He Swims!

I meant to post this adorable video from Drew's last day of swim lessons before we left for our cruise, but I ran out of time. Here is Drew, who now knows how to swim all by himself! He's made such progress since we started swim lessons. I am so proud of him!


I love how he wiggles through the water!

Ava's first day of preschool on Friday went very well. I actually used my time to go to the gym. I forgot that I signed up for a gravity class on Wed & Fri and it goes for two more weeks. After that it's definitely pedicures on Fridays. When I went to pick Ava up I asked how she did. They said she did great. I asked if she got in trouble. They said no. I asked if she listened and they said yes. I asked if she was sassy, and they said well, yes. Apparently she wanted to paint but refused to put on the smock so she decided not to paint. That's my girl! She certainly has a mind of her own and she didn't want to wear that smock.

A couple of days ago Drew and I were at Costco and they were giving out samples of carrot juice. It sounded gross to me, but Drew wanted to try it. It was special purple carrot juice. Well, he loved it so much that I bought some (three bottles of it). And now they both love it! Here's the proof:

Odds & Ends

Last week the kids started swimming lessons. The first day they both had some problems with being "good listeners." The teacher offered to teach them privately for the same price. The next day it was just the two of them and Drew did much better. Ava cried the entire time she was in the teachers arms. The teacher offered to split them up again and teach each of them individually. The third day Drew did even better and Ava cried the whole 25 minutes of her lesson! We decided maybe we should wait to do lessons with her until next year. Drew is still a little fearful, but makes progress each time. I don't think he's very close to swimming on his own yet, so I am trying to decide if I should put him in another two week session or just wait til next year.

Drew swimming with his teacher

Ava enjoying not swimming

This weekend my cousin got married in Berkeley. The whole family was there so we drove out on Friday and joined in on the "rehearsal" dinner. My parents stayed with the kids so that Dan and I could go down to the bar and have a drink with one of my other cousins. Saturday morning I got to help decorate the venue while Dan and the kids went to the local mall. The wedding itself was fun and it was great to spend time with family, but it was also a little stressful trying to keep the kids entertained in a not-so-kid-friendly space. I can't believe this is the only picture I took all weekend:

Aren't they cute though, all snuggled up together in the hotel bed?

Today I took the kids to a fun park with a neat water feature. We brought picnic lunches and played in the park and got soaking wet. Here's the cutie pies saying "Cheese."

While it's wonderful to be doing normal things like swimming lessons and weddings and park days, it still feels weird to me. Maybe it's just that I haven't fully processed through our time in the hospital. Even though I've been waiting all summer to do fun, normal summer things, now that we're doing them, it doesn't feel quite right. I just feel different. I suppose I am different. I don't think I can explain it more than that and I hope it goes away soon. I guess we'll just keep doing fun, normal things until it does feel right.

Swim Lessons

Practicing with Miss Vanessa

Waiting on the step

With his report card

Drew just finished two weeks of swim lessons at our gym. He had a lot of fun and is a lot more confident in the water. He can't swim on his own yet, but I think he will soon!