Virginia Vacation - This and That

While it seems like we were always on the go on our vacation, we also had plenty of down time!  That mostly consisted of time in the pool.  There Drew learned to swim without floaties and realized he often preferred to swim without his goggles.  He also learned to tie shoes!  So a momentous trip in its own right.

And who can forget their first brain freeze?

Dave and Drew had been talking about wanting to get brain freezes. I guess it's from some show Drew watches.  So we had to make a pit stop and get slurpees.

Lots of swim time.  We managed to swim nearly every day were in Williamsburg.

Dave, Drew and Grandma

Below, Grandpa and Drew - they have matching glasses/goggles

And Drew was busy reading to Grandpa all about Pocohontas

As I mentioned we played a lot of Uno on this trip...
 

 After getting back from Richmond and finding out someone poo'd in the pool, we decided to play some mini-golf while they cleaned up the "incident".

 

Turns out mini-golf is hazardous to your swim trunks...

After someone else threw up in the pool, it closed again for a bit so we played "name that tune" in the cabana.  We did pretty well too!

 Finally the pool opened for good.  I opted not to go in that night.  I mean vomit and feces?  No thank you.  The boys were a bit more brave.

We had a fantastic trip all around and even 2 months later we're still talking about it!  Drew wants to go back for our next big family vacation, but Dave has his eyes set on another Baseball destination... Florida perhaps?

Taking the Sting Out of Father's Day

This past Father's Day had a real sting to it...

It started out pretty well.  Dave didn't stay in bed long enough to get breakfast in bed, but he enjoyed a great gift from Drew (a coffee cup that Drew colored) and a few cards.  Then I made breakfast for everyone. 

Afterward we went to Shadow Cliff's in Pleasanton - a local "beach" at a park.  (For my Antioch peeps - think Contra Loma).

While he was in the water - Drew had a great time.  Coming onshore not so much.  Between getting ticked at the sand between his toes or in his shoes... mixed with the light breeze that was blowing helping keep us cool on the hot day... Drew had enough less than an hour after we arrived.  He started screaming unbearably about our stuff blowing away.  Why he freaked out about the light breeze on the beach, but loved the 30+ mph winds at Niagara Falls is beyond me. 

Dave and I grudgingly left the park - when surprise, surprise guess who fell asleep in the car while we ran a few errands on our way home.

After getting home we were trying to relax in the backyard, but Drew wanted to be entertained - saying he was "only" in the house by himself and refused to come outside with us (only = Lonely in Drew speak).  After a bit we decided to go down to the pool and burn off some of Drew's energy and keep us cool.

We weren't at the pool more than 5 minutes when Drew got stung by the bee that was hanging around the pool's edge.  It nailed him in the stomach.  So that trip was cut short too - it seems it was an off day for the kiddo.

After the sting wore off and we got home and gave him some Benedryl, Drew was ready to rock and roll.  He actually asked Daddy to go outside and hit some "bombs" - as in home run balls.

Did I mention that Dave's now working with Drew to become a switch hitter?  He naturally bats lefty, throws righty.  So he's now showing Drew how to bat righty too....

He's starting to get the hang of it... and can't believe it when he hits a true "bomb".  His expressions the other day were cracking me up!

While it was a traumatic father's day for Drew, Dave said it was the perfect afternoon - I guess that's what matters!

Another Swimming Milestone

Tuesday my little fish finally completed the intermediate preschool class and graduated to the Advanced Preschool class.




This means he did:
Independent front float
Stand from front float
Independent back float
Move through the water 2+ yards
Submerge, turn, grab wall, climb out

He was so proud to get his "bug sticker".

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Beginning Preschool Graduate

Last night Dave took Drew to swimming lessons and then I received the following text photo.





That's Drew leaving the Swim School with his Beginning Preschool graduation ribbon. This means he has learned to do the following:

• Get in/out safely
• 1+ Bobs
• Assisted Back Float
• Reach, grab wall, climb out
• Underwater 3+ seconds

He was so excited to share it with me when he got home!

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Pooltime 180

Drew pulled a 180 on us for his swim lessons this past week.  If you didn't read how our first attempt went.. you have to read how miserable it was - here.  Well this past Monday for his third class (he slept through his second class last week after flying home from Minnesota), it was like an entirely different child!


He actually jumped into the teacher's arms when it was his turn (sorry it's blurry - I had to snap shots from behind a window on my phone)

There weren't any tears this time and after about 5-10 minutes Dave was able to leave the poolside and watch from behind the windows.

Drew did fantastic and earned his first sticker - which is one step closer to graduating from the preschool class.

Don't get me wrong - we have a LONG way to go, but it's major progress!  We think we'll sign him up for classes now regularly, it's a great activity for him.

"I Survived"

Ok no pictures of this "torture" session - otherwise known as swim lessons.  But on Monday Drew had his first solo swim lessons thanks to a ridiculously great deal I found on a Groupon.  When I made the appointment more than a month ago they said they had Monday evenings open (as well as some other inconvenient time for us/me).  So he was signed up in the Preschool class - since he turned 3 the day before.

All day he was pretty excited to go to swim lessons.  Even while we were waiting for our session, Drew kept talking about how he wanted to swim.

Then his time came to get in the pool.

Lets just say for the 30 minute class, he screamed - hysterically - for half of the session.  They ended up having to bring some reinforcement teachers in because Drew was demanding all of her attention while the other kids were sitting on the stairs waiting.  It was horrible. The whole while I have the Director of the program telling me we may need to consider moving him with the babies - as in 12 months or less class where parents are in the pool. 

Finally one of the reinforcement teachers took her turn with Drew and he finally stopped crying, although the hiccup effect you get from crying that hard and long stuck around for a bit.  Eventually he started playing with the water toys and let the teachers bring him off of the pool steps.

Funny thing is after the class was over, Drew said he wanted to go back in next week! 

As he and I were in the locker room, I was telling him "See you survived.  It wasn't all that bad right? Why did you cry".  Drew's response "I was scared".

After he was dressed and we greeted Dave in the hallway, Drew said "I survived" and gave Dave a great big hug.

Heat Wave!

For about the third time this summer we've experienced a heat wave. This is by far the coolest summer  I've ever experienced.  But since it was hot again and Daddy was at his softball game, Drew and I went back down to the pool.

He was so excited about his muscle suit last time that he asked for it again.  That and his floatie.  He was in the water all by himself when he went in the deep end (the water was too cold for me to get all the way in).  But have no fear, I was right on the side of the pool in case I needed to jump in quickly.

He did great in the water.  I know he'll love it when his swimming lessons start (the day after his birthday).

Only one thing, he refused to use a towel to dry off. Instead he did kangaroo hops around the pool.  After about 1 1/2 laps he decided he was dry enough to walk home.

I managed to get the "muscle man" in between the little hops.

Beating the Heat

We've seen triple digit temperatures the past few days and well... enough's enough!  Last night Drew and I finally ventured over the the pool (our first time this season) and cooled off for a bit. 

I threw a suit on him that had built in flotation devices and then put him into a Spider-man tube and he wanted to swim by himself across the pool!  He was so proud of himself!

Bathing Suit Season

Bathing suit season is nearly upon us, and while we were at the St. Patrick's Day Festival last weekend we got a free trial class for the swimming lessons at a local Pool.

We were there early on Monday (had a 5:30pm slot) so that Drew could check it out and not be so afraid.  Well it turns out there was an opening in the 5pm class and we were able to hurry up and change to get in.

Here's our little fish before he got in the water...

As you can see, he's quite excited.  Daddy was on camera patrol and Mommy was in bathroom with a slight wardrobe malfunction - I apparently put my bottoms on inside out.

Then it was time to join the class - 5 students (2 regulars and 3 first timers).  This class was geared for kids ages 6months to 3 years and is to get kids used to the water.  We sang songs, went under water, learned to float on our backs, how to climb in/out of the pool and scale the wall. 

Drew did fantastic with everything.  He was a little nervous at first - especially when he swallowed some pool water when I put him under the water a bit (not fully submerged).

We even had a successful trip to the potty - no going in the swim diaper!

After it was over, Drew wanted to go back in.  Needless to say we'll be signing up for swim lessons - now to pick which location.  This one, or one closer to our house. Hmm......

Waterlogged

Sunday afternoon we headed to the Robert Livermore Community Center for a 3rd Birthday party. The little boy of the hour was the son of one of Dave's softball teammates.

Despite the cooler, breezy weather, Drew was anxious to get into the pool designed for young kids (perhaps a little older than his 21 months) and play with all the water spouts and slides.

Since we knew it was a little cooler, and we weren't sure what to expect, we used a swimsuit that had built in floaties in the suit. So what if it was designed for someone who is taller than his 32ish inches - it worked.

Lucky for us the water was pretty shallow, but that didn't stop Drew from clinging to Daddy the entire time they were in the water (maybe 20 minutes). Doesn't Drew know we equipped him with the floaties for this very reason?

After a few trips around the water spouts, Drew had enough and we went in to enjoy pizza and cake - well Drew enjoyed the chips anyway. Dave and I thought the park was a lot of fun, and we're looking forward to going back sometime this summer when it's warmer! Here are a few more candid shots from the water park.

Swimming Season Begins

Memorial Day is the unofficial start to summer, and we celebrated after returning home from camping at our community pool. We had the pool practically to ourselves on the pleasantly warm day (there was one guy sunbathing, but I think Drew's excited squeals sent him packing).

While I stayed on the side catching a few rays, Dave & Drew went inside the pool and practiced kicking and dunking heads. After watching Daddy do it a few times, Drew found his courage to do the same thing. Even blew a few raspberries in the water - only swallowing the chlorinated water a few times. We were thrilled that the gagging didn't turn into puking in the pool (the simple things that make us happy - not swimming in vomit being one of them).

By the end of our pool time, Drew was ready to mimic Daddy's cannon balls. Well he was perfectly happy to jump into Daddy's arms anyway. Drew managed to jump in a few times and always said "again, again". Our little daredevil!