Swimming Lessons Started Up!

It is time again for swimming "lessons" at the Y.  I think, though, Nick will actually learn something this time.  Stella just gets to kick across the pool and use a "kicking board", as she calls it.

 But it is fun.  They need something to do, I suppose, since kids these days don't just go out to play (like we did).  And when we do go outside they need to be well-supervised.  And if they are being well-supervised then they are going to be very hungry because dinner just doesn't make itself!  : )

This is actually Stella's FIRST swimming lesson class.  She just loves whatever time she gets in the water.

I am pretty sure they will be taking lessons again next month.  As long as I can get them into lessons that overlap.  I'm sorry, but I don't want to sit at the pool all evening or every evening of the week.  And Henry refuses to go to the child watch, so I just wrestle him for the whole time.  Fun times.  So these might be the only pictures unless Shawn is home and can stay home with Henry.  For now, I know they are fuzzy, but you get the idea.  Big smiles from both kids.

OH, speaking of smiles...Nick lost another tooth!  He asked me to pull it on Sunday because it hurt when he ate.  I, once again, had to mom-up and do it.  It was easier to pull this one.  But then Shawn threw the tooth in the garbage (accidentally).  So we just wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy.  She understood!


--Kate

Henry's Christmas Highlights

Henry's Christmas involved many wheeled vehicles.  Namely trains, cars, and trucks.  The garbage truck was his FAVORITE BY FAR!!!   A garbage truck.

I don't know how many laps he made around the house pushing the garbage truck!  All I know is he was waaaaayy too busy with the garbage truck to eat breakfast.  And that's pretty much what he told me, too!

Occasionally, he  would switch it up to the giant John Deere tractor.  "Whatch out Nick!  Coming through!"

But then, back to the garbage truck!

I have to say, the garbage truck is actually pretty cool.  It came with a dumpster which the truck picks up with the front arms and dumps into the back of the truck.  By the afternoon, Henry was saying "need more trash!" as he collected anything (plastic bags, tissues, legos, bits of cardboard) to put in his trash dumpster.  Only to pull the handle to dump into the back of the garbage truck.  

Henry meets his "robot".

And not even Henry could resist the house!  He got the bathroom stool so he could reach the third floor.

--Kate

Stella's Christmas Highlights

And well, you saw that Nick's Christmas Day was all about the "guys"...Stella Ann's was all about the girls!

Princesses and Barbie and clothes OH MY!

Shawn spent a good bit of his morning opening dolls and clothes for Stella. 

And now, the girls all have a place to sleep at night.  (Here Stella rearranged the furniture so the beds were in the living room...she has since reconsidered that decorating faux pas).

The girls got a car, too.  Cruisin!!

And another toy that she really wanted was this dog.  It whimpers and barks like a real dog.  I should add that her request was for two dogs- the other one you can "walk" on a leash.  She will have to settle for "Cookie" who was 50% off.

--Kate

Nick's Christmas Highlights

Christmas Day pretty much consisted of playing "guys" for Nick.  He got some new Star Wars guys and GI Joe guys and well, they all fight together against whatever enemy is against them.  At one point the enemy was Nick!  He got a new light saber and was carefully knocking over his guys, one by one, with a tap of his light saber.  I WISH I had moved quicker-  but by the time I had grabbed my camera, he proudly declared himself the winner against "the guys."

A "guy" in the new (huge) tank.

--Kate

Merry Christmas 2011

This was Christmas Eve.  After mass.  Before sprinkling reindeer food in the yard.  After cookies were set out for Santa.  Before falling asleep in hopes that St. Nick would soon be in their living room delivering presents.

And boy did he deliver!  But didn't he know about my "nothing-over-four-feet" rule?  Or my "no guns" rule?  Or my "we-don't-need-another-garbage-truck" rule?

 HOWEVER...I do love the squeals...

 ...and smiles...

 ...and "wows" that come along with those rule-breaking gifts.

Hope your Christmas was hectic and calm, loud and quiet, energized and tired, busy and lazy all in the same day.  Ours was.

--Kate

School's out! School's Out!

Teachers let the monkeys out!

Ever hear that one when you were a kid?

I think it means this:

This is what they did whilst I was on the phone with one of my dear, dear friends whom I have not talked to in YEARS.  And have not seen in longer!

Stella, posing amid the chaos.

And in case you thought the littlest was just a spectator...

But it was worth it!  I got to talk to my friend.  Kids got all sweaty.  Henry actually took a decent nap.  All is good.

Boys...I will never understand how they play!

I was the sneaky mom tonight and captured some video of the boys "playing" though I think of it as a mild form of roughhousing. It's really annoying to me when they start tackling and throwing. But this happens e.v.e.r.y. night after dinner. Every night. And since Nick has been home from school for the past two days, he didn't have any homework to do that would pull him away from this "playing" tonight.

I pretended to look something up on the laptop and caught them on my phone.

OH and please excuse my mess of a house. In my defense, Shawn has been gone two weeks straight (and minimal time home for the previous several weeks/months). Yes, I am blaming him.  haha! He gets home tomorrow night! Thank God. Enjoy the show!

Check out Henry's WILD throw at the end of the clip! It's really quick, so don't miss it!


In this one, Nick is trying to pick teams. Henry is saying he wants to be the "jounge" team. Which is his way of saying "orange". He had trouble with that word. And I think he means the Miami Dolphins.


Another football play and big throw by Henry.



OK.  Now can you imagine what this game will look like in about 5 years?!?!?!?!?

--Kate