summer fun

We are really enjoying our new home and neighborhood this summer. When we lived near Nashville, we paid HOA fees and got nothing but rules.  No amenities of any kind, they couldn't even help get street lights turned on on our street after the developer went bankrupt.  I digress, this is about my kids.

Last Fall and Winter, we looked at around 50 houses in the quest for our new home.  The one we bought is huge, if I have not mentioned that fact already.  Not a mansion, I suppose, but huge.  I would not want any larger unless I could afford housekeeping help.  It has everything we had on our wish list, and then some.  I really cannot believe how blessed we are.  Even with the issues we've encountered, well... those could have happened anywhere.  There's room for guests, so come visit. (Please call first.) :)

One of the aspects we're enjoying the most is our neighborhood pool.  Hannah is meeting some of the other kids who she may pass in the hallways at school, I am meeting other Moms, and it's just plain fun until it's time to pack up and leave and the kids protest.

I intended on putting the kids in swimming lessons, but did not do it.  So Hannah has been swimming with arm floaties all summer.  Brandon typically swims with floaties on his arms and a tube raft around his waist.  He has no fear.  The first time there without Daddy, B jumped right in before I got the floaties on.  (We put them on at home or in the parking lot now.) Hannah, for the most part, has been unreceptive to me wanting to teach her to swim.  (No surprise there, she doesn't usually want me to teach her to read or write, either.)

About a week or so ago, she watched a video of her cousin swimming.  A couple of days ago, she met a 2nd grade girl at the pool, who was swimming without flotation help.  Tonight, she declared that she would swim without floaties.

And she did.  She pulled her goggles over her eyes, held her nose, closed her mouth, and completely immersed herself under the water.  She swam to me or to the wall or steps several times, 6-10 feet.

it's hot, mom!

I am so proud of her.  When we returned home, she said she wants a swimming lesson on how to swim with her head out of the water tomorrow.

The pics are from a previous day, I did not have my camera with me tonight.

Pics

swimming with "angel" cousin Juliana
(Juliana sang "Angels We Have Heard On High", giving us Christmas in July at the pool! Or was it "Hark the Herald")

a classic moment

"Mommy, take a picture of me with the flowers!"

another classic "Hannah" moment

"Here's a flower for you!"

1st "story-time" at library

For whatever reason, Hannah and I had not yet made it to the weekly toddler/preschool story time at the library. With temperatures abnormally high outside, we had to get out and do something. So this morning we headed over to the closest library. We arrived early, so we played with puzzles and looked at books for a few minutes. As soon as everyone began filing into the Story Room, Hannah became overwhelmed by the # of people and clung to me. She had her raccoon and sippy cup, but I think the sheer number of people intimidated her.

The storyteller was actually a Kindermusik teacher, and my shy girl gradually warmed up. She even tackled the 4 year old girl next to us with a great big hug. She loved the rhythm sticks and scarves/"butterfly wings". I am not sure that I'm willing to drive all the way to Vandy for Kindermusik classes, but I will be glad to see what's in store during the library's weekly story time.

When it was over, we headed outside to the playground, where my brave girl climbed up and down the steps, attempted to climb up and down the ladder, and slid down the slides faster than she ever has before... so fast that she landed on her bottom in the wood chips because Mommy couldn't get there to catch her in time.

hannah-isms

• big house!

• pool! more pool! (then she decides she wants to remain outside the pool, throwing ALL the toys and rafts in. if we take them out, she throws them right back in. she wanted everything except herself to be in the pool most of the day today. (the pic in the previous post was taken yesterday. for some reason she loved her raft then. today was another story.)
  
• while in the pool, i put a bucket on top of my head like a hat. hannah was standing on the concrete in front of me, and she did not want it there. she leaned over to try to take it off, but when she realized she could not reach it, she screamed at the top of her lungs out of frustration. she did NOT want to go in the water. aunt cheryl got her to swim with us for a little bit by playing with wiffle balls. that wore of pretty quickly. i finally got her to sit on the stoop at the shallow end and blow "bubbles" like she does in the bathtub. she also found great fun in standing under the outdoor shower to rinse off. we find that ironic because she hates when we pour water to rinse her in the bathtub.
  
• mommy: do you want to go inside?
  

hannah: yeah.

hannah then proceeded to step into the pool, after spending most of the day avoiding actually getting in the water, but playing on the outside.

• gramma? coffee?!
• ocean
• as we walked on the boardwalk back from the dock, hannah had to stop at each and every post and stand on it. it was so cute! she is definitely developing her own sense of order and how things belong in her mind. just like all the pool toys had to be in the water, she had to step on each piling.
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1st beach vacation

gulf shores

1st steps on the beach

1st splash in the ocean

scooping the sand

hannah's yacht- under the waterfall

devouring a cupcake - yummy frosting!

summer fun with cousins

shoe fettish?

so, we went to target to pick up some things for our upcoming trip. while j tried on a shirt, hannah and i went to the sandal section to see what they had left. i tried on their imitation crocs... hah. i'd rather pay $30 for the real thing than break my ankle in the ones they had for sale. anyway, hannah was walking right next to me, until she saw the yellow flip flops. bright yellow, in big kid and adult sizes. she pulled a way-too-big pair out of the rack, sat in the aisle, and proceeded to take off her sandals and try to put on the yellow flip-flops. i guided her to the pink beach socks which were only $5, and we found a pair that fit her perfectly. "comfy, comfy!" she exclaimed. so now she is ready to walk on the beach without burning her little bottoms of her feet on the hot sand. in "stylish" comfy beach socks.