We were all so excited to start this session of swim lessons… well, at least Jackson and Lacey were – Rachelle could have passed on the whole experience. But I’m happy to say that she can turn around and grab the wall if she falls in and can monkey walk like a pro! I love to see their progress in swim lessons even when they scream through almost every minute of it.

Rachelle has been hard but awesome to watch. She’s in a class with mostly 2  yr olds, so their ability to move their bodies and even just their ability to understand what the teacher is saying, is way above hers. I noticed though that it didn’t take her more than a day or two to fully understand what her teachers expected and what she needed to do to get things right. She floats on her back with a little assistance, but I think the most valuable things we’re taking from these lessons are blowing bubbles when she’s under water, when she falls or is dropped in she turns and grabs the wall, and really, I’m amazed at her new-found monkey walking skills. I think those things alone were well worth the money and tears.

Lacey has also learned a lot, but decided the last couple days to start acting scared. I’m not sure what happened that scared her, but she was nervous to dive/jump into the water. She’s always been really good at floating on her back and now she’s able to stick her head up and catch a quick breath while swimming. She’s been working hard and her freestyle is becoming more long arms rather than doggy paddle.

A few days ago, Jennifer, one of the teachers, asked me if Jackson was doing swim team this summer – She said he’s a good little swimmer. I think he’s ready and would LOVE it (what sport/competition doesn’t he love?), but I thought we’d wait another year. Don’t tell him – he wouldn’t be happy with me.  🙂 He easily makes it across the pool with a pretty good freestyle. He’s learning the other strokes and  loves going every day!

Geri and Jennifer are the best! Really – We’ve been a few other places for swim lessons, and they really do the best job for all ages. They are awesome at drown proofing for pre-swimmers, excellent with beginning swimmers, and fabulous teaching the strokes for more advanced swimmers. Their energy is amazing and they always tell the kids what a great job after every turn- the kids feel so proud when they get out of the pool. Even Rachelle – she has grown up so much and I can tell when she comes out she is proud of her hard work!

We are going to love swimming this summer!

We had a couple of fun outings with Jackson’s preschool this past week. He has a great class and it was fun to meet some of the moms and siblings. The fire station was really fun for the kids. Krispie Kreme was fun and it was neat to see their machines running, but I think most of the fun was in getting donuts at the end.

Lacey had a FABULOUS birthday this year. I loved watching her enjoy every part of her birthday – this has got to be one of the best parts of being a parent! Sunday was the actual big day, so we made a (pinkalicious)cake for desert and let her open a couple presents. She was thrilled! She loved the phone calls, cards and anything that had anything to do with her birthday.

Lacey loves to read books – she asks me about a million times a day to sit and read with her. Her favorites right now are any books from the Fancy Nancy or Pinkalicious collections. She asked for a Pinkalicious party for her birthday so on Monday we invited all of her ‘girls’ over to celebrate Pinkalicious-style! As party guests arrived we gave them a pinkalicious (or peter for the boys) bottle cap necklace to wear:

I couldn’t convince Lacey to wear pink this day because she had just received this cute Minnie Mouse dress and flip flops from Grandma and she loves it so much! but all the other girls were wearing pink 🙂 We painted on butcher paper, painted our fingernails pink, played pin the cherry on the cupcake, played “pink, pink, purple” (duck, duck, goose), had a pull-string pinata, ate pink sandwiches and fruit, and finally decorated cupcakes!

It really was fun – thanks to those who came to party with us! I’ve been looking for a good excuse to try these cupcake pops, so we sent everyone home with a little bag of these as a thank you for coming! MMMmmm, we liked them… a lot, so hopefully everyone else did too.

I sure had fun getting ready for this party! Lacey is so easy to please – just tell her its her birthday and she’s more than excited! Lacey has the most fun personality – she loves to play and have fun! She is very sweet  and loves to cuddle and be loved (all on her terms). She is such a good sister – she loves Jackson and Rachelle. Her smile is so contagious! I love our little Lacey!

Next on the schedule… Jackson’s party!