Pool Fun

We opened our pool more than a month ago, but I have neither blogged about it nor taken any pictures to commemorate our annual summer pool opening. Once again, I will blame that on the incubating baby. This weekend we had a perfect weekend for the pool and all the kids did was swim, swim, swim. What a life. And David and I cooked and grilled, cooked and grilled. We ate like kings, trying out all sorts of new grilled fare. The only thing that would have made the food taste better would have been an ice-cold margarita or a few.

El nino, also known as Jeremiah, or Father Jeremiah, has shown no fear of the water and loves to be in the pool swimming with the big kids. He is especially fond of jumping off the diving board. I had hoped he would be an official swimmer by now, but I did not take the initiative with the swim lessons this spring that I should have. He did have a total of 15 group lessons in March and April, but I don't feel he got anything out of it. In other words, I saw no improvement in his skills. After that, I meant to get him private lessons, but we've had so much going on that I don't know if I am coming or going and once again, the baby had gotten the better of me. So he is not an official swimmer, but I don't think it will be long. I am hoping our babysitter, who is a Y lifeguard and swim lessons instructor, will be able to come over a few days a week once school is out to give him lessons and hopefully just being around the big kids will motivate him. He can swim a few strokes of "free-style"/doggie paddle on his own.

Here is some footage of his diving board antics.



Here are some pictures of the pool fun.

And it wouldn't be summer without S'mores poolside!

Jeremiah's Last Day of Preschool

On Wednesday Jeremiah had his last day of preschool for the year. The two classes met at Baugher's and we had free reign of the place. Jeremiah wanted to pick strawberries, so that is what we did--he loves strawberries. Then we headed back to the market area and played on the playground there with his friends from school. He seemed to enjoy himself in preschool this year and really came out of his shell with respect to playing with other kids. At the beginning of the year, he would not play with any kids, preferring instead to talk to the teacher and the aide the whole time. He has always been very comfortable around adults, and I think he still prefers them to children, but now he will seek out other children to play with. I think it was a good social experience for him.

He is signed up to go back to this preschool in the fall; however, we are considering sending him to the pre-k at the big kids' school for ease. He could get dropped off with the big kids instead of having the big kids dropped off and then having 45 minutes to kill before he can go to school. The kicker is that the program at the big kids' school is 5 days a week and I am not okay with that. He has the rest of his life to go 5 days a week to school or work and in my opinion does not need to go to school that much at such a young age. We are considering trying to negotiate something with the principal for a 3 or 4 day a week schedule.

Kindergarten Sweet Dreams Night

On Tuesday night, Gabriel and the entire kindergarten went on stage to perform at Sweet Dreams Night. It really was a special treat. All the kindergarteners were dressed in the jammies and they sang several songs (about 20-25 minutes worth) that they  had been working hard on all spring. They all did a fabulous job. It was so cute and special. I had tears in my eyes for many of the songs (I'll blame that on the pregnancy hormones).  David took some video, so I will have to get those loaded onto YouTube to post because they are too precious not to share. Gabriel was such a ham--after each song, when the parents were clapping, Gabriel would clap for himself. He looked right at us during each song he was singing.

After they were finished singing, we were able to go down to the classrooms where the children showed us their portfolios--projects they had worked on throughout the year, but which had not previously come home.

May Swim Meet

This weekend, we had a two-day 8 & Under Meet at our pool. It was the last meet of the indoor season. Saturday was the day of 25's, and each of my kids was swimming in four races. Sunday was the 50's and twins swam four races each while Gabriel swam 3.

First up was the 25 back. Isabelle had a great race and swam a PR by a few tenths. She looked great in that race. Her time was 21.76. Gabriel also had a great race. He was a few tenths off his PR and swam 28.91. He was really happy with himself and I just love to see this kid swim. There's something about him and his personality that is so fun to watch. Nathaniel was up next. He must have still been sleeping because he looked like he was out for an afternoon float on the pool.

Isabelle was up next in the 25 fly. She looked really good and swam a PR of 25.81, taking over two seconds off her time. She was really happy with that. Gabriel was up next. He was really nervous about getting DQ'd. He hates the butterfly and he has the funniest stroke I have ever seen. I wish I would have recorded it. Well, he looks like a little dolphin out there and his whole rear end just comes out of the water. It's super cute. Well, butt in the air is obviously not a DQ call, because he had a legal stroke for the first time this season and a PR of 36.78. We'll take that! He was super excited. Nathaniel was up next. He has struggled with the fly since the beginning of the season and he looked better than he has all season. He won his heat with a time of 25.55.

Next up was the freestyle. Isabelle hates the freestyle and she really struggles with it. And she struggled again here. She was 0.8 off her best time. Gabriel had a great race and swam 28.68, a PR by 0.8 seconds. Nathaniel did not have a good race and was 0.6 off his time.

Now, we were  on to everyone's favorite stroke, the breast stroke. Isabelle looked decent, but was a few tenths off her PR. Gabriel looked really good and swam a PR of 35.24, 1.4 seconds faster than his last meet. I was so happy for him. He was having a great meet. Nathaniel looked good and shaved a few tenths off for another PR!

So, we concluded the day with 8/12 PR's, so I guess that was a success.

Sunday came in a hurry. I think they were all tired before we got there and I know from experience with these two day meets that the second day usually does not bode too well because the kids are just spent. I don't know if they are tired or just not focused or what.

First up was the 50 back. Isabelle looked really decent in this race and her second 25 was faster than her first. She would be seconds faster if she had enough confidence to do a flip turn. She swam 50.75, about a second slower than she did in March. Gabriel was up next. He looked really great in this race and I think he also swam his second 25 faster than the first. He finished up in 59.74, shaving 16 seconds off his prior time. I was so excited for him and proud of him. Nathaniel was up next. He finished in 51.39, which was close to what he swam in March. Again, he would gain a lot of time with a flip turn.

Next up was the 50 free. This was no one's race today. Isabelle was 3 seconds off her time. Gabriel was 5 seconds off his time and Nathaniel was about dead even on his time. Actually he swam a PR by 0.08 seconds, so I guess that is a win.

Next up was the 50 breast. Isabelle swam about the same time as the last meet. I do not have her official time from that meet for some reason, so we will call this a PR--55.61. Gabriel swam great, had a legal turn and finished legally in 1:14.85. I was so excited for him! A newly minted six-year-old with a legal 50 breast! Nathaniel was up next. He looked like he was not trying and he swam about 5 seconds slower than the last meet.

At this point, Gabriel was finished. The twins still had to swim the 100 IM. Neither one of them looked great in this race and I could tell they were just done. I think mentally, at this point, they had lost it.

At the end of the meet, all swimmers received a trophy, so they were happy about that.

Mother's Day 2012

We had a wonderful Mother's Day in our house this year. It was, perhaps, the best Mother's Day on record around here, not only from my perspective, but also from the kids' perspective. Back in the winter, before I became pregnant, our school was selling discount tickets to Hershey Park. After talking to a friend of mine, we decided to buy some and go on Mother's Day, thinking that not too many mothers would want to spend their day at an amusement park and the lines would, therefore, be  shorter.

Mother's Day was a beautiful day weather-wise and we got on the road at about 8:45 to make the drive. We arrived at Hershey Park shortly after 10:00 when the park opened. The crowd was manageable and the lines were totally doable. Nathaniel decided he does not like rides that go high or roller coasters, so he was pretty limited in is selections. I did not get on any rides other than the merry-go-round. The kids had a great time and we lasted until about 5:30, at which point everyone was toast and ready to hit the road. We all had such a wonderful time that everyone wanted to come back again next year. I agree that it would be a fun tradition, but I am not sure about navigating Hershey Park with a five month old next year. We'll see. I'll say this though: nothing in the world beats seeing the joy on your kids' faces as they have a wonderful time and that made my day many times over.

2nd Grade Field Trip

Busy day catching up on blogging here--3 posts in one day so far and I have not even touched Mother's Day! On Friday, the twins went to Rose Hill Manor in Frederick for a field trip with the entire second grade. It was a beautiful day for a trip. Rose Hill Manor is a living history historical site and was built by the first governor of Maryland. Each class selected two chaperones, but all parents were invited to attend. We had a really good turn out of parents--about 11 parents from our class came (we have 19 students total, with 18 different mothers).

Kindergarten Mother's Day Luncheon

On Wednesday, the kindergarten hosted a Mother's Day Luncheon for their mothers. Gabriel was so excited to have me come to his class and have lunch with me. The kids sang some songs, then each child got up and read the Mother's Day card that he or she made for his or her mother. Gabriel's card was so sweet, just like he is. I'll tell you, this kid is something special. He has turned into a real gentleman, a little boy who honors and respects his mother, always opening doors for me, asking me how the baby and I are doing, asking how I am feeling, etc, and if I am not feeling well, does that mean the baby will be sick. He is very sensitive and thoughtful. He is also the only child who still calls me "mama," which I just love. I wish I could bottle him up and keep him like this forever.

We ate lunch outside and then we were served cake for dessert. Gabriel was very sad when our special time was over, but we both enjoyed ourselves and our time together.

Apparently, all the kids talk about my cooking so all the teachers in the school think I am some kind of chef or something.