Tiny Tunas Part 2

We made it through the two weeks of swim lessons last Friday. It was such a great experience for the boys. We're really glad we did it.

I found a really cute pattern for beach robes on the "Made" website. I was hoping to get them done before the first lesson, but I didn't finish them until the night before the second lesson. I think they are really cute, but the boys are too cool for them. Oh well. I enjoyed sewing the robes and liked the chance to try some new techniques, so I'm still glad I made them. Plus, I did make them bigger so I think they could still wear them another year or two. I am still working on one for Eva, so hopefully she'll want to wear it more than 10 seconds. The pattern calls for using towels, so I picked out some bright ones from Target and easily found matching piping:

I lined the hoods with this cute flannel with fish:

Aiden helping me sew:

While Reid helped me push the pedal:

They were more than willing to try on the hoods:

I managed to talk Aiden into trying his on:

If I remember correctly, I think Reid took this picture:

My guys:

Aiden working on his front float:

Reid's back float:

Aiden's back float:

Slide time. Aiden loved the slide, but after the first couple of days Reid would climb up to the top just to tell Miss Tori that he was too scared to go down the slide:

I like the big kick boards they used:

We started giving Reid a thumbs-up from the side which he quickly adopted:

Aiden back floating with a smile from Reid;

Smooch time:

Rest time:

Thumbs up time: (Aiden holds up his index finger)

Joe Cool's got it down:

I liked this image with the boys' silhouettes:

Cheese!

On Thursday of the first week, Aiden decided he didn't want to swim that day. I had him hang out by the side of the pool hoping he would change his mind:

He did let Miss Tori take him out for a front float, but that was it:

Reid seemed to love every minute of swim lessons and was willing to jump right in:

After Thursday, Aiden told me he didn't want to swim because he was cold. So, on Friday before lessons, we stopped at Kohl's to buy a couple of swim shirts. (And visit the restroom seven times. Ah, the early days of potty training. Happy to report we have come so far in the last few weeks.)

No luck- Aiden mainly hung out with me:

And reluctantly did a little back floating, but he was not happy:

Talked them both into wearing the beach robes so I could at least get a picture. Aiden in his Superman pajamas and Reid in his "Baseball Batman" pajamas, as he likes to call them:

Week 2
The boys asked about Miss Tori quite a few times over the weekend. They wanted to know why we weren't going to lessons. I told them Miss Tori needed a break after working hard all week. Why? Because she taught all week. And she's tired? Yep. Where is she? At her house. Why? Because she needs a break. Why? Why? Why? (Can you tell we answer 500 questions a day?)

Monday started off with safety day. Luckily that was just the hook we needed to get Aiden back in the water:

All four of the boys wore life jackets:

Then Miss Tori had them hold hands in a circle and they floated out to deeper water. It was funny watching them because they were having a hard time holding their heads up while not tipping backwards. It reminded me of the boys when we first sat them in their Bumbo seats when they were babies.

When they were doing their back floats, Miss Tori would ask them what they saw on the ceiling. Aiden has quite the imagination, so he would talk about dragons and monsters, etc.

Eric was back in town in time for Tuesday's lesson:

Playing on the playset after lessons:

Chatfield is across the ridge on the other side of the golf course:

Wednesday:

The boys had to keep their eyes closed while she tossed the rings out. Reid liked to sneak a peak the first few lessons, but toward the end he was pretty good about keeping his eyes closed:

Here they were comparing notes about getting water up their noses when they were practicing bobbing under water:

Reid bobbing:

Aiden bobbing:

Smooch:

Watching the bigger kids play basketball after lessons:

On Thursday, the boys had a substitute teacher because Miss Tori had to go to a funeral:

Kicking time:

Since this was the first teacher we've ever had, I went into Pinterest Mom mode. After the first lesson, I started pinning ideas for presents to give to Miss Tori at the end. She was so impressive from the very first day and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to give positive feedback to a great teacher.

The card:

    

    

Little plastic buckets with Swedish fish and Cookies and Creme Kisses. I found the idea on this website.

Friday, July 12th; Last day of lessons and both boys did a great job the entire time. I think they really missed Miss Tori the day before, so they were more than willing to participate:

Aiden's sharks usually turned into cars:

Learning how to do swim strokes. This was pretty hilarious to watch because I don't think they've ever seen anyone swim before:

Walking over to a ledge to practice jumping in:

Giving Miss Tori a hug after giving her her presents. She was so surprised and pleased by them. The boys made a lot of progress and will probably repeat Tiny Tunas to shore up their skills before moving on. We were lucky to have such a great experience and hope to sign the boys up for some more lessons during the school year.

Tiny Tunas

(Yep. Still need to finish posting the Iowa/Ohio trip photos. I was hoping to continue to use my phone for updating the blog, but Reid got sick the last few days of our trip. The drive from Iowa to Colorado on the last day of our trip was not an easy one. I'm thankful my mom had flown out to Ohio to join me when Eric had to return to work. She did the majority of the driving which made it so much easier for me to take care of Reid.)

We signed the the boys up for swim lessons at the Rec Center for the first time and today was the first day. They are in the Level 1, Tina Tunas class. I loved taking swim lessons growing up, so I was hoping the boys would enjoy it too. Luckily, it went very well!

We arrived way too early because I wasn't sure how long it would take us to get ready and whether either one of them would need to go potty. (One week into potty training and the boys have made huge strides!) (The first five pictures were edited on my phone using the Pic-Tap-Go! app, which I like to use when pictures are too dark. I used the first option, "Lights On''.)

Waiting...

Finally! There were two other little boys in their class. Another boy arrived half-way through because he had been signed up for the wrong level. He was too timid to ever get in the water so we'll see how tomorrow goes. Their teacher, Miss Tori, was great! First she had them sit down on the wall. It was only about two feet deep in this part of the pool:

Then they got into the pool:

Reid is actually pretty fearful in precarious situations, so he turned around to enter the water:

They practiced putting their faces in the water:

Then she had them dunk a little bit under water while holding their breath. Aiden:

Reid:

Then they played a game where they each picked a color ring and then then she "hid" them out in the water and they had to go find them. She was good about having them touch the wall when she wanted them to stay put or listen to directions:

Then they went out by the slide and she sang "Rain, rain, go away..." while she poured water on their heads with a little watering bucket. That's similar to what we use when we shampoo hair, so our guys weren't too phased by that:

Back to touching the wall to hear about a game where they "talked" to sharks:

They had to blow bubbles in the pool to be able to talk with the shark. If they did it correctly, then the shark was moved a little bit closer. The goal was to get the shark to swim all the way over to them:

Back to the rings; this time they were steering wheels:

Then they blew bubbles in the water to make the sound of race cars:

Towards the end, the were able to ride on a big kick board and practice kicking. They both had the biggest smiles on their faces during this part. Unfortunately, I failed to get pictures of the smiles, but hopefully they'll get to do this again. Aiden on the right with another little boy:

Reid on the right with another boy. Aiden came back to the wall and started practicing his kicking:

Finally, their big treat was getting to go down the little slide. (Don't be deceived by the sight of the big slide in the background.) Aiden at the top:

Aiden at the bottom:

Reid at the top:

Reid at the bottom:

They played the race car game in the lobby on the way out. Luckily, they still don't realize we're supposed to pay to play the real version of these games:

The boys enjoyed watching Eric's videos of the lessons during lunch. See the end of the post for the videos.

I was so excited to sign the boys up for lessons because it felt like one of the first little kid (versus toddler) activities we've been able to sign up for. I really wanted to do "Mommy and Me"-type swimming lessons when they were babies, but  most days we were lucky to make it through the day without any add-ons.

Finding their color rings:

Talking to their sharks:

Kick board time:

I can't wait to see what they learn tomorrow!

Grandma Starrs' Blueberry Muffins

Grandma Starrs' Blueberry Muffins
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1 cup drained blueberries

Sift the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
Combine the egg, oil, and milk, and add to the dry ingredients.
Stir just until the ingredients are blended.
Fold in blueberries.
Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full.
Back at 375 degrees for about 16-17 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins.

Optional topping:
1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon on top.

To reheat:
One at a time; 25 seconds in the microwave. Good with rhubarb-cherry jam.

(So thankful that these turned out EXACTLY how I remember them. Thought the saying at the top of the recipe card was funny: "Kissin' wears out; cookin' don't.")