Both Noah and Thomas have improved so much at swimming over the past year. Thomas used to cling to me even though he was wearing his life jacket. This year he is so much more confident, and I'm so happy for him! He can enjoy it that much more!
Noah can swim around the whole pool on his own now. This is the year he has learned to swim!
He still needs to work on getting stronger, obviously, but he's well on his way!
I finally got a new phone last weekend. I'm so happy that I have a much better phone camera now! (If you thought I was outta control with the pics before...) But I also got a waterproof case. I assumed, as did the sales guy, that this meant I could take pictures underwater. Noah and I were very excited to try this out. Alas, it does not take pictures underwater; it merely survives. First world problem. ;)
Anyhoo, it was great to know that the case does work to keep the water out, and that I can bring the camera around the pool without worry that it will break. Okay, enough about my phone, are you seeing Thomas's perfect back float in the background?!
Just look at that confidence. I know from watching many of my son's and daughter's swim lessons that putting one's head back for a back float is a pretty scary thing for kids, in the beginning. Looks like Thomas is very comfortable with this, and enjoying the peace it brings. Sweet little guy!
Oooooooohhhhhhhmmmm. It is so nice to see the kids in a Zen-state-of-mind now and then. It balances out the hysteria. ;) Way to go, boys! Your hard work shows!
These five photos were taken by Noah, with his own camera. The ones of David are absolutely beautiful!
Snapshot of lunch time, when the kids are enjoying their Jello Popsicles.
And Maryam post-nap. She loves to cuddle Mickey Mouse at bed-time!
Okay, now back to my pics....
I don't recall Marcus ever trying on others' shoes before (though this is a favourite past time for many of the older kids). Earlier this week, he was determined to walk around in Riley's old shoe, and my gigantic size 10 running shoe. I have no idea how me managed to keep the shoes on for as long as he did!
The following video was taken before the pictures above were taken. You can see him working at this in the video. And you can tell that it does take a lot of focus and determination.Perhaps he was inspired by the music. ;)
We are thrilled that Thomas has been able to spend some time with us before he starts school. (And in case you're wondering, Riley has other plans for the last 2 weeks of summer. We'll have her over for lots of play dates during the school year!) The other day he requested that we go for a walk. It was the perfect, cool day for it!
For the first half of our walk around the big block, the kids were all about jumping.
And for the second half....well the second half was plain old silliness. They wanted me to play a funny game with them, that we used to play during our walks together.
Basically, they sit down on a curb, or rocks, or a lawn, and I start to sing a counting song about how many kids are sitting. Once I have counted the correct number in my song, one or more of them will get up, so that I have to recalculate.
The absolute greatest for them is if I pretend to get really frustrated, because, what kid doesn't love to drive their mom, dad, childcare provider, teacher, or any adult for that matter, CRAZY?! It's all about the power to throw someone off their game. ;) (Of course, they're smart enough to know it's pretend frustration.)
I know you get the idea, but I gotta post the video I took too. They made me do this about 30-40 times, so I had lots of chances to capture their cuteness!
They also pretended to be stuck in jail (y'know, under a tree - makes sense). Then they would miraculously break free. ;)
What a beautiful gang of kids!
And let's not forget our two littlest, who we prefer to keep safely in the wagon during walks like this. You can just tell they'd cause trouble, can't you?! Haha!
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