My Water Babies

After going to the pool nearly every day for three weeks, I finally had the opportunity to take my camera to the pool! Yay! Will came with us today, so he played with Buddy in the kiddie pool while I took some pics and videos of Maya in swim lessons. Then, when I became too much of a distraction for Maya during her lessons (sorry, teachers!), I joined my boys in the kiddie pool to take some pics of Buddy.
Just look at that face, would ya? I mean, seriously, does it get any cuter? I love how the strap bends her ear down just a little bit but not enough for her to notice. Maya just loves to wear these "magical goggles" during swim lessons. As a result, she's much more willing to put her face in the water, so it's a win-win for everyone! This next picture was immediately preceded by a big, enthusiastic, "Mom! Watch this!" She took a deep breath and seemingly without fear, put her face right in the water for about 5-10 seconds!
She's getting so comfortable in the water, it's awesome! Within this last week and a half, she has started putting her face in the water and pushing off from the wall to "swim" to her teacher (Aria or Hannah). She is doing REALLY well! When it's not her turn to practice a skill, she has to hold onto the wall and wait. She's had to be reminded not to wander a couple of times, but for the most part, she stays right where she's supposed to and waits for her teacher to return. Today, she was doing an exceptionally good job of waiting. I was so proud. That's a tough task for a three year old!
Finally, it was her turn, so she climbed out of the pool to get ready to take the plunge...
One, two, three... JUMP! And with a trusting heart, she leaped off the wall, safely into Aria's arms.
Another skill they practice is the "monkey crawl" along the wall of the pool. I guess this teaches them how to safely get from point A to point B while inside the pool. The kids seem to enjoy it...

Liam is so happy to play in the water for as long as I will allow him, and despite his affinity for the pool, he never throws a fit when it's time to leave (unlike his sister). He just has such a go-with-the-flow personality, as long as he is being included, he's happy to do anything. One of his favorite things to do in this pool is throw the dive sticks or rings into the water, wade over to their location, and carefully squat down and retrieve them. He frequently squats so low that his mouth (and sometimes nose) is completely submerged. He's learning at a very young age how to hold his breath! He's always so proud of himself when he gets the stick (or ring), and if he doesn't get it on the first try, he keeps trying until he does. He's very persistent. Sometimes I have to hold the toy a little closer to the surface of the water to help him out because he would try to reach it all day, no matter how far out of reach it landed. Here, he has successfully retrieved the stick from under the water! He's so proud of himself!
He is also a VERY good bubble-blower! He started blowing bubbles in the bathtub around 14 months (maybe even a little earlier), and he's been practicing ever since. Of course I wasn't fast enough on the trigger button to capture him actually blowing bubbles, but I love the little smirk of satisfaction and water dripping off of his face...He is constantly in and out of the pool, making lots of trips to the toy cabinet to get something new and exciting...
When Maya introduced Buddy to the kick board, he quickly figured out that he can't use it to motor around like she does (at least not without help), so instead, he has fun just pushing it around in the water.
Even after all the progress made during swim lessons, Maya still likes to experiment with the floaties...
This pool membership to the SLCC has been invaluable to me. The kids love going there to swim, it's an activity that we can do outside everyday, and they are happy as can be the entire time we are there! Plus, I'm confident that I ALWAYS have another set of eyes on my kids. The lifeguards are phenomenal! Yes, I'm one to judge because I lifeguarded my way through high school and college, so I'm extremely particular when it comes to lifeguards. I've made it a point to learn their names and we always chat if my kids happen to be the only ones in the water. They know us, and they enjoy interacting with the kids. One of my favorite lifeguard/kid interactions is between Buddy and the guards (male or female). On several occasions, he talks to the guard and ends up schmoozing them out of all of their equipment, including the chair. They end up giving him their name tag, their whistle, AND they put him up in their chair WITH the rescue tube sitting across his lap. He thinks it's just the greatest thing and sits there, looking very "in charge", blowing the whistle, and smiling from ear to ear. It's SO funny! I will get a picture of this scene before the summer is over!

REET!

"REET, REET!" That's what Buddy says when he sees a frog. Instead of identifying animals by their names, he makes their sound, and frogs go, "REET, REET!" You can see the excitement, expressed in his entire face. Buddy was insistent on pulling the chair up to the counter to watch the frogs today, but instead of risking another injury from a fall, I put the frogs on the table and prayed that he wouldn't take the lid off of their little cube! He was quite content for awhile, just intently studying the frogs, swimming around in the water...
Apparently, at some point, he got some water or something on his hand. I'm betting that he tried to stick his little finger in the hole on top of the cube where we put the food in. Just a guess. Whatever it was, his focus is clearly shifted away from the action of the "REET!" to whatever was going on with his finger. I just love his chubby hands. They still look baby-ish to me. I know they won't be that way long, so I have to soak it in now, while I still can.
These frogs remain to be the perfect pets. They are extremely low maintenance and get ignored most of the time (which doesn't matter to them), yet look how much happiness and joy they bring to the kids when they do decide to check them out!
Buddy just loves animals. This is a love that he very strongly shares with his sister. I think they would be totally happy to spend every day at the zoo or on a farm. For now, I guess the "REET!" will have to do!

Maya's Very First Cowgirl Boots

A package arrived in the mail for Maya yesterday, but with the carnival going on, I decided to wait until this morning to give it to her. She's always excited to get any mail that has her very own name on it, but she's never received something like this in the mail before... HER VERY FIRST PAIR OF PINK COWGIRL BOOTS!!!
Oh my goodness, she couldn't get them on fast enough...
And when I asked her to hop up on the coffee table, so I could take her picture, she gave me the ultimate cowgirl enthusiasm in the form of a big... YEE-HAW!!
Of course, Buddy followed suit... no cowboy boots, but his enthusiastic "Yee-haw!" definitely matched Maya's!
He thought it might be a good idea to see if their was anything thing in there to drink... whiskey? Perhaps some chocolate milk? What a goofball!
There was a note with the boots that assured Maya that Buddy would get a pair when he got a little older.... just not in pink.

On a side note: Last week, Dad brought up a couple other gifts for the kids. Talon (Aunt Laura's grandson - Courtney's son) picked out a grain truck for Buddy during a shopping trip. He told Aunt Laura, "Buddy needs a truck." Maya received a princess umbrella, too. Thank you, Aunt Laura!!!

Coast Guard Carnival

It's the kids' first carnival, and you guessed it, this was Maya's first ride! There wasn't anyone to take a picture of us riding, so I just got a shot of the coaster. I was a little leery of this being the first ride, but she insisted. I definitely wasn't going to act like there was a reason for her to be scared, so I went with it! She LOVED it! She's so brave and adventurous, I shouldn't have been surprised that she thought, "It was GREAT!" Next, it was onto the Rally Racers with Lydia and Charlie...
Needless to say, she loved this ride, too! Oh, look! The girls picked the PINK 4-wheeler. Shocking!
There were two cameras out, so the girls didn't know who to wave or smile at... We just snapped away! There were tons of great moments, so you get tons of pictures to enjoy!
The girls smiled from ear to ear and waved like crazy every time they saw us waving...
They were getting brave and letting go...
Once the ride was over, they immediately got back on. This time, they switched places. Before they re-entered, the attendant lectured them (and me) about standing up on the ride. Uh-oh. They're already getting into trouble at the carnival... naughty girls. Heeheehee.... : )
After patiently waiting in the stroller for quite a while, Buddy finally got a turn to take his first carnival ride! It was slightly bumpy and went around in a circle. We rode in the duck, which Buddy loved! He held onto the bar with his little hands and smiled through the entire ride. "Gack! Gack!"
Here are the three older kids, all riding together...
I love pictures like this because I feel like it's a glimpse into the future. Ten years from now, Maya and Lydia will likely still be running around at the carnival together. I love how they literally "stick together" by holding hands. They're so cute. On to check out some more rides...
It's the obstacle course! This ended up being Maya's favorite ride. Lydia and Maya climbed through this a few times before we could move on. I think they really loved the slide...
Buddy was a trooper while the big kids went on their rides, but he lit up when he was released from the confines of the stroller and carried onto a ride. When we headed for his second ride, the Fire Chief, he was clearly excited. Lydia, Maya, and Charlie rode towards the back with Amy, and I rode with Liam and a couple other kids near the front. The firetruck was packed. As the ride started, Liam started to smile, but as it picked up speed and the kids started screaming and carrying on, he laid his head against my chest and looked a little worried. I'm not sure if it was the volume level or the motion of the ride that was troubling him. He's never been one for extremely loud noises (which I didn't consider when brought him onto the ride), however the circular motion was fast enough to make my head and belly feel funny. I imagine he felt the effects, too. He never cried or fussed, but it was clear that he didn't like it. Maya, on the other hand, had the time of her life. I looked back at her when the ride started, and she just lit up like a Christmas tree. Her whole face expressed the joy that filled her heart.
It was back to the Rally Racers... again!Maya and Lydia were becoming such carnival pros, they took right off up the steps and hopped back onto the Fire Chief without any adults! It was fine (we were standing right in front of it), but it's still shocking that they are independent enough to go without a mom! I mean, that thing went pretty high!They talked and giggled through the entire ride...When it ended, they safely exited the ride all by themselves!
We took a short break for a classic carnival dinner: corn dogs, french fries, and lemonade. Maya took ONE bite of her corn dog before announcing, "I'm sull (full)," so Buddy ate his corn dog AND her corn dog. SO typical! We finally met up with some of our other friends, the Meigs' and Arnold's. All the big girls squished into one seat on this ride. It was so cute. This is my favorite picture of the evening. It's another one that lets me take a glimpse into the future. Can't you just see them several years from now, all squished into a bigger, faster ride.... like the Scrambler? They're having so much fun!
Buddy had been really patient, but he was getting a little tired of waiting, waiting, waiting...A few more trips through the obstacle course, this time with Madeline. Maya LOVED that slide!
BACK TO THE ROLLER COASTER!! AAAAHHHH!!!
It was the funniest thing. Every time we came around to the beginning of the coaster, Maya would throw her hands up in the air and scream at the top of her lungs!
Once she spotted Madeline on the side, she would start screaming, stop, wave, and scream out, "Madeline!"...
...then throw her hands up and start screaming again!
We made it back to the Carousel, and Buddy finally got a chance to ride again. As you can see, he had some clear reservations about being on a ride again. Typically, he just holds onto the pole, but since the Fire Chief ride was his last ride experience (and slightly traumatizing), he was taking a little bit of caution and gripping my shirt. You can see the uneasiness in the expression on his face. Poor little guy!
Maya and Madeline picked out a bench seat for this carousel ride. What? Are we suddenly too cool for horses? What a couple of cuties.
By the second ride on the carousel, Buddy was much more relaxed and started waving at everyone as we rode around...
The nervousness was gone, and he was clearly enjoying himself again...
Once we got back home, I snapped one past picture of Maya with her wristband. This is how she held her wrist up to the ride attendants to show them her bracelet at every ride. Little Miss Independent...
We all had a WONDERFUL time at the carnival, but I can only imagine that it will be even better next year, when Liam is "officially" a big kid and can ride all the rides that they rode this year. I'm already looking forward to it! What a great night!

Oh, Boy!

The best part of being a mom is experiencing moments like these:

Maya and I were reviewing her address information, and I summarized it by saying, "We live on Scenic Court in Spring Lake, Michigan." Without missing a beat, she responded, "You got it, sister!"

Buddy came running over to me this afternoon, shouting, "Bug! Bug!" I could tell he had something clenched tightly in his little chubby fist, but I figured it was a raisin. I held out my hand to accept the "bug", and sure enough, he dropped a dead fly right in my hand! What the hell?! I mean, seeeeriously...

Fit For a Princess

Maya's room got a MAJOR overhaul this week. I was done with the "surfer-girl" theme and wanted to switch it to something more her... so, I took down all things surfing and replaced it with all things PRINCESS! Note the mural on the right wall. That is a re-positionable stick-on wall art. I was very leery of it initially, but now that it's up, I LOVE IT. The words on the left wall are the same stuff. They say, "Once upon a time, there was a Princess...". I would highly recommend it to anyone. They look great! Maya looked totally confused when she first walked in. She held her hands out to her sides, palms up, and was kind of looking around and mumbling, "How did... who... what happened? Mommy did you do this to my room?" It was really cute. She immediately climbed onto the bed to check out her stuff and make sure it was all there...
Shortly after Will left with the kids on Tuesday, I had a meltdown over Maya's bed and the fact that we will NEVER be able to put anything else in her room. With the headboard on, it was just too big, so I tore the headboard off, hauled it across the hall into the guest bedroom, and totally rearranged the furniture in her room. It's 100% better now. The floor space doubled, and I love the room now! The pink and purple curtains were a must, since those are her favorite colors! The bed is pretty tall, so there's a step stool to help her into bed...My Dad came over early on Friday morning to tackle the much needed paint job. The room is still pink, but it's toned down a ton. Before, it felt like I was walking into a bottle of Pepto-Bismol. Now, it's very mellow and pleasant, VERY girly. The color is called "Ballet Slippers", and that is a perfect description. I love it. Maya checks out some new flowers with her Papa...
I found these plastic butterflies at Target for $20. There's 20 butterflies in 4 sizes, and each comes with a tack and optional spacers to mount them on the wall at different depths. I thought that for the dramatic effect, it was well worth the money. I'd put these anywhere in the house. They are awesome!
Some pictures of Tinkerbell was a must, since her bedding is Tinkerbell that she picked out. We also added some shelves to the walls for her knick-knacks. Notice the table in her room with her "Calico Critters" house and accessories on it...
A closer look at "Tink"...
My favorite decoration (again)...Buddy enjoyed the room, too! They were very excited about the make-over and had a great time celebrating by jumping on the bed...
All day Saturday felt like I was a designer on the reality TV show "While You Were Out" (or whatever it's called). Dad and I were hanging pictures and shelves, sticking up decals, calling around to find the "tiara" picture and rushing to Holland and back to get it, touching up some mistakes that were made in haste, hanging curtains, and cleaning before the family pulled into the driveway. We were literally putting on the finishing touches as they pulled into the garage, but we made it! Whew! We were scrambling!!

I'm so pleased with how the room turned out. It will definitely have the potential to grow with her. With the quick change of the Tinkerbell pictures and bedding, it can be transformed into a dream bedroom for a girl of any age. For now, it's perfect for our little Princess Maya.