Swim Lessons

Grandma and Grandpa Davis gave Waylon swim lessons as his 4th birthday gift (note to grandparents: this is an awesome gift!). The kids have been in lessons twice per week since early March, and their progress has been amazing. Well, Waylon's progress has been fabulous. Our little daredevil, Avalon, loves to float and be in the water, but she has absolutely no fear of the water--in a very scary way.

We waited a long time to start lessons since we needed special plugs for the kids' ears due to their ear tubes. I also did not want to deal with the drama since Waylon refused to even put his face into the water. The good news is that they were able to be in lessons together, and Waylon is too young to be embarassed that he started classes with his baby sister. However, he has progressed far more than her, which is understandable. He is getting close to being able to take a breath on his own, and I am MUCH more calm when he is playing in the water. However, that calm is cancelled out by the heart attacks I have every time Avalon gets near the water. Even her instructor lectures her about "being such a two year old." I think we will have to wait for her to mature before she can be close to water safe.

As you can see from the photos, much of our time is spent at Waterbabies swim school, and on the weekend we are at our neighborhood pool "practicing." I love swimming, and I cannot wait until the kids are able to swim on their own. I must say that swim classes are my favorite since they are wiped out afterwards, eat well, and usually crash early.

Happy Face! They dive for rings at the end of the class, and the teacher tells them to do a "happy face" when they come up.

Happy face girl!

Underwater Photos

A few weeks ago a professional photographer showed up at their lessons with his underwater camera. So much fun to see what the kids look like underwater!!!

Mr. Big

I got this photo of Waylon napping. Note the matching Hawaiian outfit he received from Uncle Matt + clip on tie.

Note: this was not the outfit that he was put to bed in.

Swim Lessons--a Preview Photo

Soccer Star? Rap Star?

About 2 weeks ago, Avalon began insisting on wearing dresses, and even wants them to "twirl." Unbelievable, I never buy her dresses because she stains everything she wears. The other day she compromised on wearing this soccer outfit instead of a dress. Much better. However, at the end of the day she decided to accessorize with Waylon's hat, and his shoes.

LL Cool A

These two are usually very cute together.

I worry because he is twice his size, but so far Waylon is very gentle with Avalon...95% of the time.

Chillin' with the homies.

Lotsa PJ's and a Brief Update

As I was going through photos I realized that I have a lot of PJ photos lately, and not much else. PJ is not code for anything. Its just that...my 2 and 4 year old in their pajamas. It may be because the camera has been upstairs due to my laziness and the only time I get any shots is during the bedtime process. However, I think its more likely that the bath/pajama/bed process is both the craziest and calmest time around here--perfect for photos.

Another reason for the limited photos is that we are boring. Avalon started potty training in late April, and that kept us close to home for several weekends. More recently, we have been staying home enjoying our updated backyard. Hopefully the summer will bring lots of photos of backyard fun!

Since we have been boring without a lot of blog posts, here are some updates:

Avalon is a full blown two year old, complete with face-on-the-floor tantrums, and screaming "DO MY SELFFFFFF!!!!"--even when it is totally and completely impossible for her to actually complete said activity. She thinks she rules the world, and seems to be a tyrant at daycare. One of the mothers of her classmates told me that Avalon will be President some day. I think that was a polite way of saying that our little darling bosses everyone around. She is still in Occupational Therapy for eating issues, and her new therapist told me that Avalon is very smart, and incredibly manipulative when she does not want to do something. Insert my feigned surprise here. I realize this is karma coming back to me--I can hear my mom laughing at this right now.

On the other hand, Waylon is really growing up and maturing, however he drives me crazy with other things. The worst issue is the excuses. He starts every sentence with, "I was just [insert ridiculous excuse or explanation here]." My response is usually something like, "I realize you were just pouring water all over the couch, but I asked you to wash your hands." You get the idea. He is doing better at identifying letters and does a little bit of writing, but I am holding off on his ivy league applications for awhile. Its hard to believe we are wrestling with questions about where to send him to kindergarden in just over a year. Wasn't he just kicking inside my belly a few months ago giving me indigestion?

As I was trying to convince/cajole/force the kids into bed, Waylon walked into the bathroom in this get up. Mis-matched PJ's, wool hat, and brandishing a blush brush. Just before I could lose my noodle he asked me to take a picture. It was so cute, I forgot to be furious.

After 2.5 years of being mostly a mommy's girl, Avalon is all about daddy. She now wants him to read to her and get her ready for bed.

AVALON IS POTTY TRAINING!!!!

While she was interested in it much earlier than Waylon, I feel like its been the same, slow process. I am jealous of parents that magically potty train their kids in a weekend. With both kids it has been a long, slow process. That said, we are getting there.

I

I believe this photo was taken as the kids cuddled in the morning. I can never get Waylon out of bed on school days, but Avalon can usually get him up--however sometimes he convinces her to get in bed with him.

Below they are "hiding" from me so they do not have to go to school.