Pool Time with Friends

A few weekends ago, the kids and I met some friends at the pool in the late afternoon.  It was a really fun time until it wasn't, but now as I upload my pictures only happy memories remain!  Yay!!

Henry and Noah

Group shot at the pool! What did I expect making them look directly into the sun?!?

Emma and Molly

So many big boy things have come with age 5.  Here Noah is ready to go slide solo!

Waiting his turn at the top.

So much fun!

Sweet baby girl in her precious little suit.

Ready for some splashing.

Emma's signature move.  She gets up from a squat position by rocking her body back and forth.  Look Ma, no hands!

NO Fear

As much grief as Noah gives me about going to swim, putting on his swim suit, playing in the sprinklers, he had an absolute blast swimming in Grammy and PaPa's pool.  To say this child has "no fear" of the water would be a serious understatement.  And, although Noah took swim lessons all summer, he never really mastered the whole floating on your back thing, so he never advanced to any higher levels of swim.  He can't swim, but he is tall.  So, once he's in the pool, he can pretty much touch in most places.  He is also pretty good at treading water and getting his head above in the deep end.  To quote his swim teacher, it's not pretty, but he gets it done.  So, several days at my Mom's, in between some rainy weather, Noah went for a swim.  And, for the record, for a Momma to put on a bathing suit six weeks postpartum and jump in a freezing cold pool, well, that's love little boy.   

Zachary and Seth joined in the swimming fun.

Here is the hot tub that connects to the pool.

Here is how Noah stood on the hot tub before jumping into the pool.

And the jump...

Loving every minute of it.

The big splash.  He had so much fun, and he must have jumped about 20 times.  A few times he would come up and say, "ouch, my foot."  He was hitting the pool bottom when landing in the pool.  I think he figured it out around jump 5 and adjusted his dismount. Fun times!

Swim Lessons

Today was the final day of Noah's two week daily dose of swim lessons.  To say that I was being a bit ambitious tacking on an extra thirty minute activity at the end of our already full day would be a bit of an understatement.  Noah and I came home at the end of each day exhausted.  But, he loved swimming, and I was so happy to see how much he's progressed since his two week course last year. 

So not on my A game, I forgot my camera, so all the pictures come to you courtesy of my trusty IPhone and Instagram app.  On the very first day of swim lessons, Noah got his colored chip and crowded around the door with the other 3:00 swimmers.  Ready to head into the pool, he pushed his way to the front of the line and tried to hold hands with the girl next to him.  The little girl shrugged him off, so undeterred Noah moved onto the next closest kid.  No one wanted to hold his hand.  He was just trying to do what he thought he was supposed to do, and he was so sweet about it.  It made my heart hurt to see my little guy reaching out to other kids and being denied.  True to form, the whole incident didn't seem to bother Noah, and the next day, I told him that when we walked into swim, we didn't hold hands, but instead held our chip high in the air.  He totally got it and did so great walking into the pool area solo and going straight to his teacher in the pool. 

Here is Noah working with Mr. Hector on floating on his back.  The first few times Mr. H put his finger under Noah's chin, Noah moved his hand out from behind his head to prop up his chin with his finger just like Mr. Hector.  It was too cute, and I was so proud of how well he was listening. 

By far Noah's favorite part of class was floating across the pool on the raft and going down the slide.  He was alwasy the very first to jump off the raft and head to the slide.  The big slide, of course. 

Here he goes.

Noah being awarded his certificate by Mr. Hector.  At the end of every class, Mr. Hector sings a little goodbye song to the kids, and then gives each one of them a hug.  Noah stayed long enough for the song to end, and then he was out of the pool in a flash heading to the lollipop bowl.  After a few days of this, I talked to him about waiting for Mr. Hector's hug before getting out of the pool.  That same day, he was the last kid in his class to get out.  Momma is so proud of all your listening and hard work this week Noah.  Great job!!

Finishing it off with a lollipop.  Noah's been having a preference for the blue raspberry ones.  They make his tongue and mouth the most delightful color.  What a great two weeks of swim!

Testing the Waters

On our recent trip to Louisiana, Noah took his first swim of the year.  Blake offered to take him.  PaPa had heated the pool, so it was nice and cozy for a late afternoon in March.

Thanks Blake!

Noah had a blast.  Grammy had picked up a pair of floaties for Noah to try.  He really liked them and was able to float around the pool solo.  He didn't need them for the shallow end since all of his 45+ inches could touch the bottom. 

Blake definitely added to the fun with a few games of motor boat...

And lots of tossing him in the air.  Speaking of tall kids, it's hard to believe my sweet little nephew Blake is well on his way to six feet tall. 

Thanks for a super fun afternoon, Blake!!  You can take Noah swimming anytime.

Hello Gorgeous!

The weather this Saturday was gorgeous.  So, Noah and I spent several hours enjoying our backyard.  It was warm enough to break out the garden hose and baby pool.  Luckily, one of Noah's baby pools was still blown up from last summer, so with little effort, we got prepared for some fun. 

There was lots of hose playing and water drinking involved, but I'm happy to report that no Mommas were splashed in the process. 

Noah loved my great idea to slide into the pool from his slide.

"One more time..."  he would say every time he landed on his knees in a splash of water. 

One more time turned into many more times.

And it was a GREAT Saturday afternoon!

Shipwreck Island

On one of our vacation days, we decided to visit the nearby waterpark.  After some kicking, screaming, sweating, almost naked park surveying, Noah finally agreed to put on his bathing suit and join in some FUN waterpark activities. 

Wave Pool.  Noah loved the wave pool.  The water kept pushing him over, and he would just bounce right up and head back in for more. 

When the waves would stop, he would look at us and say, "want beach."  He would have stayed here all day, I think, but of course, Daddy and I insisted on him trying other activities. 

Lazy River.  Our first trip on the lazy river included an inner tube, but the second time around, Daddy and I decided to give Noah a try at walking.  He loved bouncing up and down through the huge lazy river, and the current kept him headed in the right direction.

I was trying to get a shot of him near the 3ft sign.  And, although he is a bit taller than 3 feet, I think I caught this shot on one of his up bounces. 

Water Slide.  The kiddie area had a pretty big, enclosed, curvy slide, and before letting him go on it, I asked the lifeguard if it went fast.  She said that it actually went pretty slow, and that he would have to push himself through it. 

Well, let's just say, it took him a while to get to the bottom. Daddy and I thought we were going to have to climb up and rescue him.  What a fun day at the waterpark!

Nooo... Not Swimsuit

So, this week while on vacation, Noah was not too happy about changing into his swimsuit.  I just knew how much Noah would enjoy swimming once he actually got dressed out and in the water. 

But, any time I'd ask him... his response was, "Noooo. Not swimsuit."

Lucky for me, Daddy was around with a huge dose of patience to talk Noah in.

Well, Momma was right, and Daddy got it done with no tears. 

Noah's cousins were so happy to have him join in their pool time fun!

Zack's always ready to love him some Noah.

Noah and Katie B.

Momma and Noah.  One, two, three... bubbles.

Our Beach Vacation (Or the Week I Unglued My IPhone From My Hand)

Our family needed a vacation in the worst way. The two weeks leading up to us boarding a flight to Florida were long and stressful. Dean was on call 24 days straight. Noah decided to try tantrums out as a way to communicate his needs. And, between a screaming child and a missing husband, I was just trying to hold it all together.

A vacation was just what the doctor ordered. Noah was so good on the flight to Florida. At the last minute, I decided to try out a picture schedule, and I really think it made all the difference. I printed pictures of the plane and the beach house and everyone we were going to see there. It let him know what to expect, and it is definitely something I'll be using again in the future.

So, hmmm... who did Noah see?  All his cousins for one thing.

What a great looking bunch of kiddoes!

Aside from the sand, the sun, the sunscreen and his bathing suit, Noah loved our vacation. Daddy didn't seem to mind that Noah was lukewarm on the beach. He was feeling a little oil wary.  For the record, we did not spy any oil, but we did spy a ton of oil workers.  Noah tolerated the beach for the first couple days.

Noah searched for seashells.

And did some running (away).

Luckily, Daddy and Uncle D were close by.  Speaking of Uncle D...

Thanks for letting us have the big room.  I probably should have taken this picture before we made a mess of the place, but the room was great.

Which was a good thing because Noah spent a lot of time up there.  He also slept in the closet, but in our defense it was almost as big as his room in our Miami apartment.  He liked it in there... honestly!

Noah spent so much time upstairs that finally his cousins had to start hanging out there too.

We had an awesome beach vacation with the family.  And, I think everyone is back home relaxed and rested.  I know I am ready to be a better Mom.  Motherly duty number one... put the kibosh on these tantrums.  Just a little forewarning my sweet baby boy.