You are my Sunshines

Let's start off with a random picture of Marcus enjoying the wading pool.....and then move on to painting!

Here is Riley's masterpiece.

She added a foot print and a hand print, for good measure. ;) I love that she can write, or paint, her own name now!

Maryam had fun with the painting activity too! She didn't try a taste test until the very end. Now that is good impulse control!

And here's Leila's beautiful work.

As you can see from this picture, Marcus tried the taste test a little early, but was promptly persuaded to put the paint on the paper. I'm so glad both babies produced work, so that they could be represented on our front door! Noah opted not to paint, but instead made a 19-page sticker book, which we have hung on the front door to show off.

Leila was just such a doll in her fancy dress on this day. :)

Leila shared her Frozen umbrella with her friends on our way to and from the library a few weeks ago. As I tried to snap a picture of Amadea, she kept coming closer to me, wanting to share her shelter with me. So sweet! I actually to prefer to walk in the rain with no cover on two conditions: the weather is warm, and there is no thunder. ;) To me, it's the greatest! Of course, I couldn't do this if I were on my way to something in which I had to look presentable! But the kids are pretty accepting of me, even when I look like a drenched rat. I also have the luxury of walking around dirty from sand or mud, and/or with stains on my shirts from paint, and various food sources. I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Anyway, my point is, I love to encourage the kids to enjoy the nice summer rain, whether it be listening to the pitter patter on their umbrellas, or dancing around in it.

Play dough! This activity went on for the entire afternoon one day! Great to see the kids so focused.

We have been spending roughly 2-3 days per week at the big pool.

In this photo, Noah is continuing the activity I was running with the 3 girls. They used to do it in Noah's swim class. When you say "Green light" they have to kick their legs fast. When you say "Yellow light" they have to kick slowly, and when you say "Red light", they stop.

I was doing this activity in particular because it is very difficult to convince my daughter to stay in the pool for more than a few seconds. She is in swimming classes now, which is really helping to get her more comfortable with water, but in the meantime, she wishes to stay on deck, and eat. And, since we are no longer allowed to snack on deck, this can make for a very unhappy, unruly, Leila. 

More on that in a minute, but first, here is the Apres Swim crowd. ;)

This is often the time when I can take the majority of the pics at the pool, because otherwise I am in the pool with the kids. It would be cool to get an underwater camera though! Hmmmm....

Noah's the only one who's allowed in the pool without me. He's become quite a competent little swimmer!

Dea swam the whole width of the pool today with her back floaties when it was time to get out. When she began swimming last summer, she started with 4 float boards attached to her back. When she's with her mom and dad, she's down to two now. With me (because of the other kids I also need to manage) she's at 2.5. She really works hard to keep herself afloat, kicking and paddling. She is a fantastic swimmer. And not even 3 years old yet!

She was saying "cheese" here, but squinting into the sun.

Riley is also a great swimmer. She has just started swimming lessons, but is already very good. She wears floaties, but not for long, I predict. She jumps in all the time (and now she's getting fancy, doing half turn jumps, side jumps, backward jumps, etc.) and she also loves to go under water repeatedly. This is a great sign of how comfortable she is in the water.

Also, she keeps either seeing old friends, or meeting new friends at the pool. It is the most adorable thing. Here she is drying off with a new friend. They became friends so quickly though, and jumped in together over and over.

Marcus LOVES the water too. Lately, because of Leila's aversion to the pool, I've been getting my helper to take her and one of the babies to the wading pool instead. Today, Marcus did back floats with his life jacket on, in the pool! I was holding him, of course, but I was just so surprised that he wanted to do it again and again. Most kids I know are terrified to do that at first. I just had to block the sun from his eyes each time, but other than that, he loves it!

We had Thomas this week, too! And wow, has he ever come a long way in regards to swimming! Last year he clutched onto me. He was terrified to let go. Now, he swims on his own (with his life jacket on). She also does fancy moves like spinning in circles! It makes me howl every time. :)

When we do go to the pool, we are usually there by about 11am. They are closed from 12-1 for lunch. So, we usually get about 45 minutes of swimming in, and then dry off, lounge, and then get dressed for the last 10-15 minutes. I gotta say though, the morning at the daycare is a little low on programming in the morning these days. It's ALL about sunscreen. There are always about 5-6 kids to meticulously lather up. I've never had a kid burn on my watch, and I want to keep it that way! They get more sun when we are at the big pool, I would say, but at least on these days we are only out for an hour or so before we head in for lunch.

Guess who tried a Jello Popsicle today? Maryam tried on the other day too, and liked it. Ahhh...they grow up so fast! Next thing you know, they'll be moving on to the booster seats!

I think this is a good time for one of my random videos. In the beginning of the video, you'll notice that Maryam has Leila's (clean) underwear (sorta) on. She does this with various items of Leila's clothing. She'll pull a shirt, or some shorts, up to her knees (and although this is as far as she gets, I'm impressed that with shorts she will actually get each leg in a hole) and then walk around the place walking like a penguin, but with a face that says, "This is completely comfortable". She is also very interested in using the potty. Now if she could just inspire my daughter....Until next time!