Swingin' Good Times

        

As we say goodbye to Fall and hello to cooler weather this winter, I didn't want to miss the chance to post these.  

The kids have loved swinging these past couple months.  Lucy learned to pump her legs all by herself, and she has been so proud of herself and happy.  

It's so fun to hear her say things like, "I'm going to touch the sky!  Look--I'm going even higher than the roof!  I can do it by myself because I'm FOUR."  

 

Elliot is giving it his best effort, but of course he's not quite there yet.  Maybe in the spring. 

All the kids love to "spider swing" with Mimi.  

 

It's a special thing that they only do with her--usually when she's over to help on Tuesdays. 

Oliver loves to swing, too.  He's been in the baby swing so far, but I bet in the spring he'll be ready for a "big kid" swing.  For the first time, we won't have a swing for each kid!  

 

That will be interesting. 

Splash Pad

We're in the middle of a week of rain here.  A tropical storm (Bill) is actually to blame for it.  But the morning before the rain started, we met up with some friends for a splash pad play date. 



The water was heated!!!  That was SO nice, b/c it was in the 70's and not really warm enough to be walking around wet and enjoying it. 



We'd had swim lessons just before this, so the kids were pretty tired to begin with.  But they did have a lot of fun playing in the water and running around before they completely pooped out.



I think Oliver was especially relieved to be able to splash and have fun with the big kids without constantly being on the verge of drowning.



And Lucy loved running through the spray rings.  She even held Elliot's hand to help him get through them, too.  He wasn't as much a fan.



Of the three of them, Elliot is my really cold-sensitive one.  Objectively speaking, his lips turn blue and he shivers MUCH faster than the other two.



But he still managed to have lots of fun before he was done.



These spray grounds are one of the few things I like about being a parent in today's society.  They are amazing.



Chlorinated, heated water shooting out of a no-slip, padded surface you can run on.  I mean... if there's some way these could be improved, I don't know what it would be.



We were stuck inside all day today (because I turned down the dozen or so requests to go play outside in the rain).  So I'm glad the kids at least got this outdoor fun earlier this week. 



Today was pretty rough.  I'm hopeful tomorrow is easier.  As long as swim lessons and gymnastics aren't canceled, I think we'll be ok. 



The house cleaner comes in the morning, and we have a play date that will keep us out of the house most of the afternoon/evening. 


Which means tomorrow night we'll be sleeping in a CLEAN house!  How nice does that sound??



Amazing.  I'll tell you how it sounds.  Amazing.

We're Leaving Tomorrow!!!

Oh my goodness I can't believe our trip to England is finally here!!  Daniel and I leave with baby Oliver tomorrow evening for an 11-day trip to England/Scotland to visit my sister Carrie and my brother-in-law, Ben.



We are so, so excited!!!  I barely know our itinerary... but I know what time our flight leaves, and I know they are picking us up at the airport with a carseat in the car.  So, I've got the basics down.
 

It has been a whirlwind of a past month.  We had Oliver, visited several doctors, I got really sick, we celebrated Lucy's birthday with a swim party, more doctors appointments, a Sip and See for Oliver, and a baby shower for my dear college friend.  It has felt crazy busy.  And here I thought it would be quiet for a bit after Oliver was born.  Silly silly.



Although there have been a few moments of quiet, here and there.



This post turned sort of photo-heavy when I realized I haven't gotten the chance to post all these fun photos!



I was experimenting with dramatic lighting the other day during nap time.   




 
Everybody's nap time -- can you believe that?  All three kids were asleep for a solid 45 minutes, and a couple of them slept even longer than that.  It was amazing.  So quiet.
 

A friend was getting rid of this chalk board/easel.  Isn't it cool?



The kids really like it, and our homemade chalk paint fits perfectly in the little holder!

 

Lucy's been practicing drawing the letter "L" and Elliot loves saying, "Eeeeee" whenever he recognizes that letter.



I draw it a lot. Lots of "L's" and "E's" these days.
 

It's fun to see him recognize a few letters here and there, and Lucy is getting very good at recognizing them!
 

Have I mentioned Elliot has regressed in the area of pacifiers??  



My nephew Jack came over the other day, and he and the kids had a blast building towers and knocking them down.

 

He's so good with them.  He's grown up a lot in the past year.  I am amazed every time I see him.  He is becoming so responsible and considerate!
 

He's lots of fun, and the kids love it when he comes over.



I love it when Oliver sneezes.
 

Newborn sneezes are so stinkin' cute.



This is our laser thermometer.  It's so fun to use in the kitchen while cooking.  I saw Elliot using it on Oliver the other day. 
 

I got out with ALL THREE KIDS all by myself this week!!!  YES!
 

It was an overly-ambitious outing.  It consisted of getting all the way up to McKinney for a combination photo-shoot and playdate at a park and sprayground.  For those of you who don't have kids or for whom it's been a while... let me remind you what getting out with three babies/kids looks like--

1.  Sippy cups
2.  Snacks that can double as "lunch" for the car ride home
3.  Diapers/clean underwear
4.  Extra outfits for everybody
5.  Towels for everybody
6.  Sunscreen/mosquito repellent
7.  Portable potty for the car
8.  Toys in equitable portions for both "big kids"
9.  Shoes for both "big kids"

--it looks like gathering all that stuff while holding a newborn and with a 1-year-old clinging to your leg and a 3 y/o crying that you didn't put ice in her milk.



I am still impressed with myself for not forgetting anything.  It only happens maybe once a year that I don't forget something.




The kids were not super impressed with the photo shoot until they were allowed to eat their watermelon and cookie.  That brought some smiles.



The sprayground brought smiles from Lucy and intense horror from Elliot.



Not sure why he was terrified of the jets of water spraying from the ground, but he was.  He wouldn't let go of my hand while we were in the spray ground's vicinity... which made nursing Oliver very challenging, logistically.



We made it home in one piece!  Poor Daniel started that morning scrubbing expletives off our fence (some hoodlums had spray painted it the night before) and most of the day getting a passport re-issued for Oliver (since the post office misplaced the one that should have arrived several days ago).  It was a sad day for poor Daniel.



I just realized I never posted these photos.  They are some of my favorites from this newborn period.  This one particularly required 3 adults spotting and supporting the kids, plus me to photograph it.  But I absolutely love it, and given their young ages, I don't think they could have done better.



I'm hoping to continue blogging through our trip! But we'll see...