Pool Days!

If you asked me a few months ago if I would be going to the pool this summer, I would tell you of course not...

My childhood summers were spent at the pool and I was a life guard for four summers, so I have good memories of spending lots of hot days at the pool.  I hoped to share that experience with my boys, but thought this year there would be no way to do that with their ages.  Watching the boys love the water in our back yard, I wanted to work with J & K in deeper water to get some swimming skills under their belts.  My mom and I were able to sneak out to our community pool after dinner/on the weekends a couple times a week with 2 or 3 of the older kids to get them used to the water and just have fun. 

It started as baby pool fun... Watch out for the splash! 

 Not sure this should be attempted in the shallow water?!  On to the big pool we go!

 Fun times jumping from the edge, blowing bubbles, throwing them like beach balls...

 Keeping track of them was definitely a 2 person job, thanks mom!

 Grandma and little J had fun throwing the ball and swimming to catch it.

 K was cold, but didn't want to get out.

 It was strange that little J didn't seem timid at all... I guess he saw his big brothers having so much fun he didn't want to miss out. 

I first enrolled J in lessons thinking I could take the other kids to the baby pool while he was in his lesson... Well, we quickly ended up in the big pool.  Myself & my 3 littlest ducklings that is!   K and little J learned their boundaries and we had a great 2 weeks of day camping and splashing at the pool.  The kids learned a few new skills too. 

 Swimming with his arms and breathing to the side... He did this stroke half the length of the pool :). 

 K had lessons too.  He swam underwater to catch some rings and kicked with a kick board. 

After swim class, it was time to play!  

 Jumping, watch out below!

 Super hero dives!

 He was off to save the day!

 A couple of times we met some friends there... This particular day there were 10 boys (11 if you include C)- they took over the baby pool during adult swim.  When they got a little rowdy, we encouraged the one 8 year old boy to get them to calm down... He did better than all of us moms combined!  They were in awe of this older kid!

 The younger boys of the group.

 Oh yeah, forgot to include the one little girl of the group... Boy is she out numbered!

 Good times at the pool!

Big Preschool project

Once baby C was born, our formal plan for home preschool became very casual, but fun.  We read lots and lots of books, played many games & puzzles, cooked & cleaned together, went on several field trips and just spent a lot of time together talking about things.  When something was asked that we didn't know the answer to, we would look it up or ask someone else.  I tried my best to cherish this year of play and exploration as I knew I could never have these precious times back. 

One of our 'big projects' that we worked together at was this never opened huge construction set that I found at a garage sale for $5 :).  We spent many 'quiet time' hours together building it... He would do the small steps of building as I connected each small step to each other, thus making roller coaster come more and more alive with each new connection.  J LOVED watching it get huge and I LOVED watching his mind figure it all out!  I hope J remembers these moments like I do!

When we first took it out, it was a bit overwhelming... Do you know what 646 pieces looks like scattered out on the floor?

 We were both proud of the end result!

 It was fun to see how chain pulleys and gears worked to make it run.

 What a fun toy!

 A few adjustments to the motor by the engineer himself.

 

3 men in a tub

This was from the beginning of summer, but didn't want to forget it!  These 3 are quite the trio... A good laugh coming from all of them at the same time usually means they are up to something.  This time it was warm water in the water table that was just too irresistible for cold wet little bodies after a swim in the chilly pool water.  A few drops of baby soap, a quick jet spray from the hose and one by one that scooted themselves into the raised tub... "Look Mom, we all fit!".

 Let the pestering begin!

 Laughs all around!

 Little J has had enough and K looks a bit cold!

 It is a little more quiet without the biggest one!

5 months

The transition is beginning... my infant is quickly becoming baby!  His senses are on full alert as he takes in sounds, sights and the taste of bananas.  Sweet heart by nature, but determination in his learning.  He rolls over and looks with a big mouth smile to see who saw him achieve his goal.  He does very well always being in tote- parks, pools and lots of car trips... I think he likes the constant change in scenery!  His hand grabbing motor skills work good and that is now his favorite thing to do.  Squeals of excitement and voice testing are heard as he practices swimming motions while laying in bed.  What a blessing he is to us!

There is that tongue again!

 He actually likes tummy time better than back time!

 Another brother loving on him...

 Mirror play, I see you- do you see me?

 Silly boy!

 I wonder what he is thinking?!

 He is getting long...

 Reach for the toy, you are almost there!

Got it, straight for the mouth.

 Until next time, bye!

Pennies

What would you do for a penny?  My eager five year old has done a lot for such a little wage...

I have started a reward system with big J and it is working wonders with his attitude and willingness to help.  I was flustered one afternoon with his whining and complaining when asked to do something, so I took out an old jam jar and told him that he was going to start earning pennies for 'Happy Heart' responses.   In other words, if he says "Yes, mom" in a nice voice after I ask him to do something like put his toys away, then I will give him a penny.  If he shows helpfulness and/or encourages his brothers to do the right thing, then he gets a penny... I am sure you get the point.  This kiddo understood the system right away and it can almost seem embarrassing in a public situation when he eagerly says "YES, Mom!!!" and does what he is told.  It took him a little over a week to earn his first dollar, and boy was he excited and ready to head to the dollar store to buy his reward. 

It is a learning experience... working hard for a reward and learning the value of money- 25 pennies= 1 quarter and 4 quarters=1 dollar.  

 He also got to practice counting lots of pennies ;). He wanted to recount his total just about every time he recieved a new penny.

 What did he buy with that lucky dollar?

 A plastic bow and arrow toy set!

 It gave him something to shoot for ;)!

 His eyes are set on a bigger prize next time, we will see how long he can hold off and save his hard earned dollars!

Ice Cream Cake

I waited to the last minute to come up with a cake idea for little J's birthday, I guess baking does not appeal to me much during the hot of the summer!  So instead of baking a cake for an hour in the hot oven, I freeze baked it!  I found some simple instructions for making an ice cream cake at home... 

First, you ask a very eager 2 year old birthday boy to help you lick mix the ingredients together.

 You are going to want to have some cookies on hand for the crust... I baked some quick peanut butter cookies, but you could use packaged cookies or anything else that is sweet and crumbles!

 Line a spring form cake pan with cookies and then crumble more of them in a separate bowl and mix them with some melted butter.  Then put the crumbled mixture on top of the layer of cookies.

 Mix some slightly thawed out ice cream (flavor of your choice!) to get a smooth consistency and add candy mix ins of your liking.

 Fill the spring form pan with the ice cream mixture.

 Freeze for about 4 hours (or more if you have the time).  Then whip up some heavy cream and frost the cake with it. 

 Decorate and then freeze for another 3-4 hours.  Let thaw for about 10 minutes before serving. 

Pretty Easy Peasey if you have the time to let it freeze properly... I was a little short of time so it turned out a bit melty, but I don't think the birthday boy minded! It will be a fun recipe to try again and again with different flavors.

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to our Sweet Jakey, what a joy you are to our whole family!  We had a nice day and simple celebration, but he was still king for the day...

Pancakes for breakfast, yum-yum!  What a nice friend I have... Jacob received a surprise in the mail a few weeks ago, it was a felt #2!  She made this crown with a removable #1 (here is last year's celebration) for little J last year and then moved cross country, I would have never got to making my own #2.  Thanks Jes ;)!

 Candle Blowout... He was a little shy.

 Present time- there were some very eager lookers!

 Thanks G&G Barker, he loved his new hat and phone- can you tell?!

 New underspamunders... more on that later!

 More toys and a very proud 2 year old showing his brothers how they work!

 This 2 year old decided to take a crash course in potty training and is in under ware full time now! 

 I guess they all have to play with the toilet paper while they are waiting for the big moment!

 We love you beautiful little J!

 Smiles!

 He is a very good big brother too :)!