Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Connor's Summer of Swim Lessons





Since Kate was on swim team we decided to put Connor in swim lessons. It was at the same time so I actually got to sit and watch both of them. Connor loves the water! He is truly our little fish! Now, Connor has a bit of a hard time focusing and listening:). This became very apparent in the water. He did not like to hold onto the wall. Now being a lifeguard and swim instructor for years I knew what I needed to do. I told his teacher the next time he gos off the wall let him see what the consequence is. Let him go under. Now, I told her not to let him struggle for too long, but just long enough that he might understand why it is important to hang onto the wall. So sure enough a few second later he lets go of the wall and his teacher lets him go under and struggle for a few seconds. He went to the bottom of the pool, she grabbed him and he came up with a big smile on his face and said, "Mom, I touched the bottom!!!" Really!!!! That totally backfired! All of his teachers loved him because he is just the cutest thing! He learned so much! He can now come off the wall by himself and swim a few feet. He can float and jump in. He has absolutely no fear! We are excited to see where the rest of the summer takes him! Good job buddy! We are very proud of you!

Our swimming Champion






This summer Kate did swim team! We were a little nervous at first due to the fact that Kate could barely get across the pool. She pulled through! Her first swim race she swam a 1min 30second 25 yard freestyle. Now to those of us in my family who are swimmers we know that time is no where near good. In the beginning of the season Kate used to stop in the middle of the race and wave to her fans. Now she is a bit more serious. At the championships last week she swam the 25 yard freestyle in 41 seconds! Now that is improvement!

At the championships Kate got a 2nd place medal in freestyle, 5th place medal in breastroke, and a 6th place medal in Backstroke. She was so proud and so was I. But nothing could have been more precious than when she got her trophy! She was so excited she was screaming for joy and had the biggest smile on her face I have ever seen. She said, "Mom, I worked so hard for this trophy." That she did. We are so proud of our little swimmer and can't wait for next season! (Ok maybe I can, the last two weeks of practice were brutal due to the 116 degree weather!)

Sunday, June 13, 2010

The Marble Jar

Okay so for my sanity, today we started the marble jar! I have been so negative lately with my kids that I am trying to turn that around. Each time they are ding what they are supposed to they get some marbles put into the marble jar. This morning, Kate made her bed, got dressed, brush her teeth and her hair all on her own. She was so good all day just trying to earn those marbles. Tonight as the dinner table she was so polite and used all her manners. She even said, "Dad I really like your hair today." When they reach the goal like the kids get to do an activity of their choice. So far so good with Kate. Connor is a whole other story. He could care less about marbles. I will work on something tomorrow that will motivate him. It was so good to have such a positive day at home with the kids.
Here's hoping day 2 is just as good!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Party for a Princess

Kate was invited to a birthday party for Brooke (A friend from Daisy Scouts). It was a princess theme and they did such a good job decorating! It was adorable! Here are a few pics. I wish that I could be this creative!

Well, I am finally going to catch up!

Here I go. I am going to try and catch up on my many missing posts.

Many things have happened since October and I will just highlight them here:

I GRADUATED! Yes, I earned my Masters degree in Early Childhood and Curriculum and Instruction. Whew!!!! I never thought I could do it, but I did in only 1 year. One of the proudest moments of my life!

Christmas:
This year was a great year! We had three babies in our family celebrating their first Christmas. Finley, Chloe, and Madison. Kate and Connor had a great time opening their presents from Santa.

Mexico House Building:
I went to Mexico with my school to build a house for a family that does not have one. This was through amor ministries and it was amazing! Now, Chris and I have done this together before and this is how we met. It was great to be back, and older, to really appreciate all that was going on.

Kate graduates Kindergarten!
I can't believe it! I have a first grader! It was a great day and a bit emotional for us. She was so excited. Kate has come to far at ACA. She has had the most loving and amazing teacher ever! Mrs. Harris is just the best and I am not sure what I would do without her!

Connor turns 3:
Well, I can't believe it, my baby turned 3 this year! He is just the most precious thing in all the world! He has such an amazing personality and it such a good snuggler! He had a Thomas the Train birthday party and loved every minute of it.

Chris and I celebrated 8 years of marriage:
I can't even believe it! We have had so much to be thankful for. I am truly blessed to have such an amazing, supportive husband who is such an amazing father!