child, who just turned one, has been struggling with a life-threatening heart condition for all of his life, including his life in-utero. In just the past couple of days, this little baby has gone from dire circumstances (flat-lining even) to an extremely risky heart procedure to a miraculous, and permanent recovery.
I am sharing this story with you because it is such an uplifting one...I dare you to read it and not start crying. ;)
When Evan started taking swimming lessons, his separation anxiety seemed insurmountable. I had to sit right at pool's edge to get him to even contemplate going in to the water. He didn't want to even look at his teacher (Jeremy), much less listen to instruction. He wouldn't interact with the other kids, partially because he was too busy crying. And sometimes that would be for the entire lesson.
Jeremy reassured me that he had seen this before, and he knew what to do. He told me that it was not all that uncommon for kids to have this hard of a time. I put my trust in Jeremy, knowing that he's been teaching swimming lessons for years and years, and probably knew what he was doing.
It's been amazing to see him conquer his seperation anxiety. We used to have tears when I told him we were going to swimming lessons, and now we have cheers! This morning I told Evan that we were leaving for swimming lessons right after we dropped the boys off at school. Unfortunately, I forgot something, so I drove back home to pick it up. When I pulled in to our driveway, Evan got all upset and said, "No, Mommy, we don't go home. We're going to Jeremy's house!" (I love that he calls swimming lessons "Jeremy's house!")
So, now he's been progressing in his swimming skills, making little friends, and bonding with another swimming instructor that has been working with him. I'm so proud of him!
Here's a couple videos...
For safety reasons, the teachers insist that the kids walk slowly on the line around the pool and hold hands. I find it about the cutest thing in the world to watch...
Evan is becoming an old pro at jumping in the water and doing a back float...
Caroline and her Kindergarten class celebrated their 50th day of school with 50's Day! The kids all wore 50's style clothes, and did all sorts of 50's themed activities. Caroline was beyond excited!
Our two year old is almost three. Crazy! Here's some shots from his birthday party last year. Now that he's getting so big, he is definitely understanding the concept of birthday.
Whenever he sees some fun toy advertised on TV, he shouts, "THAT'S MINE FOR MY BIRTHDAY!"
Tonight he was telling me what he wants on his birthday cake. Apparently, it will need to be a big one. He wants to fit Elmo, Scooby-Doo, Batman, Spiderman, Diego and Dinosaurs on his cake.
He can sing MANY versions of "Happy Birthday" thanks to his older brothers and sister.
He can now hold up three fingers when you ask him how old he is. That being said, he does try to get away with saying that he is 5 or 6 sometimes too.
